In this third action-packed season, MacGyver leads his crack team on one high-risk mission after another, crisscrossing the globe to keep the world safe from harm – while using little more than bubble gum, a paper clip, and his unending supply of resourcefulness.
I was a big fan of the original “MacGyver” starring Richard Dean Anderson which ran from 1985 to 1992. It was fresh, exciting, and brought back memories of Lee Majors in “The Fall Guy,” explosions, fistfights, car chases, “MacGyver” had it all so when CBS announced they were going to reboot it and air the first season in 2016, I was a little skeptical. I was 13 years old when the first “MacGyver” aired in 1985 so while I enjoyed the series, I think I might have had more issues with the proposed reboot if I had been younger when it first aired. Shows like “The Incredible Hulk,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “The Fall Guy,” and “Charlie’s Angels” were shows I watched religiously as a kid so my love for them was stronger because I was so young and impressionable. I watched the first season of the new “MacGyver” and lo and behold, I enjoyed it. Actually, I had great fun with it. I initially felt that Lucas Till was too young to play the titular character but he exceeded my expectations and both he and George Eads played so well off each other, I couldn’t imagine any two actors in their respective roles.
As with the previous two seasons, MacGyver and his friends Jack Dalton (George Eads), Wilt Bozer (Justin Hires), and Riley Davis (Tristin Mays) all work for Matty Webber (Meredith Eaton) at a secret U.S. government agency who call themselves the Phoenix Foundation. Mac has an uncanny ability for problem-solving so no matter what sort of situation he finds himself in, he always manages to escape, along with his friends in tow. Throughout the season we have mostly one-time episodes but occasionally we are introduced to characters and storylines that emerge from time to time, including one of Mac’s biggest and most dangerous antagonists, an assassin who calls himself Murdoc (David Dastmalchian). He has caused all sorts of trouble over the years for Mac and he turns up again in season 3 after killing one of Mac’s friends. When he informs Mac that his young son has been kidnapped by his just-as-crazy ex-wife and wants his help getting him back, Mac refuses but Murdoc has discovered that he has a girlfriend, Nasha (Sibongile Mlambo), from Nigeria where Mac went at the end of season 2 when he left the agency. With Nasha being held in a booby-trapped room, Mac has no choice but to accompany him.
George Eads’ Jack Dalton has primarily been the show’s comic relief and muscle but in one episode we get to meet his platoon that he served with in the army. I liked George Eads in “CSI” and he is enjoyable here but in one episode, we get a flashback scene to him after he has returned from his years in the military and is obviously suffering from PTSD and reaches out to one of his army buddies who went through the exact same thing and now helps Jack get his life in order. It was a very powerful scene and kudos to the producers for including it in a show that mostly consists of escapism fun and high-jinks. Eads did a terrific job with the scene and my respect for him as an actor grew immensely. In other episodes, MacGyver and co. have to stop terrorists from blowing up targets and Mac finally comes face-to-face with a man known only as The Ghost Bomber (Sean Cameron Michael), a serial bomber who killed Mac’s EOD mentor while he was still in the military and who tried to kill Mac in his own home in the previous season.
While I enjoyed the first season, I really didn’t think it would be renewed but the show continues to surprise me as CBS just renewed it for a fourth season. I am thrilled with this news because the more I watch the show the more it grows on me and I find it just as enjoyable as the original series. One sad piece of news is that George Eads is no longer a part of the show. Halfway through season 3, he asked to be released from his contract so he could spend more time with his young daughter who lives in Los Angeles (the show films in Atlanta) and the producers agreed but instead of killing his character off, they left it wide open so that he could return at any time, even in a guest-star capacity. The show won’t be the same without Eads but I am curious to see where season 4 goes.
Now available on DVD
