Why The A-Team Had To Give Tough Guy B.A. Baracus A Relatable Flaw
"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."
So ran the narration at the beginning of the title sequence for the 1983 TV series "The A-Team." The "if you can find them" part always elicited titters from certain younger viewers, as the A-Team's devotion to helping people out as soldiers of fortune clearly didn't extend to being easy to reach. The A-Team was composed of five members, including the leader Hannibal (George Peppard), the charming Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Dirk Benedict), the zany "Howling Mad" Murdoch (Dwight Schultz), and their black GMC Vandura van (Van — what, it counts).
Most memorably, the A-Team's muscle was the intimidating tough guy B.A. Baracus, played by Mr. T. Born Laurence Tureaud, Mr. T was a notable cultural presence in the 1980s, an outsize personality often appearing in TV shows and in movies as a version of himself. T also played the boxed Clubber Lang in "Rocky III" and appeared in Saturday morning cartoons. His transition to the WWF wrestling ring was natural. Mr. T was the subject of what might have been the internet's first meme.
Mr. T was a naturally intimidating man, and his presence on "The A-Team" mitigated none of that intimidation. Indeed, as Mr. T revealed to Absolute Radio in 2009, the show's producers needed to give B.A. Baracus a phobia just to make him more human. Fans of "The A-Team" know Baracus has an intense fear of flying.
Aviophobia
"The A-Team" was an action/adventure show, but it was undercut by a streak of irreverent humor. Mr. T, while capable of deadpan comedic performances, was meant to be the straight man of the group, usually humorless and eager to ball up his fists. The actor, sporting an elaborate mohawk and usually wearing a pirate's chest of gold jewelry, could diffuse a tense situation just by walking on camera. In order to assure audiences that B.A. Baracus wasn't a violent tank, T said he was given a human — and comedic — weakness:
"We needed a comic release of it, you know? Here's B.A., a big tough guy [who] can clear a bar room of four or five guys, then [he's] afraid to fly. That made me more human. [...] You remember, I'm coming off of 'Rocky III.' You know people saw me as this mean, tough guy. So when I get on 'The A-Team' I was vulnerable. I was afraid to fly."
Fear of flying is, of course, a common fear in modern times. According to the Better Health website, one in six people is afflicted. It's likely you or someone you know is afraid of airplanes. There's a reason why flight attendants sell miniature bottles of hard liquor. It seems that many fans of "The A-Team" were also suffering from aviophobia, something Mr. T heard about in fan mail:
"I would get letters from people [saying] 'Mr. T, I'm afraid too! Don't let them get you on no plane, watch out for them!'"
Mr. T was touched by the fan reaction, but he also wanted to clear up some confusion. While the actor bore many similarities to his on-screen character, Mr. T himself was not afraid of flying.