MacGyver episodes: Fourth season
FOURTH SEASON
065 The Secret of Parker House
Airdate: 31 October 1988
Teleplay: Gene Hanson, Rick Drew, & John Sheppard
Story: Gene Hanson
Director: Michael Vejar
Guest Cast: Teri Hatcher as Penny Parker, Gisele MacKenzie
as Sylvia Lang, Arlen Dean Snyder as Sheriff Howels,
Ray Young as Virgil.
Nielsen ratings: 12.5 rating, 20 share, 2nd (39th overall).
MacGyver must act as a ghoulish ghostbuster in a spooky old
house inherited by his friend, Penny Parker, a dead ringer
for her insane aunt, who once lived in the house.
(Note: This episode was advertised as the "Halloween Special.")
066 Blood Brothers
Airdate: 21 November 1988
Writer: Rick Drew
Director: Charles Correll
Guest Cast: Dirk Blocker as Chuck, Bernie Coulson as Sean,
Ramon Franco as Spider, Michel McNeilly as Neil, Jason
Priestley as Danny.
Nielsen ratings: 12.3 rating, 20 share, 2nd (37th overall).
Back in his home town, MacGyver finds past and present overlapping
as he remembers a fatal shooting accident from his youth while
trying to stop his old friend's son from using a gun to defend
himself against drug-dealing hoodlums.
(Note: This episode was advertised as the season premiere instead of
"The Secret of Parker House.")
067 The Outsiders
Airdate: 28 November 1988
Writer: Michelle Poteet Lisanti
Director: Michael Vejar
Guest Cast: Kaj-Erik Eriksen as Jacob, Gustaf Kristjanson as
Miller, Allan Lysell as Wrightman, Ruth de Sosa as Elizabeth,
Vicki Wauchope as Christy Wrightman.
Nielsen ratings: 13.2 rating, 20 share, 3rd (45th overall).
After a jeep accident in Pennsylvania, MacGyver is rescued
by Amish family and helps intervene in a standoff between
Amish who won't leave their land and a construction company
waiting to bulldoze it.
068 On a Wing and a Prayer
Airdate: 05 December 1988
Writer: John Whelpley
Director: Charles Correll
Guest Cast: Bruce McGill as Jack Dalton, Jenny Gago as Santina,
Garwin Sanford as Rafael, Susan Walden as Sister Clara.
Nielsen ratings: 11.7 rating, 18 share, 3rd (46th overall).
It appears that Thornton and old flame who is now a nun haven't
a prayer after they're taken hostage by Central American rebels,
until MacGyver asks Jack Dalton and his seaplane to rescue them.
069 Collision Course
Airdate: 12 December 1988
Writer: Paul B. Margolis
Director: Chuck Bowman
Guest Cast: Patrick Wayne as Jeff Stone, Kai Wulff as Hans Visser,
Katey Wright as Charlie Stone, G. Gordon Liddy as Carl Strickland.
Nielsen ratings: 11.7 rating, 19 share, 3rd (49th overall).
MacGyver returns to his racing roots to test a car engine designed
by the Foundation, but a rival car-owner has some dirty tricks
up his sleeve.
070 The Survivors
Airdate: 09 January 1989
Writer: W. Reed Moran
Director: Michael Caffey
Guest Cast: Gerry Bean as Wilcox, Dale Wilson as Crandell.
Nielsen ratings: 13.5 rating, 20 share, 2nd (41st overall).
During routine survival training in the woods, MacGyver
and Thornton discover the wreckage of a DEA plane,
which MacGyver determines was shot down by drug smugglers.
071 Deadly Dreams
Airdate: 16 January 1989
Writer: Stephen Downing
Director: Les Landau
Guest Cast: Kim Zimmer as Murphy, W. Morgan Sheppard as Dr.
Zito, Garry Chalk as Sweeney, Brenda Crichlow as Cooper,
Todd Jeffries as Wyatt, Jeff Irvine as Eric Cross.
Nielsen ratings: 13.2 rating, 20 share, 2nd (40th overall).
MacGyver joins a police task force pursuing an escaped
psychopath, a man MacGyver suspects is a pawn in a larger scheme.
072 Ma Dalton
Airdate: 23 January 1989
Writer: John Whelpley
Director: Rob Bowman
Guest Cast: Bruce McGill as Jack Dalton, Ed Nelson as Arthur
Bandel, Les Carlson as Sparky, Constance Towers as
Francine Leyland, Richard Lawson as Jesse Colton.
Nielsen ratings: 14.6 rating, 22 share, 2nd (33rd overall).
Jack Dalton and MacGyver search for Dalton's mother and learn
that she's a fugitive being pursued by a bounty hunter.
073 Cleo Rocks
Airdate: 06 February 1989
Writers: John Sheppard & Rick Drew
Director: Chuck Bowman
Guest Cast: Teri Hatcher as Penny Parker, Robert Donner as
Wintergreen, Michael Des Barres as Murdoc.
Nielsen ratings: 13.2 rating, 19 share, 2nd (42nd overall).
Murdoc poses as a musical's director, using MacGyver's friend
Penny Parker as a pawn in a crazed play of vengeance against MacGyver.
074 Fraternity of Thieves
Airdate: 13 February 1989
Writer: Grant Rosenberg
Director: Michael Preece
Guest Cast: James Karen as Papillon, Hank Stratton as Michael
Thornton, Robert Metcalfe as Chas, Don Galloway as John Collins.
Nielsen ratings: 13.9 rating, 21 share, 2nd (37th overall).
A highly classified Phoenix technology system could be compromised
by espionage, and one of the culprits is someone within the
Foundation, close to the heart of Pete Thornton.
075 The Battle of Tommy Giordano
Airdate: 20 February 1989
Writer: Marianne Clarkson
Director: Michael Vejar
Guest Cast: Penny Peyser as Mary Ruth, Tony Dakota as Tommy
Giordano, Peter Yunker as Richard Giordano, Peter Blackwood
as Rizzo, Joseph Wiseman as Joe Catano.
Nielsen ratings: 14.6 rating, 22 share, 2nd (30th overall).
MacGyver's friend wins custody of her son, prompting her ex-husband
to seek the help of his uncle - "the absolute, undisputed head"
of a crime family - to steal young Tommy Giordano back.
076 The Challenge
Airdate: 27 February 1989
Writer: Chris Haddock
Director: Dana Elcar
Guest Cast: Michael MacRae as Larson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., as
Ray, Roxanne Reese as Cynthia, Michael D. Roberts as Booker.
Nielsen ratings: 15.0 rating, 22 share, 2nd (31st overall).
A youth from an inner-city club run by MacGyver's friend is framed
for a theft by a racist who'll stop at nothing to shut the club down.
077 Runners
Airdate: 13 March 1989
Writer: Joel Schwartz
Director: Michael Caffey
Guest Cast: Holly Fields as Jennifer, Gerald Anthony as Snakeskin,
Roxanne Reese as Cynthia, Jeff Pomerantz as Jim Reiner.
Nielsen ratings: 15.2 rating, 23 share, 2nd (30th overall).
MacGyver offers protection to a runaway girl, and as he helps her
cope with her bitter past, he unveils a tragic memory of his own.
078 Gold Rush
Airdate: 27 March 1989
Writer: David Engelbach
Director: William Gereghty
Guest Cast: Colleen Winton as Natalie, Lee Patterson as West,
Walter Gotell as Barenov.
Nielsen ratings: 15.1 rating, 24 share, 2nd (28th overall).
MacGyver joins a U.S.-Soviet team in Alaska trying to retrieve
millions in gold from a wrecked World War II transport plane,
but they're left out in the cold when they discover someone's
gotten there first.
079 The Invisible Killer
Airdate: 10 April 1989
Writer: Chris Haddock
Director: Dana Elcar
Guest Cast: James Sloyan as Colter, Adam Arkin as Parisio,
Jean Bruce Scott as Liz, Kevin Greer as Beam, Andrew
Rhodes as Lazarus, Julie Downing as Officer Walker, Blu
Mankuma as Sheriff Hubbard.
Nielsen ratings: 15.5 rating, 24 share, 2nd (23rd overall).
In the Cascades, MacGyver leads a group of Phoenix employees into
the mountains to reduce stress levels, but stress is replaced by
paranoia when it's learned that murderous convicts are on the loose.
080 Brainwashed
Airdate: 24 April 1989
Writer: John Sheppard
Director: Michael Caffey
Guest Cast: Bruce McGill as Jack Dalton, Roger Aaron Brown as
Edward Mantu, Cyndi James Gossett as Edith Mantu, Janet
Hodgkinson as Hendrix, Linda Darlow as Doc Beatty, Raymond
St. Jacques as President Dakru.
Nielsen ratings: 12.7 rating, 22 share, 2nd (39th overall).
A power-hungry couple seeking to overthrow a foreign government
have "programmed" Jack Dalton to assassinate the country's president.
081 Easy Target
Airdate: 01 May 1989
Writer: Rick Drew
Director: Charles Correll
Guest Cast: Wolf Muser as Jonathan, Ruth Britt as Lisa, Tom
Everett as Frank, Frank Ferrucci as Armin.
Nielsen ratings: 13.5 rating, 22 share, 2nd (34th overall).
MacGyver and Pete Thornton are held hostage by terrorists bent on
crippling the nearby metropolitan area with a sophisticated
electronic device.
082 Renegade
Airdate: 08 May 1989
Teleplay: Chris Haddock
Story: Robert Bielak & Chris Haddock
Director: Michael Caffey
Guest Cast: Marshall Teague as Steve Morrison, Patrie Allen as
Marie Morrison, Don Stroud as Commander Hilliard, Stephen
Furst as Dr. Kozby.
Nielsen ratings: 13.9 rating, 23 share, 2nd (31st overall).
A mentally disturbed man steals a precious vial of deadly
bacteria, and MacGyver is shocked when a confrontation with
the thief reveals that he's a friend who once saved his life.
083 Unfinished Business
Airdate: 15 May 1989
Writer: Marianne Clarkson
Director: Charles Correll
Guest Cast: Bruce McGill as Jack Dalton, Kristian Alfonso as Deborah.
Nielsen ratings: 13.2 rating, 22 share, 1st (25th overall).
A beautiful woman with a mission returns to kill MacGyver.