| Murdoc | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name: | Unknown |
| Family: | Ashton |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Character Information | |
| First appearance: | Partners |
| Portrayed by: | Michael Des Barres |
| Remake Actor: | David Dastmalchian |
Early Life
Nicholas Helman was the Chairman of the Board for the Homicide International Trust (HIT), a criminal group who contracted assassins all over the world as well as being involved in illegal arms trades. Helman himself was a first rate assassin who trained Murdoc in his deadly art of death.
Series
Angus MacGyver's most frequent opponent, a master assassin who never fails—except when MacGyver gets involved. Murdoc is an accomplished pianist, master of disguise, as well as highly skilled and creative in the use of booby traps. He is also very fond of heavy weapons, including flamethrowers, bazookas, and dynamite. Murdoc's signature for each hit is to take photographs of his victims at the moment of their deaths. MacGyver first encountered Murdoc in 1980: Murdoc was being followed by Pete Thornton, and MacGyver comes to Pete's aid. Their interaction convinces Pete to hire MacGyver to work with him at the DXS.
His first appearance in the series is presented as his second run-in with MacGyver (Season 2 Episode 18 - Partners). Murdoc returns for revenge for their first encounter—to the surprise of MacGyver, as Murdoc had apparently been killed while escaping on that occasion. Murdoc's revenge scheme not only fails, but once again results in him apparently being killed again. This became a recurring theme with the character: each of Murdoc's subsequent appearances ends in another "death", which he incredibly survives, to return in a later episode. This "near death" cycle occurred a total of 6 times throughout the series. He has survived, among other things, falling down an abandoned mine shaft, driving off a cliff in a car that exploded upon impact, being electrocuted and falling into the pool of flaming water, and falling thousands of feet off the sheer face of a mountain. His body was never found.
- Murdoc also appears in:
- Season 3 Episode 8 - The Widowmaker
- Season 4 Episode 9 - Cleo Rocks
- Season 4 Episode 19 - Unfinished Business (Appears in flashbacks only)
- Season 5 Episode 6 - Halloween Knights
- Season 5 Episode 12 - Serenity (Appears in MacGyver's dream)
- Season 6 Episode 19 - Strictly Business
- Season 6 Episode 21 - Hind-Sight (Appears in flashbacks only)
- Season 7 Episode 3 - Obsessed
- Murdoc always screams "MACGYVER!" at the moment of his "death", except in the episode "Halloween Knights", where he and MacGyver act as allies: for his repeated failures at MacGyver's hands, HIT has excommunicated Murdoc, and kidnapped his sister. To rescue her, Murdoc is forced to seek MacGyver's help. In this episode, it is revealed that Murdoc, like Indiana Jones, is terrified of snakes.
- Murdoc is associated with the Homicide International Trust (HIT), an organization of assassins, until he is excommunicated for his repeated failures at MacGyver's hands.
He has over-the-top disguises and weapons complemented by a maniacal-smile persona that offer a touch of comic relief to the series. He gets childlike joy from taunting his victims before he kills them using elaborate traps (which MacGyver can just manage to escape).
Notes
- Is terrified of snakes.
Trivia
- Michael Des Barres will appear in the re-make MacGyver as Nicholas Helman in Murdoc + Handcuffs.