Characters
The A-Team revolves around the four members of a former commando outfit, now mercenaries. Their leader is Lieutenant-Colonel/Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (George Peppard), whose plans tend to be unorthodox but effective. Lieutenant Templeton "The Faceman" Peck (Dirk Benedict; Tim Dunigan appeared as Templeton Peck in the pilot), usually called "Face," is a smooth-talking con-man who serves as the team's appropriator of vehicles and other useful items. The team's pilot is Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock (Dwight Schultz), who has been declared insane and lives in a Veterans Administration mental institution for the show's first four seasons. Finally, there is the team's strong man and mechanic, Sergeant First Class Bosco "B.A.," or "Bad Attitude," Baracus (Mr. T).
It is unclear to which U.S. Army unit the four belonged. A patch on Hannibal's uniform in the Season 1 episode "A Nice Place To Visit" indicates they belonged to the 101st Airborne division in Vietnam, but the patch was replaced by the 1st Air Cavalry Division patch in the Season 5 episode "Trial by Fire." In the Season 1 episode "West Coast Turnaround," Hannibal stated they were with the "5th Special Forces Group."
For its first season and the first half of the second season, the team was assisted by reporter Amy Amanda Allen (Melinda Culea). In the second half of the second season, Allen was replaced by fellow reporter Tawnia Baker (Marla Heasley). The character of Tia (Tia Carrere), a Vietnam war orphan now living in the United States, was meant to join the Team in the fifth season, but she was replaced by Frankie Santana (Eddie Velez), who served as the team's special effects expert. Velez was added to the opening credits of the fifth season after its second episode.
During their adventures, the A-Team was constantly met by opposition from the military police. In the show's first season, the MPs were led by Colonel Francis Lynch (William Lucking), but he was replaced for the second, third, and earlier fourth season by Colonel Roderick Decker (Lance LeGault) and his aide Captain Crane (Carl Franklin). Lynch returned for one episode in the show's third season ("Showdown!") but was not seen after. Decker was also briefly replaced by a Colonel Briggs (Charles Napier) in the third season for one episode ("Fire!") when LeGault was unavailable, but returned shortly after. For the latter portion of the show's fourth season, the team was hunted by General Harlan "Bull" Fulbright (Jack Ging), who would later hire the A-Team to find Tia in the season four finale, during which Fulbright was killed.
The fifth season introduced General Hunt Stockwell (Robert Vaughn) who, while serving as the team's primary antagonist, was also the team's boss and joined them on several missions. He was often assisted by Carla (Judith Ledford, sometimes credited as Judy Ledford).
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