MacGyver

MacGYVER: When I was a little kid,

I used to think ships were like magic...

sailing in from strange places, carrying mysterious cargo...

This ship was from the People's Republic of China,

and the cargo was kind of special:

a single treasure literally beyond price.

It'd been on display during the voyage,

and its security had been the responsibility

of the Chinese government.

Now it was going to be ours: Pete Thornton's and mine.

Chu.

I mean, Commissioner Chu.

Don't be inscrutable with me, Peter.

It's good to see you again.

And very good to see you.

I'd like to introduce my friend and colleague, MacGyver.

The honor is mine.

You speak Mandarin.

You just heard about 90% of it.

May I ask what you do for the Phoenix organization?

Well, MacGyver is a kind of, uh, troubleshooter.

I trust we're not expecting trouble.

You know me -- belt and suspenders...

MacGYVER: We figured we'd be better off

a little nervous than a lot sorry.

Actually, I'm pleased.

Now, if you'll sign the manifest receiving the item...

Item?

That's some description for a national treasure,

but, uh, on behalf of the International Cultural Exposition...

Uh, maybe...

after we see the dragon?

Troubleshooter and lawyer.

No, just curious to see a legend.

And you shall.

MacGYVER: This is the first time it's been outside of China, isn't it?

That's why I'm being very careful.

The Ming Dragon.

China is very proud of it as a work of art...

and part of our history.

It's beautiful.

Hey!

This is a restricted area, miss.

May I ask what you're doing here?

Excuse me. I was invited to a party.

There's no party.

Then let's have one of our own.

Well, hello, little one.

Yes.

Do you have something for me?

Well, Nicolai?

The dragon has arrived.

Security will be handled as we expected?

By the Phoenix Foundation and MacGyver.

I see you remember him...

the time you failed to catch him.

I remember.

Hmm. If it's any consolation to you...

before we leave,

MacGyver will be dead.

The exhibit will be in this hall under absolute security.

Pettigrew here set it up.

The Ming Dragon will be protected

by this case of shatterproof glass,

cushioned by this pressure plate

and locked into place.

Well, what about alarms?

Embedded in all the glass.

And a laser system... forms a barrier around it all.

Any intruder will be stopped immediately.

What about surveillance cameras, Mr. Pettigrew?

They can be defeated too easily.

Besides, this system is sophisticated,

state of the art.

Your dragon will be safe, Mr. Chu.

Is it truly safe, uh, Mr. MacGyver?

Well, why don't we take a good look at what we have here.

You want to turn on the laser network and dim the lights a little bit?

Oh, certainly. Uh, gentlemen?

Uh, this is Pettigrew, security control.

Lower the house lights

and, uh, activate the laser shield.

There you are.

Now, the guards will be where?

In, uh, central control,

but any intruder will break the beams and set off the alarms.

Well, maybe. Maybe not.

Well, they can't evade the beams. They can't see them.

They can now.

Very imaginative.

See, there's a couple of ways to handle

a light beam alarm system.

You can divert the ray through optic fiber...

use a mirror to deflect it...

but about the easiest thing to do is just, uh... avoid it.

Now, while the guards are kicking back having coffee

or whatever they do,

I've gotten in and no alarm has gone off.

What it comes to is this:

by the time anybody shows up here,

I'll be long gone... with the dragon.

Well...

I just don't know what to say.

Well, don't worry. That's why we're here.

Now we know what to fix.

First, replace that key lock with a combination.

Yeah. And set up regular guard inspections,

say, no more than ten minutes apart.

And, you know, it might not be a bad idea

to wire an alarm into this pressure plate here

where the glass fits, so if anybody does lift it...

We'd have another alarm.

I'll get right on it.

I think I am rather glad you are on the job, Mr. MacGyver.

My pleasure, sir.

I confess of being unsettled.

This, and the-the death of that security guard.

Yeah, I know; that bothers me, too,

but it's being looked into.

So far, there's no evidence to indicate anything but an accident.

The Ming Dragon is our national treasure.

And while it is here, your national responsibility.

If anything were to happen...

the result could be quite serious.

MacGYVER: So, you think Pettigrew

will be able to make all those changes

before the opening day after tomorrow?

Yeah, we should have most of it locked down

by tomorrow afternoon's VIP reception.

All except the pressure plate alarm, that is.

That's being shipped out of New York.

- When does that get here? - Sometime tomorrow evening.

It's going to mean an all-night effort to get it installed,

but at least it'll be done for the opening.

By the way, I w...

Are you listening to me?

Yeah, I'm sorry, Pete. I thought I saw somebody.

Well, you said you saw someone. Who?

Well, I thought it was...

Nope, forget it.

A mistake. Come on.

What do you mean, "come on"? The elevators are over here.

I know, but I got a surprise for you over here.

Come on.

"The Great Sheldrake"?

Who's he?

That's the surprise.

And then the announcer's voice says,

"Ladies and gentlemen, presenting your guru into the unknown,

the master of miracles, the Great Sheldrake!"

Applause, applause, applause, alakazam, one, two, three...

hit it!

We have to cut way back on that smoke.

Jack Dalton?!

What's he doing here?

Now, I bring on my lovely assistant, Loretta...

That's you, babe.

Come on. Come on. We open tonight.

Curtsy.

Rise!

Rise!

Hey, excuse me.

Excuse me. This is a closed rehearsal.

Oh, like the time you tried

to pull a silk scarf out of the principal's ear

and got his toupée instead?

MacGyver! Pete!

Hey, great to see you guys!

What a surprise!

You heard I was appearing, you came to see me. Terrific!

Since when are you a, uh, magician?

When?

I have studied at the feet of Hindu mystics,

climbed the hidden mountains of Tibet

to learn the lost secrets of that unknown kingdom.

I have delved into...

A magic course he got selling magazines in the tenth grade.

A correspondence course.

A mail-order Mandrake, huh?

No. A mail-order Sheldrake.

Come to the opening tonight, and I'll show you

the most magnificent magic act you've ever seen.

Thank you, one and all for joining The Great Sheldrake

on this magic carpet ride into that shadowed land

where reality and illusion intermingle.

A place where the mysteries of time, space,

and the journey of souls

are held in the firm grasp of darkness.

A depth of infinite knowledge, shared with you alone.

And so, until our late, late show, that's it, ladies and gentlemen.

Enjoy the music, have a drink, spend a buck.

Come on, Loretta. You're stepping on my cues.

This is supposed to be magic, not "who's on first?"

- Jack! - Hey.

That's terrific.

You really know how to do this stuff.