MacGyver/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Anvilicious: "The Golden Triangle", "To Be A Man"
  • Dry Docking: Nikki Carpenter was introduced as a possible love interest for Mac. However, the producers soon discovered that female fans did not want Mac to be permanently attached and Nikki was quietly Put on a Bus.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: Murdoc. No one ever wanted him to actually defeat MacGyver, but fans loved to see MacGyver's Indy Ploys go up against Murdoc's Crazy Prepared.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Any scene containing his future Stargate co-stars, especially the one where he throws Christopher Judge on the ground. Doubly funny when his character guesses a gadget is a "Martian toothbrush."
  • Ho Yay: Mac and Jack had their moments.
  • Memetic Mutation: "MACGYVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
  • Narm: Mac's reaction to Booker's death.
  • Retroactive Recognition:
    • Richard Dean Anderson, naturally. You can also spot his future Stargate SG-1 co-stars Don S. Davis (who was Dana Elcar's stunt double and also appeared as a security guard) and Christopher Judge (who had an early role as a student in a class MacGyver was visiting).
    • A young Teri Hatcher as Penny.
    • Prior to being cast as the title character on Blossom, Mayim Bialik had appeared in three 1989-90 season episodes as Lisa Woodman.
    • One episode had an FBI agent played by Rob Paulsen in a rare on-screen appearance.
  • Tear Jerker: Mike's death moments after MacGyver rejected her.
    • Subverted: She fell to her death during a mountain climbing expedition, and Mac's thrashing at the end of the rope as he tries to save her was rather callously added to the opening credits.