The usual problem in Los Angeles on a lazy Saturday is what to do.
Surfing in the Pacific?
Skiing in the mountains?
Maybe head for the beach and watch the girls roll in.
Not exactly.
I was celebrating, if that's the word, the anniversary of a friendship.
I'd met Pete Thornton seven years ago today,
so I'd been running around all morning long,
following the anniversary instructions Pete had sent me.
He asked me to locate a bar magnifying glass
and bring it to him at Adler's Wrecking Yard
at 8:00 sharp.
Pete always could come up with something a little off-centre.
Now, where to find him.
Hey, Pete!
Over here!
- Pete? - Here. Over here.
Hi. What you doing?
What am I doing?
What are you doing?
Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a bar magnifier on a weekend?
No.
And what do we want one for anyway?
Get inside if you wanna ask any more dumb questions.
I can't hear you.
The only way you can fit in here is if you're a contortionist.
And I don't qualify.
Should have brought a flashlight.
Now, what am I doing here?
PIaying hide-and-seek...
...for a newspaper?
Well, I don't know, but your note said to meet you here at 8:00
and to bring a bar magnifier.
My note? I'm here because of your note.
I never sent you a note--
Jack.
Dalton? That clown?
Are you telling me he got us out here on a wild-goose chase?
Yeah, sure. It's his kind of practical joke.
He was part of it seven years ago when you and I first met.
- You remember that? - How could I forget?
Here. Let's see what you got.
Knowing Jack, there's some kind of goofy message.
I can't believe he got us out here this early.
Here. Look at that.
"In memoriam. Three dear friends taken before their time.
- Peter Thornton--" - "Jack Dalton, MacGyver."
What is going on?
Doors are jammed!
- Are you all right? - Whoever got us in here
wasn't Jack Dalton.
AII right. Let's see if we can raise the roof.
AII right, it's moving.
AII right. Here.
Come on.
You okay, Pete?
- Yeah, you? - Yeah.
We're in a box.
Looks Iike a semitrailer.
Yeah, and we're on our way
somewhere.
Door is Iocked solid. Tight as a drum.
There's no access to the cab. Does that Iook Iike a speaker to you?
Yeah.
The walls are insulated, soundproof.
Someone really set this up.
The question is, who?
Did you happen to see who was driving the forklift?
No, I couldn't see a thing.
Pete.
Do you remember what happened seven years ago today?
Yeah. You and I first met.
Yeah, chasing Murdoc.
- Murdoc? - Yeah.
He's dead. He got killed when that building collapsed.
The body was never found.
And Murdoc's just the kind to set these neat, perfect Iittle traps.
That was seven years ago. In the past. The man is dead. Dead.
Is he?
Thornton, MacGyver,
do you remember what Mark Twain once said?
The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
Well, Murdoc, Iooks Iike I was wrong.
You obviously have plans for us. What are they?
Guess.
A Iittle trip? Chance to get reacquainted?
Exactly, MacGyver, the three of us together again.
For the next hour, anyway.
Then what?
Oh, and then it's over.
Over.
I can guess what he's got in mind for us.
It's getting close in here.
Yeah, he wants us to sweat first.
Yeah, first. Before he kills us.
Hey, Pete, Iook.
Same make, model and year as Jack's old cab.
He really set this up with all the trimmings, didn't he?
Happy anniversary.
Looks Iike we're right back where we were seven years ago.
Yeah, I remember.
Sixth and Beaudry. It was the first fare of the day.
And all I was trying to do was keep Jack Dalton's taxicab in business.
You free?
You bet.
- Where you headed? - South and Third, please.
- And I'm in a hurry. - Emergency?
Just business.
PIease, step on it.
Won't you, Jack?
Actually, it's MacGyver at your service, ma'am.
Miss...?
Sara.
Sara. South and Third, coming up.
It's just ahead.
Stop here.
You sure this is where you wanna be dropped off?
I'II be fine.
Okay. Three-fifty.
Keep the change.
Good Iuck, Sara.
- Hold it! - Sara, Iook out!
I don't know who you are, but stay out of this!
- AII right, don't shoot-- - Put a cork in it!
Okay, you'II get no trouble from me!
No!
Get off me!
- AII right. - You are pushing it, kid!
Get in the cab.
- Move, move! - I'm going!
In the cab!
- Go. - I'm on my way.
We are on my way! Follow that car. Move!
- Move! - Yes, sir.
Come on, step on it.
I hope it's not too uncomfortable for you back there, gentlemen.
Not to worry, we'II Iive.
I seriously doubt that, Thornton.
Come on, Pete, start digging into this old wreck.
See if there's anything useful.
In this junk heap?
It's the only heap we've got.
Yeah, I guess you're right.
You know, you wouldn't even be here now
if you hadn't been driving Jack's cab in the first place.
Yeah, that's right.
Me driving Jack's cab and you waving your gun in my face.
AII right, now slow down.
Just keep that car in sight.
This hack stands out Iike a sore thumb.
What were you trying to do back there, be a hero?
I figured the Iady needed help.
That Iady is a top-Ievel, world-class assassin named Murdoc
whom I've been investigating for the past six months.
- You're a cop. - A cop?
Do I Iook Iike a cop?
- Yeah. - I'm a U.S. government agent.
- DXS. - What?
Department of External Services.
Oh, well, Iisten, I'm sorry I messed you up back there with Murdoc.
I thought she was being mugged.
Well, you had no way of knowing the truth, so you jumped in.
Got yourself in over your head this time, kid.
Name's MacGyver.
Pete Thornton.
It Iooks Iike Murdoc is turning.
Careful. Don't get too close.
Don't!
Bazookas.
I had this arranged, just in case.
And you cooperated so beautifully.
She's a man.
- He's a killer. - The bazooka
is a very effective weapon.
Move your cab one inch and they'II blow it.
Try to get out
and they'II blow it.
Why didn't you tell me?
I operate on a need-to-know basis.
I guess you need to know.
Murdoc is an international terrorist.
Specializes in disguises.
He's half chameleon, half rattlesnake.
When he makes a hit, he always takes a picture of his victim.
Dying.
Keeping an album, is he?
No. One shot goes to whoever paid for the hit as proof,
and a copy to us, the DXS,
just for fun.
And this is who I chose to help?
That's right.
- Sorry I got you into this, kid. - So am I.
So, what do we do?
Well, I'II tell you,
I haven't got a clue.
- What are you doing? - Taking off my shoelaces.
Your shoelaces?
I got an idea.
Listen, don't panic. Don't try anything funny. Hear me?
I feel I've gotten to know you over the past five years, Peter.
May I call you Peter?
Just keep smiling for the camera.
It's just that I do feel as if we should be on
- a first-name basis. - Be my guest.
It's been such an interesting chess match.
Myself against all the forces of the DXS.
Especially the redoubtable Peter Thornton.
- A Iasso? - For roping the gas pedal.
- Am I boring you, Peter? - I'm fascinated. Keep talking.
- Rope the gas pedal? You're crazy. - Just keep him interested.
- Listen, Murdoc, it's not over. - Oh, but it is.
- Do you remember Lisbon? - Yeah, I almost had you.
AImost.
But in this game that we play, close does not count.
For you it's a game. I'm dead serious.
Oh, I'm sure you are, Peter, I'm sure you are.
Perhaps that's your biggest problem, a total absence of humour.
What are you gonna do with a wrench?
I need something to guide the shoelace.
I'm sure you'II tell us.
It means that when I win, you Iose.
And you have Iost.
Hand me that paper clip, will you?
What now? We're stretching this guy to the Iimit.
--Peter, I shall take special care of developing your photograph.
Maybe I can appeal to his sense of justice.
Murdoc, remember, I did try to help you.
Yes, you did.
It's a Iittle unfair that a simple bystander
has to become an innocent pawn in this game.
A monkey wrench and a paper clip?
Yeah. I wanna reverse the direction of force I'm gonna put on the shoelace.
--isn't usually so dangerous.
But we Iive in difficult times, and Good Samaritans die young.
If it's any solace,
you will be immortalized in my files,
along with Peter.
You won't be forgotten. Only, you will be dead.
This camera and the motor drive
are activated by the explosion when the bazooka fires.
- I'II save these shots for my private... - Now I get it.
You're replacing the push on the gas pedal with a pull on that door handle.
You've got it.
Five minutes. I'II contact you about the pictures Iater.
Yes, sir.
He's gone.
That cuts the odds.
Not enough for my blood.
Look, Iet me try my idea first, please?
That's nuts.
We're gonna gamble on a homemade cruise control?
It's scientifically sound.
As I open the door, the shoelace pulls through the steering wheel,
down to the paper clip.
That reverses the direction of pull and yanks down the gas pedal.
Cab takes off, we jump out.
Why don't we just blow them away now.
Murdoc said five minutes, and that's what they get.
Say when.
Now.
Stay put!
It worked!
How about that.
You're okay, kid.
- What's that? - Duct tape.
Real handy stuff.
Carry it with me all the time.
Just in case you run into a bazooka or two?
Or whatever.
Well, I guess I owe you one.
- No, you owe Jack Dalton one. - Who's he?
Jack Dalton, a friend of mine.
And he owns that--
Owned that vehicle.
So you owe him one taxicab and one humongous explanation.
What kind of shape is Dalton in?
Couple of broken Iegs.
But he'II be worse when he hears about his cab.
Hey, MacGyver, just in time. What does this Iook Iike?
- A Iittle boy's room. - Wrong-o, the dawn of a new age:
Jack Dalton studies the science of flight.
Wouldn't "FIy-By-Night" Iook better on a plane than a cab?
Well, no.
Well, I figured I sell the cab, put the money down on a new pair of wings.
Before you know it, I'm hiring stewardesses. This could be big.
Jack, about selling the cab...
This is Mr. Pete Thornton.
A buyer. You read my mind. Mr. Thornton, have I got a cab for you.
MacGyver's been driving it.
He can testify to what a sweet road machine you'II be getting.
Yeah.
Listen, what happened to you?
Oh, a Iittle vehicular mishap. Not in the cab.
Jack roller-skated off the Santa Monica Pier Iooking at a blond.
Yeah, but I got her number, and when I get out of here--
But Iet's stick to business, Mr. Thornton.
Now, we're talking big bucks here, but she's worth it.
It's a great cab. Sturdy, durable, can withstand anything.
Not anything.
I'm talking.
Mr. Dalton, I represent a company which pursues a wide variety of...
pursuits.
I think I hear profits here. Keep talking.
Well, actually, somebody engaged in our temporary employ
borrowed your cab.
- Borrowed it? - Yeah.
You guys don't have it?
Not at the present.
MacGyver, is this true?
Yeah, it's true.
Mr. Thornton,
would you mind if my buddy and I played a Iittle one-on-one for a minute?
No. Why don't I wait outside.
- What? - No, I'II be right outside.
Where you going? You said you'd be here.
MacGyver, this is me.
This is Jack. It's your buddy. Give it to me straight.
You know how important my cab is to me. It's my future.
You scratched it, didn't you?
Well, no, not exactly.
Okay, a dent. You put a dent in it.
- Listen, Jack-- - I can Iive with a dent.
- Tell me it's a dent. - It's a Iittle more than a dent.
Mr. Thornton and I were riding in your cab, chasing this woman
who was actually a man
who had a guy with a bazooka waiting and he blew up your cab.
Now, hold it. Run that back. Run that by me again.
Mr. Thornton and I were riding in your cab
- and we were chasing this woman-- - No, just the Iast part.
Two guys with bazookas blew up your cab.
They blew up my cab with a bazooka?
Two bazookas.
But I can explain.
Bazookas? You can explain bazookas?
You cannot explain bazookas!
Jack?
- You all right? - My arm!
Well, what happened?
- What did you say to him? - My arm.
Doctor says with a Iittle Iuck, Jack's busted arm
ought to be healed by the time he can walk again.
Well, I bet that didn't exactly cheer him up.
Listen, I called the office. You give us the ownership and registration papers,
we'II pay for the cab.
AII right. AII papers are back at Jack's place.
I'm staying there while he's Iaid up.
You should be able to keep using that apartment at Ieast for another month.
He's got an apartment in an office building?
Not exactly in it. Under it.
Not much of a view, but it's quiet and the neighbours don't bother you.
It's kind of homey.
Homey? It's a dungeon.
You call this an apartment?
Well, yeah, sort of.
See, Jack rented some storage space for his truck a few years ago
and he's kind of expanded his territory.
He is not a neat person.
No, but he's a good friend.
And I figure I can clean the place up a Iittle bit when I get some spare time.
You mean when you're not driving his cab.
Yeah. Let me get those papers for you.
You are a do-gooder, MacGyver.
Ninety percent of the people in the world are smart.
They see trouble coming, they duck and run.
Ten percent are Iike you. Can't resist cleaning up the mess.
Here are those papers.
- Don't move. - So how Iong you figure it'II be--?
Why? What? What?
Didn't you hear a click? When you sat down?
That click.
Like the kind you hear before:
It's probably a Iow-powered charge specially designed.
It's only gonna destroy the bed.
What about the guy on it?
Yeah, that too.
Oh, boy. Nice job.
Very clever.
Any attempt to defuse it is gonna blow it.
Will you stop that?
It's nice to hear all this professional appreciation,
but I happen to be the target!
Easy. Stay cool, MacGyver.
The important thing to remember
is that with a charge Iike this,
it blows almost completely straight up.
AII right,
give me your hand.
- Give me your hand. - It's coming.
Now.
Now!
You all right?
Fine.
Murdoc won't be happy when he finds out he only blew up the bed.
Neither will Jack.
What is it?
What's the matter?
Guess it went a Iittle sideways, huh?
Yeah. Thanks.
Suppose that comes in pretty handy in your Iine of work,
what with disguises and stuff.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Listen, MacGyver, anybody who can use
a paper clip, a pair of shoelaces and a rusty monkey wrench
to take out two bazookas
could be very useful
in taking Murdoc.
Help me.
- You're serious, aren't you? - Yeah.
Forget it.
The taxi ride was it. I quit the volunteer business.
MacGyver, he is going to try to kill you either way.
Now, you cooperate, and maybe we'II take him.
What do you say?
Partners.
We're making extraordinarily good time, gentlemen.
I'd say halfway home.
He's really full of himself, isn't he?
Well, he was confident seven years ago too.
Good point.
Found something.
Oh, yeah. Spare pantyhose for when he's Sara.
Well, hang on to them. They might come in handy.
They're not my size.
Well, if this engine runs at all, we'II have a power source.
But with no engine, I guess we don't.
No, we don't.
I am getting bored with this box.
You know, I remember negotiating with Jack about the price of his cab.
Right now I would give everything I own for an engine in this one
so we could crash out of this place!
Hey, Pete, Pete, come on, come on. Take it easy, guy, take it easy.
Come on.
I know you don't Iike to be cooped up Iike this,
but we're gonna get out. I promise you.
Of course, then we're gonna have to tell Jack the whole story,
Iike we did seven years ago.
Remember what that was Iike?
You gonna pay for my cab?
Full current value.
- Let's remember, it's a vehicle that is-- - Unique.
Custom interior. Do you know what a custom paint job costs?
Well, I'II tell you. Eighteen coats, hand-rubbed Iacquer.
The base paint, metallic. The best. A new engine.
Jack...
...I repainted your cab.
He's got honesty the way some people have diseases.
- Incurable. - Yeah, he does.
That's why he made us promise to pay for your cab.
- What about my fuzzy dice? - Everything.
They're gonna pay for everything, Jack.
- Including the bed. - Good.
Bed?
- Bed? What bed? - Your bed.
The one in your apartment. Murdoc rigged it.
See, when I sat on your bed, it blew up.
My bed blew up?
He blew up my bed?
Well, who is this guy? Why is he after me?
- You're taking this pretty hard. - How should I take it, Iying down?
MacGyver, you gotta get me out of here.
I'm in a bed. This could blow up any second.
Mr. Dalton, you are much better off here than on the outside.
Besides, Murdoc doesn't want you. He's after MacGyver.
He can have him. I hang around with you anymore,
this guy Murdoc'II total my apartment. I'II be sleeping at the Midnight Mission.
- Kind of bitter, aren't you? - Me?
Oh, no. This is the best day of my Iife.
Probably the Iast.
I've brought you a treat, Mr. Dalton.
Jell-O and chocolate pudding.
If you're a good boy and take all your pills, I'II call
the orderly and order a nice, Iong sponge bath. Now...
PIease! I've only got one arm Ieft!
I've checked Harbison Street and all the alleys.
AII clear this side.
Roger, Lincoln 42.
Blasting process starting now. Maintain radio silence.
Lincoln 42, roger.
Hey, you! This is a demolition zone!
They're gonna blow that building!
- What's going on? - Some nut just ran into the building.
They're gonna blow it. I'II try and stop them.
Get back.
Come on. Come on!
Do you remember the day you forced me into the demolition zone?
Do you remember?
Well, if you don't, don't worry.
You're going to experience it.
You know, I worked on Murdoc's file for a Iong time
before I finally caught up with him.
We should've checked that building seven years ago.
- Pete, it was checked. - We should have checked it!
We're off the pavement.
Sounds Iike he's unhitching the trailer.
I know you've had a long, dull ride, but it's over.
Come on. We gotta think of something.
- We gotta think of something. - I'm thinking, Pete, I'm thinking.
Slightly curious, gentlemen?
Shut up. Shut up, shut up!
Be patient. I was.
That was a dumb thing to do, wasn't it?
Maybe.
Think you'd feel any better?
Yeah, I do.
Done.
Last stop, gentlemen, and Iast chance.
So I shall be crystal clear.
I've just packed 12 pounds of dynamite on and beneath you.
Enough to blow, say, a--
A good-sized building.
And more than enough for a truck trailer.
So now's your time to make peace.
T o be precise...
...seven minutes.
To hell.
- Not a Iot of time. - No, not a Iot. Hold this, will you?
Any ideas?
Well, nothing solid yet.
Why are you smiling Iike that?
I know that Iook.
I've never been able to figure out how your mind works,
but I know when it works.
Yeah, great. An old oilcan, an old car,
an old pair of pantyhose and an old battery.
I know I'm happy.
Don't forget the exhaust pipe.
My cup runneth over.
Well, the exhaust is rusty iron,
that oilcan is aluminium and that battery's still got some acid in it.
- How could I forget that? - Give me a hand, will you?
Pull on it.
You have two and a half minutes and counting.
Time to make peace with yourselves.
It's your last chance.
- Still got those pantyhose? - Yeah, right here.
I want you to soak them in oil. It's a key part of our plan.
PIan? I wasn't sure we had a plan.
- Reassure me, will you? - Pantyhose, soak them.
You know what I'm thinking about?
A paper clip, a pair of shoelaces,
two pros with bazookas who bit the dust.
So I do have a measure of faith.
- You better hustle, Pete. - Yeah.
1:43 to go. It will be a memorable photograph.
Do I wanna know what it is we're making?
A sort of a bomb.
- How big a bomb? - A pretty good one.
See, the ferrous oxide and the aluminium shavings
should generate enough heat to explode the battery.
And when it blows, it sets off the dynamite
that Murdoc put under the trailer. You know what we'II be?
- Acid rain. - No.
Dynamite's stable.
Usually.
It's all we got, Pete.
AII right, Pete, Iet's go!
- We're gonna need our fuse now. - Yeah.
The old duct tape, huh?
Never Ieave home without it.
Forty-eight seconds.
Pete, I don't know what's gonna happen here, so you better take cover.
It's gonna work.
- Still... - Yeah.
Yeah.
No!
He's got dynamite! It's gonna blow!
He's dead.
He could have gotten out.
There was time.
The whole thing blew up, he's dead.
Maybe.
I've got a bump on my head from when we went out the back of the trailer.
It still hurts.
Well, I haven't got much insulation up there.
Yeah, Pete, I remember when you used to wear a hairpiece.
Why'd you stop wearing that?
I grew out of it.
Hey, guys!
Hey.
That's how I felt when I got my first Dear John Ietter.
- Hey, I'm sorry. I apologize. - For what?
I got your note, but, hey,
me get up at sunrise on a Sunday morning
to come to a reunion at a junkyard?
You got a note to come out here?
Come on, Pete, you sent it.
Anyway, it took me forever to find the Iilies
you asked for. After I woke up, around noon or a Iittle Iater.
The idea sounds Iike a kick. Where's the party?
Actually, it's over.
You mean you guys have been sitting around waiting
since 8:00 this morning?
No, no, not all that time. We...
We went on a field trip with a friend.
Well, I'd Iike to hear all about it, but first...
Well, I may have missed all the fun, but I want a picture for old time's sake.
Remember who brought us together in the first place? That maniac Murdoc?
Dead and buried these seven years.
Hold it. Here it comes.