This page includes information about my favorite things on The A-Team.
Favorite Episodes

1. Family Reunion - This episode may not have been a normal A-Team episode, but I thought that it was a welcome change.  Most episodes of the show followed pretty much the same formula, but once the fifth season came around, that formula was kind of thrown out the window.  I believe that the characters grew more in the short last season then they did throughout the four seasons before, and I really appreciated that.  I watch tv shows for the characters, their development, and their relationships with each other.  This episode really delved into the characters of Face and Murdock (my two favorites) and really fleshed out their friendship.  You could always tell that they were the best friends on the team in the earlier seasons, but it was in this episode and many more in the fifth season that showed how deep their bond actually went.  Dwight Schultz did a great job portraying the conflicting emotions that Murdock had when he found out who Face's father was.  Murdock wanted to protect Face, but he also wanted to tell him the truth.  Never before in the show had two team members had a real fight with one another, but it didn't seem out of place at all.  You could tell just how much Murdock was tortured by the information he had and how hurt Face was by his best friend keeping it from him.  It was a really touching episode all around with it being Thanksgiving, Face finding his family, and Murdock and Face's deep friendship being pushed to the forefront as it never had been before.

2. Incident at Crystal Lake - This episode is definitely my favorite of the first four seasons, and has been since the first time I saw it years ago.  From the opening sequence with Face driving along to the Blondie song, you can tell that it is going to be a fun episode.  I really liked how they weren't hired by anyone and were just trying to do something fun and relaxing for a change, but of course that didn't end up happening.  For a few brief moments however, they were able to take a breather and act like normal guys taking a vacation together.  I mean, how often on their missions would Face and Murdock be able to sit around fishing without it being part of one of Hannibal's plans?  This episode has everything - lots of humor, cheesy bad guys, Decker, and a dummy who ends up sacrificing himself for the good of the team - what more could you ask for?

3. Without Reservations - As with Family Reunion, this episode pretty much revolves around Face and Murdock and their friendship with one another.  Murdock invited Face and Frankie to eat dinner at the Italian restaurant he had just started working at, and everything went wrong from there.  Face ended up getting shot by some guys planning on killing a governmental official at the restaurant that night, and they wouldn't allow him to be taken to a hospital.  Once again, Dwight Schultz got a chance to stretch his acting abilities and show that he can do more than just comedic scenes.  Murdock was always the crazy funny comic relief character in the first four seasons, and while he still had his moments, he became a more well rounded character in the last season.  His emotions were on full display in this episode as he blamed himself for Face getting shot, tried his hardest to keep him alive, and attempted to save everyone who was being held hostage.  Not much time passed within this episode, but a lot happened.  The best part of the episode for me was when, after Hannibal and BA came to help, Murdock went straight for the guy who shot Face and punched him over and over again without restraint until someone physically pulled him away.  He may have done the same had any member of the team been hurt, but Murdock and Face had shown throughout the series that they have less control over their emotions when the other is involved (such as when Murdock was shot and Face risked everything to get the first aid kit, when Murdock was torn over whether or not to tell Face about his father, and when Face was going to leave the team and they had a tough goodbye).  All in all, it was an excellent character study episode and a great way to end the series, even if it was not intended to be the last episode aired.

4. The Court Marshal Trilogy - This is kind of cheating, but the first three episodes of the fifth season do go together as one.  After four seasons of being hired by people needing their help, the A-Team was finally outsmarted and put on trial in the beginning of the fifth season.  In all three parts, Murdock - with the help of newcomer Frankie Santana - is trying his hardest to save his friends and prove their innocence, but is met with obstacles in the form of General Stockwell and his great skills of manipulation at every corner.  The trilogy really brings forth the fact that all of the members of the A-Team would do anything for each other.  Even though the trial began to go in their favor, Hannibal, Face, and BA pleaded guilty so that the court would not begin to point fingers at Murdock.  They would rather face a firing squad together for a crime they didn't commit than see their friend put behind bars.  One of the defining moments of the entire series came about in this episode as Murdock hears the shots that may have killed his team.  Even though he and Frankie had a plan, it was not a guaranteed success, and Murdock looked completely broken when the shots rang out as he thought the worst had happened.  Murdock's entire character seemed to change once the team was arrested in that he put aside his joking manner to get the job done.  He knew that he was racing against the clock and proved that his insanity was a voluntary thing.  He may have been in need of psychiatric help at one point, but this episode proved more than any other that he had been faking his illness while working with the A-Team.  These episodes paved the way for the change in the rest of the fifth season which I believe was a welcome one as I said above.

5. Members Only - I've found that the episodes I seem to gravitate towards and watch over and over again are the ones in which Face (or Face and Murdock) are the central characters.  This episode is no exception as it is about Face and how he wants to join an exclusive Beverly Hills country club.  Of course, no matter how much careful planning and preparation he put into his false identity, nothing goes right for him.  Face wanted to be a part of that ritzy elite world, but quickly realized that it isn't as glamorous as he thought it would be.  Large scale money scams and crooked bankers run amuck throughout the club and Fullbright is a member.  As with most of the episodes of the A-Team, this one is very humorous from the beginning, with Face finding out that Murdock goes there with his doctor, to the end, with Hannibal ruining Fullbright's ceremony.  Face shows once again how while he may dress well and be able to con people into thinking that he is of high class, he does have morals and is of much higher character than the rich snobs he would like to associate himself with.

Favorite Character

Templeton "Face" Peck - When I first saw the show years ago, I immediately fell in love with Murdock, but as I got older, the Faceman swayed me over to his side.  I think what I like the most about Face is that he is different from what you would expect of him.  You'd think that he's a suave conman - calm, cool, and collected - but he couldn't be farther from that image.  Face is a conman and can always get what is needed for a mission, but he's a bit of a hot head and is quite insecure.  He puts so much effort into his appearance, but it is that and his age that are used against him more often than not.  The rest of the team can always get him to do something using reverse psychology, and he always falls into their trap.  He is also the most well developed character on the show, as we know the most about his past and he allows his emotions to come out moreso than any other member of the team.  He was raised in an orphanage, so his taste for the finer things and scavenger nature stem from the fact that he could never afford to have them in his youth.  We also found out why he has so many relationships that go nowhere.  Aside from the fact that he's a fugitive on the run from the law, he had his heart broken by a woman he very much loved in the past and doesn't want anyone to get close enough to hurt him again. 

Face is the voice of reason on the A-Team, never one to hold back what he thinks when he doesn't agree with one of Hannibal's plans.  Dirk Benedict did a wonderful job bringing the character of Templeton Peck to life, and I thank whoever it was that decided to cast him for the rest of the series in place of the first Faceman.  I think that had Dirk Benedict not been given the role, I would not have enjoyed the character of Face or the show as a whole as much as I do, and I am certain that Murdock would have remained my favorite character.

- Jen