One of the most iconic shows of the 1980s was, without a doubt, the action adventure show The A-Team. Starring screen veteran George Peppard, Dirk Benedict, Dwight Schultz, and the legendary Mr. T, the show premiered in January 1983 and became a pop culture phenomenon. It helped that the show came out hot on the heels of Rocky III, with Mr. T already in the zeitgeist for playing the unforgettable villain, Clubber Lang. Here, as B.A. Baracus, T would adopt a much more family-friendly persona. While he was the breakout star, audiences also loved Peppard as Hannibal, the wannabe actor mastermind, Benedict as Faceman, the ladies’ man, and Schultz as Murdock, the crazy one.
Created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell, The A-Team told the story of an underground crew of NAM vets who are framed for a crime they didn’t commit.
The show ran for five seasons before slipping out of fashion towards the end of the decade when the mix of cartoonish violence was eschewed in favor of harder-edged shows. Decades later, it remains a classic, as we examine in this week’s Gone But Not Forgotten, written by Jessica Dwyer, narrated by Travis Hopson, and edited by Cesar Gabriel.