News just hit that Original Jack Dalton Bruce McGill will guest-star on the Reboot: http://ew.com/tv/2017/11/03/macgyver-bruce...ill-guest-star/

CBS has announced that Bruce McGill, who played Jack Dalton in the original 1985 series, is going to guest-star in MacGyver‘s second season. McGill will play Detective Greer, a seasoned LAPD veteran who reads MacGyver his Miranda Rights for a murder. Not knowing who MacGyver really is, Detective Greer believes that he is a bomb maker who took down a warehouse, killing someone, and intends to charge him with domestic terrorism.

“I was happy to make a guest appearance on MacGyver,” McGill said in a press release. “It’s unusual for an actor to be on the original series and then, 30 years later, be on a newer version. The cast and producers were warm and embracing, and I enjoyed being a part of the new show.”

More info and the first Still via TV Line: http://tvline.com/2017/11/03/macgyver-seas...al-jack-dalton/

TVLine has learned that Bruce McGill, who costarred as the wise-cracking soldier of fortune on the ABC series that ran from 1985 to 1992 (see photo below), will guest-star on CBS’ MacGyver on Friday, Dec. 15 at 8/7c.

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Looks awesome.

Lucas also posted a BtS picture today: https://www.instagram.com/p/BbC5l26jKXL/

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Cool! Sounds like his character might be more like his My Cousin Vinny character than Jack Dalton, but that's fine. I look forward to seeing him. Now when will Michael Des Barres be announced? Haha.

What's the point of having the original actors if they're not reprising or at the very least playing a role related to their original??!!

It's just a blatant, and I think insulting, attempt to get more of the original fans to watch an episode. For me it shows how lazy and disregarding the production team is on this show. Everything they do is the quick cheap and lazy option.

I always thought that if Bruce McGill actually comes on board, he would play Jack Dalton's deceased father (in a flashback or a dream). In the first few episodes of Season 1, they made such a big deal about Jack having a habit of visiting his father's grave and talking to him after a bad mission.

Lenkov promised we would see more of Cairo this Season, so that would have been an opportunity. Or him playing a character resembling the Original Jack Dalton (e.g. a pilot or someone in trouble because he tried to do one of these get-rich-quickly-schemes).

Alas, LAPD Officer it is.

On the other hand, I'm not sure how this usually works. McGill is still acting regularly and has probably a tight schedule. It's possible they didn't write this specific role with McGill in mind, but waited for his okay and then had to find something for him in an episode they've already written that would fit his schedule? Or they presented him possible roles for episodes they've already written and he got to choose?

Nice! Cool to hear Bruce McGill will be on board... though I wish his character had some connection with the original.

It would be a crime if they bring RDA or MDB on board and give them completely different roles separate from their original characters. Which is why I'm kinda glad RDA doesn't have plans to be on the show... less chance for his fans to be disappointed in the role choice.

Hm. If they're just doing it for ratings, that's probably not going to work - at least not now (1) and not with Bruce McGill (2).

(1) The ratings for the pilot episode went through the roof and dropped rather quickly. If they wanted to keep the ratings up, they probably should have brought someone "big" on board in the beginning, before all Original Fans stopped watching.

(2) McGill is still acting regularly in various roles, so if fans wanted to see him on screen, they were able to all the time. They don't need to watche the Reboot for that. It's different with e.g. MDB or RDA who haven't graced our TV screens for quite some time. Even people who don't like the Reboot would probably watch if they came back to do some acting; even in a small role.

Also, the Crossover Episode with "Hawaii Five-0" didn't get that good ratings, either. I had thought with H50-Fans and MacGyver-Fans watching, it would get more viewers. I guess if a show is more or less "established" after half a season, it's not that easy to lure in viewers who usually don't watch the show.

Really, anyone who finds something like this "insulting" is just taking it WAYYYY too personally. It's a little nod to the original show, that's all. For the fans who know, it's fun. For anyone else, it doesn't matter.

I watched about half that episode, got bored with it and never finished it. XD

But to be honest, there are episodes of the original I don't watch because I found them boring. Every show is plagued by at least on or two boring episodes in a season. Even good shows.

I think the only way anyone could be justifiably insulted by a casting choice would be whatever role they would give RDA that isn't in connection with his original character. Though I would like to see original characters play roles that are associated with their original characters, Bruce McGill playing a character that isn't connected to Jack Dalton is something I can live with.

Me too Jedi! I'm happy he's coming back...I think Bruce would play an awesome seasoned cop. I agree,too, in that there are shows f from the original series that don't make their way into my replay list. Not bad shows, just not my cuppa.

Even though Bruce won't be playing Jack Dalton in this, how cool would it be if, at some point in the episode, he gets to say, "Egg-zactly!"? It would be a fun homage for the fans of the original, and wouldn't require any real effort from anyone.
Mac: "What?! You're charging me with murder?!"
Bruce's character: "Egg-zactly!"
(I guess "Eggzactly, kemo sabe!" would be a bit too much, right?)

Image credit: Gary Larson's The Far Side

I disagree. It's treating the audience as if they should be pleased with whatever the show gives them.

Producers/creators should treat the audience with enough respect to assume that they have the intelligence to make and appreciate a connection between old and new characters instead of assuming we're stupid monkeys that will be happy with any old banana we get thrown. It's this disdain which is insulting and it applies to any show or movie, not just MacGyver.

I like to be entertained as an intelligent person, not some feeble minded old fool..... no-one say a word!!

Having said all of the above I do note that MDB has made a couple of posts on the MacGyver Online facebook page which seem to be teasing his possible appearance on the reboot MacGyver in a character related to his original Murdoc. If this is true that WOULD be very cool.

I think it depends on the person really. Bruce McGill not being Jack Dalton is tolerable, but doesn't really bother me.

MDB seems to be linked to Murdoc in some fashion, so I'm okay with that. I'm actually VERY excited to see the possible outcome of MDB and David Dastmalchain working together. That would make me a very happy fan!

RDA, on the other hand, is a tricky one. I don't think he's just gonna show up for a token role. He knows his fans are loyal to him, and I doubt he'll want to cheapen that. So I don't blame him at all for declining. As much as I'd love to see him back on the screen... I do respect him for wanting to make sure his name isn't being use to take advantage of his fanbase.

At least... that's how I look at it. I would be insulted if they just gave RDA a token role just to shut the rest of us up. I'd rather just not see RDA in the reboot at all, if that's the case.

Honestly, none of it would insult me. Even if they brought RDA in just to have a 15 second cameo as some random guy who slips on a banana peel in the background of a scene, I wouldn't be insulted. I'd find it odd, sure, but I just don't take this stuff personally or seriously enough to be insulted by it.

Well, I wouldn't be insulted or offended because I think RDA would make an amazing "random guy who slips on a banana peel in the background of a scene"

But I would definitely be disappointed because it would be just another missed opportunity (sadly, the reboot has many of them). I mean it was great that they brought in Penny Parker, but she shouldn't have been an afterthought - no matter who played her. I would have been even more disappointed if it had been one of the Original Cast.

It's possible that Bruce McGill didn't want to be in a recurring or too time-demanding role, and that's fine. But if a random character with 3 minutes of screentime was all they had to offer to him (so they have enough time for their 3 other parallel B-Storylines with Bozer or Riley), then that would be a shame.

They've added more Stills for this episode; some with Bruce McGill: https://www.spoilertv.com/2017/11/macgyver-...n-synopsis.html

He's not a happy camper

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That'd be so funny!

It's just a 10-second-teaser-trailer and I already posted it in the Promo Material Thread, but I think this deserves to be posted in here as well

I'm wondering, though - can a LAPD Detective arrest a spy and hold him for interrogation like a "normal" suspect? Wouldn't the agency arrange to have him moved somewhere else to start investigation on this case done by FBI, CIA and so on?

Maybe MacGyver should just stop opening his door. It's either Murdoc, Murdoc's goons kidnapping him or the LAPD and Original Jack Dalton coming to arrest him

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I just realized yesterday that the cast wears the same clothes in the Offical Stills for this episodes as they do in the BtS pictures for Episode 2x12.

So this will probably be a two-parter, maybe even with a cliffhanger just before the holidays. Since there's no press release yet for 2x12 though, I don't know if Bruce McGill will be in both episodes. (Probably not; they surely would have mentioned it in the press release about his guest-appearance.)

Getty Images released additional Stills that are not on SpoilerTV (so therefore tagged).

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Bad Bruce, trying to break MacGyver

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Here's what set photographer Guy D'Alema said about him: https://www.instagram.com/p/BchtyiMAu8W/

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Short interview with Bruce McGill: https://ontvtoday.com/bruce-mcgill-revisits...-25-years-later


Bruce McGill revisits ‘MacGyver,’ 25 years later


Q: You played Jack Dalton on the original “MacGyver,” but since George Eads now plays him. you have a new character in the reboot’s Dec. 15 episode. What’s he like?

A: He’s a pretty good, pretty honest procedural cop, and thought the best thing I could do was to build a real world that the “MacGyver” world could bump into. I thought, “Let’s make this as real as any real cop show I’ve ever done.”

There’s a very good scene where my character believes MacGyver (played by Lucas Till) is a serial bomber, and I’m trying to get him to spill the beans. He won’t tell me who he is, and he can’t, because he works for the double-secret-probation Phoenix Foundation. I just pound away (with the interrogation), but I’m genuinely concerned for this highly intelligent kid who has an abnormal obsession with explosives.


Q: How did you become involved in “MacGyver” originally?

A: I wasn’t doing any TV to speak of, and when they called me to do it, I said, ‘I don’t think so.” But Charlie Correll – who was the director of photography on “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (in which McGill played musical-throat-playing motorcyclist D-Day) – was directing it, and he called and said, ‘”What are you doing? Get on a plane and get out here! It doesn’t matter; you die at the end of the episode, so you don’t have to worry about making a commitment.”

That was interesting, so I did it. And then I went back to my theater and movie life, and my agent called and said, ‘”They’d like you to do another ‘MacGyver.’” I said, “What part?” And he said, “Oh, same part.” And I said, “But that character died.” Well, he didn’t die on camera; he heroically saved MacGyver by flying his airplane over the horizon, and then there was one of those poor-man’s (largely unseen) explosions. And my agent said, “If Bobby Ewing can come back in the shower … .”