A unique and different kind of TV action series, MacGyver made its television premiere in the Fall of 1985 to much fanfare. Audiences immediately responded to the title character and his unusual penchant for turning everyday items like chewing gum and paperclips into elaborate life-saving contraptions. In this way, it maintained a slight resemblance to The A-Team, and this recurring plot device helped MacGyver build a strong cult following
Richard Dean Anderson plays the title role of MacGyver, an energetic employee of the fictional Phoenix Foundation for Research. An unorthodox hero by action series standards, MacGyver has a deadly fear of heights. A pacifist who refuses to use weapons, he relies heavily on his ability to use his brain and tinker with the various materials at his disposal. MacGyver’s best friend, and the director of the Phoenix Foundation, is Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar). Pete often sends MacGyver on Foundation missions and sometimes comes to his aid (usually after MacGyver has saved the day). In addition, MacGyver is joined on a regular basis by his airplane pilot friend Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill), a man who constantly entangles himself in illegal...