Angus MacGyver (1985)

	"Not a good one." This article is a stub. You can help the MacGyver Wiki by expanding it.

Angus MacGyver
Biographical Information
Real Name:	Angus MacGyver
Title:	Troubleshooter
Originally From:	Minnesota
Interests:	Deborah
Parents:	James MacGyver
Family:	Harry Jackson (Grandfather)
Children:	Sam Malloy (Son)
Affiliations:	Phoenix Foundation
Status:	Retired
Character Information
First appearance:	Pilot
Portrayed by:	Richard Dean Anderson
Remake Actor:	Lucas Till

"It's kinda interesting how you can put one thing with another and cook up the right formula for stayin' out of trouble. My old high school physics and chemistry classes come in real handy sometimes. Not to mention the fact that when you're in a squeeze, necessity always seems to come through as the true mother of invention."

―Angus MacGyver in For Love Or Money

Angus MacGyver is a highly resourceful intelligent, optimistic action hero who prefers non-violent conflict resolution wherever possible. He refuses to carry or use a gun due to a childhood accident with a revolver that resulted in the death of a friend. This was shown in episode two of Season 4 (Blood Brothers) when MacGyver goes back to his home town and meets two childhood friends and in flashbacks, we see the accidental death of friend Jesse by a bullet from a falling gun. In the first episode "Pilot," MacGyver fires an AK-47 at some Russian soldiers. This episode was before his dislike of firearms was established. The character is portrayed as an outspoken advocate of gun control. Even in cases where his improvised devices are used to attack hostile opponents, he is always doing so in self-defense and, if possible, subduing or disabling rather than killing. He is often suspicious of militaristic attitudes within the government; he sees his Phoenix Foundation employer as an alternative to the more conventional (and violent) means of law enforcement.

He was born and raised in Minnesota on either January 23, 1951 (per his passport in "Every Time She Smiles") or March 23, 1951 (working back from dates given in the episodes "Thin Ice", Passages, Friends, Runners, and "Phoenix Under Siege"). His heritage explains why he speaks with a Minnesota accent. (Richard Dean Anderson himself was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 23, 1950.) MacGyver lived his childhood in Mission City. Like Anderson, MacGyver was an avid hockey player as a child, and competed in his local hockey league, continuing to play the game as an adult. He graduated from Alexander Ramsey High School in Roseville, Minnesota. His character earned a degree in physics from the fictitious Western Tech where in 1973 a mustachioed MacGyver had studied under Julian Ryman, a man who also had an ability to fix everything with everyday objects and it seems MacGyver learned his talent from him. This was revealed in the episode "Hell Week" where MacGyver returns to his college and ends up helping Ryman's son, David. MacGyver's interests include ice hockey, racecar driving, chemistry, and baccarat.

In the episode Countdown, it is mentioned MacGyver worked in bomb disposal, defusing bombs during the Vietnam War. However, his exact status, and how long he was there, is never specifically established.

MacGyver's first name remained a mystery until the final season; whenever he's asked about it, he says he dislikes his first name and changes the subject. Consequently, most of his friends and colleagues call him by his last name or simply "Mac." The script for the series pilot gave MacGyver's first name as "Stace", but this information, while mentioned in promotional material, did not appear in the finished episode. His first name is finally officially revealed in "Good Knight MacGyver", in which he learns of a 7th century Scottish ancestor, Angus M'Iver, and admits that they share their first name; and repeated in the series finale, which introduces MacGyver's son, whose middle name is Angus. It is also revealed on the boxes of the MacGyver seasons.

Skills

"MacGyver is kind of a... troubleshooter."

―Pete Thornton in Lost Love

• Peak Human Condition: MacGyver is in peak physical condition. He is an avid outdoorsman with skills that include skiing, outdoor survival, rock climbing, hang gliding, and parachuting - static line and ripcord/HALO. His other hobbies include racing and ice hockey, having played in his local hockey leagues and coached for a minor league team and he believed he could have joined the NHL. He claimed to have been able to skate before he could walk. He is very slim for his height, weighing only 175 pounds. MacGyver is very strong, as he once stretched bed springs attached to pipes next to a door and used the improvised catapult to launch a bed frame through the door at his enemies.
• Genius-Level Intelligence: MacGyver is a genius, being extremely creative and resourceful. He is a master of improvising common items to use to his advantage in the field. He was in the Cub Scouts, where he learned "backwoods common sense" and the motto "be prepared." He attended Western Tech, where he graduated with a dual degree in chemistry and physics.
  • Expert Scientist: MacGyver is an expert in chemistry and applied physics. He got his first chemistry set when he was about ten, took geometry, physics and chemistry classes in high school, and graduated from Western Tech with a dual degree in chemistry and physics. After graduating from college, he turned down an offer to work at a nuclear power plant. He once stopped a sulfuric acid leak with chocolate bars because he knew the acid would react with the glucose in the bars to form elemental carbon and a thick gummy residue, and he also once stopped a robbery with a homemade tear gas bomb by combining a hot water bottle with a mixture of cayenne pepper, vinegar and baking soda.
  • Expert Engineer: MacGyver is also an expert engineer and was trained by the military in bomb disposal techniques, having briefly served during the Vietnam War in a bomb-defusing team. He can disable a missile with a paperclip. On another occasion, he used a blood pressure cuff and an alarm clock to fashion a lie detector kit that would make the alarm go off if someone lied.
  • Skilled Artist: MacGyver is a talented painter.
  • Skilled Musician: MacGyver is also a competent guitarist.
  • Multilingualism: MacGyver is fluent in English, Russian, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and American Sign Language. He also knows how to use International maritime signal flags and Morse code.
• Skilled Combatant: MacGyver is trained in self-defense. He was Earl Dent's boxing coach.
• Skilled Marksman: Though he avoids using firearms, MacGyver knows how to responsibly handle various pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns and flare guns.

MacGyver's Quirks

• In Pilot, Angus MacGyver says that he doesn't like heights.
• Also in Pilot, Angus MacGyver clearly doesn't like cigarettes, as he chokes when he lights one.
• In The Golden Triangle, Angus MacGyver mentions that he's not scared of snakes, but he doesn't like being around them.
• Also in The Golden Triangle, Angus MacGyver makes it clear he doesn't like guns when he refuses to teach the villagers how to use guns to defend themselves.
• In Thief of Budapest, Angus MacGyver says again that he doesn't like heights.
• Also in Thief of Budapest, Angus MacGyver says he doesn't care for alcohol. In other episodes too, Mac's disregard for alcohol is presented.
• In The Gauntlet, Diego offers Angus MacGyver a gun, but MacGyver refuses, saying "Actually, I do much better without them, thanks."
• In The Heist, Angus MacGyver finds a cigar in an ashtray and remarks about how it's a nasty habit.
• Also in The Heist, Angus MacGyver has to take a sip of wine from a crystal goblet in order to reproduce a tone properly with his finger, and he grimaces as he takes the sip.
• MacGyver has lost his memory at least twice
• In The Secret Of Parker House, Angus MacGyver (in response to a question from Penny Parker) says he is the black sheep of his family.

References

Flashlight A Hawaii Five-O and MacGyver Crossover