Templeton "Faceman" Peck

A-Team character|

name=Templeton "Faceman" Peck
rank=Lieutenant
awards=
actor=Tim Dunigan (pilot)
Dirk Benedict (rest of series)
episode="Mind Games" (season 4)
"Alive at Five" (season 5)
"Family Reunion" (season 5)

Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck, (often referred to simply as "Face") is a fictional character in the 1980s action/adventure television series, "The A-Team" played by Dirk Benedict. Tim Dunigan played this role in the pilot episode (it was rumored that he was thought to look too young to be a believable Vietnam veteran, and he was also much taller than the rest of the cast), but was replaced by Benedict for the rest of the show's run. The character of Face appeared on "The A-Team" from 1983 until its cancellation in 1987.

Fictional character biography

In the series, the character of Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck is a member of the A-Team, a group of ex-United States Army Special Forces who are unjustly accused of a crime during the Vietnam War. Managing to escape from the military police, they flee to Los Angeles, where as fugitives, the A-Team works as soldiers of fortune, using their military training to fight oppression or injustice. Face, along with Hannibal Smith, B. A. Baracus, and H. M. Murdock make up the A-Team.

In the pilot episode (""), Face is described as follows by a reporter colleague of Amy Allen: "Templeton Peck, known as the Faceman. In and out of trouble. An orphan from L.A. This guy is Mr Ricky-Ticky. A con man. A real operator." Suave, smooth-talking, and hugely successful with women, Peck is dubbed "Face" because of his handsome looks, which are essential to the team's survival and operations as Murdock explains in the episode "Family Reunion" (season 5) to Face's father. In "The only Church In Town", Face is shown to be a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

As the team's con-man and scrounger, Face seems to be able to get his hands on just about anything they need. Effectively second in command behind Hannibal (although technically Murdock has a higher rank), [As shown in the fourth season episode "The Road to Hope".] he is the one who arranges for supplies, equipment, and sensitive information using numerous scams and hustles. He has an uncanny ability to talk anybody (especially women) out of (or into) just about anything. In the first season episode "Holiday in the Hills", an example of Face's skills are displayed: First, Face is capable of arranging a car and safe passage into a South American country. Later stuck in a forest with a dying man, the team refers to him getting a Cadillac '53 during a mission in the jungles of Vietnam. He proceeds to take the silk from a plane's parachute to use for a makeshift ultralight aeroplane to transport the wounded man and then in the guise of a priest, scams a woman out of a motor and a set of wheels from a seeding machine.

Because of his talent as a con artist, Face generally lives the high life, staying in ritzy apartments and wearing expensive suits. He drives a custom white Corvette sports car with a red stripe (to match B.A.'s van), which is equipped with a CB radio and a car phone, a rarity at the time. He is also an expert at picking locks and cracking safes. B.A. once said that if Hannibal hadn't put Face on the team, he would probably be in jail, which Face confirmed ["Labor Pains" (season 2 episode 8)] .

Not much for hand-to-hand combat, Face is forever complaining about the inevitable fighting that ensues. Nonetheless, in some episodes Face shows considerable fighting prowess, handling numerous opponents on his own. In the majority of episodes, he calls in the help of B.A. [Such as in the season 2 episode "The Only Church in Town", although B.A. is unable to help him, and Face is forced to take care of his opponents himself.] . Face will often leap at his enemies in an effort to work them down to the ground. In numerous episodes, he teams with Murdock to take down enemies [Both tactics are shown in the episode "There's Always a Catch" (season 2 episode 9).] .

Face also handles the team's money. As mentioned in several episodes, Peck is an orphan [This is first revealed in the pilot episode.] . He was abandoned by his parents at an early age, and was raised in different orphanages. In the episode "The Bells of St. Mary", it is revealed that Peck played football in a parochial school run by a nun. He employs this knowledge to coach orphans in that same episode, and again in the episode "Quarterback Sneak" (season 5) with former football players.

In the season 4 episode "Mind Games", it is revealed that Templeton Peck is not his real name. In season five ("Family Reunion"), Face learns that his father was a man named A.J. Bancroft and that his birth name is Richard, and he has a half-sister named Ellen. His assumed names in order are Richard Bancroft, Alvin Brennar, Al Brennan, Al Peck, Holmes Morrison, Morrison Holmes, and finally Templeton Arthur Peck ["Mind Games" (season 4 episode 9).] .

Romantic relationships

Because of the nature of Face's character, Face traditionally pursues the lead female character of a particular episode, and often hooks up with her by the end of that episode. Throughout the show's run, only a few female characters have become interested in other members of the team, or are mentioned because they differ from the traditional female lead.
* Jackie Taylor ("Till Death Do Us Part", season 1 episode 12) - Jackie Taylor is different from the typical female lead in that Face initially seeks to seduce her, but stops doing so when that episode's plan calls for him to marry her, thereby crossing that episode's antagonist. This way, the antagonist can't take control of Jackie's inheritance. Afraid of the commitment at first, Face eventually gives in and has a short fling with Jackie, but, as he always does, leaves her at the end of the episode, and their marriage is annulled.
* Leslie Bektall ("The Only Church in Town", season 2 episode 17) - In the series' continuity Leslie Bektall is one of Face's first romances. It is revealed that the two were in a relationship fifteen years ago, but she suddenly disappeared shortly after he had given her his fraternity pin. She revealed to Face that she had gone into a nunnery, an ambition she had held for some years before. At the time however, Face had seriously considered asking her to marry him and he was devastated. Face implies that it is this event that leads to his dropping out of school and joining the Army, where he would eventually meet the rest of the team. A result of the same incident is his womanizing ways. In the episode, she needs his help, tipping him off by sending the fraternity pin back to him. She reveals that she has followed his military career closely and continues to pray for him every night. They come close to rekindling their romance, but find they have grown too far apart. After helping her, Face leaves his fraternity pin with her once more and they part amicably.

In other countries

* In some Spanish speaking countries, his nickname is "Fas", coming from "Fascinador" ("fascinater") as it was stated in the pilot episode dubbed "Operation A.T." and "Black Day at Bad Rock" among many, many others (incidentally, the Spanish word "faz" means "face" and is pronounced the same as "Fas"). In Spain, however, his nickname was simply "Fénix" ("Phoenix"). In Italy he was called "Sberla" ("Slap"). In Brazil, his nickname was "Cara-de-Pau" ("Wooden face"). In Poland, "Buźka" ("Cute Face"). In France,"futé" which holds for "smart".

References