Dana Elcar

Rachel (Hallee Hirsh) accidentally causes Elizabeth's (Alex Kingston) infant daughter, Ella, to OD on Ecstasy. Abby (Maura Tierney) gives shelter to the battered Joyce (Christina Hendricks), incurring the terrible wrath of Joyce's husband, Brian (Matthew Settle). Carter's mother (Mary McDonnell) tries to make belated amends for the death of her other son, Bobby, by lavishing care on young leukemia patient Mickey (Colton James). Victims of a letter bomb are brought into the ER. Gallant (Sharif Atkins) treats a blind man, despite being allergic to the man's dog. And Romano (Paul McCrane) angers Weaver (Laura Innes) by apparently giving preferential treatment to Lewis (Sherry Stringfield). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The seventh and final season of MacGyver finds the eponymous hero (played by Richard Dean Anderson) continuing to favor intellect over violence in his ongoing battle for justice on behalf of the Phoenix Organization. Longtime fans of the series will notice that Dana Elcar, the actor who plays MacGyver's boss Peter Thornton is performing most of his scenes with dark glasses and a white cane. That is because Elcar was suffering from glaucoma in real life, a fact that is deftly (and tastefully) written into the series. Also worth noting is Mac's new headquarters; after several years of living in a houseboat, our hero has now taken up residence in a rooftop apartment. Of the individual episodes, two are standouts. "The Coltons" was written as the pilot for a proposed spin-off series starring Cleavon Little, Richard Lawson, and future Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr.. And in the 2-part "Good Knight MacGyver", a genial rip-off of "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", MacGyver's first name is finally revealed (you'll have to watch the episode to find out!). This final episode of MacGyver has quite a few surprises in store for both the protagonist and the audience. Dalton James guest stars as Sam Malloy, who announces the fact that he is MacGyver's son. Although he'd never previously been aware that he'd had any children of any kind, MacGyver warmly accepts Sam for whom he claims to be, and together father and son share a bonding moment that could only have happened on this series. ~ All Movie Guide

Season five of MacGyver opens with an elaborate Indiana Jones takeoff, the two-part "The Legend of the Holy Rose." Once this is settled, the resourceful MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) resumes his normal duties as special op for the vast crime-fighting concern, the Phoenix Organization, where he still takes his marching orders from field-operations director Peter Thornton (Dana Elcar). Mayim Bialik makes her first series appearance as Lisa Woodman, a teenage runaway whom MacGyver hopes to put on the right track, in the episode "Cease Fire". Mac also meets his Chinese foster daughter Mei Jan (Michele Chan in "Children of Light". The wild and wooly western fantasy "Serenity" features virtually all of the series' familiar characters as 19th century frontier types, with special emphasis on the troublesome Penny Parker (Teri Hatcher), not to mention guest star Cuba Gooding Jr.). In "Jenny's Chance", MacGyver uses the alternate identity of computer geek Dexter Filmore for the first time, while in "Passages" he has a surrealistc "reunion" with his deceased parents. And speaking of deceased, Mac's perennial antagonist Murdoc (Michael Des Barres) returns from the grave once more, only to go right back after failing to bump off the protagonist for the umpteenth time. ~ All Movie Guide

Professional do-gooder MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is still fighting crime on behalf of the Phoenix Organization -- and still adroitly fashioning weapons and escape devices out of whatever ordinary household items that happen to be on hand -- as MacGyver begins its third season. Returning from the previous two seasons is MacGyver's boss, Phoenix's director of field operations Peter Thornton Dana Elcar. Also back on an occasional basis is MacGyver's likeable but undependable buddy Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill). Making her first series appearance is MacGyver's off-and-on girlfriend Nikki Carpenter (Elyssa Davalos), who is characteristically kidnapped in the season opener. Finally, season three affords viewers their first glimpse of MacGyver's houseboat headquarters. ~ All Movie Guide

Season two of MacGyver finds TV's most resourceful and inventive crime fighter (played, of course, by Richard Anderson) continuing to battle bad guys on behalf of the Phoenix Organization, still taking his marching order from Phoenix's director of field operations Peter Thornton (Dana Elcar). Occasionally popping in and out during the second season is MacGyver's loyal if not entirely dependable buddy Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill). It is in the second-season episode "Twice Stung" that we first hear the word "MacGyverism," referring to all those improvised weapons, escape keys, explosives, and the like that our hero regularly fashions out of everyday household items. Other noteworthy episodes include "Jack of Lies," which offers interesting tidbits about MacGyver's background; "Phoenix Under Siege," which holds out clues as to the mysterious death of MacGyver's father; and "Partners" represents the first appearance of MacGyver's perennial nemesis Murdoc (Michael Des Barres) -- who though he is supposedly killed at episode's end, will be back for more mayhem in subsequent seasons. ~ All Movie Guide

Whether or not one thinks that MacGyver was the best TV adventure hero to come down the pike, one cannot dispute that he was one of the most inventive and resourceful. Played by Richard Dean Anderson, MacGyver (we never knew he had a first name -- "Angus" -- until the series' last season!) was a former Special Ops agent who worked as a troubleshooter for the Phoenix Foundation, a private concern devoted to capturing evildoers and righting wrongs. Seldom resorting to fisticuffs or any other sort of violence, MacGyver preferred to reason his way out his various and sundry predicaments. Using his awesome backlog of scientific knowhow -- not to mention his ever-present Swiss Army Knife and roll of duct tape -- MacGyver was able to fashion a bomb out of an ordinary cold capsule, a lock pick out of a broken light bulb, a paper clip as a blocking device on a "killer" computer, a kitchen fan to stave off a helicopter attack...and he was able to do all of this in the same amount of time that it would take a normal person to blink! Peter Thornton (Dana Elcar) was MacGyver's contact man at the Foundation, a job he was able to do with utmost efficiency even as he began losing his sight in later episodes (just as actor Elcar himself was going progressively blind). Aiding and abetting MacGyver from time to time were fellow Phoenix operative (and the hero's sometimes love interest) Nikki Carpenter (Elyssa Davalos), his reckless pilot buddy Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill), and teenager Lisa ( Mayim Balik), a reformed "runaway." Occasionally complicating and interfering with MacGyver's life and work, albeit in a well-meaning fashion, was kooky artist Penny Parker (Teri Hatcher). And on the flip side, there was the sinister Murdoc (Michael Des Barres), a surly hit man who adopted all manner of disguises, and who seemed to live only to put MacGyver out of existence. Though generally MacGyver was escapist fare, the series tackled a number of serious social issues, ranging from racism to the environment. And in the final episode, MacGyver was surprised to learn that he had a son named Sam Malloy (Dalton James), who was eager and willing to join his dad on all future adventures. Debuted September 29, 1985, on ABC, MacGyver lasted seven seasons, ending its run on August 8, 1992. A handful of "reunion" specials were produced between 1993 and 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Television's most inventive and resourceful crime fighter is on the job as MacGyver launches its first season. A special operative for the Phoenix Foundation, a private think tank dedicated to fighting evil everywhere, MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is sent out on missions ranging from "rescue" to "seek and destroy" -- but never without his trusty roll of duct tape and his all-purpose Swiss Army Knife. Disdaining violence and brute force, our hero wriggles out of his various perils by improvising weapons and such out of simple household devices at hand, from a light bulb to a credit card. This talent comes in handy in his first assignment, in which he goes to rescue a pilot whose plane has crashed atop a cliff. In subsequent episodes, MacGyver will use a magnet to recover stolen secret documents in Burma; escape from certain death in the desert by employing a hot-air balloon; employ a can of gasoline to ward off killer ants in Brazil; utilize a jerry-built blowgun to neutralize a virtual army of hitmen and rescue a lady general; manipulate a cake-decorating tube and an oven cleaner to defuse a bomb; instantly construct an organic "lie detector" to determine who his real enemies are in a remote Indian village; and, in the season finale, prevent the assassination of an archbishop by adopting a clever disguise (as the archbishop, of course!). The first-season ratings for MacGyver were not spectacular, but the weekly, 60-minute series managed to hold its own against such competition as Murder, She Wrote and Amazing Stories. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This excellent docudrama is an affecting dramatization of the decline of an Alzheimer's victim and the emotional and psychological toll his fatal illness takes on his family. Bob Millard (Len Cariou) is an active outdoorsman, he is strong and healthy and vibrant with life when the symptoms of Alzheimer's first begin to appear. His wife Susanne (Shirley Jones) and his daughter Jenny (Cynthia Eilbacher) gradually begin to realize that something is wrong, and Bob's condition is soon diagnosed. Over the next eight years, the mother and daughter suffer the gradual loss of their friends (who just stop visiting), and personal tensions mount as Bob deteriorates. This is an information-packed dramatization that pulls no punches. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Dana Elcar of MacGyver fame guest-stars as accountant George Olson, whose daughter Jenny (Leah Ayres) has been kidnapped to prevent him from testifying against mobster Tommy Largo (Michael Baseleon). It turns out that both George and Jenny are mere pawns in a power play between Largo and the real villain of the piece, Eddie Devane (Steven Williams). In their efforts to save the day, the A-Team succeeds only in making matters worse--at least at first. Watch for the fleeting but funny reference to Land of the Lost! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This routine actioner is about several models caught in a South American jungle battle between drug lords and drug busters. Cesar (Paul L. Smith) and Don Vito (John Vernon) are about to conclude a cocaine deal in Peru, and a drug enforcement agent is about to bust both men by sending a secret agent, disguised as a model, into the jungle with several other models, a photographer (Nina Van Pallandt), and their manager (Marjoe Gortner). Cesar shoots down the plane carrying the models, captures them alive and unharmed, and keeps them imprisoned where they are tortured by his evil sister (Sybil Danning). Just as everything looks the darkest, the final battle arrives at last. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

On her deathbed, mean-spirited millionairess Lily Tomlin has her will amended so that her soul will pass into the body of young, healthy Victoria Tennant. Thanks to a mix-up in transmutation, Tomlin winds up instead trapped in the body of upright (and uptight) attorney Steve Martin. The plot involves the fragility of male-female relationships, the importance of making commitments, and the antics of goofy guru Richard Libertini. As ridiculous as it sounds, All of Me is completely credible, thanks to Steve Martin's remarkable "body language" when conveying the notion that he's two different people with two different sets of emotions and gestures. Though the circumstances of the plot won't allow Martin to connect with the lovely Tennant, in real life things were different: the two costars were married shortly after filming wrapped. Phil Alden Robinson and Henry Olek adapted the script from Ed Davis' novel Me Too. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This drama is adapted from the true story of Barbara Graham, a woman sentenced to die in the mid-1950s after she allegedly committed a murder during a robbery. Graham pleaded innocent until the day she died in the San Quentin gas chamber. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A career woman is so desperate to conceive a child that when her boyfriend the sportswriter comes up short, she goes looking for a fertile stranger in this made-for-TV comic outing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide