The Unaired MacGyver Reboot Pilot was filmed in 2016. I’m still trying to find new material for you – which is not easy. In this series of blog posts, I write about the first draft of the Unaired Pilot Script.
(Minor Spoiler Alert: You might get spoilered about the Unaired Pilot storylines and characters. For daily news and discussions, you can find me on Twitter and on the MacGyverOnline Forums.)
If you missed previous posts about the Unaired Pilot, here’s a quick overview:
- Part I (Origins)
- Part II (Promo Material)
- Part III (BtS Photos, Part 1)
- Part IV (BtS Photos, Part 2)
- Part V (Storyboard, Part 1)
- Part VI (Storyboard, Part 2)
- Part VII (Storyboard, Part 3)
- Part VIII (Storyboard, Part 4)
- Part IX (Official Stills)
- Part X (The Script, Part 1)
- Part XI (The Script, Part 2: Earl and David)
- Part XII (The Script, Part 3: Gunner / Hunter)
- Part XIII: (The Script, Part 4: Lincoln)
- Part XIV (The Script, Part 5: Mickey)
This might be the last post in this series. It takes a lot of time and effort, yet the posts don’t get many hits anymore.
The Unaired Pilot Script
A short recap: The Unaired Pilot was filmed in April and May of 2016; based on a script written by Paul Downs Colaizzo and directed by David Von Ancken. I’ve never managed to find the pilot itself or its 20-minute-promo-cut for the Upfronts.
The first draft of the script is dated February 26, 2016. As mentioned in this blog post regarding the script, there were heavy rewrites between the first draft and the filming process. But in case the promo cut (or even the full episode) ever gets released, I will omit some of the most spoilery lines and plot twists.
The Character: Sipps
In the Opening Gambit of the first draft, we meet Angus “Mac” MacGyver (Lucas Till) just before escaping a cave in Pakistan. It’s been five years since he was taken as POW (prisoner of war).
MacGyver returns to Portland and tries civilian life; moving back into his old bedroom at Grandpa Earl’s and helping out in the hardware store. One day, there’s a robbery. Or was it terrorism? The police and Mac’s friends think he’s just paranoid and seeing danger everywhere; being a POW and all.
MacGyver meets Lincoln while attending a veteran support group meeting. Lincoln reveals to Mac that he worked for the CIA, was removed from his position a while ago, and that his boss used to be Agent Croix (who had approached Mac in the hospital with a job offer). He also tells Mac that he tried several times to rescue him without success.
We later learn that Lincoln has a daughter named Sipps who’s also an agent. They have a rather rocky relationship. After realizing that Lincoln isn’t full-on crazy, Mac lets Lincoln help him investigate the case alongside Sipps while also involving his ex-girlfriend Mickey and best friend Gunner (who’s now dating Mickey).
Lincoln suggests to break into the Portland Police Department to look at the evidence. In the midst of the investigation, there’s a little plot twist for the audience; hinting at Lincoln knowing MacGyver’s father David (who died during Desert Storm). Later, Agent Croix reveals to Mac that Lincoln was fired after using illegal means to bring Mac home.
When Lincoln confesses to MacGyver that he was with David when he died, Mac doesn’t take the news well. He’s very disappointed that he was lied to (or rather, never told why Lincoln was so intent on helping him. Although he never asked about it, either).
While MacGyver ghosts them both, Lincoln and Sipps keep investigating. It doesn’t take long for them to meet again in rather unfortunate circumstances: Mac found bombs planted inside and near the mall. Mickey and Gunnar (plus many civilians and Army vets) are in danger.
Of course, the team saves the day. But MacGyver still has some unanswered questions about things that happened while he was a POW and who was behind it.
At the end of the script, MacGyver, Lincoln and Sipps join the new task force by Agent Croix; going on their first mission to save a little girl.
As with the other characters, there’s not much character development for Sipps. She’s written as a blank slate, so that the writers could have turned her either into a potential love-interest or into someone betraying the team or both. (Sounds familiar?)
Script versus Trailer
The character Sipps doesn’t exist in the Unaired Pilot Teaser Trailer shown at the Upfronts. Sipps is not listed on IMDb or in the character description provided by SpoilerTV. She also doesn’t show up in any of the storyboard excerpts I’ve seen.
As mentioned before, the teaser trailer has barely any resemblance to the first draft script. Sadly, I never managed to get a hand on the rewritten script used for filming. But in the trailer, Mickey (played by Addison Timlin) seems to be an algamation of the two main female characters (Mickey and Sipps) in the script.
It’s not clear if Lincoln was supposed to have a daughter in the version that was filmed, or if that was a character they would have brought in later in the season. I guess they wanted the female character joining the missions to be a hacker and not another experienced, weapons-trained agent.
Sipps versus Riley
While an Easter Egg at the end of the script hints at an OG character, none of the other characters (besides the lead hero) bear any resemblance to any OG characters. Sipps was a new character created by Colaizzo and apparently written out in later drafts (or set aside to being brought in for a later episode).
There’s a hacker in most of the CBS drama shows, and new showrunner Peter Lenkov was pressed for time to get the rebooted Reboot going. It seems that he still took the time to get back to the first draft, because his creation of hacker Riley Davis (played by Tristin Mays) is probably based on Sipps, not on Mickey.
Dashboard On Fire 