BARBARA SPENCER

Barbara T. Spencer, security code GL773, had served as assistant to Dr. Carl Steubens at the KIVA Laboratories in Bannon, New Mexico. Steubens, fearful that his research would be used to create a weapon, planted plastique explosives in the underground facility, intending to destroy himself and his research, and Spencer was among about 20 people who were unaccounted for following the explosion. Spencer and several other employees were trapped in the bio lab where they were rescued by MacGyver as he made his way to the third level to rescue Steubens and his colleague Dr. Marlowe.

Spencer refused to leave without her mentor, and she insisted that she would accompany MacGyver on the rescue mission. On the way, she helped to guide him through the maze of debris, helped to seal an acid leak by balancing on MacGyver's shoulders to insert chocolate bars in the rupture, and suggested a cold capsule as a means to fashion a bomb using sodium metal and water. When it was discovered that Steubens had deliberately set the explosion in an act of sabotage, and he threatened to finish the job by shooting Marlowe and himself, Spencer attempted to stop him and was shot in the abdomen. Her wound was not life threatening, and she survived the ordeal, earning high praise for her determination, spunk, and ingenuity from MacGyver, who called her "terrific."

Portrayed by: Darlanne Fluegel

Cross Reference: Charlie Burke, Andy Colson, KIVA Laboratories, Sidney Marlowe, Carl Steubens

Episode Reference: Pilot