Hi everyone,

I'm still working on my fanfic, but I think that I decided to make my story [sort of] part of the reboot with regard to placement in world history, so Mac's a young man today. In the end, it came down to changes in the way that society views certain subjects and is more open to discussing (and providing resources for dealing with) them than in the 1970s.

However, I probably will stick with large chunks of the original canon, including using a lot of it for most of Mac's backstory. I think that this might be very confusing, so I'll probably end up posting a recap/explanation at the beginning of each installment to say what comes from the original canon and what comes from the reboot canon.

I'm new to using forums as a whole, and I'll try to figure out how to post my diagram version of this, but I wanted to post a family tree/guide for some of the characters in my story, most of which will show up in the first couple of installments. While much of the action takes place when Mac is young, especially early on, at least some of that framework comes from Mac reminiscing when he is much older, when he is a grandfather, watching his children navigate being adults and raising their own families.

The dates listed below are mostly approximate; I tried to change them to align with both canons, but they may change slightly.

So...here goes...

Kelly's father and paternal grandparents:
Robert Carson- Archaeologist, 1965-Feb. 2004
son of:
Simon Carson- Archaeologist, 1934-2021 and Lillian Smith- Homemaker, 1935-1997

Kelly's mother and her family:
Rivkah Lieberman- Physicist, 1964-Feb. 2004
daughter of:
Abraham Lieberman- Archaeologist, 1933-c. 2039 and Anne Josephine Cramer-Homemaker/Author, 1935-June 2004
who also had a son:
Saul Lieberman, 1962-1966

I am changing Kate Malloy a little, too:
Kate Malloy- Photojournalist, British in my version, 1980-2021

and, of course, SAM: Sean “SAM” Angus Malloy-Photojournalist, British in my version (but still grows up for several years in China), 2012-?
m. Mei-Jan (updated from the original canon), they have 5 children, most of whom are within 10 years of Mac and Kelly's kids

Back to Kelly: Kelly Elizabeth Carson (Jewish name: Esther)-Archaeologist, May 14, 1994 (LTOA's original US airdate)-2085

Mac and Kelly's kids:

James Benjamin MacGyver- miscarried at 20 weeks, late summer/early fall 2020

Rivkah Ellen MacGyver- big sister, IDF-Equivalent EOD Tech, tough as nails, but still Daddy’s little girl, born c. 2032-?
marries Boaz Levine an IDF Chaplain, they have 8 children

Simon James MacGyver- older twin, Historian, Adventurer, born c. 2037-?
marries Ruth (b. Manipur, India), they have 3 children, including daughter Asenath, narrator of her own set of stories

Harold “Harry” Robert MacGyver- younger twin, Biochemist, born c. 2037-?
marries Rachel (who was his best friend growing up), they have 2 children, who, in turn, are the only ones in this group of cousins to live most of their life in California

This post has been edited by MacsMinx on 1 June 2018 - 03:44 PM

This seems familiar. Did you post this on the RDA forum? It looks nice.

QUOTE MacGyverGod @ 1 June 2018 - 06:27 AM

Thanks, MacGyverGod! I didn't post this on the RDA forum, that must've been something else. But I realized I often process the information better when reading I'm about unfamiliar things if I have visual aids. As I was writing, I noticed that a lot of the characters were ones that I made up, so I thought I should include a chart. And I'm still working on putting a family tree-style chart (with the same information) up under this topic. I think that might be a little bit easier to read.

Did you post something about it here then? I think I've read something somewhere on the idea of MacGyver and Kelly Carson having a relationship which is not a bad idea, I might add.

QUOTE MacGyverGod @ (3 June 2018 - 07:26 AM)

Yes! I posted something way back in March about my fanfic because I was trying to decide whether to set the story in the 1970s as a prequel to the original series or somehow work it into the timing of the reboot.

I think I've decided (unless I change my mind, again) to put it into the reboot (bummer, I know). I am doing this because some of the things Mac and Kelly and their loved ones will encounter in my story (miscarriage, dementia) are much less of a mystery to the average person than they were in the '70s.

Back then, even for people who were resourceful, it was difficult to get information about even the most basic facets of many medical issues--even when you or a loved one were the ones going through them. From everything I am reading, it seems like the medical community didn't talk as openly to patients about what they could expect to happen in their situations (how dementia might progress, for example). The medical establishment, and maybe even the culture as a whole, treated talking about illness--even serious things that a lot of people encounter--like a taboo subject.

Changing attitudes and the availability of information on the internet allow people to find out about what to anticipate from the challenges they face nowadays. You can go to a big library and find dozens of books with input by seasoned medical professionals for people who get a tough diagnosis and want to learn more, but it sounds as though this wasn't the case 40 or 50 years ago. People weren't encouraged to talk about things or ask questions then.

In a way, I think a lot of the emotional openness depicted on the original MacGyver was a by-product of the Silent and Boomer generations bringing discussions of tough subjects to the forefront of our culture, rather than just tucking everything away behind a wall of discomfort.

And, on a lighter note, thanks for thinking that a Mac and Kelly romance would be fun. I always thought so! (Just hope I can do it justice!)