the poor mans bond

Posted on July 18, 2007Any male American who has grown up without being familiar with the exploits of MacGyver is really missing out. Although everything he did had some basis in reality, the amount of luck required for success was enormous and only mentioned in passing. Fortunately, every season of MacGyver is now available on DVD for the newer generations to enjoy. It's important to note that the last couple of seasons were really stretching for unique plots, and they're actually pretty pointless. Even in its heyday, MacGyver often relied on conveniently-placed stores of chemicals to concoct smokescreens or diversionary explosions. But some of my favorite MacGyver moments are:

Defeating a bazooka-wielding man with a shoestring and paper clip (classic)
Building a flamethrower to defeat a horde of attacking killer ants
Creating rockets to blow out walls (several occasions)
Freezing a prison lock with the coolant of a refrigerator
Investigating bigfoot, UFOs, and a haunted house (not at the same time)
Overcoming a bomb built by a crazed physics student
Aiding bounty hunters and stopping gang warfare

The best episodes were those which involved MacGyver's nemesis, Murdoc. Murdoc was defeated at the end of each episode (sorry to spoil that) but he miraculously escaped death each time. He was blown up in a building demolition, electrocuted in some fiery water, and fell off a cliff, but he kept coming back, and I kept watching. The viewer simply must reward such brilliant writing.

I encourage everyone to experience the ludicrous goodness that is MacGyver.