sidney
Army Intelligence
Bounty's #1 Fan
Proud Member of the Triple A Brigade
Posts: 16,004
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Post by sidney on Aug 5, 2023 22:51:47 GMT -5
And yeah, my story started out as an origin story. I do have other members of the team, but they were actually left out of the Hanoi job because Hannibal needed them to... 'babysit' (sort of) Murdock. Hannibal was worried about him being taken from them and 'sectioned 8'. One of my other members is Ray Brenner. I will always believe he was part of the team.
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Katia
Lieutenant
Posts: 420
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Post by Katia on Aug 6, 2023 17:02:05 GMT -5
Man... Wouldn't it be terrible if they *were* the only ones who escaped? And the others already faced the firing line or something? That would be absolutely awful! That would explain why they weren't still trying to break them out... If they were DEAD! Or, it could also be they were the only three who *wanted* to escape.
As far as death sentence... that seems like a bit much for just a bank robbery, even one that likely caused an international incident, unless there were a lot of people killed in cold blood or something (which... would make me think differently about our guys, so I hope that's not the case). I thought in S5 they were sentenced to death for (allegedly) killing a superior officer, not for the robbery? (Again, these were the episodes I missed, so I'm not 100% certain what the charges were that brought on this sentence.) And, since Stockwell was involved and deaths were faked, I assume the process went pretty quickly without appeals and such that might've ultimately circumvented the death penalty in a normal case (can one appeal in a military court?)?
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Katia
Lieutenant
Posts: 420
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Post by Katia on Dec 18, 2023 20:13:49 GMT -5
That's what I'm thinking, but it makes you wonder what. Stuck in a rut? And then there's the fact-- I know I've mentioned this before-- that there's that episode in S5 where Hannibal suggests Murdock might have to pretend to be insane again for a job, and Murdock's really upset at the prospect of possibly going back to a mental hospital. What changed, that he went from "will do anything to stay here" all the way to "super-distraught at the possibility of going back"? Ah, okay, I didn't post it yet: And, there must be *something* going on with him. Why does a grown-ass, nearly-middle-aged adult want to live in a mental hospital rather than their own independent life? It's not quite akin to still living with one's parents, but it's still a refusal to live independently, be self-supporting (in fact, one could actually say quite harsh things about someone who purposely fraudulently lives on the taxpayer dime, as much as I love Murdock). So what is it that makes him not want to be his own man? Oh, I had a thought. When the other guys were getting caught, did Murdock maybe start the "insane" act to keep from getting sent to prison as well? And kept it up because he figured as soon as he was considered sane, he'd get arrested? (although certainly he would've known the guys could've busted him out before that happened...)
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amyk
1-Star General
A-Team Fan Extraordinaire
Posts: 19,463
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Post by amyk on Dec 22, 2023 19:01:27 GMT -5
Man... Wouldn't it be terrible if they *were* the only ones who escaped? And the others already faced the firing line or something? That would be absolutely awful! That would explain why they weren't still trying to break them out... If they were DEAD! Or, it could also be they were the only three who *wanted* to escape.
As far as death sentence... that seems like a bit much for just a bank robbery, even one that likely caused an international incident, unless there were a lot of people killed in cold blood or something (which... would make me think differently about our guys, so I hope that's not the case). I thought in S5 they were sentenced to death for (allegedly) killing a superior officer, not for the robbery? (Again, these were the episodes I missed, so I'm not 100% certain what the charges were that brought on this sentence.) And, since Stockwell was involved and deaths were faked, I assume the process went pretty quickly without appeals and such that might've ultimately circumvented the death penalty in a normal case (can one appeal in a military court?)?
This is an interesting discussion. I'm thinking the death sentence may have been for being traitors, or maybe it was because they were found guilty of killing Colonel Morrison. Are you sentenced to death if you are a traitor? That seems rather harsh in this day and age. And I think the whole tribunal / trial thing was probably a sham anyway, since Stockwell seemed to have everything rigged to go his way no matter what actually happened at the trial.
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amyk
1-Star General
A-Team Fan Extraordinaire
Posts: 19,463
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Post by amyk on Dec 22, 2023 19:05:46 GMT -5
That's what I'm thinking, but it makes you wonder what. Stuck in a rut? And then there's the fact-- I know I've mentioned this before-- that there's that episode in S5 where Hannibal suggests Murdock might have to pretend to be insane again for a job, and Murdock's really upset at the prospect of possibly going back to a mental hospital. What changed, that he went from "will do anything to stay here" all the way to "super-distraught at the possibility of going back"? Ah, okay, I didn't post it yet: And, there must be *something* going on with him. Why does a grown-ass, nearly-middle-aged adult want to live in a mental hospital rather than their own independent life? It's not quite akin to still living with one's parents, but it's still a refusal to live independently, be self-supporting (in fact, one could actually say quite harsh things about someone who purposely fraudulently lives on the taxpayer dime, as much as I love Murdock). So what is it that makes him not want to be his own man? Oh, I had a thought. When the other guys were getting caught, did Murdock maybe start the "insane" act to keep from getting sent to prison as well? And kept it up because he figured as soon as he was considered sane, he'd get arrested? (although certainly he would've known the guys could've busted him out before that happened...) Well, I still like (for some reason, although maybe I'm wrong for wanting this to be true for Murdock) that Murdock is at least mentally unstable and that it is not all just an act. And even if it is an act during the run of the show, I do think that Murdock had some kind of mental breakdown or psychotic event that originally led to him being placed in the psychiatric ward of the VA, even if he no longer really needs to live there. And I wonder, in season five, if Murdock seeming distraught about possibly having to return to a mental hospital was itself a bit of an act. I guess I have to think that in order for things to fit in with my personal A-TEAM "universe" because I have him being excited to move back into the VA in Westwood after season five....
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Katia
Lieutenant
Posts: 420
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Post by Katia on Dec 29, 2023 22:18:35 GMT -5
This is an interesting discussion. I'm thinking the death sentence may have been for being traitors, or maybe it was because they were found guilty of killing Colonel Morrison. Are you sentenced to death if you are a traitor? That seems rather harsh in this day and age. And I think the whole tribunal / trial thing was probably a sham anyway, since Stockwell seemed to have everything rigged to go his way no matter what actually happened at the trial. It's possible to be executed for treason, but... robbing a bank just doesn't make you that big of a traitor; I would think capital punishment would be more for people who put other people in danger by treasonous acts and such (letting out secrets that get spies or informants killed, etc.). For murder, yes, possibly, especially if in cold blood, especially if military law assigns extra weight to killing a superior officer. On top of any charges since, for escaping and whatever else the army may think they did. Well, I still like (for some reason, although maybe I'm wrong for wanting this to be true for Murdock) that Murdock is at least mentally unstable and that it is not all just an act. And even if it is an act during the run of the show, I do think that Murdock had some kind of mental breakdown or psychotic event that originally led to him being placed in the psychiatric ward of the VA, even if he no longer really needs to live there. And I wonder, in season five, if Murdock seeming distraught about possibly having to return to a mental hospital was itself a bit of an act. I guess I have to think that in order for things to fit in with my personal A-TEAM "universe" because I have him being excited to move back into the VA in Westwood after season five.... Oh, as I've said before, I wouldn't be surprised if Murdock has some mental-health issues. In my headcanon, he's got problems with depression and anxiety that probably predated the war-- either as actual issues, or just tendencies that were exacerbated by the war-- as well as PTSD. In my headcanon, he genuinely was committed after the war for those problems*. In addition, in my headcanon he's also always been sort of quirky and a bit of a jokester, so it was easy for him to ramp that up. After that, it's just a question of why he stayed once he got better, and I think most of what we actually see from him in the show is put on (the psychosis, etc.). In one story where he does decide it's time to "get better" and be released (this is one where I cross over Sidney Freedman, whose help is part of his impetus to get out-- Sidney knows he's all smoke and mirrors and bullsh!t but is ready to be patient, and work, with Murdock until Murdock decides it's time), after he gets out, he says, "You should know that I'm not 100% now. I was released because I was deemed capable of living on my own... not necessarily completely cured. I still have things I struggle with... depression, flashbacks, anxiety. I still need to see Sidney, and I still need medication, and I might for the rest of my life.” *I've seen references to him being committed after a plane or helicopter crash, though I don't recall much in the show explaining it. So I've thought about it-- what about that would be the final straw after he went through an entire war? My headcanon for that is that he was somehow at fault for the crash-- took some risk (had to do some fancy/questionable flying to try to get them to safety; I imagine in a war zone you have to do some risky things if you're being shot at, trying to stay low in difficult terrain, etc., and I've always imagined that's why he's called "Howling Mad," because he just would do things that had people screaming and closing their eyes) and it went bad and the plane/chopper crashed, maybe other people died or were hurt-- and that was what he finally couldn't handle, feeling guilty.
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amyk
1-Star General
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Post by amyk on Dec 30, 2023 21:40:43 GMT -5
I could see him being admitted to the psychiatric ward after a crash if it had caused the death of innocent civilians or perhaps of others in the military on board the aircraft. I think he would feel terribly guilty about that.
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