#101: Twice Stung

Season: 2

Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:

MacGyver's friend Kelly is duped out of his life savings by a flamboyant con artist named Crowe. To get Kelly's money back and enact revenge, MacGyver convinces Pete to "con the con," and they enact a plan called "The Toledo Twist."  The plan hits some snags, but eventually they trap Crowe in a police station where he has nowhere to run.  

Memorable Quote:

You don't go to people with your problems.  You come to your friends!  ~MacGyver

Well you don't always remember that!  ~Kelly

Highlight:

9:18 mark - great scene where MacGyver meets Joanne, the eager, young Phoenix employee who is an expert on cons.  She is excited to meet him and they have this fun exchange:

• "Oh I've heard about you!  You're the guy who does the whatchamacalits, you know, MacGyverisms, turns one thing into another!"  ~Joanne
• "MacGyverisms?!"  ~MacGyver, with a surprised yet smug expression

Lowlight:

It's sad when Kelly tries to gas himself.  

Best MacGyverism:

A few good ones to pick from here.  This one's not flashy, but I like when he ties one end of the fire hose to the elevator and another end to Kelly's door.  I like it because it's very clever and yet also relatable and something that I could do even though I'm not a science expert.  Of course if Dent were here, he could just throw his shoulder into the door and that would be that. 

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

• This is one of those episodes where there's no point in trying to critique the plot or character motivations.  Let's just suspend disbelief, sit back, and enjoy the show!  
• We open with MacGyver as a passenger on a high speed air force jet.  The plane lands, and we see MacGyver in a jeep and narrating, "It may not have been first class seating, but who cares with pilots like this," as the beautiful pilot takes of her helmet, tosses her hair, and smiles.  Easy there, MacGyver.  Turns out the pilot, Julie Moran, went on to work at Entertainment Tonight.  I wonder if this was one of those deleted scenes that was not on USA Network because it doesn't seem familiar to me.  
• Another surprise birthday party at the Phoenix Foundation.  This time MacGyver's in a better mood. 
• Awesome glasses from Joanne.  I like her - too bad she's not in any more episodes. And how cool would it be to be a con expert and know everything about scams like "The Philadelphia Flash" and "The Toledo Twist?"  Better yet, how great would it be to turn that knowledge into a research job with occasional field work?  Maybe that's why we don't see Joanne anymore - there weren't enough con men running 1930's-style cons for Phoenix to bust. 
• 11:03 - "Pete. Guy. You're dying to do it." ~MacGyver, as he puts his arm around Pete.  It's always fun when MacGyver's in a playful mood.   
• Awesome shirt MacGyver's got on.  Light pink and blue, and I can't tell what the shapes are.  Maybe whales or elephants?
• Crowe is played by Richard Romanus of The Prodigal fame.  Great actor. 
• 16:42 - fun scene where MacGyver asks Joanne for her bobby pins, buttons, and glasses.  She thinks he's doing a MacGyverism, but he's trying to make her look hotter. 
• 18:12 - love MacGyver's face when Joanne improvises and ruins their plan for The Boston Bang.
• 30:30 - kind of weird that Joanne takes pictures of fruit and hangs them up in her house.  And really, MacGyver, you bring a woman pastrami on rye to cheer her up?
• 31:18 - some cool music, especially once we get to 32:36.  I know we hear this arrangement in another episode - maybe Partners?  Let's add it to the music list.  

Final Analysis:

A little corny, but clever and fun.  Reminds me of The Sting, one of my favorite movies, which happens to feature a young Dana Elcar.

In other news, we are now finished with the first 36 episodes!  That means that there are 100 left - the 100 best episodes of MacGyver.  Things have improved dramatically from 136 to 101.  And fortunately, the best is yet to come!