MacGyver (1985–1992): Season 5, Episode 13 - Live and Learn - full transcript

What you see here is
an example of equilibrium.

Now it looks like the forks
should fall over, but they don't.

Can anybody tell me why?

Come on. Any ideas at all?

It's some kind of trick.

Yeah, but it's
a trick of nature.

It does this because the center
of gravity and the center of mass

are balanced in
exactly the same place.

Big deal, man.

Oh, come on, it is a big deal.

What's your name?



Deron.

Deron, do you by any
chance play football?

Yeah. Why?

Let me guess, uh,

Defensive tackle, 6'3", 220?

Uh, 235.

That's perfect. Deron, I
want you to come up here

And help me demonstrate how
physics affects our everyday lives.

Especially yours.

Man, I don't need physics.

I'm an athlete.

All the more
reason you should pay attention.

Come on, deron,
it's just you and me,

on the 5 yard line,
it's a goal line stand.



Your back's up against the
wall. There's no tomorrow.

Come on, for the school, deron!

Come on down!

All right.

Ok.

All right.

You are a large mass.

I am a much smaller mass,

but with a lower
center of gravity.

Now let's check out
this equilibrium principle.

It's your funeral, man.

Yeah.

Maybe so.

On 3.

Flying clef! Dog blue!

90!

Set!

Hut, hut,

Hut.

Come on, don't laugh.

Some of the greatest
of scientific discoveries

have been made in
exactly the same way.

Like, the lever.

Archimedes once said,

"Give me a place to stand,
and I will move the world."

Archimedes, huh?

Sounds like a cool dude,
but, uh, who does he play for?

I'm telling you, deron, if
you tune in to this stuff,

there's no telling
how far you'll go.

Before and after the super bowl.

Remember, class, tomorrow
we'll be in the science lab.

Mr. MacGyver's going
to show you a few things

About earthquakes that
will really shake you up.

Talk about your hands-on
teaching techniques.

I've never seen my
remedial class so turned on,

I thought it was dumb.

Tony milani.

One of our, uh, tougher cases.

Seems bright. What's he
doing in a remedial class?

Good question.

I'm afraid Tony's
well on his way

to becoming one
more of our country's

700,000 dropouts this year.

Come on. I want to
show you something.

Vicki, there are still ways
you can finish high school

And get your diploma.

You know my door is always open.

Let's talk about it, ok?

Pregnant at 15.

Probably won't graduate.

Now you know how
high school principals

spend their valuable time.

Well, your foundation

wanted a school with
a high dropout rate,

you've got it.

I hear you, Mrs.
Juarez, believe me.

If our pilot program
can work here at dillard,

maybe we can turn our schools

Into places where
kids want to be.

- Wouldn't that be lovely.
- Come here!

Hey, you two!

Take those off! No gang
colors. You know the rules.

And no running!

You're not on the
street, this is a school.

MacGyver, do you
have the feeling that, uh,

we have our work cut out for us?

As you can see, these kids love
the science scholarship competition.

Well, when MacGyver
reminded the Phoenix board

that our country was rated
with third world nations

in quality of
scientific education,

they sat up and took notice.

Believe
me, we appreciate it.

Don't know what
we'd do without it.

Here, let me show you
some of the exhibits.

Now, Mike
is on the creative side.

Wait till you get a load
of his high voltage exhibit.

Oh, that's doctor,
uh, what's his name?

Yeah, he's getting
a real charge out of this.

That's wild.

Looking good, Mike.

Hey, you did it!

This jerk used this
to wreck my project!

Yo!

Hey, hey, hey. Come on! Come on!

All right, all
right, break it up.

Settle down, come on!

Welcome to the real
world of public education.

Did you rig this thing?

Yeah. What of it?

Nothing. It's just
pretty clever, that's all.

And I'm kind of curious as to why
you didn't enter your own science project

instead of wrecking
somebody else's?

Because he's a master
at tearing down anything

and everything that's decent.

Last week he blew
up his gym locker.

That's how he gets
attention. Right, Tony?

Let's go, milani.

What is this?

Security men with handcuffs
and guns? I don't believe it.

I'm afraid it's a way
of life around here now.

You Phoenix people with
your namby-pamby quick fixes!

You should come down
from your ivory towers

Once in a while and
get in touch with reality!

Hey, I think we
know the reality, ok?

What you need to do is stop
coddling troublemakers like milani.

He's a lost cause. Give it up.

Worry about the
kids who give a damn.

All right. Come on,
back in class. Come on.

Who was that guy?

George fraley.

He's our toughest critic.

Hey, milani!

The school just called. They
want you down there again.

It's that kid of mine. He's
always getting in trouble.

We're losing too
much money on this project.

2 weeks behind schedule.

You know what that's
costing me, buck?

What do you suggest?

Well, you're the
foreman, be creative.

You know what I mean.

Well, I know the
books were already ordered.

Hey, MacGyver! Good news.

I tracked down that
equipment you wanted.

For tomorrow?

Oh, that's great, Gus. Thanks.

Nick milani. I got
a call about my kid.

So what do you gotta
say this time, huh?

You look at me when
I'm talking to you!

In here, Mr. Milani.
You, too, Tony.

Hey, when are you
gonna listen to me?

You don't wanna be in school,

You quit, and get
yourself a decent job.

Hope.

We don't provide
potential dropouts

With a sense of hope.

A belief in themselves.

And how else are
they going to feel

Or know that they can make it?

Which brings us to the most
important phase of operation uplift.

The mentor program.

Now we make it
work here at dillard,

and it could breathe new life

Into this nation's entire
public school system.

It could have a real impact.

Now quite simply,
the mentor program

pinpoints the potential
dropout before it's too late.

And then assigns 2
positive role models

who take a very active
and personal interest

In his or her scholastic career.

Wouldn't higher
fences be a lot cheaper?

Not really.

The mentor program
doesn't cost anything.

Just a little time

And a lot of
old-fashioned caring.

Oh, come on.

Old-fashioned means

spare the rod
and spoil the child.

What you're proposing is pure and
simple nouveau pap. And you know it.

The only thing we
know for sure right now

Is that the dropout
rate is skyrocketing.

You said 2 mentors
to each student?

That's right. One is a teacher

And the other is a volunteer
role model from the community.

And they work together to
provide positive reinforcement.

After looking over the files,

Mr. MacGyver
suggested a student that

That we feel would make
an excellent first subject.

Who?

Tony milani.

You've got to be kidding.

You just suspended him.

His actions were inexcusable.

Sure they were.

But then, maybe no
one ever showed him

a positive way to attract
attention. Did you ever think of that?

So, we're going to
unsuspend Tony.

And really put the
mentor program to the test.

So, who are the 2
mentors going to be?

Mr. MacGyver asked if he could
serve as the community representative.

And the teacher mentor?
Who would that be?

I'd sure like to work
with George fraley.

Just for the record, MacGyver,

I am not here by choice.

If it wasn't for Mrs. Juarez...

George, will you relax?

We've got a real
opportunity here.

Opportunity?

This is ridiculous.

I'm paid to teach,
not play nursemaid.

Yes?

Mrs. Milani?

I'm Mr. Fraley, this
is Mr. MacGyver.

We're from dillard high school.

We'd like to talk to Tony.

Who is it, Sophie?

2 men from school.

They want to see Tony.

Please, come in.

If it's about my kid,
there's nothing to say.

Uh, we think
there is, Mr. Milani.

Yeah, so what's this all about?

Well, just what it says.

Tony's suspension
has been lifted.

Right. So it's lifted.

So he can keep
on humiliating us.

Pulling all 'em dumb
stunts, flunking his classes.

Costing me or his
mother half a day's work

every time we got
to run over there

Just to listen to some pencil pusher
read us the riot act. No way, pal.

He's 16, let him get a job.

Nick, they came all this way.

Let them talk to the boy.

Sure.

Sure, why not? I just
pay the rent around here.

Don't mind my husband.

He's a good man, but
stubborn, you know.

Tony's in the basement.
I'll show you the stairs.

Hey, Tony.

In case you're interested,

your suspension has been lifted.

Didn't my old man tell you?

I ain't coming back,
I'm going to work.

Thermocouple
amplifier, not too shabby.

"Introduction to
electrical engineering."

You want to be an engineer?

I use it as a doorstop, ok?

Pays a lot more than $6
an hour, that's for sure.

Come on, MacGyver,
we're just wasting our time.

Yeah. Listen to the man.

All right, fine.

You want to throw away
your talent, no problem.

- What talent?
- What do you mean, "what talent?"

These sketches, that crazy
remote control you invented.

Now come on, Tony,
you're not gonna be happy

Flipping burgers all your life.

What do you know?

I know that if
you stay in school

You at least got a shot at
being what you want to be.

Now, come on. I'll see you in science
lab tomorrow. What do you say, huh?

A lot of good that did.

We'll see.

Yeah, right.

You think that kid's going
to show up, you're dreaming.

All right! Fraley, I'll
make you a little wager.

Tony doesn't show up tomorrow,

You're off the hook as a mentor.

What's the catch?

If he does, you run the
program after I leave.

- You're on.
- All right.

Well,

Looks like you lost
that bet, MacGyver.

Maybe not.

Hey, just thought i'd,
uh, see what's shaking.

That's great.

Yeah.

So how's your
dad feel about this?

He don't know about this. He
thinks I'm out looking for a job.

You want me to talk to him?

No, no, uh, I'll do
it. I just have to, uh,

I have to pick the right time.

Need some help?

Yeah. Grab an end.

Watch your back.

Tony, right in front
of this counter.

All right.

All right, kids, let's
gather round here.

Ok, now for a little
earthquake technology.

MacGyver.

Can anybody tell
me what that thing is?

A martian toothbrush.

No. Actually, what it's called
is a nuclear densometer.

It's used to measure
soil compaction or density

By sending out
radioactive particles.

Tony? You want to help me out?

Set that probe in
the sample there?

Yeah, sure.

That's it. Now, just
squeeze the handle.

Get the probe to
go down in there.

All right, now flip that top
switch and get a reading on it.

Got one.

All right, same
process. New sample.

Get a reading?

Ok. Now the soil samples
appear to be the same.

But the readings will show

that the density of the
soil sample on the right

is twice as great as
the one on the left.

Can anybody tell me why that
information might be important?

To see how much punishment
a football field can take.

That's wrong.

Anybody else want
to take a guess?

What about using
it in construction?

To see how far down
pilings should go

so a building won't
collapse in an earthquake?

You've got it.

All right! Milani!

Tony!

Shame on you! You
scared me to death.

What's that?

That is the readmittance
slip to all my classes.

I am not even on
probation this time.

Oh, Tony! That
makes me so happy.

Tony, is that you?

Yeah, pop.

Pop, get a load of this.

Your son, he's got good news.

Yeah, well, I got better news.

One of the men got hurt down
at the construction site today.

They needed a replacement so,
uh, I pulled a favor to get you the job.

$10 an hour and you don't
even have to apprentice.

What do you think of that, huh?

Huh, Tony, isn't that great?

Just heard from Washington.

The education department is
sending out an observer next week.

That's great.

Maybe not so great.

The mentor program may not
have much for your observer to see.

- What are you talking about?
- Mrs. Juarez, she just told me.

Tony milani has dropped
out of school for good.

That's the way it
is, in the real world.

Well, onward and upward.

How's it coming, Nick?

Hey, I'm going as
fast as I can, buck.

Concrete seems thinner
than the stuff we tested.

Don't worry about it.
How's your kid doin'?

Well enough you
shouldn't be asking.

Yeah, but just keep it that way.

Yeah, right over there.

Hey, Tony.

What are you doing here?

I was gonna ask
you the same thing.

What happened?

Hey, man, $10 an hour happened.

Steady. A down payment on a car.

Money in my pocket for a change.

No teachers bugging me, ok?

Is that you talking
or somebody else?

Come on, Tony,
you're a bright kid.

You could do whatever you want.

I am doing what I want.

Is that true? Really?

Here.

I got these engineering
scholarship forms

from the guidance office.

Come on, man, with my marks?

No, with your imagination.
Will you take a look?

Come on.

Those awards are based
on designs, not marks.

What if I ain't interested?

Then that's your choice.

If this is really what you
want for yourself, great.

That's no crime.

But if it isn't,

if you wake up 30 years from now

and all you are
is 30 years older,

that is a crime.

Hey, you! Hey, MacGyver,
can't you read? No trespassing.

I was just talking to Tony

about coming back
to school, Mr. Milani.

Yeah, well, the
talk's over. Get lost.

The kid is only 16 years old.

He'll be 17 next week. Now
beat it. You, back to work.

And you, you leave my kid alone.

I guess I'm out of here.

Look, if you need anything...

I won't.

It's cool, ok?

You're building
on landfill, clovis.

Your pile ratio is off.

By how much?

Good 10%.

That's not to mention
the other deficiencies.

Concrete mix,
rebar size and grade.

Forms.

Come on, Barney,
I'm behind schedule.

What do you expect me
to do, tear all this down?

Buck, trust me.
You're below specs.

Look, Barney, you got
to give me a break here.

We never had a
code violation before.

On second thought,

maybe some of
my figures are off.

Come on. I'll
buy you a cup of coffee.

Pop!

Hey, Tony, you
finish up already?

Pop, I think you
better read this.

Yeah, what is it?

It's about the job specs. Clovis
was talking to the inspector

- and what they were saying...
- Where'd you get this?

In a waste basket. Look
what it says there, pop.

It says you're nosing into stuff

you got no business nosing into.

Now you get back to work
and mind your own business.

But, pop, the pile ratio,
y-y-you think it's all right?

Pile ratio, huh?
Listen to him. Pile ratio.

A few days on the job and he
thinks he's already a hotshot engineer.

Pop, I just thought...

Well, stop thinking,
that's not your job!

Cleaning up the site,
that's your job, you got that?

Now get back to
work, you hear me?

Problem, milani?

No, my kid, he was
dumping out the trash.

Came across this
old inspection form.

He thought it might have
been something important.

Well, is it?

Hey,

what do either one of us know
about this kind of stuff, huh?

I didn't even bother to read it.

Working pretty late,
aren't you, Mr. Fraley?

Yeah, tell me about it.

Well, good night.

Good night, Blake.

What are you doing
here? It's almost midnight.

Oh, Mrs. Juarez
wanted a report on Tony.

Ah, the mentor
program's first big success.

No.

Just another fine example of how
the system has failed kids like Tony.

You know, you're part
of that system, fraley.

Wait a minute!

Who are you to judge?

Let me tell you something
about the system.

You think you're so idealistic.

When I first started teaching,

I was Albert schweitzer,
Martin Luther King,

Bobby Kennedy,
all rolled into one.

Full of innovative ideas!

Excited about turning kids
on to their own potential.

Race, color, poverty,
the drug scene,

they weren't a problem,
I had all the answers.

What happened?

This is what happened.

I have one drawer

And a desk that I have to
share with 2 other teachers.

No homeroom of my
own. 45 kids in a class!

Not enough
textbooks to go around.

A day that starts
with 20% teaching

And 80% just
trying to keep order.

$2,000 in the bank, and
a mortgage that won't quit.

You saying it's not worth it?

All I am saying is that

I am your average overworked,

underpaid, under
appreciated teacher

whose biggest
thrill is to discover

a senior who could find
Washington, D.C. on a map

and spell the word "necessary!"

And I was gonna
change the world.

George, you've got
every right to be bitter,

but you can still
make a difference.

How?

By not taking your
frustration out on these kids.

Look,

obviously the system needs help,

and both you and Tony milani

are getting the
short end of the stick.

Ok. So tell me,
what more can I do?

For starters,

get back in touch

With the George
fraley who used to care.

Hey, you!
Stop! Hold it! Stop!

Stop right there!

Whoa, whoa,
slow down, slow down.

Wait! Wait! Wait a minute
now! What's going on?

This punk broke
into the science lab.

I was not trying
to steal anything.

I just wanted to borrow
that nuclear thing.

I think somebody's
gonna get hurt.

Come on, kid, let's go.

Hey, come on, just
take it easy, will you?

Can we talk to him privately?

Ok. Uh, it's all right, Blake.

I'll take responsibility,
thank you.

Now, what's this about
somebody getting hurt?

Down at
the construction site,

I saw the foreman
give the inspector

An envelope of money
to ignore some violations.

What?

That's when I remembered
that thing you showed us in class.

The... the densometer.

How they measure soil
compaction so that everything's safe.

Wait a minute.

Did you tell
somebody about this?

I did.

I told my old man. I even
showed him the inspector's report.

He... he pretended like
there was nothing wrong.

Did he read that report?

Yeah.

Yeah.

You want me to say it?

Ok.

My dad's in on it.

Now wait a minute, Tony.

Before you go judging your dad,

Why don't we make sure
exactly what was on that paper?

Forget it.

I saw the foreman burn it after
my dad gave it to him. It's too late.

Maybe not.

George, would you ask
Blake to keep the school open?

Sure, you got it.

- All right, we'll be back. Come on.
- Okay.

The paper's in that butt can
by the cement walls down there.

All right.

I'll work around back.

What do you want me to do?

Keep an eye on the guard.

Any problems,

Use that imagination of yours.

Who's there?

Hey, you!

Excuse me, could I
borrow your flashlight?

Skip, is that you?

What are you doing here?

I lost my wallet.

At 3:00 in the
morning? You're putting me on.

No, I bought a cup of
coffee off the truck this afternoon.

This is the last
place I could think of.

Hey, come on, could you sleep

Not knowing if you just
lost your first paycheck?

Hey, what's this?

That's it.

You saved my life,
skip. Thanks a lot.

You have a good night now.

The foreman must have
known this report could ruin him.

But you can't
read it, it's burned.

Well, sometimes things
are hidden under the surface.

You just got to know
how to bring them out.

What are you doing?

Glycerol.

It'll soften the ash.

Want to check that darkroom?

Need a camera with
some infrared film.

How'd you learn
to do all this stuff?

How do you think?

Is there a tripod around here?

Yeah. Set the camera up.

What's with the light?

It'll bring out the phosphorescent
properties in the ink.

Well?

You were right.

According to this,
that construction site

Is a disaster waiting to happen.

Low pile ratio?

Substandard supports,
concrete, the whole works.

We better let your
dad know about this.

He read that report already. I
showed it to him, remember?

You showed it to him, Tony,
but I don't think he read it.

What?

Tony, I don't think your
father knows how to read.

What? I-i-I've seen him read.

No. I think that's just an act.

I first suspected it
when he looked at

the school reinstatement form.

And then he completely
misread a sign out at the site.

Why would he fake it?

I don't know. Maybe he's
ashamed, angry at himself.

Maybe he's afraid of what
people would think if they knew.

MacGyver, if you're
right, that means

he's not in on the scam.

Your father's a very proud man,

but I don't think he's a crook.

His shift started at 6:00.
Come on, we'd better tell him.

We just finished
the corner section.

As soon as milani's done,
we're gonna pour secondaries.

I figure we're just
about back on schedule.

Where there's a will
there's a way, huh, buck?

Hey, hey,

- what is that?
- What's that?

It's moving!

Call the fire department!

Give me a hand!

There's Nick under there.

Hey!

Need some help.

You all right?

Where's my pop?

He's trapped in there!

Pop! Are you
there? Are you ok?

Come on guys, help me move
this thing. My dad's in there!

Pop, answer me! Answer me!

I-If you can hear me,
answer me, please!

Pop! Pop, don't be
hurt. Please, answer me!

Pop! Pop!

Pop! Pop!

Tony, wait. Listen.

That's him. He's alive.

MacGyver, we gotta do something.

All right, it looks like we've
got a fulcrum under here,

but we're gonna
need more leverage.

All right, some of you men
give me a hand with this beam.

Come on,
you guys, let's move!

Come on, guys, my
dad's under there. Hurry up!

Feed it through the rebar.

Easy, easy.

All right, gently,
get your weight on it.

Come on, come
on, lend a hand now.

Rock it up, nice and slow.

Come on. Go. Come on.

Let it come. Come on.

Easy.

All right, hold it right there.

All right. Let it down.

You might not
want to move around too much

Till the paramedics
look you over.

You ok, pop?

The two of you saved my life.

Tony, you didn't come home
last night, I thought maybe you...

Pop, we came to
show you something.

What is it?

MacGyver and me, we
restored the inspection report.

It shows all the reasons
why this place is falling apart.

All right, gentlemen,

You might want to stick around.

I think you've got some
questions to answer.

Tony, I...

I got to tell you
something about me.

No.

No, you don't, pop. I know.

I love you, pop.

You gotta know that.

I love you.

MacGyver! Good news.

My pop's being released
from the hospital this morning.

That's great, Tony.

And something else.

We had a long talk about,
you know, the reading,

and he decided to start
taking night classes.

Well, that is really
good. Congratulations.

Uh, maybe he could use a
tutor to help him get started.

You got somebody
in mind, George?

Yeah. I just might.

Somebody who's getting
excited about education again.