Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:
MacGyver and his bounty hunter friend Jesse Colton are in Thailand: MacGyver to oversee a Phoenix Foundation clinic and Jesse to see a woman from his past in Vietnam. The woman has died, but Jesse learns that he has a son, Willie, who despises Jesse and has fallen in with some small-time American street criminals. The bad guys steal a dialysis machine from the Phoenix clinic and kidnap Jesse, but MacGyver and Willie rescue him, and then Willie agrees to follow Jesse back to America.
Memorable Quote:
"When my mother was in the bay waiting for God
to take her to Heaven, she told me
my father was coming to Bangkok. Are you my father? I can
see in your face that you are my father.
Can you not see in my face that I am your son? You are my father.
You slime." ~Willie
Lowlight:
Pretty much every scene with Willie, an unlikable character who is passive-aggressive and defiant toward Jesse and also incredibly stupid in his interactions with the criminals. He's supposed to be 15 but looks more like 25. Let's quick check IMDB...yep, he was 26.
Best MacGyverism:
Using chloroform and alcohol-soaked shoelaces to blow a lock.
Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:
- In the beginning, some great stock footage of what looks like an Asian country in the 1950’s.
- There are quite a few out of place-looking white people showing up in Bangkok crowd scenes throughout this episode. My favorite shot is at the 17 minute mark where we see two grandmas with gray hair and giant purses perusing the local vegetable stands.
- Runner up for memorable quote:
- Suzie: MacGyver, am I going to die now?
- MacGyver: No baby, you’re not gonna die.
- Suzie: Do you think if you lie, I’ll feel better?
- Ouch.
Final Analysis:
Not a disaster, but it's fairly slow, dull, and not really all that enjoyable. Willie is annoying and the criminals are weak. Let's move on!
It would be interesting to know who did the research on all these MacGyverisms... where in the world does one find out about these things, that is, during the pre-Internet age? Of course these days you can find instructions for all kinds of crazy things on the Internet (which I won't call out by name, in case Big Brother is watching). ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah it would be fun to talk to whoever did all the research. I know that they intentionally left out some ingredients when he was building explosive things so people wouldn't replicate it.
DeleteI wonder why the producers relied so heavily on stock footage. Also, why didn't the editors check for continuity of time and place? Maybe they were on a tight budget.
ReplyDeleteYeah there's lots of stock footage throughout the series. I think the budget had a lot to do with it, also they didn't have CGI.
Delete"also they didn't have CGI."
DeleteGlad they didn't! Sometimes CGI looks so fake!
We're back to being mostly in agreement on this episode, which wasn't bad but not a favorite. It definitely wasn't the direction I think the show should have taken the Jesse Colton character. They did a decent job of making this look like southeast Asia, however, particularly for a network TV show in the 80s, and I liked the premise of Willie getting caught up with these black marketeers using kids to rip off their wares. A mediocre MacGyver episode is still better than a good episode of most shows and this one qualifies. I rated it #103.
ReplyDelete"Can you not see in my face that I am your son? You are my father. You slime." ~Willie"
ReplyDeleteROFL!
"Lowlight: Pretty much every scene with Willie, an unlikable character who is passive-aggressive and defiant toward Jesse and also incredibly stupid in his interactions with the criminals. He's supposed to be 15 but looks more like 25. Let's quick check IMDB...yep, he was 26."
26?!!?!?!!!?! :0 First that actress who is 12 who didn't look like it, and now this guy who is 26 who looks 15 to me. Hahaha. And yeah Willie was annoying. I mean come on Jesse didn't know he had a son! Get over it Willie!
"Suzie: MacGyver, am I going to die now?
MacGyver: No baby, you’re not gonna die.
Suzie: Do you think if you lie, I’ll feel better?
Ouch."
Poor Suzie. :(
Well, if a kids grows up in a rough, being told his father will come to save him and his mother and then shows up too late I don't find it unlikely that he would be angry. I actually think Willie was a pretty good character. Maybe his development arc was a little off (he came to the terms with Jessie a little too hastily) but still believable.
ReplyDeleteWhat is a little less believable is the exploding chloroform. Now I don't know about chloroform but the alcohol soaked shoelace is a bad idea. Alcohol (in this case isopropyl alcohol since it's from medical supplies) is extremely volatile and will evaporate quickly when not contained. So the alcohol soaked shoelace would only be soaked in water (isopropyl is always mixed with water in medical application) by the time MacGyver lit it and of all the people it's him who should know.
And that chloroform would probably need to be misted to explode as well but I can't confirm.
For me this is one of the worst episodes.
ReplyDelete