"In 1972," the gravelly-voiced narrator of the television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) action series The A-Team explained, "A crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit." The men soon escaped from the maximum-security stockade in which they were incarcerated, the narrator continued. He further explained that, although they were still wanted by the U.S. government, "If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team."

That opening voice-over perfectly set the tone for this exciting mix of action and macho fellowship, which aired on NBC from 1983 to 1987. Inspired by films like The Dirty Dozen (1967) and Kelly's Heroes (1970), The A-Team confronted the commandos with a new and dangerous mission every week and usually ended with a firefight or an explosion...