1983 in television: The A-Team

1983 saw the debut of The A-Team, a shamelessly over-the-top action adventure series which made stars of its cast, although lead actor George Peppard was a screen veteran and was previously known as the star of 1970s detective drama 'Banacek'.

The premise was that a group of Vietnam veterans, wrongly imprisoned and who had escaped, were on the run and making their living as soldiers of fortune. Peppard was cast as leader Colonel 'Hannibal' Smith, and was joined by Dirk Benedict as Lt. Templeton Peck, or 'Faceman' due to his ability to disguise himself as a different personality each episode; Dwight Schultz as Capt. 'Howling Mad' Murdock, the team's apparently insane pilot, and finally Mr. T as Sgt. 'B.A.' Baracus (the 'B.A' standing for 'Bad Attitude'). Baracus was the strongman of the team, whose fearsome exterior belied a kind-hearted man. The running joke throughout was that tough-guy B.A. was terrified of flying and the team had to devise ingenious ways to get him in an aircraft whenever required.  Mr. T, a huge physically imposing figure known for muscles and for wearing a lot of gold jewellery, had also played Clubber Laing, the opponent for Sylvester Stallone's 'Rocky' in the third film of that franchise.

Each week the team took on an assignment, often to help somebody else in trouble, while remaining one step ahead of the authorities trying to arrest what they considered to be fugitives. The team used disguises, outrageous plots usually conceived by Hannibal (with the catchphrase 'I love it when a plan comes together') and extensive use of explosives and other weaponry, often improvised from unlikely sources. Consequently the show was criticised for its violence by some, but others observed that although there were many explosions, nobody was ever seen to be seriously hurt. That in turn led to further criticism that the show was little more than a cartoon. Nonetheless, the show was a huge hit in its native United States and also internationally, including in the UK where reruns of the series are still aired today.

Mr. T was without doubt the 'breakout' star; his striking appearance and imposing build got him plenty of attention. Today he remains a cult figure, and has been seen in commercials for chocolate bars, sending up his own image. Take a trip back to 1983 and enjoy the opening titles (and that music) for 'The A-Team':



As a bonus, here is one of Mr. T's commercials advertising chocolate which aired in the UK from the late 2000s: