A PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE

01.21 Episode 21 (#40191-021)
Airdate: April 30, 1986

MacGyver and Thornton infiltrate a Soviet mental hospital to rescue a friend who's being held as a political prisoner.

Written by: Stephen Kandel
Directed by: Cliff Bole

Guest Starring: Elya Baskin as Dimitri, Larry Dobkin as Alexander Karsov, Dana Elcar as Pete Thornton, Marvin Kaplan as Chessmaster, Paul Koslo as Dr. Suvarin, Sharon Maughan as Marya Karsova, Jane Merrow as Natalya Petrovich, Tim Rossovich as Lopat, Harry Woolf as Supervisor, Stephen Anthony Henry as Stepanov, Austin Kelly as Boris

Nielsen Ratings: 13.3 rating / 22 share / 2nd (34th overall)

Reference: Boris, Chessmaster, Dimitri, Alexander Karsov, Marya Karsova, Lopat, Natalya Petrovich, Soviet Union, Stepanov, Dr. Suvarin

MACGYVERISMS

Disabled a car by stuffing a potato in the exhaust pipe

Disabled a speedboat by jamming the intake with blankets, gas cans, and life vests

Made a lock pick using the steel filaments from a broken lightbulb

Used caulking compound mixed with a hardening agent to make "Russian Krazy Glue"

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Dana Elcar, as Pete Thornton, is still a guest star in season one.
• The speedboat race in the beginning of the episode used stock footage from the 1981 movie "Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr."
• The Soviet psychiatric hospital is never given a name.
• MacGyver can pick a lock using a wire filament.
• Familiar Faces:
  • Larry Dobkin, who portrays Alexander Karsov, also played Professor Julian Ryman in the MacGyver episode "Hell Week."
  • Paul Koslo, who portrays Dr. Suvarin, also played Terok in the Stargate SG-1 episode "The Serpent's Venom."
  • Tim Rossovich, who portrays Lopat, also played Mike Desmond in the MacGyver episode "Friends," and Willard in the MacGyver episode "Squeeze Play."
  • Steve Blalock and Vince Deadrick Jr., who portray hospital attendants, were stunt coordinators on MacGyver and also appeared in numerous MacGyver cameos.

MEMORABLE REMARKS

• I've never been to Leningrad before. I hear it's a real party town. [MacGyver]
• I am political. But I also drink blood. [MacGyver]
• I'm not laughing. [Thornton]
  Big of you. [MacGyver]
  But it's not easy. [Thorton]
• The moonlight, it's very important to me. [MacGyver]
• It is night. Wolves and owls can see. Men and flowers must wait for the sun. [MacGyver]
• We figure it's about time for the patients to take over the asylum, old pal. [MacGyver]

FOR THE RECORD

• Swiss Army Knife Count: (1)
  • Cut apart a blanket and rope used to disable the speedboat.
• Injury Scorecard:
  • MacGyver is hit on the head by a hospital attendant and knocked out.

IMAGES