List of The A-Team characters
This article lists the characters created for the popular 1980s American action adventure television series The A-Team:
Main characters
- George Peppard as Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (1983-1987)
- The leader of the A-Team, he is a brilliant tactician and a master of disguise. Hannibal is distinguished by his cigar smoking, black gloves, disguises, and his catch phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together." Always "on the jazz" (a phrase coined by B.A., meaning that Hannibal thrives on adventure and life-threatening situations), he seems to genuinely enjoy every situation they get into. He also works as an actor, playing monsters in low-budget horror movies.
- Dirk Benedict as First Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck (1983-1987)
- Suave, smooth-talking, and hugely successful with women, he serves as the team's con man and scrounger, able to get his hands on just about anything they need. Effectively second in command behind Hannibal (although Murdock outranks him), he is the one who arranges for supplies, equipment, and sensitive information using numerous scams and hustles. Tim Dunigan played this role in the pilot episode.
- Mr. T as Master Sergeant Bosco Albert ("B.A.") Baracus (1983-1987)
- A highly-skilled mechanic and the A-Team's regular Mr. Fix-It, his character is basically that of the public persona of Mr. T himself. He is a skilled fighter and is easily roused to anger, earning him the nickname "Bad Attitude". Despite his reputed attitude, he is a nice guy at heart. He has a special fondness for children and never drinks alcohol, preferring milk instead. He is most upset by Murdock, frequently referring to him as a "crazy fool". He suffers an intense fear of flying, especially when the plane in question is flown by Murdock. This difficulty is often overcome by other members of the team drugging him, or otherwise rendering him unconscious, so he can be transported without objection.
- Dwight Schultz as Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock (1983-1987)
- The best chopper pilot of the Vietnam War, Murdock is either mentally unstable or exceptionally good at pretending to be so. Although he was their pilot on the Hanoi bank raid, he was not officially part of the A-Team and so not tried by the military. Though interned at a psychiatric hospital, he routinely escapes to accompany the A-Team on their missions. The symptoms of his "insanity" varies from episode to episode, but generally includes self-identification with fictional characters, hallucinations, belief in the "intelligence" of inanimate objects, among others. He frequently refers to his invisible dog, "Billy". Unlike B.A., the initials "H.M." were never explained in terms of Murdock's actual name, and the nickname "Howlin' Mad" is simply attributed to them. He was permanently discharged from the hospital in the fifth season.
Additional team members
- Melinda Culea as Amy Amanda "Triple A" Allen (1983-1984)
- Amy was an intrepid reporter for the L.A. Courier paper who joined the team in its pilot episode. At the end of the pilot, Hannibal comments on how her initials are "Triple A", but while much of the publicity surrounding the series used this name, it was never really used again in the show itself, with a company set up by the Team in the first season episode "The Out-Of-Towners" called 'Triple-A's' being its only other appearance in the actual series (and even this was only referenced visually, with no acknowledgement to it in the dialogue). The character's boss is Grant Eldridge (Philip Sterling), seen in the first half of the pilot, and in the first season episode "Holiday In The Hills". Amy has a best friend at the Courier, Zach (Ron Palillo), although he is only seen in the pilot and never referred to again.
Amy was written out of the show in the middle of the second season, as a result of a conflict between Culea and the production team. After being featured prominently in the pilot story, the character had little impact in many of the following episodes, causing Culea to become increasingly unhappy with the role and wanting more to do, such as taking part in the Team's frequent fights with bad guys.[1] It's also said[2] that the fact that George Peppard didn't like her, feeling that the show didn't need a female lead, also had an effect. There are conflicting reports over whether Culea eventually left of her own accord, or if she was fired as a result of her continual pushing for more to do in the show. The latter is the more commonly accepted reason, and an oft-cited tale is that Culea found out about her firing when she was given a script and found out she was not included in the episode. In replacement Tawnia Baker's first episode, "The Battle of Bel Air", Amy is reportedly "on foreign correspondent duty" in Jakarta.
- Marla Heasley as Tawnia Baker (1984-1985)
- Tawnia (misspelled as 'Tanya' on a computer screen in the character's introductory episode "The Battle Of Bel Air") was a relatively short-lived second-season replacement for Amy during late 1983 - early 1984. She was also a reporter who had heard of the team through Amy and helped the A-Team out a few times, although she never fully incorporated herself into the team, as Amy had done (reflected by the fact that she was never added to the opening credits, and was not present in two stories, "Harder Than It Looks" and "Semi-Friendly Persuasion", during her time in the series). The character was dropped in "The Bend In The River", the feature-length second story of the third season, again said to be much to do with Peppard's insistence that the show didn't need a female character, but was given the dignity of being written out properly, as she married explorer Brian Leftcourt (Barry Van Dyke) who the Team rescued from river pirates in the Amazon. Marla Heasley had appeared in a small role previously in the second season, as Cherise in the episode "Bad Time on the Border".
- Tia Carrere as Tia (1986)
- The half-Vietnamese daughter of latter 4th season antagonist General Fulbright. She was inducted into the team in "The Sound of Thunder", the finale to season 4, after the death of her father and her own wanted status in Vietnam and illegal status in the US. However, Carrere's contractual obligations to General Hospital, made during a period when 5th season renewal for the series was uncertain, led to Tia vanishing from the story with no explanation or further mention.
- Eddie Velez as Frankie "Dishpan Man" Santana (1986-1987)
- Puerto Rican special effects expert who helps the A-Team during the final season. He was blackmailed into joining the team by Gen. Stockwell after he and Murdock helped the team escape the firing squad. The character's early script name was Frankie Sanchez, which filtered through to a number of coverage material. The character was also often given the nickname "Dishpan Man" (or simply "Dishpan") in much of the series' coverage, but while he was introduced as this in the fifth season opener, itself called "Dishpan Man", this nickname was very seldom used afterwards in the actual series.
Recurring antagonists and supporting characters
- William Lucking as Colonel Lynch (1983)
- Commander of Fort Bragg, which housed the stockade from which the team escaped. The Colonel pursued them throughout the first season. (He was mentioned to still be in pursuit of the team at the start of the second season, though was never actually seen). He seemed to have a personal vendetta against the A-Team (arrogant, ambitious, and not particularly bright, he viewed the Team's escape as the biggest on-going blemish of his career) which, coupled with the fact that he never managed to capture them, led to his being taken off the case. He also made a surprise return to make one last effort at catching the team in the third season episode "Showdown!".
- In the 2010 film adaptation, Lynch will be played by Patrick Wilson.
- Lance LeGault as Colonel Roderick Decker (1984-1985)
- The second Colonel who tried to catch the team, he was picked for the job because of his unorthodox warfare techniques (it was revealed that in Vietnam, he was known for blowing up Viet Cong hospitals). Decker and Hannibal had a past, having gotten into a brawl at an officers' club in Vietnam. Decker was much more ruthless than Lynch, but also always got outsmarted. He equally despises and respects the A-Team, and Smith in particular, for their ingenuity and teamwork. Decker reappears in the fifth season episode "Trial by Fire" to testify against the A-Team.
- Carl Franklin as Captain Crane (1984-1985)
- Decker's right-hand man, he was much more naïve than Decker regarding the A-Team, and was often surprised at the team's ability to evade them.
- Charles Napier as Colonel Briggs (1984)
- The third Colonel who tried to catch the team but only appeared in one early season 3 episode ("Fire") before Colonel Decker returned. In reality the character was a temporary, one-off replacement (he even has very similar look and mannerisms to Decker) while Lance LeGault was filming an episode of Magnum P.I., in which he also had a recurring role.
- Jack Ging as General Harlan "Bull" Fullbright (1985-1986)
- A General who, once again, was determined to capture the team. In the season four finale "The Sound of Thunder", he actually tracked down the team, but instead of turning them in, persuaded them to traveling with him to Vietnam to try and find his long-lost offspring, not realizing he was being led into a trap; at the climax of the story the character is shot and killed. In his dying moments, Fullbright admitted to the team that he realized they were innocent, as they were willing to help him at any cost despite their being criminals on the run from him.
- Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell (1986-1987)
- The A-Team's boss during the final season, who blackmailed the team into working on an undefined number of top-secret government missions in return for their supposed eventual pardon. He is mysterious and unpredictable, with the team often feeling that he is just using him for his own gains, leading them on with undefined terms for their supposed pardon (in the episode "Alive At Five", Face tires of this and plans to go it at alone, although eventually decides to stay). Often Stockwell will send the team out on various missions, usually contacting them from his luxury jet, but occasionally will take a more hands-on approach (such as the episode "Point Of No Return", when he leads the rest of the team to Hong Kong to find the missing Hannibal). His catch phrase was "(I'm going to do this...) My way."
- Judith Ledford (sometimes as Judy Ledford) as Carla (1986-1987)
- General Stockwell's assistant, and often the target of Face (and Frankie)'s unwanted advances. Seen for the first half of the final season, in the last few episodes several other assistants appeared in her place (Carla appears for the last time in "Point Of No Return").
Main Cast Timeline
References
- ^ Bring Back... The A-Team (2006)
- ^ Bring Back... The A-Team (2006), Dirk Benedict