You should leave that kind of work to me, Father Laffarty.
It's almost Christmas, Mrs. Wilson.
I have to work up my brownie points somehow.
Sounds like we have a visitor.
Father Laffarty! Father Laffarty!
She's gone! The Madonna's gone!
The special holiday music
continues all the way through Christmas Eve, on 1040 AM,
with this classic from days gone by,
"I'll be home for Christmas."
I think Santa's giving me a hernia for Christmas.
♪ I'll be home for Christmas ♪
What's the matter?
Uh, I don't know, this Christmas stuff
gets a little sappy after a while, that's all.
You sure you're all right?
I'm fine.
I mean, I know this is a tough time of year for you.
Thinking about your mother and all.
That was a long time ago, Pete.
You get over that kind of stuff.
Well, you never quite get over losing someone you love, do you?
That's why you stay busy. So you don't have to think about it.
Hey, mama, how're you doing?
- Oh, please, no! - What've you got here?
I don't have time for this.
What do you mean you don't have time for this?
I don't have time.
- What have we got in the cart, huh? - Please.
- Oh, let's see here. - Please, don't touch that!
Now boys...
Listen, I'm gonna call out the big guns!
- Oh, the big guns? - Oh, no.
Yes!
That's right, Mama!
- No, that's my stuff! - Oh.
Bye!
Stop!
Stop, that's my stuff.
Stop!
Merry Christmas, Grandma.
Hey, let go of the cart!
Yeah, Merry Christmas to you, too, punks!
Careful.
You okay?
Oh, yes, peachy.
And I can't thank you enough, for getting my stuff back.
You know, you should have that hand looked at.
Oh, it's nothing. It's just a scratch.
Listen, uh, can we drop you somewhere?
Do you have a place to stay?
Well, as a matter of fact,
I'm just looking for another abode.
Something with a southern exposure.
Well, I know a place you could stay, for a while,
if you're interested.
But you just made me an offer I can't refuse.
Lead on, gentlemen!
Just lead on.
Easy.
- Hey, Cynthia. - What is this?
Look like a basketball to me.
You know what I mean.
We've got a show to put on tonight,
and you're out here playing games.
Relax. We'll get to it.
You've been singing that same song for two days now.
It's showtime, get it?
It's showtime on the court.
Got it.
Good. So move it.
And you can start by helping take these gifts upstairs.
Both Santa and Phoenix deliver on time.
The boys will give us a hand with these.
Bobby, Tyrone, come over here and help us, please.
Oh, you guys are too much.
Thanks.
This looks like the biggest gift drive, ever.
I just hope Santa brings us
a whole lot of money to go with it.
Donations down?
Worse than that.
The new landlord's trying to squeeze us out
by demanding first and last month's rent,
plus a month's security deposit,
before he'll renew our lease.
If we don't come up with $9,000 by the end of next week,
the Challengers Club could become the Challengers Memorial Parking Lot.
Don't you worry.
You'll have your act together in plenty of time.
Uh, Cynthia, this is Carol.
She needs a place to stay for a while.
I never turned anyone away yet.
Go ahead in there.
Thank you, Cynthia.
And a very Merry Christmas to you.
Yeah, right.
Happy New Year, too.
All right, there we go. It's about as good as new.
Splendid.
Thank you.
I bet your mother always wanted you to be a doctor.
Well, not exactly.
But she did always say I was pretty good with my hands.
She was right.
Would it be all right if I looked around?
Make yourself at home.
Thank you.
While it's still here.
Oh.
Listen, I wish I could get the Phoenix board
to exceed their original donation,
but the budget is set in concrete.
Maybe in another six months.
We'll be history by then, Pete.
I've got a call into the bank, but I'm not holding my breath.
Breeze!
How am I supposed to get through to you?
You're supposed to be the stage manager,
And you can't even manage to move the stage!
Chill out, woman!
What do I need with this Christmas game?
It's just another day.
People make too big a deal about it, anyway.
Want me to talk to him?
There's no point.
Breeze never celebrated Christmas in his life.
I guess I was a fool to think I could make him see what it was all about.
And we have this special holiday plea
from Father Patrick Laffarty of St. Mary's Church.
Pat Laffarty?
A hand-carved wooden Madonna was taken
from our church early this morning.
She's very special to us.
If anyone out there knows the whereabouts of the Madonna statue,
we'd appreciate hearing from you.
Just call us at St. Mary's. No questions asked.
There you are. The missing Madonna...
Isn't that your buddy from back home?
Yeah. That's the guy.
Now, what kind of a snake would steal a Madonna from a church?
And on Christmas Eve.
It takes all kinds, doesn't it?
Yeah, no kidding.
I'm gonna run over there and see if I can help him.
Well, I'm going with you.
Hey, Patrick!
MacGyver, Pete! This is a surprise.
How are you doing?
You know, every time I see you in that collar,
I got to remind myself that you're the same kid
that used to run me into the boards during hockey practice.
I remember it the other way around.
No way.
So, what brings you here?
Well, we saw you on the news.
Something about a missing Madonna?
Can you believe that?
Well, is there anything we can do to help?
No, I doubt it. The police came by,
but there are no real clues to go on.
I've started calling everyone in the congregation for help,
but it doesn't look like there's much hope of finding her.
Not before Christmas morning.
Was the statue valuable at all?
To the world, she's just a hunk of wood.
But in our hearts, she's priceless.
She's been there in that spot for nearly 20 years.
Ever since the Christmas Vincent Battaglia
presented her to the church.
Well, did you see anyone suspicious
or notice anything out of the ordinary?
Right before we discovered she was missing,
we heard a peculiar noise, a squeaking noise.
It was him. You know it was.
Who?
Vincent Battaglia. He took her.
Mrs. Wilson, you don't know that.
Well, the same man who carved her? Why?
He's always had a grudge against the church.
Hasn't set foot in the place in 15 years. Ever since...
Mrs. Wilson,
just because a man has a change of heart, doesn't make him a thief.
Well, why would he want to steal the Madonna, anyway?
Ask Vincent Battaglia about that.
Well, I guess it can't hurt to talk to him.
He runs a little furniture fixer place over on Homer.
I'll get you the address.
Mr. Battaglia?
We're closed.
Mr. Battaglia, Father Laffarty sent us, from St. Mary's.
I don't care who sent you. Can't you read?
Uh, Mr. Battaglia,
the Madonna you carved, for St. Mary's,
it's been stolen.
So, tell somebody who cares.
Well, Father Laffarty thought you...
Look, I cut my ties with the church years ago.
I want nothing to do with St. Mary's.
Capisce?
And a Merry Christmas to you, too, sir!
You believe that guy?
Merry Christmas.
Oh, boy.
Look at...
You call yourself a Santa?
No, I call myself employed.
You try standing around in a red suit begging strangers for money.
Well, you know a little Christmas spirit might help.
A little of the old, "ho, ho, ho."
Ho ho ho.
No, come on, I mean, you got to put a little something into it.
Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!
Never mind.
Say, did I hear you guys say you were looking for some kind of statue?
Yeah.
A wooden Madonna, you seen it?
Maybe.
- Well? - What about your friend?
Merry Christmas.
Well, have you seen the Madonna or not?
I'm not exactly sure what I saw.
But there was this bag lady wheeling through the alley yesterday.
Bag lady?
Wheeling?
Yeah.
She could have had something like a statue
in the squeaky old shopping cart of hers.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself!
Showing up drunk!
What are the children supposed to think?
Take it easy. Let me have that.
Get off of from me, you crazy old broad.
- Get off of me! - Don't hurt him.
Get her off of me.
He's anesthetized, he can't be hurt!
Oh, you are wearing the uniform of a saint!
You're a disgrace!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas. Yeah.
Well, did you see your friend, the priest?
Well,
we weren't actually able to do anything for him.
Uh, Carol, you see,
we've got to ask you a favor.
Uh, you boys are trying to say something.
Spit it out.
Would you mind if we had a look at what you've got in your cart?
Yeah, see Carol...
It's not that we're accusing you of anything,
It's just that we have to eliminate some possibilities, you understand.
Well, it's just good detective work.
Yeah, like that.
Yes.
Well, I can see that, but what I don't see is,
if you think I took it,
why do you both look so guilty?
Are you absolutely sure
you've considered all the angles in this case?
We're doing the best we can. We're sorry for the trouble.
Oh, it's no trouble.
It's not often I'm pursued by one, let alone two men.
Well, I hope Father Laffarty is having better luck than we are.
What is it, kiddo?
I have a present for you, MacGyver.
Well, thank you, Violet.
You didn't have to do this.
It's a hamster.
No way.
Not really, but I didn't wrap it too good.
Are you kidding me? This is great.
You know, when I was about your age,
I used to give my mom stuff
and it was wrapped in old comic book pages.
But she didn't mind.
She always said,
"It's the thought that counts."
Thanks for thinking of me, Violet.
Your welcome.
That was a nice story.
About your mother.
Yeah.
Well,
Christmas, you know?
Yeah.
2, 3. Heave!
Are you kids crazy or what?
Just, just leave it alone.
You trying to tear the whole place down?
Back off, woman!
We're just trying to get the job done, like you asked!
Well, somebody's gonna get hurt.
There are children running around here, in case you haven't noticed!
So you do it!
Yeah, yeah.
Hey, Breeze, guys, we'll get it done.
You get it done. I'm out of here.
Breeze, get back in here. Breeze!
- Don't do this to me. - Do what?
I'm depending on you.
If you leave, they leave, and nothing gets done.
Hey, it's every man for himself. I learned that real early.
No! I refuse to believe that.
Booker doesn't...
Booker didn't believe that.
If we don't pull together,
this whole show is gonna go down the tubes.
It's not my problem.
If we lose this club, it's everybody's problem.
So who says I care?
I'll go after him, huh?
No, let him go.
I give up.
Boy.
You know, one of us should go back to the church.
Check in with Father Laffarty.
Yeah, I suppose.
Do you mind handling that?
I should stick around here.
Yeah, sure. See you later.
All right, guys. Let's make this happen.
Come on. All of you.
It's, like, a very basic, simple problem.
Come on, a little hustle, let's go!
There it is.
Paul, give me a hand here, will you?
Grab that bar, and wedge this corner up.
Yeah, sure.
Guys, give him a hand.
All right, set it down.
Pretty simple solution. Now you know what you need.
One on each corner, a couple on the sides, just roll it into position.
Weights for wheels. Why didn't we think of that?
I don't know. Why didn't you?
Cynthia?
The bank just called.
They turned down our loan application.
Well, we'll come up with something.
Don't bother.
It's over, MacGyver. I can't take it anymore.
Cynthia, you can't just pack up and leave.
Why not?
The kids.
Every kid you saved from the street, was like one of your own.
I heard you say that 1,000 times.
MacGyver, there's an endless supply of kids that need help.
But there's not an endless supply of me!
But this was your dream.
For both you and Booker.
And I can't keep the dream going without him.
He's dead, MacGyver.
And maybe the dream died along with him.
No. It didn't die.
Look, Cynthia, I loved Booker, too.
But if you just give up now,
all those kids are gonna end up right back on the street.
Now, you don't want that.
You know I don't.
You know how hard it is to keep those kids clean and off the streets?
You have to be everything for them.
Mother, father, big sister, best friend.
You help the ones you can,
and the rest just slip through your fingers.
Special kids like Breeze,
who have the brains and the guts to be so much more.
Booker and I fought a lot of battles
to make this place happen.
I guess I'm just tired of fighting.
Oh, Booker.
Christmas was a special time for us.
He should... He should be here.
He should be here.
How about a game?
Be serious.
I could whip you with one arm tied behind my back.
Well, it's easy to play by yourself.
Not much challenge in that.
Maybe you like it that way.
We play for high stakes in this pool hall.
What you got?
Well,
Abe Lincoln says I can take you down.
Your bet. My break.
My turn.
You've got your own style, I'll give you that much.
I knew that.
I was just trying to lull you into a false sense of security.
I always like a few shots to warm up.
Not the 8 ball.
Scratch!
Guess today's your lucky day.
I have always lived a charmed life.
You know, you handle that cue like a pro.
Did your father show you how to play pool?
All my old man ever showed me was the back of his hand.
That's tough.
It's a good thing you've got somebody who cares about you.
Like Cynthia.
What do you know about Cynthia?
I know that she's hurting.
I know that this is her first Christmas since her husband was killed.
I know that she wants to keep the club open for you and the other kids,
but she can't do it alone.
So just 'cause it's Christmas,
I'm supposed to get with the program, is that it?
No, not because it's Christmas.
Because it's the right thing to do.
You can get your butt in gear and be there for her,
like she is for you and all the other kids.
I got better things to do.
I know.
Christmas wasn't much when you were growing up.
How do you know that?
I heard you talking.
Listen up, Breeze.
Christmas isn't what you get.
It's what you give.
Like love and understanding.
And helping out the other guy.
And you got all the answers, huh?
No. Just a few.
Why don't you try it?
Give a little.
You never know what good it'll do for you inside.
Where it counts.
Mr. Battaglia.
What's goin' on?
You said she was missing. I... I had to see for myself.
Well, I was under the impression you didn't care.
I carved her 20 years ago as a gift for the church.
When my wife took ill, we...
we'd come here and pray to that Madonna,
day and night.
We prayed for a miracle.
But God took her away from me.
He left our prayers unanswered.
What... What kind of a compassionate God is that?
How could he take her
and leave me with nothing but this pain in my heart?
Mr. Battaglia,
we all lose people we love.
You think I want this pain?
How can I remember
and not feel how much I miss her?
You tell me how.
I wish I could.
Get some six-foot ladders.
We got to get this curtain thing up.
And Bobby, that lighting panel downstairs? Bring it up.
We got three hours to make this thing happen.
Tyrone, give me a hand with this.
What got into you?
I never knew what to get you for Christmas.
So I settled on less attitude
and more cooperation.
I'll take it.
And you don't even have to wrap it up.
Carol, what did you say to Breeze?
Me? Nothing.
We just had a friendly game of 8 ball.
That's very generous. Thank you.
Cynthia.
It's a pretty good crowd, huh?
I just hope they're in a generous mood.
Everybody's got their hand out this time of year.
MacGyver.
MacGyver, it's little Violet.
She's got a bad case of stage fright.
And she's the lead angel in the opening act.
Will you come?
By the way, Pete, I have a little favor to ask.
Me? What? What? What is it?
- Hi. - Hi.
Somebody tells me you've got a bad case of butterflies.
If that means I'm scared, I've got lots of butterflies.
I don't think I can do it.
Ah, sure you can, you're just nervous.
Everybody gets nervous.
You know, my mom and I had a secret weapon we used
that would always make things okay.
What?
Well, when I was a kid,
I used to have to play the guitar at music recitals,
and I would always freeze up.
My mom would say the secret word,
and everything would be better. Just like that.
What was it?
Well...
I don't think I can tell you. It was our secret.
Please.
All right.
But don't tell anybody.
Ice cream.
That's it?
Hey, it worked.
No matter what the problem was,
all either one of us had to say was "ice cream",
and everything would be perfect.
Ice cream.
Trust me.
I know about this stuff.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
Excuse me, is MacGyver in there?
He'll be out in a minute.
A private conference.
Why, you're Father Laffarty.
Oh, I love your sermons.
Especially the one, a few Christmases ago,
about the three wise men.
You captured them beautifully.
I'm sorry, uh,
are you in my parish? I... I don't recall seeing you.
Well, uh, it was probably my clothes.
I usually wear something more elegant
when I'm in the church.
Are you ready? Good! What a trouper!
Now.
Any news on the Madonna?
Nothing. I don't know what else to do.
Come on. I got an idea.
Breeze.
I need a favor.
Shoot.
Uh, this is Father Laffarty.
We're looking for a Madonna,
it's a statue that was stolen from St. Mary's.
Hey, I never took it. I got witnesses.
Nobody said you did.
- We need help. - Like what?
Well, after the show, can you pull a bunch of kids together?
We wanna knock on every door in the neighborhood,
kind of an all out search.
Yeah, we can do that for you.
- Thanks. - All right.
Thank you. Welcome.
We would like to start the show off tonight
with something very special.
Ladies and gentlemen,
our own Julio and his four angels.
You look okay.
♪ Come, all ye faithful ♪
♪ Joyful and triumphant ♪
♪ O come ye, o come ye ♪
♪ To Bethlehem ♪
♪ Come and behold Him ♪
♪ Born the King of angels ♪
♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
Hey, how did we do?
Not good enough.
We're still $2,711 short.
Now, all we need is a miracle.
♪ Sing all ye citizens ♪
♪ Of heaven above ♪
♪ Glory to God ♪
♪ In the highest ♪
♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
♪ O come let us adore Him ♪
♪ Christ ♪
♪ The Lord ♪
We're all here this evening
because two people shared a dream.
Booker and Cynthia
always made the Christmas show special
with a special song.
I'm sure we'd all like to hear it again.
This was our favorite Christmas song.
It still is.
♪ I'll be home ♪
♪ For Christmas ♪
♪ You can plan ♪
♪ On me ♪
♪ Please have snow ♪
♪ And mistletoe ♪
♪ And presents ♪
♪ On the tree ♪
♪ Christmas Eve ♪
♪ Will find me ♪
♪ Where the lovelight ♪
♪ Gleams ♪
♪ I'll be home ♪
♪ For Christmas ♪
Where are you off to?
I just need some air.
I know what that song meant to your mother and you.
Come on, Pat.
We've been through this before.
I wasn't there for her when she needed me.
I blew it.
Nothing's gonna change that.
You're right. Nothing will.
And that includes beating yourself up
over something long past that you can't change.
I know.
I called her on Christmas.
I explained why I couldn't make it back home.
She said she understood.
I knew better.
And the stroke hit her the next day.
And you had nothing to do with that.
MacGyver,
even if she had lived until you got back,
it wouldn't have mattered.
She had a stroke.
She wouldn't have known you were there.
She just kept muttering things that made no sense,
about you and ice cream.
Crazy stuff.
But she loved you. Don't ever doubt that.
♪ Christmas Eve ♪
♪ Will find me ♪
♪ Where the lovelight ♪
♪ Gleams ♪
♪ Yes, I'll be home ♪
♪ For Christmas ♪
♪ If only ♪
♪ In my ♪
♪ Dreams ♪
Ho, ho, ho, ho!
Merry Christmas, everybody!
All children up here for presents. Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas. Here you are.
Let's see what we have in here what's your name?
Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas.
Now how'd you talk him into that?
Christmas dinner at my place.
But you were gonna invite him anyway.
He didn't know that.
Hey, come here. You have to see this.
Look at this. $2,711.
Isn't that exactly how much you needed?
Yes.
It was in the bubble. In this.
It's Carol's.
I know bad news when I see it.
I'm sorry, Pat.
We looked everywhere.
This is going to be the first Christmas mass without her
in 20 years.
Doesn't feel like St. Mary's, somehow.
Father Laffarty.
Mr. Battaglia.
I know it's too late for this, but I...
I wanted you to have it, anyway.
I carved him to go with the Madonna,
to lie in her arms.
But when I lost my wife, well, you know the rest.
Thank you. It's beautiful.
Casey, you took the Madonna?
No, Father. Honest.
I didn't.
I promised the Madonna I would take her for a ride
If I got a new wagon for Christmas.
I did.
And when I went out to play with it this morning,
I found her waiting for me.
Vincent?
Oh, the hand's been damaged a little.
But I can fix that.