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ORIGINAL AIRDATE: September 29th, 1985 —
MacGyver saves the world just in time to shoot hoops with Reggie [SPECIAL GUEST: Shavar Ross!]
OPENING GAMBIT: When a plane carrying dangerous cargo is downed behind enemy lines, MacGyver is dispatched to incapacitate the payload, only to discover the pilot has survived and needs rescuing himself.
MISSION: A series of suspicious explosions at the KIVA laboratory has left a team of scientists, including two Nobel prize nominees, trapped underground with an acid leak that threatens to poison the local aquifer. MacGyver’s mission is to free the trapped scientists and stop the leak before the military is forced to take drastic measures.
Join us as we tackle the show’s premiere (and pilot) episode. Highlights include:
SPECIAL GUEST: SHAVAR ROSS!
This week, we chat with Shavar Ross, Reggie from the Pilot episode. He tells us all about his work helping to pitch the series with Richard Dean Anderson and Henry Winkler. Mr. Ross can also be seen as Reggie (I have decided, the SAME Reggie) in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, also from 1985. His acting career spans decades including major roles on the 1982 Little Rascals reboot, Diff’rent Strokes, Magnum P.I. and Family Matters!
MacGyver’s original residence: the Griffith Observatory!
The famous LA structure, typically home to knife-fighting rebels sans cause and a nasty autobot infestation, was MacGyver’s actual home in this first episode.
The Apache-lookin’ helicopter that drops Mac off at the KIVA was borrowed from the production of Blue Thunder, starring Roy Scheider, Daniel Stern, and Malcolm McDowell and directed by John Badham (Short Circuit, WarGames). Check out this awesome trailer!
Paul Stewart, who portrayed Dr. Carl Steubens in this episode, also played the part of Citizen Kane’s butler Raymond once upon a time.
The KIVA bears a striking resemblance to the Wildfire laboratory from The Andromeda Strain (1971).
Comparing Secret Underground Government Laboratories
| KIVA | vs. | WILDFIRE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | MacGyver (1985) | Andromeda Strain (1971) | |
| Disguised as… | Abandoned Radio Station | Dept. of Agriculture Bldg | |
| Security Clearance | Conical Laser | Code Word | |
| Internal Security | Lasers | Lasers | |
| Floors | 3 | 5 | |
| Self-Destruct | Underground Missile | Nuclear Bomb |
…and for those curious, B.A.S.E. jumping stands for Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth.
Sodium Hydroxide (Chemistry)NaOH
Sodium Hydroxide, commonly known as lye, is an inorganic chemical compound that has a variety of uses from the manufacturing of paper and soap, to cleaning and other industrial uses. The episode correctly points out that sodium hydroxide can be used to safely neutralize a number of acids in addition to stripping the meat off of skeletons.
Check out the article on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide
Also, the scene in Fight Club where Brad Pitt pours it on Edward Norton’s hand.
Watch S1E1: “Pilot” on CBS’s website or check the alternative streamability of this episode here.
MacGyver Fan
I’m McGyver fan since the serieis was start last 1985,
Nice job on the podcast, guys. I’m in for the long haul.
Some additional information on “Alan Smithee,” which I hope reaches you before it comes up again with episode 5: it’s not just a matter of disliking the finished product, although that’s common. In order to use the pseudonym, a director must demonstrate clearly to the DGA (Director’s Guild of America) that the finished product was significantly different from the director’s vision. In other words, you can produce a steaming pile of garbage, but if it’s YOUR steaming pile of garbage, you’re stuck with it. As is the case the next time it comes up, it could be a truly great product, but if it’s not YOUR truly great product, you can have your name taken off of it.
First of all, congratulations on your website/podcast, I just discovered it, and it looks really good.
I am a big MacGyver fan of course, and I’m thinking in starting a rewatch of the series, with maybe using your podcasts as a companion piece.
cheers from Portugal!
Glad to have you on board!
I agree about the low-grade violence mentioned in your opening podcast, while people die in perhaps the majority of episodes, I think the violence is portrayed in a way that if you’re too young for it, you’re not old enough to understand the plot. This is why it annoys me to no end when CBS starts almost all episodes with the announcement, “and now action for the grown-ups as the following programme contains scenes unsuitable for children”. Let’s have the kids miss out on one of the nicest role models for no good reason :-/
I liked both that MacGyver was prepared enough to have a specific kit to deactivate the missile but could also successfully improvise as soon as he needed to.
Where can I find your characters sheet pdf?