Fixing Cars

Two Hundred Fifty Third Post: Fixing Cars

When he was young, my dad could take apart his car and fix it without any training on what to do. He would go through what he thought was wrong. He would then take it apart and pay close attention to how it went together. He remember the placement of the parts, replace what was wrong, and then reassemble the engine.

This is a talent to take apart a machine and fix it without knowledge of the machine other than how it came apart. Unfortunately it is a talent that is rare today especially with the new cars electronic systems. You have to know the electronic system before you can repair almost anything in the car.

I have read some fan fiction of Macgyver and noted that Macgyver needs modernized. I don’t mean to start a new show. I mean to start more fan fiction or a comic book. On the last Macgyver show he met his son. There was just so much more possibilities for the show once his son was added. This is why there has been some fan fiction.

There is only one problem that is hard to create in new shows and that is the “Macgyver scenarios.” The technical aspects of Macyver solving problems or escaping a situation take some knowledge and a lot of research to describe. For example if in a modern episode Macgyver had to hack a computer, Macgyvers audience wants the details of how it was done. All the details don’t have to be explained, but the explanation must be more than: “Macgyver types the password.” Macgyver fans want to know how he figured the password and why the computer was so easy to hack.

The Macgyver show did feature advanced technology for the 1980s and it also featured Macgyver using electronics. But compared to today when everything is electronic, new puzzles and problems are waiting to be explored. This does open a lot of creative opportunity for writes and comic artists. The old episodes of Macgyver are now on DVD for research and reference. The characteristic that I noticed on the fan fiction was lack of technical detail. If you, the writer, could make interesting enough puzzles and problems to solve and write a story around that, your story would stand out amongst the others.

But until Murdoc comes back to challenge Macgyver... May the Creative Force be with You