We know that in SG:1 RDA's character of Jack O'Neill is much closer to RDA's real personality.

So are there any MacGyver episodes where we get close to seeing his real personality sneaking through?

I think around season one we see RDA funny side, like in the very beginning of Flame's end when hes dressed up and playing a game with his friend.

oh yeah. I'd forgotten about that scene.

We hear the Canadian accent which he plays on so much in SG:1 too.

"What accent eh?"

I indeed think so too. Maybe there's not a real episode you can pin RDA's character to it but just season 1 and maybe a bit season 2. The sense of humor that was placed in season 1 just seemed like RDA to me. Maybe MacGyver became a bit too serious in later seasons. But hey maybe that's also RDA, like realizing how serious certain situations may become. I was just thinking about the scene in The Wasteland were in Mac says Bartlett could die of his injuries. That was like: no time for jokes, we need to get help and fast. On other moments I think it's also plain RDA. They become more rare later on but in Squeeze Play I can't help but laugh when Mama Colton is remembering him on his promise that she just had to call when she needed help.

Can't think of much else. But I think in later episodes like with the teens episodes he did them because a lot of episodes brought out messages. Teens got problems, help them out. Take care of endangered species or the environment. Okay, maybe he couldn't care less about it in real life but ya never know.

Maybe like everytime he made a joke, it might be part of his actual personality.

I think in the Gauntlet he acted very free-spirited, but I really don't know. To check out interviews from the 80's he seemed more uptight, whereas all of the behind the scenes stuff from the 90's and 00's showed much more of a goofball RDA who was constantly cutting up. I dunno... this is a good question...

Good question.
I can't think of a full episode, but there are little moments, such as in the Amish episode, when the wood starts to crack under him and he says something like, "Ah, man... I hate it when that happens." That's very much a Jack O'Neill reaction, and I suspect it's close to an RDA reaction, too. There are plenty of moments like that scattered throughout the series.

I wonder if the uptight in interviews thing was more about being uncomfortable in the interview situation rather than him being uptight in real life.

The letting loose on SG:1 set might also have been influenced by the fact that he was one of the bosses of the show, which gave him the freedom to fool around if he wanted to. Where-as on MacGyver he was just the lead actor employed to do a job. He had some input with ideas etc, but at the end of the day he had to do what he was told. On SG:1 he was the one doing the telling.

I'd love to find more behind the scenes stuff from MacGyver and see what, if any, goofing went on behind the cameras.

In the 80's he was just getting used to being a big star and was uptight but as the show went on he was getting used to it even more and was showing his light side/funny side.

Also, have to mention it here.

Feel free to post any youtube etc links if you find anything valuable. Like interviews, stuff shot on the set and bloopers etc. I suppose here in Finland there wasnt really much if anything at all of such footage available when the show aired. Only the episodes and some interviews etc in magazines.

Is this the episode where he's playing foosball with his girl buddy?? If so, I'd say yeah... pretty close.

Also, the Dexter episodes. Haha! I love that character!


As for the uptightness... I think the culture has also loosened a bit as well. I have noticed the same phenomena with other actors as well. Hard to tell if it's culture or an actor becoming more comfortable with his/her status or just age/growth. Think about some of the things he had to deal with in interviews at that time too though. The gun control issue comes to mind. That one he pretty peeved about!


: )
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There isn't really any bloopers of the show we know of, there is some photos that was took when the show aired but it's only a few that have come to light.

That is something I find quite hard to believe, that there aren't any bloopers at all. A stunt going wrong is one thing, but like things that fall over, someone who miss spoke, there's nothing about it.

I guess the absense of things like blooper reels and behind-the-scenes footage is just an unfortunate side-effect of the fact that this show was made before people really cared about preserving that stuff. These days, with DVDs, shows tend to make a point of keeping track of that stuff because they know they'll want to promote it as a "Bonus Feature" on the DVD set, which will inevitably get released at the end of each season. Back in the 80s, nobody thought about such things.

Although, having said that, I mentioned in another thread that my girlfriend went to the Scarecrow & Mrs. King anniversary celebration, and when she was there, they aired a blooper reel that is not available anywhere else (it never surfaced on YouTube, and it's not included on the DVDs). So the point is, something like that MAY be out there for MacGyver, too, but Paramount just never felt it was worth including on the DVDs, and so it's still hidden away somewhere. Kind of a shame.

Does anyone remember ever seeing any MacGyver bloopers on that Bloopers and practical jokes show?

Well Magnum doesn't have it either. However I recall an episode were some kind of bloopers were shown during the end credits. However because the end credits theme was playing over it, you didn't hear anything but you can see them burst out in laughing and retrace their steps.

Maybe there's a chance they might included it if it's ever released on Blu-ray. But that chance is as big as it was when we were hoping for a release on normal dvd.

I do wonder whether he had any input on some of the dialogue. Some of the snappier/funnier lines seem to very much fit with Rick's extremely dry and somewhat sardonic sense of humor.

I don't know if this necessarily applies to Richard, but I know that a lot of actors (usually the lead actors of TV shows) end up putting a lot of themselves into the character, and they just kind of meld themselves and the character. So, in that case, I would expect the later seasons to be closer to RDA's personality, because by then he would have really gotten to know who MacGyver is and put more of himself in there.

But I obviously don't know for sure. I just know that, with a lot of actors, it eventually becomes less acting and more them, especially when they're carrying the show. Just my input.

I feel that it's as much RDA on MacGyver as it is on SG-1. He gets to be more bold and silly on SG-1 because he is able to share a scene with a team(his quote). On MacGyver he had to be the stern lead and always thinking/taking charge of the situation. I think we see that side of RDA on there because, as Michael Shanks said, "MacGyver didn't get to be funny"(I know we can pick moments when he was but over all he had to be stoic). On both shows they molded most of the character around RDA's beliefs and history but the script/tone of an episode dictated what type of mood he had to be in. On SG-1 if one or more of the team is serious, O'Neill can be sarcastic/funny to add some levity to a moment.

Imagine if MacGyver had RDA improving funny lines all the time. It would undercut the creative legend that he is today. We'd think of him as the smartmouth/goofy guy who sometimes did creative things.

Basically it would be MacGruber!!

HEY! imaging if someone decided to make a serious version of MacGruber!

They could make him super smart, and able to get himself and friends out of any situation and he could work for the government and do special assignments that no-one else was able to do..... oh... wait..... never mind.

Interesting topic!

Wasn't there an episode where Mac actually had a (gawdforbid) drink? That one! Because (admittdly) RDA was a bit of a Party Animal off set.

(kidding, sort of)

I'll vote for Black Rhino

Where did you hear he was a party animal?

He mentions the good old days of MacGyver and when he could drink quite a bit in his Fandom Q&As. He was also good friends with some of the Calgary Flames players and they use to party alot - thus the Calgary Flames allegiance in the show. I think he mentions it in his Calgary Appearance Q&A .

Lanny MacDonald (one of his drinking buddies) and whose name he mentions in his famous board hockey (play by play) game with his landlord in Flame's End (is that a subtle reference to the Calgary Flames? I think so), has a legendary 'party animal' reputation and if you were one of his drinkin buddies - then you are definitely not a teatotaller. Click here for one of Lanny's drinking stories

That Calgary video is really interesting.

The Toronto Fan Expo Q&A is better & longer. Click Here

To be honest I think there are lots of Mac episodes and simply the character itself was very much RDA. His bachelor lifestyle and not committing, hockey fan and casual player. I thought the first season had Mac being too smooth, but as time went on I loved his moments of getting annoyed with things like Penny Parker's jabber jaw, and I love the scene in Serenity when he plays the answering machine and she starts singing her 'big number' and he runs to the machine with that expression on his face! I can picture RDA being like that, which I can relate to as well, by getting annoyed with Jack Dalton's ADHD and high maintenance and Penny's big mouth.