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On the Jazz - Vol 01 Issue 19
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The totally unofficial A-Team electronic mail newsletter
Submission address: onthejazz
Administrivia: Nicole Pellegrini
Please use the following addresses for subscribe/unsubscribe
and back issue requests:
pellegri, nicpell
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DATE: May 22, 1995
ISSUE: 19
VOLUME: 1
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Hi everybody!
Time to get started on this issues matters-of-business...
First, the answer to last issue's trivia question: Can you
identify at least 3 different occaisions when the team used food
--or some edible object of some type--as a weapon?
One brave person attempted an answer and got pretty close.
>From tnewhous:
>I can't remember the name of the episode, but I believe the A-Team was
>somewhere in the Central Valley of California, like Fresno or somewhere.
>Anyway, they were helping some farmers, and they made a "Lettuce Shooter"
>and shot heads of lettuce at the enemy.
Actually it was cabbages ("I hate cabbages, fool, so don't be talkin'
about them!"), and the episode was "Labor Pains."
>Also, I'm not sure if they used the food as a weapon, but one time they
>had to help a man and his daughter transport their watermelon's. I
>remember because they totally thrashed Amy's new little European import
>car to make a little armored car.
They did use the watermelons as a weapon, dumping them out of a chopper
and onto the bad guys' truck ("Nice drop kemosabe"). The episode was
"Operation Watermelon."
Other episodes I had in mind were:
"Mission of Peace" -if i remember correctly the little old ladies bake
some deadly muffins.
"Trouble Brewing" -they use high pressure shooters of the Hi-Brite
soda to take out the bad guys in the end.
Also, I might be mistaken as I haven't watched this one in a while, but
didn't they also use taffy in "Showdown!" to put the bad guys in a
rather sticky situation?
This week's question inolves what seems to be Hannibal and Face's
favorite song: "You Are My Sunshine." How many times did they end
up singing this lovely ditty on the show and in what situations?
Moving on to other matters...those of you in the States might have
caught the little blurb on Stephen Cannell in last week's TV Guide
"What I Watch" section. Apparently he's just published his first
novel--anyone read it yet? Anyway, when asked to chose which of
his many tv shows he thought were the best, he picked Rockford
Files, A-Team, and Wiseguy.
I got a number of requests for the Dwight Schultz interview about
UFOs, so here it goes, at least the start of it. FYI, this is from
"UFO" magazine, 14 Vol 9, No. 4 1994. Much thanks again to
Valerie for getting this article to me in the first place!
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"It's No Act--He's into UFOs" Article by Dean Lamanna
In the universe, some stars are brighter than others. And
so it is in Hollywood. When it comes to doing interviews, most
of today's celebrities--ever mindful of why they're celebrated--
would rather stay in character, tell a dumb joke or capitalize
dutifully on some personal crisis than reveal their quirks or
discuss their beliefs, religious or otherwise. Armed with a
battery of tasty, all-purpose sound bites, many actors have
learned to work the press to the point where even the most skilled
reporters slip into complacency, settling for a risk-free and
mainstream-friendly, question-and-quip rote.
So I found it refreshing, if a tad unsettling, that seven
years and over a hundred celebrity interviews couldn't quite
prepare me for the bracing personality of Dwight Schultz. While
best known for his manic turn as "Howling Mad" Murdock in the
long-running NBC series "The A-Team" and as the awkward Lt.
Reginald Barclay in episodes of the even longer-running "Star
Trek: The Next Generation," the Baltimore-born performer is
closer in mien to his higher-brow roles, including those of
Major Alistair Ross in the Broadway production of "The Crucifer
of Blood" and the atomic-bomb daddy J. Robert Oppenheimer in
the feature film "Fat Man and Little Boy." And as one spends
time with him, it becomes apparent that there's more to this
man--with his eclectic tastes in reading material (Albert
Camus, Heinz Pagels) and entertainment (jazz music, roller
coasters)--than meets the eye.
Armchair Intellectual
Indeed, over a savory lunch of sushi and tempura at his
favorite Japanese restauant in the San Fernando Valley, Schultz
displays all the signs of an armchair intellectual--notably a
tireless inquisitiveness and a sobering adeptness at theoretical
connect-the-dots.
We're here to talk about his long-standing interest in UFO
phenomena, which peaked recently during a close encounter with
this periodical at a local bookshop. "I've been burned so many
times by going through the junk," he says, waving his chopsticks.
"But, 'UFO's' attitude toward the subject is very similar to
mine. It's not an advocacy; its philosophy is more 'I want to
believe this, but I want it proved.' I'm not into debunking or
ridiculing, but I realize that the field is littered with
hoaxers and charlatans. And why is that? What can we do to
change that?"
Schultz doesn't pretend to have the answer. Nor does he
suggest that his ideas or personal theories--several of which
we'll broach later--are more than that. Yet after a decade of
reading UFO-related books, talking to experts and recording
television and radio acounts, he suspects that the sleazy and
hypocritical elements of the field are promulgated by the
government to keep it fenced off from "real" science. "I'm a
mathematical illiterate, but I'm fascinated by science," Schultz
says. "And I've talked to a lot of scientists. Ironically, in
private they don't say disparaging things about the UFO area. In
fact, their eyes soryt of roll around and they kind of go, "Hmm'-
like there's something there and they don't want to talk about
it. But they're not that kind when they are speaking in public.
They're cruel, in fact. Which I think is also quite
interesting."
Carter's sighting
Schultz's curiosity about matters extraterrestrial deepened
as he began to notice what he calls "a pattern of belief"
displayed by those who are antagonistic toward the field. To
help illustrate this point, he places a cassette player on the
table between us and replays the excerpt from a 1980 broadcast of
the Michael Jackson radio talk show. The guest is former
president Jimmy Carter, who, in a gripping account, vividly and
explicity recalls a UFO he and others had seen over southern
Georgia years earlier. "What it was, I have no idea," Carter
says in closing.
"It's a very typical UFO sighting," says Schultz, clicking
off the recorder. "Carter said it changed color and, in the
physical report, described it as being about the size of the
moon. And he saw it with about twenty-five other people. Now,
(radio host) Michael Jackson has an extraordinary ego. He can
remember names, dates, places and phone conversations from
callers years ago, and very specifically."
Here's why that's important: About six months later,
according to Schultz, Carl Sagan appeared on the show to plug a
new book. "A caller wanted to know about the existence of
extraterrestrial life and UFOs, and Sagan gave his typical
[Schultz imitates the astronomer's distinctive delivery] 'Well,
these things are never seen by more than two or three people at a
time, and there's never any corroboration by radar
triangulation.' And Michel Jackson chimes--this is a paraphrase--
'Why is it that the only people who ever see these things are
off-duty, half-drunk policemen on the banks of the Mississippi
and single mothers coming home from the Pillsbury bake-off?' and
I thought to myself, You pigmy! just six months earlier Jackson
had heard the president of the goddamn United States--a man he
reveres!--say that, along with fellow witnesses, he had seen a
UFO.
"Now, Jackson could remember a caller three years ago
calling about some event in Nicaragua. But *this* information
could not be calculated, couldn't be stored, because it did not
comport with his predetermined belief as to what was what in the
world."
Going back even farther, there are other blatant instances
of witnesses pilloried by the media, says Schultz--citing
television journalist Mike Wallace's grilling of Major Donald
Keyhoe. Wallace took Keyhoe to task over four Air Force
documents described by Keyhoe, informing him that the Air Force
steadfastly denied they existed. Then, according to Schultz,
Wallace attempted to get Keyhoe to praise astronomer Donald
Menzel, a well-known debunker.
"Keyhoe's stock dropped," Schultz says. "He was made to
look like a liar on television." Today, he adds--thanks to the
Freedon of Information Act--the documents have been obtained.
Exactly as described
"They are *exactly* as Keyhoe described them. I think
these should be sent off to Wallace, who kept saying to
Keyhoe, 'Why would the Air Force lie to you? Why would they
lie to us?' Now he should be saying, 'Why was I utilized by
the Air Force to lie to the American Public?' That's the question."
Schultz believes that military personnel who were active
during the intense burst of UFO activity from 1947 to 1952 and
wanted to come clean about what they saw were surpressed by the
government. "They did everything they could to ridicule them,"
he says. "We even have the document which states that this was
going to be the government's tool--debunking and ridiculing. So
they implemented that policy, and it has been successful to this
day--to the point where you can't get someone like Michael
Jackson to remember, after just six months, an incident
involving the president of the United States."
To be continued next time...
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Finally in the information and silly trivia department,
according to korman, the group that
did the "Idiot Grin" video with the A-Team figures in it was
called Do-Re-Mi.
Now on to some postings...
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Subj: A-Team books
Date: Tue, May 9, 1995 2:56 PM EST
From: P.J.Hewlett
To: Onthejazz
Nicole,
Looking in past issues of OTJ and also in the Distasis bibliography,
only six books of the series seem to be mentioned, all written by Chris Heath
and concluding with the original story of the Team`s escape from the
`maximium
security stockade`.
I have four other books than those mentioned (numbers 7-10
surprisingly enough) - are these maybe only available in the UK or something,
or have they just been forgotten about?
When I have sorted it out I'll post a list of all the titles, authors
etc.,plus I know a good second book mail order firm in the UK where they are
available, generally in good condition and I'll let you know the address - I
don't know how soon that'll be though as exams are looming!!!
Just watched the "Tr-ash bags" episode yesterday (much more
interesting than revising!) and can finally appreciate your comments about
it,
what an excellent episode - but then all the first season ones are pretty
good
in my opinion.
Does anyone in the UK have many copies of episodes? I reached 71 over
Easter but don't have access to many more unless they're shown on TV which
isn't very reliable. I'd love to hear from anyone who'd be willing to copy
some for me, or if anyone would like copies, please let me know.
Hope to post some more soon,
Cheers,
Peter.
Exeter, UK
en92pjh
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Peter,
Please keep us updated on the books when you get a chance. I know I
only ever saw 1-6 in the stores in the States and I diligantly kept
an eye out for them when they were originally being published. #6
was awesome! Wish I could still find my copy...
nicole
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Date: Tue, May 9, 1995 1:40 PM EST
From: TanelornCS
Subj: A little factoid
To: Onthejazz
Hey there!
I just have a little fact that I thought might be kind of interesting,
especially for any college basketball fans out there. I'm a student
at the University of Kansas, and one of our basketball players, the
6'11" power forward Raef LaFrentz, is named after a George Peppard
character in one of his movies. I can't remember the name of the
movie off the top of my head, but I will dig through some newspapers
and see if I can't find it. By the way...look out for Raef! He's
going to be incredible! Rock Chalk Jayhawk Go KU! ::grin::
Chad Schaffer
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Well, that's it for now. Z you later & stay on the jazz.
nicole
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Quote of the week:
Face: "You want me to go out there and ask B.A. for PAPRIKA?!"
Murdock: "You remember that girl you had me call--"
Face & Murdock (in unison): "Paprika."
--From "Cup A' Joe"
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