Welcome to the Wasteland, MacGyver.
Put it in gear, drive straight ahead for three miles
and the next living thing you'll see will be me.
I made this audio tape to keep you company
and to prepare you for the bad news I've been accumulating
about the death of this land that was once busy with living things.
God said, "Let there be life," and there was life.
Man said, "Let me develop, use and consume everything I can
"without thinking about the consequences,"
and this is the result.
Charming, isn't it?
Now you know where I've been spending my time the last couple of years.
Hard to believe this was a thriving community not too long ago.
Now it's just so much arsenic and selenium.
So, you'd better roll up your window.
Even breathing is hazardous to your health here.
Take a good look, MacGyver.
This is what I believe is going to happen to the town of Maple Ridge
if Bartlett City Development becomes a reality.
Any wonder I'm so worried?
Evidence of decreasing PCB, dioxin and solvent levels.
Arsenic and selenium present.
Heavy concentrations.
Radioactivity.
76 millirads.
To think some of my fellow humans
will say we don't need immediate action to heal our environment.
Fools, every one of us.
Loss of ground water has badly eroded the land's subterranean structure.
No telling how deep it goes.
Talk about being consumed by your work.
Hang on, Willis.
Panic never solved anything.
Help!
MacGyver!
Stay out!
No telling where it'll give!
All right, hang on, Willis!
Hang on, Willis!
I can't stop sinking.
Somehow,
in the corner of my mind as I was going down,
I knew you'd show up.
You're always on time.
Yeah.
You okay?
Fine, for a guy who just took a toxic mud bath.
We better wash off before we melt.
And then I got a little show and tell for you on Bartlett City.
Melt?
Bartlett City.
A dream or a disaster?
That depends on nature, or to be more precise,
the aquifer system present to support the development.
In this case, Bartlett City is going to be built on a confined aquifer,
which has no recharge zone.
As the city grows,
human activities will disrupt the natural equilibrium
affecting both the quantity and quality of ground water.
As growth continues,
increased pollutants, toxic materials,
less oxygen, more carbon PCBs
and dioxins are not far behind.
Plants start to die,
then animals,
then civilization.
The existing city of Maple Ridge will die first
and Bartlett City will follow.
A landscape that once looked like this
will become this.
A wasteland.
You know, the EPA report in your file here
doesn't agree with your little show-and-tell.
Exactly.
That's why I've arranged your visit with Andrew Bartlett.
His land is a duplicate of what this used to be.
Either Mother Nature performed a miracle
or one of us is wrong.
That's why you have to convince Bartlett
to stop building and have his environmental studies re-evaluated.
I don't think he's gonna like the sound of that.
I'd do it myself,
but I have to catch a flight to Washington
to present my findings at the Environment Conference.
I told Bartlett you'd be at the work site by noon.
Well, what I know of Bartlett,
he doesn't sound like the type of guy who listens much to people.
If he doesn't, 20 years from now they'll be calling Bartlett City a ghost town.
This Phoenix guy, MacGyver,
what does he want to see me about?
I thought those environmental tests were done.
What's going on?
Phoenix is a public interest foundation
that sticks its nose in all kinds of places.
Does it have clout?
- Well... - Uh, I did a little research.
It's, uh, well-respected by uh, the media, uh, business,
uh, government and mostly the public.
Yeah, well, we've got a dog and pony show to do this afternoon
for the investors out at the development site.
And I want it to go as smooth as silk.
Can I count on you two?
Scott, put that back on my desk.
What are you doing in here without a coat and tie?
I didn't know it was formal, Dad.
Business in an office is always formal.
You gotta do what's appropriate, Scott.
When I was young, I had to wear those clothes.
You don't have to. You understand?
Yes, sir.
You wouldn't wear farm clothes to the White House, would you?
No. Not unless...
Not unless what? Put your head up, Scott.
Unless, I was a farmer.
That's good.
I like that.
But you're not a farmer.
You're a Bartlett.
And that's got to mean something
and you've got to prove it means something.
I sent you to the best schools.
You rubbed shoulders with the best people.
You gotta prove to them that you're a cut above.
You gotta show them that you're something special. Okay?
Now, Laura knows that.
Um, Dad, do you want to meet with this MacGyver?
Only if you and Scott can't figure out how to make him go away.
Scott and I can handle him.
Good.
Oh, and Scott,
I want you to go out and get yourself some decent suits.
And if I ever see you come to a meeting dressed like that,
I'm gonna take that Porsche away for a little while.
Yes, sir.
Great guy, old Dad.
- Laura, I can't take it any... - Shh.
Come in here.
I'm having second thoughts about working against him.
Andrew Bartlett charm's getting to you, huh?
He is still our father, Scott.
Doesn't bother you he killed Mom.
Alcohol killed Mom, Scott.
Alcohol made it painless.
He kills everything he touches.
It's no accident Bartlett City's gonna turn into a desert.
It's Dad's magic touch.
He'd make the world lifeless as long as he could turn a profit.
The only way we can ever have anything that we can call our own,
is to take it.
And that means taking the company away from him.
Excuse me.
Can I help you with something?
Yeah, I'm looking for the job supervisor.
Sis!
Someone wants to talk to you.
Scott, what are you doing?
You're supposed to be over at the hospitality tent getting everything ready.
You'd better clean up and get over there before Dad shows up.
Executive duties call.
Hi. I'm Laura Bartlett.
Um, you wanted to see me?
Yeah, my name's MacGyver,
I have an appointment with Andrew Bartlett.
That's my father. Your appointment's with me.
Dad asked me to discuss your concerns with our project.
Okay.
Let's start with the environmental impact reports
and this presentation tape.
Got it. Enviro-head.
What's the cause this month?
Well, our testing shows that this development
could endanger the water table for the entire area.
Excuse me.
Is he gonna be trouble?
Um, yes, I think so.
Then, the plan's a go.
Yes, it is.
Goodbye.
Sorry.
I tell you what, I'll take a look at your tape,
and then you can buy me lunch.
Deal?
Deal.
If you wanted to scare me, MacGyver, that video worked.
But it's got nothing to do with us.
These environmental reports give us a clean bill of health.
The Wasteland Project was set up to predict aquifer depletion.
Now, there's something wrong with your reports
because that's exactly what's gonna happen out there.
Every time we turn around,
there's another new environmental theory
making life difficult for business.
It can't be too good for business
if you build a city where there isn't enough water.
So you say.
It's your reports against ours.
You know, I think I'd like to talk to the agent who ran your tests,
this Simon Rogolf?
If you think it's necessary.
Sorry to interrupt, Miss Bartlett.
- Is your name MacGyver? - Yeah.
There's a phone call for you. You can take it in the back room.
Okay, thanks.
- Excuse me. - Sure.
Somebody said there was a call for me back here?
I did. You're gonna leave town,
and leave our jobs alone or we gonna break you down.
Uh...
Don't you boys want to talk about this?
Wrong answer.
MacGyver.
What happened?
Construction workers jumped me.
You wouldn't happen to know who sent them?
Oh, come on.
Word gets around fast when people think their jobs are being threatened.
Are you okay?
Yeah. I'll live.
Maybe you should take the warning seriously.
Maybe I should visit the guy who made your EPA reports.
What was his name? Rogolf, huh?
And the infrastructure of our city will support 15,000 people
with an ultramodern library,
and a school system with an elementary, junior, and senior high school.
Not to mention the Bartlett shopping mall.
And we expect 100% occupancy
within a year of our completion date.
I guess he didn't go away. That's MacGyver.
Hmm.
Well, it's been a long day, folks.
How about some refreshments?
Come on over here.
Come on this way.
And by the way, this pure, crystal clear water
comes directly from our very own on-site artesian wells.
Straight from the bosom of Mother Nature.
Just one of the many features
that will contribute to a return on your investment.
Mr. MacGyver.
Come join us, there's plenty more water where this came from.
Well, there won't be, if you move 15,000 people into the area.
Laura, honey, would you take care of our guests for a little while?
Sure.
Excuse me.
All right, are there any questions concerning the financial...
My daughter said you were difficult.
She's an excellent judge of character, my daughter.
I'd like to talk to you about your plans to develop Bartlett City.
Oh, from what I understand, there's nothing to talk about.
We have documents to prove that there's ample water supplies here.
Well, it depends on what documents you're looking at.
Mine say otherwise.
All right, Mr. MacGyver.
Why are you trying to destroy me?
Destroy you?
I'm trying to save you from what could be a disaster.
Oh, I see. You came all the way up here at the precise moment
my investors are having their inspection tour to save me?
I'm not the problem here, Mr. Bartlett,
just the messenger.
Now do you wanna listen to me or not?
I talked to Mr. Rogolf, the man who did your water tests.
He didn't run them according to standard procedure.
All right, so he was a little lazy.
You get that with these local guys.
No. He manipulated the results.
He ran his tests after a heavy rain.
Just tell me, did he violate any law?
No.
And were the permits filed properly in a timely fashion?
Yes.
If you'll excuse me, Mr. MacGyver,
I think this conversation is over.
Not if you are as curious as I am
about the new car Rogolf got a week after his report cleared.
All right, MacGyver, what is going on?
Is this a shakedown, or what?
I'm just trying to get you to take a look at what you might be creating here.
Look, I know what I'm creating here.
I'm creating a beautiful city with jobs and industry.
What are you creating? Looks like trouble to me.
And I guarantee you, this whole thing's gonna come down on you hard.
Oh, save the threats, will you?
I'm not going away.
Okay.
What will it take to get you out of here?
Two hours of your time.
That's it, two hours?
That's it. I want to show you something.
It's about 40 miles away from here.
We can be there and back in two hours.
All right.
Pick me up at 4:00.
Dad, why are you bothering with him?
'Cause you didn't handle it.
- You all set? - Yeah.
Hey, sis.
What's up?
Dad just left with MacGyver, that's what's up.
Scott, MacGyver's more trouble than I thought.
I mean, first, all that contradictory test data,
now he's got his claws into Dad.
Laura, relax.
It's gonna be okay. Everything's in place.
What do you mean, "Everything's in place"?
I mean, suppose Dad lets MacGyver run new tests.
Or suppose he doesn't let him run new tests,
and MacGyver calls in the EPA.
And what if Dad finds out that we paid off Rogolf?
Forget MacGyver.
Forget Dad.
They're not gonna be a problem.
I'm afraid of what he'll do.
I mean, I can't see taking over the company behind his back.
I don't know why I ever agreed in the first place.
Because we're both nowhere.
Because we're both knocking 30
and he still tells us exactly what to do.
The way he's always threatening to cut us off.
Huh? Huh?
Is that the way you want to spend the rest of your life?
Begging for handouts?
Jumping every time he says "boo"?
Not me, thank you very much.
I still can't go through with it.
Too late, Sis. It's done.
What do you mean, "It's done"?
I can't take him putting me down anymore, Laura, I can't.
Sometimes he says something to me
and it's all I can do not to start shaking like a leaf.
I'm tired of being afraid.
Scott, tell me, what have you done?
I did it, Laura.
I could hardly work, I was shaking so bad.
But I did it.
I did it for you and me.
You did what?
When MacGyver checked into his motel,
I attached a bomb to his odometer.
When it hits 55,
goodbye, Daddy.
And MacGyver.
How much further to the laboratory?
Not too far. Another couple of miles.
I got to hand it to you, MacGyver, you're a real salesman.
What's that?
Your sales technique.
Videotape.
Tours across a wasteland.
So, I'm getting to you, huh?
I can't believe this used to be a meadowland.
Yeah, it's scary, isn't it?
Ow, my leg.
What's going on?
Ow!
Ah, my leg.
Let me see that.
Need to get some pressure on that.
What happened?
Well, the second explosion was the gas tank.
The first, was a bomb.
Are--Are you saying someone tried to kill us?
Or one of us.
Oh, you?
Maybe.
Me?
Who'd want to kill me?
Someone who would benefit from your death.
Oh, boy. My company's family owned. Nobody'd want to kill me.
You got to be wrong.
There's got to be something wrong with that van.
Mr. Bartlett, it was a bomb.
What?
Laura?
What are you doing?
Destroying everything that has to do with our takeover plan.
Good.
Do you think Dad's dead?
I know what you know, Laura.
What happens if he isn't?
We're gonna take a ride.
To make sure.
I don't want to.
Sometimes you have to do unpleasant things, Laura.
Dad taught us that.
All right, come on. Sit down for a while.
All right, your bleeding's worse.
- This is as far as you go. - Oh, come on, I can keep going.
You can try to keep still and stay conscious.
- You make it sound so serious. - It is serious.
You've lost a lot of blood.
If I don't get you to a doctor in the next couple of hours,
you could die.
This place, it feels dead.
I don't even hear a cricket.
Well, there aren't any.
Yeah, yeah, your Wasteland.
Yeah? This is a hell of a place to die.
You think somebody out there's trying to tell me something?
Well, life has a way of making its points.
This dead, desolate place,
you think this is what I do.
I think you're like a lot of people.
You can't see the trees because you're too busy cutting down the forest.
Huh, you don't pull any punches, do you?
No, it's too late for that. There's too much at stake.
Well, what do we do now?
Well, you're gonna keep still and try to stay conscious.
I'm gonna build a fire, then make it to the lab, and radio for a chopper.
We gotta get you to a hospital.
Oh, great.
What are we gonna do now, Scott?
Walk.
Where?
Down the road.
Laura,
we have to make sure.
Attagirl.
You know, you may be right, MacGyver.
I may be too busy to see the trees.
Is my little tour getting to you?
Yeah.
I must be delirious.
You know what went through my mind, just now?
I actually asked myself,
that bomb could have been a gift from one of my kids.
How's that for a guilt trip?
Well, maybe there's something to that.
No, no way.
I made my kids strong. They're...
They're winners. They're part of me.
I started out with nothing.
I'm no wasteland, MacGyver.
Um, concentrate on staying awake.
Keep pressure on your leg, but try not to move around.
The lab's only about a mile away.
I'll get back as soon as I can.
Okay.
- Can you see anything? - No.
Can't we just go back to the car?
Not until we take care of business.
Tell me this is a dream, Scott.
Tell me this isn't really happening.
Come on, sis.
Are you forgetting our heritage?
When the going gets tough,
the tough get going.
At all costs.
Mayday, mayday, mayday.
I have a man with life-threatening injuries.
I need help.
Does anybody hear me out there?
A storm. Great.
You go look. I can't.
They're not here.
Blood.
Can't be far away.
Come on, Laura.
No! No.
Campfire.
It's got to be them.
Come on.
Let's get it over with.
Dad?
Scott?
Is that you?
Oh, thank God, you're here.
Dad, you all right?
Yeah, I'm all right.
Dad.
What's this all about?
Consider it a hostile takeover.
The bomb? You planted the bomb?
Yes, Dad. Me.
But you're tough, aren't you?
- Give me the gun. - Stay where you are.
What's gotten into you?
All your lessons about life are finally taking a hold.
Are you in on this, too?
Answer him, Laura.
We just couldn't take it anymore.
Couldn't take what?
You.
I pushed you kids hard
because life doesn't cut any breaks.
I pushed you kids hard because I wanted you to be somebody.
I am somebody, Dad.
Always have been.
I wasn't anybody you liked.
Anybody you respected.
You know why you push?
I just figured it out.
Because for all your talk about being number one,
the big guy, one cut above,
you're still a kid with holes in his shoes
trying to be good enough
to fit in with the kids from across the tracks.
Like you said,
I didn't grow up with holes in my shoes,
so I don't have that problem.
Scotty, don't.
Scott, we can work this out.
Too late for that.
I want you to know that I understand.
I can change.
Sorry, Dad.
Oh, God. What have I done?
Scott,
Laura, I--I love you both.
I don't want to hear it.
Scotty, we can't do this.
- Scott, listen to her. - No.
The only thing you love is power.
Power...
and profit.
Scotty, don't!
No.
Laura!
She's dead.
Oh, God.
Laura's dead.
And you killed her.
It's your fault.
You killed her.
Mr. Bartlett,
have you talked to your son since he's been incarcerated?
Yes, this morning.
Then you're planning to stand by him,
even though he's responsible for the death of your daughter?
Well, it was an accident and he's my son.
And if any of you are parents, I suspect you'd do the same.
What about Bartlett City?
Rumor has it you're abandoning the project.
Well, based on the newest ecological data
provided by the Phoenix Foundation,
I've determined that the site is no longer suitable
for commercial venture.
Uh, we're looking at other alternatives.
I knew you'd get through to him, MacGyver.
Mr. Bartlett, sir, if you don't mind...
Sorry, folks, but that's gonna be the end of it.
One more question, please.
What's next? The new sports arena?
No, my next project is a very personal one.
I'll be setting up a memorial trust
in memory of my daughter to fund a local family counseling center.
It'll be the kind of a place where families with problems
can come to work out things in a very
loving and caring environment.
Thank you, Mr. Bartlett.
What do you think?
He's trying.
That's all we can expect of anyone, huh?