# MacGyver (1985)

> A secret agent with a knapsack of everyday items and a scientist's mind improvises his way out of every peril thrown at him.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2733

## Facts

- Seasons: 7
- Episodes: 139
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: action, adventure, drama
- Created by: Lee David Zlotoff
- Network: ABC
- Cast: Richard Dean Anderson, Dana Elcar, Luke Askew, John Cameron Mitchell, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Teri Hatcher, Ron Halder, Sheila Moore
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088559/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: upbeat, inventive, wholesome, suspenseful, breezy

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate MacGyver as a positive, reliably entertaining action series, with its improvisational problem solving a consistent highlight across its run.

## Synopsis

MacGyver (1985-1992) is a United States network action adventure series created by Lee David Zlotoff for ABC. Richard Dean Anderson plays Angus MacGyver, a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon, and Dana Elcar plays Pete Thornton, his handler and the steady voice of the operation. Armed only with a knapsack of everyday items he picks up along the way, MacGyver must stop terrorists, criminals and foreign plots before they reach their targets. Each episode is built around a fresh threat and a improvised solution: a bomb assembled from chewing gum, a car's brakes repaired mid-ride, tear gas brewed from soda pop. The series runs seven seasons and 139 episodes as a largely self-contained, case-of-the-week format. Its tone is upbeat, inventive and wholesome, with a light touch of suspense and a Boy Scout sense of decency at its core. Set in the present day of its 1980s broadcast, it draws a line between cerebral spy fiction and blockbuster action. Fans of The A-Team and Burn Notice will find similar pleasure in resourceful heroes outthinking dangerous opponents, and the show remains an easy, warm rewatch for families and action fans alike.

## Shows like MacGyver

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- [MacGyver (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/59094)
- [The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)](https://ember.film/tv/193)
- [Stargate SG-1 (1997)](https://ember.film/tv/4407)
- [Mission: Impossible (1966)](https://ember.film/tv/4141)
- [The Equalizer (1985)](https://ember.film/tv/4083)
- [Get Smart (1965)](https://ember.film/tv/4236)
- [Magnum, P.I. (1980)](https://ember.film/tv/696)
- [The A-Team (1983)](https://ember.film/tv/1430)

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