Project 3: Tribute to MacGyver, the King of Weird Science

Now our third and final project was a harder one to figure out. You see, the three of us were knee deep in advertising work and we didn't really have the amount of time that we wanted to brainstorm together. So, like all great, amazing, groundbreaking ideas, ours came when we least expected it. While flipping through the television channels one day, Keith and Eric both stumbled upon the Sci-Fi Channel's presentation of Stargate SG1, a science fiction show that was adapted from the much better movie, called Stargate, starring Kurt Russell. The television adaptation starred a salt and peppered Richard Dean Anderson, the actor that is most famous for his role in the uber-hit MacGyver.

Now what Kristi didn't know was that Eric and Keith were huge monster fans of MacGyver when they were children, and that this reoccurrence of Richard Dean Anderson or R.D.A. for short, was like a sign from above. Why? Because R.D.A. is the king of Weird Science! In any given episode, MacGyver could be seen using his intellect coupled with random household materials to escape certain doom. He built bombs out of chocolate bars and hot air balloons out of non hot air balloon-like items. Eric and Keith then went back to Kristi and with a little coaxing, coupled with the promise of hands on creativity, convinced her to develop a project that could be dedicated entirely to the King of Weird Science himself, MacGyver.

So now that we had our theme, we asked ourselves, what would MacGyver use to create a project about himself with? Answer: Metal, paint, wood, rope, glue, duct tape, marker, PVC piping, wire, etc. We went about making a sculptural and a mural-like representation of everything MacGyver had to stand for. We searched junk-yard after junk-yard, looking for the perfect item to construct MacGyver's head out of. Finally, we ventured into a supply yard down Cesar Chavez, and we discovered an old spherical metal wind spinning thingy that was just perfect for the task. That, coupled with some rope and an old cooking pan for a brain and Voila! Instant MacGyver.

Most of the supplies for our mural were obtained either from the Internet or from Home Depot, which is where R.D.A. would live if he was allowed to. We printed pictures, copied storylines and searched actor bios, looking for the appropriate themes and items that really defined what made Mac the Weird Science king. We're not sure what was more labor intensive, making the mural or transporting it down Burnett to campus. With a little speech preparation and some random sentences written for our metal Mac's brain, and our project was completed.

We appreciate everything you've done for us and look forward to hearing from the both of you in the future. Thank you for a great semester, you truly opened our eyes to a different world. If you ever need a print campaign or radio spot written for ActLab or for anything at all, you know where to look. Take care and thanks again,

Keith Napoleon
Kristi Flango
Eric Napoleon