Every week I will be posting a new topic titled "Episode Discussion". In this we will discuss an episode, what we liked about it, what we didn't like, etc.


Episode 72 - Ma Dalton

MacGyver’s buddy, Jack Dalton, finally tracks down his long lost mother, only to find she is a fugitive being pursued by a bounty hunter.

votes from October 2006
Poor [ 0 ] [0.00%]
Average [ 0 ] [0.00%]
OK [ 3 ] [18.75%]
Good [ 6 ] [37.50%]
Excellent [ 7 ] [43.75%]
Total Votes: 16

Posted by: MACGYVERISMYDAD Jan 24 2006, 03:52 AM

Posted by: MacGyverGod Jan 24 2006, 04:36 AM

Posted by: MACGYVERISMYDAD Jan 24 2006, 06:00 AM

Posted by: MacGyver Jan 24 2006, 08:42 AM

Posted by: Old Fan Jan 24 2006, 08:47 AM

Posted by: Kim_K Jan 24 2006, 09:53 AM

Posted by: MACGYVERISMYDAD Jan 24 2006, 10:25 AM

Posted by: MacsChick Jan 24 2006, 12:05 PM

Posted by: MacNymph Jan 25 2006, 08:17 AM

Posted by: MACGYVERISMYDAD Jan 25 2006, 08:35 AM

Posted by: MACGYVERISMYDAD Jan 31 2006, 11:58 PM

Posted by: Amy Feb 1 2006, 02:38 AM

Posted by: Lothithil Mar 2 2006, 09:44 AM

Posted by: Toni Apr 2 2006, 02:43 AM

Did anyone else find it odd that Sparky didn't recognize Jack until he introduced himself?

and then he says he's the spitting image of his father... well if thats the case why didn't he recognize him straight off?

this one made me cry for Jack because his own mother didn't want to have anything to do with him, I know it was to protect him but it just makes you go why? not be the mother in beginning.

Yeah it is a bit sad in places, but it's also a great episode in how it really digs into Jacks past, and even suggests how far back MacGyver and Jack go.

That picture of Jacks father standing in front of the plane with the women painted on it looks really familiar... where have I seen it before?

I watched this last night, and it was really quite good... better than I remembered.

I assume RDA injured his finger in real life, and that's why Mac had a bandage on it throughout the episode. But considering that he had a bandaged finger, he coped really well--- hanging onto the hood of a car, hanging under an elevator, shimmying down a pipe on a wall, etc.

The funniest part of this episode is how incredibly fake it looks when Jesse shoots out the grating-- there's not a single rough edge or anything! Just BAM, and the middle section vanishes, leaving a perfect opening for Mac.

In the beginning of this episode, you think you're in for another Jack Dalton standard procedure 1A episode script... Mac comes home, Jack's made a mess, Jack thinks it's no big deal, and then he asks Mac a favor...

Well, not this time.

"Ma Dalton" provides a vital and very interesting insight in Jack Dalton's psyche, and it does indeed partly explain why he turned out the way he did. Yes, Jack might still be unreliable, annoying and using Mac's guilt issues to get to him--but at least, you can see where some of it is coming from.

In fact, we *do* have a family friend who actually resembles Jack a lot. He wouldn't use my dad in the very same way Jack does, but they do have similar issues. We call him "Laughing John" (John isn't his real name, but I'm going to use it here) because no matter how dark things are, he can always laugh about it, and make others laugh as well--that's what makes him a really fun guy to be around. He's never been 100% reliable, and has a slight drinking problem which sometimes does cause him trouble. He'd never ever be violent, though. He doesn't trade in airplanes, but most often old cars, and he's very good at involving my dad in the repair and restoration process... in fact, he's very good at involving dad in many of his projects...

Oh well, sorry for my rambling anecdote, but my point is, that I think it's a bit of the same syndrome with Jack--considering his background, it's definitely at least *part* reason for his behavior. "Laughing John" grew up in an orphanage, and it's so very evident that some of his issues originates from that time--and that he didn't ever really have a family to relate to. It's very obvious that Jack were affected in the same way.

Of course, it doesn't completely excuse Jack's tendencies to use Mac's guilt issues to get what he wants out of him. But... at least you understand why Mac just can't throw him out... this time.

This is also the first episode where Jesse Colton shows up. I don't know if I was that impressed with the Coltons actually... well, their Ma was pretty cool, but maybe I'll like them better the second time around.

This episode might not be "Excellent", but nonetheless very "Good."

See, I can empathize with Mac because I have friend like Jack as well. I can understand why Mac has a hard time giving up Jack. Jack CAN be trusted to a degree. It's proven in The Odd Triple (Season 3) that MacGyver trusts Jack enough to come rescue him. It shows that they do have a good friendship, though Pete is definitely more trustworthy.

I like Jack because he is hilarious. I love the interactions between MacGyver and Jack as well.

This episode I love just because you do see why Jack is the way he is. He does have feelings (shown by hurt he was when he saw his mother) and how much Mac is there for him despite how irritated and annoyed his is with Jack.

When I'm having a bad day, I watch Mac/Jack episodes because not only do they crack me up, but I always feel better afterward. XD

Though, I agree... this isn't "excellent", as there are better Mac/Jack episodes... but it is a good one for insight into Jack's personality.

Do buildings in the US even have big round grates like that? They certainly don't have them in this part of the world.

They used the exact same grating in part 2 of Lost Love when Mac and Jack climbed in through it.

Do buildings in the US even have big round grates like that? They certainly don't have them in this part of the world.

They used the exact same grating in part 2 of Lost Love when Mac and Jack climbed in through it.

I don't know about the grates in the US, but here, I think it's quite common that the ventilation shafts are much larger on the outside but quickly narrowing on the inside. I've certainly never seen any grated ventilation shaft that's actually been big enough to crawl through.

However--there *are* several documented cases where people have been trying to enter buildings this way--and miserably failed. Recently, a healthcare center facility in the southern parts of my country had problems with a putrid smell seemingly originating from the ventilation system. As they investigated the matter, they found out that a man, most likely a burglar, had been removing the ventilation grate from the outside, crawled inside, and got stuck just a few feet in... probably dying from starvation after a long struggle.

Another recent case was when the maintenance crew of a major road tunnel in one of our biggest cities found the body of a man stuck halfway down a ventilation shaft between two levels. The rich airflow had drained the body of all fluids in a short time, and it was more or less mummified. The irony of it all was that the corpse was technically visible from the road--yet it sat there for weeks, since the cars were passing it at high speed, too quick to notice...

So... even though ventilation shafts might look available from the outside... they usually aren't... unless we're talking fiction.

The part I liked was when Mac was gently offering his help to Jack, if he wanted it, but didn't want to force the issue if Jack did not want to find his mother. It was nice to see the feeling side of Jack too.

Season 3 Episode 13 "Rock the Cradle" uses the exact same bar as this episode! Just noticed this now… I knew I recognized it!

Yeah It's also the same area used in Early Retirement as the bomb disarming room.

I think it became the "gate room" in SG:1 too.

This episode gives us some background into Jack's past. He is looking for his lost mother. Jack was not his usual upbeat self in this one. We also meet Jesse Colton who is a sometime recurring character. Good overall. This episode added some depth to The Jack Dalton character which might explain his trouble making personality.

Pete is an older brother figure to MacGyver, Jack a younger brother. Pete is the responsible authority figure you can go to for help or advice or when you want to talk to someone who's kind of one of "the grown-ups" (e.g. the authorities) and yet on your side... well, more so than the full-on grown-ups. Jack is... the opposite: the less mature, less grown up one that YOU always have to watch out for and be responsible for.

Mac is somewhere in between them (not as crazy as Jack, not as straight-laced as Pete), and can relate to both. They, of course, are so far apart that it's hard for them to do that for each other.

Another way of looking at it is that Jack's the pillar of his childhood (they've been together since high school at least back in Minnesota), Pete's the pillar of his adulthood (not that Mac ever exactly settles down into a stable career, but the closest he comes is as the "Pete's troubleshooter/field man" role in the intelligence community and later the Phoenix Foundation).

I think he's more like a father figure myself.

I always considered Mac and Pete as the best friends they are. Not as a 'family'. It just seems a little off, I think. To me they are a bunch of friends and colleagues with a strong bond. Got any idea how odd it must sound if Mac said to Pete: 'Hey, dad, I need some time off.'

But if we have to place them in a family tree, Pete's definitely the father figure, Mac is the eldest brother, Jack the younger brother, Nikki is the eldest sister and Penny is the youngest sister. And the Coltons are the cousins.

But when it comes down to their maturity. Jack is always the kid who gets into trouble and his big brother has to get him out of it. When it comes down to it, I think Jack can take care of himself if he wants to, better than Penny. Having Mac coming get him out of trouble is just part of the plan. And you can trust Jack indeed in some degree but he just can't let it to make you believe he's not. But always there for his friends.

Don't get me started on Penny. Though the only thing you can blame her is her gullibillity.

Nikki is the more mature maybe a little cynical one. There for others when needed but stands for what she believes in.

Mac is a little bit of everyone though not gullible. Like he always says: 'there must a be logical explanation.'

And Pete, he's the dad, taking care of all the other stuff with Mac's assistance.

I really liked this episode because it has 3 of my favorite characters in it at their best, Mac, Pete and Jack. I really got a feel for Jack in this one, getting to know some of his past and seeing that he probably really did have a hard life growing up. I was really struck by the coldness of Ma Dalton at first, then seeing her reveal herself to Mac. I was proud of how Mac let her have it in the beginning and how that swung her around. I got a real kick out of Mr. Colton, and my boys loved his van! In all, I really enjoyed this episode, although that was probably the cleanest shotgun blast I've seen on those grates!

I caught this episode on MeTV tonight, after having not seen the original series in quite a while, and it made me wonder if we've been too harsh on the reboot.
Comparing this to the reboot, the reboot really doesn't look too bad.

First, the structure of this episode is very much like the structure of most reboot episodes: Both have a bit of comedy at Mac's house, followed by some exposition at Phoenix, and then Jack and Mac head out on their mission. Granted, this is just one episode, whereas the reboot follows this formula for almost every episode, so in that sense, the original series was better. Also, during the exposition scenes at Mac's house and at Phoenix, this episode didn't have annoying background music playing nonstop. The reboot would have had some irritating quirky music in both scenes. So, again, the original was better in that regard.

But in other regards, I actually found myself preferring the reboot. For one thing, this episode takes forever to get going. There is literally no action until more than 30 minutes into the episode! And even then, it's just a very quick scene of Mac hanging onto the hood of a car. Also, the MacGyverisms in this episode are really, really sparse, and not impressive at all. We've all complained about the reboot rushing through MacGyverisms, but at least he does them. In this, it took over 30 minutes for the first one to appear, and it was a really lame one-- using the wrench to free himself and Francine from the back of the van (honestly, I'm not sure if that should even count as a MacGyverism.) And how Mac takes down the bad guy is really, really anticlimactic (not to mention extremely reckless... jumping on the guy while he held a gun to Francine's ribs could have easily gone horribly wrong.)

And this is what surprised me the most: As I watched this, I actually couldn't decide whether I preferred original Jack or reboot Jack. In the past, this was a no-brainer: Original Jack all the way! But when I watched this last night, I wasn't so sure. On one hand, original Jack is more likeable, but on the other hand, he's also less believable. He acts a bit TOO much like a little kid. So, in that sense, I prefer the reboot Jack. (but original Jack is still more likeable.)

Overall, I also think the acting from guest stars in the reboot is generally better than the acting from guest stars in the original.

I'm not saying I think the reboot doesn't deserve any criticism, but watching this episode, which has pretty favorable ratings here (even from me), had me wondering we're being a bit too quick to give a free pass to the shortcomings of the original, and too quick to find fault in the reboot.

No one is disputing that the reboot has its advantages but there is simply no alone time for Mac. The original has an ensemble which was nice to see. But let's face it. Mac worked alone 80% of the time.