DARK
MURDOCK
BACKGROUND
This is where Dark
Murdock and Dark Club get explained. Kind of.
So, who is Murdock,
what’s Dark Club, why does it exist and what the heck does it have to do with
the Virtual Asylum?
I’ll try and start
at the beginning.
Who Is Murdock?
Captain H.M. (Howlin’ Mad) Murdock (Dwight
Schultz) was the mad pilot on the hit 80s TV programme The A-Team. The rest of the
team consisted of Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith (George Peppard),
Lieutenant Templeton “Faceman” Peck (Dirk Benedict)
and Sergeant BA “Bad Attitude” Baracus (Mr T). All four of them served in Vietnam, Hannibal, Face and BA as
Green Beret Special Forces soldiers, Murdock as their excellent pilot. Then, in 1971, the Team were ordered to rob
the bank of Hanoi in an attempt to end
the Vietnam war.
Murdock dropped them off and then flew back to the base just in time for
the base to be bombed, their commanding officer, a certain Colonel Morrison
killed and all record of their orders destroyed. The Team were successful with their mission,
arrived back at headquarters with ten million yen and were arrested on sight,
accused of robbing the bank for their own advantage. Shipped back to the states, Hannibal, Face and BA then
faced trial for a crime they did not commit, and facing the prospect of life in
prison, they escaped from the stockade and disappeared into the Los Angeles
Underground. Murdock, however, continued
his tour in 
Nam before cracking and
being sent home. He was committed to the
Veteran’s Administrations Hospital Psychiatric Ward where he continues to live,
considered by the world to be insane.
The series itself started ten years later, Hannibal, Face and BA still
on the run being chased by the military police and Murdock still in the
VA. However, the team have set
themselves up as a modern day Robin Hoods, taking jobs for people who can’t go
to the cops. Breaking Murdock out the
VA, they take him with them, often travelling around the US and the world on
their adventures. Although considered
insane, the team trust Murdock implicitly, often humouring his obsessions, listening
to his advice and letting him fly them anywhere in anything that can get off
the ground. Murdock is as much a part of
the team as any of the others and the fact he is not wanted by the government
is something that saves the team on a number of occasions.
So, If He’s ‘Insane’ Why Dark Murdock?
Murdock was
considered insane and often played on this fact. Whether or not he was actually ‘insane’ is a discussion
point, although it is clear he did have some mental problems. Usually he was a happy, joking, light hearted
type character, but every so often his ‘dark’ side would show through. It’s clear he is very talented. He speaks Vietnamese, Cantonese and Italian
fluently. He can fly anything that can
get off the ground. He’s more than
capable of coming up with is own plans. He
was a very highly decorated officer in Nam and worked for the
CIA at least twice while he was there.
All in all, he’s more than he appears and every so often that dark side
will come out in the episodes. When needed
to be he could be ruthless, dangerous and at times was not above doing anything
necessary to get the job done. This is
his ‘dark’ side.
Okay, I’m With You So Far, But Why Dark Club And
What Does It Have To Do With The Virtual Asylum?
Dark Club is a fan
group for people who love the idea of Murdock’s darker side. The members of this group generally all
belong to a big yahoo group called the Virtual Asylum which is ran by Jipster
and Captain Marina. The Virtual Asylum,
or VA for short, has over 500 members, people who love The A-Team and these people tend to be divided into different
faction groups. There are the Murdockians – fans of Murdock who have also formed Murdock’s
Crazy Barmy Army. The
Temps – fans of Templeton “Faceman” Peck. The Hannipeeps –
fans of Hannibal. And so on. Now there’s a group for all those people who
adore the dark side of the crazy one. Hence, Dark Club.
Now, Dark Club is different to the other groups, in the idea that
membership is not restricted to just one group.
Dark Club welcomes everyone, no exceptions made – yes, we even welcome
Temps – as long as they love the dark side of the Crazy One. This group is not being run to rival the
other groups, but rather to compliment them.
(We know we’re the best, we don’t need to argue about it). So, if you love the dark, ruthless side of
the Crazy One, sign up now and become a member. You won’t regret it. (but should you
regret it we will not be held responsible and don’t try suing, we know where
you live and we’ll hunt you down and…)
If any members want to add anything
here, maybe some thoughts on why they personally love the dark one, please don’t
hesitate to offer something. Mail me at hayleyann_may@yahoo.com
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