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MacGyver Online Forums > General Reboot Discussions > What do you like about this new MacGyver?

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 22 July 2019 - 01:49 AM

What do you like about this new version of MacGyver?

What works and what makes it enjoyable for you?

Posted by: Jediferret 22 July 2019 - 04:22 AM

Personally, I like David Dastmalchian as Murdoc. I don't think they could have picked a better actor for the part. Like the original, he's the villain you just love to hate. I also love Tristin Mayes as Riley. Despite what a lot of others think, Lucas Till is perfect as the new MacGyver. MacGyver was always supposed to be about being more brain than brawn.

They just need to dump the whole NCIS feel and make the episodes not so anti-climatic. The show has a far better production quality than the original, but it seriously needs to find it's identity. Its like what happened to Resident Evil, it lost itself trying to be too many things at once to "fit in", and it just doesn't work. It needs to stay what it was meant to be. A positive, feel good show about MacGyver fixing problems and helping people.

Posted by: Krug 22 July 2019 - 05:37 PM

QUOTE (Jediferret @ 22 July 2019 - 04:22 AM)

Yeah, Dastmalchian, Mays and Till are the big "breakout" (if that word can be used here) stars of the show, although I do wish Till was a bit older and they didn't do this whole "boy genius" thing. Dastmalchian is a great new age Murdoc (although I also love MDB as Helman in this). Tristin for me, went from a "meh" deus ex machina (she still is at times, when that really should be Mac, but I digress) character to maybe the second most indispensable character on the show...especially when it comes to being Mac's emotional support (and vice versa...hmm, I wonder why the 'shippers gravitate towards these two?)

I like that it's an easy, low-brainpower watch. It's not dissimilar to the original in that regard. A little bit of cheese (mixed with some heart) in your action show isn't a bad thing. And as a fan of the DXS days on the original, I have a certain affinity for the "mission to foreign lands" aspect of this show.

Posted by: real_ness 23 July 2019 - 01:02 AM

I like the feel of the cast. I feel like they are for real friends in different ways, whereas with OG it seems like it was just Pete that Mac was friends with. I like Levy is making genuine efforts to find a family in the cast.

I think the show has potential if written right

Posted by: Jediferret 23 July 2019 - 04:25 AM

The original MacGyver had a lot of friends from all over the place. But he is supposed to be a loner, so Pete is the only one he sees on a regular basis because he's his boss. The current cast is fine, but you can tell that the banter and funny moments are forced and scripted. Most of the best scenes are when they're not scripted.

For instance, the best "bromance" on TV will forever be Dean and Sam Winchester. They are brothers on set, and best friends offset. After being spoiled with that chemistry, any other "bromance" just isn't good enough.

I will admit the one thing the reboot does well is emotional moments. You actually can feel for them. Anytime I see Lucas or Tristin tear up, I just wanna hug them.

Lucas Till would make a rather great young Leon S. Kennedy if they ever did a live action Resident Evil show. That actually says a lot because Leon is one of my top favorite fictional character, right after MacGyver.

Posted by: MacGyverGod 24 July 2019 - 02:46 AM

It's a different take. It will never beat the original of course but it can exist in it's own right. Yet there are many points of critique as I've pointed out in the episode discussions. But I agree, Lucas Till, Tristin Mays and David Dastmalchian are pretty much the best thing this series has. The Murdoc episodes are good, you gotta give them that. And Riley is such a strong and interesting character, she might even be fit to be used in original Mac fanfics. And I also took a liking to the two assistants but mainly Jill. A beautiful but intelligent character.

Sometimes I think it's a shame they leave good storylines behind. Patricia Thornton for example was a great solid character as well who deserved better then just to be kicked out like that halfway the season to be replaced with Matty. Both Patricia as Riley could've fitted the original show and fanfics. Also Nikki would've fit rather nicely in the reboot. The Australian woman also deserved better as well.

Currently still waiting for season 3 over here.

Posted by: real_ness 25 July 2019 - 01:52 AM

QUOTE (MacGyverGod @ 24 July 2019 - 05:46 AM)

Do you at least have a premiere date?

Posted by: MacGyverGod 25 July 2019 - 02:15 AM

I assume in the Fall. Last year they showed season 1 and 2 back to back. By that time both seasons already aired in the States.

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 25 July 2019 - 09:37 AM

For me, the chemistry between Lucas Till and George Eads was the best thing about the Reboot when it started. CBS struck gold with this duo; too bad it ended too soon.

Over time, I learnt to appreciate other characters and actors as well. So far my favorites are still Mac, Jack, Riley and Murdoc, though - and that's mostly due to the actors, not just the characters.

I know some will disagree with me, but I still think George Eads is the most talented actor of all the regulars on the show. He delivers whatever the writers throw at him (sad, funny, heroic, action; and that's probably also the reason why he is the most inconsistent character on the show). But Lucas Till has a lot of potential as well, and I really like seeing him work in different scenarios - especially in one-on-one scenes with George, David or Tristin.

Looking back at all 3 Seasons, the best thing for me is still the cast and the chemistry between them, but they also have implemented very interesting characters.

Sadly, the writers (A) don't always know what to do with them or (B) they hire actors that aren't available for more episodes. Or ©, they don't dare to flesh them out properly, for whatever reason. Maybe for fear of having to drop them suddenly? On the other hand, with the characters still being so ominous and mysterious after half a season, you don't really miss the character that much because it wasn't needed for the story-arc, after all (see Cage or Leanna).

Generally, I think both the actors and the characters have a lot more potential than the writers, producers and lastly also the audience give them credit for. As others stated in here, I watch for the actors and the characters, not the storylines. Even Lenkov said so in an interview that his stories are watched for the characters - he seems to understand that the writing is not the thing that sells his shows to the audience.

Also, after perusing so much BtS material, you can see the cast members really like each other in real life as well.

Posted by: Maclover 1 October 2019 - 08:43 AM

Well it has made it across the pond and is on UK TV. I didn't realise it was on until I accidentally tripped over it and I've struggled through a couple of episodes and I am not convinced. Also, where have all these hangers on come from? Original Mac worked because he was a self sufficient loner able to make necessary contacts where-ever he went. I am also not convinved by all the IT tech - OK I guess if it had been around when the original Mac was made he would have used it, but it wasn't and part of the charm of the original was seeing non-IT based solutions deployed. I did think that the new series would have been based at the same point in time as the original, but clearly it has not been. The humour seems very forced and un-necessary and there doesn't seem to be the same sincerity between the characters as there was in the original. I think they should have left well alone IMO.

Posted by: Slater 4 October 2019 - 08:10 PM

I think that the show worked best when MacGyver was a loner. Or maybe I'm just nostalgic for the original show. That being said, I do make it a point to watch the reboot.

Posted by: Miasma 8 October 2019 - 06:28 AM

QUOTE (Maclover @ 2 October 2019 - 04:43 AM)

I am also not convinved by all the IT tech - OK I guess if it had been around when the original Mac was made he would have used it, but it wasn't and part of the charm of the original was seeing non-IT based solutions deployed.

This is one element that I think the reboot actually handles fairly well. They obviously can't avoid having more advanced IT in this show than in the original series, and I was afraid that having more advanced IT would make the show less reliant on MacGyverisms. But as it turns out, the writers still manage to come up with plenty of scenarios for Mac to use his ingenuity. If anything, I think there are generally more MacGyverisms per episode in the reboot than there were in the original (too bad they're often done so quickly that we hardly notice or remember them....) And there have been several instances when Mac actually incorporated the newer technology into his MacGyverisms, such as using Jack's cell phone as part of a MacGyverism. So I'll give the writers some points for that.

Posted by: Maclover 23 October 2019 - 12:50 PM

SPOILERS ALERT - don't read if you haven't got to the end of season 2 - OMG I am becoming hooked - it's def. growing on me esp. with the 2nd season - it seems to be like many new series sometimes it takes a while for the actors to get used to working together and for the writers to become comfortable. The current episodes have got somehow tougher, grimmer, harder - the one with the teacher saving the ship in the ice by sacrificing herself - no happy ending there, Mac burning his precious film in his home-made projector, Cage being shot in the Christmas episode by Murdoc - current cliff-hanger - it's getting to the stage where I can't wait for the next one. It's actually got to point where I'm watching it for the story arc rather than for Mac himself though, and that's a hook that the original series didn't do so well - there was often little in the way of an all encompassing story arc and that is being developed in the new series. It sound's heresay to say so, but I think I like it.

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 23 October 2019 - 02:41 PM

QUOTE (Maclover @ 23 October 2019 - 10:50 PM)

Funny how some shows sneak up on you

I have to admit that I don't know if I would like the show as much if I wasn't blogging about it and posting about it in here. It's hard not to like the actors; they seem like nice people and have so much fun filming the show; not to mention that they really seem to like each other. The chemistry is great both on- and offscreen.

While the show seemed to deviate further away from the OG with the 2nd season, I really think the stories are so much better than in Season 1. And while I didn't care much about the story-arc with James - especially with all the plot holes surrounding it and the dropped storyline with Cage - the missions centered in the episodes seem to work a lot better. There are some good episodes as well, but I think I like Season 2 the best.

Sure, it till has flaws, but even if it wasn't called MacGyver, I think I would have watched the show regularly if I happend to come across it on TV.

Posted by: Barry Rowland 23 October 2019 - 07:33 PM

The show has grown on me too. I think the greatest thing is the cast. They seem like genuinely good people that are out to have a good time and try to introduce a whole new generation of people on how to improvise, adapt, and laugh too.