In season 7 MacGyver moves to a new a neighborhood because his houseboat burned down. When MacGyver opens the moving truck, Mel seems pretty impressed with what MacGyver was able to salvage from the fire. Yet it makes me wonder, what do you think happened? Was the fire set or was it an accident and if so how bad do you think the damages were? Obviously bad enough that he had to move to a new neighborhood because if it was still fixable, he probably would've or rebuild it after the fire.

So, maybe a couple of questions below.

Was the fire set or was it an accident?
Was Mac at home at the time or not?
How bad do you think the damages was?
Where did he stay afterwards?
Did you ever think he might have moved temporarily while the houseboat was in repair?

Upon this point I always believed the houseboat was gone forever but if you think it about it doesn't have to be that way. It always comes in handy in fanfiction though, but to answer my own questions...

I think it was an accident, maybe a short circuit in the wiring somewhere and that he wasn't at home at the time. I can see Penny Parker setting a fire but not Mac and certainly not that he would just evacuate himself to let to place burn down without attempting putting it out first. Unless a MacGyverism failed and he did it himself but he's not that careless.

If it was foul play, I'd say Murdoc did it and failed again. But I'm sure Murdoc would've said so in Obsessed. Interesting though is that Murdoc shows up shortly after Mac moved to that neighborhood and knows Mac's new phone number to stalk him. Maybe the fire was a first sign of Murdoc not being dead and that it slowly started to bother Mac in the months between fire and Obsessed knowing Murdoc isn't dead.

The damages must've been bad enough that he was unable to stay. I'd say at least a wall and the roof must've been completely destroyed. I think it's open for discussion whether or not the houseboat could've been rebuild or fixed. Yet his move always felt permanent.

Where he stayed in between houses, I'd say maybe with Pete and/or Jack. I think with Pete, to take care of him after the operation. Or I could see him going to a hotel or motel as well, since he probably wouldn't wanna burden his friends.

I always thought the fire was accidental. Being that its a house boat, I would imagine it would not take much damage for it to be written off as a total loss. I like to think something that would help keep the house afloat was damaged beyond repair but the damages were not extensive enough that a lot of his personal property was destroyed. I always loved the house boat more then his other apartments. It just felt like if mac was real, it would be his actual home as it fit him so well. I would love to visit the actual house boat sometime

I just figured he had some electrical short that caused a fire... from the way he was talking, he was asleep when it happened.

It probably did enough damage that he had to move, as those things seem rather small, and who knows what structural damage there was. He may have figured it just wasn't worth it.

I think staying with Pete makes the most sense. I doubt Pete would let Mac stay in a motel.

Though, the idea that it was a failed attempt by Murdoc is most interesting... Mac didn't seem all that worried about it, so it was either just an accident, or there was no evidence left behind that it was foul play.

I think the houseboat was the most interesting and unique living spaces MacGyver had. Like the Jeep, it was like a part of his personality.

If he wasn't home how did he save his things. Remember his answer to the question of how he saved so much was "Good smoke alarms".

Well, what's not being at home? Working overseas, working at the Foundation, grocery shopping. He couldn't have been overseas to salvage all that, so I can see him work at Foundation, that he gets a call there or a message saying: 'Mac, you're house is on fire.' Mac goes: 'What?' Mac drives home, sees the fire department, they put out the fire which seems not so bad despite like I said perhaps a destroyed wall and roof. Same goes if he came back from doing groceries.

But you make a good point though. Maybe he simply was just at home though when it happened. Or maybe he just came home and hears the smoke alarm going off. Even though there is nothing to be noticed at first but the fire is situated in his bathroom upstairs and he sees thick black smoke appearing on his ceiling. The fire is hot enough to make his deodorant explode and the alcohol in his cologne and aftershave is enough to set his entire bathroom and bedroom ablaze. The fire department comes along, puts out the fire, the roof is destroyed but the damages in the living room seems to be not so bad so he's still able to salvage as much as he had in the truck. And that moving truck still seemed pretty full. So technically all Mac needed to replace was bathroom stuff and a bedroom. So that's why he was sleeping on the couch in Obsessed. But it could've been out of habit too.

Most people don't realise that if the fire department turn up to put out a house fire they saturate a good portion of the house with water as part of the process of stopping it from spreading which generally causes massive amounts of water damage. If you think about how MacGyver's houseboat was designed and then picture fire crews spraying water to put the fire out.. there's not really any part of that house that wouldn't be water damaged... which doesn't quite explain how he got so much of his stuff out without damage.

True again. And we can only speculate where the fire began. In my opinion in order the save that much what he had in the truck, I think the fire had to be situated upstairs. Fire crew comes in, possibly through the double terrace doors. Crank up the water hose and start to put out the fire from below and I would picture they would be standing at the little table below near the couch aiming up. Water sprays all around causing damage in the kitchen, a part of the bookcase wall and dinner table, but everything else remains salvageable, even though that probably wouldn't have been much.

Anything else, I can come up with to have at least that full of a truck, is that Mac put everything aside or in storage in order to brighten up the place. Like maybe repaint everything and that the fire was just bad luck. Than again it would've been luck with bad luck, he had everything in storage and than the fire happens. But than again you can't speak of salvaging. Don't forget MacGyver also had a shed as we saw in High Control. Of course not big enough to put everything in storage like furniture.

We actually don't see that much of the 7th season loft. In The 'Hood it's still pretty empty. In Obsessed, he's still unpacking. Prometheus Syndrome, I guess we have to wonder if it's the same computer he had in the houseboat, but I don't think there is no way to find out. Did you guys ever wonder or thought if the couch and the tv table are the same or not. In The Stringer, he does sit at a round table when talking to Pete on the phone. Salvaged? I think also Split Decision might be a good episode to keep an eye on everything since most of the episode is just set at the house. Think it might be fun to figure it out.

You do notice that by the time Mac gets settled into the new loft, he has new furniture. Most of what he had was probably personal stuff, and whatever he had in storage (like the shed). His motorcycle is in the truck as well, and that takes up a bit of space, and it didn't seem like it was full. There was probably less in there than you think.

I know when Dad and I moved, we left everything behind and still needed a moving truck for our personal items.

Well there are two scenes in which Mel and Mac are unloading the truck: when Mac pushes the bike in and when he and Mel are going up the stairs. The back of the truck was closed again and by the time Mel and the cop are argueing the truck is already gone.

I just noticed in The 'Hood and Obsessed that Mac's round dining table, chairs and the tv-table survived the fire.

I notice in Obsessed his coffee table also survived! One of these days I'll will find a coffee table like that... XD

That's what I meant with tv-table probably. You mean the small wooden table with the glass on top in front of the couch, right?

Haha Yeah, that's what I meant. Good, it survived!!

Well, Mac's mother did say that he would come up with a formula that would either improve the world or blow up the house. I guess it's the latter... mwahahahaha!!!

Iiieeee!

Wait a minute. That's not the houseboat, that's a houseboat. On Mac's houseboat there was no upper deck.

There's not one on this house any more either!

Hey folks MacGyver jr here I haven't been on in awhile but have been checking out the great posts everyone has been doing!! Great stuff by the way!! I recall a scene where the house boat was blown up by someone but I cant recall by who just remember that scene that MacGyver online shared, has anyone else had a memory of it or is it just me?

There's not one on this house any more either!

If it totally burns down, than not anymore than.

maccyver jr. I think you mean The Negotiator where Deborah blew up Mac's motorboat.

No I remember that one but back when MacGyver first aired (and I'm telling my age with that one) there was a scene that shows his house boat blowing up its not on any up to date dvds or anything then the following week it has Mac unloading his truck at the loft

Proof it or it didn't happen.

Deleted scene perhaps but by season 7, I don't think they would've bothered anymore to show it let alone shoot it. And I don't think there is any footage of that. The whole production moved from Vancouver back to L.A. by than. The only explosions on the marina was the boat explosion in The Negotiator and the staircase explosion in Lesson in Evil that threw Lt. Murphy off. That staircase explosion really is the only one ever inside the houseboat and only damaged the stairs.

And I think we pretty much have everything on the dvd's as it always has been. The episode before The 'Hood was Honest Abe, that was the week before and there was no houseboat to be seen.

How can I prove something that happened on a show that happened in the 80's Macgyvergod?? I don't work for CBS or any affilates there is a lot of footage from old shows that I remember that they don't put on dvds today

Maybe you just remember an old commercial in which it showed the houseboat exploding? If the footage of an exploding houseboat exist it probably ended up forgotten in the archives somewhere and maybe it was only a one time thing they showed because I never found anything on it. The only thing we've always known was that the houseboat mysteriously burned down. And only reason was for the production to move back.

Last we see of the houseboat was in Strictly Business and in The 'Hood it turns out it burned down in the meantime. Trail of Tears, Hind-Sight and Honest Abe doesn't show MacGyver being at home and four months passed. Unless there is maybe an unaired episode we don't know about in which bad guys came very close again and blew up the houseboat. But I doubt it even though that must be like the coolest episode ever.

If you remember scenes that don't appear on DVDs might be the answer to your question as DVDs are generally a straight transfer from Master to DVD so there's no editing of the episodes.

Are you sure you're not confusing the memory of Pete's cabin burning down and the widowmaker or a scene from something else around the same time?

I remember the house boat being blown up!

I just went looking for the fate of the houseboat but couldn't find anything but did find great location scenes and that the houseboat had a family that lived there and they would ask them to let them shoot there which is pretty cool