MacGyver (1985–1992): Season 6, Episode 16 - There But for the Grace - full transcript

Father, why don't you let me
come and help you with your rounds?

Please, Rachel, just
keep trying MacGyver

and let him know it's serious,
that I have to talk to him.

- I will, father.
- Tell him he's got to meet me

At the public hearing
tonight. If I'm late,

- tell him I said, "black and blue."
- "Black and blue"?

Just tell him. He'll understand.

Well, the meeting's at
8:00. And don't forget,

you're number
three on the agenda.

Excuse me, father.

Could you, uh, spare
a little extra change?



Well, I'm afraid I'm
short on cash, friend,

but I've got some sandwiches
and fruit in the bag...

Come on, mooney.

Get his wallet, watch,
rings, anything you can find.

Help me lift
him. Man, he's heavy.

Quit complainin'.
Just get him stripped.

Order! Please! Order! Please!

Order!

And I think it's shameful.

Because of the bleeding
heart mentality of this council,

the homeless situation
in our community

is now threatening
both the property values

and the lives of our citizens!

Get down, sit down!



Crime is up,
vandalism is rampant,

and citizens are accosted
every day on the streets

- By a growing army.
- Something's happened to father Jim, MacGyver.

His rounds never take this long.

Oh, relax, he'll show.

I'm worried, I can't help it.

He told me if he was late, I
was to tell you "black and blue."

Does that mean anything to you?

Has become
the main source...

Well, it's just a code
word from our hockey days.

We'd use it during a
game to protect each other

from the goons in the league.

In other words,
it's a call for help.

Like it or not,
this well-intentioned haven

has become a magnet
for all of the low-life

from miles around,
and is now threatening

the very quality of
life in our community!

Order! Please, quiet.

Ladies, gentlemen,

I've just received the
news that father Jim,

who was to be
with us this evening,

has been the
victim of a mugging,

And has been taken to memorial
hospital in critical condition.

Black and blue.

I heard you calling, Jim.

Danny.

Doc knows.

Find doc.

My papers...

It's bad. Need to...

All right, take it
easy. Take it easy.

You'll have to leave now.

Woman on pa system:
Mr. Merchant to admitting.

How is he?

Just hangin' on.
You got anything?

Well, a few prints,
that's about it.

Looks like a random
transient robbery.

They took everything
he had, even his shoes.

So, what's next?

Well, we'll pull some people
in, ask some questions,

keep our ears open,
hope we get lucky.

That's it?

I'm afraid so. I
wish it was different,

But we have very few lines of
communication into the homeless community.

Woman on pa system:
Dr. Carter, 4212...

Dr. Carter...

I'm very sorry.

You must be Rachel,
father Jim's assistant.

My name is Aaron sandler.

I just wanted to tell you how
very sorry I am for your loss.

Thank you, Mr. Sandler.

This is MacGyver, a
dear friend of father Jim's.

- A pleasure.
- Mr. Sandler.

I employ some of the
homeless at my plants.

I was just getting
to know the father.

Wonderful man.

Thank you.

You okay?

He taught me the
value of service.

He always used to say
there are no great things

to accomplish in this life,

Just small things
done with great love.

God bless you and keep you.

That's doc.

Another dear soul who
fell through the safety net.

Doc was one of
father Jim's favorites.

Are they going to find
his killer, MacGyver?

It's been three days, and the
police still don't know anything.

They're trying, Rachel.

I don't think they care.

Rachel, they care.

But lieutenant rhome said
the homeless are afraid

To come forward
and talk to the police.

Who do they talk to?

Each other.

Excuse me, fellas.

I'm lookin' for a guy named
doc. You heard of him?

Doc?

They say he's supposed
to be here someplace.

Nice talkin' to you.

Excuse me, ma'am.

I'm lookin' for a guy named doc.

Thank you very much.

Anybody home?

Talk fast, mister, and
don't even think about moving.

Take it easy, take it easy,
I'm not lookin' for trouble.

Who are you?

My name's grazer.

Wh-what are you doing here?

I'm looking for a guy
named doc, that's all.

Why?

'Cause
father Jim asked me to.

Just before he died.

What do you say
we talk this face to face, huh?

Sorry, doc, I didn't
mean to surprise you.

How do you know my name?

Saw you at the funeral.

What's the matter?

What's the matter with you?

I'm okay.

Yeah, you could've fooled me.

It's just, uh, just a
touch of asthma, asthma.

You were with father
Jim when he died?

Yeah, that's right,
at the hospital.

He mentioned your name.

What did he say?

Well, he said, uh, "doc."

He said, "doc knows. Find doc."

He also mentioned the
name of, uh, d-Danny.

Danny.

Look, doc,

I think our good friend

Was in some kind of trouble.
He never got a chance to tell me.

I won't know for sure until
I get to go through his stuff.

But I think somebody
might've murdered our friend.

I can't stay long, but, uh,

but I'll... I'll take you to
where Danny is. Come on.

Danny.

Danny can hardly take
care of himself, you know.

He's... he's got no business
being out on the street.

Why is he?

Oh,

a lot of people got
dumped with the cutbacks

in mental health spending.

It's just the way
it is, you know.

Father Jim took an
interest in Danny.

He even checked
up on his background

and really took
him under his wing.

And Danny responded, he... he
was blossoming with all that attention.

Hey, doc,

You got any idea who
might want to kill father Jim?

Nobody in his right mind.

Certainly not one
of the locals here.

I mean, this man, this man
came out here twice a week

With food and
blankets, medicine.

It just doesn't make sense.

There's Danny.

He totally withdrew
about four days ago.

He's nearly catatonic.

And nobody could figure out why.

And then we heard about
father Jim being killed...

Like somehow he knew.

Well, maybe he does.

Danny? Danny?

I... i want to introduce you

to a friend of father Jim's.

His... his name is... is grazer.

Hey.

Oh! Oh.

I have an appointment.
I have to go.

Hey, wait a minute, doc.

- Can't you stick around for a while?
- No, no, no.

I can't be late,
I can't be late.

Doc!

well, Danny,

I guess it's just
you and me, huh?

It's all right.

I won't come no
closer, all right,

I'll just go around
you. It's all right, relax.

Look, I'm just glad I got
a chance to meet you.

Father Jim mentioned
you last time I talked to him.

We were friends for
a long time, Danny.

I'm gonna miss him a lot.

Think we could be friends?

I think Jim would
have liked that.

Hey.

Hey, here, have a banana.

Go ahead, it's just a
little present for you.

All right, I'll tell you what, I'll
just leave it over here, okay?

In case you change your mind.

Uh, listen, Danny,

I gotta go find doc, all right.

But I'll be back.

Hey, doc?

Pretty girl.

It's my daughter Allison.

- That's your daughter?
- Yeah.

She's somethin'.

Her mother doesn't like
her to visit me down here,

But... but she sneaks out and comes
down here once a week, anyway.

Oh.

Where is it? I make her a
pin, and then I can't find it.

Oh, stupid, stupid,
stupid, stupid!

Stupid!

All right, doc,
relax. Take it easy.

Come on! Breathe.

In and out, come on.

Come on, sit down, get
yourself comfortable. Take it easy.

Asthma, huh? Right.

- Anxiety.
- No kidding.

I can't stand confrontations.

I just...

I just fall apart.

It used to be worse,
if you can imagine.

My students used to
see me in full bloom.

You had students?

I taught high school
English for 15 years.

Then I had my breakdown.

I just lost everything.

You know...

My job, my family,
insurance, everything.

And as you probably
know, it can happen fast.

One day you're... You're
a member of society,

and the next thing you
know, you're invisible.

All right, Danny,

you're not gonna believe this.

We got some cattail root

for starch.

We got miner's
lettuce for Greens

And we got some
mushrooms, some herbs.

We got some spices. We
got all kinds of stuff, you know.

We're gonna have some kind
of salad, or maybe some soup

if I put water to it. Do you
know what I'm talking about?

You know the best thing
about all this, Danny?

It's all growin'
right over there,

and it's free. Free of
charge. Free for the takin'.

Yeah, my grandpa
taught me how to do this.

Yeah, grandpa taught
me how to forage for food.

One time we were
on a campin' trip,

this bear ate all our food.
I got all wimpy scared,

but my grandpa, he said
to me, he says, "bud."

grandpa called me bud, I
could never figure that out,

but he says, "bud,

"we'll just go grazin'."

Grazin', grazer. Grazin',
get it? Yeah, right.

That's where I got my name.

Bright kid, all right.

Beautiful.

Hey, yeah. That's a t-stick.

A t-stick. Go
ahead, take a look.

It's an old Indian tool I use
for diggin' up roots and stuff.

Hey, hey, what's
the matter? Danny!

Take it easy.

Just a newspaper,
it can't hurt you.

What's the matter?

Somethin' in that picture
spooked you, didn't it?

Danny,

were you there?

Were you there when
they hurt father Jim?

Is that what scared you?

Is the guy who hurt father Jim,

Is his picture right there?

Yeah?

Show me, Danny.

Come on, show
me. He can't hurt you.

All right.

That's good, Danny.

You're a good man.

What?

No?

What?

No. What?

Two... there were two guys?

There was another guy...

Is that other
guy's picture here?

No, no, no, but there were two
guys, right? Two? Right, uh...

All right, Danny, what'd
these two guys do

After they hurt father Jim?

Come on, Danny, what happened?

All right, all right, all right,
take it easy. Take it easy.

Danny, you got to help
me on this, all right?

We'll play a game, all right?

A little game.

I want you to show me

what these guys did
after they hurt father Jim.

Uh, what?

They, uh, they were pumpin',
they were boxin', they were what?

Runnin'. They
were... They ran away!

Yeah, then what?

Then what happened,
Danny? Come on.

Uh...

They, uh, they were
drivin'. They, uh...

They were drive...
They stole a car, right?

No, they, uh, they
had a car! They, uh...

One, two, three guys?
There... there was another guy?

Three guys...

Another guy picked
'em up in a car, right?

Right? Uh...

Uh, the other guy, the third guy

picked 'em up in
a... a big car, right?

It was a big car.

What is that? What's that?

Somebody picked 'em
up in an expensive car?

Danny, you did it! Good man!

You did it! You did it!

What's going on?

Doc.

Doc, doc, do you know that guy?

Do you know him?

That-that's mooney.

Oh, he's bad news.
Oh, no, he's real mean.

Every time he comes to
the bridge, there's trouble.

Danny just identified him as
one of father Jim's attackers.

Any idea where I can find him?

The general area.

All right.

I want to find this mooney guy,

And I want you to start
digging through Jim's stuff.

I... i don't think I
can handle that.

Yes, you can.

You taught high school English.

Maybe you'll find something
that'll lead us to his killers.

Come on, doc. Give it a shot.

What do you say?

Hold it right
there! Both of you!

Th-thank god you're
here. He was babbling!

- He tried to mug me.
- No, that's a lie.

Shut up!

I was on my way home, I swear.

He jumped me. He pulled me
into the alley and tried to kill me.

That's a lie!

I said shut up!

There's a phone in the
office. Go phone the police.

- I'll watch him.
- No!

Thanks, man. Thanks a lot.

Don't let him walk away! I
just watched him knife a guy!

On the ground,
rub-dub, and spread 'em.

Are you listening to me at all?

On the ground, now!

Thank you, lieutenant.

I was starting
to feel invisible.

Sorry about that, MacGyver.

- The officers were just doing their job.
- Yeah.

And I might add, going
undercover and dressing this way

was your own choice.
What are you doing?

I'm trying to find out
who killed my friend.

I thought the best way to hook into
the homeless was to become one.

Naturally, you thought the
police weren't doing anything.

Naturally.

Well, you can come
in from the cold now.

MacGyver, checking out.

Looks like the case is closed.

- What?
- We got our man.

The guy you saw stabbed
is an ex-con named mooney

Who'd been living
on the streets.

He killed father Jim and then
died the same meaningless death.

No, sir. Uh-uh.
You're way off base.

MacGyver, he had father
Jim's shoes, coat, backpack.

He even had his wallet
with all the ID intact.

Lieutenant, mooney did
not die a random death.

I was there, I chased
the guy who killed him.

All right, I'm listenin'.

I have an eyewitness who
saw mooney and another guy

get picked up after
they killed father Jim.

Are you sure of that?

Yeah, I'm positive.

Well, that's great, then. We'll get
a statement and corroborate it...

That's gonna be a problem.

He'll never stand up as a reliable
witness. You'll need more evidence.

Well, you got any ideas?

Just this.

I'm telling you, this
guy saw me stick mooney.

He can finger me. We
have to deal with him.

There he is.

Well, well.

I believe I've already
had the pleasure.

He was dressing
differently at the funeral.

Mealtime, doc. You have to
take a break once in a while.

Oh, Rachel. Oh, thank you.

Mornin', doc. Sorry I'm late.

I spent the night
in the hoosegow.

Thank goodness,
MacGyver. I was worried sick.

What? What?

Uh, did you call him MacGyver?

- Oh, dear, I hope I haven't...
- It's all right, Rachel.

It's all right.

Why, I thought...

I thought your name was grazer.

I can explain, doc.

You lied to us.

You're not one of us, are you?

It's all a lie.

Doc, doc, relax.

This is all a lie.

Sit down, sit down, sit down.

- It's all a lie.
- Breathe, breathe, breathe, doc!

Stop it.

Take some breaths.
Come on, relax.

Now, I want you to listen to me.

I disguised myself
as a street person

Because I wanted
you to trust me.

Trust, trust you?

Why should... Why
should I trust you?

We-we're different here.
You're on the other side.

No, see, I don't believe that.

The only difference
between you and me

Is a little bit of
luck, that's all.

Aside from that,
we're both people.

We're made from the same stuff.

And we were both
friends of father Jim.

Doc, you've got to help me.

What?

I want us to be partners.

You see, I've got to
find out who killed Jim.

And I don't think I
can do it on my own.

You need me?

I can't think of a
better man for the job.

Rachel? Someone to see you.

Excuse me.

So, um,

you found anything?

Have i... have I found anything?

Wait till you see what I found.

Take... take a look
here. Take a look.

Mr. Sandler! What
a nice surprise.

Thank you, Rachel.

How can I help you?

I have a few ideas how I might
help you and the homeless.

Look, uh,

fox Meadow home kept
Danny's name on the rolls

A year after he was released.

And they also kept his medical
insurance checks, see, and... and...

And keep in mind that
he wasn't the only one.

There may have
been hundreds, huh?

That's some scam.

That has to be what Jim
stumbled onto. It all fits.

The guy... the guy was
discharging inappropriate patients

And ripping off
their state checks.

I mean, he... he probably
w-walk-walked off

with... with a million dollars.

Uh, doc,

did you read all this?

Well i... i read 2,000 words a
minute, with 100% comprehension.

2,000?

Yeah. But... but anyway,
I called Dr. Kessler,

and she used to run fox Meadow.

She filled me in on the owner.

His name is reuter,
Arthur j. Reuter.

Reuter, okay.

And... and... and get this.

Every patient care
home that he had

had a suspicious fire just
before he purchased it.

He bought 'em for a song,
he... he... he robbed 'em blind,

and... and then he
just, uh, bailed out.

And when the indictment
came down, he just disappeared.

He... he's probably running
his con somewhere else.

- Yeah, with a new identity...
- Mmm-hmm.

- Which Jim probably learned.
- Mmm.

Did you get a description?

No, no, the guy's very cagey.

He never came around the home,

and... and there are no
pictures of him anywhere,

not even in the fox Meadow care,

Uh, uh, uh, brochure.

We got to go through everything.

All of Jim's
books, his journals,

Photo albums, the whole thing.

You up to that?

Oh, it's a piece of cake.

It's like researching
a term paper.

Yeah.

Uh, I'm gonna see if I
can get lucky at the library.

Hey, doc.

Don't let anybody ever tell you

You don't work well
under pressure, okay?

MacGyver, Mr. Sandler just
gave us a wonderful donation.

That's great.

It's good to see you
again, Mr. Sandler.

I got to run. See you later.

- You've no idea how much this donation means.
- Oh...

If it wasn't for support from
people in the community like you,

this mission would
have died with father Jim.

What a senseless waste.

I know.

But young Danny,
one of our regulars,

We think he may
have seen it happen.

- I didn't know there was a witness.
- Oh, yes.

He saw two men do it, and
they were picked up by a third.

Which may prove it was
premeditated murder.

Incredible.

Rachel, I have a
proposition for you.

If you can spread
the word to Danny

and all his homeless friends in
the area to show up this afternoon,

I could have a whole truckload of
warm clothing here for everyone.

And you can use that
check for other things.

Are you serious?

Absolutely.

I'll have a truck
here in an hour.

All you have to do is
get the word around.

Oh, Mr. Sandler!

Yeah, that's mine.

Large.
Who needs a large?

I do.

I'll take a large.

Hi, Danny.

You want to try something
on? They're really nice.

No, please. Let
me take it to him.

Of course.

Uh, Mr. Sandler,
he doesn't speak.

Ah.

Hello, Danny.

Try this on, I
think you'll like it.

I'm glad we finally
had a chance to meet.

I was a close
friend of father Jim's.

Sandler!

Okay, you can stop worryin' about
father Jim now and everything else.

Come on, let's move it.

- Inside.
- Hey, can't we talk about this?

Talking's done, get in!

Over there.

What if I told you the police already
know about your boss, sandler?

Shut up and turn around.

I mean, he sent
you after mooney.

Who do you think he's
gonna send after you?

I said, shut up! Watch
your head, dummy!

Don't move!

Don't move!

Stay, stay, stay.

Arms out, arms out! Come on.

Stop, what are you doing?

What, are you crazy?

No, just a little nuts.

Stop it.

Let me out of here.

Keep it quiet.

Stick around.

Where's sandler?

- I think he was talking to Danny.
- What?

There, there, there they are.

- Oh, man.

MacGyver what's wrong?

Sandler.

He's reuter, he's the guy.

Come on, Danny, I want
to show you something.

Look around, Danny.

Bet you've never seen
anything like this before.

I wish I knew how much
you really saw, Danny.

It's a shame you can't tell me.

But that's the
way of life, isn't it?

I thought you might
like a souvenir, Danny.

I brought it for you.

This punished one of the
bad men who killed father Jim.

Here, Danny.

Go ahead, Danny, take it.

Pick up the knife, Danny. Now.

Don't do it, Danny!

Just back away. Go ahead.

Give it up, reuter,

sandler. Whatever your name is.

We got police on the way.

I don't suppose you're open
to negotiation, Mr. MacGyver.

Not a chance.

I had to ask.

After all, I am a businessman.

You can't very well
blame me for trying.

Gun!

It's just you and me, MacGyver.

I wouldn't count on
Danny helping you.

Why don't you come out and
make it easier on yourself?

Your options are limited.

Danny?

It's okay, Danny.

It's over.

Nobody's going to hurt you.

All right, Danny, doc
and I will come visit you

As soon as doctor Kessler
gets you all settled in.

I'll bring bananas, huh?

Th-thank you.

Put on your seat belt, huh?

Well, I know father Jim
is smiling on this day.

And I've got doc to help me now.

Uh, if we can afford him.

Couldn't have
found a better man.

I'll never forget you, MacGyver.

Bless you, doc.

Allison, I'll see you again.

Okay, bye.

Let's go and have
a proper visit, huh?

Okay, daddy.

You gave doc and Danny a
new chance at life, MacGyver.

You know, I still can't help but
wonder about those people out there

That fall through that
so-called safety net.

It's just a sad
fact of life today.

What can you do?

Refuse to accept it.