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DVD MacGyver - Three Season Pack
Like James Bond--but without the high-tech gadgets--Angus MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is one of those rare beings who can avert any crisis without mussing a hair. (The rest of us should be so lucky.) In the pilot alone, the secret agent dismantles a missile using a paper clip and fashions a rocket thruster out of a pistol. Is there anything MacGyver can't do? As the first season of ABC's long-running adventure series proves, the answer is a resounding no. MacGyver's secret: the everyday items he "finds along the way," like matches or gum wrappers, and the ingenuity to put them to a myriad of uses (a background in physics and chemistry doesn't hurt). Unlike Alias' Sidney Bristow, he isn't a multi-linguist, a martial artist, or a master of disguises. Wits are MacGyver's weapon of choice.
Produced by Henry Winkler (Arrested Development), The Complete First Season includes all 22 episodes from 1985-1986 (alas, there are no extras). MacGyver is joined by Phoenix Foundation director of operations Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar), who is introduced in "Nightmares." Also, his grandfather, Harry Jackson (John Anderson), makes his first appearance in "Target MacGyver," while friend Penny Parker (Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives) makes hers in "Every Time She Smiles" (they will appear more frequently in future seasons). Other notable guest stars include Joan Chen (The Last Emperor) in "The Golden Triangle," Nana Visitor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) in "Hellfire," and John De Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation) in "The Escape."
MacGyver ran for seven seasons and was followed by two made-for-TV movies in 1994, Lost Treasure of Atlantis and Trail to Doomsday. In 1997, after a short-lived series for UPN (1995's Legend), Anderson landed the lead in an even longer-running series, Stargate SG-1, based on the sci-fi extravaganza with Kurt Russell. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Kids, you're living in a generation devoid of any real entertainment. Dick and Dom flick bogeys at each other, Captain Scarlet is now made out of computers and afternoon TV consists of talentless no-marks displaying their ineptitude on a national scale in a desperate bid for their 15 seconds of fame (or failing that, a job offer from Price-Drop TV). Let me tell you about a man who was cooler than The Fonz, who was smarter than Columbo and was more handsome than Face; this was a cat who wasn't fazed by anything - he averted several wars, saved approximately a billion lives and bedded crazy, boy-band amounts of ass. I'm speaking of course, about the legend that was MacGyver. Despite a TV show that showed off his godlike escapism powers and DIY skills, Mac was cruelly denied a decent film career by the powers that be; therefore, we can only imagine how some of Hollywood's finest films would have been improved by his inclusion. Today, right here and right now, we continue to live the MacGyver dream and dare to fantasise about an industry rife with MacGyver's daring deeds...
10. TITANIC
Ask yourself this question: would the Titanic really have sunk if MacGyver were at the wheel? You bet your sweet ass it wouldn't. At the first sign of iceberg damage, Captain Mac would have raced down to the engine rooms and fixed the rip in the mighty ship's hull with nought but a packet of chewing gum, a large tarpaulin and a whole load of elbow grease. The greatest ship in the world would therefore be free to sail unharmed, arriving in New York a full three days early thanks to Mac's revolutionary new propeller system, made out of chair legs and poor people.
9. JURASSIC PARK
Spielberg really dropped the bomb when he neglected MacGyver for the John Hammond role, eventually filled by Richard Attenborough. For a start, a dinosaur theme park made by the Mac would never have malfunctioned and put its inhabitants in danger - that's the Mac seal of approval, right there. Secondly, McG wouldn't need to dabble in DNA cloning to create a new race of prehistoric creatures - he'd be able to knock up a park full of reptilian rascals simply by sellotaping some frog's legs to some angry-looking lizards, and with some hard work and some elbow grease, would have had the world's first dino-tastic theme park up and running. Jeff Goldblum would be so in awe of Mac's genius, he'd have no choice but to give the park his complete approval. "Welcome... to Jurassic Park featuring MacGyver."
8. STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH
Forget whiny teen Hayden Christensen and his `tortured youth' take on the young Darth Vader, the thought on everyone's minds when Revenge of the Sith hit the big screen was clearly `Why didn't Lucas hire MacGyver for this role?' Despite the fact that a man of his talents would never let Renton get the high ground, even with his limbs lopped off and a barbequed body, Mac would knuckle down at the task at hand and set about creating himself a new robot body, using only the remains of an old washing machine, an old dust mask, some elbow grease and a roll of bin bags. The climax of Empire would certainly have been different had Luke discovered his father was actually mankind's greatest escape artist.
7. JARHEAD
It's not even out yet, but whom would you rather see taking on the elite Iraqi forces - sullen-faced whinger Jake Gyllenhaal, or male role model and all round one-man army MacGyver? Screw Operation Enduring Freedom - send in Mac with some tin foil, gasoline and a big stick, and with a little elbow grease, Baghdad would be rubble in minutes. Cornered in his opulent fortress, Saddam would be forced into a fistfight with our hero, which he'd lose miserably, turning over leadership of his country as a result. Picture the final scene of Mac standing proud on the roof of Saddam's palace, Stars and Stripes flying, his luscious mullet billowing in the breeze.
6. ALIENS
Sure, Michael Biehn was pretty damn cool, but think how safe you would have felt if MacGyver was heading up your ragtag crew of space marines? Those xenomorph bastards wouldn't have stood a chance. No need for pulse rifles and flamethrowers where Mac is concerned, hell no: Mac would creep up on his foes like a silent assassin, and with a quick karate chop to the shoulder area, the Aliens would fall, defeated by the great man's awesome power. Humanity is therefore saved, leaving Mac time to bone Ripley and act as a surrogate father for Newt, who he would care for like loose cannon Biehn never could. Half action sci-fi, half family drama - everybody wins.
5. BEING MACGYVER
An unassuming puppeteer finds a portal into the mind of MacGyver, whisking him away into another world of terrorist infiltration, homemade tank creation and last-minute bomb defusal. The portal is made even more exciting by the fact that Mac gets caught and imprisoned approximately three times a day, so the user is guaranteed at least one daring escape per session. The twist comes at the end, when MacGyver ends up entering the portal to his own mind and is confronted with a world populated by himself. Of course, this is brilliant for all concerned, so the movie ends right there on a happy note.
4. THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY
I'm sure every sane person watching Peter Jackson's epic trilogy was thinking the same thing: "Man, these movies would be perfect, if only Aragorn got locked in a munitions factory and had to break out using an old car engine, the wiring from a plug and some magnets that had no reason to be lying around in a munitions factory."
3. THE GREAT ESCAPE
Faced with the overwhelming enemy of Nazi Germany, Mac nonetheless manages to make light work of the guards at his prison camp, escaping in mere minutes using some pencil lead, a paper clip and some elbow grease. Once free, Mac sails majestically over the barbed wire border on his motorcycle (thanks to the turbo engine upgrade) and sets about going after the biggest enemy of them all - Adolf Hitler. Dressed in an SS uniform, Mac manages to infiltrate Hitler's palace and takes out the Fuhrer with a swift blow to the shoulder and a sarcastic quip. Europe is at peace, MacGyver is made prime minister and the world is free to live in harmony forever more.
2. THE MATRIX
There's no first act revelation here - where it took Keanu at least 25 years to discover the mystery of The Matrix, Mac had the whole shebang figured out from conception. Forgoing the trenchcoat and sunglasses, our resourceful hero faces up to the agents wearing a leather jacket and a Hawaiian shirt, karate chopping with gay abandon, all in glorious bullet-time. Once he escapes (easily) into the real world, Mac brings down the machines' elaborate computer world by uploading a simple virus, before fleeing their central control centre with seconds to spare before the entire machine city erupts in a cheap-looking explosion.
1. LOST IN TRANSLATION
Young, naïve and aimless, Scarlett Johansson lacks direction until she bumps into MacGyver in a bar in Tokyo, where's he's working undercover to bring down a triad gang. Scarlett is then whisked off on an adventure in which countless helicopters are destroyed, many nuclear devices are disarmed using only spit and elbow grease and an entire army of an ambiguously brown-yet-evil race are defeated in increasingly ludicrous situations. The couple finally get it on, and race into the sunset on their motorcycles. Music by Primal Scream and Air Supply.
Unfortunately, back on plain old planet Earth, we must concede that not everyone can open their minds wide enough to see just how diverse and exciting a movie industry we could have. As a race, we must settle for Vin Diesel's semi-retarded delivery and Nicolas Cage's equine-like face, when we know that any role could be improved simply by flicking to `M' in the phone book. If ever you need a bomb defused, a terrorist weapons plant exploded or an evil warlord taken down a few pegs, don't bother forking out millions for the latest Hollywood flavour of the month - the man you're looking for doesn't work for money, he just wants to save the world to a soft-rock soundtrack. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to write some fan-fiction while masturbating.
macgyver season 1
a great buy, lacking 1 star because there was no extra features on the dvd, and the video and audio quality looked like it hasn't been touched from when i saw it 15-or-so years ago. however, it is macgyver and a trip down memory lane just doesn't get any better than this.
A Solid Show That Still Holds Up!
I was musing to my brother one day that it would be neat to have "Macguyver" on DVD. Lo and behold he hunted this one down for my birthday. Honestly, I figured it would be nothing more than a big slice of 80's nostalgia, and that I would barely make it through watching it.
Wrong.
This show holds up well. Looking at so much of the cheesy crap that falls out of the corpse of 80's culture, it's hard to remember that some shows in that era took themselves seriously. This is one of them.
MacGuyver was obviously written by a big Indiana Jones fan, you can tell that almost immediately, and the pilot episode, (which is usually the worst) is one of the best.
This truly is a loveable, charming character placed in believable, high-adventure tales. This is America's James Bond....too bad he never got any movies, eh?
I can't speak for any additional volumes as of yet...but this one is definately a buy.
MacGyver's second season begins by following the same blueprint as the first (although the opening gambit is gone). Richard Dean Anderson is back as the eponymous secret agent. So is Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar), operations director of the Phoenix Foundation. In addition, Mac's ditzy pal, Penny (Teri Hatcher), and beloved grandfather, Harry (John Anderson), return for a few episodes. In the season premiere ("The Human Factor"), a skeptical military man says to Thornton, "So this is your main guy. He doesn't even have any gear." Responds Thornton, "That's what makes him so special." As before, Mac doesn't drink, smoke, or carry a firearm. He puts it plainly in the fourth episode ("The Wish Child"): "I hate guns." Mac would rather use non-violent means, i.e. "MacGyverisms," to fight... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Dean Anderson DVD Release Date: Released the 07 June 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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In "Ghost Ship," MacGyver's boss, Pete (Dana Elcar), is asked to define what makes Mac (Richard Dean Anderson) so special. He replies, "You know, I've known him for eight years now, and I've never quite been able to put my finger on it. He just always comes through, no matter what." And that he does. MacGyver's third season begins with a blast from the past when Mac runs into Lisa (Elyssa Davalos), a woman he thought he had killed (unintentionally, of course). Turns out Lisa's just fine, but she did do a little time in a Russian gulag, proceeding to marry the ex-KGB operative who set her free. The two-part season opener ("Lost Love") allows Mac to make it up to his former flame with a little help from pal Jack (Bruce "D-Day" McGill), AKA "The Great Sheldrake," whose latest career... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Dean Anderson DVD Release Date: Released the 06 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I have read a lot of negetive reviews about the shorter version of the episode "Threads" being on this set rather than the longer more boring version. I just picked up the set and have only watched the episode "Threads" (I watched the season when it aired). I thought the shorter version was better and quicker to get to the point, there was a lot of padding in the longer version. Although I don't agree with MGM's Decision to not to put the broadcast version on the DVD, I'm glad they didn't. I don't think I will trade in my set to get the longer version. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Dean Anderson DVD Release Date: Released the 04 October 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I love how quickly these MacGyver sets are coming out. This time around, we have episodes 65 through 83, which feature MacGyver in his prime. The chemistry between the characters is smooth and well-defined. The occasional supporting characters (Jack, Penny, etc) begin to hit a regular rhythm with their appearances. Murdoc shows up to cause a little more trouble. And Dana Elcar (Pete) steps behind the camera to direct a few times this season!
Season 4 starts off with a bang in episode 65, "The Secret of Parker House", as Penny Parker (Teri Hatcher) returns in a haunted house adventure.
Jarod (Michael T. Weiss) is a Pretender. As a five-year-old in 1963, he was taken from his home and "adopted" by The Centre, a mysterious Delaware-based think tank. Why Jarod? His superior intellect--Jarod can "pretend" to be anything he wants: doctor, lawyer, engineer, astronaut and, as he quips in episode five ("The Paper Clock"), "I'm working on Indian chief."
Thirty years later, once he realized his efforts were not being used for good, Jarod escaped from the Centre. Psychiatrist and surrogate father Sydney (Carnivàle's velvet-voiced Patrick Bauchau) and sociopathic sidekick and Emma Peel lookalike Miss Parker (ER's Andrea Parker) have been trying to track him down ever since. They’re assisted by the technically proficient, if socially inept Broots... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Michael Weiss DVD Release Date: Released the 22 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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