Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:
MacGyver and his German girlfriend are discussing commitment when they enter the houseboat and see two women from previous episodes. As the women mock MacGyver and men in general, MacGyver goes upstairs and falls asleep while watching a Western. He dreams that he is a cowboy who must rescue the women from outlaws.
Memorable Quote:
"I want to be with one man, with you." ~Maria
"Well, you’re with me now." ~MacGyver
"Like friends, sure. Like lovers, yes. But like a family?" ~Maria
"Well, the idea of a family is nice." ~MacGyver
"Nice? I’m talking about more than nice. I’m talking about commitment, and you never want to discuss it." ~Maria
"Phew, commitment." ~MacGyver
Highlight:
I like MacGyver's goofy cowboy accent, if you want to call it that.
Lowlight:
The ending's a little abrupt. After grilling MacGyver about commitment, Maria says she has a position in Rio and has to catch a plane. Who are you to string MacGyver along like that?! At least we don't see her again.
Best MacGyverism:
Cowboy MacGyver uses some Dr. Destiny Iron Tonic bought from Peddler Pete and mixes it with some pine nuts and then pours the mixture down the chimney to replicate the sound of gunfire.
Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:
- Maria sure came and went fast, guest starring a few episodes ago and now all of a sudden she and MacGyver are "lovers", and then we never see her again after this. Maybe it was a result of fan mail from women asking the producers to keep MacGyver single. In this case, I agree - I'm not a huge Maria fan. I like her accent, but that's about it. I guess we have to include her on the love interest page.
- MacGyver's got a pretty sweet trenchcoat in the beginning.
- When MacGyver and Maria enter the houseboat, we see Lt. Kate Murphy (from the Dr. Zito episodes) in disguise for some reason. Then we see Jenny (from "Runners", though this time played by former adult film star Traci Lords) come downstairs wearing MacGyver's hockey jersey. No wonder Maria is surprised.
- We're back in Serenity! No Murdoc this time, unfortunately, though the Bozers are back.
- At the 30:15 mark, MacGyver pulls off one of his patented moves: taking his hand and brushing it lightly on a woman's cheek as a sign of affection. Only MacGyver can pull that move off.
- The villian, Kid Curry, is actually somewhat menacing and competent, which means he vaults straight to the top of the villains list. Even though he is fictional. Though I suppose they're all fictional.
Final Analysis:
Like recent others, this one is pretty neutral - no major high or low points, and not terribly memorable; in fact, I remembered very little about it before rewatching. This is one of two episodes where MacGyver dreams he is in the West, and I do enjoy the goofy MacGyver cowboy voice/character. Sorry for the long wait between posts, but it's hard to find extra time when the World Cup is going on. Rooting for the U.S., underdogs, and teams from the Americas!
Ugh! My least favorite episode. The episode was masterfully produced with beautiful scenery and cinematography throughout, but wasted on a disastrous script and acting that made it seem like it was supposed to be a parody. From the awkward conversation at the houseboat in the beginning to the awkward arrival of the mail order brides in the dream to the awkward scene with Maria naked to the awkward scene of the women being ogled by "Billy the Kid", this episode was ALL low points for me and as definitive of a "jump the shark" moment as this series had. They saved the worst for last though with the distracted bad guys shooting at the tin can on a string for 30 seconds while the women escaped undetected....followed by the bad guys not being able to get out of the saloon because they forgot to slide the door open. Just writing this review gave me chills to recall that MacGyver sunk as low as this episode during the course of its run. This is an easy #141 for me.
ReplyDeleteI loved it when Cowboy Mac shushed the pig. Very cute.
ReplyDeletelove it too!
Delete"Nick says I guess we have to include her on the love interest page."
ReplyDeleteOh do we really have to?! *groan* Let's just pretend she doesn't exist!
Oh I hate this episode!!! I hate the name of this episode. Macgyver's women? Really? They all man bash and make fun of him! What the hell?! He didn't deserve that! Maria wants a serious commitment from him?! They have only dated 3 weeks and she wants a commitment already?! Damn! And then when he finally agrees, geez she went from whining to meh we will talk about this when I get back. SERIOUSLY?! UGH! And in Macgyver's dream, she was so annoying! I am glad she left! Thank you to the women who wrote letters wanting her gone. This episode should be gone! Destroyed! Never to be seen or heard from again!
Wow, someone who hated this episode as much as Mark!
Delete"Nicholas Sweedo says Wow, someone who hated this episode as much as Mark!"
DeleteHahaha yeah I guess so! :)
These were not "MacGyvers women" for 3 reasons, 1) Murphy was just a cop he worked with at least twice that we have seen & I didn't see any indication of an attraction or a relationship 2) Jenny is underage therefore Macgyver wouldn't get himself into that kind of trouble (remember in season 2 when he was in the woods with those teenage gang members, that little girl was trying to come on to him and he wasn't having it & when he first met Jenny he wasn't having it then, & 3) He just met the German girl and she's already asking for commitment and they basically just met in the previous episode or something on those lines. They really don't know Macgyver that well in the grand scheme of this show and I really don't think that any deserve to be called "Macgyvers women".
DeleteYou're assuming a timeline that hasn't been established. You're assuming linear time and that the passage of time in the show matches the passage of time between seasons/episodes.
DeleteOff the top of my head, I don't remember how old Jenny was in "Runners" (15, maybe?) - and if she's 15 in s4, and "MacGyver's Women" is in s6, she could be 18, assuming slightly more than 2 yrs between s4 and s6 (and given all of the stuff Mac does, it's entirely possible). And Murphy isn't 'just a cop' - she and Mac are friends, and, given that she shows up more than once, closer friends than most of his other friends who show up only to die immediately. And, Maria may be more asking about a formal dating arrangement, than something closer to engagement (ignoring the fact that she shows up to spook the pants off Mac b/c the female fans didn't want her around and the writers needed to put her on a bus).
They are all still 'MacGyver's Women' b/c they are all women in MacGyver's life.
You've got to be kidding me. "neutral"? One of the best acted episodes, by far. No bad acting to speak of, and that's an achievement. An episode that takes the series' already self conscious humour to a higher level, plus adds some emotional depth. We start seeing Mac as an actual human being here, with weaknesses, an that's remarkable. The story is complex, totally original, proving how far the producers were willing to step out of the series' safe zone. I've counted two or three cultural references throughout.
ReplyDeleteAnd get this: an episode with the most sexist title and it's in fact a statement against misogyny (within the context of the early nineties, of course :) How brilliant is that?
The villains really look like people you don't want to mess with, and that's also quite new. On top of that, there are several pretty good Macgyverisms, breaking the "the one-macgyverism per episode" tendency of the later seasons. What's not to like?
Honestly, you can't love MacGyver and dislike this episode. To me it captures the essence of the whole series.
Only low point for me is the little "air time" Pete gets. His character was colourful and mysterious, showing Dana Elcar's range as an actor. He should have been more prominent.
Gotta agree with Andy above that this episode is actually pretty cleverly written, has good acting and competent villains and sidekicks (the women). Maria is actually a good looking and also competent woman and the actress that plays her is really good in the role, I totally believed her character in this episode.
ReplyDeleteBut the episode as good as it is somehow doesn't feel like MacGyver. It really stretches the series theme a bit too far. And the women's "assault" on MacGyver at the beginning is a little bit too much, it's even more annoying than Jack clearing his house.
So yeah, kinda hard to decide on this one. I'll let it pass for now.
One more thing - music was top notch! Not only in the sense how it was composed but also how it was interwoven into the episode, especially with the banjo player at the bad guys' hideout.
ReplyDeleteAnd also, how Mac said the word "atoning" (aye-toe-nen) was hilarious.
The Macgyverism at the end is INCREDIBLE
ReplyDeleteSimilar title Star Trek's, Mudd's Women, in which Harry Mudd is the handler for mail order brides. The comment that the mail order brides in MacGyver's dream are desperate could be a subconscious thought in reaction to the real women's discussion about commitment.
ReplyDeleteIt's a funny and weird episode as dreams often are.
Good call on the Mudd's Women, that's interesting.
DeleteDelurking to note that Stephen Kandel wrote the scripts to both Mudd's Women and its sort-of-sequel, I, Mudd, so some comparisons might be worthwhile. Two decades certainly made a difference! I laughed when Kate, Jenny and Maria's heckling drove Mac upstairs -- a bit unfair to Mac, though he puts up with worse from his friends, but a nice, spontaneous, fun moment for them. Well played, and I feel like it set up Maria's reversal at the end (which I did not expect, by the way, given the way Old West Maria was acting, but then that was MacGyver's dream after all and he was more surprised than I was!) Committing to one person, even temporarily, can feel like a big step when there are still so many options to explore.
ReplyDeleteStrange to say I'm going through the original series for the first time, starting about a month ago, pretty much out of order thanks to the way Pluto TV has it scheduled on Roku Live TV. Only four decades late to the party! But very much enjoying the reviews and discussion as I try and sort things out.
And good call on Stephen Kandel, that must be a connection then. Thanks for delurking and hope you enjoy the reviews!
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