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MacGyver Online Forums > Episodes > 014 - Countdown

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 2 November 2006 - 02:24 PM

014 - Countdown

Airdate: 05 February 1986
Writers: David Ketchum & Tony DiMarco
Director: Stan Jolley
Guest Cast: Ellen Bry as Carole Tanner , Steven Williams as Charlie Robinson , Dana Elcar as Pete Thornton
Michael Cavanaugh as Donahue.

MacGyver races against the clock and certain death as he tries to disarm two sophisticated bombs on a cruise ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Posted by: Amy 8 November 2006 - 09:09 AM

Votes from March 27, 2006:

How do you rate this episode?
Poor [ 1 ] [6.67%]
Average [ 0 ] [0.00%]
OK [ 1 ] [6.67%]
Good [ 2 ] [13.33%]
Excellent [ 11 ] [73.33%]
Total Votes: 15

Archived Comments:

Posted by: MacGyverGod Nov 22 2004, 02:17 AM

QUOTE

Countdown was a good episode. Nice plot and a way cool bomb contraption with all those fluids and powders, instead of just a bunch wires or explosives with a timer in small box. I think that's the most well invented bomb of the series.

Posted by: rockatteer Nov 22 2004, 08:07 AM

QUOTE

LOL Yeah MG, your right. great bomb.

This is one of my favourite eps. Not really sure why, it just smacks of "true MacGyver"

Posted by: sonyab Nov 22 2004, 11:09 AM

QUOTE

I voted excellent!! I love this episode. The beginning when he was showing his landlord his invention but it didn't work rofl. The macgyverisms were awesome. So many bombs! Sad that his friend had to die and his wife was expecting there first child. MacGyver became godfather to the baby (I made that one up) In the end they caught the bad guy.

Posted by: zhennu Nov 22 2004, 11:58 AM

QUOTE

I voted excellent as well. ^^ The bomb was really cool! (Hey! I just saw this episode last week! ) That egg that fell was funny! xD *pats the robot* Nice robot! xD

QUOTE
MacGyver became godfather to the baby (I made that one up) In the end they caught the bad guy.

Haha sonyab! xD I hope that's what really happened!

Posted by: MacGyver Nov 22 2004, 03:54 PM

QUOTE

"Countdown" is a great episode because it features MacGyver doing what he was well trained and experienced to do- disarm bombs. As we know from this very episode, he spent some time in the Army defusing bombs in the Vietnam War. The bomb itself looked very interesting with all the tricks there were to defusing it. Pretty suspenseful episode on that count. Also, another episode that showed MacGyver and Pete working so well together, with the whole golf question at the end. Good episode!

Posted by: Tomms247 Nov 22 2004, 05:17 PM

QUOTE

what low life voted that this was a poor episode? every MAC episode was great. Classic american history on VHS, and now DVD aswell. In the UK we have mainly comical or play type tv shows. You may have heard of 'Bottom' thats our UK version of classical tv, but america stand in a class of their own, and your history reflects a great nation.

Posted by: rockatteer Nov 22 2004, 10:36 PM

QUOTE

QUOTE
what low life voted that this was a poor episode?

That would be me!

Well actually, it wasn't but we don't need to call people names, just because they don't like an episode.

QUOTE
every MAC episode was great.

There are episodes, that I will be giving a poor rating on when they come up in the discussion. Some just don't make the grade at all.

QUOTE
but america stand in a class of their own, and your history reflects a great nation.

Um...? hmmm.....

Lets not go down that path!

Posted by: MrMacFixIt Nov 23 2004, 12:43 AM

QUOTE

QUOTE (MacGyverGod @ Nov 22 2004, 01:17 AM)
Countdown was a good episode. Nice plot and a way cool bomb contraption with all those fluids and powders, instead of just a bunch wires or explosives with a timer in small box. I think that's the most well invented bomb of the series.

yeah, back in the day when they had money or inclination to put a little more detail into Mac and isms.

QUOTE (rockatteer @ Nov 22 2004, 07:07 AM)
This is one of my favourite eps. Not really sure why, it just smacks of "true MacGyver"

yep, more raw... not all everything okay, peaches and cream... more hit and miss of real life. Sorry his buddy had to buy it tho.

QUOTE (MacGyver @ Nov 22 2004, 02:54 PM)
"Countdown" is a great episode because it features MacGyver doing what he was well trained and experienced to do- disarm bombs. As we know from this very episode, he spent some time in the Army defusing bombs in the Vietnam War. The bomb itself looked very interesting with all the tricks there were to defusing it. Pretty suspenseful episode on that count. Also, another episode that showed MacGyver and Pete working so well together, with the whole golf question at the end.

yeah good background character developement. too bad they couldn't have done more of that without contradicting themselves.

QUOTE (Tomms247 @ Nov 22 2004, 04:17 PM)
what low life voted that this was a poor episode? every MAC episode was great. Classic american history on VHS, and now DVD aswell. In the UK we have mainly comical or play type tv shows. You may have heard of 'Bottom' thats our UK version of classical tv, but america stand in a class of their own, and your history reflects a great nation.

Ut oh. Hope everyone that disagrees with you isn't a low life. I could be in trouble. I voted excellent. And I agree... most non NoAm media sucks. However... American history... are you referring to the Vietnam reference in this episode? I'd think most Americans would agree... not excactly proudest moment in of US history.

Posted by: lemmy357 Nov 23 2004, 01:52 AM

QUOTE

I voted excellent. It has many of the things that made MacGyver a great TV show.

I do wish the person that voted "poor" would explain why they feel it is a bad episode. I respect their opinion, I am just curious what they thought was missing or what was done poorly in this episode. I think another reason I like it is that for some reason it is one of the episodes that I have only seen 3-4 times (unlike most that I have seen 7-8 times).

Posted by: MacGyverGod Nov 24 2004, 04:37 AM

QUOTE

I've seen that series atleast 100 times almost every day of the past four years and even after seeing every episode there's always a few I don't like. Thief of Budapest was one of 'em but I still voted OK the ones who can expect poor is Jenny's Chance and The Lost Amadeus and some more.

Posted by: Killian Oct 19 2005, 05:15 AM

QUOTE

One question - when he is disarming the bomb, there is the yellow powder that reacts with oxygen (Phosphorus) and he decides to remove it with with a neon tube. Now:
Inside the bomb we have vacuum - now I dont understand one thing: If there is a gas inside the tube and he opens that tube inside the vacuum, the gas should be pulled out and not as in the movie, he got something like a vacuum cleaner and removed all the powder with the tube (because the powder was pulled inside)...

Posted by: Killian Oct 19 2005, 07:30 AM

QUOTE

I just wanted to say that it should be backwards - the neon would blow the phosphorus over the entire bomb... Maybe I am wrong.

Posted by: rockatteer Oct 19 2005, 08:44 AM

QUOTE

I think its working on the idea, that the gas sucks out of the tube creating a tempery vacuum before he put it into the powder.

There was a short delay from when he poped the cork to when the tube goes into the powder.

Remember this is only based on science facts. They have to dramatise and over do things to make it look good on TV.

In reality the vacuum produced would be so small and short that it wouldn't do anything to the powder.

When we see the tube pulled out it only has powder around the edge of the tube.... what happined to all the powder it sucked up? that amount of poweder would have filled half the tube.

Posted by: MacGirl Oct 19 2005, 08:58 AM

QUOTE

I voted excellent. Liked the suspense, the complicated bombs, and the banter between Mac and Pete. I also liked how "Viking" was so clever that he kept them guessing, while all the while he was right there, helping them to defuse the bombs. Mac and Charlie were great together, too. Too bad Mac had to lose Charlie in the course of the ep. In my mind, this one goes in the "classic Mac" bin!

Most eps I'm going to vote good or excellent, too. There are a few exceptions, like The Lost Amadeus and a few others that I'll vote poor on.

Posted by: Amy Oct 20 2005, 04:57 AM

QUOTE

I agree-great ep and goes in the classic Mac bin!

I love at the end when the guy tells them to pull the one fuse and Mac pulls the other. I just saw a similar thing on a tv show--I don't remember what it was, CSI or Criminal Minds or something like that (had to be a CBS show since I get one station)--the guy who made a bomb tells them they need to cut a certain wire to defuse it and they cut the other. Right away I wondered if the writers had seen Countdown.

Posted by: MacGirl Oct 20 2005, 04:23 PM

QUOTE

Hmm... you have to wonder, don't you? Like I've said before, I think Mac had a greater influence on later TV shows than anyone's realized.

Posted by: jb.jones Mar 27 2006, 04:33 PM

QUOTE

To Killian, you asked:

One question - when he is disarming the bomb, there is the yellow powder that reacts with oxygen (Phosphorus) and he decides to remove it with with a neon tube. Now:
Inside the bomb we have vacuum - now I dont understand one thing: If there is a gas inside the tube and he opens that tube inside the vacuum, the gas should be pulled out and not as in the movie, he got something like a vacuum cleaner and removed all the powder with the tube (because the powder was pulled inside)...

I think that the bomb was not a vacuum that had no air, just less air than the normal atmosphere, it would not be necessary to have a full vacuum, not to mention that if it was a full vacuum the silicon lining would be sucked in. The bomb couldn't function with a full vacuum. This implies that the vacuum was somewhat weak. Remember it is only necessary to have enough air sucked into the bomb disrupt the phosphorous. A weak vacuum would do this.

As long as the neon tube had less pressure than the bomb, it would suck the powder in.

These are my thoughts anyway. What do you think?

Posted by: rockatteer Mar 27 2006, 05:32 PM

QUOTE

The theory is the same as if you hold an empty drink bottle under water.
The air escapes in bubbles of air, but the container fills up with water.

This is because as the air escapes it creates a vacuum in the bottle which sucks or allows the water in to fill the space left by the air.

In the bomb we had the same thing... the Phosphorus was sucked into the tube to fill the space left by the neon gas.

According to Macs explanation, the Phosphorus exploded when oxygen hit it. This indicates that the bomb was an oxygen void... by the way the air rushed in it certainly looked like a full vacuum.

I have to wander how the air got in though, because Charlie sealed the hole with Vaseline around the needle he was using.

Posted by: rockatteer Mar 27 2006, 05:44 PM

QUOTE

One thing that always annoys me...and is a very good example in this episode...is how people who don't know MacGyver at all call him Mac.

In this episode the captain starts off calling him MacGyver and then suddenly without warning starts calling him Mac.

How does she know that Mac is his nick name?

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 26 September 2007 - 07:36 PM

Ok this episode still gets an excellent vote from me.

And I still don't really know why.

I love the scene with Mac and Charlie getting onto the boat from the helicopter.. it's so "Here comes the cavalry to save the day" but in a kewl way. Like Navy seals busting into a room to save prisoners or something. It rocks!

I think probably the main thing I like is the whole bomb disarming bit.. its one MacGyverism after the other.

It's a pity though that they chose to reuse the opening footage from The Prodigal with Mac in the yellow top out on his balcony and then when he walks inside, suddenly he's wearing different clothes.

But apart from that its a top notch episode and also gives us the all important Special forces bomb team background story.

Posted by: Macs Lab Rat 7 October 2007 - 06:37 AM

I have a question - They kept referring to Vietnam bomb campaigns. Were there fancy flashy bombs like that in the Vietnam war? Ones that used chemical triggers like the powder in the dish and acid in cylinders? I have the impression it was mainly jungle warfare with mines, tripwire rigged grenade traps and bombs dropped from planes.

Posted by: trtlsoup 7 October 2007 - 02:29 PM

QUOTE (Macs Lab Rat @ 7 October 2007 - 11:12 AM)

I don't think so, but when you train for bomb disposal I'm there are many techniques to learn for every situation. And I'm sure more technical bombs were used in terrorist situations. Better to be over-educated than clueless.

Anyway, this one gets an X-cellent from me too. Steven Williams was terrific in this, and he and RDA's interactions were very believable.

Even though it's a stock episode (bomb scare on a ship... can't get out, HAVE to difuse-seen it before, will see it again) the story moved right along. And the first time I saw it, I was really horrified when Charlie died.

Off to watch it again! So I'll have more of an opinion when I next post...

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 7 October 2007 - 03:09 PM

QUOTE (Macs Lab Rat @ 8 October 2007 - 04:12 AM)

I got the impression they where referring to terrorist type attacks, used to maybe blow up places frequented by US solders, or maybe even US posts, barracks and the such.

I don't know if these kinds of bombings actually happened or not in Vietnam?

I would have to re-watch the episode again for sure, but is it possible they where talking about bombings they'd studied in their training?

Posted by: MacNymph 7 October 2007 - 07:59 PM

I didn't really like this episode.

But I didn't hate it either. Can't put my finger on why it left me with no great impression either way.

I like Steven Williams. Think he's a good actor and nice to look at.

One thing I think that bothers me is that there aren't that many women in number one or two power possitions, that's a more recent development. It certainly was less common twenty years ago. But MacGyver seems to run into every single one of them.

I didn't like the way they opened up the military service question and then never touched on it again.

*shrugs* I'll give it a good rating, because it was.

Posted by: Lothithil 7 October 2007 - 08:58 PM

Good ep!

I liked the backstory about Mac being part of the bomb disposal unit in 'Nam.

Loved Charlie Robbins (what is it about the name 'Charlie' that spells doom for the bit-actors who encounter RDA in his various incarnations?).

Loved Pete and the 'never played a game of golf in your entire mis-spent life' line

plus all the MacGyverisms and suspense and angst and action! Good stuff!

I also liked that dark-haired agent we saw outside the bus station... the one who wanted to hold the money ... he cracked me up! I wish he had been a reoccuring character!

Posted by: Sheepy 7 October 2007 - 10:57 PM

I voted good.
Not particularly one of my favs, but it still has me on the edge of my seat when I'm watching it.

I do love the scene where they get on the boat (thanks Rock, fo reminding me!)

And of course it's packed with MacGyverisms.

I didn't like the references to 'Nam (I hate it when they say 'Nam, just say Vietnam, will ya?)

But other than that I liked this episode a lot!

Posted by: Macs Lab Rat 8 October 2007 - 01:34 PM

Sorry, I just don’t really like the big fancy bomb at all. It seemed too impractical with pointless flashy lights and I want to question things with it every time I see it.

QUOTE (Rock)

is it possible they where talking about bombings they'd studied in their training?

Maybe.
They may have skipped a bit of training while visiting the French Quarter. Phosphorous is in many explosive devices. WP was used in the Vietnam war. Wouldn't that have made it one of the top chemicals that sprung in to their minds when they saw the powder in the dish in a sealed cabinet with a thermocouple poised ready to read the flash? Maybe the flashy lights dazzled them.

Oh yes, that blue acid annoyed me too. Every time there are photographs taken in our lab they make us all stand about pipetting or pouring blue, green, purple…just about any colour of liquid possible. I understand that it looks pretty and shows up better in photos than clear liquid but it just feels silly. Keep thinking Viking put blue dye in it to make it look pretty.

One more question, (for now!

) – what does “dog shut” mean? Never heard that saying before. Carole asks for the doors to be “dog shut” on her and MacGyver.

Even though I find myself picking at the bomb I quite like this episode.

Posted by: MacNymph 8 October 2007 - 04:11 PM

A dog is a hinged brace latch.

Posted by: MacGyverGrrl 8 October 2007 - 06:58 PM

I rated this episode good. I liked the Macgyverisms, he had to do a lot of improvisation after losing the bomb defusing kit overboard.

I liked the backstory with Mac's Vietnam service, and I liked the interaction with Charlie. Too bad Charlie got killed off....he would have made an interesting recurring character for the series.

QUOTE

True Ratty. I remember one time when I worked in the Army pharmacology lab we had this big inspection going on with lots of high ranking generals walking through our building. Our lab was the very first one you passed after you crossed the reception area, so we were always on display at these things. When we had this big inspection. we set up an elaborate distillation device, filled it with colored water and let it bubble away. The generals were all very impressed, nodding and smiling at our experiment as we stood around it in our white lab coats and writing numbers on our clipboards. I nearly bit my lip off trying not to laugh. When the generals moved on, we shut the doors and laughed ourselves silly. Thanks for reminding me.

On a serious note though, the bomb was just a little too fiddly to look real for me. And what Pete and his entire team of agents aren't smart enough to cross reference the different triggers with bomb squad teams who would have encountered them? That was a little hard to swallow as well, but overall this is a good episode.

Posted by: Macs Lab Rat 8 October 2007 - 09:51 PM

QUOTE (MacNymph @ 9 October 2007 - 01:46 AM)

A dog is a hinged brace latch.

Thank you.

I forgot to vote! I vote good.

And I'm going to stop moaning about the bomb now.

Posted by: MacBeth 9 October 2007 - 04:33 PM

QUOTE (Macs Lab Rat @ 8 October 2007 - 03:09 PM)

what does “dog shut” mean? Never heard that saying before. Carole asks for the doors to be “dog shut” on her and MacGyver.

QUOTE (MacNymph @ 8 October 2007 - 05:46 PM)

A dog is a hinged brace latch.

More than that: it's being used as a verb, as in "dog the hatches" -- close the doors and seal them. As a mechanical term, a dog is a device for gripping and holding (the way a dog's jaws grip and hold); but the verb is mostly used on board ship.

I'll have to check my OED, but I suspect that usage originated as a nautical term. That's why they used it in this episode, and it's probably why you hadn't encountered it before, Ratty.

Posted by: dinoman 27 February 2009 - 06:33 AM

Very exciting episode, lots of MacGyverisms. I think this is the first time Mac mentioned about his working relationship with Pete, but they already have very good understanding of each other (the golf thing). I voted excellent!

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 27 February 2009 - 01:13 PM

QUOTE (Macs Lab Rat @ 9 October 2007 - 10:34 AM)

Here's something even more odd.

In every acid level chart I've seen, the blue colors (blue - purple) are used to indicate alkaline and acid is indicated by yellows and greens.

But as you say, it's all to do with visual story telling, not factual information.

Posted by: Beachbead 27 April 2009 - 04:11 PM

Lots of good MacGyverisms in this ep.

Posted by: MacLovin 25 April 2010 - 10:19 AM

I love this episode! It seems like one of the more realistic ones.

Posted by: Makedde 5 March 2011 - 08:18 PM

This episode was awesome. I especially loved the ending when we finally worked out who the bad guy was, and having to choose between the blue button and the yellow button to defuse the bomb.

Brilliant episode.

Posted by: KiwiTek 17 January 2012 - 12:47 AM

The ship used in this episode was called MS Vistaford. It has been renamed twice and currently holds the name MS Saga Ruby.

It looks like it's gone through a few paint jobs in it's time as well with the smoke stack changing color 3 times and the hull now being black.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_Ruby

Posted by: KiwiTek 17 January 2012 - 01:04 AM

Anyone know what this blade is called?

Posted by: Issus 26 January 2012 - 08:54 AM

I'd say its either a very small saw or a razor

Posted by: Tobop 30 January 2012 - 08:16 PM

I wish Charlie didn't have to die

He should have just survived... Incapacitated but, alive.

Posted by: mac8 2 February 2012 - 01:53 PM

i agree.

Posted by: Makedde 3 February 2012 - 12:16 AM

QUOTE (Tobop @ 31 January 2012 - 04:19 PM)

I wish Charlie didn't have to die

He should have just survived... Incapacitated but, alive.

I disagree. It was sad that he died, but before he did he gave Mac the answer to defusing that bomb - in part. If Charlie hadn't died the way he did he wouldn't have been able to provide that vital information to Mac.

Posted by: NightTinkerer 6 August 2012 - 05:35 PM

This episode is very suspenseful! I know nothing about bombs or bomb defusing, but those bombs *did* look pretty cool on screen anyway, and it was a pure delight to see Mac and the captain's teamwork to defuse them.

I felt for Charlie and his poor wife, though. What an awful way to die after so many successful bomb disposals!

I do, however, understand the writers' decision to "kill him off"--this episode struck a more serious note that way, and it wasn't supposed to be too light hearted.

I did somehow suspect Donahue from the beginning though... does that make him very cliché, or am I just very smart?

I do suspect that Mac wanted to share more than tables with Carole...

...OK, OK, I *know*, the world would come to an end within just a few hours should everyone reason like me, but there really was too much unnecessary romance in the first season, and I could so have done without that very last line.

Anyway--a strong "Good" from me. Almost bordering on "Excellent", but not quite.

Posted by: MacGyverisms 16 February 2013 - 07:17 AM

Yet another one of my favorite episodes from Season 1. This episode felt very suspenseful and realistic at the same time. The story is very well written. I was very sad when Charlie died. But without him dying he wouldn't have given Mac a vital piece of information. I somehow suspected Donahue from the beginning. Does that make his character cliche or am I very smart?

I know nothing about bombs or bomb defusing but in this episode it seems very realistic. Overall a "Excellent" episode.

Overall Rating: 10/10

Posted by: Mela_007 16 February 2013 - 11:45 AM

I really liked this episode. I have sailed on cruise ships several times as well as going to sea on a ship for work. MacBeth described the "dog the door" well. I am not sure if it originated as a nautical term, but it is still used regularly today at sea.

I felt really bad that Charlie died too, but I thought it was nice how they showed Mac having stopped his action with the bomb and just went outside to deal with the loss of his friend. Also that Mac talked the new Captain into telling the passengers about what was going on. She asked Mac if he would want to know that he might die soon, and he said he would want to know (or something like that). I agree with Mac, I would want to know.

Posted by: Scwilson 4 August 2013 - 09:40 PM

Full of classic MacGyver know how. Like the plot, of putting Mac in a tough situation to disarm the bombs. We see Mac's EOD skills put to the test.

Posted by: BrakeFluid 5 August 2013 - 07:05 AM

I think this was the first episode I realized that when Mac ran into an old friend, it meant the same thing as that mandolin riff in The Godfather or anyone in a red shirt on Star Trek. From then on, anytime we met someone he described as an old friend whom we hadn't met before, that guy or gal was in big trouble...

Be that as it may, it's a brilliant episode. Plenty of tension, lots of great MacGyverisms, and the "golf trick" was beautifully executed. I loved this one when I was a kid, and I still love it now. I've been informally working on a list of ten or so episodes I plan to watch with my wife once I get my hands on my DVDs again (they're currently in my parents' basement in Philadelphia - I live in Singapore and importing DVDs there is a big hassle), to introduce her to the show. Countdown is most likely going to make the list if/when I write it down.

Posted by: Harry1982 4 August 2014 - 02:27 PM

Excellent episode and one of the best from season 1. I love the bomb disarming suspense and the Macgyverism in this one. Steven Williams is a nice add to the cast and I remember him from the X-Files as Mr.X.

Posted by: Mr Duct Tape 14 October 2015 - 01:36 PM

A solid episode from season 1, with a cool plot and good supporting characters. Such a shame that "Charlie Robinson" had to die, he was an interesting character.

Posted by: RadiantRose 15 November 2016 - 01:18 PM

QUOTE (MacNymph @ 7 October 2007 - 07:59 PM)

One thing I think that bothers me is that there aren't that many women in number one or two power possitions, that's a more recent development. It certainly was less common twenty years ago. But MacGyver seems to run into every single one of them.

You're right. They're probably secretly manufacturing their own crises, like the Lady General who was kidnapped a few episodes ago and held in a beach house. They know that

is literally the only person on Earth who can rescue them and so they subconsciously try to get kidnapped or to end up on a ship with 3 bombs.

Posted by: RadiantRose 15 November 2016 - 03:06 PM

By the way, is anyone else wondering about

's interesting evening in the French Quarter? I'm assuming he wasn't there to hone his language skills ...

Or maybe he was, and the fact things took a different turn is what made it more interesting!

"Bon soir! Je m'appelle MacGyver et je ... oh là là!"

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 26 November 2018 - 04:25 AM

This looks like the real plans of the ship they filmed on.

Posted by: Aces 6 September 2022 - 08:49 PM

Something interesting I saw in this episode. Mac is wearing a Casio DW1000 watch, and when in the helicopter, he checks his watch for the countdown timer, and the time is 2:28 (assuming pm) with 3 hours and 19 minutes remaining. Also, the alarm and half hour chime is activated on the watch.

Later in the episode, we see that Charlie is also wearing a Casio DW1000 and now we see that there is a little under 3 hours and 7 minutes remaining, yet the time now shows 15:44, and the half hourly chime has been turned off.

Later Charlie checks his watch again, and it shows 7:04 with just under 3 hours remaining and the half hourly chime is back on again.

Finally we see Mac’s watch again with 19 minutes remaining, it’s two minutes past midnight.

The thing about all of this though, based on close up photos of each watch shows us that only one DW1000 was used during filming. I first thought someone was toggling between standard and military time during shots, but I had just assumed that the watch was set to the correct time. It was always set to military time, but nowhere near the correct time (based on outside observations), and at some point during filming, the annoying half hour chime was disabled. I don’t mean to nit pick, just some observations from a fan of vintage wrist watches.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 7 September 2022 - 04:37 AM

Nice catch.

I always take notice of the time on any watch with a clear view in the show. I often wonder if they are showing real time (i.e. the time of filming) or if they've been set by the props people for the scene.

I've noticed MacGyver's "normal" watch often seems to be set to real time of day.