You just need some gum, string and... by Gord Lacey (All reviews)
1/26/2005
He's everyone's favorite action hero... but he's a hero with a difference. MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon. Armed with only a knapsack filled with everyday items he picks up along the way, he improvises his way out of every peril the bad guys can throw at him.
I loved this show when I was a kid, and my parents loved it because it didn't promote gun use, and wasn't all that violent (I wasn't allowed to watch The A-Team because of the violence). I haven't seen the show since it went off the air, so it was a blast watching these episodes again. I'll be honest and admit that I don't remember a single episode, though I know I watched it all the time. It was interesting to see Dana Elcar in the pilot, though he wasn't playing Pete Thornton, Mac's friend and boss at the Phoenix Foundation. I don't think the foundation was mentioned until "Nightmares," the eleventh episode of the series, and the first to feature Pete. Be on the lookout for a young Teri Hatcher who appears in episode 15, and returns in some later seasons. Paramount has released the 22 episode first season on 6 discs.
Video
I went back and forth with the video score; "6...no, 7...no, 6....maybe 7." I finally decided that it probably deserved a 6.5, but we don't do half marks here, so I rounded it up to a 7. The material for the show is almost 20 years old, and the age shows. The pilot contained a lot of dust and debris, and it carried over to many of the episodes. The picture is usually sharp, but some episodes are a tad fuzzy. Chapters are placed after the opening of each episode, but the discs lack a "play all" feature.
Audio
It's so difficult to write about Mono soundtracks. The material sounds fine; it's just limited by only being one channel. You won't hear any bullets whiz by or sounds coming from offscreen; everything is dead center. The dialog is easy to understand, but the set is closed captioned if you need it.
Trailers (3:21)
Paramount has included some trailers for other TV titles; Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy play when you insert disc 1, or from the menu.
Summary
I would have loved to hear Richard Dean Anderson commentary tracks, or interviews, but there's nothing to be found on the set. This isn't entirely the fault of Paramount, since I've been told RDA doesn't do anything he's not under contract to do (Stargate SG-1 fans will tell you he hasn't participated in any of the sets released). It doesn't make any sense to include extras when the show has one star (at least in season 1) and he won't be involved.
I loved revisiting my childhood with this series, and I'll look forward to season 2. I'll hold out hope that something can be done for season 2, but I won't hold my breath.
