MACGYVER SEASON 1: THE FULL COLLECTION, EPISODES 1-21
MacGyver - 1x01 "The Rising" (series premiere episode)
"MacGyver and his team work to retrieve a biological weapon, while adjusting to the new recruit."
MacGyver is definitely the weakest of the five episodes I've viewed this week. It's premiere had plenty of excellent features: the directing of the action scenes was fantastic, the cast worked perfectly in their roles, the guest cast saw Tracy Spiridakos and Vinnie Jones in villain roles, the plot (if clichéd) was interestingly resolved and the cliffhanger of Spiridakos's character Nicky escaping caught everyone brilliantly off-guard.
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| Lucas Till as Angus MacGyver |
However, the flash test explanations and equations to highlight Mac's intricate designs (SOOT + ADHESIVE = FINGERPRINT being one horrific example) became redundant due to the voiceovers where he explained them anyway (and the examples today were not as impressive or creative as I'd hoped); the feeling of a government-division-more-secret-than-the-CIA was never imprinted upon me and I'll admit even for me some of the lines were corny.
But I don't want to focus on the bad - perhaps I'm seeing them more keenly because MacGyver was my least favourite pick of the new shows I'll be rounding up. In all honesty, the positives far outweigh the negatives today (George Eads as Jack Dalton stands out as the comic tough guy) and there is nothing to suggest MacGyver cannot improve and get some momentum going in the next few weeks.
VIEWERS: 10.89 (Could have had a better start in that 8pm position, but double figures never represents a bad one)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.7 (Stupendous)
VERDICT: The mythology of the show was opened with Nicky's escape and Phoenix's creation at the end of the episode, but so far MacGyver hasn't taken the world by storm. 7/10
MacGyver - 1x02 "Metal Saw"
"An American reporter is detained by the Venezuelan government on suspicion of being a spy."
MacGyver's premiere was about MacGyver and Nikki; this episode was about Jack and a woman from his past, and while the premiere underwhelmed, this second episode did not. In fact, when they finally reached the "gather round, here's this week's job" scene about 14 minutes in, I sat up and paid real close attention. That American reporter being held on suspicion of being a spy (spoiler, she actually is a spy) was played by Amy Acker. Root from Person of Interest, for those who don't know.
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| POV shot of MacGyver looking at Agent Adler through night-vision goggles |
It transpired that Acker's Agent Sarah Adler was undercover in Venezuela trying to bust an international arms dealer, had been captured and was now being held in a sort-of black site; while Phoenix Foundation were hired simply to retrieve Adler and the incriminating ledger, after rescuing Adler they naturally threw themselves into helping her crusade. The arms dealer, Barios, was eventually apprehended, but the emotional focus was clearly on a previous romantic relationship between Adler and George Eads' Jack Dalton.
Eads' casting as tough comic guy Jack Dalton is still so far the best thing about MacGyver, and although the age difference between him and Acker made it difficult to believe they were at the CIA's training facility together, both actors sold the squandered relationship beautifully. There is also the potential for Acker to make a return, as the character's connection to Dalton and field proficiency could prove useful to Phoenix on occasion (that's also some wishful thinking on my part).
Elsewhere, the Nikki storyline is set to continue as MacGyver continues to return to her apartment until he finds evidence that might help him track her down - a hidden passport.
VIEWERS: 9.09 (Nearly 2m down on its premiere, but an expected drop.)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.4 (Three tenths of a point lower than its premiere; won't trouble the show's chances just yet.)
VERDICT: While I have reservations about MacGyver's first two episodes, so close in subject, being back-to-back, this was no less a cracking episode for its positioning. Also, MacGyver's makeshift devices were much more impressive than the premiere. An 8.5 alone, I have to give it an extra half point for Acker's guest star appearance. 9/10
MacGyver - 1x03 "Awl"
"Mac, Jack and Riley travel to LaBuan, Malaysia, to retrieve the moneyman for a terrorist organisation named Division 77."
MacGyver gets better and better every episode. Today there was enough emotional resonance built around Jack talking to his father's grave and Mac's (as yet unspecified) issues with his own dad to satisfy, whilst being able to focus solely on the mission in between.
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| Phoenix Foundation prep to retrieve Ralph Kastrati |
That mission, to retrieve D77's moneyman Ralph Kastrati, goes pear-shaped at every turn, but every situation that goes pear-shaped requires an on-the-fly invention of MacGyver's to see that everyone makes it out alive. Including Kastrati, who is shot through the chest early on. His condition deteriorates as the episode goes on, to the point that Mac eventually decides he has to induce death using blood pressure meds to lower Kastrati's heart rate, in order to fool D77 into thinking he is dead and no longer a threat, before reviving him with an adrenaline-glucose antidote.
"Awl" is a funny, informative 40 minutes and probably the most coherent of MacGyver's first three episodes. Although there is no mention of Nikki there didn't need to be, and the opening scene, where Jack and Mac are running through a burning building to the tune of "Disco Inferno" and the lyrics "burn, baby, burn", was brilliant, and a superb lead-in to the emotional father scenes.
VIEWERS: 8.17m (That's 2.5m dropped since the premiere. A fair decrease, but this needs to stabilise and quickly.)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1 (Crucially, MacGyver has so far lost over 1/3 of its demo share, and it's in a lovely 8pm slot. Nooooooot good.)
VERDICT: Coherent, decisive, simple and utilises the off-the-cuff inventions the MacGyver franchise is styled upon. 8.5/10
MacGyver wasn't as strong with "Wire Cutter" as it has been before. Warheads falling in the hands of Russian terrorists is nothing new to TV and the on-the-fly inventions of MacGyver weren't as prominent or numerable as previously - although stopping the bomb by resetting its timer to 100 years in the past was a cheeky conclusion. Jack Dalton continues to be the highlight of the show with his well-timed humour, and at least we saw Thornton, the head of Phoenix, in a bigger capacity.
Elsewhere, it's worth questioning whether the tradition of the opening cut scene will continue as the season progresses. Each MacGyver episode so far (except, naturally, the pilot) has opened with a three-to-four-minute cut scene of Dalton, Riley and Mac creatively escaping from a mission gone sideways. In episode two, they fled from North Korean police; in episode three, they were trapped in a burning building; and in episode four, they were in an office building trying to upload a virus to the computer. They are entertaining openers, but I wonder if it doesn't contribute to time-wasting the longer it goes on? After all, it's not a trope used quite so regularly in a show because it takes up time which could be devoted to a tighter plot, and although nothing has felt missing from MacGyver so far, when the writers suddenly do stop this trend it's going to feel even more jarring than continuing it has done yet.
VIEWERS: 7.51m (Now down over 25% since the premiere. Not good but can be forgiven)
MacGyver - 1x04 "Wire Cutter"
"Phoenix Foundation rush to get help from a Russian defector when a warhead with a unique and archaic programming system falls into the hands of a Russian terrorist hellbent on exterminating America."
MacGyver wasn't as strong with "Wire Cutter" as it has been before. Warheads falling in the hands of Russian terrorists is nothing new to TV and the on-the-fly inventions of MacGyver weren't as prominent or numerable as previously - although stopping the bomb by resetting its timer to 100 years in the past was a cheeky conclusion. Jack Dalton continues to be the highlight of the show with his well-timed humour, and at least we saw Thornton, the head of Phoenix, in a bigger capacity.
Elsewhere, it's worth questioning whether the tradition of the opening cut scene will continue as the season progresses. Each MacGyver episode so far (except, naturally, the pilot) has opened with a three-to-four-minute cut scene of Dalton, Riley and Mac creatively escaping from a mission gone sideways. In episode two, they fled from North Korean police; in episode three, they were trapped in a burning building; and in episode four, they were in an office building trying to upload a virus to the computer. They are entertaining openers, but I wonder if it doesn't contribute to time-wasting the longer it goes on? After all, it's not a trope used quite so regularly in a show because it takes up time which could be devoted to a tighter plot, and although nothing has felt missing from MacGyver so far, when the writers suddenly do stop this trend it's going to feel even more jarring than continuing it has done yet.
VIEWERS: 7.51m (Now down over 25% since the premiere. Not good but can be forgiven)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1 (Has steadied but needs to hover around this 1.1-1.3 level)
VERDICT: An average episode based around a Russian warhead that has left the show open to queries about its structure. 7/10
First order of business: the intro cut-scenes. If CBS are planning on cutting them out, then this was the way to break fans' addiction: instead of Mac and Jack escaping from somewhere like usual, their over-long stakeout of Mac's evil ex Nikki's apartment in Lisbon worked to satisfy the episode's introductory needs and remind us all that she's out there somewhere planning dastardly deeds. She even leaves behind a parcel for Mac: a key - but to what we don't yet know. The plot thickens.
Meanwhile Kasha Kropinski (of Hell on Wheels fame) drops by to guest star as Katarina, the assistant of the aeronautics company CEO, Wexler. Train-centred episodes are not as common as planes and generally feel quite individual; when that was mixed with the creative ingenuity of the MacGyver franchise what we got was actually a very concise and inventive battle of wits between the good and evil agents.
I'm not sure what purpose Bozer serves, however. He's supposed to be Mac's friend and roommate (who knows nothing about their secret government work) but has altered his focus towards (awkwardly) trying to seduce the hacker Riley, and appears in scenes at the beginning or end of each episode. Essentially, Bozer is a base for out-of-mission humour that Jack can't fill, but without actually having a reason to exist beyond that. The writers need to discern a plan for Bozer, because at the moment he is just an awkwardly ill-fitting part of a well-connected machine.
VIEWERS: 7.99m (An improvement on the previous week)
Every show like MacGyver will do an undercover-in-prison episode at some point, but MacGyver seems to be getting all the TV trope episodes out of the way quite quickly. At least with "Can Opener", it was done right.
The usual obstacles, such as Riley losing remote access to the prison security (a Riley-level hacker having upgraded the system the day Mac went in, which should have been a big focus given Riley's supposedly unrivalled skills), or Jack going undercover as a guard and then being distracted and unable to help, presented themselves, but they didn't throw too many spanners in the works. Mac was still capable of some creative breakout skills, including turning a combination of prison food, battery acid and water into a hydrogen explosion (very cool). When they broke out, the typical villain-betrays-the-guy-who-broke-him-out-of-prison trope reared its ugly head, but the strength of the episode made it an acceptable plot ... can I even call it a twist?
Introductory cut-scenes continued, though shorter in "Can Opener", and Bozer finally added to a storyline of some worth when he helped Riley find a new place to live. He's now got 6 digits of her phone number for his good behaviour, so hopefully when he gets them all this cute hard-to-get storyline can evolve into a cute relationship.
MacGyver - 1x05 "Toothpick"
"The CEO of an aeronautics company finds out his assistant is passing information to Interpol. She is sent on a non-stop train journey from Berlin to Frankfurt and Phoenix Foundation must intervene before a team of mercenaries kill her."
First order of business: the intro cut-scenes. If CBS are planning on cutting them out, then this was the way to break fans' addiction: instead of Mac and Jack escaping from somewhere like usual, their over-long stakeout of Mac's evil ex Nikki's apartment in Lisbon worked to satisfy the episode's introductory needs and remind us all that she's out there somewhere planning dastardly deeds. She even leaves behind a parcel for Mac: a key - but to what we don't yet know. The plot thickens.
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| Mac and Katarina hide |
I'm not sure what purpose Bozer serves, however. He's supposed to be Mac's friend and roommate (who knows nothing about their secret government work) but has altered his focus towards (awkwardly) trying to seduce the hacker Riley, and appears in scenes at the beginning or end of each episode. Essentially, Bozer is a base for out-of-mission humour that Jack can't fill, but without actually having a reason to exist beyond that. The writers need to discern a plan for Bozer, because at the moment he is just an awkwardly ill-fitting part of a well-connected machine.
VIEWERS: 7.99m (An improvement on the previous week)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1 (Stabilising now, which is good)
VERDICT: An improvement on last week's offering but there are character issues which, despite having had the time to resolve themselves, haven't yet done so. 7.5/10
MacGyver - 1x06 "Wrench"
"An old foe of MacGyver's, a bomber named 'The Ghost' returns when an attempt is made upon the lives of an FBI bomb disposal unit. MacGyver must confront his past to save his friends."
First things first: the introductory cut-scenes are back. Before the opening credits roll, Mac has to save himself, Jack and Riley from being buried alive in a car. I think perhaps this is going to be a recurring thing given the length of time writers have been doing these cut-scenes, so maybe I'll have to start marking them out of ten, too!
But once we got into the story, it was a super episode all around. Bomber episodes are bread and butter for procedural shows like this, but The Ghost, an old foe of Mac's who had killed his CO six years ago, took everything one step further by building bombs within bombs. It was great to see a little more into Mac's backstory, and his visiting his CO's daughter in the final scene was heartbreaking.
But back to The Ghost: A citywide chase (following Mac's angry insistence that the culprit really was The Ghost) culminated in The Ghost parking a van rigged with enough explosives to take out a city block outside the venue of UN peace talks - and Jack accidentally stepped on a pressure plate. While The Ghost then escaped, almost the last ten minutes of the episode were then taken up with Mac using his off-the-cuff skills to prevent The Ghost's bombs from killing the entire Phoenix team.
Props have to be given to all of the actors (but George Eads especially) for their genuine portrayals of panic, and the writers for their continually clever inventions to save their characters from certain death. The same cannot be said for Bozer, whose character still hasn't grown into anything important to the show besides being an anchor for the opening and closing scenes.
VIEWERS: 7.26m (Lower still, but slowing down and stabilising)
First things first: the introductory cut-scenes are back. Before the opening credits roll, Mac has to save himself, Jack and Riley from being buried alive in a car. I think perhaps this is going to be a recurring thing given the length of time writers have been doing these cut-scenes, so maybe I'll have to start marking them out of ten, too!
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| Jack Dalton after stepping on the pressure plate |
But back to The Ghost: A citywide chase (following Mac's angry insistence that the culprit really was The Ghost) culminated in The Ghost parking a van rigged with enough explosives to take out a city block outside the venue of UN peace talks - and Jack accidentally stepped on a pressure plate. While The Ghost then escaped, almost the last ten minutes of the episode were then taken up with Mac using his off-the-cuff skills to prevent The Ghost's bombs from killing the entire Phoenix team.
Props have to be given to all of the actors (but George Eads especially) for their genuine portrayals of panic, and the writers for their continually clever inventions to save their characters from certain death. The same cannot be said for Bozer, whose character still hasn't grown into anything important to the show besides being an anchor for the opening and closing scenes.
VIEWERS: 7.26m (Lower still, but slowing down and stabilising)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0 (Hmm. The slow downtick is slow but concerning)
VERDICT: An intuitive and unusual bomb-centric episode. The tease of what The Ghost looked like didn't really work but the rest of the episode was tight, clever, emotive and informative. 8/10
MacGyver - 1x07 "Can Opener"
"Mac goes in undercover at a supermax in order to break out a Mexican cartel boss and get him to reveal his base of operations."
Every show like MacGyver will do an undercover-in-prison episode at some point, but MacGyver seems to be getting all the TV trope episodes out of the way quite quickly. At least with "Can Opener", it was done right.
The usual obstacles, such as Riley losing remote access to the prison security (a Riley-level hacker having upgraded the system the day Mac went in, which should have been a big focus given Riley's supposedly unrivalled skills), or Jack going undercover as a guard and then being distracted and unable to help, presented themselves, but they didn't throw too many spanners in the works. Mac was still capable of some creative breakout skills, including turning a combination of prison food, battery acid and water into a hydrogen explosion (very cool). When they broke out, the typical villain-betrays-the-guy-who-broke-him-out-of-prison trope reared its ugly head, but the strength of the episode made it an acceptable plot ... can I even call it a twist?Introductory cut-scenes continued, though shorter in "Can Opener", and Bozer finally added to a storyline of some worth when he helped Riley find a new place to live. He's now got 6 digits of her phone number for his good behaviour, so hopefully when he gets them all this cute hard-to-get storyline can evolve into a cute relationship.
VIEWERS: 7.60m (The ship is steadying in viewers)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1 (But more importantly the demo share is steady)
VERDICT: "Can Opener" didn't reinvent the break a bad guy of prison trope, but it did improve on it with inventive methods of escape. 8/10
MacGyver pulled one out of the bag today by answering a lot of the lingering questions and creating many more. An assassin known only by his file number, "Suspect 218", is hired by an unknown organisation to target Mac. Thornton locks him in a secure room (which takes all of 30 seconds for Mac to escape from), before he and Jack rush back to his house, where S218's arrival has alerted Bozer to Mac's lies. Using wine bottle rockets, S218 is held at arm's length and Bozer has a number of heart-to-hearts with Mac and Riley over their lies.
Later on in the episode, S218 corners Thornton, Jack and Riley in a junkyard using remote control sniper rifles, but Mac shows up to flip the script by overriding S218's radio frequency and apprehending him. S218 then chooses a name for himself: Murdoc. This whole storyline was intriguing (Murdoc was a fabulously sociopathic villain) and the creative escape methods Mac used were terrific.
Much like in the opening cut-scene (they still remain, only this time it featured Mac on a date, ironically in an escape room). He showcases his creative thinking to find the clues and the cut-scene concludes with a kiss. An ending cut-scene of sorts is also given, where Mac's evil ex Nikki (unseen since episode 1x01), returns to warn him that things aren't black and white, she's not necessarily evil and Thornton isn't necessarily good. Food for thought.
VIEWERS: 7.70m (Stable between 7-8m is good)
MacGyver - 1x08 "Corkscrew"
"A renowned assassin is sent after MacGyver."
MacGyver pulled one out of the bag today by answering a lot of the lingering questions and creating many more. An assassin known only by his file number, "Suspect 218", is hired by an unknown organisation to target Mac. Thornton locks him in a secure room (which takes all of 30 seconds for Mac to escape from), before he and Jack rush back to his house, where S218's arrival has alerted Bozer to Mac's lies. Using wine bottle rockets, S218 is held at arm's length and Bozer has a number of heart-to-hearts with Mac and Riley over their lies.
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| Nikki corners Mac in a café |
Much like in the opening cut-scene (they still remain, only this time it featured Mac on a date, ironically in an escape room). He showcases his creative thinking to find the clues and the cut-scene concludes with a kiss. An ending cut-scene of sorts is also given, where Mac's evil ex Nikki (unseen since episode 1x01), returns to warn him that things aren't black and white, she's not necessarily evil and Thornton isn't necessarily good. Food for thought.
VIEWERS: 7.70m (Stable between 7-8m is good)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1 (Fifth 1.1 in the last 6 episodes: stable)
VERDICT: The show did well by enlightening Bozer so early on, and Nikki's return was well-timed. Fascinating, innovative episode. 9/10
MacGyver did good with its ninth episode of the season by just making an episode. "Chisel" wasn't pretty and it wasn't massive - but what it was was one of the better episodes of the season in terms of Mac's on-the-fly creations. Getting Mac, Jack and Riley stuck in a US Embassy building that Latvian terrorists didn't care to siege was a good plan, but the siege aspect took a lot of character goodness away on the day. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing - as I say, this was simply a decent episode. Jack wasn't as funny as he usually is, Riley's airtime was limited as her hacking skills proved unnecessary and Thornton's interrogation of Bozer was a little discomfiting since he was previously the comic relief - without that, this episode had very little humour. But Bozer getting a job as a lab geek for Phoenix is going to bring all of the cast together in much less time than I expected.
After the cliffhanger ending in 1x08 where Mac's evil ex Nikki returned to warn him of things to come, "Chisel" moved on completely from that. There was no mention or reminder of Nikki and, while that's hardly unexpected, it was perhaps a little jarring. A word to the customary MacGyver cut-scenes: there was none today. Instead, the opening of the show being Bozer's interrogation provided more time for actual substantive subplot - and again, that probably took away from the humour a little. But a stepping stone like this didn't lack much for losing that humour, and now MacGyver is going to take a step towards its endgame as the whole cast are bunched into the same corporation.
After a couple of weeks out, MacGyver returned with an underwhelming episode. As important as character backstory is, there's something about that returning-to-the-homeland-and-getting-caught-up-in-sudden-random-episode-filling-troubles that always grates on me: if you're going to do it, do it right. MacGyver kind of just fell in between.
The emotional weight of the kidnapped girl, Valerie, and its effect on her father was omitted by having Mac, Jack, Bozer and Riley continually joke about their rental car, their team dynamics, Mac and Bozer's childhood ... It was an episode full of punchlines and some very good sciencey stuff, but there were no real stakes in the game and the story suffered for it.
Luke Arnold (John Silver in Black Sails) was wasted as one of the kidnappers who, like Valerie, was sidelined by writing deficiencies (although he really didn't pull off the American accent), and in the end although the episode was funny it just wasn't a well-constructed or well-paced one.
MacGyver went for depth with "Scissors", focusing a Riley-centric episode on her broken family. In doing so, we not only learnt more about her abusive father and how her issues with ex-stepfather Jack Dalton stemmed from her looking up to him as a child before he fled, but Michael Michele (ER) guest-starred as Diane, Riley's mother (should have seen that one coming). In the end, all was forgiven and it was a heartwarming conclusion, the payoff a tribute to the incredible acting by George Eads and Trista Mays (Jack and Riley respectively).
The plot wasn't as strong, however. Riley sold weapons codes to a Chinese group known as "The Collective" to trade for her mother's life; they then used Chinese submarines to try and launch missiles at the West Coast. The only way to stop it was to fly Phoenix to China and break into the building where The Collective were working - a building that transpired to be Chinese Central Command. And everything was just too easy: guards that didn't speak Chinese but fell for the flattery of a wandering American, elevator rides unbelievably long to make space for deep emotional storylines, and the requisite time for Phoenix to save the day before anyone came up to apprehend them. It was just lazy writing.
At least Bozer finally got Riley's digits though. That was a cute storyline (and a really inventive one in TV these days), but I'm looking forward to seeing their relationship play out now Bozer does have her entire phone number.
MacGyver - 1x09 "Chisel"
"While chasing a terrorist in Latvia, Mac and the team are trapped inside the Embassy with 6 hours to wait before back-up arrives."
MacGyver did good with its ninth episode of the season by just making an episode. "Chisel" wasn't pretty and it wasn't massive - but what it was was one of the better episodes of the season in terms of Mac's on-the-fly creations. Getting Mac, Jack and Riley stuck in a US Embassy building that Latvian terrorists didn't care to siege was a good plan, but the siege aspect took a lot of character goodness away on the day. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing - as I say, this was simply a decent episode. Jack wasn't as funny as he usually is, Riley's airtime was limited as her hacking skills proved unnecessary and Thornton's interrogation of Bozer was a little discomfiting since he was previously the comic relief - without that, this episode had very little humour. But Bozer getting a job as a lab geek for Phoenix is going to bring all of the cast together in much less time than I expected.
After the cliffhanger ending in 1x08 where Mac's evil ex Nikki returned to warn him of things to come, "Chisel" moved on completely from that. There was no mention or reminder of Nikki and, while that's hardly unexpected, it was perhaps a little jarring. A word to the customary MacGyver cut-scenes: there was none today. Instead, the opening of the show being Bozer's interrogation provided more time for actual substantive subplot - and again, that probably took away from the humour a little. But a stepping stone like this didn't lack much for losing that humour, and now MacGyver is going to take a step towards its endgame as the whole cast are bunched into the same corporation.
VIEWERS: 8.20m (The first episode to rise above 8m since episode 3)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1 (Steady as ever)
VERDICT: A step in the right direction that sacrificed a few key features of the show to get it done. 7/10
MacGyver - 1x10 "Pliers"
"Mac and the team travel back to Mac's hometown, but find their vacation interrupted when one of the children from Mac's old school is kidnapped."
After a couple of weeks out, MacGyver returned with an underwhelming episode. As important as character backstory is, there's something about that returning-to-the-homeland-and-getting-caught-up-in-sudden-random-episode-filling-troubles that always grates on me: if you're going to do it, do it right. MacGyver kind of just fell in between.
The emotional weight of the kidnapped girl, Valerie, and its effect on her father was omitted by having Mac, Jack, Bozer and Riley continually joke about their rental car, their team dynamics, Mac and Bozer's childhood ... It was an episode full of punchlines and some very good sciencey stuff, but there were no real stakes in the game and the story suffered for it.
Luke Arnold (John Silver in Black Sails) was wasted as one of the kidnappers who, like Valerie, was sidelined by writing deficiencies (although he really didn't pull off the American accent), and in the end although the episode was funny it just wasn't a well-constructed or well-paced one.
VIEWERS: 7.46m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
(Both make small downticks)
(Both make small downticks)
VERDICT: MacGyver continues to blow hot and cold, and with "Pliers" blows very cold indeed. Not a good example of what this show can do. 7/10
MacGyver - 1x11 "Scissors"
"Riley hacks the NSA and trades the codes with the Chinese, leading to questions over her loyalty."
MacGyver went for depth with "Scissors", focusing a Riley-centric episode on her broken family. In doing so, we not only learnt more about her abusive father and how her issues with ex-stepfather Jack Dalton stemmed from her looking up to him as a child before he fled, but Michael Michele (ER) guest-starred as Diane, Riley's mother (should have seen that one coming). In the end, all was forgiven and it was a heartwarming conclusion, the payoff a tribute to the incredible acting by George Eads and Trista Mays (Jack and Riley respectively).
The plot wasn't as strong, however. Riley sold weapons codes to a Chinese group known as "The Collective" to trade for her mother's life; they then used Chinese submarines to try and launch missiles at the West Coast. The only way to stop it was to fly Phoenix to China and break into the building where The Collective were working - a building that transpired to be Chinese Central Command. And everything was just too easy: guards that didn't speak Chinese but fell for the flattery of a wandering American, elevator rides unbelievably long to make space for deep emotional storylines, and the requisite time for Phoenix to save the day before anyone came up to apprehend them. It was just lazy writing.At least Bozer finally got Riley's digits though. That was a cute storyline (and a really inventive one in TV these days), but I'm looking forward to seeing their relationship play out now Bozer does have her entire phone number.
VIEWERS: 7.77m (Slight tick up)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0 (Level)
VERDICT: Payoffs for Bozer and the Riley-Jack family issues were strong as they could be, but even that couldn't drown out the giant, glaring flaws in the plot writing. 7.5/10 because of the payoffs, but it isn't wholly deserved.
Never trust a show that has a slow start. Person of Interest taught me that. Because you never know what it is hiding. And MacGyver, with "Screwdriver", pulled off a huge twist that I never saw coming.
But I'll begin at the beginning: the cold open, in which Jack was being interrogated by a terrorist who had drugged him with truth serum. He sung like a canary - until Mac arrived to save him, citing that it didn't matter Jack had told the terrorist about Phoenix because he is going to jail. Like word doesn't get around in jails ... There was no resolution here, so the humour didn't work as well.
I'm as big a fan of Amy Acker as there could be - and I called it that she was well-positioned as the portrayer of Agent Sarah Adler, because Adler could become a good recurring character. Having her bring a lead on the show's main mythology so far, Nikki, to the table was an inspired idea. Bringing back Murdoc for a few short scenes to expand on that even further - inspired.
Nikki's whole bit was that she wasn't actually a traitor, but a deep cover CIA operative. Plenty of evidence backed her up, but plenty didn't, and her secret mission - to find a government mole codenamed Chrysalis - was a convenient way to turn her back to the good side. But having Director Patricia Thornton be the mole? That was a stunning twist. How do you feel to sign up a main cast and lop one of them off early on in season one? That won't be the last we see of Thornton, and I wouldn't be surprised if the writers tried to twist her back to a good guy, although I hope they don't backtrack on this shocking reveal. This has the potential to change the course of the show, which has been slow so far, and I'd like to see this play out properly.
MacGyver - 1x12 "Screwdriver"
"Agent Adler calls Mac and Jack for help when she uncovers a lead that could see Nikki arrested. But everything isn't as it seems."
Never trust a show that has a slow start. Person of Interest taught me that. Because you never know what it is hiding. And MacGyver, with "Screwdriver", pulled off a huge twist that I never saw coming.
But I'll begin at the beginning: the cold open, in which Jack was being interrogated by a terrorist who had drugged him with truth serum. He sung like a canary - until Mac arrived to save him, citing that it didn't matter Jack had told the terrorist about Phoenix because he is going to jail. Like word doesn't get around in jails ... There was no resolution here, so the humour didn't work as well.
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| Nikki arrests Director Thornton |
Nikki's whole bit was that she wasn't actually a traitor, but a deep cover CIA operative. Plenty of evidence backed her up, but plenty didn't, and her secret mission - to find a government mole codenamed Chrysalis - was a convenient way to turn her back to the good side. But having Director Patricia Thornton be the mole? That was a stunning twist. How do you feel to sign up a main cast and lop one of them off early on in season one? That won't be the last we see of Thornton, and I wouldn't be surprised if the writers tried to twist her back to a good guy, although I hope they don't backtrack on this shocking reveal. This has the potential to change the course of the show, which has been slow so far, and I'd like to see this play out properly.
VIEWERS: 8.48m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
(Impressive ratings for a show that had been on the decline)
(Impressive ratings for a show that had been on the decline)
VERDICT: For the return of Amy Acker, the mythology of Nikki and THAT twist - 9/10
Patricia Thornton's outing as a mole doesn't seem like it will have any further bearing on the series, which seems a little disappointing. There's still more to Nikki's story so there should be more to Thornton's I feel, and if the MacGyver writers are choosing not to loop Thornton into the upcoming storyline then they better do it right.
In the meantime, a stop in Afghanistan to recover a terrorist goes wrong when the helicopter is shot out of the air. With the pilot, Cynthia, injured, the terrorist, Victor, escaped, and no working phone to call for help, Mac and Jack use a variety of skills to bide time while Phoenix search for them. Which is Riley and Bozer's job back in LA. Interestingly, this is the first time we've really seen more than just our core team inside the Phoenix HQ, whereas today the search for Mac and Jack had a team of data analysts scouring Afghani wilderness for them.
The main subplot thread was the announcement of Thornton's replacement: Matty Webber. Or, as Jack refers to her, "Matty the Hun". You know when someone has a nickname like that it can't be good, and in the final scene Matty's arrival puts our team on their toes. She's no-nonsense, strict and won't take even the smallest thing that she doesn't like, such as Mac playing with his paperclips. I like Matty and I like Meredith Eaton who plays her (I feel like Matty is going to be very much like a ruder Hetty from NCIS LA), but I think she might rub a few fans the wrong way. Either way, I'm looking forward to the next episode, where we properly see her in charge for the very first time.
MacGyver - 1x13 "Large Blade"
"Jack and Mac are trapped in an Afghanistan forest when their helicopter crashes and their prisoner escapes."
Patricia Thornton's outing as a mole doesn't seem like it will have any further bearing on the series, which seems a little disappointing. There's still more to Nikki's story so there should be more to Thornton's I feel, and if the MacGyver writers are choosing not to loop Thornton into the upcoming storyline then they better do it right.
In the meantime, a stop in Afghanistan to recover a terrorist goes wrong when the helicopter is shot out of the air. With the pilot, Cynthia, injured, the terrorist, Victor, escaped, and no working phone to call for help, Mac and Jack use a variety of skills to bide time while Phoenix search for them. Which is Riley and Bozer's job back in LA. Interestingly, this is the first time we've really seen more than just our core team inside the Phoenix HQ, whereas today the search for Mac and Jack had a team of data analysts scouring Afghani wilderness for them.
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| Matty the Hun arrives at Phoenix (Apologies for the poor quality screenshot) |
VIEWERS: 7.72m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1
(Small ticks downwards, but remaining in a stable area)
(Small ticks downwards, but remaining in a stable area)
VERDICT: The episode plot was bogged down by typical stuck-in-the-middle-of-nowhere tropes, but the hyped-up arrival of Matty the Hun rescued the episode a little. 7.5/10
Matty's first mission as Director continued with that stoic, scary reputation she had brought to the division, one that terrified Bozer, Mac and Riley and amused Jack. The evaluations were done cleverly however; Jack opened the episode, Riley took the middle part during the mission, Bozer's went beyond well after he challenged Matty's authority and helped save the day; Mac's came at the end of the episode with a stark warning: if he makes a mistake during an op, his improvisation will no longer be tolerated. He'd better not make a mistake then, for Mac's improvisational skills are the foundation of the show!
The episode itself centred around an algorithm created by Riley capturing a facial recognition ID of FBI's 6th Most Wanted fugitive in a viral YouTube video, but when Mac and Jack attempted to recover him, Douglas Bishop claimed the FBI were in fact dirty and were trying to kill him. Some fun escapes and a couple of twists later and who was the dirty FBI agent trying to kill Bishop? Matty's contact, the one person she could trust, because of course that's who it would be.
A forgettable episode with a boss whose lack of likeability doesn't translate into likeableness because of it, like with Dr. Romano from ER.
MacGyver - 1x14 "Fish Scaler"
"Matty conducts evaluations with the team as a mission to recover number 6 on the FBI Most Wanted List goes awry."
Matty's first mission as Director continued with that stoic, scary reputation she had brought to the division, one that terrified Bozer, Mac and Riley and amused Jack. The evaluations were done cleverly however; Jack opened the episode, Riley took the middle part during the mission, Bozer's went beyond well after he challenged Matty's authority and helped save the day; Mac's came at the end of the episode with a stark warning: if he makes a mistake during an op, his improvisation will no longer be tolerated. He'd better not make a mistake then, for Mac's improvisational skills are the foundation of the show!
The episode itself centred around an algorithm created by Riley capturing a facial recognition ID of FBI's 6th Most Wanted fugitive in a viral YouTube video, but when Mac and Jack attempted to recover him, Douglas Bishop claimed the FBI were in fact dirty and were trying to kill him. Some fun escapes and a couple of twists later and who was the dirty FBI agent trying to kill Bishop? Matty's contact, the one person she could trust, because of course that's who it would be.
A forgettable episode with a boss whose lack of likeability doesn't translate into likeableness because of it, like with Dr. Romano from ER.
VIEWERS: 7.49m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
(A small tick downwards)
(A small tick downwards)
VERDICT: What more needs saying beyond this was very forgettable. 6.5/10
A scaremongering fifteenth episode revisits the terrifying 70s sensation that was the still-unidentified Zodiac Killer by way of new Phoenix Director Matty Webber, in the process proving she does have a human side. But it was all a little too easy. A lack of suspects throughout (this was never going to go as a normal murder investigation would), meant that the only person we could fall back on as the apprentice Zodiac was the homeless person who sent Phoenix on a wild goose chase, Wyatt Orwell.
Unfortunately (and because of course), this Zodiac B-side kidnapped Riley and forced Mac and Jack into some improvised heroics to rescue her. But she had a clever method of buying time, which was to taunt Orwell: he wanted his crimes to be exact replicas of the real Zodiac to muddy the waters of whether or not it was the real Zodiac perpetrating them or not, but by simply shooting Riley in an abandoned cinema he would break the pattern and lose all credibility. That indecision gives Mac and Jack time to engineer Riley's escape, although when Orwell runs it's Riley who delivers the knockout blow.
"You know what else the original Zodiac Killer never did? Get caught." *drops pipe*
Props to the handwriting trivia: a 100% match between the Zodiac's handwriting now and then was impossible due to age, and a critical clue in determining this was a copycat.
And what about that set-up to next week's MacGyver/Hawaii Five-0 crossover: Orwell was receiving encouragement from none other than Hawaii's resident serial killer Dr. Madison Grey, now apparently back on O'ahu. Bring it on!
VIEWERS: 8.05m
MacGyver - 1x15 "Magnifying Glass"
"Matty's goddaughter, along with her boyfriend, is killed, and the murders bear an uncanny resemblance to the Zodiac Killer from the 70s."
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| The Zodiac Killer taunting Phoenix with his kill statistics. |
Unfortunately (and because of course), this Zodiac B-side kidnapped Riley and forced Mac and Jack into some improvised heroics to rescue her. But she had a clever method of buying time, which was to taunt Orwell: he wanted his crimes to be exact replicas of the real Zodiac to muddy the waters of whether or not it was the real Zodiac perpetrating them or not, but by simply shooting Riley in an abandoned cinema he would break the pattern and lose all credibility. That indecision gives Mac and Jack time to engineer Riley's escape, although when Orwell runs it's Riley who delivers the knockout blow.
"You know what else the original Zodiac Killer never did? Get caught." *drops pipe*
Props to the handwriting trivia: a 100% match between the Zodiac's handwriting now and then was impossible due to age, and a critical clue in determining this was a copycat.
And what about that set-up to next week's MacGyver/Hawaii Five-0 crossover: Orwell was receiving encouragement from none other than Hawaii's resident serial killer Dr. Madison Grey, now apparently back on O'ahu. Bring it on!
VIEWERS: 8.05m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
(Nice ticks up)
(Nice ticks up)
VERDICT: Copycat plots of real serial killers aren't often very good and this one was about average. The connection to Matty ended up being frustratingly sparse and was forgotten as the episode progressed. 7/10
Cut-scenes are back! After a short break, MacGyver utilises what has turned out to be one of its most stable sources of humour, this time by trapping Mac and Jack up to their necks in quicksand. As usual, Mac has a plan - only it's quite hilariously not what Jack expects, as it consists of them simply screaming for help. Presumably it works, for following the opening credits the real meat of the episode begins.
That meat is the mystery of Matty and Jack's fallout, which Mac, Riley and Bozer try to coax from him during "Truth or Dare". Happily, the truth remains a mystery by "Hook's" conclusion, although I am sure a more specific answer will eventually arrive.
But to the main plot, where the Coltons confuse with some shady tough talk, then outwit Mac and Jack on numerous occasions. There was something so MacGyver-ish about the execution of the premise, which is great hype but the story isn't what it seems - and not in a good way. When promos suggested Mac and Jack would "come up against the Colton family" I expected more like The Blacklist's "T Earl King VI" than this. It had some good moments however; the tactical team being responsible for retrieving Deckard rather than Mac and Jack made them pleasantly infallible - and how about Bozer, when undercover with Riley, pretending that he had played hard to get by giving her one phone number digit at a time? Riley's face was priceless!
In the end, the Armenians came to collect Deckard but some swift thinking from Mac to use Jack as a decoy neutralised the threat, while in the final scene Jack apologises to Matty for their mysterious fallout and she joins them in another impromptu round of "Truth or Dare".
VIEWERS: 7.31m
We'll start with the opening cut-scene, a scene in which Bozer rescued the team from heavy fire in a beautiful car and looked badass as he climbed out suited and booted while an explosion occurred behind him. Of course, it was all a dream sequence - or more accurately a daydream sequence. A nice twist and great visuals too.
But the main essence of the plot was that Phoenix were sent to Amsterdam to spy on a woman named Olivia Prior suspected of selling state secrets. Only the US can't be caught spying on its allies, so Phoenix had to go in with no safety net, and when they tried to stop a bomb Prior was blackmailed into setting off they were wrongly accused of terrorism and disavowed.
That wasn't the end of it, however. The usual obstacles presented itself, but the meat of the plot was that this had all been engineered as a revenge play by Thornton. I wish we'd actually seen her, though. The second plot meat was Mac's over-protectiveness of Bozer: it was his first mission in the field and Mac didn't agree he was field-ready; at least by the end Bozer was secure enough in himself to have concluded this, and decided he wanted to stay at Phoenix in the lab.
Christopher Heyerdahl (Hell on Wheels, Sanctuary) and his infinite accents dropped by to play the Head of Dutch Intelligence, but he was given far too little to do. Like most MacGyver plots the stakes never feel suitably raised, and this is one example where Heyerdahl was used to show that Dutch Intel were a present threat, but not really one that would detract too much from the long-winded route to the reveal of Thornton's revenge play.
MacGyver - 1x16 "Hook"
"Mac and Jack travel to Louisiana to recover the fixer for an Armenian crime syndicate, but run into a family of bounty hunters less than keen on surrendering their captive."
Cut-scenes are back! After a short break, MacGyver utilises what has turned out to be one of its most stable sources of humour, this time by trapping Mac and Jack up to their necks in quicksand. As usual, Mac has a plan - only it's quite hilariously not what Jack expects, as it consists of them simply screaming for help. Presumably it works, for following the opening credits the real meat of the episode begins.
That meat is the mystery of Matty and Jack's fallout, which Mac, Riley and Bozer try to coax from him during "Truth or Dare". Happily, the truth remains a mystery by "Hook's" conclusion, although I am sure a more specific answer will eventually arrive.
But to the main plot, where the Coltons confuse with some shady tough talk, then outwit Mac and Jack on numerous occasions. There was something so MacGyver-ish about the execution of the premise, which is great hype but the story isn't what it seems - and not in a good way. When promos suggested Mac and Jack would "come up against the Colton family" I expected more like The Blacklist's "T Earl King VI" than this. It had some good moments however; the tactical team being responsible for retrieving Deckard rather than Mac and Jack made them pleasantly infallible - and how about Bozer, when undercover with Riley, pretending that he had played hard to get by giving her one phone number digit at a time? Riley's face was priceless!
In the end, the Armenians came to collect Deckard but some swift thinking from Mac to use Jack as a decoy neutralised the threat, while in the final scene Jack apologises to Matty for their mysterious fallout and she joins them in another impromptu round of "Truth or Dare".
VIEWERS: 7.31m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.9
(Series low on a down night)
(Series low on a down night)
VERDICT: A decent episode, but the misdirect of the promos left a sour taste. 8/10
MacGyver - 1x17 "Ruler"
"Bozer's first overseas mission with Phoenix goes wrong and the team are disavowed."
We'll start with the opening cut-scene, a scene in which Bozer rescued the team from heavy fire in a beautiful car and looked badass as he climbed out suited and booted while an explosion occurred behind him. Of course, it was all a dream sequence - or more accurately a daydream sequence. A nice twist and great visuals too.
But the main essence of the plot was that Phoenix were sent to Amsterdam to spy on a woman named Olivia Prior suspected of selling state secrets. Only the US can't be caught spying on its allies, so Phoenix had to go in with no safety net, and when they tried to stop a bomb Prior was blackmailed into setting off they were wrongly accused of terrorism and disavowed.
That wasn't the end of it, however. The usual obstacles presented itself, but the meat of the plot was that this had all been engineered as a revenge play by Thornton. I wish we'd actually seen her, though. The second plot meat was Mac's over-protectiveness of Bozer: it was his first mission in the field and Mac didn't agree he was field-ready; at least by the end Bozer was secure enough in himself to have concluded this, and decided he wanted to stay at Phoenix in the lab.
Christopher Heyerdahl (Hell on Wheels, Sanctuary) and his infinite accents dropped by to play the Head of Dutch Intelligence, but he was given far too little to do. Like most MacGyver plots the stakes never feel suitably raised, and this is one example where Heyerdahl was used to show that Dutch Intel were a present threat, but not really one that would detract too much from the long-winded route to the reveal of Thornton's revenge play.
VIEWERS: 7.01m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1
VERDICT: Wasted Christopher Heyerdahl in an episode that felt criminally low-stakes. But character-wise, this offered a lot. 7.5/10
MacGyver's "Flashlight" felt like a throwback to Hawaii Five-0's old days, with references to days past coming from all angles: references to Chin's most recent birthday, the death of Dr. Madison Gray and how Kono met her husband Adam peppered an episode that did its damnedest not to let novelty take it hostage.
Mac, Jack, Kono and Chin helped survivors caught in a building that is actually a secret DARPA research lab, but soon realise the earthquake was taken advantage of by thieves looking to break into the fourth-floor vault and steal smart bullets. Mac continually impressed Chin and Kono, who were not used to his improvisations, and saved the day by rescuing the scientists and using a laser to redirect the smart bullets. This scepticism from the two Five-0 task force members was a fresh perspective on Mac's abilities, which we as the audience had taken for granted.
Meanwhile, Bozer rescued a trapped dog and fixed its broken leg, all whilst dealing with a growing jealousy over Riley's closeness with an IT guy (personally I think Bozer's heroics should win him all the ladies), And Matty oversaw the entire mission from LA, though as usual she had a very minor role.
MacGyver - 1x18 "Flashlight"
"Mac, Jack, Riley and Bozer head to Hawaii to help deal with the consequences of an earthquake."
MacGyver's "Flashlight" felt like a throwback to Hawaii Five-0's old days, with references to days past coming from all angles: references to Chin's most recent birthday, the death of Dr. Madison Gray and how Kono met her husband Adam peppered an episode that did its damnedest not to let novelty take it hostage.
 |
| L-R: Chin, Jack, Mac and Kono examine the damaged building beneath which scientists are trapped |
Meanwhile, Bozer rescued a trapped dog and fixed its broken leg, all whilst dealing with a growing jealousy over Riley's closeness with an IT guy (personally I think Bozer's heroics should win him all the ladies), And Matty oversaw the entire mission from LA, though as usual she had a very minor role.
VIEWERS: 8.02m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
VERDICT: A decent crossover but I'd hoped for more of a focus on the earthquake than the thieves. The whole earthquake premise feels wasted now. 8/10
There was very little about "Compass" that could elevate it to one of the better episodes of the season, but it had some fresh elements to separate it from the rest, namely an electric whip and 40 minutes that were surprisingly low on gun battles. But the most interesting part was catching another glimpse into Mac's past, this time into a different part of his past. When Franky transpired to be alive, having faked her own death, the episode turned into something of a nerd-babble-fest (you tell me what polytropes are), without ever overstepping the line into tedium.
For the fun finale, Franky's sequencing technique identified the murderer who had tried to kill her: MIT's biggest benefactor, Sang, who had eulogised her at her funeral. The look on his face from finding out Franky was alive was as priceless as those reaction faces usually are.
Meanwhile, the longest-running arc of the season - Bozer's infatuation with Riley - has closed suddenly after some sharp advice from Jack helped him make the decision to let it go. Riley was all too ecstatic with this decision, which is highly disappointing. While the moral message is fine, I had expected something to come of them in a refreshingly early TV timeframe, and this seems like a far bigger step back than usual TV rebuffs.
MacGyver - 1x19 "Compass"
"When an old MIT friend of Mac's dies, he heads to the funeral; it soon becomes clear everything isn't what it seems."
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| Mac learns Franky has died |
For the fun finale, Franky's sequencing technique identified the murderer who had tried to kill her: MIT's biggest benefactor, Sang, who had eulogised her at her funeral. The look on his face from finding out Franky was alive was as priceless as those reaction faces usually are.
Meanwhile, the longest-running arc of the season - Bozer's infatuation with Riley - has closed suddenly after some sharp advice from Jack helped him make the decision to let it go. Riley was all too ecstatic with this decision, which is highly disappointing. While the moral message is fine, I had expected something to come of them in a refreshingly early TV timeframe, and this seems like a far bigger step back than usual TV rebuffs.
VIEWERS:
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE:
VERDICT: A less intense episode matched with no real gunfights. The regression of Bozer and Riley to a Platonic relationship was awfully handled. 7.5/10
MacGyver - 1x20 "Hole Puncher"
"Mac goes undercover as the assassin Murdoc to protect the target of a relatively new terrorist organisation."
All the signs were there that this was MacGyver's penultimate episode, but I was sceptical because it seemed odd CBS would only order 21 episodes for the season.
And yet.
In another relatively simplistic plot that was completely turned on its head Thornton-is-the-mole style, Mac goes undercover to find out why a seemingly average man is being labelled "The Architect" by a terrorist group and presumed to have knowledge of their impending attack. Instead, there is no terrorist attack: this was all a ruse by The Organisation (for which Thornton had committed treason) to trick Phoenix. The leader of an elite hit squad sent to kill Mac - played by the fantastic William Mapother - wound up being caught, claiming that that had been his intention all along. The obvious question is why is The Organisation back (beyond wanting to kill MacGyver). Is Murdoc connected? Will Mac's ex-girlfriend Nikki have an involvement? Who knows, but with Daniel Holt's (Mapother) affirmation that he intended to be caught, we know things cannot be good.
Meanwhile, Bozer and Riley's side plot was admirably linked to the main focus. When Mac messed up his first undercover impersonation of Murdoc, who had been hired by an elderly couple seeking revenge for their murdered daughter, the pair took it upon themselves to find the true killer. It was a shame there was no comfortable slide from their early scenes to their investigation, they just jumped into it all of a sudden - and there were no unwelcome surprises either (the boyfriend was the killer after all) - but it was a sweet thing for them to do. And it might be the final sweetness of the season.
The final word - since I have worked backwards - goes to the cut-scene: a Phoenix versus NSA softball match. The casual manner in which these secret organisations just met for a friendly match was hilarious - as was Jack's bumbling motivational speech. Phoenix might be good at everything else, but it is not good at softball.
VIEWERS: 6.67m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.9
VERDICT: The same issue continues to arise in that MacGyver never actually raises the tension in even its most high-stakes episodes, but this was a good one nonetheless. Still didn't feel like a penultimate episode. 7.5/10
All the signs were there that this was MacGyver's penultimate episode, but I was sceptical because it seemed odd CBS would only order 21 episodes for the season.
And yet.
In another relatively simplistic plot that was completely turned on its head Thornton-is-the-mole style, Mac goes undercover to find out why a seemingly average man is being labelled "The Architect" by a terrorist group and presumed to have knowledge of their impending attack. Instead, there is no terrorist attack: this was all a ruse by The Organisation (for which Thornton had committed treason) to trick Phoenix. The leader of an elite hit squad sent to kill Mac - played by the fantastic William Mapother - wound up being caught, claiming that that had been his intention all along. The obvious question is why is The Organisation back (beyond wanting to kill MacGyver). Is Murdoc connected? Will Mac's ex-girlfriend Nikki have an involvement? Who knows, but with Daniel Holt's (Mapother) affirmation that he intended to be caught, we know things cannot be good.
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| Operatives converge on Mac's position |
The final word - since I have worked backwards - goes to the cut-scene: a Phoenix versus NSA softball match. The casual manner in which these secret organisations just met for a friendly match was hilarious - as was Jack's bumbling motivational speech. Phoenix might be good at everything else, but it is not good at softball.
VIEWERS: 6.67m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.9
VERDICT: The same issue continues to arise in that MacGyver never actually raises the tension in even its most high-stakes episodes, but this was a good one nonetheless. Still didn't feel like a penultimate episode. 7.5/10
MacGyver - 1x21 "Cigar Cutter"
"Murdoc's plan to take down Phoenix begins."
'Always call in sick on Cairo day. Always.'
The words of JackGyver (as Jack refers to himself following some Mac-like ingenuity), after Matty calls him and Mac into work on the anniversary of their disastrous mission in Cairo. The point of calling them in seems unclear, beyond maybe they were going to review why Daniel Holt wanted to be caught, but it was necessary to introduce the fake Dr. Zito before NYPD called up and said they had the real Dr. Zito as their latest murder victim. Cue all hell breaking loose.
Bozer got stabbed, Zito (played by the wonderful Mark A. Sheppard) freed Daniel Holt and together they took control of the Phoenix building. Mac and the team were separated on numerous occasions all throughout the episode, leading to the implementation of various Mac hacks as the team fought to win back control of the building (the ratio of Mac hacks was pleasantly high here compared to most episodes).
The strongest part of the episode besides the considerable number of Mac hacks was the fact that this time the tension really was raised for our characters. Bozer got stabbed, Riley got trapped trying to prevent Holt from shooting her, Mac was forced to blow up a room with himself in it to stop the bad guys stealing a prehistoric virus ... even if we knew there was little chance anyone would be lost, ramping up the tension is something this show has been missing for a long time.
In the end, Murdoc's plan is foiled and Mac disposes of the virus his goons had also been trying to steal, so it's a happy end all round. Except for the cliffhanger of Murdoc's escape from prison. Will it be this that picks up the impending season 2, or will it be Mac and Jack's road trip to find Mac's father?
The words of JackGyver (as Jack refers to himself following some Mac-like ingenuity), after Matty calls him and Mac into work on the anniversary of their disastrous mission in Cairo. The point of calling them in seems unclear, beyond maybe they were going to review why Daniel Holt wanted to be caught, but it was necessary to introduce the fake Dr. Zito before NYPD called up and said they had the real Dr. Zito as their latest murder victim. Cue all hell breaking loose.
Bozer got stabbed, Zito (played by the wonderful Mark A. Sheppard) freed Daniel Holt and together they took control of the Phoenix building. Mac and the team were separated on numerous occasions all throughout the episode, leading to the implementation of various Mac hacks as the team fought to win back control of the building (the ratio of Mac hacks was pleasantly high here compared to most episodes).
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| Mac disposes of the virus |
In the end, Murdoc's plan is foiled and Mac disposes of the virus his goons had also been trying to steal, so it's a happy end all round. Except for the cliffhanger of Murdoc's escape from prison. Will it be this that picks up the impending season 2, or will it be Mac and Jack's road trip to find Mac's father?
VIEWERS: 6.64m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8
VERDICT: MacGyver's season 1 finale produced one of its most thrilling episodes to boot and left us with a juicy cliffhanger that announced Murdoc will return in some form next season. It's been a lowkey first season, but then so was Person of Interest's and look how that turned out. While I don't expect MacGyver will grow quite as exponentially, there's positives to take from this going forward. 9/10
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
WEEK TWENTY-TWO --- Matty: "I'm sorry doesn't fix anything, it just starts the conversation."
WEEK TWENTY-NINE --- Jack: "Last time we played NSA Listening Post Number 27 Panthers, we were pretty pathetic."
WEEK TWENTY-NINE --- Jack: "Last time we played NSA Listening Post Number 27 Panthers, we were pretty pathetic."
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