New MacGuyver - Female Lead

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.