On The Jazz
On The Jazz Newsletter: Volume 2 Issue N°6

Date: December 10, 1995
Author: Nicole Pellegrini
Download: otjv02i06.zip

<<< Previous Issue    Next Issue >>>
Jump Menu
Main Index
On The Jazz Volume 1
On The Jazz Volume 2
On The Jazz Volume 3
On The Jazz Volume 4
On The Jazz Volume 5


   __          ____        ___     ___   _   ___   ___
  /  / / \  /    /   /__ / /__       /  /__\   /     /
 /__/ /   \/    /   /   / /___   /__/  /    \ /___  /___
The totally unofficial A-Team electronic mail newsletter
***** Now in it's second year of publication !! *****


Reflector submission address: [email protected]
Administrivia: Nicole Pellegrini
Please use the following addresses for subscribe/unsubscribe
and back issue requests:
[email protected], [email protected]

*NOTE* It is now possible to subscribe JUST to the newsletter and not receive messages sent out through the reflector. If you wish to change your subscription type, just email me.

The A-Team Homepage(s):
http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~pellegri/ateam.html
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jmm/a-team/
---------------------------------------------------------
DATE:   December 10, 1995
ISSUE:  6
VOLUME: 2
----------------------------------------------------------
Howdy folks!

A-TEAM NEWS / MAILING LIST NOTES
A few things to mention here, to summarize any major news brought up on the reflector or elsewhere the past two weeks.

First, check out the January issue of "Starlog" magazine for a very nice 4-page interview with Dwight Schultz. Of course I'll probably transcribe it for the newsletter sometime in the future, but get the magazine anyway for the nice pictures.

Also wanted to include this message which appeared from [email protected] in case anyone had heard anything more about this incident:
>In the Daily Mirror, was a advert for Mr. T. opening a Bingo Hall - over here
>in the U.K. (at Loughborough) on Thursday 8th December. I phoned the Hall, as I
>was planning to go, but they told me he wasn't opening it anymore - because he
>was in hospital. I asked them why and they didn't know. I then phoned the
>Manchester Palace Theatre where I am seeing him in pantomime on the 21st
>December, but they knew nothing about it.
>I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about this - like what's wrong
>with him.

I received some more T news from someone in England this week. Apparently "The Sheffield Star" reported on October 31 that

"Mr. T, star of the TV series 'The A-Team,' is to team up with American wrestler Hulk Hogan in a new movie 'Lightning Force.' The pair last came face-to-face thirteen years ago during a much-publicised battle in the wrestling ring."

As always, more details if I can find them. I was also informed that episodes of the 'Mr. T' cartoon series were actually released on video in the UK at some point - can anyone verify this, and find out if they are still available?

TRIVIA QUESTION
Last issue's question was:
>What was Leo Bell so famous for?

This was from the episode "Timber," and Leo Bell was a neighbor of Murdock's at the V.A. As Valerie correctly answered, he's famous because "his mouth is so big you can fit a jar of peanut butter inside, lid and all."

This issue's question is:
>In which A-Team episode did Face's corvette make its very first on-screen
>appearance?

STORY TIME
As promised, this issue I'm pleased to present the first half an original A-Team/V story:
---------------------------------------------------------
The Visitors vs the A-Team
by Laura Michaels

(ED. NOTE: This originally appeared in the 'zine/newsletter Grip #22
by Roberta Rogow. Reprinted here with Laura's permission.)

It was Friday night, nine o'clock.
He realized he had been watching T.V., or more exactly, he had not been paying attention to the T.V. "Must've dozed off," he told himself. Templeton Peck listened as the broadcast announcer finished giving the news on the status of the Visitors. He didn't remember ever fighting the Visitors, or what's more, ever meeting them, but he knew about them. The others surely wouldn't like the idea of those aliens messing up their city.

He remembered that the only things that affected the Visitors were lasers and Teflon coated ammo. "Have to put that ammo on my shopping list," he told himself. It wouldn't do them any good to get into a fight with the Visitors and have their guns turn out ineffective.

He called up Murdock. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because Hannibal was sure to ask him to get Murdock out of the V.A. It happened like that almost every week it seemed. He told Murdock he'd be over to get him out. He'd have to stop off and find a place to pick up some ammo first. He came up with a pretty good idea of where he could go to get it. He got his gear together.

He was just about to call Hannibal before he left. The phone rang as he was reaching for it. It was Hannibal. "What a coincidence, Hannibal. I was just about to call you," he said.

"Did you see the newscast?" Hannibal asked him.

"Yeah I did. We're going to do something about this, aren't we?" he asked.

"You better believe it. The A-Team isn't about to let slime like that roam the streets," Hannibal answered. "I need you to get Murdock and some stuff and rendezvous at the last meeting place we used."

"Oh come on, Hannibal," the lieutenant interrupted. "You know that the M.P.s are on to that place. They almost got us there last time."

"Precisely why we're meeting there. They'd never think to look there now that they know, we know, they're on to that place," Hannibal informed him.

"I'm not so sure about that Hannibal. And I was just about to pick up Murdock and some ammo. I was figuring we weren't about to let this job go by. What else did you want me to get?"
"Plastic explosives, dynamite, or any other type of pyrotechnics you can lay your hands on."

"Oh sure, that's easy enough," he replied sarcastically.

"Glad you think so," Hannibal told him.

"Hannibal!" he exclaimed. "You don't...."

"I'm sure you can come up with something, Face," Hannibal said reassuringly. "See if you can find some automatic rifles, and make sure the ammo you pick up will work."

"I'll see what I can do," he told Hannibal. "As for the ammo, don't you think I know enough about that kind of stuff by now? I mean Han-ni-bal!"

The colonel gave no answer.

"Is that all?" he asked in an unsure tone.

"Yeah, that's it. I'll pick up B.A. See you in a short while. As the saying goes 'be there'," Hannibal told him.
When he left, he inadvertently left the phone off the hook.

He had used the first trick he could think of to get Murdock out of the V.A. The only thing was it was really ridiculous. He could barely believe he had done it, and it had worked. /Well who cares. It did work. Only thing is, Murdock thought it was very ridiculous too./ He felt uneasy about that. /Who cares what a crazy person thinks anyway,/ he told himself.
                       *     *     *
The lieutenant entered carrying a cardboard box. Murdock was right behind him.

"Let's see it, man." B.A. reached for the box.

He took the box out of reach and put it down on the table. "I went through an awful lot of trouble, Hannibal, but I got your dynamite," the lieutenant told him.

"Good going. Did you get the guns?" Hannibal asked.

"I got two automatic rifles," he replied.

"Just two?" said Hannibal disappointedly.

"Look, you don't know the trouble I went through to get you these. I also got Teflon coated ammo. It works pretty well if you don't aim for the armor."

Hannibal told him, "I don't know Face. I think your slipping."

"Yeah Face, you should have gotten us some of those lasers." Murdock pretended to fire an imaginary laser at imaginary Visitors.

The lieutenant looked disappointed. He decided to bring out his contingency crate. Maybe that would make the razzing he was getting ease up. "I also got these." He carefully took out a smaller, sturdier box and laid it on the table.

Hannibal opened the box. Inside were a few dozen grenades, packaged so they wouldn't go off from shock.

"Careful," he told Hannibal. "They're supposed to be very powerful." He had a big smile on his face.

Hannibal covered the box up. The momentary look of a kid loose in a toy store, that he had when he opened the box, was gone.

"They're okay," he told his lieutenant. The colonel's expression was serious again.

"Just okay?" he asked. "Hannibal...."

He cut the lieutenant off. "We have to start working on the plan." Now wasn't the time to start a quarrel. Hannibal just didn't want any of them to get too cocky. This was going to be a hard fight, and they had a dangerous opponent.
                       *     *     *
The lieutenant waited in the car with Hannibal. Murdock came back with a report. He crawled up to the van. He was acting like a soldier about to die. His act came off as worse than the ones on the late night movies. "They got us, Colonel," he rasped. "They were just too much for us."

"Where's B.A.?" Hannibal asked.

"He's still in position, but he thinks we should pull out," answered Murdock between gasps and groans.
"Your report?" the Colonel asked seriously.

The lieutenant didn't know whether to laugh or be sick at Captain Murdock's terrible overacting and antics.

"Well, we dynamited the road. Along came a Visitor's convoy. We blew it up just like in the plan. It was beautiful. The cars rolled over the cliff. They turned over at least twenty times, no make that forty. ...Only everyone walked out O.K., unscratched, 4-0...."
Hannibal interrupted. "I got the point."

"I think," Murdock added, "these suckers are going to be hard to kill."

"Did you pick up any leads on possible Visitor weaknesses or figure out what their advantages were from?" asked Hannibal.

"B.A. says the only reason they got us so bad was cause 'killing ain't our style' and we should just try to 'get rid of them suckers'," Murdock replied. "I think he's right. If we just try to reason with them, use the peaceful approach...."

"...They'll blow us to bits," the lieutenant finished for them.

"Face is right," said Hannibal. "We've got to get rid of these lizards."

"Just thought I'd represent the pacifistic point of view, especially seeing as how we soldiers are dying out there. You know, Hannibal," Murdock put in seriously, "these guys are bad. We're gonna need one hell of a plan to stop them."

"We have a plan, Murdock," Hannibal told him. "Have B.A. back out and join us down here. All we've done so far is kick over a few rocks. Now we're gonna start squashing bugs."

"So this is all according to plan," the captain said. "I understand, Colonel. I'll go get B.A." Murdock trotted off, half fake-limping, acting like a soldier who had just left the hospital. He started bandaging himself with a piece of newspaper he found on the floor.

"Hannibal, this isn't gonna work," the lieutenant interjected. "We've used up the dynamite...."

Hannibal cut his complaints off, telling him, "Sure it will work, Lieutenant. Don't my plans always work?"

He didn't answer knowing full well they never worked right, but they did always work. "He's on the jazz," he said to himself pessimistically.
                       *     *     *
They listened to the radio as it told of some of the Visitors' attacks, all of them successful, and all highly deadly. They all knew they'd have to do something about this. The A-Team had to stop these Visitors.

They pulled up to the curb in a black G.M.C. van with a red stripe. The van was B.A.'s and woe be to anyone who 'messed with it'. Down the street was a place where they might be able to get some more backup.

The lieutenant was trying to figure out a way to find and scam some more explosives from the store when he noticed a guy coming out of the place. Hannibal noticed the man also, and he quickly told Face to inconspicuously get back in the van. What a time to get his suit caught in the door. It was an expensive one too, and it was probably ruined.

He was more worried about whether or not the man was working with the Visitors. He remembered the guy, but couldn't quite place him. As soon as they had driven a little ways, he opened the sliding side door of the van, and got the rest of his jacket in.

Murdock was bubbling over with curiosity. "Who was it?" he wanted to know. The store wasn't in his line of sight from the back seat.

Hannibal, who was in the front passenger seat of the van, had had a very good view of what was going on. He had seen and recognized the man coming out of the shop. He had then ordered Face back in the car, and told B.A. to drive his van out of plain sight and then proceed to tail the man from a distance. "That was Ham Tyler. He's a mercenary," Hannibal informed Murdock.
Murdock had to cut in and ask, "Like us?"

"No, not at all like us. He's scum of the worst kind. He's as bad as the Visitors. You see, he might still have connections with the government, and that means M.P.s," Hannibal finished.

"Maybe he's working on the same side as us," Murdock conjectured.

"He also might be working for someone who answers to the Visitors. I've heard rumors," Hannibal said, "about something called a conversion process."

"Well I won't let him out of my sight," B.A. said assuredly. "He doesn't even know we're back here," boasted B.A. "Some government mercenary he is."

"First of all, he's probably getting weapons like we are or he wouldn't have been at that store. Second, don't be so sure he doesn't know we're here. He's bound to get wise soon." B.A. was about to make a comment, a nasty one, but the lieutenant cut him off and continued. "And third, the rumors say he has C.I.A. connections, but I doubt it."

"Picky, picky, Face," Murdock teased him.

Tyler drove around for half an hour and then pulled his car into a small alley.

"I don't like this Hannibal," the lieutenant said.

Before the Team could back their van out, a truck pulled in behind. Tyler stopped his vehicle. They were stuck in a small alley between a large truck and Tyler's van.

"We can't move the truck, but we could move the van." Hannibal was stating this for the purpose of laying out possible strategies.

B.A. replied strongly, with a lot of conviction and a fist full of gold rings behind it, "We ain't gonna get my van messed up Hannibal!"

/Well that puts an end to that idea,/ the lieutenant said to himself.

Two people were getting out of the truck and Tyler had gotten out of his van. They were all heavily armed.

"Let's give these people a friendly welcome," Hannibal suggested. He got out his semi-automatic machine gun and loaded it. Then he stepped outside onto the cramped street. The others followed suit.

/Oh great,/ the lieutenant thought. /We're outnumbered, blocked off, surrounded, and we walk out of the van with our guns up. Got to be the jazz. It's a wonder they didn't shoot us. Well, one good thing; one of them is a lady or at least a female./

A man from the truck said to Tyler, "Who do these people think they are?" He was referring to the fact that the Team was holding guns when they were trapped and should've given up by now.

"They call themselves the A-Team. I'm familiar with Smith here." Tyler pointed his gun at the colonel as he mentioned his name.

"Do you think they're working with the Visitors?" the lady asked.

"Not their style. They're always going places, pushing what they consider bad guys around. They get their kicks telling other people what to do."

"Now wait a micron...uh minute," the lieutenant started.
"You're one to talk," Tyler returned. "You broke half the ladies' hearts in Nam. You conned the other half of the women. Chris and I hate scum like you. What's more, you guys always act so righteous, and then go and rob the bank of Hanoi. I guess the war wasn't enough action for you, or maybe you just needed the money."

"Is that right? You're criminals?" the female asked.

Hannibal explained, "We had orders to take that bank. It was a military position."

"Is it our fault," Face put in, "they lost the orders?"

The lady seemed doubtful.

Hannibal continued, "Look we're not too crazy about you either, Tyler. Maybe neither side has the whole correct story on the other, but it seems to me we're working for the same cause. If we work together, maybe we can get something done."

"Like putting those lizards out of business," B.A. added.
"Yeah," said Murdock, "what ever happened to cooperation, helping each other out when there's trouble, peace on earth good will to...."

"Shut up fool," B.A. ordered menacingly.

"All right, we could always use some help," the lady told them.

"But if you cross us...." The man from the truck left his threat at that, knowing the message had gotten across.

"Good," said Hannibal, "I'm glad we're in agreement, because I have a plan."

"I'm not taking any orders from them," Tyler said angrily. "I'd rather work for the Visitors."

"Easy Ham, at least we could hear what they have to say first." The lady addressed the Team, "We'll make the decisions for our Resistance, understood?"

"Yes," Hannibal replied agreeably.

Face was beginning to like this lady, even if she was a little young. He liked females who could make good decisions.
                       *     *     *
...to be continued next issue.
---------------------------------------------------------
That's all for now folks, I gotta start studying for final exams now (joy, joy!)

Good luck to anyone else dealig with finals, and stay on the jazz,
nicole
---------------------------------------------------------
Quote of the Week:
"When it comes to paying up I've got a great line of
credit".
                   Hannibal from "A Nice Place To Visit"
----------------------------------------------------------

  Back | Home | Site Map | Disclaimer | About | Webmasters Top | Printer Friendly Version 

� This Page Is Part Of A Frames Element Belonging To The: A-Team Webart Site �
�  ï¿½  ï¿½
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1