Favorite MacGyver Scenes
In Target MacGyver, Mac sneaks into the kitchen of a beach house where a lady general is being held captive. Working to create a diversion, Mac first checks the refrigerator. He finds a bag of carrots and selects one. He puts the others back but keeps the plastic bag, filling it with ice. He sets the bag on the counter and places a large serving tray on it, using the back of a nearby chair to support the other side. He then stacks pots and pans on the tray and turns on a toaster oven near the bag of ice. At this point, I'm still wondering where the carrot stick fits in. As he's backing toward the door, Mac spies the carrot on the counter, he picks it up, surveys his work, and takes a bite of the carrot.
In Countdown, Mac is asking the captain of ship for a neon sign, which he needs as part of deactivating a bomb. At this point, another ship employee approaches, announcing that another bomb has been found. Without missing a beat, Mac turns back to the captain and asks, "You got two neon signs?"
In The Human Factor, Mac and Dr. Ludlum are fleeing a deadly robotic guard and they dive into a trash chute. They land on a platform that's designed to open - and dump its contents into an acid bath below - when there is 280 pounds of material on it. MacGyver says they're in trouble if Dr. Ludlum weighs more than 105 pounds. She says that they should be okay but the trap door starts to open. So she lied - lol! (Perhaps I'm so amused by that because I would have done the same thing ...)
Continuing the previous "moment," there's a pipe above but Mac can't quite reach it. He starts to take off his pants, and Dr. Ludlum asks what he's doing. He asks if she has a better idea; confused, she cries, "I'm still trying to figure out what yours is!" He loops his pants over the pipe, and they climb to safety.
In Phoenix Under Siege, Mac knocks out a bad guy. He cuts the cord from a nearby lamp to tie the guy up then realizes that the baddie, who was posing as a guard, has a pair of handcuffs. Mac rolls his eyes at himself.
In Jenny's Chance, Mac poses as computer nerd Dexter. Through a tapped phone, Mac and Pete eavesdrop as a bad guy reports their activities to his boss. The guy reports that Boyle (Pete's alias) has "got some geek" working for him. At the word geek, Mac holds out his hands in an "excuse me?" fashion, silently expressing that he's offended.
In Humanity, Mac is locked in with a group of people and a firebomb that is swiftly ticking toward detonation. Scrambling to put together a plan to save them, Mac grabs a telephone and says to the guy in charge, "Microphone." The guy looks quizzically at Pete, but Pete replies simply, "He needs a microphone."
Also in Humanity, walking side by side with MacGyver, Victor says that he knows Mac is working on a plan to escape. Victor offers to help, and he turns toward Mac to reveal that he's holding a hand grenade. Mac replies that he's got a better way and - mirroring Victor's moves - Mac turns toward him to reveal that he's holding a compact fishing pole.
In High Control, Earl Dent sneaks away after seeking Mac's help to reform from a life of crime. Mac finds Earl by joining in with Dent's old motorcycle gang, under an assumed name. Speaking to Mac in private, Dent demands to know what he is doing there, knowing that the others will kill Mac if they find out he isn't who he says. Mac says that Dent didn't leave him much choice, running off like he did. Dent retorts that Mac could've just forgotten about him. Mac replies somewhat angrily, "That's where you're wrong." That says a lot about Mac's character that he wouldn't just leave Dent - a mere casual acquaintance from Mac's past - in trouble.
In another episode, Murdoc is trying to trick a woman into helping him by pretending to be MacGyver. The woman tells Murdoc that the phone isn't working, and she shows him the problem. He replies, "The wires have been cut. I could fix it if I only had some duct tape."
In one episode Mac has a dream where he is transported back to the time of King Arthur. Merlin is jealous of MacGyver's practical wisdom and accuses him of trying to steal his job. Frustrated, Mac announces, "I am *not* trying to steal your job! Be-lieve me!" The way he emphasizes the second half of the word believe is so funny, and it really conveys his annoyance at Merlin's paranoia.
I just began re-watching the show and one of my favorite moments so far is in the episode "The Heist." Mac is dressed up in a tuxedo and is looking at himself in the mirror saying "James Bond" in a very sexy way, and then he looks at his hair, trying unsuccessfully to settle it -you know, from a guy who can build a bomb. From sexy to funny. (Contributed by Lourdes)
I believe that the point in 'prisoner of conscience' where Mac starts jumping on the beds has got to be a classic! Absolutely hilarious. Along with Pete's reaction shortly after when he sees how Mac has been restrained. (Contributed by Shara Salt)
In The Gauntlet, Diego threatens Mac and says, "You be very careful now." Mac holds out his hands and shakes his head while saying, "Hey, I'm harmless." (Contributed by Rachel)
In The Eraser, Mac is following Simmons (a suspect for espionage) and is fooled by a hit man who tells Mac that he is Simmons long lost father and wishes to see his son for a last time. When Mac realizes he is a hit man, Mac and Simmons run into a building to escape, closely followed by two hit men. Mac makes a device from a metal tube and some gas to blow the door open. As he is aiming it at the door he says, "If this works it'll keep us from getting caught. If it *doesn't* it'll keep us from getting old!" (Contributed by Maureen)
In one episode they had to look after a baby, and he MacGyver-ed a crib out of some rope and wooden sticks. I thought that idea was so funny because he always resourceful - it may be a funny idea but it's a bloody good one that would actually work! (Contributed by Ashley Hamilton)
MacGyver needed to get diamonds out of a safe that uses certain tones to unlock the safe. So MacGyver gets him self some glasses, all of which are different sizes. Pours some wine into them at different levels. Then he runs his finger around the rims on the glasses to get the different tones to unlock the safe! (Contributed by Ashley Hamilton)
In one episode, he figured out that the girl he was working with was a spy, and he pulled her close and kissed her, sort of making out. While he was doing that, he pulled something out of her belt, and then accused her of working for the bad guys. (Contributed by Lily)
In the episode when he meets his son, Mac gives him a lecture about guns, and how they shouldn't be used to settle scores. Sean (Sam) says, "My first father-son lecture." Mac asks, "How was it?" Then Sam says, "A little hard to take, but good." Later in that episode, Sam wants to go with him, and Mac says no. Sam gives him a speech about how he's 19, and he can vote, therefore Mac can't tell him what to do. Mac says, "My first son-father lecture." Sam asks, "How was it?" Mac answers, "A little hard to take, but good." They grin. (Contributed by Lily)
Mac is having an argument with his son Sam, and he says, "A little help here Pete?" Pete answers, "I make a point not to involve myself in family arguments." Mac just rolls his eyes as Pete laughs. (Contributed by Lily)
In "Jack of Lies," Mac tells Jack he doesn't like being jerked around like a big dog on a short leash, and Jack tells Mac that no one ever said that Jack Dalton was unkind to animals, and Jack pats Mac on the head. (Contributed by Lily)
From the episode "Pirates." MacGyver has just heard the first click of an anti-personnel land mine, and he says, "The first click was a simple 'hello', and the second click was a very serious 'goodbye'." He pulls a MacGyverism with a piece of string and gets a good ways away before the mine detonates. He falls to the ground when the bomb explodes, and his hand pushes down the button on another mine. "They've gotta be kidding. This place is land mine heaven!" MacGyver then says. "Now if I could just wedge the button down tight, I might be able to survive this one too." Mac finds out that it's a dud, and later uses that to his advantage. (Contributed by Lily)
(The rest of the moments were contributed by Linnea Sommer.)
The scene between Mac and Pete after Mac's girlfriend Mike is killed while rock-climbing. For once, Pete can't reach his best friend, and you can see his feelings of helplessness. You can also feel Mac's pain over losing someone he cared about. (The Widowmaker)
Jack, Mac, and Pete are heading somewhere in Jack's plane, and Pete says to Jack, "Where's MacGyver?" and Jack says, "Oh, don't worry, he's comfortable." The shot then cuts to Mac clinging to the underside of the plane and yelling, "JAAACK!!"
Mac insists on Nikki Carpenter staying with him when he discovers that she's the target of a stalker. They're in the kitchen on Mac's houseboat, talking, when Mac mentions something that is only in Nikki's "file" (presumably her personnel file at the Phoenix Foundation). Nikki says slowly, "You... have... read my file... haven't you?" When Mac says yes, she lashes out at him, and this is when we discover that her late husband was killed by a car bomb. Weeping, Nikki says, "That car bomb was meant for me, not him! Not him... God, not him..." as Mac comes over to comfort her. The scene ends with Nikki sobbing in Mac's arms. (Blow Out)
Mac and Pete are sitting in Pete's office talking, when Nikki walks in and hands something to Pete. Pete looks it over and says, "Great. Welcome to the Phoenix Foundation!" They shake hands, and a tense conversation ensues between Nikki and Mac, with Mac saying,"You do realize this doesn't mean we're going to be working together." It spins on for a few more lines, and finally Pete kicks them both out, saying to Nikki, "You take the rest of the day off," and to Mac, "Go home and take care of yourself" (Mac has a cold) and ends by saying,"Just get out of my hair!" Mac and Nikki both stare at him because, obviously, Pete is bald-headed. As they leave, Nikki is heard to say, "What's wrong with him?" and Mac answers, "Oh, he just gets cranky sometimes." Pete hears this and looks up with a glare on his face. (Blow Out)
Mac is looking for his friend Booker, who has disappeared. He comes upon Booker hanging from a rope in a warehouse (?) When Mac realizes that Booker is dead, he tears out of the room, crashes against the opposite wall, and collapses to the floor, crying, and you just *know* his heart is broken. (I think this is one of the most powerful scenes in the entire series! I've only seen this episode - The Challenge- once, and it was a long time ago, but I still remember it clearly.)
From the one where Pete's glaucoma is revealed, Mac confronts Pete, who has been acting strangely, bumping into things, etc. With a sigh, Pete says that he's just been diagnosed with glaucoma, and although there's a surgical treatment for it, the operation isn't always successful...that his sight is already going... and that he may very well go completely blind in a few years' time. Mac's reaction is so revealing... it says that he's finally run up against a problem he can't solve... and you can feel his sadness and helplessness. Also appreciated the PSA at the end of this episode by Richard Dean Anderson (and Dana Elcar? I forget if it was just Anderson, or both of them.) ("Blind Faith"?)
Liked the scene in "Children of Light" where Mac and Mei Jan (do I have her name right?) escape from the roof of the Chinese embassy (?) on a makeshift zip line trolley... and Mac's words to her just before they jump off the roof: "You're going to have to trust me on this!" Of course, they land safely... and when the embassy officials see this, they go wild with rage.
Yet another from "Blow Out"... (this ep was one of my faves): Mac, Pete, and Nikki have discovered the truck bomb... a very elaborate one in a fake mail truck, and Mac says he can't disarm it. Pete says, "What do you mean you can't?!" and Mac says, "I can't! I'll have to drive it off the Second Street pier!" He takes off, and is just a few blocks from the pier (presumably) when the road is blocked by a cement mixer... and he's running out of time. He runs up to the driver of the truck and tells him to fill the mail truck with cement. The timer counts down to zero just as the cement covers up the bomb... and it goes off, but the only damage is to the mail truck. Mac has taken cover with Pete and Nikki, and Pete says to Mac, "What would you have done if that hadn't worked?" Mac replies, "I would have gone to Plan B." Pete asks, "What was Plan B?" Mac grins at him and says, "I don't know. Plan A worked."
The ep with the teenage gang leaders (can't remember the title) where Mac puts together a makeshift stethoscope to use on the injured kid, and then his solution for getting their plane back in the air: replace the damaged front wheel with a hollowed-out log, and make a runway out of mud.
From one of the early eps (don't know the title of this one, either). Mac and another character are involved in a car chase (pretty sure they're running from the cops) and they stop at a traffic light, and Mac uses a cut-up credit card to bollix up the light so they can get away. If I remember right, in this one, their car is hit by bullets... one of which fractures the brake line... and Mac repairs the line as the car is careening out of control down the road.
From "Rush to Judgment": In the final scene, MacGyver is leaving the courthouse after the defendant in a murder trial has been acquitted (thanks to Mac's nosing around) and the man has just told him "Thank you." Mac is then corralled by a local TV reporter, who asks him, "Do you think the DA's office is responsible for the miscarriage of justice in this case?" Mac thinks for a moment, then says, "No, I think YOU are." Defensively, the reporter asks him what he means, and Mac says something to the extent of, "You people don't care about the truth. All you care about is a few more ratings points." As he turns to go, the reporter tries to save face (this is a live interview) by saying, "You know, Mr. MacGyver, I don't think the American people would agree with you on that." Mac stops and turns back, and says with a smile, "I wouldn't be too sure." (This is one of my faves because Mac's point is all too true! This was one of the best "social commentary eps ever done. Unlike some folks, I love the social/political commentary eps... not too many shows would take on these kinds of topics!)
From "Passages": MacGyver has just woken up from his coma, with Pete at his bedside. The foreign officials responsible for Mac's near murder are there as well. Pete asks Mac, "Who did this?" Mac is too weak to talk, but starts moving his fingers. Pete understands that he's trying to say something, and finds a tray nearby with sand in it. He puts it on the bed, and sets Mac's hand in it. To Pete's horror, Mac traces the symbol that one of the foreign officials wears as a pendant on a chain around his neck. Pete stares at it, then at Mac, saying, "Are you sure?" When he sees Mac's eyes fill with tears, Pete understands what happened, and orders the foreign officials arrested. One of them objects, smugly citing diplomatic immunity. Pete glares at him, and snaps, "Diplomatic immunity doesn't cover attempted murder!"
Also loved the scene in "Passages" where Harry saves Mac at almost the last minute, by reaching his hand down. The sight of their hands clasping and holding tight is just beautiful... this is a scene I had nearly forgotten, until I saw a music video of scenes from the show, with this one at the very end.
Acknowledgments
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