Monday, September 26, 2016

Reboot MacGyver Episode 1: The Rising


I had another post written for today (which I might post later in the week), but I feel like I owe you guys a follow up on the CBS MacGyver reboot now that the first episode has dropped.  I did watch it, and in my opinion it definitely could have been worse.  It's pretty clear that after all the internet backlash over the trailer CBS scrapped what they had shot and made a new pilot.  On the one hand I'm happy that they're trying to make the fans happy.  On the other hand it's always a little concerning when storytellers tell a story just to make fans happy rather than telling a story that they want to tell.  But at least they made lead actor Lucas Till look a bit more like classic MacGyver with an 80's haircut and brown leather jacket.

They also decided to at least pay lip service to supporting characters from the original show.  Lip service is all it is though, as these characters share the names of classic characters but are clearly completely different people.

Jack Dalton is now muscle bound comic relief.  And he's an ex-military sharpshooter.  I'm a little unclear as to how Mac, with his aversion to firearms, became best buds with with a sniper.  Seems a little hypocritical if you ask me.  So this Jack is a far cry from the original practical joker with a new get-rich-quick scheme up his sleeve every episode.  He is still a pilot though, and is able to tell what kind of jet our heroes are trying to track down just by the sound of the engine.

Nikki Carpenter (now a computer hacker) is kind of the polar opposite of the original character.  In Season 3 of the classic show Mac and Nikki had a subtle 'Will they?  Won't they?' type relationship.  Here they are lovers, and things get a little steamy.  Remember what I said about in my last MacGyver post about my concerns of how they would handle Mac's sexuality?  Turns out all the steamy bits are story relevant though, so I may be willing to overlook it, but it is a red flag for me.

We also have Patrica Thornton.  I don't actually mind that they gender flipped Pete Thornton.  Actor Dana Eclar is no longer with us, and it feels like straight up re-casting Peter Thornton would be disrespectful, like Eclar was replaceable or something.  That said, MacGyver's working relationship with Pete was one of the things that made MacGyver a great show.  Patrica Thornton is a bit of a hard edge character.  It's early in the show, but I miss the 'best friends with my boss' element that the original had going.
 
There's also a new character named Riley Davis.  She's an ex-con and computer hacker.  She was rather refreshing because she's the only character I wasn't comparing to the original.  Although she does remind me a little of Skye from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D...

The episode itself was pretty good.  It deals with a mission to recover a biological weapon, the mission goes wrong, and then there are plot twists, betrayals, chases and explosions.  Good stuff here.  The structure feels a bit like the early episodes where there's a James Bond/Indiana Jones action sequence before the opening credits, and then the actual story starts, but in this case the fouled up mission in the beginning ties into the rest of the story.

Mac narrates the show in voice-over like the original.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it's cheesy and forced.  The same could probably be said for the original show, but I've got rose colored glasses, so don't judge me.  We also have words appearing onscreen to show his though process when he's inventing stuff.  Because Sherlock is a big deal I guess?  In a couple of years we'll look back on this new trend and say it was the cheesiest thing ever.  Those 2010s, man.

Most of the things MacGyver invents is stuff we've seen before.  Creating smoke to trigger fire alarms, tricking a hand-print scanner, and so on.  There is a clever reference to classic MacGyver when Mac has to diffuse a bomb that DOESN'T simply have two color coded wires 'like the good old days.'

The episode ends with our heroes renaming their top secret origination from a random set of initials that I've already forgotten (DSX?  DXS? CSX?) to the Phoenix Foundation.  This was a cool moment that really worked for me, but given the context of 'rising from the flames' it probably would have worked better if it had come later in the season when they had more flames to rise from.

There's a hook at the end of the episode to get you to watch more if you liked this one or didn't outright hate it.  And personally, I didn't outright hate it.  I don't love it like the original and don't think I ever could, but if it introduces Mac to a new generation that's not a bad thing.

-Geekboy.

1 comment:

  1. CSX... they named their foundation after the train company? :)

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