Sure, you look at a safety pin, string of dental floss and an eggplant and see … well nothing. But if you're MacGuyver you see possibilities! A staple of ABC's Monday night programming block, the tales of the laid-back, non-violent secret agent enthralled a generation. And Mac's abilities to cook up amazing devices in a matter of minutes earned the show a place in the pop culture lexicon ("my car broke down and I totally had to MacGuyver the engine").
Favoring brains over brawn, protecting the environment and refusing to carry a gun aren't the usually hallmarks of an action hero. But then MacGuyver was no ordinary action hero. In fact the show was praised for helping increase interest in the applied sciences, particularly engineering. Also, he loved hockey.
As for the answer to the show's biggest mystery, Mac's first name was eventually revealed to be… Angus.
