It’s 2015, and women have made some great strides. Running for president, going into space, busting ghosts, looking at porn, even taking the lead role in a whopping 15 percent of movies. Yes, equality is nearly upon us, but there’s one last frontier women have yet to cross: being MacGyver.
Yes, MacGyver. The smartest, best-mulleted action hero of the late ’80s, whose eponymous TV show has been looked back on with a mixture of affection and ridicule ever since. Well, the National Academy of Engineering, USC, and something called The MacGyver Foundation have decided our televisions have been MacGyver-free for too long. Those organizations are coming together to launch a new show, with a female MacGyver, and the only missing piece is you. And probably a paper clip. MacGyver always needs a paper clip.
A new web site, thenextmacgyver.com, is asking the general public for ideas for what would be, “the first great show starring an iconic female engineer character.” (Clearly, someone’s forgetting a little show called Chip & Dale’s Rescue Rangers). Five winners will receive a princely $5000 and the chance to partner with a Hollywood producer to develop a pilot based on their script. No word as to where or how this show will air, but Ms. MacGyver can probably use some tinfoil, your old flip phone, and a Pringles can to build a transmitter that will just beam the show onto people’s TVs.
To be clear, the contest is not looking for script submissions. Instead, they want an elevator pitch summary, a paragraph pilot synopsis, a hex key screwdriver, a brief character sketch, ideas for future episodes, your grandfather’s pocket watch, and fifteen Mentos. Producers involved with the project include ubiquitous sci-fi writer/producer Roberto Orci, Madam Secretary executive producer Lori McCreary, CSI creator Anthony Zuiker, and Clayton Krueger, who co-produced XBox’s Halo series and 3001: The Final Odyssey for Syfy. (It’s not clear which, if any, of them will be mentoring the contest winners.) The deadline is April 17, so dust off those typewriters you built out of remote control car parts and pistachio shells and get to work.
This could be your big break, but don’t thank us, readers. Thank the moon’s gravitational pull.