| MacGruber | |
|---|---|
 Logo and screenshot during the opening |
|
| Format | Action Comedy |
| Created by | Jorma Taccone |
| Written by | Will Forte John Solomon Jorma Taccone |
| Directed by | Jorma Taccone John Solomon |
| Starring | Will Forte (2006- ) Maya Rudolph (2007) Kristen Wiig (2008- ) Richard Dean Anderson (2009- ) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (as of January 10, 2010) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Studio 8H, GE Building, Rockefeller Center New York City, New York |
| Running time | Approx. 1 Minute |
| Production company(s) | Broadway Video SNL Studios |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Saturday Night Live (2006- ) Super Bowl XLIII (2009) |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original run | January 20, 2007 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | MacGyver |
MacGruber is a recurring sketch on the NBC television series Saturday Night Live, first appearing on the show in January 2007. The sketch stars Will Forte as special operations agent MacGruber, who is tasked in each episode with deactivating a ticking bomb but becomes distracted by personal issues, resulting in the bomb's detonation and the deaths of his companions and himself. The sketch is a parody of the 1985-1992 adventure series MacGyver.
MacGruber's paradox has led to a film based on the character, expected to be released in May 2010.
Contents |
The character of MacGruber was created by SNL writer Jorma Taccone. The sketches are written by Forte, Taccone and John Solomon and directed by Taccone, except for the March 2008 and May 2008 installments, which were directed by Solomon.
In the sketch's first appearance of each SNL episode, MacGruber finds himself and his assistants trapped in a control room with a ticking time bomb. MacGruber's female assistant (played in 2007 by Maya Rudolph and later by Kristen Wiig) and another assistant (usually played by that week's SNL host) "recap" their situation, explaining that they are in an abandoned mine, abandoned factory, or other adventure-type setting, and that the bomb will detonate in twenty seconds. As he attempts to deactivate the bomb, MacGruber calls for people to pass him ordinary objects such as rubber bands or bubble gum wrappers (a reference to the sorts of objects typically used by MacGyver in devising a way out of a jam), but MacGruber inevitably loses focus before finishing the job and the bomb explodes, ending the sketch.
The sketch typically reappears for a second or third installment later in the episode, with the characters appearing none the worse for wear but MacGruber growing increasingly unhinged and his assistants becoming more disillusioned in his capabilities. Each installment ends with the bomb's detonation.
Some of the personal issues that have distracted MacGruber and prevented him from stopping the bomb include alcoholism, racism, his son's homosexuality, losing his savings in the stock market, and his fear of aging (for which he receives botched plastic surgery from South American doctors).
During the January 31, 2009 episode of SNL, MacGyver star Richard Dean Anderson appeared with Forte in three Pepsi commercials designed to resemble MacGruber sketches.[1] In the commercials, MacGyver complains about the poor job MacGruber is doing and accuses him of being a sellout. The commercials were later included as part of the SNL episode on Hulu.
In the second commercial, later re-aired during Super Bowl XLIII, MacGruber and MacGyver are locked in the control room of an "illegal supply ship", where MacGruber becomes distracted by the temptation of Pepsi and announces he has changed his name to "Pepsuber." In the third commercial, the MacGruber theme song lyrics and MacGruber's dialogue have been replaced by the single word "Pepsi" repeated over and over.
Anderson returned to SNL on the March 7, 2009 episode, in which it was revealed that MacGyver is actually MacGruber's long-lost father (making the latter's full name "MacGruber MacGyver") who left his mother (Abby Elliott) for a stripper when MacGruber was a baby.
| Character | Played By | First Appearance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacGruber | Will Forte | January 20, 2007 | The main character; a spoof of MacGyver. |
| Casey | Maya Rudolph | January 20, 2007 | MacGruber's assistant. |
| Vicky | Kristen Wiig | March 15, 2008 | MacGruber's assistant; replaced Casey. |
| Original Airdate | Guest Star | Character | Distraction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 January 2007 | Jeremy Piven | Jojo | Assistants refuse to pick up a dog turd. |
| 12 May 2007 | Molly Shannon | April | Alcoholism |
| 6 October 2007 | Seth Rogen | Caleb | Fear of aging |
| 15 March 2008 | Jonah Hill | Isaac | Co-worker gossip |
| 15 March 2008 | Bill Hader[Note 1] | MacGruber's life coach | Co-worker gossip |
| 10 May 2008 | Shia LaBeouf | Merrill, MacGruber's son | Son's homosexuality |
| 10 May 2008 | Andy Samberg[Note 1] | Scott, Merrill's secret boyfriend | Son's homosexuality |
| 18 October 2008 | Josh Brolin | Kyle | Loss of stock market investments |
| 31 January 2009 | Richard Dean Anderson | MacGyver | Bickering with MacGyver / Pepsi obsession |
| 7 March 2009 | Richard Dean Anderson | MacGyver | Father issues |
| 10 January 2010 | Charles Barkley | Darrel | Racism |
In June 2009, Will Forte confirmed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that a MacGruber film was being written by Forte, Taccone and Solomon. The film will star Forte, Wiig, Val Kilmer and Ryan Philippe, and is currently set for an April 16, 2010 release.
The film has stirred up controversy with Lee Zlotoff, creator of the TV series MacGyver, whose contract stipulates he retained the right to a film version of the TV series. His lawyer has sent several cease-and-desist letters and is currently meeting with litigators to determine a course of action. So far no suit has been brought.[3]
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