MacGyver - Profissão: Perigo

Okay, here's yet another one of my famous nostalgic-experience stories from my youth.

I'm writing this in 2002. I was born in 1976, so that means when "MacGyver" premiered in 1985-- I was nine years old. My father and my older brother used to watch it, but it never really kept my interest as I was too young to understand and appreciate the intelligence and physics of everything. MacGyver-- along with "Hill Street Blues"-- was blown off by me when it started... only to be embraced whole-heartedly by me in my teen years.

When I re-discovered "MacGyver", I was in junior high, and had begun watching it on a daily basis in syndication on the USA Network. It came on at a great time-- 5pm. I was out of school by 3:30 every day, and had plenty of time to get home to watch it 5 days a week. True, I saw the same episodes over and over again, but I loved it so much, I didn't care.

One of the best things about this show is that MacGyver was the perfect role model for young guys who grew up watching the show. He didn't smoke, he didn't drink, he gave his rewards to charity, he never swore or got angry, he hated guns, and he used his WITS to get himself or others out of trouble.

--and "MacGyver" used an aspect not seen (to my knowledge) since the days of Sam Spade... the show used "Film Noir"-- basically, you hear the person's thoughts in a voice-over while they're doing what they're describing.

Now, I can appreciate the biggest complaint about this show: some people don't like it because it's unrealistic that a man could make an explosive device with a lightbulb, a paperclip, and some cleaning supplies. Yes, some of the "MacGyverisms" were eye-rollers... especially in the series finale-- when he and his newly-found son escape out of some kind of pit by strapping fire extinguishers to their backs and setting them off. Yes, that's stupid. But come on, people! This is SEVEN YEARS of thinking up MacGyverisms! They can't ALL be gems! But most of them were REALLY clever and REALLY worked!

I know for a fact that this show inspired me to be a better, more-helpful person to others... and to use my mind to remedy situations. I've tried to watch "Stargate SG-1" with Richard Dean Anderson... but it just makes me sad, because I want to see the long hair and the brown leather jacket with the red plaid interior lining.

From what I understand, "MacGyver" is only playing at 10am Monday through Friday on WGN (a Chicago station) nowadays. USA dumped it (jerks) and I haven't seen it since. But I'm dying for another reunion show. I miss Jack Dalton. (Bruce McGill) I miss Pete Thornton. (Dana Elcar-- who's gone blind from Gloucoma, bless him) Both are fine, fine actors who added greatly to the show.

But... sadly, all good things must end. It's been off the air for years, but I still think about the show all the time.

If you've come here for a review to see if the show's worth watching, it absolutely is. Let your kids watch it. It's a wonderful influence, and I think you'll really love the outcome you'll get from letting them watch it. Hey, watch it yourself. You'll probably get hooked too.

As a kid, I was brought up with a couple of TV-heroes that I adored over all, and that I wanted to be just like. One of these heroes was special agent/survival-expert Angus MacGyver, a guy that, unlike other action-series heroes, didn't grab the nearest firearm when things got hot. For him, an used paper clip, the wrap from a bubblegum, a spring from the bottom of a rusty old bed and his trusty Swiss army knife (which has become MacGyver's trademark) would do the job.

The thing with MacGyver is that it's original. Rare to any other series today, it focuses on the brain instead of brute force, which is actually a good thing, considering that television today is heading for a more "brains-off, action-on"-attitude. Angus MacGyver hates weapons and therefore never uses them, but instead, combining limited resources, he finds simple and elegant ways of dealing with the problem at hand. And the best part is, that (atleast in theory) MacGyver's inventions would really work, making it even more fascinating (even though some of them are not to be recommended to try).

Admittably, some of the episodes may not feature the best acting according to modern-day standards, and some of the ideas and solutions may be slightly used up, but seeing as the series aired in the mid-80's, I don't find it in anyway disturbing, rather the opposite, I find MacGyver to be a true treasure among the TV-series of today, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys wit, humor and a good time spent getting surprised by the geniousness of MacGyver's contraptions!

MacGyver is synonym for resourceful and creative. If you look those words from the dictionary, you'll see MacGyvers photo and a text: dude, who can make anything out of a roll of duct tape, dental floss and some loose pieces of stone.

That's the whole basic idea for a show. MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is a secret agent, or something, who uses his brain before his brawn always coming up a clever solution on dispatching the baddies without the need of using a gun. Though he might do explosives now and then. ;) Mac's boss is Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar), boss of Phoenix foundation, that seems to dabble in a bit of everything, just like Mac. Another regular character is Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill), Mac's adventurous pilot friend who is often in trouble or is gonna get in one in order to help his friend.

What astonishes me is, that MacGyver has lasted the test of time reasonably well. Sure, there are lots of episodes, that feel a bit campy these days, but in all the series is still very watchable. And this comes from a person, who saw MacGyver for the first time back in 80's as a little kid (I was little under ten when it started in the TV here) and saw the series again in my mid twenties.

From '85 to '92, MacGyver filled a necessary gap on television: that of the action-adventure hero. Basically MacGyver is the Indiana Jones of the 80's, which the show itself acknowledges (MacGyver goes on several archaeological expeditions, including one for the Holy Grail!). Added benefits were the hero's reliance on mechanical improvisations, his aversion to guns, and the large cast of supporting and recurring characters. The episodes tend to get a bit preachy with their "Message of the Week" in the 4-6th seasons, reflecting star Richard Dean Anderson's own personal beliefs.

Although I am only 28 years old, this 1980s show brings wonderful memories. I remember back in high school during the 1990s I was captivated by the this MacGyver character, his battles against arch enemy Murdock, and I was wishing there were many more shows like this, even today. This show was intelligent, creative, non-violent even though it had fair amount of fights, but it wasn't about killing a whole bunch of people like many shows today have stories that evolve in that direction.

I was fortunate enough to buy all seven seasons of MacGyver and even today I enjoy watching them. Richard Dean Anderson did a great job with the portrayal of this somewhat legendary character.