Thursday, December 11, 2014

MacGyver

EPISODE ANALYSES 
I wrote a blog post about every MacGyver episode starting with my least favorite episode and ending with my most favorite.
Episodes by Ranking
Episodes by Season
MacGyver Reboot

ABOUT THIS BLOG
Frequently Asked Questions
Key Terms
Top 5 Lists

CONVERSATIONS WITH CAST AND CREW

 POTPOURRI
Fan Fiction
Dodge the Bullet: A MacGyver Balloon Game
Mark's Guest Post -- Anatomy of a Great MacGyver Episode
Top 23 Check-In
The Halfway Point Podcast
Mark Hagen Podcast
Checking In
Updated Rankings
Dashboard's MacGyver Reboot Updates
Searching for Soul in Movies and Television
Randy Edelman Tribute
MacGyver Location Adventure
MacGyver Soundtrack

SCRIPT ANALYSES
Pilot
Target MacGyver
The Enemy Within
To Be A Man
Out in the Cold
DOA: MacGyver
Blood Brothers
The Challenge
Lesson in Evil
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24 comments:

  1. MarkJanuary 29, 2015 at 5:10 PM

    I noticed there was one episode you covered where my ranking never got added. Deep Cover was my #93. Just FYI. Thanks for the quick link to everybody's favorites though.

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  2. AnonymousJuly 18, 2016 at 10:53 PM

    Hi, hope you're still in charge of this website.. Does MacGyver follow any particular plot? And if, what are the episodes that are essential to understand this plot? Ive been looking for essential MacGyver episodes but i can't find any..

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    1. Nicholas SweedoJuly 19, 2016 at 12:05 AM

      Thanks for the comment. While there are some plot elements that continue through the series, for the most part the episodes are stand-alone (especially when compared to today's shows). A few landmark episodes include Phoenix Under Siege (goes into his personal history), Blood Brothers (explains why he hates guns), The Madonna (more personal history), Passages (he meets his parents on the boat to heaven), and Good Knight MacGyver (where we learned his first name). Hope you enjoy the series!

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    2. AnonymousJuly 19, 2016 at 11:20 AM

      Thank you! That helps me a lot. I'm putting together a little Essential Episodes list, and I'm incredibly short on 6th and 7th season episodes. I hope you can check and tell me if there's a few missing that should be there? Thnx! http://www.macgyveronline.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8847&view=findpost&p=1000086112

      Delete
    3. Nicholas SweedoJuly 19, 2016 at 12:00 PM

      Nice! I just added a few more suggestions to your forum thread.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousAugust 1, 2016 at 10:26 PM

    At 10 years old, I was an instant Mac fanatic when the series originally aired. All these years later, my favorite episode was the one where he and Harry were being chased through a swamp while vacationing? ... I think they hid in the murky water while breathing through whittled reeds and tree bark! ... Just wanted to share that and add my 2-cents. - CKJax

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    1. Nicholas SweedoAugust 1, 2016 at 11:21 PM

      Thanks CK and welcome to the blog! That episode you're thinking of is Target MacGyver.

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    2. UnknownAugust 2, 2016 at 3:27 PM

      Glad to be here! As soon as I found out about the reboot, I wondered what former recurring characters from the original MacGyver might make guest appearances on episodes this fall. ... I had a hunch about the possibility of bringing Murdoc back in some capacity. (Michael Des Barres) has aged very well. So, I tweeted him to ask about the possibility ... he then immediately tweeted back a 'smile'. I guess we'll have to wait and see!
      - CK

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  4. UnknownNovember 13, 2016 at 8:14 AM

    Why is the acting so Bad in the new series? Is it the actors or the writers? Hard to watch this show through a full episode. The original with RD Anderson was far better.

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  5. PanuMay 9, 2017 at 11:56 AM

    I started watching old MacGyver episodes again after a while, and stumbled across your fantastic episode ranking.

    I'm a big fan of movies and tv series (especially classic 80s ones: Miami Vice, MacGyver, Remington Steele), and while watching I often dig up some trivia related to whatever I'm watching. Your MacGyver episode reviews have a lot of fun facts and thoughts. I've really enjoyed reading through them.

    I'm sure everyone has their own favorite things about MacGyver, but I like episodes/segments where RDA narrates what MacGyver is thinking/doing. Somehow the narration feels very positive and glass half full kind of thing.

    In terms of plot, I prefer the episodes where MacGyver is breaking into or breaking out of some building or facility or nuclear powerplant... I also like heist movies, so it seems that this topic is very close to me. I haven't ever broken into a building, so maybe its curiosity.

    Any way. Thanks for the great effort you've put into these episode reviews! Maybe Miami Vice episode reviews next?

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    1. Nicholas SweedoMay 9, 2017 at 4:49 PM

      Thanks for reading and commenting! It's funny you mention Miami Vice and Remington Steele because those are the two shows I was thinking of doing next. I haven't made up my mind yet, and I've never seen even one episode of those shows so I might start them to see how they are first. I thought of Remington since I like Pierce Brosnan and of Vice since it has a lot of "before they were famous" guest stars.

      I'm with you on the voiceovers. There are many people such as Mark (frequent commenter) who don't like them, but I always thought they added some charm, and it was nice to know what he was thinking. RDA didn't like doing them because it was a lot of extra work.

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    2. PanuMay 10, 2017 at 1:08 PM

      At least Miami Vice has some fun links with MacGyver.

      Bruce McGill guest starred in one of the episodes (which also has a great scene with Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms playing in the background). Also, Michael Des Barres guest stars in one or two of the episodes.

      Remington Steele episode reviews might be a fun project though as there is a lot of review material on Miami Vice already floating around the internet.

      There might also be some interesting trivia with regards to the last seasons of Remington Steele. Pierce Brosnan was about to become James Bond in the 80s, but the Remington Steele production company didn't let him out of his contract, because all the media hype about him becoming Bond had provided good publicity for Remington Steele. Timothy Dalton became Bond instead... obviously we all know that Brosnan got his turn as Bond in the 90s (and co-starred with Teri Hatcher in one of his Bond films).

      Delete
  6. UnknownAugust 3, 2017 at 2:18 PM

    What's up with Highlander II's rankings? Clicking on that link bring you to a strange page.

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    1. Highlander_IIAugust 3, 2017 at 2:31 PM

      It's on my Dreamwidth blog. Just click the 'Yes, I want to view..' button and it'll take you to the list of all the blog posts.

      Delete
  7. UnknownJanuary 6, 2018 at 6:30 AM

    Just watched latest episode thought Angus and Jack knew each other when children?

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  8. SvenJanuary 8, 2019 at 6:00 AM

    What an enormous project! Stumbled across your site recently and am in awe!

    I was born in '85 (in South Africa) so I saw a few episodes while growing up and many more later as an adult. Bought the whole region 2 DVD set a few weeks ago and am now going through the whole series systematically from start to finish for the first time - this time together with my wife. :)

    -Sven

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  9. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2019 at 12:33 PM

    I've combined all four rankings (yours/Nicholas's, Mark's, Al's, and Highlander's), and this is the result: https://pastebin.com/hTbTc9fq

    The most consistently highly ranked episodes (best in the combined ranking) are The Assassin and Ghost Ship!

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    1. Nicholas SweedoSeptember 26, 2019 at 2:43 PM

      This is great -- thanks for putting in the work and for sharing!

      Delete
  10. MikeyApril 14, 2022 at 5:42 PM

    I posted here a few years ago and I am going thru the series again. I tried making a ranking awhile ago, but never finished. Ill have to do it one day. Ive always wanted to make a MacGyver fansite that would have searchable keywords, so if you are trying to remember an episode, you can just search that and find it! So I might rank em there one day.

    In the meantime, Im putting together a comparative spreadsheet of your rankings, along with Mark and Al, and IMDB. The problem with IMDB is I have to calculate the rankings based on the ratings, which requires a lot of data entry time, but I am curious. So far, IMDB disagrees with you sharply on quite a few episodes. Whats ridiculous is how poorly ranked a lot of the episodes are. Only a few are over 8. But watching the show again, there is a lot of kitschy stuff that you dont notice as a kid, but is ridiculous as an adult. Like how the foreigners speak fluent English, but they had to do that to make the show work. Im just a purist. Thats why I like Tarantinos perfection when it comes to casting and dialogue. But, MacGyver is and always will be my favorite show, and I suppose hero and role model.

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  11. shelaghsingsMay 14, 2023 at 12:38 AM

    Had a hankering a couple of weeks ago for a couple of MacGyver episodes and found out Paramount+ has the whole series for streaming. Of course, you can't just watch a couple of MacGyver episodes.
    I can't recall what the search was that wound me up on your site, but I'm having a blast watching each episode and reading your TMP along with them.
    (On top of that, I just read your post about where you grew up - we were neighbors a few cities over in the same state.)
    Thanks for this amazing project - it's adding value to my happy Mac viewing.

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    1. Nicholas SweedoJune 3, 2023 at 11:54 AM

      Thanks so much, glad you're enjoying the show and the blog!

      Delete
  12. AnonymousAugust 16, 2023 at 11:15 PM

    also just found out about this site. man i would love to pull together a ranking myself like this one day. really appreciate all the work you put into this. just one question for your Nicholas, it’s been 8 years since an updated rankings. any chance at another update?

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