I know this topic has come up before, especially regarding filming around British Columbia. The question has been asked more than once.. was MacGyver suppose to be living in LA or some other city.

Well in the opening voice-over of Partners, MacGyver says "the usual problem in Los Angeles on a lazy Saturday is..."

I don't recall ever hearing any mention of MacGyver moving cities, not do we have any reason to think he did, because that would mean that Pete would have had to have moved with him, which I think would have required a story line to explain it.

So all that to say that I think MacGyver was suppose to always be living in LA and scenes with snow and frosted breath (such as those seen in High Control) are simply part of filming outdoor shots in Vancouver during winter and is a "lets hope no-one notices" situation.

Let's hope no one notices...

His license plate is consistently a California plate, so we know he didn't change states, but he could have very well moved to northern California for all we know....

But, yeah, I agree that he was intended to have always lived in a weird tv version of LA that has slush and snow....

Mac
who finds such silliness one of the shows many endearing qualities!

We can state for a fact that his first loft was situated near or in Venice Beach.

The only location I can come up with for his house boat is Marina del Rey.

Well so do I. To me it's always been LA, no matter what the weather circumstances were. If that's was supposed to be LA in Mac's universe, it's LA. OK, it doesn't quite match with the actual LA from the first, second and seventh season. But hey does it matter? The Vancouver British Columbia LA increased the series quality on a positive note.

Do have to admit though I like series and movies where the summer shines of your screen like Bad Boys, Miami Vice, 24. Always bright sunlight and colours.

Well, I noticed, and all I could think the whole time when seeing Mac running outside with his jacket open that poor Rick must have felt very cold.



But they do have snow sometimes in California when conditions are very weird, don't they?

Not necessarily. There can be snow on the ground with the temps being above zero, which feels really, really warm after a stretch of minus 30. Last winter frequently found me shoveling and salting the snow wearing shorts and a tee-shirt (and my snowboots)!

In northern California and in the mountains, it most certainly snows. But LA rarely gets snow, and not in the quantities we saw on MacGyver.

Mac

Well, I noticed, and all I could think the whole time when seeing Mac running outside with his jacket open that poor Rick must have felt very cold.



But they do have snow sometimes in California when conditions are very weird, don't they?

I think those jackets provides enough isolation. However I wouldn't walk around like he did in The Wasteland. He seemed only to be wearing his white T-shirt under has jacket. Brrr.

How can they provide isolation when not closed?

Yeah, I must have been quite a sight in my tuque, boots, and mitts, in combination with the shorts and tee. We've been having very strange winters lately.

Mac

Well, when the sun is shining then yeah, it can be very warm. Last February we also sat at the terrace in the sun without feeling cold.

But do you still see the frosted breath, then?

Well, he was born with like 20 below zero, so I think RD can handle running with his jacket open.

Besides, he admitted to love VERY cold winters... So surely he mustn't have mind..

Here's another explanation. Some eppys, like Out in the Cold, may have been meant to take place in, say, Montana or somewhere like that. But others, like Fraternity of Thieves... well, there's a definite problem there. I think that it was always supposed to be California, but not necessarily always LA.

Sure do. 'Frosted breath' occurs when the moisture from your mouth hits ambient air that is colder than your breath's temperature.

Mac

Well regarding a post up top, maybe it's the X-Files fan in me (filmed for the 1st 5 years in Vancouver BC as well) but I always imagine Mac is in Vancouver... er yeah Montana or something, I dunno. But when it's sunny I just say he's in LA... Maybe I just feel really connected to the cold, dreary and rainy through tv :-P

Jesse

How can they provide isolation when not closed?

Having a jacket open only exposes a small amount of your body to the cold. The rest of your body (arms, back) are still covered and protected by the jacket. So often that will keep you warm enough that you don't feel the bit of cold sliding through the opening of your jacket... Unless it's really cold. Then you certainly need the jacket done up tight, and the woolly hat pulled down around your neck.

Interesting - that when they WERE filming in LA (season 2), the episode that was supposed to be taking place in Louisiana (Family Matter)... you can spot mountains (tall ones) in the background in some of the scenes where Mac is riding the motorcycle following after Pete.

RDA said in an interview - talking about his acting: "..You have to suspend disbelief a little bit to buy into your situation and to the story and how the character will react..."

I think this is true for the viewer as well...

Yeah, it's the front of the neck where I feel the cold most and need a scarf.

But I think Sheepy is right, I forgot for a moment there where Rick is from and thought more about myself getting cold very fast. In this case I'm a typical woman

I think that was true back when MacGyver was made.

But now days technology has put the onus squarely on the shoulders of film and TV producers to make the audience believe.

as an audience today we have a much higher expectation. We expect things to look real. We're not willing to settle for cheap effects and poor location choices. Today's audience has the attitude "no I wont suspend my disbelief. You make me believe what I'm seeing." Which I think is fair enough. I know I certainly don't want to pay to watch a film where I have to pretend I'm seeing something different to what's on the screen. Likewise with TV.

I think thats what makes watching old TV shows interesting now. We see all these little errors because we're watching the show with the "millennium mindset" where we've gotten use to, and now expect, everything to look real. So when things aren't they are very obvious to us now.

And Lousiana doesn't have mountains?

Ah well the chase scene in Lethal Weapon 4 was filmed in Las Vegas (I think) while they were also supposed to be in LA.

I'm thinking Mac lived in southern Ca, maybe not LA specifically. The Pheonix Foundation might have been head quartered in LA but that didn't mean Mac necessarily lived in the "city". The folks in CA often refer to the county they live in over the city. It's the "thing to do" now. Quite trendy.



"It's hot."

Ugh... nearly choked on that.

On my coast you might say you live / work in the DC or metro area but you don't. A two hour commute ain't nuthin.

does southern CA have snow?

If the South Pole has snow why can't Southern CA?

When I was in LA in 1994 the tour guide said that one week ago they had had pretty bad weather, with hail and everything.

On the other hand, there's this song "Seems it never rains in Southern California". With emphasizing at the "seems"

If the South Pole has snow why can't Southern CA?

for the same reason lemons can't taste like apples.

The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs into LA county. They've got snow. Maybe not at city Los Angeles elevation but I'm guessing within an hour or two drive you could find some.

Are we talking about a particular episode or something where Mac says "this is Los Angeles" and we see snow on the ground?

no this is just talking about the opening voice-over of Partners, MacGyver says "the usual problem in Los Angeles on a lazy Saturday is..."

but then in later seasons (filmed in BC) there are scenes with snow around his houseboat.

They never mentioned that he moved cities, and would be odd if the phoenix foundation and Pete moved with him.. so one has to assume that he was always meant to be in a "MacGyver universe" version of LA.

Ohhhhh... well that's because it was filmed in Vancouver!

* runs and hides*

I like that ... a 'MacGyver universe' version of L.A.!

My disbelief suspends pretty well, but every little bit helps!

Well, unless we have an exact address on a driver's license or something somewhere, I don't know that MacGyver explicitly stated where he lives. For the episode "Partners", it could be that he was instructed to meet Pete at the junkyard in LA- and he himself may not necessarily live there.

Or you can go with the Quantum Leap retcon explanation (Historical things are different in Sam's world- like JFK and Jacqueline both died on Nov. 22, 1963 in Sam's world- but he did manage to save Mrs. Kennedy when he Leaped to that time)- so in the "MacGyver universe" it DOES snow in Los Angeles!

yep.. hence the 'MacGyver universe version of L.A.'