Product Description
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All seven seasons of the hit television show are now available
in a single collection. MacGyver - The Complete Collection
includes every episode of the television series that forever
changed the way people looked at their junk drawers and
introduced "MacGyvering" into the English language. Watch Richard
Dean Anderson in his star-making role as MacGyver, the
-hating, gadget-building, mullet-having secret agent in
classic episodes like Jack of Lies and Blood Brothers.
.com
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Season One
Like James Bond--but without the high-tech gadgets--Angus
MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is one of those rare beings who
can avert any crisis without mussing a hair. (The rest of us
should be so lucky.) In the pilot alone, the secret agent
dismantles a missile using a paper clip and fashions a rocket
thruster out of a pistol. Is there anything MacGyver can't do? As
the first season of ABC's long-running adventure series proves,
the answer is a resounding no. MacGyver's secret: the everyday
items he "finds along the way," like matches or gum wrappers, and
the ingenuity to put them to a myriad of uses (a background in
physics and chemistry doesn't hurt). Unlike Alias' Sidney
Bristow, he isn't a multi-linguist, a martial artist, or a master
of disguises. Wits are MacGyver's weapon of choice.
Produced by Henry Winkler (Arrested Development), The Complete
First Season includes all 22 episodes from 1985-1986 (alas, there
are no extras). MacGyver is joined by Phoenix Foundation director
of operations Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar), who is introduced in
"Nightmares." Also, his grandher, Harry Jackson (John
Anderson), makes his first appearance in "Target MacGyver," while
friend Penny Parker (Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives) makes
hers in "Every Time She Smiles" (they will appear more frequently
in future seasons). Other notable guest stars include Joan Chen
(The Last Emperor) in "The Golden Triangle," Nana Visitor (Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine) in "Hellfire," and John De Lancie (Star
Trek: The Next Generation) in "The Escape."
MacGyver ran for seven seasons and was followed by two
made-for-TV movies in 1994, Lost Treasure of Atlantis and Trail
to Doomsday. In 1997, after a short-lived series for UPN (1995's
Legend), Anderson landed the lead in an even longer-running
series, Stargate SG-1
( http://www..com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/548974/$%7B0%7D ), based
on the sci-fi extravaganza with Kurt Russell. --Kathleen C.
Fennessy
Season Two
MacGyver's second season begins by following the same blueprint
as the first (although the opening gambit is gone). Richard Dean
Anderson is back as the eponymous secret agent. So is Pete
Thornton (Dana Elcar), operations director of the Phoenix
Foundation. In addition, Mac's ditzy pal, Penny (Teri Hatcher),
and beloved grandher, Harry (John Anderson), return for a few
episodes. In the season premiere ("The Human Factor"), a
skeptical man says to Thornton, "So this is your main
guy. He doesn't even have any gear." Responds Thornton, "That's
what makes him so special." As before, Mac doesn't drink, smoke,
or carry a firearm. He puts it plainly in the fourth episode
("The Wish Child"): "I hate s." Mac would rather use
non-violent means, i.e. "MacGyverisms," to fight crime. Midway
through the 22-episode year, however, creator Lee David Zlotoff
(Remington Steele) decided to shake up the formula by introducing
two new characters. First there's Mac's college buddy, Jack
Dalton (busy character actor Bruce McGill from Animal House, The
Cinderella Man, etc.), who makes his first appearance in the
sixth episode ("Jack of Lies"). Then there's Mac's arch-nemesis
Murdoc (actor/musician Michael Des Barres from Melrose Place),
who makes his in the eighteenth ("Partners"). Other notable
second season guest stars include Fast Times At Ridgemont High's
Vincent Schiavelli ("Soft Touch"), Murphy Brown's Robert
Pastorelli ("Out in the Cold"), and Star Trek's George Takei and
Wayne's World's Tia Carrere ("The Wish Child"). MacGyver also had
a tendency to bring back actors from previous seasons for
different roles. Second year returnees include Mean Streets'
Richard Romanus ("Twice Stung"), Barney Miller's Gregory Sierra
("Jack of Lies"), and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Nana Visitor
("D.O.A. MacGyver"). As with the first season, there are no
extras. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Season Three
In "Ghost Ship," MacGyver's boss, Pete (Dana Elcar), is asked to
define what makes Mac (Richard Dean Anderson) so special. He
replies, "You know, I've known him for eight years now, and I've
never quite been able to put my finger on it. He just always
comes through, no matter what." And that he does. MacGyver's
third season begins with a blast from the past when Mac runs into
Lisa (Elyssa Davalos), a woman he thought he had killed
(unintentionally, of course). Turns out Lisa's just fine, but she
did do a little time in a Russian gulag, proceeding to marry the
ex-KGB operative who set her free. The two-part season opener
("Lost Love") allows Mac to make it up to his former flame with a
little help from pal Jack (Bruce "D-Day" McGill), AKA "The Great
Sheldrake," whose latest career move is magician.
The producers must have felt that Anderson and Davalos had
chemistry as she returns a few episodes later ("Fire and
Ice")--sans Russian accent--as Nikki, a different, recurring
character (oddly enough, Mac fails to note the resemblance). Like
Teri Hatcher's Penny, who doesn't appear in the third season,
Nikki isn't a love interest, but a friend (and Phoenix Foundation
colleague). While Penny will return the following year, Nikki
will not. Fortunately, Michael Des Barres' maniacal Murdoc does
reappear ("The Widowmaker"), but only once before Mac neatly
dispatches him yet again--or does he? Other guest stars include
three Kung Fu vets: The Sopranos Joe Santos ("Back From the
Dead"), Blade Runner's James Hong ("Lost Love"), and Keye "Master
Po" Luke ("Murderer's Sky," the season finale). The latter two
appeared in previous years, but--like Davalos--as different
characters (whereas Santos's Jimmy "The Eraser" Kendall was first
introduced in the second season). --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Season Five
Desperate times call for desperate measures--and the desperate
will stop at nothing to get MacGyver's attention. In the fifth
season premiere ("Legend of the Holy Rose"), an old friend
releases his houseboat from its moorings--while he's in it. Four
episodes later ("Halloween Knights"), an old enemy relieves his
boat of its belongings. It works, of course. Mac lives to help
people in need, even if those people include obnoxious archeology
professor Zoë (Lise Cutter), who enlists his aid in tracking down
an ancient artifact, and the mysterious Murdoc (Michael Des
Barres), who does the same to rescue his kipped sister.
Joining forces with arch-enemy Murdoc marks a break with previous
seasons. Otherwise, the fifth features the same resourceful
secret agent as the first four (though he’s relying on those
inventive "MacGyverisms" less often as the series continues).
MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) still travels the world on
behalf of the Phoenix Foundation, while reporting to supportive
superior Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar). As before, he goes it alone:
no , no back-up, no wisecracking sidekick--not counting
reckless rogue Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill), who drops by on
occasion to shake up MacGyver's well-ordered world.
Aside from a greater interest in socially conscious causes, like
the protection of endangered species, the 1989-1990 season also
breaks with the past by an episode set in the Old West
("Serenity") and another set in the afterlife ("Passages"). In
the former, Jack and Penny (Teri Hatcher in her final appearance)
return as prototypes for their present day characters. Murdoc
returns, as well--this time wearing a black hat. In the latter,
Grandpa Harry (John Anderson) bids adieu. Other fifth year guests
include Blossom’s Mayim Bialik ("Cease Fire," "Hearts of Steel"),
The Exorcist’s Linda Blair ("Jenny's Chance"), and Jerry
Maguire’s Cuba Gooding Jr. ("Black Rhino," "Serenity").
--Kathleen C. Fennessy
Season Seven
The houseboat is history. In the final season, MacGyver (Richard
Dean Anderson) moves to a loft in an eccentric inner-city
neighborhood. The point seems to be to paint the secret agent as
less of a loner, but living away from the rest of the world
seemed to suit MacGyver better. Fortunately for fans, Mac's
ever-enthusiastic buddy, Jack (Bruce McGill), and surprisingly
lively nemesis, Murdoc (Michael Des Barres), who faked his death
in year six, come back to add a little zest to proceedings that
were starting to grow stale (see "Obsessed" and "The ain of
Youth"). Aside from Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar, now wearing dark
glasses due to glaucoma), MacGyver's boss, other recurring
characters include Mama Lorraine (Kimberly Scott), a voodoo
priestess, and the Colton brothers (Cleavon Little, Richard
Lawson, and Cuba Gooding Jr.), who return in "The Coltons," pilot
for a series that never materialized (Della Reese, who plays
their mother, would have better luck with Touched by and Angel).
In addition, Mac's son, Sam (Dalton James), is introduced in "The
Stringer," the series' fitting finale. Sadly, Elcar, who also
starred in Barretta and Black Sheep Squadron, would pass away in
2005.
Instead of a full season, only 14 episodes were produced for the
seventh, including the silly two-parter "Good Knight MacGyver,"
in which a bump on the noggin transports Mac to Camelot. As he
spends more time with the Challengers Club than the Phoenix
Foundation, other stories revolve around domestic matters rather
than the international crises of yore. Guest stars include
Shelley Berman ("Honest Abe"), Wendy Malick ("Obsessed"), Henry
Gibson ("Deadly Silents"), and Dick Butkus ("Split Decision").
The final season was followed by two tele-films, an appearance on
The Simpsons, and a Super 2006 MasterCard commercial in
which Anderson revived his most famous character. Priceless,
indeed. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
