These early MacGyver stories are interesting in the sense that the show has yet to find its characteristic style. MacGyver does not work for the Phoenix Foundation - he's either a freelancer or part of some government agency. He acts like James Bond (in "The Heist" he even says, "Bond, James Bond.") - he's a ladies' man who flirts and scores with them ("The Gauntlet"). Of his classic characteristics only the unwillingness to take a life and the ability to improvise in tight spots are present. As a MacGyver episode, this is pretty good, because it's not formulaic, but then again, it is a rip-off of Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1953 IMDb Top 250 classic Le Salaire de la peur a.k.a. Wages of Fear, which is based on Georges Arnaud's novel. Well, they do say, "If you steal, steal from the best"... Even the dialogue hints vaguely at the movie and its 1977 William Friedkin remake Sorcerer. The problem is, only the middle part that recycles Clouzot's movie's plot is actually exciting - the finale just does not have the same sense of peril. The whole is an above-the-average episode that does have one remarkable treat: a pre-Star Trek: Deep Space Nine appearance by the smokingly hot Nana Visitor, and it's just the first of two: she would later play a different role in #2.21 "D.O.A.: MacGyver". So much for continuity...
4 Reviews
MacGyver's charisma carries a weak episode
tenshi_ippikiookami10 September 2016
MacGyver goes to visit some friends that are trying to find oil in the middle of the desert. Soon after he arrives, the oil appears, but also an accident happens, and a fire starts in the well. MacGyver and his friends will try to stop it.
It is refreshing to see a show that tries to bring adventure and thrilling moments without violence (almost). MacGyver's threat this time is a fire, not your bad-guys-of-the-week, which could offer many opportunities. Sadly, the episode fails in taking advantage of it, and it just pads its way through the almost 50 minutes of its running time, with too many empty moments and over-stretched situations. It is a pity (and a shame) that MacGyver's resourcefulness is lost, and he just has a couple of little invents to add to the repertoire seen till now in the series. There are some nice moments of character development, but taking into account that we will not see these characters anymore, it all feels a little bit empty.
In the end, it is just Richard Dean Anderson's charisma what brings this episode through. His MacGyver is as good as ever, and it makes an even not very original or interesting episode fun enough.
It is refreshing to see a show that tries to bring adventure and thrilling moments without violence (almost). MacGyver's threat this time is a fire, not your bad-guys-of-the-week, which could offer many opportunities. Sadly, the episode fails in taking advantage of it, and it just pads its way through the almost 50 minutes of its running time, with too many empty moments and over-stretched situations. It is a pity (and a shame) that MacGyver's resourcefulness is lost, and he just has a couple of little invents to add to the repertoire seen till now in the series. There are some nice moments of character development, but taking into account that we will not see these characters anymore, it all feels a little bit empty.
In the end, it is just Richard Dean Anderson's charisma what brings this episode through. His MacGyver is as good as ever, and it makes an even not very original or interesting episode fun enough.
Fred Astaire
bevo-1367818 October 2020
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