This Beloved Action-Adventure Series Is Still One of the Best Ever Made 33 Years Later

This Beloved Action-Adventure Series Is Still One of the Best Ever Made 33 Years Later Richard Dean Anderson shrouded in colors in MacGyverImage via ABC By  Shawn Van Horn Published 54 minutes ago Shawn Van Horn is a Senior Author for Collider. He's watched way too many slasher movies over the decades, which makes him an aficionado on all things Halloween and Friday the 13th. Don't ask him to choose between Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees because he can't do it. He grew up in the 90s, when Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, and TGIF were his life, and still watches them religiously to this day. Larry David is his spirit animal. His love for entertainment spreads to the written word as well. He has written two novels and is neck deep in the querying trenches. He is also a short story maker upper and poet with a dozen publishing credits to his name. He lives in small town Ohio, where he likes to watch professional wrestling and movies. Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

If you grew up in the 1980s, your nights in front of the TV most likely revolved around watching some cool hero in an action series as they beat the bad guys and saved the day every single week. Magnum P.I., Miami Vice, Knight Rider, and many more became huge hits, but no series epitomized the decade quite like MacGyver. Starring Richard Dean Anderson as the titular character, MacGyver ran for seven seasons on ABC from 1985 to 1992. The series was so popular that it not only spawned two movies, but also a CBS reboot, and Will Forte's hilarious MacGruber spoof, but neither of those tributes can touch the original. The '80s were filled with badass good guys, but only one of them was escaping death and defeating the villain of the week with a safety pin and a piece of bubble gum.

Henry Winkler Helped Create the Action Hit 'MacGyver'

Most of us know Henry Winkler from his days wearing a leather jacket and jumping sharks as Arthur Fonzarelli on Happy Days, and it was that iconic role that led him to his next career when the series ended in 1984. As he told People in 2019, "Part of my compensation for Happy Days was a production deal with ABC and Paramount. So I had an office, and one of the first shows that I developed was with my late partner at the time, John Rich, and we discovered MacGyver." Winkler became the executive producer of the new ABC series (and even had an uncredited role in a cameo for one episode in 1990) with a unique plot revolving around an agent named Angus MacGyver who works for the Phoenix Foundation. With his smarts, physical talents, and bravery, MacGyver was always being sent to track down the villains, beating them in 45 minutes or less.

Angus MacGyver Was a Non-Traditional TV Action Hero

Richard Dean Anderson staring ahead as MacGyverImage via ABC

Angus MacGyver could have just been another '80s TV action hero like Knight Rider's Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) or the mustachioed Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) in Magnum P.I., but this one was different. Sure, he had the good looks, with a chiseled jaw and thick hair. MacGyver was the secret agent type, sort of like an American James Bond, but rather than being a sophisticated ladies man, he was down-to-earth, straight to the point, and kind of awkward without ever being cocky. And forget slicked hair and tuxedos, because Angus was rocking a mullet and wearing khakis. Imagine an Indiana Jones who isn't a smartass, and you're not too far off.

There's another important aspect that sets MacGyver apart from many other heroes: he refused to kill his enemies. Instead, he was always crafting contraptions, escaping certain death, or making a bomb out of what seemed like the silliest of combinations — like a paper clip and some baking soda — which came off as logical and brilliant in the episode.

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MacGyver often had a guest star for him to fight along with or save in every episode, but the series had a host of regulars too. There was Peter Thonton (Dana Elcar), who ran the Phoenix Foundation and helped his employees get out of trouble, along with the series' comic relief, laid back pilot Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill). MacGyver also had a regular nemesis to battle in the creepy Murdoc (Michael Des Barres), but it was the star in the title that we turned our TVs on for every week, not only because we wanted to see how he was going to prevail this time, but because he was an everyman we could relate to. Anderson told Heroes & Icons, "Most of the guys who recognize me in New York are the cabbies and construction workers."

'MacGyver' Lives on in Movies, a Reboot, and Will Forte's 'SNL' Spoof

Will Forte in MacGruberImage via Peacock

MacGyver was so popular during its run that for many seasons it was the lead-in to the wildly popular Monday Night Football, but that doesn't mean everything was perfect. Going into Season 4, Richard Dean Anderson had a lot of complaints to get off his chest. In his opinion, the series didn't get promoted well. He even disagreed with the network's decision to give his character a long-term romantic interest.

In 1992, after seven successful seasons, MacGyver finally said goodbye and let its hero get some rest, but that wouldn't be the last time we'd see him. The character was brought back for two TV movies in 1994, MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis and MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday. Richard Dean Anderson moved on after that, finding fame again on Stargate, but Angus MacGyver would eventually return, although in a much different form. In the 2010s, CBS was rebooting '80s shows left and right, like Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-O. In 2016, they brought back MacGyver, now with Lucas Till in the main role. The revamped MacGyver lasted for five seasons, but it was too slick and didn't have the special excitement behind it to make it anything more than a cheap clone.

If you want to see how the popularity of MacGyver endures, turn to Will Forte. On SNL, he parodied the series with MacGruber, a MacGyver-like character, complete with mullet, who is trying to dismantle a bomb, only for it to explode every time because he gets distracted doing something else. Richard Dean Anderson himself was even brought in for two cameos in Season 34 as MacGruber's father. The parody became so popular that it led to a MacGruber feature film in 2010 with Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Ryan Phillippe, and a short-lived series with the same cast on Peacock in 2021. In November 2025, Forte was back on SNL as MacGruber in a series of sketches that made fun of the Epstein files.

Richard Dean Anderson hasn't played Angus MacGyver in over three decades, yet his character lives on in current pop culture like few have. Anderson told MacGyver Online that he'd love to make a return, and he even has an idea. "I would suggest that we take him as he is today: older, a little heavier, gray hair, slower… But still with the spirit of the young MacGyver. I think that would make something funny, a little different." Fingers crossed that one day we get the adventures of old MacGyver, but even if we don't, seven fantastic seasons and two movies prove why the series and its titular character are still so beloved today.

MacGyver

Like TV-PG Drama Family Crime Western Action Release Date 1985 - 1992-00-00 Network ABC Directors Charles Correll, Bill Gereghty, Michael Vejar, Michael Caffey, Cliff Bole, Michael Preece, James L. Conway, Lee H. Katzin, Alexander Singer, Chuck Bowman, Paul Krasny, Dana Elcar, William Gereghty, Donald Petrie, Paul Stanley, Don Chaffey, Ernest Pintoff, Les Landau, Stephen Herek, Stan Jolley, Rob Bowman, Richard A. Colla, Alan Crosland, Jr., John Patterson Writers Stephen Kandel, Chris Haddock, John Whelpley, Calvin Clements Jr., John J. Sakmar, Kerry Lenhart, Bill Froehlich, Terry Nation, Rob Hedden, Mark Lisson, David Rich, Joe Viola, Doug Heyes, Jr., Paul A. Magistretti, Thackary Pallor, Jerry Ludwig, Tony DiMarco, Dennis Foley, Brad Radnitz, Nancy Eddo, Robert Sherman, Robin Bernheim Burger, Don Mankiewicz, Douglas Brooks West

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Genres Drama, Family, Crime, Western, Action Creator(s) Lee David Zlotoff Powered by Expand Collapse

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