Borrowed this show from the library a few years back, and I have been hooked since! I binged the first season. It really encouraged me to pay more attention to Algebra, Geometry and Chemistry in highschool. I mean, I just couldn't watch and not at least vaguely understand what MacGyver was doing! Also, I love the theme!
Excellent episode. The opening Gambit was really good! I always like to see how MacGyver will outsmart the bad guy. However, this bad guy didn't have much to outsmart. More wounded ego, than I.Q. The only thing that could have been changed was the scene where the bad guy meets with his bosses in the cliche darkened room, filled with bad acting and a boatload of unnecessary exposition. Also, next time MacGyver, don't go touching live wires and potentially electrically charged objects, with a metal Swiss Army Knife! I know it's the go to item of the show, but getting shocked is not fun! Just ask Pete Thornton.
5 Reviews
An Almost Perfect MacGyver
aramis-112-80488014 October 2022
Why is this an almost perfect MacGyver?
First, it still has an opening gambit. These didn't last long but they brightened early entries of the show. This one uses footage from the Michael Caine movie FUNERAL IN BERLIN. Well, MacGyver is nothing if not derivative.
Second, it has an arch-foe from his past who wants to play with him before executing him. Too bad Murdoc hadn't been invented. He'd have loved this. But the guy the hired is an acceptable proto-Murdoc.
Third, like a good novel by Alistair McLean, there's treachery within. But I won't expand on that. It keeps the prisoners of the electronics-wizard bad guy guessing. And us.
Fourth, Pete and MacGyver still work for "The Department." Frankly, though I always prefer private enterprise to a meddling government, I always felt the Phoenix Foundation was a bit too goody-goody and definitely too big for its boots.
And finally, this episode provides Angus MacGyver plenty of opportunities to show off his peculiar ingenuity.
I like the character of Angus. He's always polite, always says Sir and Ma'am, and only loses his temper at his friends. I'm the same way.
Oh, the plot. As hinted at above, Angus, Pete, a babe and a woman who's an expert at crytoanalysis are trapped in a "safe house" (actually a mansion with some fine woodwork) while this fellow hired to recover some microfilm MacGyver stole from East Berlin sets his sights on some long, slow revenge. You know, sharks with lasers on their forehead stuff. After all, if he just shot Angus and his pals while he had them under his thumb the episode wouldn't last long and stations across the country airing this would have to go to PSAs.
Oh, and this early on the series the USSR and its satellites, thug regimes who keep control of their people at gunpoint, ostensibly Communist but keeping the people poor and deliberately starving while the heads of state live in luxury, were enemies to be defeated by covert means, since no one really wanted World War III. Later in the show MacGyver and the Phoenix Foundation mollycoddled Soviet leaders under Smiling Jack Gorbachev (too many Americans would buy a used car from that man) and their military while finding enemies in the American military. Phooey.
So, overall, especially if you haven't seen FUNERAL IN BERLIN, this is an almost-perfect MacGyver.
BTW, a small point, but this episode gives an alternate-universe story of how Mac and Pete met. I suppose the true story is still classified by "the Department."
First, it still has an opening gambit. These didn't last long but they brightened early entries of the show. This one uses footage from the Michael Caine movie FUNERAL IN BERLIN. Well, MacGyver is nothing if not derivative.
Second, it has an arch-foe from his past who wants to play with him before executing him. Too bad Murdoc hadn't been invented. He'd have loved this. But the guy the hired is an acceptable proto-Murdoc.
Third, like a good novel by Alistair McLean, there's treachery within. But I won't expand on that. It keeps the prisoners of the electronics-wizard bad guy guessing. And us.
Fourth, Pete and MacGyver still work for "The Department." Frankly, though I always prefer private enterprise to a meddling government, I always felt the Phoenix Foundation was a bit too goody-goody and definitely too big for its boots.
And finally, this episode provides Angus MacGyver plenty of opportunities to show off his peculiar ingenuity.
I like the character of Angus. He's always polite, always says Sir and Ma'am, and only loses his temper at his friends. I'm the same way.
Oh, the plot. As hinted at above, Angus, Pete, a babe and a woman who's an expert at crytoanalysis are trapped in a "safe house" (actually a mansion with some fine woodwork) while this fellow hired to recover some microfilm MacGyver stole from East Berlin sets his sights on some long, slow revenge. You know, sharks with lasers on their forehead stuff. After all, if he just shot Angus and his pals while he had them under his thumb the episode wouldn't last long and stations across the country airing this would have to go to PSAs.
Oh, and this early on the series the USSR and its satellites, thug regimes who keep control of their people at gunpoint, ostensibly Communist but keeping the people poor and deliberately starving while the heads of state live in luxury, were enemies to be defeated by covert means, since no one really wanted World War III. Later in the show MacGyver and the Phoenix Foundation mollycoddled Soviet leaders under Smiling Jack Gorbachev (too many Americans would buy a used car from that man) and their military while finding enemies in the American military. Phooey.
So, overall, especially if you haven't seen FUNERAL IN BERLIN, this is an almost-perfect MacGyver.
BTW, a small point, but this episode gives an alternate-universe story of how Mac and Pete met. I suppose the true story is still classified by "the Department."
Punch
bevo-1367818 October 2020
Dress Rehearsal for Murdoc
J_Leatherwood20 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This story has all the hallmarks of later MacGyver episodes featuring the indefatigable Murdoc, but Quayle is given the usual James Bond villain dialogue. Astute "Doctor Who" fans will recognize Christopher Neame as the villain Skagra from 1979's unfinished storyline "Shada." I also thought the tepid romance could have been dispensed with, as it seemed very contrived, even for television. I think the blackmail motivation had been done more effectively in series such as "Danger Man." MacGyver's creators certainly wanted to follow in this well-tooled Cold War tradition, but it's not always very convincing.
I did enjoy the trapped manor, even if the familiar setup might make older viewers think fondly of a classic "Avengers" episode, "The House That Jack Built." It's a pity more could not have been made of the beautiful gardens and outer grounds, but this story relied too much on indoor electronic surveillance and booby traps to allow this scope.
Overall, "Deathlock" is mildly disappointing, with Pete Thornton being introduced only to suffer a serious shock, letting MacGyver handle all the action. I enjoy the adventures where Pete and Mac complement each other, and "Partners" from Season Two is a much better "origin" story. One should read Season One stories quite selectively for continuity.
I did enjoy the trapped manor, even if the familiar setup might make older viewers think fondly of a classic "Avengers" episode, "The House That Jack Built." It's a pity more could not have been made of the beautiful gardens and outer grounds, but this story relied too much on indoor electronic surveillance and booby traps to allow this scope.
Overall, "Deathlock" is mildly disappointing, with Pete Thornton being introduced only to suffer a serious shock, letting MacGyver handle all the action. I enjoy the adventures where Pete and Mac complement each other, and "Partners" from Season Two is a much better "origin" story. One should read Season One stories quite selectively for continuity.
Illogical.
ttapola13 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers
The biggest problem here is the character of Quayle. "The Tribunal" says he's been embarrassed by Macgyver in the past, but it is impossible for the viewer to relate to him since it has never been shown to us and as told by MacGyver it just sounds so plain. So Quayle is reduced to a cardboard Mad Hit-man character who, rather than act professionally and kill MacGyver in a simple way, has to start playing games with him. No wonder MacGyver embarrassed him! The traps he has set vary from good (the doorknob, the rigged suitcase) to hilariously overblown. How come MacGyver and Pete did not see the auto-guns outside the building when they arrived just ten minutes earlier? And passing the guns would be incredibly easy: just wave something in front of them until they run out of bullets! MacGyver opts to distract the guns, but it is not in his character to try an escape alone. So why does he try it? Because we need some filler in this episode! The character of Karen is also a problem. First she tells MacGyver that Quayle did not hire her, she was assigned to him, even though her usual task is to gather intelligence. Why was she chosen to assist Quayle on a hit and told that no one would be killed? Yes, they are actually coercing her by holding his brother hostage and threatening to kill him, but she is still a huge risk to the success of the mission! Why didn't Quayle get a professional assistant? Are "The Tribunal" or their underlings complete idiots? Well, back to Quayle and his traps: he ambushes MacGyver and Karen in the lobby, where moving spots of light act as means of targeting for more auto-guns. Triumphantly, Quayle declares, "I could hit you at any time." To quote Marco from Die Hard: "Next time you have a chance to kill someone, don't hesitate." Quayle has plenty of time to shoot them before MacGyver gets the smoke screen up. Besides, it is not much of a smoke screen: we can easily see Mac and Karen on the monitor even through the smoke... Ironically, when MacGyver takes the lights out, Quayle finally sees the light and decides to just shoot MacGyver. Yet, when he gets the chance, he doesn't. At that point, it would not matter what Karen tries to say to Quayle, he should pull the trigger. But he listens, like all the fools in countless movies and TV series. And loses. Rare is the villain who does not act like an idiot. Minor notes: The use of the theme from Psycho (when Mrs. Chung is stabbed by the doorknob) is incredibly silly. Also, MacGyver makes out with a woman again he was quite the ladies man in the first season!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
