#105: Renegade

Season: 4

Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:

A vial of anthrax is stolen from the Phoenix Foundation by Steve Morrison, an ex-Navy Seal who once saved MacGyver's life on a mission.  Morrison was discharged from the Seals after behavioral changes resulting from a head injury, and now he plans to sell the anthrax to some wealthy criminal buyers.  MacGyver intercepts the buy at a state park, and Morrison saves MacGyver's life once again. 

Memorable Quote:

"He was part of your team.  Your own man needed help.  And you treated him like a number.  Good job!"  ~MacGyver

Highlight:

Fun little moment at the 8:20 mark when MacGyver is holding and inspecting a microscope and Koz (who happens to be Flounder from Animal House) says "Put that down, MacGyver, please," to which MacGyver responds with a great facial expression.  

Lowlight:

The beginning scene is a little slow and drawn out.  Not significantly, though.  I have to pick something. 

Best MacGyverism:

Uses floor lamp to blind motion detector, allowing movement to reach and defuse dynamite.  

Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:

• We're back in the Phoenix Research lab!  Last time we were here, in Kill Zone, dogs were aging before our eyes.  Now, anthrax is being tested.  Fun times!
• Lets jump to the action at the end.  At the 33:20 mark, we see what can only be described as an "interesting" look by MacGyver with a leather jacket, sunglasses, long hair, and collared shirt buttoned with the collar turned up.  Meanwhile, Pete is rocking a Herringbone suit (hat tip to my wife for teaching me a new word – Herringbone).
• 36:20 - MacGyver wipes out on his motorcycle due to a fallen tree trunk.  Instead of just picking up the bike (which doesn't look that heavy) and guiding it over the trunk, he finds a strip of wood like a plank and creates a little ramp, and then he backs up and revs the bike up to full speed and zooms over the tree.  A few minutes earlier, he snuck off and grabbed the bike and sped away, leaving the owner to come to Pete saying,  "That guy said you’d pay for my bike, 500 bucks."  Don't mess with leather-clad, motorcycle-riding MacGyver. 
• Not sure what is going on with Morrison.  We're led to believe he's a good guy because he saved MacGyver's life, even though he's forceful with his wife, wants to sell anthrax to terrorists for money, and tried to blow up his commander with dynamite. He did get a head injury which is supposed to explain his erratic behavior, but maybe he could have seemed a little more redeeming.  And for a Navy Seal, not a great plan to just turn your back on the bad guys and walk away with the money.
• 42:00 – Nice lasso/lariat skills from MacGyver
• 43:40 - Great use of an oar as a weapon.  I think an oar would be handy in a fight.  
• Strong performance by Marshall Teague as Steve Morrison.  Both great names, by the way.  We also saw him in MacGyver's Women as Kid Curry, who as of this post is still on the Top 5 Villains list.  Speaking of the list, Hans and Max check in all the way at #2, right behind Ralph.  
• When Marie Morrison was writing all those letters to the commander asking for help, couldn't she have just sent one to MacGyver?  He would have helped for sure.
  
  
  

Final Analysis:

For some reason I hardly remembered this one at all.  Something tells me that maybe USA Network didn't show this one for some reason, though that may not be correct.  In any case, I like this episode - good acting and an exciting ending.  Happy Labor Day everyone!