NEWS

Dirk Benedict: Dirk will be appearing at Adventure Con 2 (Knoxville, TN) at the end of May, and at Memorabilia 2003 (Birmingham, England) in July. Dirk is also slated to appear at Galacticon 2003 in October, as 2003 marks the 25th anniversary of the original "Battlestar Galactica" television series. He also has another fan cruise planned for January 2004!
Dwight Schultz: Not much news on Dwight lately. He did not appear in ST: Nemesis, much to my chagrin. His most recent project was providing Barclay's voice in Star Trek: Elite Force II, a soon-to-be-released ST video game.
Mr. T: Mr. T is reportedly not interested in doing a TV series or movie. His main concern at the moment is providing support and inspiration for children dealing with cancer. ^_^
The A-Team movie: Well. This has been discussed to death for YEARS. There have been dozens of rumours, innuendos, and outright fabrications...I'm sure we're all tired of hearing them. Contrary to popular opinion, NO casting decisions have been made. The only definite information that I have is this: the production co. is Top Cow Productions, the writer is Kevin Brodbin, and the producers include Stephen J. Cannell, Spike Seldin (Top Cow pres.), and Mark Silvestri (Top Cow chair). This information comes from Stephen J. Cannell's site, Cannell.com. Of course, even this is dated information. Only SJC and co. know for sure when (and whether) the film will be released.

THE SHOW

"In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum-security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...THE A-TEAM."

Three of the four members of the A-Team met during the Vietnam War, when they were (as the theme song's intro might indicate) members of a "crack," that is, elite, commando unit of the Green Berets. Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, Lt. Templeton "Face" Peck, and Sgt. Bosco "B. A." Baracus worked together on a variety of missions in Vietnam, with Capt. H. M. "Howling Mad" Murdock sometime acting as their pilot. During the Tet Offensive (1967), the Team was given orders by their commanding officer, Col. Morrison, to rob the Bank of Hanoi in order to end the war. Murdock was their pilot for this mission, and the Team was able to get into the Bank and get the money successfully. But upon returning, they learned that Morrison's headquarters had been destroyed during an artillery barrage. The Colonel had been inside at the time (supposedly), and was presumed dead. With the Col. gone, there was no one to confirm that the Team was under orders when they robbed the bank, and they, along with Murdock, were court-martialed. Murdock was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and sent to the Los Angeles Veterans' Administration Hospital. The rest of the Team, however, were found guilty and sent to prison at Fort Bragg. As we all know, they "promptly escaped," setting up operations in LA, California, as "soldiers of fortune."

Anyone with a problem could contact the Team through Mr. Lee (Hannibal in disguise), the owner of a Chinese laundry, who would put them in contact with other seemingly random people. Eventually, if a person passed all the tests of character that Hannibal put them through, they would actually meet the Team and discuss their problem...and the fee. The A-Team often did work for free, or on an expenses-only basis. Except for Murdock, everyone on the Team had another job to supplement this income, for obvious reasons. They were joined by Amy Amanda Allen ("Triple A"), a reporter who conned them into making her a part of the Team after they helped her rescue a colleague in El Rio Blanco, Mexico. After Amy left for an overseas assignment, she was "replaced" by the irritating bimbo Tawnia Baker, who talked the Team into letting her join on the basis that she was Amy's friend, and that she helped them save an Arab oil shiek from being assassinated. She left the Team in "The Bend in the River," after they rescued her fiance from the pirate El Cajon.

In the show's fifth and final season, the A-Team met Gen. Hunt Stockwell, who supposedly worked for the government from waaaay behind the scenes. He essentially blackmailed them into working for him, with the promise that after a certain, undisclosed, number of missions, he would arrange a full presidential pardon for the Team. They were also joined at this point by the incredibly annoying Frankie "Dishpan" Santana, a special-effects engineer. At the series's end, Murdock was finally deemed cured, and discharged from the VA. It is not clear why this happened-- some think that it was orchestrated by Stockwell; however, I believe that Murdock was faking his insanity all along, and simply gave up the charade once the Team was under Stockwell's protection and therefore immune from further prosecution.

The rest of the Team presumably received their pardons--we never actually see it happen, or hear that it has happened, but at the end of "The Grey Team" (the last episode), they discuss what they will do with their lives now that they no longer have to run from the government. The implication is that they will continue doing what they're best at--protecting the innocent and busting heads.