"MacGyver" Pilot (1985)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Alan Smithee

Writer:

Thackary Pallor (writer)

TV Series:

"MacGyver" (1985)

Original Air Date:

29 September 1985 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime

Plot:

An underground lab is destroyed by a mysterious explosion. Macgver is sent in to rescue the trapped scientists and stop a deadly chemical leak.

Plot Keywords:

Gilligans Island Character Similarity | TV Series Pilot | Espionage | Spy | Science

Cast

Richard Dean Anderson	...	MacGyver
Michael Lerner	...	Gantner
Dana Elcar	...	Andy Colson
Paul Stewart	...	Dr. Carl Steubens
Michael C. Gwynne	...	Dr. Burke
Michael Fairman	...	Gen. Relkwin
Shavar Ross	...	Reggie
Darlanne Fluegel	...	Barbara Spencer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Bouvier	...	Technician #1
Lawrence P. Casey	...	Colonel Keel (as Lawrence Casey)
Jerry DeWilde	...	Jerry
Michael Johnson	...	Captain Taylor
Charles Lanyer	...	Major Dennis
JoAnna Linn	...	Mary
Richard Partlow	...	Pilot
Olaf Pooley	...	Dr. Sidney Marlowe
Howard Schecter	...	Technician #2 (as Howard Schechter)
Larry Watson	...	Technician #3
Al White	...	Sergeant

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Henry Winkler/John Rich Productions

Quotes:

[repeated line]
MacGyver: God, I hate heights.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in First Kid (1996)

Unbeatable!

MacGyver is the greatest series I have yet to see. The fact that it features someone with morals and who's always willing to help is very refreshing.

I first saw MacGyver a few years ago when I was watching Stargate and my father said, "What are you watching that old MacGyver for?" Well, I had to go look. MacGyver started before I was born, so naturally I missed the first run. But I liked Richard Dean Anderson in Stargate, so I went and looked. Once I started watching MacGyver, I never went back.

There was action, but no guns. A cast of male characters, and no idiocy or sex. It was mind-blowing. Morals, looks, brains, kindness and humour, all in one. The man got shot up, blown up and beat up, and yet never blamed anyone for it. Heck, he'd try to help the one who did it to him, because he could see that something was wrong. If only they still made TV like this. I must admit though, that the original seasons were a lot more amusing in general than the later ones, but I'll watch any episode more than once. :-))