People who grew up in the 1980s will be familiar with this TV show. MacGyver was very popular in my native South Africa (and in many other countries around the world). If I recall correctly MacGyver aired on Friday nights on South African television and I didn’t miss many episodes. When I think back to the 1980s MacGyver is definately one of the shows that I associate with this time frame in my life. This show was on air from 1985 until 1992 (in the USA). A total of 139 episodes (7 seasons) were made. MacGyver also spawned 2 movies, MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis and MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday. Richard Dean Anderson starred in all of the episodes as Angus MacGyver. Richard Dean Anderson is also known for his role as Jack O’Neil in Stargate SG-1. The show also featured appearances by Dana Elcar, Teri Hatcher (famous later on for her roles in Lois & Clark and Desperate Housewives) and Bruce McGill (now a veteran TV and film actor).
Angus MacGyver was reffered to as MacGyver or Mac in the show and can be described as an enigmatic loner who often found himself working for the Phoenix Foundation, the US government, or a friend in need. His enemies ranged from militant drug lords and dictators to racist store owners. Macgyver was always able to defeat his foes with his skill, not with violence. He was well-known as a person who favors brain over brawn in order to solve desperate problems. He was also famous for his practical application of scientific knowledge and creative (and inventive) use of common household items that may be laying around. His Swiss Army knife also made a common appearance. The solutions to problems implemented by MacGyver in sometimes life-or-death situations and his ability to improvise with complex devices in a matter of minutes was one of the major attractions to the TV show. MacGyver was widely praised for generating interest in the applied sciences and engineering. The show also provided viewers with entertaining story lines. The creators of show did acknowledge that one would have to be extremely lucky for most of the ideas expressed in the show to succeed in real life. In some episodes MacGyver used household chemicals to create poisons, explosives and other dangerous things. Details about these things were intentionally altered or left vague in the show to prevent wannabe terrorists who may have been watching from making them at home. In recent times there have been rumors that there are plans for a MacGyver movie in 2011. This will not surprise me at all since The A-Team movie will be released in 2010 (featuring District 9 star Shelton Copley). It’s okay to bring out a MacGyver movie but producers should wipe the idea of a newly revamped Macgyver TV show from their minds, because it will do injustice to the original show and upset fans of one of the best TV shows of the 1980s.
This is a clip of the MacGyver intro:
Related Links:
MacGyver – Wikipedia
MacGyver – Internet Movie Database
MacGyver – TV.com
MacGyver – EpGuides
oh man I loved this series, it was awesome.
Philip: Thanks for the comment. It was awesome indeed. There are no shows like these anymore