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Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:
The IMF team recover some stinger missiles by tricking an arms dealer into thinking that he is being haunted by Aboriginal Australians.
Memorable Quote:
Should we pick him up? ~Grant
No, he belongs to someone else now. ~Jim
Highlight:
Should we pick him up? ~Grant
No, he belongs to someone else now. ~Jim
Highlight:
I liked when Nick stole the banker's office. He calls him to tell him that there's a meeting to go to (and he can see the guy in the window as he's talking), and then he even holds the door open for him on his way out which is a nice touch.
Lowlight:
Lowlight:
I'm generally willing to accept the IMF team's technical wizardry however improbable it may sometimes be, but the elevator stunt was a bridge too far -- first that they were able to hack into the elevator and change what floors appeared, and second that they made it look like he was about to step off the side of the building. And the scene wasn't even necessary for the story.
Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:
- This episode was directed by veteran MacGyver and Legend director Mike Vejar.
- The man on the disc tells Phelps that some Australian ranches (or "cattle stations") are bigger than Texas. Really? I know Australia is a big place but a ranch the size of Texas is hard to believe. And if Matthews (the bad guy) really did own a ranch that big, I think he'd have more money and personnel around him.
- Speaking of Matthews, that mullet and mustache combination is not a good look.
- 14:15 mark -- I didn't know that Aussies drove with the steering wheel on the right.
- When Casey makes her way into Matthews' place uninvited and showers him with cash, I find it hard to believe that a career criminal and ladies man wouldn't try to make a move on her.
- That music they play when messing with Matthews is pretty annoying - I can see why he went nuts.
Final Analysis:
Not a big fan of this one. Low on highlights, the bad guy was pretty goofy and dull witted, and the episode seemed to drag on and on. Ranking it 6 out of 7.
I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit, even though suspending disbelief was required even more heavily than usual and the Aborigine backdrop was a little goofy and culturally insulting. Still, it added some atmosphere and the hustle they played on this numbskull was amusing to me. While I agree the elevator hacking bit was extremely far-fetched, it was fun and I was genuinely puzzled how they managed to pull off the optics until I saw their use of the curtains with images projected onto them. As crazy as that was, your listed highlight with Nicholas so breezily hijacking the identity of the banker without being noticed struck me as even more implausible than the elevator scheme. And I actually liked the music!
ReplyDeleteAgreed that this career criminal was awful dumb to fall for the entire con foisted upon him, particularly when Casey came in with a suitcase of cash to shower upon him....just because she could. I have to disagree with your assessment of his hairdo as a "mullet" though. There's plenty of debate over what constituted a mullet in the 80s but in no way is his hair long enough in the back (or I would argue, short enough in the front) to qualify.
I was surprised that I enjoyed this one after I found out what it was gonna be about, and will rank it #3 so far. I know it's not a perfect match to voodoo storylines but I'm surprised you didn't like it since you always seem to sing the praises of the voodoo storylines I tend to find preposterous. And I'll go on record in saying that whatever goofiness transpired in this hour still wasn't as far-fetched as a ponytailed white guy in blackface conning his own voodoo cult and his own henchmen from a few feet away that he was Baron Samedi!!!!!
Mike Vejar was directing for "MacGyver" during the 1988-89 season as well. Hard to believe he'd have time to fly all the way to Australia to direct a "Mission: Impossible" episode in the middle of the season.
DeleteIt pains me to hear you even begin to compare this mediocre offering to the greatness that is Walking Dead. I have to sit down and compose myself for a minute after that upsetting comment.
DeleteOK, I'm composed! As for the mullet, I concede that it's not the mullet-iest mullet that has ever existed, but it seems close enough. Whether or not, it's still not a good look for this guy. People always talk about MacGyer's mullet but I never thought of it as a true mullet except for Season 5.
Sorry to have caused you such pain. Interesting though that your acclaim for voodoo-based stories apparently does not extend to Aborigines. Going by the strictest definition of the "mullet", I'm not sure if MacGyver's season 5 do would even count as it was of a similarly long length throughout his head rather than the "business up front, party in the back" description. The purest mullet that pop culture has ever given us probably belongs to Mr. Billy Ray Cyrus circa 1992.
DeleteI don't know that I have acclaim for all things Voodoo, other than I like Walking Dead and Live and Let Die. But I agree on the portrayal of Aboriginal culture in this episode as silly and overly stereotypical.
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