#88: Split Decision

Season: 7

Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:

MacGyver is training his old foe-turned-friend Earl Dent for a boxing match.  Earl intends to use the prize money to demonstrate to social services that he is fit to take custody of his 14 year-old daughter, Veronica ("Ronnie").  Dent plans to throw the fight for extra money but then changes his mind to the chagrin of some crooked bookies who kidnap Ronnie in order to exert control over Dent.  

Memorable Quote:

Earl, you’ve definitely come to the wrong place.  I hate boxing.  I think it’s barbaric.  ~MacGyver
Some people say the same things about hockey.   ~Dent
Well I happen to have hope for hockey.  ~MacGyver

Highlight:
A two minute Rocky-like training sequence which includes Dent running on the beach (like in Rocky 3), jumping rope, and using MacGyver's contraptions, all while bonding with his daughter. There's good music, and it culminates with a big punch which shatters MacGyver's punching machine. MacGyver and Ronnie are elated, though if I were MacGyver I wouldn't be thrilled with my bright white shirt getting sprayed with grape juice. 

Lowlight:

Not fun to watch Dent get mauled in the ring when he is throwing the fight.    

Best MacGyverism:

MacGyver creates a few homemade training devices, I guess you could call them, and puts them in his garage for Dent to train with.  They include the aforementioned punching machine with the juice that rises in a tube with each punch, and then there's a remote controlled machine with mechanical arms covered with hockey and baseball gloves that provide punching targets.  Of course MacGyver rigs this all up in the time that Dent and Ronnie go out for groceries.  

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

• 5:22 mark – I like how at the Department of Children’s Welfare, MacGyver goes up the stairs on the left side and almost runs over the mother and son coming down.  
• This is our 3rd and final Earl Dent episode.  We've already reviewed Harry's Will and High Control.  Dick Butkus does a great job in this episode - his acting is believable and nuanced.  Very impressive especially for a Hall of Fame linebacker.  Speaking of High Control, couldn't they have just called in Montana to vouch for Dent?  And funny how it's the second time that MacGyver has agreed to let Dent stay with him while in the presence of a social worker. 
• I'm not sure what I think about Ronnie - she's kind of annoying but also likable at the same time. In the middle of the episode she turns really quickly from a mad-at-the-world teenager to a loving daughter.  It's reminiscent of the Tony Milani flip.  
• The bookies arrive at MacGyver's garage, and it's Herb Edelman (who we've see in The Lost Amadeus) and Bubba Smith, another former all-pro of the gridiron.  Like Butkus, Bubba does well on screen - he doesn't say much but plays the role with seriousness and believability.  
• If Dent was the 5^th ranked heavyweight in the world at one point, you’d think he could do better than pocketing 4 grand and fighting as an undercard in a small gym.
• 20:40 - I like this exchange after MacGyver gets punched by Crazy Eddie:
• "Is it broke?"  ~Dent
• "Leave me alone."  ~MacGyver (sounding like an 8 year old)
• MacGyver is on the couch and pours some water in a plastic bag.  Dent comes over and touches it and says it feels cold.  MacGyver explains that it is Sodium Thiosulfate.  Just add water and it becomes an "instant cold pack."  If I were Dent I would have asked MacGyver why he didn't just buy a cold pack from the store.  
• The ring announcer is none other than Jim Lampley.  
• Ending where MacGyver rescues Ronnie in the Machine Shop has some good renditions of the Minor MacGyver.  
• 43:27 – fun little clip when MacGyver cheers for Dent and then looks at himself with surprise for getting so excited about boxing.  
• Why does Ronnie think Dent won the fight at the end?  He wasn't trying for the first 7 rounds!  

Conversation:
Here's my conversation with episode writer David Rich.

Final Analysis:

In retrospect, I should have had this one a little lower, like around 97 or 98.  The first half is fairly slow, Ronnie's a tad annoying, and the father/daughter dialogue is corny at times.  But Butkus is great as usual, and I like the ending when Dent sees Ronnie in his corner and starts trying.  It's not an episode that's going to blow anyone away, but it's got some good moments and I enjoy watching it.  And we're now officially over halfway done with Season 7!  Next up, I'll give my thoughts on a certain recurring female sidekick who will be making her first MacGyver Project appearance.