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| Season 3, Episode 055 | |
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| Airdate | 4th January 1988 |
| Written by | Calvin Clements, Jr. |
| Guest Stars | Judith Chapman as Sandra Milhouse Jay Brazeau as Phelps |
| Directed by | Chuck Bowman |
| Episode Guide<font-family:Trajan Pro;font color="white"> | |
| Previous Episode Blow Out |
Next Episode Early Retirement |
When a satellite containing a genetic virus crashes to earth MacGyver and Pete Thornton are sent to destroy it. Can they convince the scientist who created it to abandon her work before it destroys the world?
Summery
Act 1
Mac is in a chopper going over his equipment and is in a full biohazard suit. Back at Phoenix Foundation Pete and Phelps are watching the news feed and are trying to keep it under wraps. A top secret military satellite has released a capsule containing a genetic virus and has crashed into a farmers field killing his sheep. The story has gone public and Phoenix agents are doing the best they can to prevent the story from leaking out. Mac lands at his drop zone and has to hike the rest of the way. In his monologue he explains the mission. Mac has to hike to the farm and retrieve the capsule before a flight of US Air Force bombers arrives to blanket the area with napalm designed to stop the virus from spreading. As Mac walks in he sees dead animals all along the trail. An F-4 Phantom buzzes him and Mac has Pete tell Phelps to contact the pilot to back off. Mac arrives at the satellite but he trips on a rock and breaks the camera. Mac is okay but Phelps calls in an airstrike leaving Mac with 1 minute 30 seconds to get out of there or he's toast.
Act 2
With the airstrike inbound Mac tries desperately to contact Pete finally managing to extract the antenna from the capsule and hot wires it to the camera. Phelps calls off the airstrike for the last time and Mac loads the virus into a canister and boards the chopper as the bombs start falling. Back at Phoenix Foundation Phelps calls the Pentagon while Pete confronts Dr. Sandra Milhouse. Sandra admits she did not do anything wrong but Pete tells her otherwise. Two years ago she injected her dog Ace with Dutch Elm Disease and it got out of the lab. Sandra tells Pete he needs to stop pushing the panic button and progress can't wait. Pete counters with tell her she is not a respectable scientist with Sandra countering that she did not know the satellite would release the capsule and crash. Pete tells her they crash all the time. Sandra says her experiment was a success but Pete does not believe her. Pete tells Sandra he is going to kill the virus weather she likes it or not. Phelps comes in and tells Pete that Mac is on his way. Mac arrives and sends the virus to the lab and undresses and gets cleaned up in the decontamination chamber before he goes to talk to Pete. Phelps apologizes to Mac about Firestorm but Mac tells him he had his orders. Phelps then leaves to head to the Pentagon to brief the Joint Chiefs. Sandra extracts the virus from the canister and attempts to use a rat as a test subject with Mac telling her to stop. Mac explains that the virus killed everything and every animal died of old age. Phelps brings in the animal autopsies and Sandra is lost for words. Phelps and Pete tell her they are still going to destroy it and heads to call the Pentagon. Sandra takes Mac on a tour of her lab and tells Mac she has one goal save the world from hunger. Years ago Sandra grew up in Africa and almost starved to death and says the only thing she cares about is results. Mac tells her he wants the same thing she wants but using viruses is not the way. Pete comes in and says what the Joint Chiefs have ordered the virus must be destroyed. Sandra objects and calls him a paranoid bureaucrat. Just then the Klaxon goes off and phase 1. lockdown is activated. The Virus has mutated and is destroying the lab. With seven minutes left Mac needs to come up with a plan or Phoenix Foundation will be destroyed by self destruct.
Act 3
It is time for a Macgyverism and fast. Mac grabs the stuff needed: his trademark Swiss Army Knife, surgical tubing, a burner, oxygen, and Freon. Mac and Sandra use the burner to melt the seal and use surgical tubing to supply gas to the burner. Mac then pores Freon into the seal to freeze it and with two minutes left the countdown stops and Sandra destroys the virus. (or so we think) Mac and Pete head to the elevator and Mac heads back to say goodbye to Sandra and she shows him the disk. On the surface Phelps has back to the Pentagon and Pete tells Mac about the Dutch Elm Disease. Mac notices something is wrong and heads back and his suspensions are correct Sandra has the virus. Sandra says she is going to improve it and won't let her work be lost. Ace jumps into the air and smashes the test tube and it gets all over him and he dies.
Act 4
Sandra is also splashed with the virus and she gets an arthritic cramp. Sandra has been infected with the virus there is nothing Mac and Pete can do she is dying. With her last breath Sandra tells Pete to get the disk and get out as the countdown starts. Mac gets the disk and they head to the elevator as Sandra says thank you and dies. Phoenix Foundation starts the countdown to self destruct sealing all labs and the elevator. The elevator is slow and Mac needs to come up with a Macgyverism and fast.
Act 5
With two minutes left Mac has an idea. For this Macgyverism Mac grabs the transformer from the wall and uses it to re-power the elevator speeding it up. They get out in time as Phoenix Foundation explodes killing the virus and creating a funeral pyre for Ace and Sandra. Pete looks on as they barely dodge the fireball. Phoenix Foundation is destroyed and is a complete loss.