tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post7057528447523183610..comments2024-03-27T00:26:22.316-05:00Comments on The MacGyver Project: #130: HellfireNicholas Sweedohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-75815020950132219712022-05-08T06:37:50.491-05:002022-05-08T06:37:50.491-05:00Hi everyone, I've started watching the show fo...Hi everyone, I've started watching the show for the first time in full, on Blu-Ray, and using this blog as my after-show. I used to watch MacGyver as a kid when it was on, in France (not often enough, unfortunately). I grew apart from the show (probably because It stopped airing) but the little I had seen as a kid left such an impression on me that I took some of the characters trait for my own (be kind to others, respect nature and always find a way to fix something rather than throw it away).<br />When the Blu Ray came out I figured I'd give the show a real go. Started with season 3 (it had the most episode I remembered), then 2, and now 1. I'll move to 4 and the rest in order after that.<br />I've been enjoying this blog very much, the reviews and the discussions are always entertaining after I finish an episode.<br /><br />Regarding Hellfire, I actually enjoyed this episode very much. The title may be a reference to the John Wayne movie but the plot is taken verbatim from William Friedkin's 1977 masterpiece Sorcerer (itself a remake of a French film called The Wages of Fear, which I have yet to see). If you haven't seen Sorcerer, do yourself a favor and check it out. The episode goes a little further than the movie by showing how they put the fire out and it is a little less concerned with the psychological/metaphorical aspect of the journey, but other than that the whole thing with the truck, the dynamite and the trip, that's Sorcerer.<br />As Rita said, the timing with the falling dynamite and MacGyver jumping out makes sense if you taker into account the crates sliding off the shelves, not free-falling right away.<br />Finally, I'd venture a guess that the reason they brought back the dynamite in creates rather than the nitro in a thermos has to do with stability. The Dynamite was leaking, granted, so it wasn't that stable to begin with, but it may still have been safer to carry crates of neatly packed dynamite, leaks notwithstanding, than a thermos of pure nitro (which could "blow up if you sneezed").<br />A great episode, as far as I'm concerned !BigMacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-14431464901803468642019-01-11T02:38:20.862-06:002019-01-11T02:38:20.862-06:00I don't think it deserves to be ranked so low....I don't think it deserves to be ranked so low. 😔 It was decent. I enjoyed the tense parts in the middle when they're gathering and transporting the dynamite - especially the bit where MacGyver runs out of the shed screaming just before it explodes - it's one of my favourite moments of the series. And the explosions and fire are really well filmed.<br /><br />But there are some things that prevent it from being a truly great episode. MacGyver's friends didn't knock me out, even though there are a few bits of gripping dialogue - like Bill revealing that he feels responsible for the deaths of three co-workers. And there are very few MacGyverisms (in a season that's otherwise chock-a-block with them.) The flight seemed force, but maybe they had to have it to make things more tense at the end.<br /><br />In summary: I liked the episode - enjoyed it - but nothing to write home about.Svenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623528205533251641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-83470649758679702272017-09-08T21:40:33.309-05:002017-09-08T21:40:33.309-05:00I did enjoy it, it would definitely be in a top th...I did enjoy it, it would definitely be in a top third. I’m not sure if the negative reviews have to do with the borrowed plot.Ritanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-82873096489193087242017-04-06T07:17:02.556-05:002017-04-06T07:17:02.556-05:00Very boring episode. MacGyver hangs out with budd...Very boring episode. MacGyver hangs out with buddies, a few things blow up, cue happily ever after. It's all very slow, and the only real danger comes from MacGyver's friend being stubborn.Desslarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-75492497807170196142017-01-06T18:01:55.420-06:002017-01-06T18:01:55.420-06:00Did you like this one? You didn't really say ...Did you like this one? You didn't really say in the review how much you enjoyed it. I'm surprised how many people give this one bad reviews. I agree there were a couple of unpolished moments to it, but for the most part I thought it was excellent.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-40753518087829896412016-11-08T15:00:15.982-06:002016-11-08T15:00:15.982-06:00I had the impression that the “lovefest” was to “c...I had the impression that the “lovefest” was to “charge up” the friendship for the later conflict between Mac and Bill which I found weirdly interesting as two people fighting because they don’t want each other to get hurt.<br />I think they drove the nitro down in boxes to save some time so the guys can get on with setting the jeep up while Laura fills the thermos.<br />Spectacular pyrotechnics in this episode from the big explosion through the medium shed one and the mini ones in the truck to the inverted final one with the sudden silence after. Great classic MacGyverisms too, the medical stuff, however... did MacGyver grow X-Ray eyes to say that the fracture was a simple one?? And pulling on a broken bone is usually a bad idea!<br />I liked the suspense at the shed entry, when floorboards broke right at the start when not expected, then later when expected they didn’t. MacGyver appeared to have his own private superfast gravity. The shed seemed to be about as high up from the ground as the boxes were on the shelf, and MacGyver landed sooner! But, actually, they show that the boxes were sliding slowly off the shelf and didn’t start the freefall until MacGyver was back with Bill, whose “You are crazy!” reminded me of the Holy Rose hostage’s exclamation.<br />The name Huckabee keeps making me think of Huckleberry Finn and he had a role in a Huck/Tom sequel! I could not picture him as MacGyver for whom he was second choice though they look a bit alike next to each other in the shed.Ritanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-18318687420016297502016-06-27T23:03:19.783-05:002016-06-27T23:03:19.783-05:00The TV Guide writeup of this episode from 1985 sai...The TV Guide writeup of this episode from 1985 said it was set in Wyoming, and the landscape and isolation would be more fitting for Wyoming than anywhere in Texas.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-78164467584174557142016-05-19T10:42:49.705-05:002016-05-19T10:42:49.705-05:00This episode is pretty good, but quite odd and out...This episode is pretty good, but quite odd and out of place. I don't feel like it adds anything, altho that's season 1 in general. Based on the mention of Texas and the oil, it seems like it's Texas but where the heck is Texas is it not accessible by road and requires helicopters and supply planes. That sounds more like Alaska, but this doesn't look anything like Alaska. When they come careening down the hill, you can see a highway in the distance with a white truck and something else moving briefly.<br /><br />The characters are a bit doofy but somewhat interesting. I can't stand how MacGyver thinks every woman regardless of how she looks is the most beautiful woman ever. The one here is nothing special. That fight seems contrived and unnecessary and the resolution is disjointed.<br /><br />Overall, a thrilling episode but a bit frayed here and there. It could've been better with some tweaks and maybe different actors.<br /><br />In the shack, when they're coming in, you can briefly see a gloved fist to the right of the crates, an explosives tech maybe?<br /><br />Season 1 reminds me how bad that California sun is. It's so bright and harsh. There's a clear lighting contrast between 127 and 3456.<br /><br />Only four left to rewatch!Mikeynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-20404700441167113642015-10-15T05:01:31.336-05:002015-10-15T05:01:31.336-05:00This must be the episode with the most explosions ...This must be the episode with the most explosions and pyrotechnics! Fire is burning almost constantly! Overall it was an exciting episode but it suffered from some dodgy acting and accents. Pete's weird repeated moaning with the leg injury sounded very odd! As described above, the actual setting and filming was very well done and really captured the hazardous scenario, it's just a pity Bill, Laura and Pete weren't always as convincing, although I didn't mind the fact that Bill had issues from his fire fighting past.Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-85353273412312256132014-09-15T01:07:31.700-05:002014-09-15T01:07:31.700-05:00I can't disagree with your grievances with thi...I can't disagree with your grievances with this episode in the least. The acting was rough all around, Bill's character was over-the-top and MacGyver acted out of character around him....and then there was that fight season. With all that said, this was a thrilling episode with all of the tropes in play regarding the oil derrick explosion, the unlikely retrieval of the dynamite from the "abandoned strip mining supply shed" (uh, yeah, sure....they're leaving dynamite sitting around) on the mountain road. The science of the episode was intelligently laid out and even having watched this episode a dozen times I'm still on the edge of my seat during the action scenes. That helps me overcome the more cringeworthy aspects of the episode and I rate it pretty high....#43.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-42314410060921192422013-10-20T13:20:59.779-05:002013-10-20T13:20:59.779-05:00Yep, agreed!Yep, agreed!Nicholas Sweedohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-71600058379734615582013-10-16T22:19:06.138-05:002013-10-16T22:19:06.138-05:00I watched this episode recently. All of the sentim...I watched this episode recently. All of the sentimental relationship stuff between MacGyver, Bill and Laura was off putting. Still, the outdoor shots were well filmed. Lara Dolphinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11170393484710951517noreply@blogger.com