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In the first season, he was an agent for the "Department of External Security", after which he left in favor of a philanthropic HeroesRUs organisation called the Phoenix Foundation for Research, an organization that, if not a front for the UsefulNotes/{{CIA}}, is almost certainly on its speed-dial, where his boss was one Pete Thornton (played by Dana Elcar).
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In the first season, he was an agent for the "Department of External Security", after which he left in favor of a philanthropic HeroesRUs organisation called the Phoenix Foundation for Research, an organization that, if not a front for the UsefulNotes/{{CIA}}, is almost certainly on its speed-dial, where his boss was one Pete Thornton (played by Dana Elcar).
speed-dial.
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Among the show's cast of recurring characters were Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar), Mac's [[BenevolentBoss boss]] and friend at the Phoenix Foundation, Jack Dalton (played by veteran character actor Bruce [=McGill=]), airplane pilot, part time spy, and con artist, who was constantly embroiling Mac in backfiring get-rich-quick schemes, and Murdoc (played by British Rock Singer Michael Des Barres), an assassin for "[[FunWithAcronyms Homicide International Trust]]", reputed MasterOfDisguise, or so we're told. He had a penchant for leaving every episode by [[DisneyVillainDeath falling off of something very high]] while [[SkywardScream shouting an enraged]] "[[SayMyName [=MacGyver=]]]!", only to show up later down the line having survived his accident. Mac's most featured love interest was the scatter-brained Penny Parker, played by Teri Hatcher before ''Series/LoisAndClark'' or ''Series/DesperateHousewives''.
It is however, probably true that later seasons had a few too many [[VerySpecialEpisode Very Special Episodes]], an indulgence that likely led to its declining popularity. Still, the show remains hugely memorable in the US (it was heavily referenced in the ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as a favorite show of Marge's sisters, Patty and Selma, and is parodied in the regular ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' skit ''Film/MacGruber'' where Richard Dean Anderson [[ParodyAssistance once made an appearance]]). It shows in prime-time in Indonesia and Ukraine. It initially ran on Creator/TheBBC in the UK before [[ChannelHop moving to]] Creator/{{ITV}}.
It is however, probably true that later seasons had a few too many [[VerySpecialEpisode Very Special Episodes]], an indulgence that likely led to its declining popularity. Still, the show remains hugely memorable in the US (it was heavily referenced in the ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as a favorite show of Marge's sisters, Patty and Selma, and is parodied in the regular ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' skit ''Film/MacGruber'' where Richard Dean Anderson [[ParodyAssistance once made an appearance]]). It shows in prime-time in Indonesia and Ukraine. It initially ran on Creator/TheBBC in the UK before [[ChannelHop moving to]] Creator/{{ITV}}.
to:
Among the show's cast of recurring characters were Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar), (Creator/DanaElcar), Mac's [[BenevolentBoss boss]] and friend at the Phoenix Foundation, Foundation; Jack Dalton (played by veteran character actor Bruce [=McGill=]), (Creator/BruceMcGill), airplane pilot, part time spy, and con artist, who was constantly embroiling Mac in backfiring get-rich-quick schemes, schemes; and Murdoc (played by British Rock Singer Michael Des Barres), (Creator/MichaelDesBarres), an assassin for the "[[FunWithAcronyms Homicide International Trust]]", Trust]]" and reputed MasterOfDisguise, or so we're told. He MasterOfDisguise who had a penchant for leaving every episode by [[DisneyVillainDeath falling off of something very high]] while [[SkywardScream shouting an enraged]] "[[SayMyName [=MacGyver=]]]!", only to show up later down the line having survived his accident. Mac's most featured love interest was the scatter-brained Penny Parker, played by Teri Hatcher Creator/TeriHatcher long before ''Series/LoisAndClark'' or ''Series/DesperateHousewives''.
It ishowever, probably true that the show's later seasons had featured a few too many [[VerySpecialEpisode Very Special Episodes]], an indulgence that likely led to its declining popularity. Still, the show remains hugely memorable in the US (it was heavily referenced in the ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as a favorite show of Marge's sisters, Patty and Selma, and is was parodied in the regular ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' skit ''Film/MacGruber'' where ''Film/MacGruber'', in which Richard Dean Anderson [[ParodyAssistance once made an appearance]]). It shows airs in prime-time in Indonesia and Ukraine. It Ukraine and initially ran on Creator/TheBBC in the UK before [[ChannelHop moving to]] Creator/{{ITV}}.
It is
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An adventure TV series, running from 1985 to 1992, starring Creator/RichardDeanAnderson. The title character [[DoesntLikeGuns didn't like guns]] (after a friend of his died in a revolver accident when he was a child), preferring to solve problems with his intelligence, resourcefulness and improvised gadgets. He often created some device worthy of Rube Goldberg out of whatever odds and ends were at hand, which is why MacGyvering is [[TropeNamers named after him]].
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An adventure TV Amercan action-adventure series, running from 1985 to 1992, airing for seven seasons (1985–92) on Creator/{{ABC|US}} and starring Creator/RichardDeanAnderson. The title character Creator/RichardDeanAnderson as secret agent Angus [=MacGyver=].
[=MacGyver=] [[DoesntLikeGuns didn't like guns]](after (due to a friend of his having died in a revolver accident when he was a child), preferring to solve problems with his intelligence, resourcefulness and improvised gadgets. He often created some device worthy of Rube Goldberg out of {{Rube Goldberg|Device}} from whatever odds and ends were close at hand, which is why MacGyvering is [[TropeNamers named after him]].
[=MacGyver=] [[DoesntLikeGuns didn't like guns]]
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* AsianBabymama: The origin of Mac's long-unknown-to-exist son Sam, introduced on the final episode.
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* AsianBabymama: The origin of Mac's long-unknown-to-exist friend Jesse Colton turns out to have a son Sam, introduced on the final episode.in Thailand, courtesy of a Vietnamese woman he knew when serving in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar.
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'''[=MacGyver=]:''' Exactly...
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'''[=MacGyver=]:''' Exactly...Exactly why I don't like it.
* DirtyCop: Too many to count. They crop up somewhat more regularly in episodes set in Third World or Soviet Bloc nations, but the ones set in America or other Western nations have their share too.
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* EvilPoacher: Mac clashes with evil poachers in "Eagles", "The Endangered", and "Black Rhino".
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* EvilPoacher: Mac clashes with evil poachers in "Eagles", "The Endangered", and "Black Rhino". The last one actually takes the time to paint a more complex picture of the trade, recognizing that the economic factors involved make the poaching all but inevitable. Lampshaded after Mac and the local animal preserve owner stumble across a mutilated rhino that just had its horn removed before being left to die:
-->'''[=MacGyver=]''': That is the sickest, cruelest, most inhumane thing I've ever seen in my life. And for what? A few hundred dollars?
-->'''Kate''': [[DrivenToVillainy That's a year's wage for most Africans.]] I want to hate the poachers, but I can't. [[CorruptCorporateExecutive It's the traders, the ones who control the market, who must be stopped.]] They get over fifteen thousand dollars a kilo for these horns. [[EvilPaysBetter That's more than the price of gold!]]
-->'''[=MacGyver=]''': That is the sickest, cruelest, most inhumane thing I've ever seen in my life. And for what? A few hundred dollars?
-->'''Kate''': [[DrivenToVillainy That's a year's wage for most Africans.]] I want to hate the poachers, but I can't. [[CorruptCorporateExecutive It's the traders, the ones who control the market, who must be stopped.]] They get over fifteen thousand dollars a kilo for these horns. [[EvilPaysBetter That's more than the price of gold!]]
* FromCamouflageToCriminal: Multiple times, although the ex-soldiers' portrayal varies considerably from one case to the next. In ''Renegade'', Steve Morrison is a former SEAL with a case of PTSD that's devolving into serious mental and emotional issues, who ended up a mercenary partly as a result of the Navy and VA's failure to get him proper treatment. In ''Second Chance'', Frank Skinner's just an ordinary scumbag, a veteran who stayed in Southeast Asia after UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar and currently runs a black market operation in Thailand, using street urchins and robbing things like charity clinics.
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* HollywoodVoodoo: Features heavily "Walking Dead". The episode at least pays lip service to voudon being a genuine religion and that what the villains are doing is a perversion of it. Also, in "The Hood", a character mimics many of the Hollywood aspects, but when the villain of the week gives in to his superstitious fear, she remarks, "Voudon is my religion. That was Saturday morning cartoons."
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* HollywoodVoodoo: Features heavily "Walking Dead". The Played straight, subverted, justified, and generally zig-zagged in ''Walking Dead.'' Parts of the episode at least pays lip service have aged very badly, but it was also one of the earliest depictions of UsefulNotes/{{Voudoun}} in mainstream pop culture that portrayed it as a benign and normal religion, unfamiliar to voudon most viewers but no more inherently bad than being a genuine religion and that what the villains are doing is Catholic or a perversion of it. Also, in "The Hood", a character mimics many of the Methodist. While some Hollywood aspects, but when aspects still make it in, the villain of evil they're tied to is very real, in the week gives form of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duvalier_dynasty the Duvalier regime in Haiti]], which was indeed very fond of Voudoun imagery, and the episode makes it clear that it's there for propaganda purposes rather than actual sorcery. The local priestess in Little Haiti also considers the regime members' use of Voudoun to his be phony and blasphemous, rejects their attempts to bring her on board, and is instrumental to bringing them down.
** Ironically, the most superstitiousfear, character when it comes to voodoo turns out to be a white American, a hitman from out-of-state that [=MacGyver=] and the aforementioned priestess run into in a different episode. She's happy to play up every voodoo stereotype in the book as she remarks, "Voudon pretends to lay curses on him, quickly terrifying him into giving up his partner's location... at which point she breaks down giggling, saying that she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep a straight face.
--->'''Mama Lorraine''': "Voodoo" is myreligion. ''religion!'' That was Saturday morning cartoons."cartoon!
** Ironically, the most superstitious
--->'''Mama Lorraine''': "Voodoo" is my
* TheHorseshoeEffect: Multiple times. The show remained fairly patriotic and anticommunist throughout its run, but also maintained a liberal and activist spirit that often tried to shine a light on the abuses of the U.S. government and the injustices of American society. The evils of communist regimes like China or Romania are on full display, but so are those of pro-U.S. regimes in places like Central America, as well as the crimes of the U.S. security state, and the ugly sides of American capitalism or American race relations. Some examples that stand out:
** ''Early Retirement'' featured Mac's boss and friend Peter Thornton being framed and replaced by a rogue U.S. intelligence officer, who uses his new position to plot the capture and torture of a [[AssholeVictim visiting dictator]] and UsefulNotes/MuammarGaddafi expy that he suspects of supporting terrorism. After the plot is stopped, the dictator declines to press charges in international courts, candidly admitting that it's exactly the kind of thing he would have done.
** The main villain of ''The Gun'' is a firearms manufacturer and strong Second Amendment advocate who's fond of invoking the U.S. Constitution. He's also dealing arms under the table to Middle Eastern terrorists trying to foment anti-Western violence.
** The second TV movie, ''Trail To Doomsday'', takes the same concept up to eleven. One of the main villains is a high-end ArmsDealer who's built an off-the-books nuclear reactor and is planning to sell H-bombs to various rogue states. His partners and first clients are a RenegadeRussian faction attempting to restore the Soviet Union. [=MacGyver=] lampshades the oddity of a communist ideologue working with a capitalist billionaire. Downplayed in that the communist leader was entirely aware of the irony, and had planned from the beginning to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness eliminate her supplier]] as soon as he'd provided her with the bombs.
** ''Early Retirement'' featured Mac's boss and friend Peter Thornton being framed and replaced by a rogue U.S. intelligence officer, who uses his new position to plot the capture and torture of a [[AssholeVictim visiting dictator]] and UsefulNotes/MuammarGaddafi expy that he suspects of supporting terrorism. After the plot is stopped, the dictator declines to press charges in international courts, candidly admitting that it's exactly the kind of thing he would have done.
** The main villain of ''The Gun'' is a firearms manufacturer and strong Second Amendment advocate who's fond of invoking the U.S. Constitution. He's also dealing arms under the table to Middle Eastern terrorists trying to foment anti-Western violence.
** The second TV movie, ''Trail To Doomsday'', takes the same concept up to eleven. One of the main villains is a high-end ArmsDealer who's built an off-the-books nuclear reactor and is planning to sell H-bombs to various rogue states. His partners and first clients are a RenegadeRussian faction attempting to restore the Soviet Union. [=MacGyver=] lampshades the oddity of a communist ideologue working with a capitalist billionaire. Downplayed in that the communist leader was entirely aware of the irony, and had planned from the beginning to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness eliminate her supplier]] as soon as he'd provided her with the bombs.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Very common; a character expressing prejudiced views is, in fact, a fairly sure sign that they'll turn out to be a villain.
* RealityIsUnrealistic: [=MacGyver=] is well remembered as "the secret agent who doesn't carry a gun," something that's exceptionally unusual and unrealistic by the standards of SpyFiction. As retired spies have long pointed out when commenting on the genre, however, in real life, spies are most often ''not'' armed in the field. The reason is simple: in almost every circumstance, a gun is far more trouble than it's worth. If you're seen with one, it's nearly impossible to explain, and turns you into an instant cop-magnet even if you aren't thrown in jail on the spot, which in many countries, you would be. And if you do get found out as a spy, a gun will do you no good, because no matter how good you are, you are ''not'' fighting your way out of an entire country's worth of cops, soldiers, and spies on their home turf and with all the resources of their government at hand. What's far more useful in a spy is the ability to think on your feet and a facility for making friends quickly, both of which [=MacGyver=] has in spades.
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* TheRemnant: In "Humanity", [=MacGyver=] tangles with the K-Force, a group of PraetorianGuard still loyal to Romania's dead tyrant Ceauşescu.
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* TheRemnant: TheRemnant:
** In "Humanity", [=MacGyver=] tangles with the K-Force, a group of PraetorianGuard still loyal to Romania's dead tyrantCeauşescu.Ceauşescu.
** In ''Walking Dead'', it's the Tonton Macoutes, the former secret police of Haitian dictator Duvalier, trying to set up shop in Little Haiti.
** In "Humanity", [=MacGyver=] tangles with the K-Force, a group of PraetorianGuard still loyal to Romania's dead tyrant
** In ''Walking Dead'', it's the Tonton Macoutes, the former secret police of Haitian dictator Duvalier, trying to set up shop in Little Haiti.
** The ultimate example, of course, are the villains of ''The Ten Percent Solution'': a group of escaped Nazi war criminals who've been quietly living in America and are linking up with local white supremacist movements to encourage the secession of five U.S. states to form the new Aryan Nation.[[note]]This was in fact a real scheme being discussed at the time the episode aired. However, there were no Third Reich survivors involved in real life, just homegrown neo-Nazis.[[/note]]
* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: [=MacGyver=], given his IncorruptiblePurePureness, is immune to bribery. However, the same principle shows up in some surprising places:
** You wouldn't think his archenemy Murdoc, being a ProfessionalKiller who works for money, would feel this way, but it turns out his reputation as an ImplacableMan who always kills his target means more to him than his paycheck. Explained when he's hired by someone who then changes his mind and tries to pay him extra to call off the job:
--->'''Murdoc''': Well it's not really that simple. You see, I have a reputation for always completing my professional assignments, and I rather treasure that reputation.
** You also wouldn't think this applies to Jack Dalton, Mac's childhood best friend who's always looking for a quick buck, but it does. He's perfectly willing to break the law if there's money in it, but he'll back off immediately if the lawbreaking in question involves hurting people, or betraying his friends, or anything else (like dealing drugs or selling out his country) that he considers beyond the pale. This is the source of most of his problems: he's too greedy, impulsive, and drawn to get-rich-quick schemes to remain an honest citizen, but he's also too fundamentally decent to ever be a successful criminal, as a result of which he tends to end up with both sides of the law gunning for him.
** You wouldn't think his archenemy Murdoc, being a ProfessionalKiller who works for money, would feel this way, but it turns out his reputation as an ImplacableMan who always kills his target means more to him than his paycheck. Explained when he's hired by someone who then changes his mind and tries to pay him extra to call off the job:
--->'''Murdoc''': Well it's not really that simple. You see, I have a reputation for always completing my professional assignments, and I rather treasure that reputation.
** You also wouldn't think this applies to Jack Dalton, Mac's childhood best friend who's always looking for a quick buck, but it does. He's perfectly willing to break the law if there's money in it, but he'll back off immediately if the lawbreaking in question involves hurting people, or betraying his friends, or anything else (like dealing drugs or selling out his country) that he considers beyond the pale. This is the source of most of his problems: he's too greedy, impulsive, and drawn to get-rich-quick schemes to remain an honest citizen, but he's also too fundamentally decent to ever be a successful criminal, as a result of which he tends to end up with both sides of the law gunning for him.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: It doesn't happen as often as it realistically should, but Mac does from time to time run into technical problems that are beyond his ability to fix. A good example is when a group of black market thieves rob a Thai hospital and take several components from a dialysis machine. Despite his friends' hope, Mac makes it clear that this is ''not'' something that can be handled with an ad hoc fix of chewing gum and duct tape.
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* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: Mac does this to Pete in "The Odd Triple" via a message he left on his answering machine:
-->'''Tape Mac:''' Hi, Pete. Listen, you might wanna sit down.\\
-->'''Tape Mac:''' Hi, Pete. Listen, you might wanna sit down.\\
to:
* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: Mac does this to Pete PlayedForLaughs in "The Odd Triple" via a message he left Mac leaves on his Pete's answering machine:
-->'''Tape Mac:''' Hi, Pete. Listen, I'm calling kind of early, but I wanted to make sure youmight wanna sit got this. So do me a favor, will you? Sit down.\\
-->'''Tape Mac:''' Hi, Pete. Listen, I'm calling kind of early, but I wanted to make sure you
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'''TM:''' Thanks. Listen, I had to help Jack out with a thing...\\
'''Pete:''' ''[stands back up]'' You what?! You should know by know that Jack is nothing but trouble!\\
'''TM:''' Listen and sit back down. I know you're gonna say that he's nothing but trouble but...
'''Pete:''' ''[stands back up]'' You what?! You should know by know that Jack is nothing but trouble!\\
'''TM:''' Listen and sit back down. I know you're gonna say that he's nothing but trouble but...
to:
'''TM:''' Thanks. Listen, Uh, Pete, something came up, and I, uh, well, I had to help Jack out sort of took off with a thing...Jack.\\
'''Pete:''' ''[stands back up]''You what?! You should know by know that Jack ''Dalton?''\\
'''TM:''' Pete? Sit down. This is completely legitimate.\\
'''Pete:''' ''[sits down again]'' Dalton is nothing but trouble!\\
'''TM:'''Listen and sit back down. I know you're gonna say that he's Dalton's nothing but trouble but...trouble...
'''Pete:''' ''[stands back up]''
'''TM:''' Pete? Sit down. This is completely legitimate.\\
'''Pete:''' ''[sits down again]'' Dalton is nothing but trouble!\\
'''TM:'''
* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: Often, but the villain of ''The Challenge'' is an especially significant example. A racist who tries to frame an inner-city youth center as a nexus for drugs and gang violence, and escalates to lynching when that doesn't work, he's an ordinary store owner from Los Angeles, in other words, exactly what the assumed viewer would see as the guy next door. He isn't from Germany, South Africa, the American South or any other region stereotypically associated with white supremacy, nor does he appear to be affiliated with any of the infamous groups like the Nazi Party or Ku Klux Klan. The showrunners wanted to make the point that this kind of evil really can appear absolutely anywhere.
* ThouShaltNotKill: His most sacred rule, due to a childhood incident in which he accidentally shot one of his friends dead while they were playing with a gun. He occasionally comes across a strong temptation to use one, but always [[TakeAThirdOption finds another way.]] Furthermore, this ethos is so ingrained in him that even when he's lost his memory and finds himself pointing a gun at someone, which has happened at least twice, he's still unable to pull the trigger. As Murdoc puts it, "it's not in your blood."
** The only time he's come close to murdering someone was right after catching a racist responsible for the lynching of one of his close friends, while the man was printing his white supremacist tracts and after he shrugged off the lynching and justified it with "because he's black, because he talked too much." One of the cops calls him back to his senses just before he can deliver a brutal and possibly fatal beating.
** In an oft-cited case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, the pilot episode does feature him returning fire against Soviet troops that had him cornered. We don't see any of them get hit, though, so it's easy to explain as simple covering fire to give himself time to escape.
** The only time he's come close to murdering someone was right after catching a racist responsible for the lynching of one of his close friends, while the man was printing his white supremacist tracts and after he shrugged off the lynching and justified it with "because he's black, because he talked too much." One of the cops calls him back to his senses just before he can deliver a brutal and possibly fatal beating.
** In an oft-cited case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, the pilot episode does feature him returning fire against Soviet troops that had him cornered. We don't see any of them get hit, though, so it's easy to explain as simple covering fire to give himself time to escape.
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* TheVietnamVet: [=MacGyver=] served as a bomb disposal engineer in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar.
to:
* TheVietnamVet: Quite a few. None of them remember it very fondly.
** [=MacGyver=] himself served as a bomb disposal engineer inUsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar.UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar.
** Pete was an Army officer during the same war, rising as far as colonel before switching careers to become an intelligence officer.
** At least one of the Colton brothers, Jesse, served in the war.
** A variety of one-shot characters that appear throughout the series are veterans of the war, usually but not always good guys.
** [=MacGyver=] himself served as a bomb disposal engineer in
** Pete was an Army officer during the same war, rising as far as colonel before switching careers to become an intelligence officer.
** At least one of the Colton brothers, Jesse, served in the war.
** A variety of one-shot characters that appear throughout the series are veterans of the war, usually but not always good guys.
