LIVE AND LEARN
Episode 5-13 [096]
15 January 1990
MacGyver reaches out to Tony Milani, a restless but promising high school student, as part of the Phoenix mentor program. MacGyver chooses George Fraley from the faculty as his partner. Fraley has become cynical about students over the years and doubts that counseling accomplishes anything. Tony's father, Nick Milani, has secured a job on the construction site for his son, encouraging him to drop out after getting into trouble at school. MacGyver and Fraley go to the Milani home, where Tony's mother Sophie tries to keep peace between MacGyver and her husband, who sees no use to Tony's education. After a day's work at the construction site, Tony tells MacGyver he overheard the owner bribing the building inspector. He got the legitimate form out of the trash and took it to his dad, but he showed no interest when looking at it. MacGyver surprises him by saying that he knows that Nick actually can't read. The two go to the site that night to retrieve the crumpled and burned form. MacGyver manages to make a photograph of its contents, and they read that the site is dangerously substandard. Having been up all night, they arrive at the site just as part of the foundation caves in, burying Nick under a pile of rubble. They get him out, with minor injuries. Nick will learn to read and write with Fraley's help, and the teacher also feels renewed interest and involvement with his students.
Tony: You can't read it. It's burned.
MacGyver: Well, sometimes things are hidden under the surface. You just gotta know how to bring them out.
