TV review: CBS’ MacGyver
The CBS television show MacGyver (2016) is about Angus MacGyver (Mac) who is a secret operative for a secret organization, the Phoenix Foundation in Los Angeles.
MacGyver is a problem-solver and has extensive intelligence of science and uses ordinary objects and his Swiss army knife to make things to save people and get out of complicated situations. The Phoenix Foundation is a secret U.S. government that goes after terrorists and other international threats disguised as a think tank.
Jack Dalton is MacGyver’s partner and a former soldier. Riley Davis is a hacker who was hired by the Phoenix Foundation to be their technical expert. Bozer is MacGyver’s friend that works at Phoenix and specializes in making prosthetic masks. Thornton used to be the team’s boss until she betrayed them and was arrested. Her replacement is Matty who also was Jack’s former boss. MacGyver is an action-adventure and spy fiction genre.
The show starts with the team already on a mission in a complicated situation and then Mac does something to get them out of the tight situation. Usually the first part of the episode is exciting. Then later after that mission, they are relaxing doing something before they get another mission. Then they are briefed and they go to the location they are sent to. They occasionally have difficulties on their missions, but Mac handles those difficulties with his intelligence by using everyday items to build something complex.
What I like about MacGyver is when Mac is building something useful, they explain what he is doing while it is showing what he is doing. I also like how Mac makes fancy things with limited time. Another thing that is amusing on MacGyver is that Mac and Jack are, in a way, like a “married couple” by having good and interesting moments and bad moments. What I do not like very much is that occasionally the characters use big fancy words that I always do not understand, but then they usually simplify or “dumb it down” for Jack.
In 1985, there was the original MacGyver that was on for seven seasons and had two movies. It went off the air in 1992, then it was rebooted in 2016. The 2016 show is very similar to the 1985 show but there are a few things that are different. One thing that is different in the reboot is that there are a few new characters such as Riley and Matty. The two shows both have the same concept but with different missions and the reboot being more modern. The reboot is still new since it has only had nineteen episodes so far, but also has been renewed for a second season.
Another show that is similar to MacGyver is the show Scorpion also on CBS. Scorpion is about five geniuses that help homeland security. How the two are alike is that there are times in both shows that the characters are in a tight situation and have limited time and Mac in MacGyver and the geniuses in Scorpion are able to think quickly and solve the problem.
