Might be somewhat of a weird question, when you know a possible answer. OK, at first it might have a been a bit of checking things out at the start of the show with the Pilot episode to see what you got in your hands. Pete showed up every now and than since Nightmares in the first season and became one of the lead stars in the show.

But do you think there is a particular reason for Pete not showing up in episodes? We know he had glaucoma which demanded it's toll especially in the sixth season. There might be simply no place in the scenarios or do you think it's something else? OK, the show is called 'MacGyver' and not 'MacGyver and Pete' and RDA could clearly carry an episode on his own even when he's out of his element.

Or maybe it's just they kept the way things was as in the first season with Pete only showing up every other or every two to three episodes. Thought it was a bit weird for being one of the leads and not to be in every episode. That it can happen once or maybe twice, sounds normal but more... I mean in Xena Gabrielle didn't show up in one episode and that's somewhere in the fourth season.

Mac and Pete are like Magnum and Higgins. The hero and the loyal sidekick.

Just wondering.

I think the answer would be because the story line didn't require Pete.

As you said the show was about MacGyver. Pete wasn't a co-character, he was a sub character, he showed up when the storyline required it and a lot of the later episodes where about MacGyver out and about, away from LA.

It also fits that Pete would have a lot of office and paper work to do because he was the director of field operations, which in a real life situation would be a full time office job.

So the fact that we ever saw Pete out and about, in itself, is an exaggeration.

Pete should have been co-character. As much as I like this show, it would have been better if it had been about Mac and Pete, not just Mac.

That would have been pretty limiting on the story lines though.

We would have missed out on a lot of good episodes.

I personally think the show worked best with Pete as the father-like sub-character he was.

I think Dana Elcar was playing the character he wanted to play. and the way he wanted to play Pete.

One of the things that I like about the show is the fact that its premise is very wide open. It doesn't follow the standard formula (Mac shows up to the office, Pete gives him an assignment, Mac completes assignment.) Sure, some episodes were like that, but there were plenty of others that allowed Mac to have adventures that he wouldn't get if we only saw him working for the Phoenix Foundation.
So I'm glad Pete wasn't there ALL the time, even though I really like his character.

Having said that, I still think the show was its strongest in the third season when the cast was the biggest (Pete, Nikki, Jack and Mac. I know Jack and Nikki were never "regulars," but they were pretty common during season 3.)

I disagree i think its supose to be about mac not mac and pete thats why its called
MacGyver not MacGyver and Pete

Pete was always MacGyver's best friend. He's also Mac's boss Saved Mac countless times too. Pete's role give the audience another trusty person that we know since the beginning. You just can't find guest stars all the time which actually they did all the time. Mac and Pete has a special bond.


Best example That I know has a similar effect on the show is Walter Skinner in the X-Files. He's always behind the agents back, protecting them.

I remember episodes where Pete and Mac were just hanging out together. Yes the show was called MacGyver, but Pete was a big part of the show. Pete was Mac's friend and in a way his father figure.