If someone were to write an episode/script that had a back story to one of the episodes, (kinda like what Lothy does ) which episode or story line would you like to see done?

I'd more write something of MacGyver's further recovery from his coma. He made it in the end, great, but how long did he stay in the hospital? This was not like the attempt Deborah made by blowing his boat up. In The Negotiator he only spend one night in the hospital. I'm sure had to stay at least another 4 days in the hospital after the coma for observation to see if there were any side effects. You don't easily recover from a near-death experience. Then I'd write something about his recovery at home till he's strong enough to travel again and make him travel to Minnesota so that he would have time to mourn about Harry and to fully recover.
I guess this would be called Passages: The Aftermath.

I also would write something about what happens after The Stringer, during their journeys. Except Sam would be a good guy.

Okay.. um... back story, MGod.

I've been toying with the idea of a fic about the incident that is refered to in 'The Human Factor' concerning the fire at the Brookhearst Chemical (I think that is what it was called... I need to check my notebook), the one where he escapes through the elevator shaft.

I'm also thinking about writing up a Serenity episode, but I need to finish my Nicodemus Legend story first!

I'm always looking for more ideers, you know!

OK... so it's not a back story, but -

I agree with MacGyverGod... I've often pondered all the things that Mac must have thought about in the "aftemath" of that experience. Something like that is definitely a life changing event, physically as well as emotionally, and I wonder how it affected Mac's behavior. Did his relationships change with Pete, with other family members (were there any after Harry?) and friends. Did he have any regrets or second thoughts about his job or his life thus far. Did he become more introspective or possibly spiritual?

Another thought... Since this was the last episode of season 5, I wonder if it was written with the idea to be Mac's last episode. Possibly the writers weren't sure of the show's renewal for season 6 and it was meant to be the final episode. Just as a comparison - look at Stargate SG-1 - the last episode of seasons 5 and 6 were meant to be "the end", but the show was renewed, and well - the rest is history - but surely, the writers had to do some quick thinking/tap dancing there... could it be the same here? Just a thought...

There's was only Harry at the time.
What changed? Something definitely changed. He went through the greatest deal of his life in Passages. After the fifth season it was like only he and Pete were left. He actually ended up alone. Pete was absent for like 7 episodes in a row ok due the glaucoma. Maybe we didn't have that feel if they made the sixth season like the third, with lots of Jack Dalton, Nikki Carpenter and Murdoc. But it made him more introvert due to the abscense of all these peoples. I also noticed this at the end of Jerico Games when he's all alone in that last scene at with the soft piano tune on the background. He's been through another deal with one of his high school sweethearts, but it was like, he was not going to be disturbed, not receiving any calls from whoever.

I always figured the fifth season was the hottest season. Every episode builded up to the climax in Passages afterwards it slowly went downhill to lay MacGyver at rest in it's seventh season. The fire burnt the hardest in the fifth season.
It definitely affected him, but it's like they didn't wanted to show it. To me and I think it's due episodes like Humanity, The Wall, Lesson in Evil, Blind Faith, Strictly Business and other episodes, the sixth season seemed darker than others.

I noticed that too, MacGyverGod--by season six we see a much more introspective MacGyver. Maybe that was how they chose to deal with the aftermath of his coma. Still, I would have liked to see more. I know it's not a back story, but it interests me all the same. Hmm...

I'm actually in the process of pondering both a back story fanfic and an aftermath fanfic, so this discussion is pretty timely!

Yeah, go ahead and steal my ideas. Nah just kidding. By the time I find some time to do some decent writing again... Trying to finally finish my non-MacGyver story. Still has a MacGyver story in the run, started on another MacGyver story, trying to make a real thriller. Brainstorming on my third and ultimate version of Family in Agony and A True Prisoner of Conscience. Wanna rewrite my Lost Gold in the Ocean story in a true Bad Boys story. And I wanna write my first big Power Ranger story. Want to write so much. But first things first.

How about a backstory about the Department of External Services? I kind of had the impression it was an organization that was founded fairly recently that Pete was working for and then he recruited MacGyver for it. But I wonder if Pete was actually involved in founding it? Or maybe it was set up by the government long ago and it's just always been there?
If not that, then what about the Phoenix Foundation? Who was the philanthropist that got the funding going to create such an organization? Maybe a story dealing with MacGyver and Pete's transition from the DXS to the Phoenix Foundation (somewhere in between the first and second seasons) would be an interesting story to see.

Or maybe a background story on the early life of Frog the dog and how it groomed him for working with a bounty-hunting family! -just kidding...

I like your idea about the DXS. I always had the impression the DXS was always there. I think Pete was just an employee there doing assignments. Than he got promoted probably by ending an assignment in exceptional results to Director of Field Operations and was sent over to Phoenix Foundation, a company with more reputation than DXS.

I guess we'll never know that. I guess we'll only know that Andrew Lawton's company (Hamilton Plaza) builded it. Hamilton Plaza sounds more like a hotel to me.
The only man I can possibly see as the founder of the Foundation is the chairman of the board Farell who we briefly saw in Early Retirement. I think he's chairman of the board for a reason. He probably created the Foundation, gave probably like 1000 people work. Field agents, secretaries, scientists. Since he created it I'd say he's got the right to be the chairman of the board.

Seems only natural I suppose. Nicholas Helman was also the chairman of the board of HIT and he was the one who started it up. But look what happened to his career.

I'd also like to see a back-story about Pete's son, more like a "what happened after" thing, the same with Jack Dalton

Good point- I kind of liken the Phoenix Foundation to the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG) that Wilton Knight established in "Knight Rider". Considering the relative age differences between Devon Miles and Michael Knight too, I can definitely see some similarities between Pete Thornton and MacGyver. Besides the fact that they're both cool shows.

and if you go even further back you have Steve Austin and Oscar Goldman working for the...um... OSR?

True, although it was actually the OSI. (Office of Scientific Intelligence) I'll see your Six Million Dollar Man and raise you a Get Smart with Agent 86 (Maxwell Smart) working with "Chief" (aka Thaddeus) at CONTROL.

(Although it was definitely much less serious than The Six Million Dollar Man. But I love both shows! Hope Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway and Alan Arkin do "Get Smart" justice in the 2008 movie- trailer didn't look too bad- and it used the theme music and the classic phone booth! )

Only Doctor Who uses a phone booth now though

The Doctor on Doctor Who has always used a phone booth- or a Police Call Box as it's called by the British. Yes- the good old TARDIS- still spinning out of control since 1963!!!

(Making Doctor Who the longest running scifi show ever- 1963 to 1989!!!! That's 26 years!)

And 3 years added now to Doctor Who 2005-2007!! Have you see the new ones yet?

I’ve always been caught thinking about what had happen that lead to the events in the opening gambits that we see. Its all so exciting but only a few minutes long. Not enough time to tell me all the things I want to know. A bit of a back story and you could have a full MacGyver episode on some of those. I loved them because the kept me wanting to see more. They should have kept the gambits going.

(Btw- Those Gambits all had titles didn’t they? I think I read some somewhere but I forget where. The DVD’s don’t say what they are all called. Anyone know the names of them?)

I think that they are as follows:

Pilot - Pilot
The Golden Triangle - The Crusher
Thief of Budapest - Pegasus
The Gauntlet - The Map
Trumbo's World - Whitewater

Ooooh you are doing a Legend story! Is it ready yet? *poke*

I think that they are as follows:

Pilot - Pilot
The Golden Triangle - The Crusher
Thief of Budapest - Pegasus
The Gauntlet - The Map
Trumbo's World - Whitewater

And....

Target MacGyver - Kitchen magic
Deathlock - Funeral in Berlin


updated: I've updated the episode list to include the names of the gambits.

Yep! I've got one complete story and one in-progress.
I'll pm you the links!

Please excuse the selp-pluggery, y'all! *bows and scrapes*

Thanks for the gambit names Reptile and Rocky.

That carrot really got me wondering the first time I saw that one.

Someone could write a back story for a gambit and come up with a Fanfic that leads up to what we saw in the gambit without the worry of how to end it. *hint, hint.

Well, I may have seen bits and pieces here and there- but haven't really watched the new Doctor Who proper just yet. But if you count the 1996 TV-movie and then that brief animated series, I think the Doctor's up to like, 12 regenerations by now isn't he? I mean, I'm pretty sure Gallifreyans only have 13- he's got to be running out of lives pretty soon. Hopefully the current actor will stay with it for a while- but I doubt any of them will ever replace Tom Baker- I think he'll always be my favorite, with those jelly babies and that long colorful scarf!
(Though I do like Patrick Troughton pretty well too- and you gotta give props to the original- William Hartnell)

um- yeah, but anyway- I could keep going and get way off topic here- but suffice it to say that Doctor Who is really cool.

And as for more MacGyver back stories, um- maybe some more fleshed out stories on the exact details of the deaths of MacGyver's father and grandmother and the death of his mother. I mean, I know that his father and grandmother died together in a car accident when he was like 10. And his mother died when he was a young man (I want to say 18, but I'm not sure where I'm getting that number from) -and she had a stroke, I believe it was. "The Madonna" gives some more details on that about MacGyver being on assignment in Afghanistan and not being able to make it back to her for Christmas that year.
So it's true that we have some details available- but maybe something that delved into the exact events of those days and how MacGyver has come to terms with them now, especially after the events of "Passages".

Check out the new Doctor Who tonight on Sci-Fi at 9PM, you won't be disappointed!!

Theres also mention of it in runners, about how he wasn't told of her death until the day of the funeral.

Ah- that's the other one. Okay, so "Runners" and "The Madonna" make mention of MacGyver's mom's death- and MacGyver mention the death of his father and grandmother in "Phoenix Under Siege" and I'm pretty sure he tells Jenny about it in "Runners" as well.
Anyway, I just thought there could still be a bit more of a backstory to these key events in MacGyver's life. (And perhaps delve more into Harry leaving the family, as decribed in "Target MacGyver")

-And, sorry to jump off topic again, but I checked and it seems The Doctor is on his 10th. incarnation. And if I had cable, I probably would be checking out the new Doctor Who show. Oh well, that's what season DVD releases are for!

Yes, David Tennant is the 10th Doctor, this is his second year in the role. Christopher Eccleston played the Doctor in the 9th incarnation, he stayed only one season

Any of you writers get any .... what did you call them?... plot bunnies?

Yes, I've got mine, and they're soft and cuddly!