Mr. T is my man, always has been. People always ask me why I'm fasciCliffd, nay, idolize, the Man with the Mohawk. Its really quite simple, actually.
I was born in 1978, in a small town in Iowa, which made me 6 years old and in a city where I nothing else to do but watch The A-Team on NBC Friday nights. For an impressionable kindergartner, Mr. T was simply the baddest man on the planet. Bad in a 1987 Michael Jackson kind of way, which is good. I shared an initial with Mr. T, which in my six-year-old mind, made me cool like T. My brother and I had all the A-Team gear; I had an A-team lunchbox and everything. I can remember the day my Mr. T action figure beat up my Mr. Miyagi action figure like it was yesterday. So vivid, the memories of the punch and head-butt that whupped the karate chop arm action from Miyagi.
Mainstream media have always poked fun at Mr. T. I read an article about his new show, purporting to be straight news, yesterday that said, and I quote, "Mr. T, the star of the critically panned 'A-Team' television series of the early '80s and little else since, is strangely held in high regard and even beloved by males 25-32."
So there's something strange with liking Mr. T? I'm 27, putting me smack dab in the middle of that age group. We grew up with Mr. T, and kids younger than us don't get it -- nor do people older than us. We get it. Mr. T was then and always will be the baddest man on the planet, and if you don't get that, than I pity you, fool.
Why do I bring this up? My friend John, who told me yesterday about Mr. T's new show, emailed me again this morning from Los Angeles with another scoop:
The story continues...KROQ reported this morning that Mr. T has been so touched by the suffering from Hurricane Katrina, he will no longer be wearing his trademark jewelry. What the hell?! T without the bling! T is the founder of bling. I wonder if T will be helping people in khakis and a polo.
They said he did an interview with USA Today.
John
USA Today did in fact have an interview with His T-ness. He is indeed giving up the bling. He is not going to wear khakis and a polo. I read it on the crapper this morning, and it absolutely made my freaking day.
"Because of the situation we're in now (after Katrina), I told myself, 'No, T, you can never wear your gold again.' It's an insult to God."
That is a great quote. First of all, His T-ness refers to himself in the third person -- minus the "Mr", which is just hilarious. I don't know about losing the chains -- although it will probably help to shed the 80s excess persona -- but seeing him in a suit and bow tie as he promises in the interview will be worth it. Because he's totally keeping the mohawk. A giant man in a suit and bow tie with a mohawk. Now that's awesome.
Essentially, as the article tells us, the TV show will just be a televised version of what he already does. "Even though people call this a reality show, this is what I've been doing all my life, going to Iraq and visiting hospitals," he says. "I'm going to be a troubleshooter. Like Mission: Impossible, we'll pick out certain cases."
According to the USA Today, "one scenario would find him suiting up to work at a car dealership to assist a saleswoman who is being harassed by her male co-workers. Another situation would place him in a family's home, to help a parent whose child has fallen in with the wrong crowd."
I don't think I need to tell you how Awesome this sounds. I'd be disappointed in you if I did. Because obviously its Awesome...with a capital T.
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