MacGyver | |
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Genre |
Action Adventure Spy fiction |
Created by | Lee David Zlotoff |
Starring | |
Narrated by | Richard Dean Anderson |
Theme music composer | Randy Edelman |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 7 |
No. of episodes | 139 + 2 TV films (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | |
Location(s) | |
Running time | 46–48 minutes |
Production company(s) |
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Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Picture format | 4:3 |
Audio format | |
Original release | September 29, 1985 | – May 21, 1992
Chronology | |
Related shows | MacGyver (2016) |
Website |
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles during seasons one, two, and seven, and in Vancouver during seasons three through six. The show's final episode aired on April 25, 1992 on ABC (the network aired a previously unseen episode for the first time on May 21, 1992, but it was originally intended to air before the series finale).
The show follows secret agent Angus MacGyver, played by Richard Dean Anderson, who works as a troubleshooter for the fictional Phoenix Foundation in Los Angeles and as an agent for a fictional United States government agency, the Department of External Services (DXS). Educated as a scientist in Physics at Western Tech ("Hell Week"), MacGyver served in the U.S. Army as a Bomb Team Technician/EOD during the Vietnam War ("Countdown"). Resourceful and possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of the physical sciences, he solves complex problems by making things out of ordinary objects, along with his ever-present Swiss Army knife. He favors non-violent resolutions and prefers not to handle a gun.
The series was a moderate ratings success and gained a loyal following. It was popular in the United States and around the world. Two television movies, MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis and MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday, aired on ABC in 1994. A spin-off series, Young MacGyver, was planned in 2003, but only the pilot was made. Merchandise for MacGyver includes games, toys, print media and an original audio series.