This Is Why The Original MacGyver Had To Be Canceled

MacGyver was successful enough that it ran for seven seasons on ABC, wrapping up in April 1992. Two made-for-TV movies followed in 1994, and an attempt at a Young MacGyver series with a pilot filmed (but not aired) in 2003, but that didn't pan out.

Besides the brain, MacGyver made serious physical demands on its lead, Richard Dean Anderson. Already an athlete — he'd aspired to professional hockey in his youth — he often performed his own stunts in the first few years, though that commitment tapered off as the series went on, partly because of injuries he suffered. His co-star, Dana Elcar, went blind from glaucoma, and although that was written into the series, it still took a toll.

The show performed solidly for the network, but was never a ratings monster. The network pulled the plug after seven seasons. As Anderson told TV Guide in 1997, "The only reason it went off the air was that everybody was ready to move on. I was physically exhausted and had no life." Not even duct tape can fix that.

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