MacGyver quotes from MacGyver

Sure is great to start off a sunny day thinking about the people you like most. My pal Susan, for instance. She's my landlady, the building maintenance person - and the only human being who's figured out how to keep me organized. So, how do I repay her? A twenty-first century breakfast, of course. I wonder how she likes her eggs

[voice-over narration] When you think about it, I take on a lot of jobs nobody else would want. The question is, why do I want 'em. I find myself asking these questions more and more and rationalizing answers with stuff like flexible hours, nice scenery, all expense paid vacations in colorful Eastern European luxury resorts. But, the bottom line is, I like it. I actually like getting into stuff that makes the old adrenaline pump. And, I get to meet some interesting people who have made some interesting career choices themselves.

What I'm going to do here is activate a magnetic field and… turn the chemicals into nylon. Good for ladies' stockings, and, uh… clogging the arteries of a kind old man.

[voice-over narration] The first time I got to ride on a merry-go-round, I was about six or seven. I'd never seen anything like it. It was a kind of magic. Go to a merry-go-round anywhere in the world and you can see the same look in the kids eyes. It's magic. It's a shame we have to grow up... and lose it.

[voice-over narration] One of the problems of flying a jet is that you don't have a lot of time to admire the scenery. I just entered Pakistani air space and already the Afghan border was coming up fast. One of our early satellites fell out of orbit and wouldn't you know it. It landed just inside Afghanistan. Now, the satellite has a small capsule in it with a lot of classified data we didn't want the Russians to get their hands on. And it's funny when you remember that we brought those early satellites back to Earth with wings on 'em.

I'm about 20 seconds from becoming part of the landscape.

When James Bond gets an assignment, he probably ends up on the Riviera, up to his 007's in bikinis. Me? I end up 80 miles past nowhere. Courtesy of my good friend, Peter Thornton.

When James Bond gets an assignment, it's on the Riviera, up to his 007 in bikinis. Me? I end up 80 miles past nowhere. Courtesy of my buddy, Pete Thornton. New operations director of the Phoenix Foundation. And the guy who conned me into running a security test at STRADA, Strategy Research and Development Administration, run by a military hard-nose named Colonel Scott Woodward... who didn't like civilians... or civilian think-tanks like Phoenix... even after Pete's introduction.

A little problem here. I forgotten to bring along a card key. But you can't let something like that throw ya. Just because of a... laser trap. One of the things I used to love about the circus was the way they worked without a safety net. Scared me then, still does.... especially with a 20,000 volt laser ready to zap me.

Look. If this works, it'll keep us from getting caught. If it doesn't, it'll keep us from getting old.

You don't go to people with your problems. You come to your friends.

[voice-over narration] I don't care what anybody says, birthdays are important. So, when a good friend's turning sixty and I'm returning from another government mission, there isn't a much faster way to get home then to catch a ride on a T-38 ace flight. It's a good thing they didn't serve a meal on this flight... 'cause my heart was already in my mouth.

[voice-over narration] The Golden Eagle's not just a bird. It's a natural wonder. But now it's on the Endangered Species list. So, the Phoenix Foundation came up with a project to ensure its survival. I was going to follow a pair of eagles that had mated and, hopefully, find their nest. It was called the Dead Horse Point Project. The idea was to make sure the eagle eggs, if there were any, were protected from their natural enemies, like hawks, mountain lions and, of course, man. It was a job Pete Thornton didn't have to twist my arm to accept. And to track an eagle, you've got to sort of become one. Get up there with them. Now, if you don't like heights, climbing a mountain while carrying a container with a hang-glider inside it might seem like a strange thing to do. Especially, when the weather starts to get very cold, very fast. Golden eagles mate for life. And, if Pete Thornton's information was correct, there was only one pair in the area. I was hoping the bird I'd seen was one of them. The climb up to look for those eagles took me from summer to winter in the same day. And there they were. Sitting on the most inaccessible roost I'd ever seen. Of course, it didn't seem inaccessible to them. It may seem cruel, but one animal's death means another will live. All a part of nature's balancing act. Civilization had thrown that balance out of whack, and when it came to those two eagles, it was my job to see if they could stick around long enough to put the scales back in order. When you're hang-gliding, you feel like you're part of the sky. Maybe that's why I can fly hundreds of feet off the ground without the sweaty palms I get when I look down from a stepladder. I guess the way you look at the world depends on where you are. From up here, it looked like a pretty nice place. They say imitation's the sincerest form of flattery. That's why I was copying the eagles' flight path. So they'd feel comfortable with me around and let me follow them long enough to find their nest, wherever it was.

When I was about ten I got my first chemistry set. I've been a beaker and test-tube nut ever since. My mom said I was gonna come up with a formula that would either improve the world... or blow up the house.

[voice-over narration] The usual problem in Los Angeles on a lazy Saturday is... what to do. Surfing in the Pacific. Skiing in the mountains. Maybe, head to 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 eight o'clock, sharp. Pete always could come up with something a little off-center. Now, where to find him.