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5[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ateam01.png]]
6[[caption-width-right:350:''"I love it when a plan comes together!"'']]
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8
9->''In 1972,[[note]]"Ten years ago" in season one[[/note]] a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the UsefulNotes/LosAngeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... the A-Team.''
10-->--'''OpeningNarration'''
11
12''The A-Team'' is one of the most famous of the action series of TheEighties, airing from 1983 to 1987 on Creator/{{NBC}}.
13
14The four members of the A-Team are:
15* '''Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith''' -- played by Creator/GeorgePeppard, he is TheLeader of the team, a cunning MasterOfDisguise.
16* '''Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck''' -- played by Creator/DirkBenedict, he is, well, TheFace of the team.
17* '''Captain H.M. "Howlin' Mad" Murdock''' -- played by Creator/DwightSchultz, he is the resident AcePilot, who [[BunnyEarsLawyer may or may not be insane]].
18* '''Sergeant Bosco "B.A." ("Bad Attitude") Baracus''' -- played by Creator/MrT, he is the team's [[TheBigGuy strongman]] and [[TheEngineer mechanic]], with a famous fear of flying.
19
20Each episode would start with a bunch of innocent people being menaced by a bunch of people with guns, who want their land, water, taxi company etc.
21
22They would go talk to a man who they thought would get them in contact with the A-Team. Most of the time, it would turn out to be a member of the A-Team -- Hannibal in disguise who had to make sure the people in question are not part of a trap to capture the team.
23
24They would go along to the location of the activity in their CoolCar, which in their case was actually a distinctive-looking custom van -- [[OvertOperative an odd choice for a group who are supposed to be in hiding]]. There they would do a lot of ATeamFiring, beat up the baddies and often [[MacGyvering MacGyver up]] an armored vehicle over the course of an ATeamMontage.
25
26The show ran for five seasons, with several minor cast changes along the way; the show's eventual decline was attributed to the constantly-recycled and [[StrictlyFormula extremely formulaic plot]]. Attempts to win viewers back, by both changing the overall premise and having the A-Team overseen by a former antagonist, worked for only a short while.
27
28Logic and credibility were usually ignored for the series' trademark over-the-top explosions, but the show never took itself particularly seriously, anyway: most of Hannibal's disguises were [[PaperThinDisguise paper-thin]], the villains were usually mostly-inept and somewhat one-dimensional, and the weapons that the Team [[MacGyvering cobbled together from miscellaneous parts]] were invariably more effective than the machine guns that the episode's villains used.
29
30A [[Film/TheATeam big-screen version]] was released in June 2010, with Creator/LiamNeeson, Creator/BradleyCooper, Creator/SharltoCopley and Quinton Jackson as the team. The trailer can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM0ypzvuphg on YouTube]]. Tropes go to the respective page.
31----
32!!''The A-Team'' provides examples of the following tropes:
33* ABNegative: B.A. and Murdock are both AB-, so if one of them is hurt, the only readily available source for a blood transfusion is the other.
34* AbandonedWarChild: "The Sound of Thunder" has the Team hired by season-long adversary General Fullbright, who learned he has a child from the Vietnam War.
35* AccentAdaptation: One episode has the gang [[CaliforniaDoubling supposedly going]] to [[TorosYFlamenco Barcelona, Spain]] to foil a plane hijacking by unspecified TerroristsWithoutACause. Their plan includes Murdock infiltrating the plane by posing as a Spanish co-pilot, so he speaks [[JustAStupidAccent English with a Spanish accent]] and throws a lot of GratuitousSpanish. In the Spanish dub, Murdock speaks in this scene with a Catalan accent, which is both unexpected and hilarious.
36* AcePilot: Murdock. If it has wings, he can fly it. ...and he might even be able to land it safely!
37* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: Believe it or not, the series had a few of these. The most notable is the season 4 finale, involving their pursuer General Fullbright enlisting their help to go back to Vietnam to find his illegitimate daughter. The humor of the show is replaced by a somber mood, as the team reflects on their experiences in Vietnam.
38** An emotional one occurs in the second episode of the series, "Children of Jamestown", as Amy has to confront the harsh reality of travelling with the A-Team: They're in a dangerous business and death is a severe risk for them, and that denying that fact is more dangerous than accepting it. The entire team (except for Murdock, who's on a side mision at the time) tries to gently console Amy and get her to accept that fact. [[note]]Even Creator/GeorgePeppard![[/note]]
39* ActorAllusion:
40** In an episode with a science fiction con, a guy in a [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 original Galactica Cylon suit]] walks past "Face". In the episode in question, it's actually Hannibal in the costume. The ActorAllusion was all Creator/DirkBenedict's idea. While filming at Universal Studios for the second season episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E11Steel Steel]]", Dirk spotted a park employee dressed as a Cylon, and decided he wanted to film a little nod to his days as Starbuck. The director told him it was a dumb idea, but let him do it anyway. So, they had the Cylon-clad actor stroll nonchalantly across the frame while Face was all "don't I know you?" Fortunately for Dirk, the scene ended up being quite funny and they kept it in the credits up to season 5.
41** There were also allusions to George Peppard and his previous roles:
42*** Hannibal's [[IceCreamKoan off-kilter words of wisdom]] in episodes such as "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E15TheBigSqueeze The Big Squeeze]]" seem like exaggerations of similar quotes he said as Thomas Banacek in ''Series/{{Banacek}}''.
43*** In the episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E7TheRabbitWhoAteLasVegas The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas]]", Amy mentions that it's a shame Hannibal's being chased by the military as he is "a terrific actor" after Hannibal goes to great lengths explaining how he'll play his "character", a reference to Peppard's infamously stringent adherence to method acting, even when playing unchallenging roles.
44** The entire fifth season episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS5E6TheSayUNCLEAffair The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair]]" runs on this trope as not only was Creator/RobertVaughn a series regular and Creator/DavidMcCallum playing the villain of the week, but the episode was structured to parody and reference episodes of ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE''.
45** In one episode, Music/IsaacHayes plays a prisoner at the mercy of the top of the prison's pecking order. This seems like a huge reversal of fortunes compared to his time as [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork The Duke of New York]].
46* ActuallyIAmHim: People looking for the team usually found Hannibal in disguise when they met with the person who was supposed to get them in contact.
47* AdjectiveAnimalAlehouse: In "The Big Squeeze", when Hannibal decides to use props from his movie producer friends to fake a new restaurant to lure in some Mafia extortionists, he sets up an Irish pub called "The Naked Lady."
48* AirVentPassageway: Several episodes, including one where Murdock escapes from a locked room, with his hands bound no less, through a ventilation shaft. Hannibal and B.A. boost him into the shaft while Face distracts the guard.
49* AndTheAdventureContinues: The last episode of the series ended with this discussion:
50--> '''Hannibal:''' Chasing thugs through the park...it's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?\
51'''Face:''' It has a terrible ring to it.\
52'''Murdock:''' Just think, if we get a pardon, we may never have to eat a knuckle sandwich again.\
53'''B.A.:''' I wouldn't bet on it, Crazy Man. Looks like Hannibal's on the jazz again.\
54'''Face:''' What, what, wha-\
55'''Murdock:''' No, you - you tell me right now, you tell me right to my face, you tell me that you don't have a plan.\
56'''Hannibal:''' Well I - I was thinking, what are we gonna do when this thing's over? I mean, what are ''we'' really qualified to do?\
57'''Face:''' Go after...thugs in the park?\
58'''Hannibal:''' And...outlaw motorcycle gangs, organized crime figures...why, there's a ''world'' of slimeballs out there.\
59'''Murdock:''' I ''knew'' it. I just ''knew'' you had a plan.\
60'''Hannibal:''' Comforting, isn't it?\
61'''B.A.:''' I'll get the van.
62* AlwaysCamp: Hannibal takes advantage of this stereotype when playing a hairdresser in "Pros and Cons."
63* AlwaysKnowAPilot: A large part of Howlin' Mad Murdock's usefulness to the team is that he can fly anything that Face can scam. This makes him very useful for transportation (though they have to work around B.A.'s fear of flying).
64* AntiHero: Colonel Lynch, Colonel Decker, and General Fullbright all qualify as this as well as HeroAntagonist, especially the latter two who are more than willing to use destructive or shady methods in their attempts at apprehending the A-Team. Colonel Decker once even went so far as to work with a group of criminals to try and catch the team, though he did make it clear he wasn't happy to be doing so.
65* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
66** In the Season 2 premiere, "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E1DiamondsNDust Diamonds 'n Dust]]", Murdock uses this to insult a South African store owner when he's pretending to be a English officer ("Col. Lexington") as he and Face try to "confiscate" some dynamite:
67--->'''Murdock''': No kippers, no herring-bone tweed, no Rolls Royce petrol caps, no meat pies, ''no original pressings of "Hey Jude!!!"''\
68'''Face''': ''(mouthing)'' "Hey Jude?"
69** Also by Murdock when the team is opening a fake restaurant in "The Big Squeeze."
70---> '''Murdock:''' Excuse me sir. If you're planning to open up a restaurant, let me introduce myself. My name is H.M. Murdock and I belong to the B.B.D.W.G.O.H. Failure to hire our personnel will lead to picketing, bad press, and no cookies before bed!
71* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: A second season episode features a sequence where Hannibal Smith attempts to help defend a young woman and her son against a prison escapee invading their home. Hannibal's way of telling the woman to lock the front door of the house is to gesture with his loaded shotgun in an enclosed environment, pointing it directly at her. Strange considering that both the character Hannibal Smith and the ''actor that played him'', George Peppard, are veterans of the U.S. armed forces.
72* AsleepForDays: Inverted whenever they drugged BA in order to fly anywhere. They would tell him he's been asleep for two days and they had driven the whole way, when in truth they flew and it had been only a few hours.
73* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The native chanting in ''The Crystal Skull'' (see the Lampshade Hanging entry).
74* BadassCrew: A prototype example. Maybe the first in primetime TV.
75* BadassInDistress: Murdock in "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E22Bounty Bounty]]" gets abducted from the V.A. hospital by bounty hunters who think he can lead them to the A-Team.
76* BadassPreacher: Reverend Taylor in "Pure-Dee Poison".
77--> '''Villain:''' [[ShutUpKirk Reverend, I'm not gonna listen to any more of your preaching.]]\
78'''Reverend Taylor:''' Well that's fine with me, 'cause I'm through sermonizing. ''(Pulls out a shotgun)'' [[PreAsskickingOneLiner Let us pray]].
79%%* BadGuysPlayPool: Common in episodes set in the rural Southwest.
80* BadSamaritan: Prince, one half of the villain duo (along with corrupt INS agent Taggart) from the episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E4BadTimeOnTheBorder Bad Time On The Border]]." He gets some respect in Mexico as a man who, for a hefty fee, helps down-on-their-luck Mexicans across the border to a better life in America. While aiding illegal immigration is already a crime, the truth about him is far worse. Far from helping them reach a better life, Prince and his thugs take the people they "help" to a camp in the wilderness, where they rob them at gunpoint of all their remaining possessions, then ''sell them'' as slaves to whatever border town sweatshop makes the best offer.
81* {{Balloonacy}}: The team once escaped from prison in hot air balloons made from garbage bags, hair dryers and hairdresser's chairs. It was Murdock's idea, of course.
82-->'''Hannibal''': Murdock, how'd I let you talk me into this?\
83'''Murdock (already floating away)''': I don't know--I have intermittent memory loss. *floats away cackling*
84* BallsOfSteel: A bad guy slams his rifle into BA's crotch with no effect.
85* BandOfBrothers: From the almost father-and-son-like relationship between Hannibal and Face (or between Hannibal and Murdock) to VitriolicBestBuds B. A. and Murdock, to Face and Murdock's OddFriendship (really, how can a suave con man and a crazy pilot be best friends? Just ask Face and Murdock), they're more like a family than just a team of ex-military acquaintances. For instance, in the Season 2 finale, when Murdock gets shot in the chest during a job in the middle of nowhere, they pull out all the stops and even face possible capture by the military in order to save him. They even include the "we can insult each other, but when outsiders do it we close ranks" bit.
86* BarBrawl: Multiple episodes have the team facing off against the villain of the week's goons in a bar or some other similar establishment.
87* TheBarnum: Face genuinely reveled in being a ConMan, and never showed signs of wanting to reform. He seemed to love the scheme just as much as the payoff. [[FridgeBrilliance This makes sense when you think about it]]; Face, though not a coward by any stretch, often shows signs of not liking violence that much. He probably likes trying to con people so they can get away without a shootout or fistfight - not that he doesn't enjoy the con for its own sake, mind you.
88* BashBrothers: Very much so. Hannibal knows the strengths and weaknesses of each of the other three team members, and knows exactly how to best use their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Different as they may be, when they all fight together, it's a bad day for slimeballs everywhere.
89** Face and Murdock especially seem to be this. They have a very effective tag-team fighting style.
90** Doubly so for Murdock and B.A. They usually drive each other nuts, but together they are a force of nature.
91* BavarianFireDrill: Half the series is one long string of these after the other. From conning a plane for a nonexistent Texas millionaire to hitchhiking a landing on the pretense of a heart attack. In about five minutes.
92* BedsheetGhost: Murdock does a standard bedsheet-over-head in "Judgement Day".
93* BigDamnHeroes: The A-Team bursts in at the last minute to save the day a lot. Even if it's not for a civilian, they tend to take turns doing this for each other.
94* BlandNameProduct:
95** Quite a lot in "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E8BloodSweatAndCheers Blood, Sweat, and Cheers]]," given the episode's focus on stock car racing. Most notably, a scene taking place just before a race shows the villain's car with a large "Firestom" logo, even using a slightly fancier version of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company font.
96** In "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E15MembersOnly Members Only]]" the country club that the episode revolves around is host to a number of famous people including "[[Creator/MartinScorsese Sikorski]]", the head of "[[Creator/TriStarPictures BiStar Pictures]]".
97* BloodlessCarnage: for all the shooting and car crashing that takes place almost every episode, there were surprisingly few on-screen deaths and injuries.
98* BornLucky: Hannibal Smith. He's either this or a bloody wizard. No matter what the situation, he will find a way to come out on top.
99* TheBoxingEpisode: The season 3 episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E16Champ Champ!]]" in which the team protects an up-and-coming heavyweight boxer from a would-be drug dealer trying to threaten him into throwing his first big match.
100* BreadEggsMilkSquick: In the Season 4 episode "Members Only", Murdock starts giving Hannibal a tour of a country club (Murdock goes there often as his psychiatrist's guest) and then discovers a plot point that is (somewhat) nastier than the other normal things:
101-->'''Murdock''' ''(sounding posh)'': The tennis courts are night-lit, there's an extra putting green there, that's the front nine, and that's Faceman chasing someone into the rough.
102-->''Cut to Face running after someone''
103* BriefcaseFullOfMoney: In "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E13TheBeastFromTheBellyOfABoeing The Beast from the Belly of a Boeing]]", Hannibal and Face receive some money for a hostage situation and Face comments that it sure would be tempting to just take the money and run. Hannibal talks him down, but is clearly tempted himself.
104* BuildingIsWelding: All the time. Sometimes taken to ridiculous extremes, such as when the team welds together ''a restaurant'' as part of their scheme to trick the villains.
105* BullyingADragon:
106** ''Far'' too many little, unarmed {{Mook}}s pick a fight with [[ScaryBlackMan B.A.]]
107** The villains of the week, even having received a sample of the A-Team's handiwork (not to mention the ones who know who they are from the start), never call it a day while the damage is minimal; they ''insist'' on provoking them further by threatening them or their clients. It never ends well.
108* BusmansHoliday:
109** "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E25IncidentAtCrystalLake Incident at Crystal Lake]]". After Colonel Decker has been getting a bit too close, the team goes to the titular Crystal Lake national park for a relaxing vacation, but instead runs into a crew of crooks fresh off an armored car robbery. At the end the team agrees that busting bad guys is more fun than any vacation could ever be anyway.
110** "Without Reservations" had General Stockwell grant the team 2 weeks without any assignments. Murdock invites Face and Frankie to his new job at an Italian restaurant, which gets everyone there held hostage by mobsters. It took B.A. ordering a pizza to stop them.
111* CantGetInTroubleForNuthin': In the episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E4ProsAndCons Pros and Cons]]" the team are trying to get arrested, but the local law enforcement fear that arresting tourists will bring in the FBI to investigate them. The team commit progressively worse and worse violations to try and get arrested, culminating in them ''crashing their car through the sheriff's office window''.
112* CarnivalOfKillers:
113** "Deadly Maneuvers" had a syndicate of crime lords pay Major Douglas Kyle to assemble a team of mercenaries to hunt down the A-Team.
114** Also Insane Wayne and his team from "Waiting for Insane Wayne," a team of mercenaries-for-hire who the team briefly impersonates then ends up fighting, though they're not nearly as bad as Kyle and his team.
115* TheCasanova:
116** Face, the HandsomeLech who can con anyone out of anything and is often seen with a woman on each arm.
117** Subverted by Murdock in "Blood, Sweat, and Cheers". He manages to pull it off while impersonating billionaire playboy Giancarlo Figorrati, though it's really all thanks to Face speaking for him while he [[MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels rambles nonsensically in broken Italian]].
118* CasanovaWannabe: Murdock as the "Hunk Man" in "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E9MindGames Mind Games]]", oh so very much. When Face is released on a government pardon Murdock tries to replace him. It doesn't go well.
119-->'''Murdock:''' You sound like a... groovy chick. I'm a six foot, square-jawed bundle of fun. I've got a [[CoolCar 'Vette]], it's hot, I like to talk about... whales! I like sushi, and sharing. Perhaps I could squeeze you into my date-filled calendar book, say Friday? ... ...huh, must've got cut off.
120* CassandraTruth: Neither Hannibal nor Murdock believe Faceman that he was thrown out of a tenth floor window into [[SoftWater a pool]] in "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E15TheBattleOfBelAir The Battle of Bel Air]]".
121* CatchPhrase:
122** B.A, any time he thinks the others will try to get him to fly: "I ain't goin' on no airplane!" (or some variation)
123** Hannibal, about something turning out right (sometimes by chance): "I love it when a plan comes together."
124** Hannibal's standardized greeting, "What do ya say, [name]?"
125* ChainedToARailway: In order to get Councilman Prescott to sign a paper they tied him to railway tracks at the end of a tunnel. He wouldn't talk at first, but soon he noticed a train approaching from the far end of the tunnel and signed it, only for Hannibal to leave that guy tied to the tracks. Of course it was then revealed that the oncoming train [[BigShadowLittleCreature was just Murdock on a bike, complete with a high-powered lamp, a fake chimney and a tape player with train sound effects]].
126* ChairReveal: Murdock's back is seen for about a minute behind Hannibal and Face in "Members Only" before he turns around. They are at a very upscale country club where Face is trying hard to become a member, and Murdock is there as a guest of his doctor.
127* ChallengeSeeker: The entire team is "on the jazz", a term that B.A. coined for someone addicted to the thrill of living on the edge, which is why they do mercenary work instead of just getting themselves new identities and disappearing.
128%%* ChaseScene: At ''least'' one per episode.
129* ChickMagnet: Face can attract women even when he's trying to focus on someone else.
130* ChineseLaunderer: One of Hannibal's most-referenced comic disguises was that of an old-timey Chinese launderer.
131* CigarFuseLighting:
132** In one episode, the team jury-rig a flamethrower, but fail to jury-rig a pilot light. Instead the instructions are: throw the cigar in front of you, then open up.
133** In ''Without Reservations'', Hannibal gets an idea when he sees a gas stove and leaves it running, then throws his lit cigar in the kitchen as a distraction.
134* ClearMyName: The premise of the fifth season, though it never came to be before the show was canceled.
135** This is also what forced the team into hiding. "The Crime They Didn't Commit" was eventually revealed to be a bank robbery in Hanoi, Vietnam, which they were in fact ordered to do, but the man who gave them the order was killed and all evidence of his orders destroyed.
136** In the fifth season premiere, they ''were'' cleared of the robbery when [[spoiler: a former Vietnamese colonel testified in their court-martial that their commanding officer sent them to rob a bank in order for them to be captured by the North Vietnamese]]. Of course, by that time [[spoiler: the A-Team was being tried for the murder of their commanding officer]].
137* ClipShow: The episode "Curtain Call" has several of the main characters remember scenes from previous episodes. Also qualifies as ADayInTheLimelight for Murdock, since many the scenes involves Capt. Murdock (who's been seriously injured).
138* ClothingDamage: Played for laughs in "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E22TheLittleTownWithAnAccent The Little Town With an Accent]]". To impersonate a gangster and infiltrate a meeting, the team kidnap him and send Murdock in with his clothes. The gangster escapes and blows Murdock's cover in the middle of the meeting, but stops people from shooting him so as to not damage his clothes.
139* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Murdock. It's never made entirely clear whether he's actually insane or just acting so he can keep living in the Veterans Administration Hospital. One way or the other, he's a textbook example of a Cloudcuckoolander, which B.A. absolutely hates.
140* ColonelBadass: "Hannibal", in this case, has nothing to do with the {{Serial Killer}}, but rather the Carthaginian general who almost brought down the Roman Republic. This Hannibal is that good. "I love it when a plan comes together."
141** Colonel Decker, the second Colonel who tries to catch the team and somewhat more competent than Lynch. He was picked for the job because of his unorthodox warfare techniques.
142* ComicBookAdaptation: Creator/MarvelComics put out a short-lived comic based on the Amy Allen era. The British magazine ''Look-In'' ran one.
143* ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike:
144** In "The Only Church In Town" the Mother Superior of the orphanage the team saves is quite unhappy with the Team using force to drive off the bandits terrorizing them. [[spoiler:This is because the bandits are just a small squad from a much larger gang and angering them means the rest of the gang will return and try to destroy the orphanage.]]
145** In "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E20HarderThanItLooks Harder Than It Looks]]" when the team rescues a girl from the terrorist group holding her hostage she fights them every step of the way and even holds them at gunpoint and demands they take her back. [[spoiler:Her boyfriend is a member of the group, who has been questioning their methods and she knows the group's leaders are just looking for an excuse to off him. She's worried they'll think he helped her escape and kill him.]]
146** In "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E21DeadlyManuevers Deadly Maneuvers]]", Murdock borrows one of B.A.'s necklaces (a sharp crescent moon) to cut their ropes and free them. In the process he inadvertently implies that B.A. is fat and also accidentally breaks the gold chain to the necklace, both of which B.A. complains about.
147** In "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E12HotStyles Hot Styles]]" a large part of the plot revolves around the DamselInDistress's unwillingness to let Face and his friends save her. [[spoiler:It turns out the villain is also holding her young son, and she's afraid he'll be hurt if she tries to escape.]]
148* ConMan: Face's profession when the team doesn't have a job on hand, and he puts those skills to (literal) good use when they are on a job.
149* ConsultingMisterPuppet: Murdock sometimes converses with a sock puppet. Another great way of annoying B.A.
150* CoolAndUnusualPunishment:
151** The episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E19MovingTargets Moving Targets]]" has the team knocking out B.A. (again) so they can get on a plane. This time however they're in the middle of a mission, so they can't wait for him to calm down. Hannibal decides that the only way to solve the problem is to let B.A. take his revenge on them after the mission is over, which Face and Murdock are horrified about. B.A. is creepily cheerful throughout the rest of the episode, and the Team dreads what he'll do to them. Finally, when it's all over, B.A. prepares to punish them. He lines them all up and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls them out on their flaws and why they annoy him]]. B.A. also reveals that instead of flying back, he's chartered a boat. As part of their payment, the rest of the team has to help with the upkeep as well as repaint the whole thing. The team decides they would've preferred if he had just beaten them up.
152** Also used to interrogate a villain in "Mind Games". Murdock, as the CasanovaWannabe "Hunk Man" offers to charm the information they want from the enemy. Hannibal suggests that this would be equally as torturous as simply letting B.A. beat the crap out of the guy.
153%%* CoolCar
154%%** Their black van with custom red trim.
155%%** Face's white Corvette with the big red stripe counts, too.
156* CouldHaveBeenMessy:
157** Every episode has a scene where the A-Team and their opponents exchange billions of rounds of gunfire. It is a very rare thing when anyone actually gets shot.
158** Averted in the season four finale. [[spoiler: Fullbright is fatally wounded by a Vietnamese general as the team makes their escape, and Hannibal retaliates by blowing up the shed he was in]].
159** Well, there are the two times in which [[spoiler: Murdock and Face]] get shot, but both times, only a single bullet is fired.
160** And in the first scene of the episode "Pros and Cons" (involving illegal prison fights), the warden strides up to the loser and points a gun at him - we don't see what happens next, but a rematch is unlikely.
161* CovertDistressCode: "Red Ball One" and "Bag is Leaking" mean "big trouble" and "one of the team took some lead" as explained to Amy by Murdock, who receives the code from the team.
162* CowboyEpisode: "When You Comin' Back, Range Rider?", parts [[Recap/TheATeamS2E5WhenYouCominBackRangeRiderPartI one]] and two. The whole episode is partially played out like a Western, with the team dressing up like cowboys, using smaller guns, and stopping Bus' train. Murdock, as the Range Rider, especially plays it up, much to B.A.'s annoyance.
163%%* CrazyEnoughToWork: It wouldn't be ''The A-Team'' without it.
164* CutPhoneLines: Examples: Season 1 ep. 6, "Black Day at Bad Rock" where bikers cut down a pole and Season 2 ep. 10, "Water Water Everywhere", where phone lines at a water plant are cut.
165* DestructiveSaviour: Very much so. The millions of dollars worth of property damage the A-Team causes ''per episode'' would be enough for them to be considered criminals even if they weren't already wanted by the government.
166* DiegeticSwitch: As the team decorates their own restaurant in an ATeamMontage in "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E15TheBigSqueeze The Big Squeeze]]", they bring in a piano, Faceman continues the background music on it, which starts again after he stops.
167* DirtyCop: Roughly three out of every four small town sheriff's departments in the country appear to be in the pocket of the Villain of the Week. The fourth is generally too small to do anything about the Villain of the Week. This generally serves to explain why someone needs to call in the A-Team.
168* DirtyCoward: Charles Lake in "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E3WhereIsTheMonsterWhenYouNeedHim Where Is The Monster When You Need Him?]]" Even given the situation, being held captive by a foreign war criminal, he's still takes it a bit far.
169-->'''Charles:''' Maybe if we tell him we'll do anything he wants, promise not to tell on him. He seems like a reasonable man, if we beg him maybe. Jenny can go to him, convince him!\
170'''Face:''' [[SarcasmMode Charles, don't you think you're working this "heroic leading man" thing too much?]]
171* DisguisedInDrag: Happens several times on the show. In "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E12TillDeathDoUsPart Till Death Do Us Part]]", Murdock dresses like the bride while the team helps the real bride escape. At the beginning of "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E11OneMoreTime One More Time]]", Hannibal dresses like an old woman for one of his monster movies and is then chased by Lynch while still wearing his disguise.
172* DistressedDude: Face gets captured, beaten, and tied up with some frequency, though that doesn't necessarily mean he won't have freed himself by the time the rest of the team arrives.
173%%* TheDitz: Gas station attendant Kelvin in "The Little Town with an Accent" is somewhere between this and NoSocialSkills.
174* DoubleDate: "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E21TheTroubleWithHarry The Trouble With Harry]]" features Face and Murdock attempting to go on a date with identical twins. It goes off the rails when Hannibal calls needing their assistance with the case.
175* DubNameChange:
176** B.A. Baracus's first name and nickname was changed in several countries:
177*** In Latin America is called Mario Baracus [[TheDanza and is voiced by Mario Sauret]].
178*** For the French, B.A. is Barracuda.
179*** In Italian, to keep the "bad attitude" pun, it's P.E. Baracus (short for "pessimo elemento", that is, "bad element").
180*** In Japanese, B.A. Baracus keeps his original name, but is nicknamed "Kong". This is made clear in the opening credits, where each Japanese voice actor would do a short self-introduction (in character) when their character appeared on the screen. B.A.'s opening line translates as "B.A. Baracus, AKA Kong!"
181** Templeton Peck's nickname "Face" was also changed in several countries:
182*** In Latin America it was downplayed, as they named him "''Faz''", which besides sounding similar is actually Spanish for "face", albeit it was said to be a play on how "''Faz''" sounds similar to the "fas" in "''fascinador''" ("fascinater").
183*** In Spain, his nickname was "''Fénix''" ("Phoenix").
184*** In Italy he was called "''Sberla''" ("Slap"), standing for "''Faccia da Sberle''" ("Slapface"), an Italian slang for a lovable scoundrel.
185*** In Brazil, his nickname was "Cara-de-Pau" (literally "Wooden face"), a Portuguese slang for "cheeky", "daring" or even "asshole".
186*** In Poland, "''Buźka''" ("Cute face").
187*** In France, "''futé''", which means "smart".
188*** In Hungary, his name was "''Szépfiú''" ("Pretty boy").
189*** In Russia, his name was "Красавчик", which stands for "handsome".
190*** In Korea, his name was "멋쟁이", which stands for "handsome" or "stylish".
191*** In Taiwan, his name was "小白", as in "小白臉", literally "little white face", a phrase used to describe a good-looking, pampered, and sleek man.
192* EmotionalBruiser: B.A's a tough, intimidating ScaryBlackMan but is often shown as a friend of little children.
193* EpisodeOnAPlane: "The Beast from the Belly of a Boeing", as the name could imply, is about a hostage situation taking place on a flying Boeing in which the team are part of the hostages.
194%%* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler: Chuck]] in "Members Only".
195* EvilCounterpart: The fake A-Team in "Showdown!", which only consisted of three members (there was no counterpart of Murdock, which offended him).
196* EvenEvilHasStandards:
197** In the two-parter "The Bend In The River". The river pirate El Cajón is fine with sinking boats, robbing the passengers, and selling them into slavery. But then [[spoiler: he discovers that his "business partners" are actually Nazi diehards who are trying to rebuild the Third Reich, prompting him to pull an instant HeelFaceTurn]].
198** Mob boss Crazy Tommy Tillis in the episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E11Steel Steel]]" - whose list of crimes shown in the episode includes murder, tax evasion, and destruction of property - has this reaction upon discovering Face's propensity for cons. Face even lampshades it.
199--> '''Tillis:''' ''(After discovering a bunch of fake business cards in Face's wallet.)'' Either you have a real problem holding down a job, or you're some kind of con artist. And let me tell you, I ''hate'' con artists, always trying to turn people off of their life savings.\
200'''Face:''' Yeah, I guess it's not an honest crime like gambling or drug dealing.
201** Also the mercenary Insane Wayne from "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E17WaitingForInsaneWayne Waiting For Insane Wayne]]." Upon hearing that his target is already dead and the target's teenage son is the new target he initially refuses to take the job, and only changes his mind when he learns the A-Team is involved.
202--> '''Wayne:''' A 15-year old kid? I'm sorry, chief. Me and my men don't raid nurseries.
203%%* EveryCarIsAPinto: But we always see the goons crawling away, safe and sound.
204* TheFace: They don't call him "Faceman" for nothing.
205* FailedASpotCheck: Has happened a few times to the team, most notably in "Incident at Crystal Lake." Face comes across a woman stranded on the side of the road whose car battery supposedly died hours ago... except she's blasting her car radio when he shows up. Face completely fails to pick up on this and nearly falls into Colonel Decker's trap as a result.
206* FakeoutEscape: Hannibal effects an escape by hiding under his bunk and deceiving his captors into believing he has escaped; they leave the cell door open, and he makes a break for it.
207* FingertipDrugAnalysis: Members of the team usually do this if they find out that the case of the week is drug-related. Played for laughs in "In Plane Sight" when Murdock goes to do this, but accidentally sneezes into one bag.
208* FlatlinePlotline: The team is executed by firing squad at the start of the last season. It doesn't take.
209* FlawExploitation: In "Deadly Maneuvers", the mercenaries hired to exterminate the A-Team exploit Face's weakness for a pretty girl, Murdock's love of animals, and B.A.'s love of milk to capture them.
210* ForWantOfANail: Face and Murdock get kidnapped and tortured by gangsters ''three times'' over the course of one episode because Murdock answered Face's car phone.
211* FriendshipMoment: With the heroes of the series being a BandOfBrothers, it's not exactly surprising when there are moments affirming how they feel about each other.
212** In "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E9HolidayInTheHills Holiday in the Hills]]", B.A. makes sure to tell Murdock to be careful with the makeshift plane they cobbled together, as it's not as durable as what he's used to.
213--->'''Murdock''' ''[in an accent]'': I didn't know you cared, sweetheart! ''[pulling him closer]'' [[SincerityMode Thanks, B.A.]]
214--->'''B.A.''' ''(smiling)'': Don't thank me. Just keep it off the trees.
215** The episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E23CurtainCall Curtain Call]]" -- from [[VitriolicBestBuds B.A.]] looking after the injured Murdock, to Hannibal telling him that "[[NoOneGetsLeftBehind we go out together or we don't go out at all]]", to Face risking getting caught by Decker to get the medical supplies needed to keep Murdock alive -- is a long list of moments that demonstrate how much the other members of the group care about their crazy teammate.
216* FriendToAllChildren: B.A., amazingly enough. He may be a big, tough guy who can easily smack down the villains of the week, but he loves kids, and they seem to love him as well.
217* FromCamouflageToCriminal: the government's official position on them, which is whey they need to clear themselves of the original charges.
218* TheFunInFuneral: [[spoiler: Hannibal's faux]] funeral in "The Big Squeeze". Murdock at first believes it to be a wedding, and later plays "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" on the organ, complete with the upbeat ending normally heard at a ballgame. The funeral ends with the "deceased" taken out inside a coffin to the hearse with the guests ''smiling and laughing''. [[spoiler:This is because Jack showed up just to spit in the supposedly-dead Sean O'Shea's face, only to get stuffed in the coffin himself.]]
219%%* FruitCart
220* GameShowAppearance: "Wheel of Fortune" has Murdock appearing on, well, ''Series/WheelOfFortune''.
221* GeneralRipper: General "Bull" Fulbright and Colonel Decker, both chosen to take on the A-Team because of their willingness to use unscrupulous tactics to secure victory.
222-->'''B.A.:''' Yeah, Hannibal and this guy mixed it up once in the Doom Club.\
223[...]\
224'''Amy:''' What, he didn't like the way you sugared his coffee?\
225'''Hannibal:''' No, I didn't like the way he blew up Cong hospitals like it was his favorite sport.
226* GenreBlind: Loan shark Jack Lane in "The Big Squeeze." He ends the episode firmly on his boss's hit list, but even so it's curious how a moron like him managed to become a kingpin's lieutenant to begin with.
227* GentleGiant: B.A. Baracus is a towering mountain of a man, but is impeccably polite whenever women and kids are present.
228* GoneHorriblyRight: A [[PlayedForLaughs humorous]] example from "Mind Games"; Face, irritated at Murdock refusing to give back his role on the team (Murdock had taken it over when Face was released on an apparent government pardon), starts doing a "Howling Mad Murdock" impression. Unfortunately, that's when the V.A. staff arrive, and with Face acting cuckoo and wearing Murdock's clothes, they can't tell that he ''isn't'' Murdock and drag him out the door.
229* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: The A-Team can never take public credit for what they do, because doing so would provide the military police with a data point that would help track them down.
230* HandsomeLech: Face. It helps that he's an awesome ConMan who tends to scam his way into penthouses, so he can make women believe he's rich and powerful.
231* HeelFaceTurn: General "Bull" Fullbright, while admittedly a HeroAntagonist, verged into GeneralRipper territory, being down to using unscrupulous tactics to capture the team (and even ignore an episode's bad guys and main conflict in the way), but he managed to become sympathetic of the team shortly before he was KilledOffForReal.
232* HellholePrison: The prison in "Pros and Cons." The warden encourages fighting in order to scout out candidates for the fight program. Those that do good enough are separated, trained, and [[FinishHim forced to fight to death]]. Even for prisoners who can't fight it doesn't seem to be a great place. It's not a very safe prison (thanks to the aforementioned "encouraged fighting") plus the warden apparently [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking thinks letting the prisoners get their hair cut is "coddling."]]
233* HeroAntagonist: Colonel Lynch, Colonel Decker, and General Fullbright, along with their units. Though they oppose the A-Team they're not evil or corrupt - they're good soldiers who honestly believe that the A-Team are dangerous criminals who must be brought to justice ([[DestructiveSavior which is not an unreasonable belief]]).
234* HighAltitudeInterrogation: In "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E12UncleBuckleUp Uncle Buckle-up]]", the team interrogate a mook by having BA hold him over a cliff above the carnivore pit at a zoo.
235* HiredGuns: The eponymous team, of course. As the opening narration declares, "If no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team."
236* HollywoodLaw: At the start of "Pros And Cons", a man is released from prison by the corrupt Warden for winning an illegal pit fight, then is officially declared as escaped by the sheriff, who deputizes some of the Warden's customers from the fight club to hunt him down and bring him back. They are later shown recapturing him, prompting Baracas to get the A-Team to do a rescue. A posse deputized by a county sheriff in Florida would have no legal authority in Los Angeles, and having private citizens attempting to chase a fugitive literally across the entire country would invite questions by every law enforcement agency in all the intermediate states as to why they haven't called in the US Marshall Service, and tracking down fugitives is their job.
237* {{Homage}}:
238** In the fifth season episode "[[Series/TheManFromUNCLE The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair]]" the series paired [[Creator/RobertVaughn Robert "Napoleon Solo" Vaughn]] (playing regular character General Hunt Stockwell) with former co-star [[Creator/DavidMcCallum David "Illya Kuryakin" [=McCallum=]]].
239** The episode "The Spy who Mugged Me", with Murdock posing as a Film/JamesBond-like spy in a Monte Carlo casino.
240* HonestJohnsDealership: One of these pops up in season 2's "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E19ChoppingSpree Chopping Spree]]"; the owner runs a literal used car dealership. As part of the operation, Face goes there to work as one of the villain's salesmen. Suffice it to say, he does very very well.
241* HypercompetentSidekick: Jack Lane's assistant. While he takes his job seriously, he's more rational about approaches and tries to stop Jack from doing reckless things against Hannibal because of his constant trolling, which he's proven right ''twice''. It's no surprise when their boss puts him in Jack's position later.
242* IceCreamKoan: Hannibal in his disguise as Irish pub owner Sean O'Shea rapid-fires these at everybody in "The Big Squeeze."
243--> '''Hannibal:''' As me dear departed father used to say, "always listen to the flow of the river and you'll always catch a trout."\
244'''Villain:''' What the Hell is that supposed to mean?\
245'''Hannibal:''' I don't know. Never figured it out, but I've always liked it.
246* IHaveManyNames: While the whole team had a ton of aliases, Face takes the cake for most names, even without counting aliases. According to the episode "Mind Games"...
247-->"Actually, your name was originally Alvin Brenner. You had it legally changed to Al Brennan, then to Al Peck. ...then to Holmes Morrison, then Morrison Holmes, and ''then'' to Templeton Peck."
248* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair", in which Robert Vaughn is kidnapped by his "former partner" David [=McCallum=].
249* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Murdock, of the "If it flies..." variety. So long as it can fly, he can pilot it like a pro. And that's not taking into account that he's insane (admittedly, the series never made it clear if this was a case of ObfuscatingInsanity or not, but if it was an act, he certainly didn't bother to turn it off while flying).
250* ImprobableWeaponUser: The A-Team has welded together and used weapons ranging from soda cannons to cabbage guns. These are always more efficient than the machine guns their opponents typically use against them (or vice-versa, for that matter).
251* InconvenientlyVanishingExoneratingEvidence: A larger scale version twice to the A-Team.
252** The team were ordered by their commanding officer Morrison to rob the bank of Hanoi as part of a secret mission, but he was then killed in an artillery strike. Since the mission wasn't public knowledge, the only people who knew the Team weren't just bank robbers were the Team themselves.
253** The second was when it was revealed Morrison had been a traitor and had sent them in to be ambushed and killed, which gave them motive for Morrison's death. The witness who could prove that they weren't responsible ends up being killed by his criminal partners before the truth could come out.
254* InspectorJavert: The team always had a [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-intentioned]] military law enforcement officer who honestly (if wrongly) believes that the team are bad guys and [[{{Determinator}} doggedly pursues them]] in a SternChase, seeking to get them. They were:
255** Colonel Lynch in Season 1, with a one-shot return in Season 3.
256** Colonel Decker in Seasons 2, 3 and the early episodes of season 4. Decker crosses into IneffectualSympatheticVillain territory, as he was the one who was most consistently a failure at catching them, and because of it never gets any respect from other characters.
257** TemporarySubstitute Colonel Briggs in a single Season 3 episode.
258** General Fullbright in Season 4.
259* InstantExpert: According to Murdock, one day at the V.A. hospital he had a sudden and terrible migraine headache and by the time it passed he could read and speak fluent Mandarin.
260* InstantSedation: The team's most common method to get B.A. ready for air travel. No matter the method, he ''always'' goes out like a light in just a few seconds.
261* IrishPriest: Faceman is disguised as Father Sean O'Herlihy in "Lease with an Option to Die".
262* IShallTauntYou: An implied example occurs in "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E6WhenYouCominBackRangeRiderPartII When You Comin' Back, Range Rider?]]"; Face comments that B.A. must be getting "weak" if he can't break the rope they're tied with. B.A. breaks them quickly afterwards.
263* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: The season five episode "The Say UNCLE Affair" reunites Creator/RobertVaughn with his ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' costar Creator/DavidMcCallum, playing General Stockwell's former ally.
264* IWillShowYouX: B.A. would often respond in this way to whatever nonsense Murdock was spouting. Some of them barely made sense, but Murdock didn't always give him much to work with, and B.A. doesn't like to mince words.
265* KansasCityShuffle:
266** In "Till Death Do Us Part", Hannibal brings back hamburgers for the team and the woman they've rescued. B.A., having heard them talking about flying, looks at his burger with suspicion and switches with Murdock. Murdock takes a few bites and falls over, apparently sedated. B.A., confident in having outwitted his teammates, takes a bite of Murdock's burger...and falls over himself, whereupon Murdock pops up and asks, "How did I do?"
267** B.A. is aware of this in another episode, as he continuously switches hamburgers with his team by guessing what Hannibal would be thinking at that point. He eats the drugged burger after deciding that the last burger which would have the drug in it would be the one he started with.
268** Murdock, while working as a waiter in an Italian restaurant and standing in for the pizza chef, is held hostage by mobsters who are planning to kill an attorney general due to arrive. When B.A. comes in to order a pizza while unaware of the crisis, the mobsters find out about Murdock's fairly standard attempt to call for help after finding a help request written on a paper napkin. What they didn't know was that the real message was the ''pizza'' that B.A. just walked off with, since he wrote 'HELP' on it with anchovies. Bonus points for Murdock probably knowing that B.A. hates anchovies, otherwise he and Hannibal would've eaten the message.
269* KarmicInjury: In "It's a Desert Out There", When the Scorpions fall into the trap the A-Team laid for them. Hannibal explicitly mentions their leader punching Max and punches him in the same place.
270* KilledOffForReal: For a series where people miraculously survive sprays of bullets or at best have close calls (and even then, very sporadically so), General Harlan "Bull" Fullbright, who had been a consistent InspectorJavert for the team in Season 4 getting killed in the Season 4 finale "The Sound of Thunder" certainly stuck out.
271* KlingonPromotion: In "The Rabbit That Ate Las Vegas", the team pretends to be a government hit squad threatening a Vegas mob boss to get him to release a man he'd taken prisoner. Then one of the boss' lieutenants takes advantage of the fact that someone had openly threatened to kill the boss to kill the man himself and blame it on the team.
272* KnightErrant: A team of Knights Errant, in fact. The team offer their services to anyone, actively seeking wrongs to right, and seldom hesitate to get involved when they run into one.
273* LampshadeHanging: At the end of "The Crystal Skull", the natives are clearly chanting [[WhoWritesThisCrap "Who wrote this?]] [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Who wrote this?"]]
274** Also in "Steel", when Murdock and Face arrive at a construction scene, where Hannibal and B.A. are duking it out with some goons, Face casually takes off his coat, rolls his eyes, and remarks that this should be predictable by now.
275* LargeHam: Murdock is a ridiculously larger-than-life character, quite often. They don't call him "Howling Mad" for nothing.
276* LastBreathBullet: Murdock takes a mook's last breath bullet as the premise of "Curtain Call". It occurs in a BatmanColdOpen.
277* LetsGetDangerous: Murdock's usually crazy, but when he drops the act and gets serious he becomes even more awesome.
278* LetsYouAndHimFight: In "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E2MexicanSlayridePartII Mexican Slayride Part II]]", the people in the bar who the team gets into a fight with trying to learn Massey's whereabouts are actually good guys as well, but nobody realizes they're on the same side until after they've fought and B.A. and Hannibal have been punched out.
279* LifeSavingMisfortune: A non-fatal variation in the episode "Holiday in the Hills". Near the beginning of the episode, the team crashes thanks to Murdock having stolen their plane off a repair lot. Some of them, especially B.A., are not at all happy about this. Then, near the end of the episode, the team narrowly escapes Col. Lynch and realizes that, had they not crashed, they would have been right on time to fall into his trap.
280* LockingMacGyverInTheStoreCupboard: The A-Team tends to get locked in barns or garages full of machinery and explosive things. To the point where the trope could just as easily have ended up being named "Locking the A-Team in the Machine Shop" and been just as easily understandable.
281** Lampshaded in one episode by Hannibal.
282---> '''Hannibal:''' ''(after a giant truck of destruction has burst out of a shed)'' Where, exactly, did you lock up my team?
283---> '''Bad Guy:''' In the old equipment shed.
284---> '''Hannibal:''' [[SarcasmMode What an original idea. I wonder where you came up with that one]].
285** Also lampshaded in one of the novelizations, when Hannibal notices how often the bad guys lock them in a room that has everything they need for them to escape.
286** Perhaps the most bizarre example of this is the episode ''The Heart of Rock and Roll'', where the team is captured inside a prison, yet are inexplicably locked up in an unguarded workshop. The guards don't even bother handcuffing them.
287* LunaticLoophole: A non-fatal variation; Murdock occasionally ends up being the only member of the team to escape arrest.
288* MacGyvering: Generally once an episode, involving vehicles. One episode had them locked in a cell with nothing of use at first glance, so what do they use to get out? [[spoiler:''the beds!'']]
289* MetallicarSyndrome: Since their van had a custom paint job, the authorities should have spotted them a lot more often than they did. Face [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] this in the Season 2 episode "Steel" when Hannibal tells him to keep tailing the episode's villain in his Corvette, which was white with black trim and a bright red stripe along the sides. Face says that the villain will definitely be able to tell he's been following him.
290* MiscarriageOfJustice: Pretty much the whole background. The team are former soldiers that were framed for a crime they didn't commit and became fugitives as a result.
291* MistakenForGay: B.A. jokes about this when Hannibal uses a mirror to apply makeup to fake an injury. He's less jocular when a neighborhood block captain/survivalist sees four men living together.
292-->He ain't talking about what I think he's talking about.
293* MoreDakka: The team's M.O. is to unload as many rounds of ammunition at the problem at hand as possible. Hell, the show's name is written with it in the title sequence.
294* TheMostWanted: The series is about a group of former soldiers that were FrameUp for a crime they didn't commit and were expulsed. After that, they were chased by the army and now act as an undercover group helping people in need, becoming US' most wanted team.
295%%* MrFanservice: Face. He probably also counts as a ParentalBonus since the show was technically aimed at children.
296* MrSmith: Mentioned with regards to a CIA agent's obvious alias in "Mind Games."
297--> '''Hannibal:''' Nobody's named "John Jones."
298** Which becomes HypocriticalHumor when you remember that Hannibal's actual name is literally John Smith.
299* MrViceGuy: Face is even more prone to try to live large than the rest of the team, does cons even between assignments, is a big-time womanizer, and a few times during the show needs to remind Hannibal that they are ''mercenaries'' (in the sense that they ''are'' doing the deed of the day for ''some'' amount of money). Still is a pretty reliable member of the team.
300* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Done by Murdock while impersonating Italian billionaire playboy Giancarlo Figorrati in the episode "Blood, Sweat, and Cheers."
301-->'''Murdock:''' Dove è il barbiere più vicino? [[note]]Where is the nearest barber?[[/note]]\
302'''Girl:''' Oh, what did you say, Giancarlo?\
303'''Face:''' Ah, he said "your hair is lovely in this light."\
304'''Girl:''' Oh, he's so cute!
305* MythologyGag: The episode where a Cylon from ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'' walks by on a movie set. Incorporated into the opening theme from season 3 onwards.
306* NitroExpress: There was an episode where they were transporting dynamite - which is not normally volatile until/unless it has a blasting cap attached - but it was really really hot and as a result the sticks of dynamite were sweating nitroglycerin.
307* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: In "Members Only" there's a brief appearance by a film executive named "Jeff Sikorski," a dead ringer for Creator/MartinScorsese.
308* NobodyCanDie: Since it was classified as a children's show[[note]](not that that kept the censors in some countries, like the UK, from getting the scissors out)[[/note]], you have the ridiculous premise in which the A-Team amasses a massive arsenal of machine guns and weaponry, faces off against a similarly armed force, exchanges thousands of bullets -- '''and everyone lives'''. It wasn't until the series 4 finale that a recurring character actually ''died'' on camera. Discussion ''of'' a death was permitted, and you see at least two people executed (with GoryDiscretionShot at the ready), at least in the first couple of seasons.
309** Averted in "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E7TheRabbitWhoAteLasVegas The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas]]", Gianni Christian's second in command pushes him out a window (we see him plummet into a fountain several stories below) and he's actively reported to be dead. Unfortunately, the A-Team gets blamed for it.
310** Also averted in "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E17Skins Skins]]". In the opening, park ranger Kim comes upon a group of poachers. When their attempt to bribe him fails, they shoot him, and the viewer sees his body fall to the ground.
311** Related to this, in cases where death would be expected, such as car crashes, there is always a shot of the occupants getting out, apparently unharmed. Made ridiculous with particularly rough crashes, and [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat an exploding helicopter]].
312* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: "Diamonds 'n' Dust" takes place in Zulabwe, Africa, standing in for Zimbabwe. It has a significant population of European descent, some speaking with a Commonwealth accent, [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent some with an American one]]. Cities Bulawayo and Salisbury (the latter already renamed to Harare at the airing of the episode) were harmed through a mention in the episode.
313* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: In one episode, a helicopter crashes against a cliff, explodes, falls down, explodes again... and then bad guys crawl out from it.
314* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: The team establishes this as early as the second episode, "Children of Jamestown". The entire team gets captured by the villains of the week, except for Murdock, who was airlifting their client and the girl they were sent in to rescue out of the area when the van was disabled. Murdock immediately makes it clear to the other two that as soon as he gets them clear, he's going to arm his chopper and fly back to rescue the team, and makes good on that promise.
315* {{Novelization}}: There were ''ten'' books published in the 1980s; some (the first book just called ''The A-Team'' (was an adaptation of the pilot (generally shown in syndication in [[Recap/TheATeamS1E1MexicanSlayridePartI two]] [[Recap/TheATeamS1E2MexicanSlayridePartII parts]].), ''[[Recap/TheATeamS2E5WhenYouCominBackRangeRiderPartI When You Comin' Back]], [[Recap/TheATeamS2E6WhenYouCominBackRangeRiderPartII Range Rider?]]'', ''[[Recap/TheATeamS3E2TheBendInTheRiverPartI The Bend In]] [[Recap/TheATeamS3E3TheBendInTheRiverPartII The River]]'') were based on double-length episodes (shown in two parts in syndication), others blended together two basically unrelated episodes (''Small But Deadly Wars'' welded "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E5ASmallAndDeadlyWar A Small And Deadly War]]" and "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E6BlackDayAtBadRock Black Day At Bad Rock]]," ''Old Scores To Settle'' used "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E2RecipeForHeavyBread Recipe For Heavy Bread]]" and "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E3TheOnlyChurchInTown The Only Church In Town]]," ''Bullets, Bikinis And Bells'' was based on "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E1BulletsAndBikinis Bullets And Bikinis]]" and "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E11TheBellsOfStMarys The Bells Of St. Mary's]]"). Only one book was based on one standard-length episode (''Death Vows'', based on "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E12TillDeathDoUsPart Till Death Do Us Part]]") and only one wasn't based on an episode at all - ''Operation Desert Sun: The Untold Story'', the sixth in the series and the last to be published in both the US and the UK (the rest were UK-only). For those keeping count, the other two were ''Ten Percent of Trouble'' ("[[Recap/TheATeamS2E11Steel Steel]]" and "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E13TheMalteseCow The Maltese Cow]]") and ''Backwoods Menace'' ("[[Recap/TheATeamS3E5Timber Timber!]]" and "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E3ChildrenOfJamestown Children Of Jamestown]]").
316* ObfuscatingInsanity: Murdock. Combines with ObfuscatingStupidity to make his awesome moments of competence seem even more awesome. He's probably one of the supreme users of this trope.
317** Murdock did it so well that it was unclear whether or not he actually was so traumatized by Vietnam that he did go insane, he was always like this, or it was all an act to throw people off and to get a free place to live.
318*** One episode had Murdock discharged by his doctor, claiming he was never insane. Without his particular character trait, Murdock essentially spends the episode moping but acting reasonable. When he goes back to the hospital to gather his things, he finds out the doctor had gone insane and was releasing patients because of it. [[StatusQuoIsGod Murdock quickly and happily goes back into the insanity ward]], doing so while doing a ham Richard Burton impersonation to boot!
319* ObfuscatingStupidity: Murdock is [[SouthernFriedGenius extremely smart]], but generally plays dumb to keep people underestimating him. He does this so well, that even Face -- though not Hannibal -- who knows him well, will fall into underestimating him[[note]]See "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E16SayItWithBullets Say It With Bullets]]" and "The Taxicab Wars"[[/note]].
320* OddFriendship:
321** Face and Murdock. The insane, delusional, wise-cracking pilot and the suave, handsome, unrepentant Con Man probably shouldn't be best friends, but they are. Then again, they're both chameleon-like tricksters during scams. In fact, of the whole team, they're probably the most alike. You just can't tell at first glance.
322** Murdock and B.A. Murdock's the Ace Pilot in the team; B.A.'s afraid of flying. And that's just the start of their differences. At the end of the day, however, each has the other's back without reservation. Really brought to the fore by the 3rd episode of the 5th season, where Murdock thought the other three had been killed by firing squad, and when he discovers they're alive, B.A. is the first one he rushes to and hugs - and B.A. returns the hug (though he quickly adds "Never thought I'd be happy to see you"). Lampshaded by the song "Opposites Attract" being played over a {{Montage}} of the two of them at the end of "Curtain Call."
323--->''We're opposites''
324--->''We're idiots''
325--->''But we're still friends.''
326* OldBeggarTest: A non-magical variation in "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E1MexicanSlayridePartI Mexican Slayride Part I]]". Hannibal tests Amy's character by appearing to her as a beggar who needs money. Amy has compassion on the beggar, which helps convince Hannibal that she's a good person.
327* {{Omniglot}}: Murdock can speak several languages, claiming that one day he had a headache and could suddenly speak several Asian languages fluently. He also imitated various accents several times per episode.
328* OnceAnEpisode:
329** Hannibal, in disguise, contacts the [[WeHelpTheHelpless clients of the week]].
330** B.A. says about Murdock, "The fool is crazy." (Or some variation on that.)
331** The team breaks Murdock out of the insane asylum (until he's released in the final season).
332** B.A. gets tricked into being drugged so they can put him on a plane.
333** The team comes up with a plan that's CrazyEnoughToWork...
334** ...which involves Face pretending to be someone he's not...
335** There's a bit of MacGyvering in an ATeamMontage...
336** ... followed by a climactic FinalBattle featuring lots of ATeamFiring.
337** [[CatchPhrase "I love it when a plan comes together."]]
338** Other things that tend to happen a lot are Face jumping off the top of a van onto a bad guy, and Hannibal punching someone out and then putting a cigar in his mouth.
339* OnlyKnownByInitials: "B.A" Baracus (because of his nickname "Bad Attitude" and his real name "Bosco Albert") and "H.M." Murdock (because of his nickname "Howling Mad").
340* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Face is pretty much the only member of the A-Team who regularly goes by his real name. Hannibal rarely ever goes by John Smith, B.A. Baracus and H.M. Murdock never go by their full names either.
341* OpeningNarration:
342** The now-classic "Ten years ago, a crack commando unit was sent to court for a crime they didn't commit..."
343** The Japanese translation of the series, ''Tokko Yarou'' ("Tough Guys"), had a different narration that introduced each character (the narration changed after Amy left):
344-->['''Hannibal''']: ''We were members of a special attack force, well known in Vietnam. We were arrested by the authorities under false accusations but we managed to escape from prison and went underground. However, we were not the type of people to simply fester underground. We are a team of reckless men who are capable of anything, as long as we are well paid and the reason is justifiable; we make the impossible possible; we destroy great evils; we are the ''Tokkou Yarou'' A-Team!''\
345''I am the leader, Colonel John Smith. Also known as Hannibal. I am a master of disguise and an expert in ambush tactics. If it wasn't because I am such a gifted strategist, I wouldn't be the leader of such a strong team of veterans''\
346''I am Templeton Peck. Also known as Faceman. Women always surrender to my amazing looks. I can bluff my way through life and I can get you anything, from bras to missiles, you'll see!''\
347''I am Amy Amanda Allen, also known as Angel. I am the only woman in the team. Intelligence gathering is my speciality, with my pretty face and bright brain!''\
348''Heeey, sorry to keep you waiting! I am Murdock. Also known as Crazy Monkey. My skills as a pilot are second to none! An eccentric? A weird character? So what?"''\
349''I am B. A. Baracus, also known as Kong. I am a genius mechanic. I would even punch the President! But, just don't make me get on a plane!''\
350['''Hannibal''']: ''We challenge this unreasonable world. We are reliable and ubiquitous, the Tokkou Yarou A-Team! If you need any help, just call us any time.''
351* OppressiveImmigrationEnforcement: "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E4BadTimeOnTheBorder Bad Time On The Border]]" features Border Patrol Lieutenant Jack Taggart, who is secretly corrupt and in bed with a coyote named [[BadSamaritan Prince]] to run a HumanTrafficking ring, smuggling desperate Mexican immigrants across the border by promising them better lives, then robbing them of all their possessions and selling them as slave labour to local sweatshops. Taggart is so callous his only concern about sick immigrants dying is his loss of revenue.
352* OvertOperative: Quite often the team goes by their well known names instead of an alias, even when they're supposed to be undercover.
353* PaperThinDisguise: Some of Hannibal's 'disguises' are along the lines of a bad wig and maybe a moustache. Somehow it manages to fool even his fellow teammates from time to time.
354* ParentService:
355** Face for the moms. In Season 3, the showrunners seemed determined to show off his arms and legs as much as possible and even gave him his first ShirtlessScene in the season premiere.
356** Amy and Tawnia for the dads; while Amy was a bit more understated as she usually dressed practically for the occasion, Tawnia was more blatant, being always made up for the nines.
357* PeopleInRubberSuits: In-universe, most of Hannibal's acting jobs consist of ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon''-type {{B movie}}s, with him playing the monster in costume. This gets subverted in "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E11OneMoreTime One More Time]]", when Colonel Lynch tracks Hannibal to a movie set and arrests the monster, only to find that Hannibal was actually playing [[DisguisedInDrag the homeless bag lady getting attacked by the monster]].
358* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything:
359** In theory, The A-Team are a band of mercenaries who lease their skills out for cash so they can stay on the run. However, they never seem to ever participate in a job that's even slightly shady and they rarely seem to get paid for whatever they do.
360** Hannibal is a double example. Technically, he has a day job as an actor, but his work with the A-Team means that whenever he's seen around a movie set, he's usually pulled away by some business (much to the dismay of the other people on the set).
361* PityTheKidnapper: In "Bounty", when Murdock gets abducted by bounty hunters he manages to drive his kidnappers nuts before they even get back to their hideout. Even death threats don't manage to shut him up for long.
362-->'''Villain:''' What are you, nuts?!\
363'''Murdock:''' Of course I am! You got me from the psychiatric ward of a V.A. hospital, STUPID!
364* PlankGag: The standard "person carries long planks, turns around and accidentally hits somebody standing behind/next to them" gag happens during an ATeamMontage in "The Big Squeeze" while putting up restaurant props.
365* PleaseShootTheMessenger: In "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E2RecipeForHeavyBread Recipe for Heavy Bread]]", a former North Vietnamese soldier who helped the A-Team out was smuggled into the U.S. along with a note along these lines for the smuggler's accomplice. The murder attempt kick-starts the episode's plot.
366* PoliceAreUseless: Multiple episodes established this quickly to explain why the client of the week needed to approach the A-Team instead of the cops to deal with the villain of the week. The cops were usually just being bought off by the villain in question, though sometimes the cops ''were'' the villains. On other occasions the small local police agencies were simply overwhelmed and outgunned by the criminal element. This ended in the final season due to the change in format.
367* PoorlyTimedConfession: In Season 5 "Family Reunion", Murdock finds out partway through the episode that one of their clients for the episode, A.J. Bancroft, is Face's DisappearedDad. Bancroft begs Murdock to let him break the news, but he can never quite work up the nerve and dies before managing to do it. This leaves Murdock to tell Face about it. As Face has always been upset about never having a family growing up, he understandably does not react well.
368* PosthumousCharacter: Ray Brenner was a fifth member of the team in Vietnam whom the others remember in a heroic and respectful fashion. In a first season episode they risk capture to attend and take part in his funeral with full military honors. They quickly learn from his widow (guest star Creator/JoannaKerns) that he died trying to free his small hometown from a local outlaw family. They promptly seek revenge and justice for their fallen comrade.
369* PrisonEpisode: "Pros and Cons", involving illegal prison fights and team getting themselves arrested to infiltrate the prison.
370* PrisonersLastMeal: The show's fifth season begins with a three-part StoryArc where Hannibal, Face, and B.A. are captured, court martialed, and put on death row to be executed by firing squad. They're offered a last meal before the execution, but B.A. refuses it, prompting Face to point out that the last meal he ate will thereby be his last meal. [[spoiler: Through some clever manipulating on the parts of Murdock, Frankie, and Gen. Stockwell, the three men are let go on the condition that they join Stockwell's agency and perform high-risk {{Suicide Mission}}s in exchange for a [[ThePardon presidential pardon]]]].
371* ProWrestlingEpisode: "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E7BodySlam Body Slam]]" starred Wrestling/HulkHogan in a plot that made heavy use of Hogan's wrestling career (including footage from a 1984 match vs. Greg "the Hammer" Valentine, presented as legit), and featured several WWF faces as un-billed extras in a scene where they fight off that episode's villains. In the segment featuring the Hogan-Valentine match, the ending is altered to show the bad guys entering the arena to confront and assassinate Hogan (don't worry, they're stopped in time).
372* ProductPlacement: An odd case. The van was supplied by GMC, but the grille and emblems were then blacked out and obscured by a brushguard making it indistinguishable from a Chevrolet. Confusing things even more, the prop van used for [[ATeamMontage build montages]] ''was'' a Chevrolet, and the blacked out Chevy emblem could be clearly seen in certain shots.
373* PunchPunchPunchUhOh:
374** B.A. was the unusual protagonist example who'd let the mook get in a good punch or two before smiling, then defenestrating them. Inverted twice when B.A. met a giant Asian mook who could take ''his'' punches without flinching.
375** In "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E6DoubleHeat Double Heat]]", Face tries to punch out the guy who helped the kidnappers nab Jenny when he blocks his path. Unfortunately, the guy doesn't even flinch.
376* PunishmentBox: In the episode "Bad Time on the Border", Hannibal Smith is kept for some time in a box of corrugated scrap metal in the heat of the middle of the day.
377* PutOnABus:
378** Amy "Triple A" Allen, mid-season 2 with the explanation that she was sent overseas on an important assignment for the paper.
379** Tawnia beginning season 3, although she was at least given the dignity of being written out properly, as she married an explorer whom the team had rescued previously, and went on an around-the-world all-expenses honeymoon.
380%%* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The Mexican terrorists in the first episode, and the family holding Ray Brenner's town hostage in "A Nice Place to Visit."
381%%* RatedMForManly: As described by Dirk Benedict himself in an interview on the TV show ''Series/BringBack''.
382%%--> ''"It was a guy's show. It was male driven. It was written by guys. It was directed by guys. It was acted by guys. It's about what guys do. We talked the way guys talked. We were the boss. We were the God. We smoked when we wanted. We shot guns when we wanted. We kissed the girls and made them cry... when we wanted. It was the last truly masculine show."''
383* RedHerring: In the episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E19MovingTargets Moving Targets]]", the A-Team are hired to protect a sheikh's daughter on her way to her wedding, and the show makes a point of making it seem like the sheikh's head of security Jabar is a double agent, leaking security info to the rebels who want to kidnap the princess. [[spoiler:It turns out the inside "man" was Princess Selena herself, since she'd been seduced by the rebel leader, Kalem.]]
384* RedundantRescue: Face and Murdock are often captured or kidnapped, but pretty much always rescue themselves before the rest of the team arrives.
385* RevengeBeforeReason:
386** General Chow in "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E2RecipeForHeavyBread Recipe For Heavy Bread]]." He's one half of a highly profitable heroin smuggling operation, but he's willing to jeopardize the whole thing to get revenge on a cook who helped four prisoners escape from his POW camp ten years ago.
387** Garber from "[[Recap/TheATeams2E9TheresAlwaysACatch There's Always a Catch]]." Decker, who's made it clear he doesn't like Garber any more than Hannibal, has given him a chance to get away with no repercussions and ordered him to leave town. However, he can't resist stopping by to kill the Mayers and wreck their boat for causing him trouble.
388* RightUnderTheirNoses: Hannibal loves using the tactic of being in a place that's so near the enemy that nobody would expect them to be there. Notable examples include sneaking onto an army base in "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E16SayItWithBullets Say it with Bullets]]", and Hannibal impersonating a police officer in "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E13TheMalteseCow The Maltese Cow]]".
389* RunawayBride: "Till Death Do Us Part" has the team called in to rescue one being forced to marry against her will.
390* RuthlessModernPirates: "El Cajón" ("The Coffin") and his pirates in "The Bend in the River" are a group of modern-day pirates operating on the Amazon.
391* SawItInAMovieOnce: "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E13Breakout Breakout]]": When a couple of robbers coerce Murdock (at gunpoint) to drive the van to help them get away, and he employs some BadassDriver skills, he explains it as the result of film-watching:
392-->'''Robber:''' Where'd you learn to drive like ''that''?\
393'''Murdock:''' ''(deadpan)'' I saw ''Film/CannonballRun'' five times.
394* ScaryBlackMan: B.A. was played by large, African-American actor Mr. T and was nicknamed "Bad Attitude" for a reason. Some mooks (those who don't insist on BullyingADragon) are suitably cowed when he gets in their faces.
395* TheScrounger: Face's greatest specialty. In a NoodleIncident he even scrounged up a '53 Cadillac convertible in the middle of the Vietnam jungle (all he has to say about that is: "trade secret").
396* SecretTestOfCharacter: Used constantly. Knowing the military is always hunting for them, Hannibal will meet the prospective client in a disguise of some sort to make sure this isn't some sort of trap. Once he's convinced they really are in need of help and not being used, he removes the disguise in front of them to call in the team.
397** Also, Hannibal will test whether the client truly deserves help by offering them something in exchange for an unethical move. When they refuse, he knows they're good people worthy of the A-Team's aide.
398* ShootTheRope: In "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E18TheDukeOfWhisperingPines The Duke of Whispering Pines]]", some mooks are trying to get information out of B.A., so they try to hang Murdock to get him to talk more. As soon as the car Murdock was stood on reverses away to leave him dangling, Hannibal and Face drive in and Hannibal shoots the rope.
399* ShutUpHannibal: Done by Colonel Decker in an episode when he's forced to work with a group of criminals to try and capture the A-Team. The criminals, assuming Decker is a DirtyCop, try to make friends with him. He shuts them down quickly, reminding them that the only reason they're not under arrest themselves is because the A-Team are a higher priority.
400* SmallTownTyrant: To judge from this show, every small town in rural America has an evil hick who exerts extra-judicial, feudal-like control over it, or had until the A-Team passed through.
401* TheSmurfettePrinciple:
402** Amy is the one woman in an otherwise entirely male ensemble in season one and half of season two.
403** Tawnia is the same for the rest of season two and the beginning of season three.
404%%* SophisticatedAsHell: Murdock, naturally.
405%%-->'''Murdock:''' Ah, yes, the [[FatalFlaw tragic flaw]]. A cornerstone of Greek drama, from Creator/{{Euripides}} to the latter days of ''Series/MisterEd''.
406* SoProudOfYou: [[spoiler: Murdock discovers that former criminal A.J. Bancroft is Face's father.]] While talking to his son in one scene, said character just can't work up the courage to tell him, but he manages this:
407-->Any father would be proud of you.
408* SpecialGuest: Among those who made guest appearances were Creator/DeanStockwell, [[Music/CultureClub Boy George]], Music/IsaacHayes, Wrestling/HulkHogan, Music/RickJames, Creator/DavidMcCallum, Creator/YaphetKotto, Creator/SidHaig, Creator/{{Mako}}, Creator/MichaelIronside, Creator/ErnieHudson and Creator/JohnVernon.
409** In "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E10ThereGoesTheNeighborhood There Goes The Neighborhood]]," the rock star our heroes had to guard was set to be played by Music/CyndiLauper, but it fell through.
410* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Many people spell Tawnia's name as "Tanya", between the strange spelling of her name and the fact that even the ''show'' spelled it wrong in her first appearance.
411* StayInTheKitchen: The A-Team are reluctant to even take women along with them for the most part, and make a point of trying to keep them out of harm's way. Off-screen as well, George Peppard worked to get rid of the female main characters, feeling they would slow down the action too much. Though he was mostly cordial to the actresses, Marla Heasley spoke of feeling unwelcome on the set and said in particular that Peppard told her on both her first and last episodes that nobody wanted her there except the network.
412* StockFootage: Most notably in "The Beast from the Belly of a Boeing" [[spoiler: (when Murdock crashes the plane into the airport's terminal, the scene's borrowed from ''Film/{{Airplane}}'')]].
413* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Tawnia, who replaced Amy midway through Season 2 and stayed through part of Season 3, filled an identical role of a reporter and [[TheSmurfettePrinciple only woman in the group]].
414%%* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: "We ain't in South Carolina" - Murdock to B.A. in "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E9HolidayInTheHills Holiday in the Hills]]".
415* SyndicationTitle: The 2-hour Pilot movie was cut to two 45-minute parts in Syndication, and renamed "Mexican Slayride".
416* TakeThat: The character of Joe Skrylow in "There Goes The Neighborhood" is an episode long example aimed at survivalists. His dialog hints at racist, homophobic, and valor stealing tendencies, and the episode shows him to be an insulting, utterly inept, obese GloryHound, KnowNothingKnowItAll, who ends up blowing the team's cover when he sees the (false) news that they kidnapped Stevi.
417* TakingTheBullet: In "Curtain Call", Murdock jumps in front of a villain trying to shoot Hannibal.
418* TaughtByTelevision: In "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E5ASmallAndDeadlyWar A Small And Deadly War]]" Face mentions that he learned most of his best cons from ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}''.
419* TeamDad: Hannibal smiles at (and sometimes plays along with) Murdock's antics like a parent watching their young child act out fantasies, he can keep B. A. under control, and he reminds Face to keep his wandering eye in check and focus on the task at hand. He also has this cute habit of referring to the other members of the A-Team by their military ranks (Captain, Lieutenant, and Sergeant, respectively), even though they've all technically been discharged, and they often refer to him as "Colonel." He always has unwavering faith that his men will get the job done, and his nerves of steel are likelier to be rattled by something threatening Face, B.A., or Murdock than him.
420* TemporarySubstitute: In "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E4Fire Fire]]", Decker was replaced by Colonel Briggs, who was simply intended to be a one-off character when Decker's actor, [=Lance LeGault=], had a scheduling conflict. Briggs even mimicked all of Decker's mannerisms.
421* TerribleArtist: Murdock is shown to be actually terrible while undercover as a painter in "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E23BeverlyHillsAssault Beverly Hills Assault]]".
422* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: In-universe. Being a fugitive, the best acting jobs Hannibal can get are Z-list PeopleInRubberSuits roles, yet he treats them as if he's [[OscarBait going for an Oscar]].
423* TrashLanding: Several times, brawls end up with the team or some mooks being thrown from high altitudes and their fall being broken by an open dumpster or an open trash fill.
424* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: "The Maltese Cow", which dealt with a Chinese restaurant being threatened by a Chinese tong.
425* TheTrickster: Murdock in general disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. Hannibal and Face can also be considered this, to a slightly lesser degree.
426* TrojanHorse: The team uses one to sneak into an enemy base. The horse was a delivery truck full of whiskey, and the base was a convent which had been taken over by South American guerrillas, who had recently run out of booze.
427* TwentyOneGunSalute: One episode has the A-Team step in to give a funeral for one of their old military buddies who had tangled with the Villains of the Week. With Hannibal calling the orders, the other three fire their rifles several times in salute.
428* TwinThreesomeFantasy: in the episode 'Wheel of Fortune' Face tricks a pair of beautiful female teenage twins into believing that Hannibal is an advertising executive who can cast them in a chewing gum commercial. Hannibal takes them both on vacation with him and we see them fawning over him in skimpy bikinis by the side of a hotel pool, suggesting a great deal more has occurred between them.
429* TyrannicalTownTycoon: A majority of the antagonists are rich tycoon jerks who use their business to control the town.
430* UndercoverAsLovers:
431** Face and Amy in "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E12TheWhiteBallot The White Ballot]]". In order to complete Face's disguise as Joe Morgan, Hannibal has Amy masquerade as his new wife.
432** In "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E17PureDeePoison Pure-Dee Poison]]", Hannibal and Tawnia pose as a guy and a girl going out for a drink to get into one of the bars.
433* UngratefulBastard: There are a couple of instances where the A-Team help out someone who didn’t really appreciate it but special mention has to go to Karl Peerson, leader of the pacifist community, from “Semi-Friendly Persuasion”. He has a strict policy of non-violence but is so narrow minded that it ends up in StupidGood territory, where he would rather allow his people to be continually persecuted than defend themselves. He openly insults the team regardless of how many times they help him and undermines all their efforts by giving in to the thugs in the end.
434* UnintentionalBackupPlan: Frequently, even though Hannibal's original plan didn't work out, something else that may or may not be completely unrelated accomplishes the same goal, prompting Hannibal to spout his CatchPhrase, "I love it when a plan comes together."
435* UnwittingPawn: Stockwell strong-arms the team into working for him the final season.
436* VillainOverForDinner: Through B.A.'s eyes in "Lease with an Option to Die", with his mother and his {{vitriolic best bud|s}} Murdock.
437* VirtueIsWeakness:
438** In "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E23CurtainCall Curtain Call]]", Col. Decker talks about how having one man wounded will make the A-Team's ability crumble as they try to save their injured member. He's right that it hampers them, but it doesn't stop them. Given that the "virtue" in question is loyalty to their injured friend, it overlaps with a platonic version of LoveIsAWeakness.
439--->'''Colonel Decker:''' [The A-Team] think as one, feel as one, and act as one. But with a wounded man in their midst, they cease to be that. The good of the unit becomes the good of an individual. And that will be their undoing.
440** It occurs again when Hannibal surrenders to him because Murdock is too weak to be moved. He remarks that Hannibal should have tried to shoot his way out, as he himself wasn't hurt.
441* VitriolicBestBuds: A fair portion of B.A.'s dialogue is devoted to insulting Murdock and trying to get him to shut up. Sometimes[[note]]As in "Bullets and Bikinis"[[/note]] B.A. actually tries to throttle Murdock. Murdock sometimes takes a break from being a pest in B.A.'s general direction to insult B.A. B.A. actually complains about being saved from a life-threatening injury because getting Murdock's blood might make him like Murdock; Murdock encourages these fears after giving the blood. However, it's clear that they care about each other quite a lot. B.A. really worries about Murdock when Murdock is in trouble, and Murdock really does try well-meaningly to help B.A. learn to deal with airplanes, among other instances of sincerely meant aid. There is even one episode where the B.A./Murdock dynamic seems to flip, so that Murdock is giving B.A. much more grief than he's getting. B.A. also told off at least one person outside the A-Team who complained that Murdock should shut up, and it was nicely done.
442-->'''Murdock''' ''(while B. A. is knocked out)'': I'm worried about him, Hannibal. It's been almost a full day and we haven't insulted each other--I think I may go into withdrawal soon.
443* WalkingTheEarth: Because they're wanted by the military, though they typically stick to the Los Angeles area. They occasionally travel very far afield (most notably in a lot of season five, and in the season four premiere "Judgment Day").
444* WeHelpTheHelpless: They've taken on the role of mercenaries who only take jobs from people who can't get help from anywhere else.
445%%* WeirdTradeUnion: Murdock and B.A. represent the BBDWOGH (an almighty kitchen worker union) and the AOAMS (Association of Angry Mud Suckers) respectively in "The Big Squeeze".
446* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: B. A.'s fear of flying. He ended up giving one exception in one of the later episodes, when he learned that his mother was attacked by thugs; even then, he still had to be sedated within several minutes of flying. In another episode, he decides the cause (getting them pardoned) is enough to go on a plane; he still ends up passing out, but it's ambiguous whether they drugged him anyway, or whether he just went comatose (which happened on an early episode where he ended up on a plane).
447* WireDilemma: Played straight in "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E4LeaseWithAnOptionToDie Lease with an Option to Die]]". Near the end, Plout's men attach a bomb to the apartment building's boiler. The team arrives before it goes off, but B.A. can't check for sure which wire is the right one to cut, so he has to pick one and hope it's the right one.
448* WouldHitAGirl:The gang are rescuing a kidnapped woman, Miss Teasdale, from the compound of a militia. She resists them because she's in love with one of her captors (who was her boyfriend beforehand and has begun questioning the group since he realized with what kind of group he was dealing). Since they're in a shoot out, Hannibal just knocks her out (offscreen) before resuming the rescue.
449* WrenchWhack: "[[Recap/TheATeamS3E20KnightsOfTheRoad Knights of the Road]]". When Tyler's men move in on her, Jenny picks up a wrench and swings at them. It ultimately does no good, and one of the men takes the wrench from her to bust up her and her father's tow truck.

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