#92: Rush to Judgement

Season: 5

Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:

MacGyver is in court serving jury duty for a murder trial where the victim was the wife of a notable ex-athlete.  He breaks sequester in order to get a better look at the crime scene, and he finds evidence that casts doubt on the defendant's guilt.  He admits to breaking his sequester and gets taken into custody but gets out on bail and solves the crime.  

Memorable Quote:

No, actually I think you're to blame.  ~MacGyver

I beg your pardon?  ~Reporter

People like you who rush to judgement or make snap accusations before you get all the facts.  ~MacGyver

Highlight:

A few really good options to pick from here.  I'm gonna go with the scene in the courtroom where Pete refuses to give up MacGyver as the source of the evidence and then MacGyver stands up and says it was him.  It's fun to imagine that really happening where a juror just stands up in the middle of a case and starts talking.  The courtroom and the judge especially are shocked by this, which is enjoyable to watch.  Though I do have to ask, why would the D.A. and judge make the defense attorney reveal his source?  And then he gives up Pete right in front of everyone!  

Lowlight:

They kill the bird lady?  That's harsh!  At least we don't have to see her dead body.   

Best MacGyverism:

A fun one where he rigs the vending machine to pop out sodas in order to distract the guard.  Of course MacGyver is an expert in soda machine technology!  We never get to see how he snuck back into his hotel room.  In any event, we'll add this one as #5 on the MacGyverism list.  

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

• Well done in the beginning where we see the court case develop for a few minutes, and just as we're wondering what this has to do with MacGyver, the camera pans the jury and we see MacGyver sitting there. 
• I remember watching this as a kid and asking my mother what sequester was. Always learned something when watching MacGyver!  
• As a self-confessed rule breaker myself (and also a Meyers-Briggs "P"), I love the dynamic of MacGyver following his own moral code and breaking a rule because he believes it's the right thing to do.  Of course a "J" would tell you if everyone followed their own rules, there would be chaos.  But MacGyver was willing to deal with the consequences, which in this case was going into custody.  Though I guess the case was dropped because we don't hear any more about it after he makes bail.  
• Fun exchange after the bird lady knocks a flower pot off her window:
• "How'd my geranium take it?"  ~Bird Lady
• "Better than the pot."  ~MacGyver
• I love when MacGyver talks directly to Arlo the bird to play along with the bird lady. Then at 14:53, he gets into it a little too much and backs away with an expression like, "what in the world am I doing talking to a bird like this."
• 37:40 - I like the use of "settle down" in everyday language.  Jon Stewart is good at working it in with his guests.
• 41:10 - Wow, MacGyver uses self-defense to take down a much bigger guy!  It took him a while, but toward the end of the series he gets pretty good at hand-to-hand combat.    

Final Analysis:

Whoa!  I really enjoyed this one.  I didn't remember it being one of my favorites, and I still wouldn't put it in the top 25 or anything, but it's much better than I thought.  For an episode with not much action, there's never a dull moment, and there are some great highlights including the soda machine escape, the courtroom source reveal, and everything involving the bird lady.  It's a good mystery where justice is served in the end, and like Hell Week and Live and Learn, it's fun to have a unique episode where MacGyver is doing something different and also where we get to see him as more of a normal person doing things like getting soda from a vending machine.