Same Face, Different Name: George Peppard also played a crook in the fourth season's opener "Judgement Day".
Templeton "Faceman" Peck
Played by: Dirk Benedict (Tim Dunigan in the pilot) (series), Bradley Cooper (film)
The team's con man, who would get whatever you needed. A true womanizer.Tropes:
Actor Allusion: The episode "Steel" featured a homage to Battlestar Galactica, in which Dirk Benedict starred as Lt. Starbuck. In "Steel", the team visits Universal Studios, where Face sees a Cylon passing by, with a "Don't I know you from some place"-look on his face.
The Other Darrin: Dirk Benedict was creator Stephen J. Cannell's first choice for the role of Face, but the producers hired Tim Dunigan to play the character in the pilot. After the episode was broadcasted, critics found him too young for a person who fought in Vietnam, and the actor was also too tall. So the producers, having heard of Cannell's choice of Benedict, then hired the latter instead.
Executive Meddling: Schultz hardly appeared in "Children of Jamestown" (the first episode after the pilot") as he was on the edge of being written out. After seeing the pilot, critics found the character of Murdock too childish and unrealistic for a show like this. However test audiences loved the character too much, he was saved.
Hey, It's That Guy!: Schultz had a recurring role as Barclay on Star Trek. He's also provided voices for a lot of video game characters at this point.
Only Known by Their Nickname: H.M. not only stands for his nickname, but also his real name, which we are never told.
Once an Episode: Breaking him out of the asylum. Until the final season, in which he was devastated to learn that he'd been declared sane and released permanently.
Bosco Albert "Bad Attitude" Baracus
Played by: Mr. T (series) Rampage Jackson (film)
Tropes:
Actor Allusion: Many of B.A.'s characteristics are based on that of Mr. T himself, such as the mohawk cut and the gold chains.
Put on a Bus: IT ALMOST HAPPENED. Around season 4, which was a hard time for the show, Mr. T many times threatened to quit. Rumors say that NFL Player William "The Refrigerator" Perry would replaced him. Luckily, Mr. T decided to stay.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Besides the episode after her departure, in which Decker mentions she's working in Jakarta, Indonesia, Amy just vanished from the series. The final episode of the second season was "Curtain Cull" in which Murdock was seriously wounded. While saving his life, we see flashbacks from previous episodes. And NONE of these flashbacks have Amy in them. They never even mention her again.
You Look Familiar: Marla Heasly appeared in an earlier episode, as Cherise, one of Face's yacht companions.
Frankie "Dishpan" Santana
Played by: Eddie Velez (season 5)
Became a fifth member of the team in the final season.Tropes:
Promoted to Opening Titles: In the first two episodes of that season, Frankie was only a guest star, as he was credited with "And Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana"
Remember the New Guy: Supposedly, Frankie had worked at the film studio for a long time. But before the fifth season, Hannibal, who also worked at the studio, never mentioned a special effects guy named Frankie Santana.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He only appeared in the episode "Fire!". Originally, Decker was suppose to appear, but actor Lance LeGault was unable because he was currently working on Magnum PI. Briggs really looked and almost sounds like Decker.
What Could Have Been: When this episode first showed up, people thought that Brigss was a permanent character, and that each season would have a different antagonist (Lynch in season 1 and Decker and season 2, and Briggs for this season.), but it turned out different.
'''Gen. Harlan "Bull" Fullbright"
Tropes:
Actor Allusion: Jack Ging played the villain in two episodes on the same show before his role as Fullbright.
Promoted to Opening Titles: Unlike the other recurring militaries who chased the A-team during the series, Stockwell would be the first (and only) to be become a main character. It may have something to do with that he's played by the great Robert Vaughn and/or that his character was more important to the storyline than his predecessors.
The Unreveal: Unfortunately, the series was canceled before we would know if he really was a bad guy who only used the team for his own good, or actually wanted to clear their names.
Did Not Do the Research: In the season 4 finale, his first name is Steve. The fifth season's three-episode story arc, "The Court Martial" however reveals his first name as Samuel.
Put on a Bus: Sort of. He didn't do the opening narration anymore for the fifth and final season since it's intro was heavily changed. (Respectively, now the team is finally arrested and working for Stockwell, it became useless to say these lines.)
