The word “MacGyver” is now included in the English dictionary and all credit for it possibly goes to the eponymous TV series from the mid-80s where a man resorts to brain power rather than brawn to wriggle out of difficult situations.
MacGyver, for many of us who were in their late teens in the 80s, was the ultimate TV hero.
Of course, there were many others before him, but if one TV star has to be named who stood out most between 1985 and 1989, then it has to be MacGyver -- the US secret agent travelling all over the world to solve complex missions without depending on any weapons or gadgets.
Come to think of it, he was the anti-007 secret agent, not relying on the specialised “Q” section for state-of-the-art spy weapons. Though in one of the episodes (“The Heist”), the actor, Richard Dean Anderson, wears a black tie, orders a drink at a casino and, when a girl comes to get acquainted, says suavely: “Bond, James Bond!”
What he used most was his intelligence and perspicacity which meant making the best of everyday items: Tin cans, half-filled petrol containers, old rags, worn out leather belts, match-sticks, rusty wires, and an array of other items.
But MacGyver was not just a television hero; he went beyond the boundaries of the 20-inch box to secure an almost unassailable place in the evolving urban culture of the 1980s.
No social analysis of Dhaka and other cities of that period can be complete without a reference to good old Mac.
The reason for this cult status was simple: The character showed that anyone with a little imagination could become a formidable force.
This meant any ordinary guy could become like him! And boy, how we tried!
Naturally, women loved Mac. In fact, just the word “love” would be an understatement. Girls of almost all ages worshipped the man.
Not exaggerating, the line: “I will say yes to your romantic proposal if you can be like MacGyver” was the pre-romance condition for many girls.
A lot of teenagers learned one of the most significant lessons at the edge of the teenage years through the series -- wisdom applied with finesse can always win hearts.
MacGyver, and everything he represented, became sought after.
In the TV series, he is seen wearing khaki chinos all the time and this form of trousers was totally new for most people in Bangladesh.
But to replicate the hero, one had to have a pair, and the best place was to scour the Gulistan second-hand market, known as the Nixon Market, since it first began with clothes from the US right after Liberation War in 1971.
I was one of the guys who went searching and, luckily, found a perfect match. I remember distinctly that when I wore those with a white shirt carrying a black jacket, just like a scene from the intro to the TV series, all my friends rushed to find a pair.
That feeling of exhilaration remains as one of the high points of my life.
Trust me, today, chinos may be found everywhere from the Dhaka College foot market to the upscale shops, back then, the word was totally unknown.
Tall men began keeping their hair long, styled after the TV icon with Faisal, the actor, getting the epithet “MacGyver of Dhaka University.”
Faisal was a student of the department of political science and played national level hockey. With the height being a plus point, he followed the style of the TV star, soon becoming the heart-throb of the DU campus.
To be honest, tall, short, slim or healthy, we all tried hard to emulate him!
So much was the craze that a song titled “Hello MacGyver,” possibly by Dolly Siantony, became a huge hit.
But if MacGyver increased sales of one item all over the world, then it was the Swiss multi-purpose knife.
This was the one thing he carried, using it in a variety of ways to make something out of nothing.
In a Dhaka which was still lagging behind many Western nations, the Swiss Army knife was not easily available. Soon, cheaper Chinese variations came and, for a while, these sold like hot cakes.
I am sure, today, it won’t be difficult to find a Swiss knife in one of the many shopping malls of Dhaka.
At the height of MacGyver culture, a girl wrote a letter to Richard Dean Anderson and received a reply which was promptly printed in the newspapers.
MacGyver writes back … hell, that was news!
Regrettably, the actor never came to Bangladesh, otherwise he would have been overwhelmed by the attention.
As the word is now part of the English dictionary, all these memories of another age have come rushing back.
In a way, it’s a fitting tribute to a hero who rejected all forms of violence.
So, many years later, it’s natural to ask: Where is MacGyver now? Well, for those who still remember the teenage infatuation and hold on to it with fondness, there is a new MacGyver Mercedes Benz Citan advert available on YouTube where Mac, shown as an aged mechanic, inadvertently finds himself in a mess.
I am sure many of you will watch it; after all, it re-ignites the pleasures of a forgotten era when heroism was defined by intelligence and not by crass exhibition of materialism.
Dear Mac, we loved you then, we love you still!