MacGyver (TV Series) Pilot (1985) User Reviews

Amazing pilot

[tenshi_ippikiookami · 9/10 · 1 April 2016]

"MacGyver" is a series that a whole generation remembers, a generation that grew up watching MacGyver's amazing skills. It also has a very characteristic atmosphere, typical of the era, starting with MacGyver's hair and the clothing and people smoking.

When people talk about the Golden Era of TV, they forget that there were very cool TV series in the past too. This pilot marks the tone for the series. It starts with MacGyver saving a pilot and defusing a missile in the middle of nowhere in Asia, and continues with an explosion in a research facility, with lots of people trapped and a countdown before they have to shut down the place, as there is a chemical leak. There goes MacGyver to try to save the day.

And it is a hell of a ride. The pace of the episode is frenetic, we have lots of amazing moments (the tobacco one is a very cool one, and people that have played Metal Gear Solid will see a homage there). It is incredible the level of imagination the writers had in the episode, as MacGyver has to go from one problem to another as the clocks turns.

But it is not only the action. Richard Dean Anderson's MacGyver is a magnificent character, full of charisma and swagger, all charm and resource. And Dean Anderson's characterization is spot on. It is curious to think that he became almost more famous for his job on Stargate, but his signature character is of course, this MacGyver, which he makes easy to relate to from the very first second, as if you had known him forever.

A great start to a great series.

MacGyver and the lost legends of 80s TV

[guy-stanley · 8/10 · 26 January 2006]

As a child of the late Seventies, I have fond memories of the 80s television that began in my formative years. Given that my family moved all over the place while I was a child - I was schooled on four different continents - I lose track of what shows were aired in which country... No-one here in the UK remembers Supertrain or Riptide - I saw those whilst in the U.S or Trinidad. Equally not a soul I speak to here in England remembers Cover Up or Tales of the Gold Monkey so not sure where I saw them!! Everybody seems to clearly remember the A-Team and Knight Rider, some remember Street Hawk, others can stretch as far back as Automan. Those asked are of a similar age group to myself (in the just-south-of-30 bracket) So I tried an experiment with my A level students here at college and asked them what of these they remembered. I accepted the fact that these kids are all born across 87-89 but was surprised that they seemed aware of A Team / Knight Rider and some more enlightened souls even Street Hawk and Airwolf - but not one of them had EVER heard of Macgyver!! Even my own age group are fuzzy over this Ace amongst the dross - at most they are dimly aware that there was a show - "kind of a one-man A Team, but with no guns..." and ".. with that bloke from Stargate in it?" One of them even believed that the Simpsons had CREATED Macgyver as a spoof show!!! Oh, the sacrilege! Thank Paramount for the release of the boxsets so I can now begin to educate the masses...

Seven seasons... SEVEN... Count them: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 AND 7!!! What did Knightrider rack up? Four...five, tops! How can Street Hawk be better remembered than that? Why did Mac never hit Syndication in the same way? The UK's satellite services has many dedicated 'repeat' channels - none of which show Macgyver at all EVER... and Don't get me started on Gold monkey!! Aside from the odd blip on the radar - Buffy, Firefly and even Smallville (Ok, Brimstone, and a few others) TV lost something when we left the 80s Like the gag-reel outtake I saw of SG1 with Carter and O'Neil stuck on a moon, the gate down and disaster looming - Carter turns to O'Neil: "Seven Seasons of MacGyver, and you can't get us off this rock?!"

Nifty Tricks In Tight Spots.

[mxmithrandir · 8/10 · 24 February 2005]

Like a true child of the mid 80s, I was glued to the television every week as early as 7 years-old, when MacGyver hit the shores in Malaysia. He didn't have the fancy gadgetry nor the suave ways to shimmy out of trouble most of the time and he did get into a *lot* of trouble.

What he did have most of the time was air and scrap wires and it suddenly they were the handiest tools ever. The man single-handedly popularised the trend of using coat hangers to get out of anything.

The cheesy 80s theme music was the perfect lid on the pot of the most inventive TV show ever.

It invented cool and if I could get one bit of my childhood back, it would most definitely be every Tuesdays at 8pm in front of the TV.

Unbeatable!

[doodlegirl13_2000 · 22 May 2004]

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. :-))

They don't make em like this anymore!

[pmcollectorboy · 10/10 · 30 May 2000]

Good tv shows are hard to find. It's either guns and violence or trash-talking and sex. Then there's wrestling, which fits both categories. Here we have a hero who defeated the bad guys using his smarts rather than his fists. How cool is that? They just don't make shows like this anymore. The Stargate series is cool, but Anderson IS MacGyver.

The Greatest Television Show Ever

[hmarq · 10/10 · 1 July 2001]

MacGyver is a great television series wherein problems are solved through the use of scientific knowledge rather than bad language or guns. Although some episodes were more action-filled and exciting than others were, this show will always remain one of my favorites. It would be wonderful to see more shows wherein the main character has morals and actually appears to care about other people. Even though some things MacGyver does in the show seem improbable, most of his scientific solutions seem to be based at least partially on scientific principles.

The last couple seasons of MacGyver were not quite as enjoyable as the first few, but overall, the show is probably better than every show today. I genuinely enjoy watching the reruns of MacGyver and would love it if Richard Dean Anderson did another MacGyver movie (if it was similar to the original series). Watching the reruns is really great when one of today's "big" stars is on, and I always have to laugh because these stars were not really even known before MacGyver.

Even though I was only 4 when this show began, it helped instill a love of science in me that has lasted the almost ten years since the show ended. Wouldn't it be great if another show came on the air that used duct tape, a Swiss army knife, and many other common items to get out of situations? I guess we'll just have to settle for old MacGyver reruns and seeing Richard Dean Anderson in Stargate SG-1, which does contain some inferences to MacGyver.

God I love this show

[weerdo1482 · 10/10 · 2 October 2001]

This is one of the greatest shows ever. Every guy would love this show. How can you beat it. Its a secret agent that builds all his gadgets from stuff he finds. Although, some of the lessons and morals and plot lines are a little cheesy, alot of the action and other stuff is just unbelievably great. perfect. I wish it was still on tv.

Worthwhile

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 18 October 2020]

On the strength of this pilot they decided to continue with the show

Best Ever

[hld1010 · 10/10 · 24 November 2001]

MacGyver is definitely my favorite TV series ever, and I love watching the reruns. This series combines science and creativity with a really cute, kind, and smart main character, to give a show that is genuinely fun to watch. Although some of the plots were kind of lame and a few were very fake (the nuclear plant one--come on!), overall this show was and still is great.

Richard Dean Anderson and most of the other actors/actresses on the show were perfect for their parts, and I still enjoy watching Anderson in other shows and movies. (Although I do have to admit that whenever I see Anderson I think of him as "MacGyver.") The very first episode of MacGyver really did start the show off to a great start, and I do think that the first few seasons were better than the last couple. However, there ARE good shows after the third season.

Mind is a very powerful tool.

[another_fan · 10/10 · 23 December 2005]

I think I was about 10 years old when I first discovered "MacGyver". A local TV station was showing re-runs during the late '90s. This TV show caught my attention because of the main character, MacGyver. MacGyver was fun, smart, a modern day superhero whose only superpower was his intelligence. There are many life lessons about friendships, love and finding out who you are. I think Season 4 especially shows many of those important life lessons and through the characters we learned them as well. There are no shows on TV today that can be compared to this particular show. "MacGyver" is truly a unique piece of TV history. I always had a blast watching "MacGyver" adventures. And now years later I still enjoy watching it. I hope that new generations will learn to appreciate the good old - "MacGyver".

come awn. come awn.

[angrywaterfowl · 1/10 · 3 August 2005]

come awn. this show is just dumb. sure, he can make a bomb out of a toothpaste container and a condom, but can he make love. i submit that he cannot and here are the following reasons why. he has a mullet, a total turn off. if i dated a girl who had a mullet, id be like what the fudge am i doing. probably a dude. bud um Ching. number two, hes obviously a liar. nobody can create combustion with toothpaste and lubrication. it just doesn't happen. unless he used special gunpowder brand toothpaste and blasting caps for...protection. anyways. he lies. there's also that guy i saw in a Disney movie once. hes a guest star and let me tell you, in my day, our guest stars didn't suck. he did. because he was all over Macgyver. bud um Ching. i keep em' coming. so let me end this with the wise words of Pete Townsend sung by Rodger Daltry. who the f*** are you, you, you, you. pk signing off.

The Pilot episode for the best TV series ever created!

[Indyfan82 · 16 November 2000]

This is the Pilot episode that kicked the MacGyver series off. MacGyver is the best show ever created for television. It has enjoyed a successful run for seven seasons and also produced two made-for-tv movies. Simply the best series ever. Had a great combination of science and action. MacGyver had some wonderful values and a refusal to use guns that made the show unique. He'd always use his Swiss Army Knife and duct tape as well as things around to get out of trouble. It was an incredible show and the best ever made.

Wouldn't be my usual episode to watch

[michaelchikliscares · 8/10 · 2 December 2020]

Nothing too fancy takes place during this episode, but we get turbo thruster, a piece of chocolate to seal the acid leak in the laboratory. Too bad we didn't see more Barbara. Those 80s funky laboratory sounds make me feel so old now. Then we get to see water pressure pushing the debris away, Mac working the laser reflection.

But the opening gambit is pretty cool with the parachute landing, too bad we also never see that guy again, like most of the hostages he rescues.

But as expected , Pilot episodes might a coin roll between calm introductory, no heavy budget for this episode I guess.

MacGyver

[poetskip · 10/10 · 7 November 2005]

I have watched the t.v. show Macgyver over and over again. It's like watching Idiana Jones but with a person who has a knack of getting out of any situation. I am looking forward and hoping that they would do a movie version of the television show. any one up to seeing a movie based on the t.v. show? I know I am. Now who would be great to play Angus Macgyver. Any one got an Idea? I got one that could play such a part. Daniel Craig Of "Sylvia" And who would play Pete Thornton And Murdock:I think that the one that should play Murdock should go to Ralph Fiennes. This I think would be a good cast for a macgyver movie Maybe sometime in 2007?

Coolest show.. hmm i dunno

[XiberWiz · 15 February 2003]

Well as much as I am a fan of the series "Macgyver" but looking back at the re-runs I must admit that the series would appeal to mostly those people who have watched it while growing up. Ok now what I hated about the series.. badly coordinated stunts that you could actually tell were just meant to impress a kid. Ok now for what I liked about the series,well for starters the character itself "Magnus Macgyver" was nothing short of a role model. Here is a guy with a really cool personality and a lots of morals that he likes to live by, of coarse not to mention his uncanny trait of getting out of really extreme conditions.I personally found so many inspiring dialogues from the series. Hmm what else and yes alot of guest appearances by many stars. Did I mention Teri Hatcher...and you would find the likes of unknown stars back then like Cuba Gooding Jr. Overall a great series, always love to catch re-runs whenever I can

second best tv show ever (behind x-files)

[wmy9g · 1 April 2002]

i cannot say enough fantastic things about macgyver. not since vincent price's portrayal of "egghead" has a character used such depth of mind to go about solving the difficulties that present themselves in everyday life. as an agent of the mysterious phoenix foundation, angus macgyver travels the globe, vanquishing evildoers hellbent upon acts of opprobrium. whether macgyver be stunting the oppressive forces of communism, or disposing of the malevolent murdoc, each episode provides for thrilling action coupled with smart humor and fascinating practical science.