CHARLIE BURKE

Dr. Charlie Burke was the director of the KIVA Laboratories in Bannon, New Mexico when an explosion destroyed the facility. Because of the high level of security at the lab, the explosion was assumed to be accidental, and with at least 20 people unaccounted for in the underground complex, including Dr. Carl Steubens and Dr. Sidney Marlowe, MacGyver was brought in to rescue the survivors and to try to stop a sulfuric acid leak that threatened the water supply for the southwest. From the command center on the first level, Dr. Burke cooperated with Chief of Operations Andy Colson and with Ed Gantner from the government to communicate with MacGyver during the mission. Despite MacGyver's progress in reaching the survivors, when time ran out Dr. Burke gave the order to launch a missile at the facility's foundation, but he aborted the order when MacGyver signaled that the mission had been successful.

Portrayed by: Michael C. Gwynne

Cross Reference: Andy Colson, Ed Gantner, Colonel Keel, KIVA Laboratories, Sidney Marlowe, Barbara Spencer, Carl Steubens

Episode Reference: Pilot