"Look, if this works, it'll keep us from gettin' caught. If it doesn't, it'll keep us from gettin' old." - MacGyver, commenting on his home-made-pipe-bomb in "The Eraser"
MacGyver: The Complete Second Season DVD Review
By Kristen Freilich
All weekly TV shows are in nature formulaic, and MacGyver is no exception:
MacGyver + Comely Girl + Tricky Situation + Hand crafted non-fatal weapons + Nefarious Evil Guy(s) = a MacGyver Episode
Formulaic, yes - but what an irresistible formula! Angus MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is a handsome, good-natured agent of the secretive Phoenix Foundation who uses good sense, good humor, and an amazing knowledge of science to save various distressed persons around the world. He never uses conventional weapons or deadly force. In every situation, he creates elaborate inventions from common objects (termed MacGyverisms in "Twice Stung") to foil his enemies. As the DVD jacket states "His Mind Is the Ultimate Weapon".
MacGyver gets his assignments from Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar), his best friend and director at the Phoenix Foundation. Pete appears in many episodes, often at the beginning to assign the mission and at the end, if needed, as MacGyver's deus ex machina.
In the season opener, "The Human Factor", MacGyver is charged with breaking into a high-level security military base. Dr. Jill Ludlum (June Chadwick), a flirty blonde "technocrat," designs an artificially intelligent computer system named Sandy who monitors the base. Though MacGyver describes his mission as "man vs computer," it becomes a battle of the sexes: man vs woman-designed, woman-voiced high-tech security system.
"Jack of Lies" introduces MacGyver's long time friend, Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill). Jack is a portly goofball with a handlebar moustache and a penchant for get-rich-quick schemes. This marks the first of many times Jack needs MacGyver's help to get out of a sticky situation. "Jack of Lies" features two great MacGyverisms: using cheap wine to charge a dead plane battery, and using a cigarette wrapper to start a car.
One of the weaker episodes is "The Wish Child," featuring three of the most familiar Asian-looking TV actors: George Takei (Star Trek), Tia Carrerre (Wayne's World 2), and James Hong (who has made over 160 TV guest appearances). It is clearly the Miss Saigon of MacGyver episodes, but the Chinese accents are ridiculous and the plot farfetched, even by MacGyver standards.
Returning actresses Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) and Nana Visitor make the strongest guest appearances in Season 2. "In Soft Touch," Teri plays lovable Penny Parker, who uncovers a plot to kill a Columbian official while winning the heart of a Russian poet. In "D.O.A. MacGyver," Nana Visitor plays a fishing boat captain who helps MacGyver recover his memory after a dive out a glass window into the water. Honorable mention goes to Deborah Adair (the original Kate Roberts on Days of Our Lives), who plays a feisty freelance agent in the final show of Season 2, "For Love or Money."
Season 2 spends more time developing MacGyver's character. We learn that he dreamt of being a professional hockey player ("The Eraser"), and had his heart broken eight years before when his girlfriend-cum-nun ran off to help orphans in Asia rather than marry him ("The Road Not Taken"). Apparently, MacGyver is also chicken soup for the soul: he turns a hit man's life around ("The Eraser"), helps a fisherman get over her brother's death ("D.O.A.: MacGyver"), and saves a good friend from committing suicide "Twice Stung"). Yes, MacGyver gives his all for his friends, and sometimes for complete strangers. As he says in "Twice Stung," "How can you owe a friend?"
Season 2 is action-packed, and overall the writing is stronger than in Season 1, but the scripts still leave something to be desired. MacGyver is spared the brunt of the cheesy dialogue, which is saved for the one-dimensional bad guys:
. "Enough small talk. Where's our smack?" - despicable drug dealer, "Jack of Lies"
. "My mother told me never to strike a lady (strikes lady). I never listened to my mother."
- corrupt Central American cop, "Jack of Lies"
. "And you are not wanted dead or alive my friends. Only dead." - double-crosser Krug, "For Love or Money"
Almost every episode of Season 2 features a comely woman for Mac to mac on. But these are career comely women! MacGyver saves or partners with a botanist, a criminalist, a spy, a rescue worker, the captain of a fishing boat, and a scientist. Talk about girl power! The show may center on MacGyver, but each week a successful woman is featured as a potential love interest for him. Though he rushes in to save the day, he often relies on their knowledge (or bobby pin) to create the final MacGyverism.
