I'm not sure if this is because of slightly later seasons or just a different batch of episodes, but there's way less globetrotting Cold War superspy shenanigans where MacGyver outwits dastardly Soviets, East Germans and generic Third World bad guys, and more stories about him just being an eco guy who's very concerned about acid rain.

There's an episode where he is trying to stop an evil billionaire from building a marina for his yacht. As someone who used to watch reruns of this show as a kid in the late 90s I find the 80s politics and antiquated takes on environmental issues fascinating in 2022

  • axont [she/her, comrade/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    There’s an episode where he is trying to stop an evil billionaire from building a marina for his yacht.

    Yeah, I've noticed stuff like this. There was like a 20 year span where specifically ocean based ecological concerns were at the forefront of media. Cops shows had at least one episode about some kind of whaling or illegal fishing or whatever. There were also Free Willy and Star Trek IV.

    What was the deal?

  • FlakesBongler [they/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    The ones where he goes up against neo-Nazis are always my favorites

    Especially how they literally have an episode about how American politics have been infiltrated by Nazis since the fall of Berlin and once they get popular enough, they're going to make WWII look like peanuts

  • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Honestly, the show got so much better once they started going to space, and introduced the ensemble cast. Teal'c, Sam, and Daniel really improve MacGyver a lot.

  • Mardoniush [she/her]
    ·
    3 years ago

    The first two are mostly against Soviets and East Germany. Then 1992 happened and they had them form basically a PMC spook agency masquerading as a 90s environmental and charity NGO. Pretty forward-thinking really, except they think that's a good thing.

  • Tychoxii [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    3 years ago

    I loved this as a kid. Random things i barely remember:

    Recurring brainwashed bff

    Magnetising a metal pole by hitting it against a fire hydrant

    Writing in some degenerative disease for the boss character after his actor was diagnosed with it