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The Spoilers | |
Season 3, 060 | |
Airdate | 14th March 1988 |
Written by | Stephen Kandel |
Directed by | Michael Vejar |
Guest Stars | Randall "Tex" Cobb as Earthquake Emily Kuroda as Karen William Taylor as Martin Farber |
Episode Guide | |
Previous The Negotiator |
Next Mask Of The Wolf |
The Spoilers is the 16th episode of Season 3 in the original version of MacGyver.
Summary[]
When a rival organization dumps radioactive sludge into Phoenix Foundation's water supply Angus MacGyver and Pete Thornton vow to stop them. Can MacGyver get the lone witness to testify in court or will his memories of Vietnam make his story invalid?
Plot[]
Act One[]
In the mountains near his Phoenix Foundation workplace, MacGyver tests and examines water suspiciously becoming polluted. A truck drives into the mountainous region. Watching this is a reclusive man with his dog Buddy. While MacGyver is working, two men from the truck dump toxic waste into the stream. When Buddy drinks it, he suffers convulsions and drops dead on the spot. In a fury, the recluse wants to find the men. Seeing the water turn sickening pink, MacGyver investigates. Before the men can empty their truck of the waste, the recluse fights in a full on rage, only to be hurt by a rifle shot. The two polluters escape before the recluse can poison them with their own waste. MacGyver who took a stop to mourn the dog tends to the injured man by plucking out the bullet. The man wants to avenge his murdered dog.
Elsewhere, the polluters reveal their truck to be from the Chemco Waste Disposal firm, and Grade tells his friend Charlie LaFond to call up Dorman on the situation.
Taking their time to bury the dog, the recluse thinks back to his army days when his bride-to-be died in Vietnam. He introduces himself as Daniel Royce Toberman, alias Earthquake. MacGyver offers to take him to a doctor and report the illegal dumping. Toberman insists that MAcGyver handle it himself, but the Phoenix agent counters that they can identify the villains. The two go their separate ways for the time being leaving Toberman to tend to his own leg.
At the Chemco facility, the truck arrives and the headman Martin Farber orders the truck cleaned out to hide any evidence. They order Charlie and his friend to destroy their clothes, then continue with Twin Ridge Dump for the same chemical. Farber promises legitimate delivery and gets Toberman's file. So far, he has not warned the EPA as the stream will wash away the pollution before they even investigate. He has turned his operation into a legal cover and wants to expand his toxic waste business bigger than drug dealing. Therefore, he can't afford any mistakes.
That night downtown, Toberman arrives via city bus and thinks back to his Vietnam war days. On his way, some punks try to mug him and he fights back defeating them with excellent skills. After nearly lapsing thinking about nearly choking the officer who had him court martialed, he restrains himself and barks for them to leave. He looks at pictures of his unit and his bride-to-be, then decides to consider paying the Phoenix Foundation a visit.
Act Two[]
At the Phoenix Foundation building, MacGyver working with Karen Matsuga is worried his efforts to get Toberman to help may be on deaf ears, but the computer turns up what MacGyver discovered; Carcinogen and cesium-137 acids in the water that killed Toberman's dog. Possible sources were Laboratory Chemicals, Inc and Radiotronics Corp. Pete shows that the two companies are working with Chemco; They were a nickel-and-dime storage-and-disposal until their services were bought by a rival corporation. While Farber had graduated from Harvard Law, he has mob connections, but Matsuga says the evidence is insufficient for a case. Thankfully, Toberman storms in and decides to help the Phoenix Foundation bring Chemco down.
Thornton suspects the Alamesa sign on the truck was a fake. At the disposal facility, MacGyver and Toberman show up in a van in disguise. He presents a container of hazardous chemicals then is told to talk to Mr. Dorman. They gain access and Toberman spots the already cleaned truck. MacGyver shows within the contain, he snuck in a device to spot for radiation detecting. The security guard calls Dorman about the shipment from Excelsior, but Dorman dismisses and wants the intruders found. Here, MAcGyver learns the firm recycles waste by filtering out toxics, so it seems. If they are being paid to reprocess waste and dump it, they need to find out where the money goes. MacGyver's geiger counter spots the contaminated Alameda signs. MacGyver gets some safety suits to shield against the radiation, and they hide the Alamesa sign in a lead-lined covering.
On the way out, Toberman spots Charlie and flips out charging him. He and MacGyver fight the workers but after his lapse of reason, they are detained by Dorman's crew who have rang for the police.
Act Three[]
MacGyver and Toberman make it back to the Foundation with the false sign inside a piece of police evidence as Pete had called for their release. After identifying Charlie LaFond, they need to start their case with the state environmental agency in the hopes of putting Chemco out of business. If their case works out, the U.S. Attorney will shut Chemco down forever.
At the environmental agency, Toberman explains he lives in the mountains when he saw how Charlie and his friend poisoned the water but Farber objects. Matsuga asks Toberman if Charlie contaminated the stream, how he utilized the fake sign and murdered his dog. Farber talks to the recluse who tells he got his nickname, earthquake from using a landslide to escape a danger. He had one a bronze star and three commendations for bravery but forgotten about it. He also remembers Captain Edward d'Angelo who court martialed him for being borderline psychotic. Matsuga reminds him of his late bride-to-be, Tai Minh. But Captain d'Angelo forbade the marriage and she was killed in the war. Provoking Toberman about his wife's fate thinking he killed her, he attacks the waste owner. The judge threatens to hold him in contempt and if there anymore outbursts, the case will be thrown out.
While the court wants to re-convene the next day, Farber has an evil plan in mind to further keep the police off his trail. Outside, Matsuga tells Tai Minh was killed in a crossfire in Saigon and he was away in Cambodia on mission. Toberman explains while he wished to get married to Tai Minh, d'Angelo spotted his buddist ceremony and shipped him to Cambodia. He blamed his captain for the loss of his wife and almost killed him, but was jailed for eighteen months for being psychotic and hitting the captain's nose. When he returned home to the states, he worked at a restaurant and while taking out some garbage, he heard firecrackers from kids and chased them away reminding him of the horrors of the war. He had nearly killed the kid but stopped himself.
MacGyver understands toberman's pain and loss, but Farber cares about profits from his work. As the two separate again leavng the recluse to sort things out, Charlie and his friend ambush the war veteran, but Grade decides to sacrifice Charlie throwing him to his death to make it look like Toberman did it. The police nearly detain the recluse. Concerned for Toberman who is heading for Chemco, MacGyver adivses Matsuga to tell of the setup.
That night at Chemco, Toberman sneaks in through the sewers and MacGyver drives in. Grade heads for a smoking session, but Toberman chokes him out. MacGyver sees how security is tight. As Toberman and MacGyver use their own methods of sneaking through the facility, a secuirty guards spots the downed Grade.
Act Four[]
Grade takes his time to recover and Farber orders the guard to find Toberman. MacGyver having not yet been spotted walks across the pipe. Toberman finds Farber in his office, but the villain had anticipated his arrival and has the recluse captured. MacGyver watches as Farber's crew take Toberman for interrogation. MacGyver spots an airbag and a delivery truck for an idea.
Dorman threatens to execute Toberman for his interference, but Farber wants to get Grade. MacGyver sets the truck up with a line and expands the bag with air. In the sotrage room, MacGyver spots chemicals and takes one of the jugs. Before a guard can spot him, MacGyver works on some nuts. He pours chlorene into the inner tube. Dorman takes Grade to their boss and Farber decides to sacrifice Grade by lying to the police that Toberman killed Charlie then came to the facility to kill him and Grade so they would then gun Toberman down. With the cops on their way, Toberman again fights back and before Dorman can shoot him, the bag in the truck bursts simulating an explosion. MacGyver utilizes makeshift smoke bombs to blind the villains allowing Toberman to get free.
Farber flees with Toberman giving chase, while MacGyver pulls Dorman clear of the fumes. On the walkway, Earthquake tries to chuck Farber over the ledge, but when he reminds him of his captain, he restrains himself. The crisis is safely over; Grade is taken by the police as he confesses to the crimes and Farber is also taken into police custody.
Epilogue[]
With Farber's confession, Chemco and half-a-dozen toxic waste firms are bankrupt. Pete and Karen appreciate the help Toberman gave in defeating the villains in court. MacGyver presents a feminine dog for Earthquake before he heads home to the mountains.
Trivia[]
The Phoenix address are 508 South Spring St and the phone number is 555-6625 as one see it on a piece of a telephone book that Earthquake is holding.