the reboot was set in the 1970's? It was just a little something I started to wonder after reading all that stuff on the reboot and RDoyle's pressure for us to like it. A lot of the fans are booing the show which is not that odd considering the changes. Jack is not the scheming pilot we all know and love, Pete's a woman, no houseboat etc... It got me thinking, how we would respond if the show was actually a prequel set in the 1970's? Same new actors though but in the 70's. Cold War-era. They probably mess up the timeline even more but it would still be the timeline of old. Of course there won't be Pete unless he meets him in like 1975, but there is actually room there to fit it in, in the original timeline. Still working on that, I might add but I think there is.

Just wondering: would you feel the same about it as you do now or not?

What age would the characters be then, would MacGyver be a teenager of sixteen or seventeen? Interesting concept, but don't know if it is do-able. Makes me think of the Star Wars prequels.

Why?
We get so many shows sporting different time periods right now, this shouldn't be much of a problem.
We only get so much information about Macs past anyway. He was in the bomb squad of the army, studied some stuff, but we never really saw it.
It would be interesting to explore these times.

However the current direction wants to capture the current Zeitgeist, thus going rather forward, than backwards.

It makes sense, as the current audience has to struggle with other problems and solutions than in the past.

A show like MacGyver, that shows clever alternatives to seemingly unfavourable situations in modern times would result in the same reaction, the original did.
Thinking outside the box and pushing the audience to learn new things.

Putting it in the past, would have an alienating effect on the "learning part", as we have smartphones, etc. which allow us to circumvent several problems they would be confronted with and it's easier to dismiss it as problems of their time.

An interesting concept, but the question is what does the show intend to do.

No Mac would still be in his twenties as he would be in the reboot. A college graduate perhaps.

You are probably right too, Jaken. It might be a little alienating, however it can show that old school solutions are still the best ways to solve something.

It puts a take on MacGyver that I have never really considered

I don't really mind the lack of houseboat, considering all the different places Mac lived in the original. The houseboat was his fourth home after the observatory, the beach apartment, and the apartment over the hardware store.

As for setting it in the 70s, I wouldn't mind, though Mac's life at 25 not lining up with where he would have been in the original really isn't my problem with it. It's mainly Eads' Jack-in-name-only.

It would be a good idea, and I would have welcomed it as much as I have welcomed the reboot because I have long waited for any form of new MacGyver material for mainstream media. But for it to be a 'period series' set in the 70s, I'm guessing they would need to have a bigger budget and I don't think they'd wanna shell out that kind of money, if they have an alternative which is the reboot which, in their minds, would capture the audience of today much more than setting it in the 70s. But I have been thinking that if only MacGyver became a Netflix series, maybe it could have really been a 70s period series because Netflix shows have bigger budgets than standard TV shows.

Well, there are some period TV shows, like Agent Carter, but then again that was a mid-season series which had shorter episodes, and some of the other TV shows which are set in different eras aren't usually shows shown on the big three networks of America but I'm not really sure about this. Are there?

Some shows are given higher budgets if they are proving themselves to be successful otherwise most operate on a standard budget. But as you stated, the ones that spend more on the show are usually left with less episodes. How the production team choose to use it is up to them.

Take a show like Stranger Things on Netflix. Set in the 1980's. There are small things they have done to recreate the era and they do a fascinating job making it look authentic. But the show has only 8 episodes. So more lavish like Agent Carter. And of course more stars spells less episodes.

I think it would be interesting...almost Star Wars like in that you can see how things became what they were. I know I'd love to see how Mac learned what he did and how his thought process evolved. I think a "Young Indiana Jones" kind of theme would be pretty cool. Remember how Mac, Mike and Jack wandered the world, the possibilities that opens up!

That's right, Barry. That's why I got so into my timeline project. The possibilities and story angles that open up are just so expansive. But I guess it just has to be fanfiction than since they choose a reboot over a prequel.

I agree with you Barry and MacgyverGod. This is exactly what I expected, that it will be a prequel not reboot. Potential for that is enormous. That was my large disappointment...

We've some tremendous writers here...I'd love to see what they could do with it! There are just so many possibilities

I think I prefer a reboot for a few reasons.

First, look how much trouble we're already having in seeing Lucas as MacGyver. But at least with it being a reboot, we can say, "Well, it's a new version of the character, he doesn't need to seem exactly like RDA's MacGyver." But with a prequel, any differences between Lucas' Mac and RDA's Mac would be very jarring. I remember I could never really enjoy the Young Indiana Jones series because I could never really believe that Sean Patrick Flannery's Indy eventually became Harrison's Indy.

Second, how long can you really stretch out the concept of watching Mac become the guy we know in the original series? "Fear The Walking Dead" tried to give us something similar, and people lost patience with it. That show wanted to show us how people learned to deal with the zombie outbreak when it first started, but since we've all been watching "The Walking Dead" for several years, and had gotten used to seeing people dealing with it proficiently, it got a bit tedious watching a bunch of newbies stumbling around trying to figure out what to do.

Third, I'm just not that interested in MacGyver's younger years, I guess. I like seeing him as an agent for either DXS or Phoenix. I don't really need to see him being a race car driver or a lumberjack or whatever other countless jobs he had when he was younger.

One last reason: If the new series ends up being awful, it doesn't really matter if it's a reboot, since it's not directly connected to the original anyway. But if it's a prequel, then it kind of taints the original series. Look how many people feel the Star Wars prequels ruined their perception of Darth Vader, for example.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible idea at all, and I can see where the potential is, but personally, I just think doing a reboot is the way to go.

What about a continuation with a son or daughter?

I personally feel that a continuation would be illogical. Mac was one of a kind. Judging from all we had to assess of the Sam character in the final episode, he did not come across like his father. And having child no: 2 in the mix just seems like something he would never let his children do. Regardless of how rebellious they were. Would you send your son to be a DXS operative? I thought not! A reboot is fine provided it is faithful in the spirit of the original. But its not going to be perfect. All the elements that made the original what is it are not going to be rehashed. And when the music, or the plots or the characters or the formula are different, we will have something to say.

Any thoughts on rebooting the character but having the series set in the 1980s? I guess it would give a sigh of relief to the people who say that MacGyver is a concept that could only work in the 80s and not in the modern period....which I personally do not believe, because I don't think that resourcefulness and ingenuity will ever go out of fashion.

And remake all the episodes as well? Talk about not original.

No not necessarily remake the episodes...it's a completely new timeline rebooted with modern film making and story arc elements, but set in the 80s.

Well, I assume his son/daughter wouldn't be a child, and it's not as if DXS would be hiring a 10 year old kid, anyway. Most likely, if the show focused on a son or daughter, the person would be an adult, so it wouldn't really be up to MacGyver to allow or not allow it.
Besides, Mac didn't seem like an overly protective dad when dealing with Sam. He lectured him a bit about the gun, but that's it. I don't remember him telling Sam it was too dangerous to get involved with the investigation or to go on that ship. So I don't think he'd have any issue with his grown son or daughter being an agent for DXS or Phoenix. He'd probably be proud of them, actually, for wanting to help people.

My problem with focusing on a son/daughter is that I could picture the showrunners making the son/daughter basically a carbon copy of Mac, so why bother? He/she would probably hate guns, would be doing MacGyvervisms, helping charitable causes, and trekking around the world to save people, so for all intents and purposes, it would be a reboot anyway. Heck, he/she would probably even have the same fashion sense as Mac. Remember how Sam had basically the same hairstyle as his father, despite never meeting his father?

Since they wanted to set the show in 2016, I would have liked a continuation with a grandson or even better: a granddaughter. Sam would be old enough now to have an adult daughter.

Sam wouldn't have to be like MacGyver, while his child could show similar traits as his/her grandfather. Also, it would have lessened the risk of comparing and judging both shows so much.

Most negative trailer-reviews in German and French are dissatisfied with the "Team MacGyver" aspect and that the show looks too much like "CSI" or similar shows. With a sequel, people couldn't complain about these aspects because the main character wouldn't be MacGyver himself - doesn't matter if he was a lone wolf or not.

And I think that would have solved some of the issues arising from the new series. It keeps Mac as we knew him and opens up a whole new world for the writers to work with.

I dislike the team aspect of it. It's about Mac. The original show depended on him alone. Slowly introducing the ensemble as they grew on you. But at the end of the day, if Mac was out of the equation, you were unable to solve it.

QUOTE (Miasma @ 18 August 2016)
Well, I assume his son/daughter wouldn't be a child, and it's not as if DXS would be hiring a 10 year old kid, anyway. Most likely, if the show focused on a son or daughter, the person would be an adult, so it wouldn't really be up to MacGyver to allow or not allow it.
Besides, Mac didn't seem like an overly protective dad when dealing with Sam. He lectured him a bit about the gun, but that's it. I don't remember him telling Sam it was too dangerous to get involved with the investigation or to go on that ship. So I don't think he'd have any issue with his grown son or daughter being an agent for DXS or Phoenix. He'd probably be proud of them, actually, for wanting to help people.

In a lot of ways, Mac was a little daring and adventurous. He somewhat enjoyed the whole agent feel to his life. We get that a lot from the early seasons. But as he got older, he seemed to like it less. It is only logical that the older he gets, the more drawn down the character would become in his ways. Despite him doing it, he will preach about it. IMO, i dont see it.

You're right that by season 7, he seemed to be having less fun. Though, to be fair, he spent most of season 7 surrounded by annoying characters (Honest Abe, Earl Dent, his annoying neighbors, Pinky, Jack Dalton, etc.) So I'm not so sure if he was becoming less adventurous, or just fed up with everyone he knew

Either way, sure, I could see him preaching about it to his son/daughter, but ultimately, I don't think he'd stop them. Again, the "kid" would be an adult, so it really wouldn't be within Mac's power to stop them, but perhaps more importantly, Mac always struck me as somebody who would ultimately be supportive if he felt the person was doing something for the right reasons. If his son/daughter expressed an interest in joining DXS or the The Phoenix Foundation to fight for humanitarian causes and to protect the environment, etc, Mac might be nervous about him/her getting hurt, but he'd eventually be proud of them and supportive. I really can't see Mac saying something like, "You shouldn't try to help other people, it's too dangerous. Get yourself a nice, safe job as a telemarketer" (or whatever.)

Like I said, I expect no solo MacGyver either.

When it comes to support, Mac's not going to hold anyone back in order to reach their full potential. That's not him. Yes, DXS/Phoenix work can be dangerous but I don't think he would stop anyone to join in because of that. It's occupational hazard. Comes with the territory.