tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post7520368728432237979..comments2024-03-27T00:26:22.316-05:00Comments on The MacGyver Project: Mission: Impossible -- Episode 25: Target EarthNicholas Sweedohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-34670255244101028702023-07-29T23:38:51.085-05:002023-07-29T23:38:51.085-05:00Kandel's story about grabbing an old script re...Kandel's story about grabbing an old script refers to his first work on the original series. It also explains why his story idea, filmed for Season 7 as "The Question," plays like a Season 1 episode. Here's the relevant paragraph from Patrick J. White's book about the series:<br /><br />***<br />Help arrived in the form of Stephen Kandel, one of the industry's most prolific writers and fastest rewriters. Unofficially on staff for Mannix, it was just a matter of time before he wandered down the hall to the Mission offices for some uncredited dialogue polishes. The next step, of course, was a story meeting. "I'd never seen Mission, never read a Mission script," Kandel admits. "I had no idea what Mission was about and didn't particularly care." He thought so little of the appointment that he forgot about it until the morning it was scheduled. "I zipped into the outer office and picked up a script from the pile they had there. I hastily read through it and came up with an idea." Kandel pitched the genesis of what would become episode 157, "The Question" and as he recalls, Lansbury and Heath "broke up. They said, 'Oh, you haven't seen the show in a while.'" In his haste, Kandel had read an obsolete Stanley Kallis script! Kandel's storyline "had nothing to do with Mission: Impossible and was absolutely different from the style. They said, 'Well, try it.' I wrote it and they did it. I did a rewrite, and the next thing I knew I was on staff."<br />***<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-40543877768776007442017-09-06T16:16:04.781-05:002017-09-06T16:16:04.781-05:00Good stuff, thanks for reading! Good stuff, thanks for reading! Nicholas Sweedohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-88168525442908444632017-08-27T11:03:35.394-05:002017-08-27T11:03:35.394-05:00Thanks for doing these reviews/commentary. You bri...Thanks for doing these reviews/commentary. You bring up things I would have never thought of, as well as interesting ties to your childhood.<br />For me the opening of this episode was predictable and disappointing. The rest of the episode was a big cliffhanger for me, but sadly not the opening. I also thought that the code between Phelps and the Librarian was weaker than usual. Plus, how come no one noticed him watching the CD? It was interesting that Phelps sent Grant and Shannon ahead of the rest of the team. This is the first time, I believe, not everyone was at the briefing. I (think) that Shannon was chosen to be the rival astronaut instead of Grant because she has a knack for playing Miss Attitude. It would have made more sense if Grant had been it, and he could have pulled off the attitude, but it was fun to see her playing it and working through her lack of knowledge. I wonder where they secretly printed of the mask of Danker? I did not see any equipment for that purpose, and they could not let a guard see it either and still pull the plan off. At the end I think the ground crew landed the rocket, not Shannon. (Although, if that was the case, we still do not know how she/they reestablished control over the rocket.) Otherwise why would Phelps say "Thank you for landing her safely" to the ground crew? <br />Thanks again Nick.Old Tv Fanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11111624744435847235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-85453661529193454892017-07-10T08:14:32.228-05:002017-07-10T08:14:32.228-05:00The series certainly deserves props here for the &...The series certainly deserves props here for the "out-of-this-world" story idea. Right from the get-go, when the corrupt female space worker sets up the unconscious whistle blower to be torched underneath the jet's entrails (two years before Murdoc got the idea!), you knew you were gonna have an interesting hour of television. It all played out pretty B-movie-ish with a long list of eye-rolling plot conveniences which you touched upon, but it was nonetheless exciting and original to see Shannon in outer space, presumably exiled to "drifting" for the rest of eternity. The calmness of all parties in this crazy situation made was classic "M:I" to the point of nearly being an inside joke, with Grant matter-of-factly instructing Shannon to "Keep calm" while floating in outer space. With that said, the team's response to Shannon's arrival back on...planet Earth...was the warmest and most emotional I've seen these guys get in 26 episodes.<br /><br />Interesting exchange with Kandel as I bet you're right that he believed you were talking about the original "Mission: Impossible". I certainly recognized Eli Danker from "Cease Fire", which aired exactly one month to the day before this episode did, but I somehow missed that he was the same guy from "24: Legacy". I guess 27 years of aging can render just about anybody unfamiliar. I'll go along with you and rank this one #3 so far. Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-32593769391010934652017-06-29T23:21:33.142-05:002017-06-29T23:21:33.142-05:00Thanks very much, Liney! I agree that network tv ...Thanks very much, Liney! I agree that network tv in general is less ambitious and dumbed down. Series on HBO/Showtime/Netflix are pretty ambitious and popular although I'll still take 24 and Prison Break over those shows any day.Nicholas Sweedohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-13833416150819092862017-06-28T11:58:15.456-05:002017-06-28T11:58:15.456-05:00I really enjoy your commentary! Do you think that ...I really enjoy your commentary! Do you think that TV is generally less ambitious these days? Maybe I'm thinking of a pretty small sample size, but I wonder if reality TV has dumbed down TV writing... yet, maybe it has enhanced the writing for more niche programming (Netflix etc.)?lineyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09824333080147910176noreply@blogger.com