Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Demystifying The A-Team Formula - College Paper

Demystifying The A-Team Formula

"In 1972, 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 Los
Angeles 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."
Most everyone who has been watching television since the 1980's can recognize this
introduction as the beginning of every A-Team episode. A good handful of these people
probably can even sing the theme song, which sounds as if it could be piped from the
halls of West Point. The popularity of the show when it ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

in seeing if Hannibal's (George Peppard) plan always comes together, or was it truly
the violence that sold the show?

Compared to NBC's new experimental shows like Hill Street Blues, and St. Elsewhere, whose
innovative use of realism sparked the Third Golden Age of Television and quality TV as
we know it; The A-Team (TAT) is just another parody of the action/adventure genre.
Or is it? The truth is The A-Team 's popularity was so brilliant because it provided
something for everyone. TAT created a new genre by mixing old ones. I intend to demystify
the formula that was exclusive t o TAT created by exploring the character personalities
and old genres that the show employed.

At the time of the premiere of The A-Team , television was going through a major
transformation. Networks were battling for ratings in a constantly decreasing market.
Innovative programs such as CBS's Cagney & Lacey were targeting the wo rk-force woman
audience by creating a woman ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.

Already a member? Login

racial level."2

On the second level Hannibal is the stereotypical Caucasian leader: elderly, white haired,
and cunning. In a sense he represents corporate America, puffing on cigars and formulating
strategies on how to get rich. Only in Smith's case he puffs on cigar s and formulates
strategies on how to get the bad guy. This is Hollywood labeling at its best.

Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Dirk Benedict) is a man of a thousand faces. "He
is the team's resident con- and ladies-man who usually ends up gathering information
for the team due to his innate charm."3

Face's second level of character identity shows that he is the stereotypical rich
fraternity guy. ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library.
Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports,
and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE:

APA
MLA
Chicago
Turabian

Demystifying The A-Team Formula. (2004, November 16). Retrieved February 11, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Demystifying-The-A-Team-Formula/17610

"Demystifying The A-Team Formula." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 16 Nov. 2004. Web. 11 Feb. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Demystifying-The-A-Team-Formula/17610>

"Demystifying The A-Team Formula." Essayworld.com. November 16, 2004. Accessed February 11, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Demystifying-The-A-Team-Formula/17610.

JOIN NOW

Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays

PAPER DETAILS

Added: 11/16/2004 10:18:51 PM
Category: American History
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 3264
Pages: 12

Save |

Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS

Save and find your favorite essays easier