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Season
One Episode Guide - Part I
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Pilot
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Airdate:
Sept. 29, 1985
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Opening
Gambit: MacGyver rescues a downed pilot
off of the side of a mountain cliff in Central
Asia.
Main Plot: MacGyver is called in when
an explosion in an underground lab threatens
to leak acid into a major New Mexico water supply.
His mission: try and free any survivors before
the lab is flooded with sodium hydroxide. MacGyver
successfully enters the underground facility
and frees a number of survivors including Dr.
Barbara Spencer. Spencer teams up with MacGyver
and they head for the sight of the leak. Using
a chocolate bar, MacGyver stops the acid leak.
Afterwards, however, Spencer is shot by Dr.
Carl Steubens, who had caused the explosion
in order to set back a project to create the
ultimate weapon: a destroyer of the ozone layer.
MacGyver stops Steubens and then quickly sends
a Morse code message (by flicking the power
on and off) that the leak had been stopped.
Note: There are a number of differences
between the pilot and the series. MacGyver takes
orders from a man named Ed Gantner and lives
in an observatory. Also of interest, Dana Elcar,
who would later play Pete Thornton, appears
in this episode as the lab's chief of operations
and MacGyver -- who hates guns - actually points
and fires a rifle at the soldiers that are chasing
him in the Opening Gambit.
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Guest
Cast
Michael
Lerner as Ed Gantner, Darlanne Fluegel as Barbara
Spencer, Dana Elcar (Black Sheep Squadron)
as Andy Colson, Paul Stewart as Dr. Steubens,
Michael C. Gwynne as Dr. Burke, Michael Fairman,
Shavar Ross, Olaf Pooley as Dr. Marlowe, Charles
Lanyer, Lawrence Casey, Al White
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Writer
Thackary
Pallor
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Director
Alan
Smithee
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Airdate:
Oct. 6, 1985
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Opening
Gambit: MacGyver recovers missile launch
codes from criminals in a junk yard.
Main
Plot: MacGyver is sent into Burma by Lt.
General Manning. His mission: to recover a
canister of poison that went down in a cargo
plane. In the process of completing his mission,
MacGyver comes across a local village that
is being terrorized by an opium dealer named
Narai. MacGyver convinces the villagers to
fight back against the oppression. Narai is
killed when he lunges for MacGyver and trips.
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Guest
Cast
Joan Chen (Twin Peaks), George Kee Cheung
as General Narai, Clyde Kusatsu as Anek, Keye
Luke as Prasert, Benjamin Lum as Truang, Bryan
Price as Chan, James Saito, Angus Duncan as
General
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Writer
Dennis
Foley
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Director
Paul
Stanley
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Gambit
Writer
Terry
Nation
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Gambit
Director
Donald
Petrie
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Airdate:
Oct. 13, 1985
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Opening
Gambit: MacGyver recovers a king's horse
from desert bandits.
Main Plot: MacGyver is in Budapest
to meet Nikolai Grodsky and to obtain some
top secret information. Unfortunately, Grodsky
is killed and a watch containing the information
is stolen by a young Gypsy girl named Yanna.
Yanna will give MacGyver the information if
he helps her free her brother and father from
a work camp. MacGyver frees them from the
camp and they all escape the country by "borrowing"
race cars during an auto race.
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Guest
Cast
Michael
Constantine as Jan Messic, Bruce Abbott as Kossov,
Kelly McClain as Yanna, Sue Kiel as Reena, E.M.
Margolese as Alex, Charles Raymond as Stephan,
Robert Hallak as Bruno, John Prudhant as Peter,
Sid Haig as Khan, Nicholas Kadi as Grodsky
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Writer
Joe
Viola
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Director
John Patterson
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Gambit
Writers
Terry
Nation and Stephen Downing
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Gambit
Director
Lee
H. Katzin
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Airdate:
Oct. 21, 1985
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Opening Gambit: MacGyver steals a map
from terrorists in a Middle East country.
As part of his escape, he uses the map to
slide on the sand, to patch his escape balloon,
etc.
Main
plot: MacGyver is sent to rescue a photographer
named Kate Conolly from San Sebastian, a Latin
American country. Kate has obtained a picture
of General Vasquez meeting with international
arms dealer Dave Ryerson and, therefore, the
general can not afford to let Kate (and her
pictures) leave the country. However, with
MacGyver's help, Kate reaches the border.
Once there, MacGyver distracts the general's
troops by rolling exploding barrels at the
soldiers. Kate and MacGyver then escape the
country by hiding inside a non-exploding barrel.
Note:
MacGyver reveals his aversion to guns in this
episode.
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Guest
Cast
John
Vernon as Dave Ryerson, Robin Curtis (Star
Trek III) as Kate Conolly, Gregory Sierra
as General Antonia Vasquez, Sam Vlahos as Diego
Montoya, Marco Lopez as Gomez, Socrates Ballis
as the captain, Abdul Salem as Camel Driver
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Writer
Stephen
Kandel
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Director
Lee
H. Katzin
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Gambit
Writer
Judy Burns
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Gambit
Director
Lee
H. Katzin
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Airdate: Nov. 3, 1985
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Sixty
million dollars in diamonds (raised by Senator
Rhodes for a famine fund) are stolen by a
Virgin Island's casino owner named Catlin.
MacGyver and Chris, the Senator's daughter,
head to the Virgin Islands to recover the
diamonds. Once inside Catlin's casino, MacGyver
creates a set of rigged dice in order to win
enough money to take his winnings into the
casino vault. However, after seeing the vault,
he realizes that Catlin must have the diamonds
in his personal safe. Later, Chris distracts
Catlin while MacGyver, disguised as a maintenance
man, breaks into Catlin's safe and recovers
the diamonds. MacGyver successfully escapes
with the diamonds in the back of his car but,
unfortunately, Chris is captured. Catlin calls
MacGyver and tells him to bring the diamonds
or Chris will be killed. Upon meeting Catlin,
MacGyver is locked in the back of an airplane
with Chris and the car. The plane lifts off
and MacGyver and Chris escape by attaching
parachutes to the car and pushing it out the
back of the plane.
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Guest
Cast
Doran
Clark as Chris Rhodes, Vernon Wells as Catlin,
Victoria Bass as Tiffany, John Carter as Senator
Rhodes, Larry D. Mann as David Sims, Gary Pagett
as Coupier
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Teleplay
James
Schmerer
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Story
Larry
Alexander and James Schmerer
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Director
Alan
Smithee
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Airdate:
Nov. 10, 1985
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Opening Gambit: MacGyver goes to the
Pyrenees to rescue a captured doctor named
Gates. The two escape in a boat after climbing
down the side of a mountain.
Main Plot: MacGyver is in the Amazon
helping his friend Charlie find out why all
the animals are fleeing from the area. Unable
to obtain a guide they go to a man named Trumbo
for help. Trumbo agrees to help but only after
MacGyver fixes his generator. They soon discover
that the cause of the commotion is killer
ants. Unfortunately, Charlie is killed when
he gets too close in order to take a picture.
MacGyver and Trumbo finally stop the ants
by flooding the entire area.
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Guest
Cast
David
Ackroyd as Trumbo, Peter Jurasik as Dr. Charles
Alder, Will Gotay as Luiz, Maurice Sherbanee
as Santos, Melinda Peterson as Dr. Andrea Gates,
Enzo Gagliardi as cook, Ranscombe Richman as
guard
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Writer
Stephen
Kandel
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Director
Donald Petrie
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Gambit
Writer
Stephen
Kandel
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Gambit
Director
Lee
H. Katzin
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Airdate:
Nov. 17, 1985
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While
on his way to a fishing trip, MacGyver stops
at Sparrow Lake Airport to ask directions. However,
criminals, led by Terry Andrews, have taken
over the airport as part of a burglary. The
rest of the gang arrives with an armored car
full of stolen money. MacGyver escapes with
the other airport personnel but, unfortunately,
they are recaptured. The thieves then lock MacGyver
and Kelly, who works in the diner, in a freezer.
The criminals then capture a plane that they
plan on using for their getaway. MacGyver escapes
from the freezer and uses a toy plane to distract
the criminals. Dave, who had been unable to
fly since Vietnam, pilots the airport's helicopter
(with a little encouragement from MacGyver and
Kelly) and cuts off the escaping plane.
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Guest
Cast
Harry
Caesar as Al Tennyson, Steve Franken, Jackie
Earle Haley, Art Hindle as Dave Redding, Kay
Lenz as Kelly Nelson, Michael McGuire as Andrews,
Anthony Penya, Lewis Van Bergen as Buddy
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Writer
Judy
Burns
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Director
John
Florea
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Airdate:
Nov. 27, 1985
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MacGyver
is helping his old friends Bill and Laura Farren
drill for oil. The good news is that they strike
oil. The bad news is that the oil catches fire.
Bill and MacGyver are forced to transport unstable
explosives to the oil sight in order to create
an explosion that will stop the fire. MacGyver
then creates a shield to get himself close enough
to the fire to place the dynamite. The dynamite
is planted and the fire is extinguished.
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Guest
Cast
Cooper Huckabee as Bill Farren, Nana Visitor
as Laura Farren, Rudy Ramos as Peter Torgut.
Teleplay by: Stephen Kandel and James Schmerer
and Douglas Brooks West
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Writer
Douglas
Brooks West
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Director
Richard
Colla
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Airdate:
Dec. 8, 1985
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Frank Bennett is considering testifying against
Joey, his mobster brother. However, Joey kidnaps
Frank to insure that his brother does not talk
to the authorities. MacGyver rescues Frank and
turns him over to some federal agents for protection.
However, Frank wants to see his dying mother
and is not content in sitting around in protective
custody. Therefore, MacGyver helps Frank get
past the federal agents. Frank goes to see his
mother but is once again captured by Joey. MacGyver
arrives and frees Frank from Joey. The mobster
brother is then arrested for his crimes.
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Guest
Cast
Robert
Romanus as Frank Bennett, Richard Romanus as
Joey Bennett, Carl Franklin as Wiley, Angela
Clarke as Caterina Bennett, Michael Champion
as Larson, Tom Ormeny as Bridges, Katherine
Wallach as Carol, James Hess as Vincent, Stan
Kamber as Max, John Mahon as Vendor, Mario Roberts
as Tommy
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Teleplay
David
Abramowitz
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Story
Paul Savage and David Abramowitz
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Director
Alexander
Singer
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Airdate:
Dec. 22, 1985
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Opening
Gambit: MacGyver uses kitchen appliances
to create a diversion in order to free a general
from a beach house.
Main Plot: MacGyver arrives home after
completing a mission in which he sabotaged
a mid-east nuclear plant. MacGyver is told
to lay low since, in retaliation for his destruction
of the plant, an assassin named Axminster
has been hired to kill him. Therefore, MacGyver
decides to leave town and visit Harry Jackson,
his estranged grandfather. Harry, who calls
MacGyver "Bud," had left his grandson more
than sixteen years earlier without even saying
goodbye. His reason: he wanted to leave behind
any reminders of the family members that he
had lost. Harry reluctantly greets MacGyver
and the two proceed to Harry's cabin. Axminster
soon arrives and almost kills them when they
are in the lake fishing. MacGyver and Harry,
using items that they pick up along the way,
start to pick off Axminster's men. Unfortunately,
Harry is shot in the process. Arriving in
a deserted town, MacGyver sets traps for Axminster.
The assassin falls prey to MacGyver's traps
and is captured.
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Guest
Cast
John Anderson as Harry Jackson, D'Mitch Davis
as Axminster, William Frankfather as Barney,
Robert Miano as Black,
Huck Liggett as the farm boy
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Story
Mike Marvin
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Director
Ernest
Pintoff
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Teleplay
Mike Marvin, Stephen Kandel and
James Schmerer
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Gambit
Writer
Terry Nation
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Gambit
Director
Lee
H. Katzin
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Airdate:
Jan. 15, 1986
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MacGyver
is scheduled to meet DXS agent Peter Thornton
to transfer some terrorist plans. Unfortunately,
MacGyver is captured by East German agents after
the pickup goes sour. Trying to persuade MacGyver
to talk, the enemy agents inject him with a
hallucinogen that will kill him in six hours.
A drugged MacGyver escapes and is helped by
a teenage girl named Lisa. (Before being captured,
MacGyver had given Lisa some fishing tips.)
MacGyver soon returns to the East Germans for
a cure while Lisa calls for help. Unfortunately,
although the agents are defeated, the antidote
is tossed into a sewer. Using his ingenuity,
MacGyver manages to fish the cure out of the
sewer just in the nick of time. Later, MacGyver
informs Lisa that he has arranged to get her
a government scholarship.
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Guest
Cast
Tammy Lauren as Lisa Allen, Dana Elcar as Peter
Thornton, Robert O'Reilly as Curt Neilson, J.P.
Bumstead as Barrett, Mike Mancini as Crisp,
Tommy Lamey as Polk, J. Michael Flynn as Carlyle,
Kimberly Pistone as Amy, Richard McGregor as
Ron
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Writer
James Schmerer
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Director
Cliff
Bole
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Go
to Season 1 Episode Guide - Part II
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