The A-Team
Champ!
TV Flash files “Champ!” as hour 53 of 98 in the TV Flash guide — The A-Team (1983–1987) on NBC, season 3, episode 16, aired 1985-01-22, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E16: listed hour 53 of 98 in the The A-Team guide, hour 16 of 25 in season 3. It aired 1985-01-22 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Big Squeeze” (S03E15). Next is “Skins” (S03E17).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Face decides to invest some of the teams funds in 60% of a boxer, Billy Marquette, but looking him up the team finds his sister Tina bend over his miserable body after Sonny Monroe's ruffians beat him up to force him to lose the fight of his life against a certain Dixie Joe so the gangster can earn enough money to finance a lucrative drug deal with a Columbian. Hannibal enjoys concocting one of his more elaborate plans. First Gabriel is taken out of the equation because of a 'hand wound' fighting BA, who thus becomes his obvious successor, managed by Hannibal, who supposedly owes gambling debts to a bookie; buying those off makes the villains pay back Face's investment with a nice profit. Then BA is trained by Murdock, supposedly now in gangster Monroe's pocket, so the stage is all set for a finale with punch...
Viewer FAQ
Where does Champ! sit in the The A-Team guide?
S03E16 is listed hour 53 of 98 — hour 16 of 25 in season 3, season 3 episode 16.
When did The A-Team S03E16 air?
Champ! aired 1985-01-22 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is the violence actually violent?
Mostly cartoon. Scrap-built vehicles, explosions, and bad guys who go down without much blood — action as toy commercial, which is the Cannell joke and the appeal.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Peak 1980s action cheese with immortal casting — Mr. T alone is a cultural weather event. Peppard's Hannibal, Benedict's Faceman, Schultz's Murdock: wrongfully accused commandos, scrap-built tanks, bloodless mayhem. I love it when a plan comes together. Formulaic in the best popcorn way; pity the fool who missed the theme.
I love it when a plan comes together — still managerial cosplay language, still a group-chat greeting. (I said spoiler-free. The plan is the formula; the formula is the point.) NBC's The A-Team (1983–1987) sent a crack commando unit into Friday-night cheese: George Peppard's Hannibal, Mr. T's B.A. Baracus, Dirk Benedict's Faceman, Dwight Schultz's Howling Mad Murdock. Wrongfully accused, on the run, building tanks out of scrap, never quite killing the bad guys on camera. Lana can keep the gown. This carpet is…
Filed against
- George Peppard as John "Hannibal" Smith
George Peppard's John "Hannibal" Smith made The A-Team's plan come together — 1980s action cheese with immortal casting, wrongfully accused commandos, scrap-built tanks, bloodless mayhem. Mr. T as a weather event; Peppard as the cigar…
- Mr. T as B.A. Baracus
Mr. T’s B.A. Baracus made The A-Team a cultural weather event in gold chains — peak 1980s action cheese, Peppard’s Hannibal, Benedict’s Faceman, Schultz’s Murdock, wrongfully accused commandos, scrap-built tanks, bloodless mayhem. I love…
- Dirk Benedict as Templeton "Faceman" Peck
Dirk Benedict’s Lt. Starbuck put a gambler’s grin on Battlestar Galactica, then The A-Team recast the charm as Faceman — 1980s action cheese with a con man’s polish. Two decades of handsome problem-solving, cigars optional. TV Flash files…
- Dwight Schultz as H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock
Dwight Schultz made H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock the wild card on The A-Team — scrap-built tanks, bloodless mayhem, and 1980s action cheese with immortal casting. Hannibal loved it when a plan came together; Schultz made the plan sound…