Airdate: 15 January 1986 Writer: James Schmerer Director: Cliff Bole Guest Cast: Tammy Lauren as Lisa Allen, Dana Elcar as Pete Thornton, Robert O'Reilly as Curt Neilson, J.P. Bumstead as Barrett, Mike Mancini as Crisp.
Returning from East Germany with information, MacGyver is captured by German agents and given an hallucinogenic poison giving him 6 hours to either hand over the information or die from the drug.
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votes from 29 Mar 2006
Poor [ 0 ] [0.00%] Average [ 1 ] [4.55%] OK [ 2 ] [9.09%] Good [ 3 ] [13.64%] Excellent [ 16 ] [72.73%] Total Votes: 22
Archived comments
Posted by: sonyab Oct 31 2004, 01:12 PM
QUOTE
Oh this was a great episode!!! Great acting on Rick's part.. He really looked like he was drugged.. The only thing that bothered me was the romantic music they had when they showed Mac and the teenager girl together.. Yuck..
Posted by: Murdoc Nov 1 2004, 07:21 AM
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I just liked that episode.. I'm just glad that Mac got the antidote before he did die.. Where would us MacGyver fans be if he did die??
Posted by: MacGyver Nov 1 2004, 02:21 PM
QUOTE
This is definitely a great episode. MacGyver being drugged and having to come up with the antidote in 6 hours was very supsenseful. I loved the ending because even when you thought MacGyver was done for, he just managed to make a magnet and get the antidote just in time. Also, it's interesting to note that Dana Elcar showed up in the character of Pete Thornton for the first time in this episode. From what I can understand, Pete is MacGyver's boss at the DXS from here on to the end of the first season, and in the 2nd. season Dana Elcar becomes a regular as Pete Thornton and both MacGyver and Pete go to work for the Phoenix Foundation. Anyway, I thought there were great MacGyverisms throughout (as always) and it was very exciting.
Posted by: MacGyverGod Nov 2 2004, 03:51 AM
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This is indeed one of the way better episodes. I think this is the seasons topper. Mac's caught and the bad guys got him in the tight spot. Nice opener with the fish and the excitement in the harbor, great escape with the bed-slingshot and the trap to lure the bad guys out. I give this episode a 5 star rating.
Posted by: Asbjørn Jan 6 2006, 07:28 PM
QUOTE
Yeah... great episode this one.
There's one thing I've always been curious about tough: Is Mac really scared of needles? - or just of what was inside that one...?
Posted by: MACGYVERISMYDAD Jan 7 2006, 01:47 AM
QUOTE
i thought for sure he had some kinda plan to lead them to the stashed film and then beat them up or something and i was kinda shocked when he actually got injected with the needle. ever notice how the guy with the needle never told him what was in the needle to after he stuck mac??? i don't know about you but if i was mac i would have been freaking out and did everything to avoid getting injected with whatever drug is in the needle!
Posted by: Amy Jan 7 2006, 03:43 AM
QUOTE
do do do do, do do do do...I feel like I'm in the twilight zone! Thought for sure I commented on this one already! Weird.
This is one of my all time favorites! I love the suspense! No matter how many times I watch this one I still get that wrenching feeling in my gut when the guy grabs Mac to restrain him. Close to, if not at, the top of my favorite list!
Posted by: Sheepy Jan 11 2006, 09:59 PM
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This episode is excellent. When I got my season 1 DVD box it was one of the first I watched again.
Posted by: MacNymph Jan 12 2006, 06:45 AM
QUOTE
QUOTE
QUOTE (MACGYVERISMYDAD @ Jan 7 2006, 02:37 AM) i thought for sure he had some kinda plan to lead them to the stashed film and then beat them up or something and i was kinda shocked when he actually got injected with the needle. i don't know about you but if i was mac i would have been freaking out and did everything to avoid getting injected with whatever drug is in the needle!
Well, they had him strapped down in a chair and had him around the neck in a choke hold.
Personally, I would have bit him... but I don't even think Mac could do that in the hold they had them in. Poor Mac.
*kicks the fake cop right in the nuts on Mac's behalf*
Posted by: Lothithil Jan 12 2006, 06:58 AM
QUOTE
Awesome ep! I loved everything from the gum-wrapper fishing lure, Pete's introduction, RDA's very believable performance, and every MacGyverism along the ride. This is the 1st season ep I watch more than any of the others (along with 'To Be A Man')
Stellar!
Posted by: MacsChick Jan 12 2006, 03:51 PM
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Hey! Another one of my favorite episodes! I don't know what it is, but I love the episodes where he's hurt and vulnerable. He looks so cute, I wish I was taking care of him, poor baby! Definitely excellent!
Posted by: Toni Jan 15 2006, 05:40 AM
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This is my fav ep and what got me hooked into MacGyver. I remember that sat afternoon coming home from shoping with my mum and seeing the credits start and thought I wonder what this is.
Then it started and I never was the same again Toni
Posted by: MACGYVERISMYDAD Jan 17 2006, 06:16 AM
QUOTE
it looked so realistic when mac was drugged, it was if they really did drug him up on something to get a couple scenes in. i have to concur with the one scene where mac and the homeless girl are going into her home and it starts playing romantic music. don't know why they do that but i notice it a lot. it seems as if the song writer had some romantic music overstocked and he needed to use it somewhere so he just put it in where seems fit. you even hear it when pete and mac are together. strange!! good ep though i love the part where the one baddie says you dont even have the strength to do it and mac looks like he doesn't but he gathers what little energy he has left and knocks the guy out and falls on the ground as well. i also love the scene when hes in the room and the drug starts kicking in and it shows the screen getting all messed up.
Posted by: rockatteer Jan 17 2006, 09:29 AM
QUOTE
QUOTE
QUOTE i have to concur with the one scene where mac and the homeless girl are going into her home and it starts playing romantic music. don't know why they do that but i notice it a lot. it seems as if the song writer had some romantic music overstocked and he needed to use it somewhere so he just put it in where seems fit
I guess it depends what you think is romantic music... if you consider any form of slow or quiet music to be romantic music then, yeah I guess your right.
TO me it sounds more like the wailing "down on your luck" type brass music you would expect to hear in an old detective movie, like Mike Hammer or something from that era...
...The kind of music you would hear as the lonely detective downs his last shot of whiskey, and heads out into the rainy night, pulling up the coller of his overcoat and tipping his head as he disappears from sight.
Posted by: Sheepy Jan 17 2006, 11:11 PM
QUOTE
Wow Rockatteer! I love the way your mind works! (except your opinion on RC hehehe) With that remark about the music you just hit the nail on the head! That was exactly what I have been thinking. I found the music more depressing than romantic too.
Posted by: MACGYVERISMYDAD Jan 18 2006, 01:48 AM
QUOTE
maybe its just because i am used to watching a lot of the 80's movies and they always haven romantic scenes with saxaphones in it. either way i dont think the music really fits in some of the scenes they play it in. mac is not necessary lonley even though he lives by himself he has pete,jack,penny and other people that pop in to his life on a regular basis. some of the music sounds like something you would here in a xxx movie. plus MacGyver wasn't a depressed man..i mean he had his ghost's and sometimes he saw them walking around!! but i think this music should have only been put in when needed. which they did do a good job of as you hear the same music when he remembers kate his old g/f or when pete tries to retire. i think they just overdid the music in some scenes. i just think the scen were he was going into the homeless girls home that it wasn't needed he was neither depressed or in love with her.
Posted by: MacGirl Jan 18 2006, 12:17 PM
QUOTE
I voted excellent. One of my favorite S1 eps. It was a classic spy-style ep, but I liked the twist with Lisa. She helped Mac when he was in trouble, and he ended up helping her, too. I like how he refused to pass judgement on her for running away from home. I also like the moment where Lisa is saying, "I'm gonna make something of myself. I don't know exactly what yet..." Mac says, "How about a success?" Lisa answers sarcastically, "Yeah, right!" Mac replies to that with a very sincere, "Yeah, right," and looks her right in the eye for a moment. If I were in her position, I'd sure like to run into someone that understanding and encouraging.
I still love the scene where the bad guys are after them, and Mac unwinds the fire hose and feeds it out the window, with Lisa saying, "Oh, no, no way." The next scene has the bad guys rushing into the room (following the fire hose) and when they see the hose hanging out the window, they run down and out of the building. When they've gone, some of the junk against the wall is lifted, and here are Mac and Lisa! Mac says, "Like the magician said, a little misdirection never hurt." That whole sequence cracks me up.
And of course... a very happy ending for both of them. The cherry on top!
Posted by: deana Sep 20 2006, 08:24 PM
QUOTE
A very good ep. Rda plays very good a druged out man. I love him when he's nuts, wacko, no longer in position. The music is romantic for the fan's how loves him when he's vulnerable. When Mac/Jack goes fishing they never catch a fish, but Lisa cathed one. That's wonderfull, you catch only a fish when you need it. That's why Mac never catch a fish, he didn't need one.
Posted by: rockatteer Sep 21 2006, 09:42 AM
QUOTE
QUOTE
QUOTE That's why Mac never catch a fish, he didn't need one.
Nah.. he's a just a bad fisherman.
Thats why he takes lots of dryed food with him when camping... cos he knows he can't catch fish.
Posted by: Mac Sep 21 2006, 02:47 PM
QUOTE
Lizard, on the other hand...
Mac
Posted by: deana Sep 27 2006, 02:27 AM
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I don't agree with you, In Gost-schip Pete said: MacGyver is a experienced woodman. Survives on what het can catch.
So we can't see it, but when he needs fish, he can catch one.
Posted by: Lothithil Sep 27 2006, 05:29 AM
QUOTE
Maybe he can only catch a fish with a spear? (Final Approach)
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I voted excellent. I have always liked this episode, I think its my favorite from season 1.
Mac's portrayal of someone in a drug induced state is really well done. In my own current condition, I can relate. The medication I'm taking makes me really lightheaded, slightly nauseated if I don't eat (like I need another reason to eat chocolate) and off balance. It almost feels like I'm moving a half a beat out of synch with the rest of the world. Its a really weird feeling and its not easy to show it. RDA does an outstanding job of portraying the more subtle aspects of drug hallucinations.
Lisa was a little forced at times but she is one of the better actresses from season 1. The background music that so many people commented on was a little annoying. I don't think it was romantic so much as I found it intrusive. The saxphone brass band effect seemed too loud for the moment. Lisa is helping Mac because he helped her, no strings attached. She realizes he is in trouble, especially when he requests "no police". The easy thing would have been to go to the police officer anyway. Instead Lisa demonstrates compassion and caring by taking Mac into her home and caring for him as best she can. The music is supposed to convey and reinforce that sense of compassion, but to me it just comes off as abrasive.
There have been some minor nitpicks on this episode, but I think, over all that it is a well done show. The bad guys are totally believable. Neilson's expression is both cold and threatening, especially when he stalks Mac in the dream sequence. I thought the respect that Neilson has for MacGyver added a nice realism that was lacking in a villian like, oh I don't know, Axminster( ).
No matter how many times I watch this episode, I still get a charge from it. This episode is the one that turned me from a casual Mac watcher into a hardcore MacGyver fan. This is one of the best MacGyver epsiodes in the entire series.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein
The stuff is already here, I just find a different way to use it. MacGyver
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The following post is somewhat off-topic, and I apologize in advance.
QUOTE (MacGyverGrrl @ 15 September 2007 - 02:40 PM)
The medication I'm taking makes me really lightheaded, slightly nauseated if I don't eat (like I need another reason to eat chocolate) and off balance. It almost feels like I'm moving a half a beat out of synch with the rest of the world.
This is what hypoglycemia feels like to me. It's kind of a spacey, disconnected feeling.
Please continue with the episode discussion...
(I wish I had my DVDs here at work.)
I think if you try hard enough and make the best of a situation, the situation won't get the best of you. -MacGyver
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I'm actually here...and posting!
I said before that I love this episode and I voted excellent! RDAs just great, Nielson is a super bad guy, and I love Pete showing up for the first time as, well, Pete (not Colson). Lisa was ok, but on the good side of ok. LOL...love the negotiated torture part, too! That whole scene is on my "most intense moments of the series" list. Also love at the end when Nielson thinks Mac's done for and Mac pulls out that knock-out swing! Go Mac.
"It's amazing what one can do when one doesn't know what one can't do." Garfield the Cat
"Another day, a whole 'nother set of fresh possibilities. I'm a sucker for mornings." MacGyver
I loved this episode too! Loved seeing Pete as "Pete", and liked seeing Lisa with some intelligence despite her life. The bad guy reminded me of Ilya Kuriakan from The Man From Uncle
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I don't remember what I voted... probably GOOD. This is a favorite from Season 1. I guess I like my Mac whumped.
I'll refresh myself by watching the episode later... I remember the line when the bad guy (Nielson?) says "good veins" and Mac just says thank you. That whole captured scene was funny... true RDA humor in the face of bad.
I looked up Tammy Lauren (Lisa) in IMBd. Wow... I had no idea she was a veteren child actor. Cool. Her acting in the beginning was a bit stilted, but she warmed up by the end.
And the introduction to Pete. More like a friends greeting instead of a boss.
I'm going to watch the epie now... ta!
"My Jeep went over a cliff, I died... and went to Thanksgiving?"
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I think this is a brilliant episode; it was an instant favourite of mine when it first aired, and did as much as any episode to really thoroughly hook me. During the years when I missed out on the show, it remained one of the episodes I continued to remember clearly. Seeing it again, it was even better than I had remembered; how’s that for a treat?
The acting, writing, and directing are all superb. The episode is incredibly tightly written – the entire action takes place in a single day, within a limited physical area, and the plot keeps the drama tightly focused (the old “Dramatic Unities” do have some value even in TV).
Neilson as a bad guy is quietly, creepily nasty – and with a less implausible than usual accent. (Of all the “secret agent” episodes, this one entirely avoids any problems with location – no need to suspend disbelief and buy California as Mexico, or Bulgaria, or Russia.) The episode has terrific range – understated delivery and small, controlled actions can carry just as much inherent drama as screams and explosions, or more.
And RDA’s performance, first to last, is sensational. It’s the first time on the series that we see Mac in real distress – I remember it was a level of vulnerability really unusual in a male TV hero at the time. It would have been bad if RDA hadn’t made it plausible; instead, it became one of his great strengths as an actor.
And there’s something beyond just the “Joy of Whumping”. When events or trauma peel away the upper, superficial layers of the self, it can put the most fundamental values on display. In the middle section of the episode, when MacGyver is isolated, confused, and in pain, his character is shown in this light – from his empathy to Lisa to his ability to improvise even through a fog.
This episode not only introduced Pete (at last!), I think it was the first time Mac ever arranged a "bonus" at the end.
favourite moments: Mac’s smartassed bravado when well and truly pinned down Mac exhorting himself in the cell – “C’mon, think, MacGyver, think!”
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I remember Henry Winkler remarking on RDA's vulnerability and how it endears audiences to him. He does it so subtly that it is never over-acted, and he's always believable when in pain or in difficult emotional situations.
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
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Going back to MacBeth's post about vulnerability and how RDA does it so well... I rate this episode up along with Abyss from Stargate SG-1 season 6 - for the same reason. If you haven't seen that one - do so - it's worth it.
RDA is very good at what he does. As an actor, he has always been under-appreciated in the emotion department. He does it so naturally that he doesn't overwhelm you and that's the beauty of it. He just makes it believable. No mistaking... this is a very hard thing for an actor to do - to find just the right balance, and make the right "choices" - the little things that determine the character's internal thinking process. This is why many people who go to acting workshops drop out. When you get a scene like this to work on, you dig deep into your personal reservoir (real life and imaginary sense memory) to bring the moment to life and make it believable. It is a scary thing - because you are exposing your inner self for everyone to examine.
"... Acting is hard, skiing is fun, avalanches are dangerous..."
That which has been established will endure even with time and at a distance.
I can't tell you anything about what happens after the cameras go off, mostly because I'm usually unconscious by then.
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I love this episode. Way up there in my rank of favorites. One reason…. Nice recovery after Target MacGyver. Ugh! I also like the cloak and dagger feel. But mostly the moral of the story. That too many people just walk on by because “it’s none of their business”. If MacGyver hadn’t helped Lisa on the dock, a couple of hours later she wouldn’t have known him from Adam and might have taken her friends advice and just kept walking.
Premise was kewl, acting was great. I thought the girl who played Lisa did a great job. Some of the dialogue they gave her was a little lame but I think she’s probably in the top five female actors they had throughout the series. Nielson and his goons were good too. The guy that always had a sandwich… LOL “Can’t you do anything without eating?” ~ “I’m listening!”
Despite thinking it’s one of the better episodes of season 1 if not all the seasons, I still had some s
There are two things that really bug me.
One is that unfortunate splice of footage of Mac rolling on the ground drugged after the cop punches him in the parking lot. Real bad choice by someone. And that when Mac retrieves the list, it’s kinda obvious it was filmed at the same time he put it in there but that’s no biggie I guess.
Second is when the bad guys are coming in Lisa’s building… Mac takes the time to set up the chairs, battery and television tube for an explosion saying “Got to buy some time. Try to give us a running start.” Well the time it took him to set it up they could have been off, but then he cranks up the radio and says “This oughta get them up here in a hurry.” What the….? Make up your mind Mac!
On a lighter note…
When Pete gets upset that the operator didn’t get the message from Lisa to him sooner, and the guy said it had no emergency code on it. And Pete says “Well there is now! Code 101!” That cracked me up. Code 101.
Did anyone else notice that when Lisa finds Mac on the street and goes to take him home.. Just as they cut to commercial she starts laughing? I’ve seen it before and wonder if anyone warns people acting with RDA that he goes all out. I don’t think she expected to have to take that much of his weight.
And I can’t help thinking that if the scene at the dock had been extended, we would have seen Lisa fighting the seagulls for that fish.
As for the music they used during certain scenes, I think better choices could have been made, and that the music could be used either way. But since Nielson is doing a dramatic monologue on how Mac’s going to suffer (“each second that ticks away cuts him like a knife”) and eventually die, I know which way I’ll interpret it.
QUOTE (Rockatteer @ 23 September 2007 - 11:10 PM)
Was anyone else disappointed to see how easily Pete was shoot and wounded?
It seemed to amateurish. The first shot they fired at him and he's down and out...
I don't have a problem with that. It's more believable than someone dodging a reign of bullets. Dust flying up in a battery behind them as they run. Always leaves me thinking... "Why are the bad guys shooting at the dirt two feet behind him?"
QUOTE (Old Fan @ 24 September 2007 - 01:11 PM)
Going back to MacBeth's post about vulnerability and how RDA does it so well... I rate this episode up along with Abyss from Stargate SG-1 season 6 - for the same reason. If you haven't seen that one - do so - it's worth it.
RDA is very good at what he does. As an actor, he has always been under-appreciated in the emotion department. He does it so naturally that he doesn't overwhelm you and that's the beauty of it. He just makes it believable.
I've seen RDA do some brilliant acting... and some really bad acting, if you can even call it acting. Was more like RDA showed up on set. He has the ability but I've heard him say it himself, sometimes he just gets plain lazy. This was definitely in the better category.
~ MacNymph ~
Sometimes the uncontrollable urge to mess with people outweighs the millstone of humility.
One is that unfortunate splice of footage of Mac rolling on the ground drugged after the cop punches him in the parking lot. Real bad choice by someone. And that when Mac retrieves the list, it’s kinda obvious it was filmed at the same time he put it in there but that’s no biggie I guess.
Oddly enough I never noticed that footage until I saw it mentioned as a nitpick.. and now I can't help but notice it.
QUOTE (MacNymph @ 24 September 2007 - 01:26 PM)
And I can’t help thinking that if the scene at the dock had been extended, we would have seen Lisa fighting the seagulls for that fish.
I think you might be right. Those birds certainly seemed determine didn't they.
QUOTE (MacNymph @ 24 September 2007 - 01:26 PM)
When Pete gets upset that the operator didn’t get the message from Lisa to him sooner, and the guy said it had no emergency code on it. And Pete says “Well there is now! Code 101!” That cracked me up. Code 101.
Yeah thats just goofy
I noticed in Death lock Pete used a code "Red red" when he tried to ring for help. I can't help thinking that maybe they should have used the "Red Red" emergency code instead of 101, or something similar.
I liked the part when the gentleman giving Mac the injection says "You have very nice veins." and Mac says "Thank you." It was like they were preparing to drug him to clean his teeth.
This is an excellent episode! Great acting of RDA, I agree every bit of the previous posts regarding his ability in acting out pain and distress. I really wish I could play Lisa's role: who can resist taking care of Mac and holding him in her arms?
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One of the best episodess, IMO. Great villain, and many many MacGyverisms. 1st episode I taped off the air when I was a kid, so it has nostalgic value to me.
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Definitely one of my fave MacGyver episodes! I think someone else said this too, but it was the episode that hooked me into the show. I thought the actress who played Lisa was sort of hit-and-miss but overall she did a fine job. It had to have been pretty difficult for her to hold her own next to RDA's powerhouse performance.
I had one nitpick with the show (also brought up by someone in an earlier post): when he gets hit by the fake cop he already looks drugged out.
RDA is very good at what he does. As an actor, he has always been under-appreciated in the emotion department. He does it so naturally that he doesn't overwhelm you and that's the beauty of it. He just makes it believable. No mistaking... this is a very hard thing for an actor to do - to find just the right balance, and make the right "choices" - the little things that determine the character's internal thinking process. This is why many people who go to acting workshops drop out. When you get a scene like this to work on, you dig deep into your personal reservoir (real life and imaginary sense memory) to bring the moment to life and make it believable. It is a scary thing - because you are exposing your inner self for everyone to examine.
Fellow SG-1 fan just wanting to say... This, exactly. Good example with "Abyss."
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