[Hannibal_Smith]

Has it ever occurred to anyone to watch (most of) the Central America episodes assuming they took place in the same country? I did a run of five of them a few weeks ago and it turns out it kind of works, although I'm positive they didn't plan it that way (TV wasn't serialized back then, except for a few episodes that follow up on earlier ones).

Basically, assume the country from "The Gauntlet," "The Assassin," "A Wing And A Prayer," "Blind Faith" and "Obsessed" is the same one (which starts out as your basic 1980s Central American country, psychotic military regime running the place with not-necessarily-better rebels as their only opposition). General Vasquez, one of the worst crazies in the regime, is brought down in the first episode; the archbishop of the country survives an assassination attempt in the second episode, which allows him to go on being a voice for peace and human rights; the rebel hard-liner Rafael is brought down in the third episode. Between those things, you've got enough bad guys out of the picture and enough reasonable people left that they're willing to sit down and start talking (which is what happens at the end of AWAAP). Two years later, they've finally gotten around to holding an election, and a pro-democracy candidate (Samantha Lorra) seems likely to win, but some of the old regime elements aren't willing to let it happen and are still scheming behind the scenes to bring her down. Thanks to Mac and Pete, they fail; she goes on to win her election, and has the big shot in the old regime, Delasora, arrested as a war criminal (and, apparently, drug dealer). The next year, Delasora and what's left of his followers, with a little help from Murdoc, take one last shot at seizing power again, but Mac and Pete thwart that one too. Which, presumably, takes care of the last serious villains from the 1980s era and leaves the country in good hands to face the future.

Overthinking much? Or do you think it works too?

[Drawz]

Most MacGyver episodes were filmed in California and various parts of Canada. If I had to bet, I'd say that the C.A. episodes weren't filmed in C.A. at all.

It's not like there's a dearth of Spanish speaking, brown people in California to play Central Americans.

[MacGyverGod]

Bushmaster is also set in Central America as well as Jack of Lies (than you can say Vasquez has a twin). But to be honest, I think we're dealing with different countries each time since Mac and Kate Connolly met each other in San Sebastian and Mac and Jack flew to Barraca to safe Pete and sister Clara. I don't think it was the purpose of the creators to take Mac back to the same location each time he was going to Central America.

If it all was one country you can say Mac, Pete and Jack were involved in one big plot to overthrow a corrupt government and help Samantha Lora to win an election. But I think there is a lot more to it than just taking out General Vasquez or Rafael. Generals are mostly puppets to a dictator. Look at Murdoc and Delasora. Delasora didn't need him anymore in the end.

To take down a dictatorship wars are fought out sometimes on world scale (WWII) or smalltime civil wars in distant countries or even the war on terror.

I think that the 1980's were Noriega times since he was mentioned in On A Wing And A Prayer. I think that issues like that fitted in the MacGyver Universe so it's possible that made it a recurring theme. If MacGyver was made now he'd be all over the Middle East (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestina, Israel) or North Africa with the Arabian Spring.

So to be honest I think you're overthinking too much but for the sake of fanfic in might work.

Say that Delasora is the dictator of a fictious country in Central America and every little town that was visited by Mac throughout the show is a part of that country. Every general in those episodes have their own armies to keep the towns down. So Vasquez (helped by Ryerson), his evil twin brother Antunnez (helped by Sonny), Salazar, Rafael (than still helped by Santina) are part of the Supreme Command terrorizing their citizens. Than we have Colonel Cardosa and Ramos under the generals trying to kill Samantha Lora who at that time is being helped by Mac and Pete. She wins the election gets around the table with peoples that you can reason with along with the United Nations and the Phoenix Foundation on neutral soil let say um... Switzerland. Where the remaining rebels plots to take out Samantha Lora but Mac stops them and gets shot instead... oh, wait that's Cease Fire.

There might be a good storyline here. I really have to get back into writing. But I really think this one requiers some work if you want to do it decently.

[Hannibal_Smith]

Actually, Bushmaster is the only one that I was sure couldn't be set in the same country, since they show it as having a revolutionary, anti-American, Sandinista-style government rather than a straightforward military regime (with friends in high places in the U.S). Jack Of Lies, it doesn't really matter since the bad guys are small potatoes, a corrupt cop and his partner but not movers and shakers. It could be set in either country, or in a third one.

And like I said... no, I don't think it was their intention to send Mac and Pete back to the same country again and again (the show didn't do the serialized thing). I'm just saying that you could see it working that way, with a few minor retcons (e.g. "San Sebastian," "Barraca," etc would refer to different parts of the country rather than countries themselves). And I didn't think Pete and Mac would be part of some big conspiracy against the regime, just that it could be a regime they kept brushing up against and that some of the blows they dealt it helped bring it down (many other things would have too, of course).

I've never written any MacGyver fan fiction, and if I ever tried it I've got a couple ideas I'd want to go with first anyway... but yeah, it could make for decent fanfic.

[MacGirl]

Interesting idea. I also don't think it was supposed to be all the same country, but the countries in Central America were dealing with very similar problems back then. Democratically elected governments being overthrown and replaced with dictatorships (usually backed by the U.S., rather ironically), death squads running around, religious leaders assassinated for speaking out against the regimes... etc. I'm always a bit amazed at how closely the show mirrored actual history.