MacGyver

A closer look at the story

Angus MacGyver is everyone's favourite action hero, but he is a very different kind of hero. A secret agent who dislikes using guns, his deadliest weapon is his intellect. He carries nothing but a backpack full of ordinary items gathered along the way, and with his knowledge of physics and chemistry he invents makeshift solutions to escape every danger the villains put in his way. Building an explosive with chewing gum, repairing the brakes of a speeding car while he is inside it or making tear gas out of fizzy drinks are all part of an ordinary adventure for MacGyver. Half scout and half genius, and a hero through and through, he manages in every episode to slip out of even the most hopeless situations through sheer ingenuity. Created by Lee David Zlotoff and airing on ABC from 1985 to 1992 for seven seasons and 139 episodes, this action series stars Richard Dean Anderson as MacGyver, with Dana Elcar as Pete Thornton.