THE HUMAN FACTOR
02.01 Episode 23 (#40192-024)
Airdate: September 22, 1986
In the second-season opener, a malfunctioning computer interprets MacGyver's test of its security system as the real thing, trapping MacGyver and the computer's designer inside a top-secret lab with only 30 minutes of air.
Written by: Robin Bernheim
Directed by: Charles Correll
Guest Starring: June Chadwick as Dr. Jill Ludlum, Peter Haskell as Colonel Scott Woodward, Peter Kwong as Steven Lee
Nielsen Ratings: 15.4 rating / 24 share / 3rd (33rd overall)
Reference: Drones, Steven Lee, Jill Ludlum, Phoenix Foundation, Sandi, STRADA, Scott Woodward
MACGYVERISMS
Bypassed the main gate by riding on the underside of the guards' truck
Made a telescope from a magnifying lens, a watch crystal, and a rolled-up newspaper
Created a tightrope to cross a pressure sensitive floor
Used plaster dust and his jacket to duplicate a palm print
Used a mirror to blow out a laser array
Used his pants over a pipe to climb above an acid bath
Used phone magnets, paper, and matches to fool heat-seeking drones into firing at each other
Used an electrical cord to short out a computer system
Used a supercharged cable to overload the computer system
NOTES OF INTEREST
- Dana Elcar joins the cast as a series regular in the role of Pete Thornton.
- Pete Thornton is the new operations director of the Phoenix Foundation, a civilian think tank, and MacGyver has begun working there as a sometime consultant.
- The location of STRADA is never specified, but it is likely in the desert southwest of the United States.
- Pete Thornton and Colonel Scott Woodward had served together in combat in Vietnam.
- Dr. Ludlum describes MacGyver's reputation as, "Sometime consultant for the Phoenix Foundation, alleged hockey player, camel smuggler, and Jack-of-all-trades." However, he insists he returned that camel.
- Johnson, the worker at STRADA tasked with dismantling the control box and who was zapped by the laser for his efforts, is played by Vince Deadrick, Jr., the stunt coordinator for the series.
- MacGyver says he weighs 175 pounds.
- At a big fire at Brookhurst Chemical last year, MacGyver used the elevator shaft to get out, although Pete mistakenly remembered it as the exhaust system.
MEMORABLE REMARKS
- When James Bond gets an assignment, it's on the Riviera, up to his 007 in bikinis. [MacGyver]
- So this is your main guy? What makes him so special? He doesn't even have any gear. [Woodward]
That's what makes him so special. [Thornton] - Why are you taking your pants off? [Ludlum]
You got a better idea? [MacGyver]
I'm still trying to figure out what yours is. [Ludlum] - It's time we tried to think like MacGyver. His mind doesn't work like yours or mine. [Thornton]
- You're all right for a camel smuggler. [Ludlum]
I returned that camel. [MacGyver] - The fire at Brookhurst Chemical. I used the elevator shaft, not the exhaust system. [MacGyver]
No... It couldn't be. [Thornton]
It was... [MacGyver]
FOR THE RECORD
- Swiss Army Knife Count: (3)
- Scraped plaster dust from the wall
- Tried unsuccessfully to pry or release a door
- Cut an electrical cord
IMAGES
