Twice Stung

Episode:  025 (S2.E03)

Production No.: 40192-027

Airdate: 06 October 1986

Teleplay: Mark Lisson & Bill Froehlich

Story: Phil Combest, Mark Lisson, & Bill Froehlich

Director: Paul Krasny

Nielsen Ratings:  13.9 rating / 22 share / 3rd (50th for the week)

PLOT

MacGyver and Pete Thornton devise an elaborate sting operation to get back the life savings of a friend who was swindled by a dangerous con artist.

CAST

MACGYVERISMS

• Tied fire hose to door handle and elevator rail and set elevator to ground floor to break open locked door.
• Used flashlight battery & matches connected to photography flash lights and silver envelope opener to blind bad guys.
• Used folded up paper to stop door from locking.
• Rewired lock switch to short out when pressed.
• removed most of the rivets from old chest so it would fall apart when picked up.

TRIVIA

• This is the episode which coined the term ‘MacGyverism’.
• Although this is episode 25 the production number is 27 meaning it was filmed later in the season and aired out of order.
• The opening scenes of the plane flying use stock footage of 3 different planes as determined by the tail numbers of 23639, 68379 and the last one starting with 643 (the final two digits are obscured).
• MacGyver was Pamela Bowen’s second ever acting job. She would go on to act in 47 other shows in her career, including a staring role in a show called ‘Land’s End’, which, interestingly, is the registered name of MacGyver’s Houseboat.
  The Land’s End show also starred Geoffrey Lewis, who played David Crane in the ‘Silent World’ episode.

QUOTES

• Oh, I’ve heard about you! You’re the guy that does the whatchamacallits. You know, MacGyver-isms. Turns one thing into another?  ~Joanna
• You don’t go to people with your problems. You come to your friends.  ~MacGyver
• I may be dead, but I’m not deaf.  ~Kelly
• I always photograph strange things when I’m angry.  ~Joanna
  You must get angry a lot.  ~MacGyver

NIT-PICKS

• When Kelly gets shot in the cocaine deal we see some blood in the center of his chest as the shot fades to black for a commercial break. When the scene fades back from black he has a lot more blood all over his chest.
• How did no-one in the hotel hear the gunshots when the cocaine deal went bad?
• MacGyver refers to the plane in which he begins the episode as a “T-38 Ace”. In actual fact, the NATO reporting name of the Northrop T-38 shown was the “Talon”, not the “Ace”. The “T” at the start of its name indicated its role as a Trainer aircraft. No manned aircraft could have been given the name “Ace”, as the letter “A” is used to indicate the start of the NATO reporting name for an air-to-air missile.
• When Kelly is laying on the floor after being shot, he breaks the blood bag under his shirt as part of the plan, but he pushes it too hard and the fake blood can be seen to squirt out of the bag straight over his head off camera.

FILMING LOCATIONS

Dam Sepulveda Dam 15758 Burbank Blvd, Van Nuys, CA	Police Station Los Angeles Police Museum 6045 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA