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On the Jazz - Vol 02 Issue 05
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The totally unofficial A-Team electronic mail newsletter
***** Now in it's second year of publication !! *****
Submission address: onthejazz
Administrivia: Nicole Pellegrini
Please use the following address for subscribe/unsubscribe
and back issue requests:
pellegri
*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/
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DATE: November 27, 1995
ISSUE: 5
VOLUME: 2
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Greetings again everyone,
Well, after my computer decided to crash halfway through this newsletter,
I'm hoping to get this thing written up without any more difficulties. And
yes, it's a jam-packed issue this week, folks! So tread lightly...
First, a belated
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!! (and many more!)
to Dwight Schultz, who had his 48th birthday two days ago, on November 25.
In Dwight-related news, there is now a catalog available of audio tapes of
almost every edition of the UFOs Tonite radio program, which Dwight frequently
co-hosts. Which alos, apparently, may soon be broadcast on certain AM radio
stations instead of just the Cable Radio Network. You can check out the
UFOs Tonite web page at
http://lovecraft.cc.utexas.edu/clarity/ufos-tonight.html
for more details on which nights Dwight was or wasn't in studio. To get a
copy of the catalog, just email donfeii.
* VCR ALERT * VCR ALERT *
Dirk Benedict will be appearing in this Thursday's episode of "Murder, She
Wrote" (that's November 30), on CBS. I know this message went out over the
reflector but I wanted to make sure our newsletter-only subscribers found out
in time about it.
MR. T NEWS
Been a while since we've heard anything from the T, but it looks like he's
getting back in the spotlight again. He made a recent appearance on the
Howard Stern show (though I have yet to hear this personally), and
from December through February of 1996 he will be appearing as the "Genie
With-An-Attitude" in a stage production of "Aladdin" at the Palace Theater
in Manchester, Great Britain. Tickets are supposedly available, ranging from
6 to 15 pounds. If any of our British subscribers actually get to see this,
please, give us all a first-hand report! I'd also be eternally grateful if
someone could snag me a playbill, and any posters, ads, news items about the
production they might come across.
I *think* that wraps up the main news items, so I'll move on to the answer to
last issue's
TRIVIA QUESTION:
>What was the code message B.A. sent to Murdock when he, Hannibal, and Face
>were captured?
The "message" was the time "Sixteen minutes past six."
The answer to this week's question can be found in a certain episode involving
logging and the search for BigFoot:
>What was Leo Bell so famous for?
Valerie, I will be very disappointed if you don't remember *that* one! :-)
This issue I'm pleased to present some actual, original A-Team fiction from
one of our subscribers, Laura Michaels. She has graciously allowed me to
reprint here some of her pieces, which appeared originally in various (now
out-of-print) fanzines. The first one is a very short piece, but interesting
in that it relates to the recent thread on the reflector about the team and
firing lines...
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Reprinted from On The Jazz #9 by Deborah Okoniewski
This takes place during "Trial by Fire" and refers to events in
"Children of Jamestown".
Remembering
by Laura Michaels
Templeton Peck looked over the walls of his room again and at the
bars. He began to remember about the time they first started to make some
real money and a reputation as mercenaries. That's all he seemed to do,
think over past situations in his life, talk,... or have nightmares. No
amount of talking could con himself out of this nightmare.
Amy had just joined the Team. They had been trapped then too and
about to die. He remembered what they'd all told Amy, "Accept death."
B.A. had said, "It gives us the edge." He looked over at his friends and
saw how differently they were reacting now. Maybe it had been a long time
since then and longer since Nam. They had sort of come to think of
themselves as indestructable, forgotten what real danger was, or maybe,
they weren't in such real danger then.
He just couldn't get over the change in reactions since that job.
Were these his friends? He could hear himself telling Amy, "Accept death.
It calms you." He was anything but calm. He couldn't get over the way he
was feeling either. All the time, it felt like it wasn't real, wasn't
happening, but he just couldn't escape and wake himself up from this
nightmare.
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Next issue, you can look forward to part one of a longer piece from
Laura which I just received today (thanks!) which should
get the interest of you "V"-fans out there, "The Visitors vs. The A-Team."
Finally this week, a review by me of a fanzine which I picked up while at
ConRad just about a month ago. I finally finished reading recently.
Because I know the author/publisher said she had a few more copies available
for sale, and would consider doing a second printing if there was sufficient
interest, I thought it would be worthwhile to discuss it here for those who
might be interested...
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FANZINE REVIEW
"Nightmare: An A-Team Novella" by Rita Ractliffe.
Published 1990.
For information on availability and current cost, contact
Rita Ractliffe, 15500 Erwin Street, #297 Van Nuys, CA 91411
Because of the adult content of the 'zine, it is not available for sale to
anyone under 18 and an age statement is mandatory when inquiring.
One of the most common genres in fan-written fiction is, and it seems
always will be, the hurt/comfort story, wherein one of the main characters is
seriously injured (mentally, physically, or both), and the other characters
provide whatever comfort and help is necessary. Some actual A-Team episodes
which fell at least to an extent into such a genre were "Curtain Call" and
"Without Reservations." In fan-fiction, it often seems that the more an author
really likes a character, the more pain and suffering they get put through. If
that's the case, then "Nightmare" author Rita Ractliffe adores Hannibal Smith
more than anyone I think I've ever come across. Kidding aside, this is an
intense, emotionally draining excursion into what happens when the unflappable
Colonel Smith suddenly finds himself, for once in his life, in a situation
where he is not in control, and how he struggles to deal with this afterwards.
As Rita states in her introductory comments, "This is not the silly, clowning,
slapstick A-Team that you grew used to seeing on the tube. They have their
light moments and that was their charm. But the reality was that these were
veterans - fighting men - and would have residual effects of that experience."
Set during the fifth-season of the show, the basic plot involves a suicide
mission Stockwell has given the guys - the last one that will earn then their
pardon - rescuing a man from a Vietnamese Prison Camp, someone who had been
involved in one of Stockwell's operations. They rescue the man, but in the
heat of their escape they are forced to leave Hannibal behind, and in the hands
of one Colonel Dien, who just happened to have been General Chao's second-in-
command at the prison camp where the guys had been interred during the war
(see "Recipie for Heavy Bread"). Dien attempts ruthlessly to break
Hannibal to find out the name of his commanding officer, and to pay him back for
the humiliation he suffered when Hannibal escaped from the camp all those years
ago. And also, because Hannibal had refused the sexual advances Dien had made
towards him while at the camp.
While the rest of the guys struggle frantically to mount a rescue
mission with little help from Stockwell, Dien pushes Hannibal (and Hannibal,
with his usual smart mouth and atittude, pushes back), until Dien finally
resorts to one method of torture that Hannibal had not been prepared for - he
rapes him. Later, in an attempt to discourage any rescue missions, he
arranges for a fake "execution" of his prisoner, and then sends Hannibal off on
a jungle march to weaken his spirits even more and further complicate any
rescue attempt.
The Team is loathe to accept the fact that Hannibal may be dead, so they
mount an all-out information gathering mission through the seediest parts of
Bangkok, and eventually manage to learn of Hannibal's status and that he had,
after a period of time, been returned to Dien's camp. In their eventual
assault on the camp, they manage to free the Colonel and a few other prisoners.
But even after the rescue, they have a long struggle ahead of them - the Colonel
may not survive his injuries, and even if he does the mental tramua he has
suffered may take an even longer time to heal, if it ever will.
As I stated to begin with, this story is no fun-and-games. The
description of the brutalities is disturbingly graphic, definitely the most
realistic I have read in any A-Team fan story. This should not be too
surprising, though, since Rita has put a tremendous amount of effort into
researching this work, talking to Vietnam vets who had been POW's and hearing
just what had happened to them. Maps, a glossary, and various documents on
Camp Regulations help set the tone of realism. The writing is tight and moves,
generally, very quickly. Rita has a strong sense of not just Hannibal's but
all of the Team members' characters and voices. Much of the dialogue can easily
be heard in the reader's mind as if it were actually being spoken by Hannibal,
B.A., Face, and Murdock, and even Dr. Maggie Sullivan, who of course comes to
Hannibal's help while he makes his difficult recovery. Their relationship is
well-drawn and becomes a major focus of the second half of the story.
The side-plots involving the other team members keeping themselves
amused - and sane - while trying to stay by Hannibal's side is well done as
well. B.A. attempts to help a young Amerasian boy who looks to B.A. as a strong
father-figure, while Face finds comfort with a pretty young information-dealer.
Murdock tends to a garden-full of stone idols he has collected, while struggling
with the guilt of feeling responsible for leaving Hannibal behind to suffer
at Dien's camp. Many of the secondary characters introduced for the story,
including former prisoner Doctor Hue, are convincingly drawn as well.
Other plusses: some occaisional moments of unexpected humor to lighten
the mood and allow the reader a bit of fresh air now and then. And,a welcome
plus to this reviewer at least, the inclusion of one gay character who is
sympathetic (unlike the sadistic Dien and some of his guards) and earns
Hannibal's trust, even after the attack (no, it's not one of the Team members,
don't get your ire up...)
Minuses: Not many. Mainly, I could have used a bit more desciption
of the attack on the camp to rescue Hannibal, which seemed to go by a bit too
quickly. But I know how difficult it can be to write really convincing
action sequences, so it's not a major quibble. Also, while the exploration of
Hannibal's character in the second half of the story is interesting, I think
some more work on the side-plots to break things up occaisionally would have
been welcome.
All in all, would I recommend it? Certainly, if you are interested in
a "serious" A-Team story and have a good stomach for some of the more brutal
passages. Last I checked Rita was selling the 'zine at $10, plus postage, and
coming in at 135 pages of CONDENSED text, you certainly get your money's worth,
size-wise. Last I heard there was at least one, possibly two sequels to this
story in the works, involving the team going back to 'Nam (again!) searching for
MIA's. I'd certainly be looking forward to reading them if they ever get
finished!
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*Whew*! I do believe this issue is over and done with, folks, so I'm closing
this one up and hope you've found it interesting and informative.
Until next time, amigos,
nicole
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Quote of the week:
"Doctor Stockwell, I presume?"
(Hannibal from "Point of No Return")
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Keeper of the A-Team Homepage: (Don't tell Colonel Decker!)
http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~pellegri/ateam.html
"It's always darkest just before it goes completely black"
-Col. John "Hannibal" Smith
