To Be a Man (26 Feb. 1986)

While on a rescue mission in Soviet Afghanistan, MacGyver is shot and wounded. An Afghan woman and her son risk their lives to give refuge to MacGyver. A wounded MacGyver must now outwit the Russian Army to complete his mission.

Director:

Cliff Bole

Writers:

Lee David Zlotoff (creator), Don Mankiewicz

Stars:

Richard Dean Anderson, Persis Khambatta, Dana Elcar

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Richard Dean Anderson	...	MacGyver
Persis Khambatta	...	Zia
Dana Elcar	...	Pete Thornton
Sid Haig	...	Khalil
Allan Kolman	...	Captain
Michael Shore	...	Sergeant
Ron Gilbert	...	Lieutenant
Teresa Bowman	...	Judy
Ted Pitsis	...	Technician
Richard L. Duran	...	Afghan Man (as Richard Duran)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stephen Chang	...	The Beginning

Storyline

While on a rescue mission in Soviet Afghanistan, MacGyver is shot and wounded. An Afghan woman and her son risk their lives to give refuge to MacGyver. A wounded MacGyver must now outwit the Russian Army to complete his mission.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Details

Release Date:

26 February 1986 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Did You Know?

Goofs

Near the end, when MacGyver drops the rock on the jeep, if you watch it in slow motion, you can see that there is an explosion underneath the jeep even BEFORE the rock hits the jeep. Furthermore, the rock must weigh at least one ton, yet it bounces off the jeep like it was made out of Styrofoam. Which is probably true. And why does the jeep explode anyway?

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Quotes

Captain: [glaring at the sergeant] If it was not for my need of non-commissioned officers, I would have you shot.
[the captain starts circling the sergeant]
Captain: One man, one single wounded man, and you lose your vehicle...
[the captain stops]
Captain: ...your weapons and the man!
[the captain steps directly in front of the sergeant]
Captain: You are going back on patrol!
Sergeant: Yes, sir!
Captain: Take the tank, and if you find the American, you'll only lose your rank and six months' pay.
Sergeant: But, sir...
[...]

User Reviews

Starts promisingly, but soon falls flat.

You know, I have to applaud this for one thing: in the beginning, it clearly states: "Somewhere over the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border". When this was made, it was not like it is now in, for example, "24", where they won't name any country, they just say something like "We know the terrorists are trained in your country". What country is that, exactly? So points for that to this one. Anyway, MacGyver's secret operation starts promisingly, and we also learn that he can fly a jet fighter - just like James Bond! It's when the Soviets start to chase him that things start going downhill. First of all, it becomes evident that there is no extraction plan whatsoever for MacGyver! What kind of amateur mission is this? MacGyver fashions a perfect glider from the satellite remains, which requires quite a lot of suspension of disbelief - you can clearly see it's manufactured! Then about half a dozen men start shooting at him when he starts gliding from a position that is less than 50 meters (or yards, if you prefer) away from them, glides right over them and the best they can manage is three hits on the glider and one scratch on MacGyver. Man, that's some poor shooting. After that, it's the old "friendly natives hide and heal the hero" stuff. And again, there is a Truly Despicable Bad Guy – he kills a young boy's father, takes his place, rapes his mother and shoots one of his own men because the poor guy could not catch MacGyver. So, according to the rules of clichéd storytelling, he MUST die. And, once again, it just happens so that he accidentally kills himself – a thing that happens quite often in "MacGyver" – you see, MacGyver, the boy and his mother can't do it because they are GOOD. Which leaves him with only one way to die. But shooting himself while being knocked down – c'mon, that is really lame. Then there are the Soviets, the Captain of who is ridiculously ruthless. MacGyver gets away from one poor Sergeant and the Captain states to the sergeant that if he does find him, he ONLY loses his rank and six months pay, and if he does not, he will be court-martialled. That is harsh. And also ridiculous. The Captain orders the Sergeant to take the tank for the search. Of course, in the end, the Sergeant, in his tank, DOES catch MacGyver, the boy and his mother, but lets them go because MacGyver spared his life earlier. Then the wisdom we learn is that had MacGyver killed the Sergeant, some else would have caught them and would surely have killed them. Really? The Captain stated that he desperately needs every non-commissioned officer and had MacGyver killed the Sergeant, who would have taken his place? And what factor would have ensured that the Sergeant's replacement catches MacGyver? Sorry, too many variables, I don't buy it. In the end, the poor plotting ruins the episode.