Tales from TAT

Zine
Title:	Tales from TAT
Publisher:	TAT Appreciation Society
Editor(s):	Donna Foster
Date(s):
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	The A-Team
Language:	English
External Links:
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Tales from TAT is a gen A-Team fanzine published by the TAT Appreciation Society. There are at least three issues.

Issue 1

Tales from TAT 1 contains 56 pages.

• The Original A-Team Pilot by M.C. Coy
• The Reflection by Diane Spencer
• I Left My Heart In by Jane Watkins
• Friends by Sockii
• Templeton Peck by Dee Dee
• Snakebite by Terry Evans
• Silent Night" by The Lieutenant
• The Real Me by Sue Bowley
• Somebody Inside of Me by Diane Spenser
• A Problem Filled Day for The A-Team by M.C. Coy
• Snakebite 2 by Lynne Norman
• In Defense of The A-Team by Sola Starshine
• The Sun Rises Forever by Sola Starshine
• Lady of Mystery by Elion Slayer

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

• Overall:6
• Fiction:6
• Artwork:10
• Layout/editing:9

Favorite: (1) Sombody Inside of Me because I liked the plot idea - one of the members becoming the hunter rather than the hunted and the strong feelings between the guys that aided in their escape.

Least Favorite: (1)The Poetry because There is nothing wrong with the poems.

They're just not my thing.

Issue 2

Tales from TAT 2 contains 65 pages.

• Father Figure by Jan H (4 pages)
• A Piece of Cake? by Lynda Craney (Another mission which certainly wasn't.) (9 pages)
• Shipwreck by Tracy Humphreys ("Murdock must find the guys who have been captured by the military and then shipwrecked in a storm.") (1 page)
• Brothers in Arms by Diane Spencer (2 pages)
• A Night for a Fright by Adrian Townsend (5 pages)
• Teacher's Pet by Diane Buckley (4 pages)
• Face Meets a Lady by Lynda Craney (2 pages)
• American Werewolf in America by Jenna Russell (3 pages)
• Memories by Sola Starshine (4 pages)
• Shipwreck by Lynda Craney (27 pages) (1985, online date)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

[American Werewolf in America]: I.M.O. it's an exceptionally good story, at least compared to the other A-Team zine stories I've read. Definitely worth checking out if you can find it. Not that the other stuff is necessarily bad, but [this is one] I especially enjoyed. Your Mileage May Vary.

[American Werewolf in America]: I've got a *really* out-there story for everyone's enjoyment, thanks to Jenna Russel, one of the original members of The A-Team Appreciation Society in England. I think you'll all get a real kick out of it.

[...]

... I have what's got to be one of the weirdest, most tongue-in-cheek A-Team stories I've come across. Everyone gets some ribbing in this piece, so take it lightly - Jenna mentioned actually receiving some "death threats"(!) from people when this piece first appeared.

[zine]: As the editorial states, this 'zine is a mixture of competition entries and general submissions from members of the Appreciation Society. The stories run a gamut of styles, being mainly action and humor-oriented, however, with one or two more serious stories. There are 3 pieces by Lynda Craney, including the longest, "Shipwreck." This approx. 25 page-long novella deals with the Team being captured by Decker while on a job in the pacific, and then getting shipwrecked along with the MP crew after a storm. Murdock, with some help from Amy, has to work first to try to find them and then to get them away from the military. It's a good story, as are most of the contents of this zine, if a little rough around the edges. There is also a good piece by Jan H, who wrote 2 stories I enjoyed greatly in the zine "The Agony Column" which I reviewed here a while back. This story, "Father Figure," presents an interesting idea for Face's family background. Also interesting and a bit different is "Teacher's Pet" by Diane Buckley, which tells the story of how Murdock earned his nickname "Howlin' Mad" as a young child. Overall, I would recommend this 'zine if you are looking for a good mix of short Team stories, most heavy on Face-content, Murdock probably second. The art work is a mix of photographs and a couple very nice drawings. If you're looking for romance and hurt/comfort primarily, you won't find it here, though. The feeling is definitely tounge-in-cheek and light, with occaisional moments of tenderness... just like the original show, actually.

Issue 3

Tales from TAT 3 contains 63 pages.

• Bite by Jan H
• Last Chance by Jan H
• Howling by Jan H
• Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word by Socki
• An Ode to BA by Sharrone Houseley
• Early Days by Bogey
• Very Far Away by Francis Bishop
• Caught in the Rain by Debbie Johnson
• Young at Heart by Debbie Johnson
• A Taxing Affair by Sharon White
• Christmas by Lynda Craney
• The Letter by Lynda Craney
• Merry Christmas Mr. Murdock by Diane Buckley;
• To Heal A Dream by Terry Evans
• Adventure in Oz by Rae McAnally

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

The highlight of this 'zine is the opening piece, "Bite," by Jan H, an author whose work I have admired in other 'zines before (including 'The Agony Column 1', reviewed here previously.) This 14-page story starts out with the hoary old horror-show premise of the Team spending the night at a strange house during a storm with some rather unusual hosts. However, the story quickly rises above the cliched premise with some outstanding and totally in-character dialogue, and then some very well-written and surprising plot-twists. Definitely not a story to be missed, it definitely had me going and reading eagerly to the very last page.

The rest of the 'zine in general does not live up to the promise of the opening story, except perhaps for the short hurt/comfort story "To Heal a Dream" by Theresa Evans (which has appeared in two other 'zines, "Suffering Heroes" and "Heroes' Plight") and "A Taxing Affair," a rather humorous piece about Face having problems with the British Tax Agency. "Last Chance," an alternative-universe A-Team story by Jan H is also very good but left me wanting it to be a much longer piece so I could find out what happened next. The longest entry in this issue, "Adventures in Oz," involves some shady business practices in Australia and a kidnapped nurse from the VA Hospital, and is too short on good dialogue and too long on uninspired narrative to keep the reader's interest in finding out what happens next. A bit of a dud in my book.

Overall, a bit spotty but not bad. Not a "must" by for a casual 'zine collector, but if you have the spare change it's pretty much worth the admission price for "Bite" alone.