10 TV Tech Geniuses Who Would Make MacGyver Proud

There are plenty of people out there who are good with computers or who can patch a cable or two, but then there are those like MacGyver, who can take some duck tape, a Q-Tip, and some lemon juice and make things explode.

The following ten individuals all fall somewhere in between. None of them can quite do it like MacGyver, but they are certainly light years ahead of the rest of us. If you ever find yourself trapped in a room with the walls literally closing in on you, these are people you want trapped with you, taking apart a ballpoint pen.

1. Michael Weston – Burn Notice

Not only does Michael Weston make the best out of impossible situations with whatever raw materials he can find; he will narrate all of the details to you so you can follow along. That includes making explosives from just about anything, not that you would ever need that knowledge.

2. Samantha Carter – Stargate SG-1

Sam was not your typical theoretical astrophysicist. She was an Air Force officer and a genius at fixing things with instruction manuals in strange alien languages. She once used the term “jerry rig” to describe her practice of mixing earth technology with the alien variety, and she made it look effortless.

3. Chloe Sullivan – Smallville

Dude, you are Superman. Why do you even need a sidekick? Oh right, Kryptonite. Chloe can hack into a toaster and make it recite Shakespeare, and she will use a clever play on words while she does it. She has protected Clark Kent from all sorts of evil and is the genius behind Watchtower, which the entire Justice League depends on to spy on everyone and save them from themselves.

4. Chloe O’Brien – 24

Another Chloe with a bit of an attitude, Ms. O’Brien defended Jack Bauer when no one else would, over and over again. In the most critical situations, when our country was about to be destroyed by terrorists, she seemed to be the only person in the entire Counter Terrorist Unit who knew what she was doing. She could control a missile launch with a Gameboy if she wanted.

5. Penny – Inspector Gadget

Make no mistake about it. Inspector Gadget was a moron. He couldn’t catch a cold in a daycare. But his niece Penny was a genius who could make her little computer book do anything (almost like Dora and her magic backpack). With the help of her dog Brain, also smarter than Inspector Gadget, she repeatedly saved the day from the evil Dr. Claw.

6. Chief Miles O’Brien – Star Trek: Next Generation / Deep Space Nine

Another O’Brien, this time from Star Trek, the Chief was a war veteran with a taste for liquor and old war holosuite programs. But on duty, he managed to keep an alien space station running that clearly did not want them there. He could also fix anything on any ship at any time. He never once uttered the phrase, “I just can’t do it, Captain”.

7. Seamus Harper – Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda

Harper was so in love with his space ship that he created a hot, incredibly life-like female avatar for it. He also could hook his brain up to any machine and work on it directly, no need for keyboard input. No matter what kind of situation the crew of Andromeda found themselves in, Harper could fix it.

8. Henry Deacon – Eureka

Supposedly, Henry just runs a car repair shop, but when it comes time to fix the inter-dimensional space thingamajig that someone created and let go awry, Henry is the guy everyone knows to call. His knowledge of physics, engineering, and many other sciences is clearly superior to most other people in Eureka, yet he is often the last person they consult, probably for dramatic effect.

9.Howard Wolowitz – The Big Bang Theory

He lives with his mother and is probably a stalker when it comes to women, but you cannot deny that Wolowitz is pretty darn good with gadgets. Granted, most of his time is spent creating things to spy on women and other seedy tasks, but he also worked on the Mars exploration rover and a Jupiter satellite.

10. Alec Hardison – Leverage

Alec Hardison is a criminal, and a darn good one. He can hack into anything with his mobile phone and often carries around an EMP gun just for fun. On the Leverage team, they are actually good guys, and Hardison is the one who can get the team out of difficult situations, even from afar.

Are any of these people on par with MacGyver? That is doubtful, but all of them would probably make old Mac smile, maybe even laugh.

Tavis J. Hampton is a senior staff writer for All Blogs Considered and loyal MacGyver fan who recognizes the outstanding MacGyver-like skills of techs at Manchester dedicated hosting company 34SP.com. He too can fix anything, but it’ll cost you.

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Posted by Eric on May 20 2011 Filed under TELEVISION. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry