What episodes were PSA's

So far I have:

Twenty Questions
Black Rhino
Runners

PSA?

Public service announcement.

After school special type episodes.

The Gun

Are we talking about episodes which actually had some form of PSA announcement at the end of the episode, or just episodes which seemed to have a PSA message or theme to them?

*scratches head over discussion*

Maybe it's a matter of interpretation. For me, one of the charms of the series is that it's based around the personality of a man who is deeply idealistic and lives up to his own ideals, even when (or especially when) they make it more difficult to find solutions. Idealism is like that, which is one of the many reasons it's so hard to maintain.

And the show was set in the real world, in its own present day, with characters who constantly confronted real-world, present-day issues. It started out with international intrigue, and then shifted its focus to allow for the smaller problems that more ordinary people face – a scope that could run from industrial sabotage and international terrorism down to drugs, gangbanging, prostitution and alcoholism. Most of us don’t actually have to face terrorists in our lives, but most of us do have to face alcoholics. I could have used a MacGyver to chew me out when I was a dumb kid and drank too much.

But I just don’t see that as ‘preachy’, or as ‘PSA episodes’ – not if the term is meant to be derisory. I’m glad the show didn’t always have to be saving the world. I’m also glad it didn’t always focus on the small issues. The breadth of scope was a wonderful thing.

Most of the so-called ‘PSA’ episodes I personally think of as ‘wish-fulfillment’ episodes. Wouldn’t it be great if . . . we had a hero who was there for small problems as well as large ones . . . the bad guys could be really caught by a genuine good guy . . . real-world issues could be solved, just once, and you could feel good about the solution.

So I’m not going to sit down and tabulate the “PSA episodes”. I’d rather go watch them again and enjoy them, even though they’re fantasies. I treasure Mac’s role as a hero, and I’m not going to niggle at this aspect of his heroism.

I have to disagree with your reasoning there.

He certainly wasn't spotless or flawless. In fact one of the main traits of the MacGyver character was that he was flawed.

And he has reason for not drinking was because he had been drunk when he was 10. Likewise his reasons for hating violence are becasue he's been involved with it and seen it up close and personal. Something with his dislike for guns. He had a bad experience and saw first hand how destructive they can be in the wrong hands.

So I don't think anyone could use that as a reason for calling him preachy, because his choices are from personal experiences.

having said that however, I do agree that the episodes themselves could easily be looked at as preachy. Of course you could also argue that the episodes where simply putting particular issues into the public eye.

I think we could use some more psa now.I don't there are enough people to stand up for they believe in. Macgyer should be brought back.

I think you have some words missing in your post.

How do you know that? If he never liked it he wouldn't have decided to get plastered with his friend.
We also know from the Blood Brothers episode, that up until the shooting incident he seemed to be pretty keen on guns.

It is a valid point you make though. And probably one which can be applied to many situations, from alcoholics right through to gang issues.. how can someone like MacGyver know what it's like to be an alcoholic, a drug addict, a gang-runner.. or even to be under pressure at school.

SO from that point of view.. yeah I guess it is preachy for him to stand up and say this is what you do and this is how you do it... with no real understanding of what the problem feels like.

I still don't think he was flawless or squeaky clean though. But it's fair to say he did have a streak of preachy arrogance in him.


I'd actually love to know who's idea it was to have the PSA episodes. Was it a directive from the producers? Maybe the studio? RDA? Who put their hand up and said "Hey lets take this his show and have the character tell everyone what we think is right and wrong."..... Yes I know thats a blunt exaggeration.. but you get my point.

From what I understand, some of the environmental concerns MacGyver had at least were shared by RDA- so some of those episodes came from Richard Dean Anderson's own concerns. And I get the impression that a lot of MacGyver's character is molded somewhat from RDA's, though I'm sure there's differences in some things.
But every television show, whether consciously or unconsciously, tells people what's right and what's wrong- or at least their view of it. That much is communicated just by the lifestyles portrayed and the choices made by the characters. TV shows don't have to explicitly state things to show their opinions on matters, though in some cases, a special effort is made to communicate a point. And there we have "PSA"-type episodes where MacGyver shows viewers the harm of drinking, guns and so forth. And since they also did a great job of making every episode very enjoyable, I don't mind a bit if they get "preachy". Sometimes people need to hear a little "preaching".

I don't think it's fair to call MacGyver squeaky clean. First off, I suppose it all really depends on what your definition of squeaky clean is. Mine is Jesus Christ- perfection. MacGyver, great as a guy as he is, is nowhere near there- as is everyone else on Earth.
MacGyver cursed some in the 1st. Season at least. MacGyver had also tried drinking, smoking, and played with guns. Depending on how you read into scenes in "The Gauntlet" and "Friends" and then all doubt is removed in "The Stringer"- apparently MacGyver indulged in illicit sex.
MacGyver also sometimes tended to have a bit too much self-reliance, and though America tends to tout self-reliance as something of an American value ("pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps" and all that)- it's really pride at the root of it.
MacGyver is not perfect- he's got his share of flaws. But he's seen what drinking and guns and smoking can do through incidents in his life and he chooses to make a stand against these things. (And against drugs and violence in general, for that matter.)
But I don't think you have to experience all these things in order to tell alcholics and drug addicts not to use such addictive and deadly substances. Intellectually, MacGyver knows that drugs and alcohol kill people. He's seen it happen.
Would it be preachy for Captain America to tell someone not to drink because we've never seen him drinking, but it's okay coming from Iron Man because we know he's been an alcoholic before? I agree that MacGyver wouldn't know exactly what it feels like to be dealing with an addiction to alcohol or drugs- but I don't know why it should be preachy for him to try to help someone overcome that addiction. I mean, we never saw him as a mass murderer on the show either, but I don't think it's preachy for MacGyver to tell Murdoc that he's a crazy, homicidal maniac.
Just because MacGyver may never have fully given in to these sorts of vices (though we know he's at least flirted with drinking before) doesn't mean that he hasn't been tempted to try them. I think it's even stronger coming from someone who's had the same temptations that others have given in to- yet he's been able to say "No" to them.

As MacGyver himself said in "Last Stand"- "I'm not perfect- yet."

MacGyver preachy? Nah... MacGyver is good at estimating situations. He was the kind of model and help I needed in my early high school years. And I'd follow him on many levels. School, teens, maybe the environment. Though I think doing studies on what the effects would be on building a new marina like in The Negotiator would make me go nuts with all those numbers and assumptions... bbbrrrr.

MacGyver cares about his friends, the peoples and the planet and he sure wouldn't mind to give them a lecture if they did something that he doesn't like. That was perhaps something I needed a few times during my teen years. Than again, family without a father and a mother always working... but hey I had Mac. Though he was just a person on screen.

MacGyver isn't flawless at all. Just because he doesn't drink or smokes or do drugs, makes him flawless. We all have our bad sides. He's stubborn, little bit of arrogance, cynical and a dry sense of humor. Though being cynical and having a dry sense of humor isn't so bad. But I'm sure if you go to Mac, he'll help you out with a smile. And if he get's preachy or he need to pull them ears, he'll do it because he cares. That's what I like so much about that scene with Breeze in The Gun. Giving that speech on what the history of the gun is in order to make Breeze tell him who he's protecting. Or else he can't help him any further.
That's also what I like even more about him. Even when angry, he remains reasonable.

So being far from perfect he knows that everyone can make a difference in the world to make the world a better place.

As he said in Trail to Doomsday: 'Than it's up to us, to change it!'

The alcoholism-to be fair, remember that MacGyver was talking to a teenager about this.
I've never been an alcoholic or drank very much myself, but as a high school teacher, I warn kids about the dangers of drinking all of the time, and I definitely don't see myself as "preachy." It is our job as responsible adults to help kids understand that we have seen the devastating effects of alcoholism upon others, when they themselves may be too young to see that far ahead in life. Most teenagers live in the here and now, I can tell you, and can't even invision next week. And, they do think they're invincible.
Also, I have seen Mac episodes where he's grumpy quite a bit-especially with Pete! Like in The Madonna, at the beginning, or in Out in the Cold. Come to think of it, he's grumpy quite often!! Look how rude he is to both Pete and Nicky in "The Widowmaker." Pete says, "Beating yourself up isn't going to solve anything" and Mac says, "Neither is working for you." I know he's hurting, but he's way rude to both Nicky and Pete.
In terms of the other PSA type issues, I think our society could definitely use more of it from television shows. We certainly have plenty of sex, drugs, and violence.

Well said, MGod!

I thought that's what was happening... You make your points, others make their points, and we debate the subject with great passion and enthusiasm.

Thanks.

I do think this is a great topic. This is I think the first topic since a long time where in we discuss what MacGyver actually is all about.

That's the closest thing I've seen to a knee-jerk reaction in this thread.

If you can’t go toe to toe on a point to point basis on MacGyver with fans that are passionate about the show, this probably isn’t the place for you. They will debate a topic until it’s dead. ( I am one of “they” when I have the time)

I haven’t posted in this thread because the person who started it never defined what it was they were going on about. Even after having been asked.

As far as what the topic has morphed into, I hated the PSA/social worker episodes. They were preachy. RDA even said so when he was doing his promos of the seventh season saying they were moving away from that and back to the run and jump aspect of the show that made it so popular.

I can understand how a narcissist would find it difficult to stay in a place where people dare to disagree or challenge your point of view. I can also see how being treated the same as everyone else might be considered cold to someone who's ego expects more.

I don't think anyone was "outraged" that you called MacGyver flawless. They simply disagreed and made their points. Thats how conversations and discussions work. And in here intelligent and passionate debate is encouraged.

I'm always concerned when I hear negative comments such as the place feels cold. And I would encourage anyone else who feels theres a problem within our community to please let me know, either via PM, or via the anonymous feedback forum. I would however ask that you give more details than "getting a vibe".

Oh geez, you’re one of those. *fains drama* “I’m leaving. Oh, no… don’t try to stop me” “This is really really my last last post.”

If I was unhappy or uncomfortable somewhere, I would just leave. No grandstand exit. Just go.

Whatever the reason, take your swan songing, narcissistic, inadequate, unemployed engineering, stage playing self away. And don’t let the door hit you in the ass.

It's more likely he finds himself very clever and can't understand why no one is running up and patting him on the back.


*takes another twenty dollar bet from Rocky that that wasn't he's last post*

Come on Franco, you're making me a tiny fortune.

Is the internet cold? I wasn't sure lol.
No one cares if they agree or disagree here; the fun is in the debate. Everyone on any message board anywhere knows that.
People that post messages saying things like that are usually trolls that just like to come to these places to stir things up.
Obviously all of us here love MacGyver, so even if we thought it was preachy at times, it certainly didn't diminish our love of the show, or we wouldn't be here on a Sunday night instead of out smoking a cigar with my husband!!!

Or as they say in my country: Salut en de kost!

For some reason, I say no more. His last post is too crazy for words.

For some reason, I just had a flashback to a very weird discussion from some years back regarding what colour the internet is. It made about as much sense as that last business about the copyrighted defense mechanisms, but it was a lot more fun.

As I recall, the consensus was "white".

One of my defense mechanisms is to sidestep into the ridiculous. Can I copyright that? Or apply for a patent? Fish.

Oooooooh. I imagine it a pearlescent black with purpley and blue swirls.

Preeeeeety

That's a much better colour scheme, Nymphy! I'll have it repainted at once.

well this thread has certainly taken off in a very bizarre direction hasn't it.

Ok what in the heck happened here? You guys were discussing the public service announcement episodes like the Gun, Twenty Questions, the Challenge, Runners, etc. and this Franco guy made it about him? Hence the term narcissist. But what happened? All of a sudden the debate turned ugly.

And I agree for the record without quoting you guys like MacGyver, MG and others that MacGyver is flawed and complex like the rest of us, and that despite the fact that the show got a little preachy at times that it is ok.

What did we decide:
1. Mac is a complex human being
2. Mac makes mistakes too
3. Mac has problems and issues like the rest of us
4. The show MacGyver evolved over time, and sometimes for the better and sometimes not
5. His relationship history with women leaves things to be desired, and he has a history of losing those that he loves tragically
6. MacGyver turned from being like James Bond to Batman (one of the criticisms on Jump the Shark) and the show lost the voiceovers which were great
7. Mac became a social worker without the training or degree, and the show turned preachy
8. RDA seemed bored by the end of the 5th and 6th season.
9. Some of us like preachy and some of us don't (go figure)
10. There is no room here for narcissism.

My favorite PSA episodes: The Challenge and Runners

Nice summary.

Yeah. that about sums it up