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MacGyver Online Forums > Nit-picks > 004 THE GAUNTLET

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 1 November 2006 - 04:44 PM

As MacGyver climbs out to repair the balloon hole you can see a rope running from the basket off to the right of the screen.. obviously to hold the balloon in place for the shot.

As MacGyver runs up the sand dune there is part of either a vehicle or rigging visible at the right edge of the shot.

Macs watch changes from black to silver when he's waiting for the fireworks in the bell to go off.

Mac sets off the explosion by inserting the plug of a camera flash and activating the timer. This, however, is impossible. Plastique is a very powerful but very stable plastic explosive. A detonator is needed to set it off. A simple electric spark or current from a battery operated camera would never initiate the explosion.

At the end Kate takes a picture with a camera which has just been swum across the river. Most cameras don't work very well when they have been submerged under water. Hers was already broken so would have filled up with water as they crossed the river.

When Kate knocks out the solder with her camera, his hat comes off. But then when we see the next shot his hat is back on.

Posted by: SHEILA 17 June 2008 - 08:53 PM

I got my MacGyver dvd's today.I got season 1 and season 7.I watched disk 1 of season one and I was wondering if anyone caught in the opening voice over of this epo were mac was talking about a cousin he had. Is that strange or what.I wonder who the cousin was.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 17 June 2008 - 09:19 PM

A more important question is what happened to that cousin?

I guess this is another example of lack of character development in season 1.

Posted by: Liz1976 18 June 2008 - 03:01 PM

Yeah, it's mentioned that Mac had a cousin named Ally. What happened to Ally and also did Mac's dad have a sibling, or Mac's mom? Interesting fanfiction idea.

Posted by: Lothithil 18 June 2008 - 04:27 PM

Not to nitpick your nitpick...

... but Cousin Ally and her dog were mentioned in 'The Golden Triangle'. At the beginning of this episode, Mac reflects on a visit to a strange town that he made with his father to sell apples. He said that he 'just knew there was something wrong with the place'. Then he bribes some guards to distract them from assaulting a young girl that "reminds me of my sister"--giving the girl time to get away from them.

Cousin Ally could be a second or third cousin... depending upon how many siblings Mom, Dad, Grandma Jackson and Grandpa Jackson had... and we never touched base on James MacGyver's family tree... could there be more MacGyvers out there? Why not!

I have family members that I don't talk to... first cousins, even. If you don't keep in touch... you don't even think about them. I could bump into one at the mall and never know we were related.

My point... Mac wasn't terribly interested in hunting down his relatives... in 'Good Knight MacGyver' (granted, they were researching ancestors) but he didn't act like he cared much, really. Of course, considering the mortality rate of Mac's relatives... he probably thought he was protecting them by leaving them anonymous.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 18 June 2008 - 06:10 PM

QUOTE

could there be more MacGyvers out there? Why not!

because it's made very clear that MacGyver has no living relatives... thats why not

Posted by: Liz1976 19 June 2008 - 02:19 AM

Then why mention a cousin?

Posted by: Lothithil 19 June 2008 - 04:33 AM

QUOTE (Rockatteer @ 18 June 2008 - 08:45 PM)

QUOTE

could there be more MacGyvers out there? Why not!

because it's made very clear that MacGyver has no living relatives... thats why not

Heh... well, guess we better not mention his 'nephew' Clay, then...

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 19 June 2008 - 12:12 PM

*nods*

Yes....that was a faux par of monumental proportions.

Posted by: MacsChick 19 June 2008 - 05:26 PM

Yes, and it's a faux pas I'm afraid will extend into any feature film version.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 8 July 2008 - 07:27 PM

Posted by: Photonalpha 21 July 2008 - 08:18 PM

[QUOTE]Mac sets off the explosion by inserting the plug of a camera flash and activating the timer. This, however, is impossible. Plastique is a very powerful but very stable plastic explosive. A detonator is needed to set it off. A simple electric spark or current from a battery operated camera would never initiate the explosion.

In cameras with a flash, a transformer is used to amplify the current for a brief period of time, while the shutter opens. The amount of electricity coming from the circuit in the camera, is not the same amount as 2 double A batteries in parallel connected to the bulb. For an example of how much power is emitted from the camera, please view this short clip. http://youtube.com/watch?v=epaMq1vee_c

Amid incorrect terminology, this video succeeds in demonstrating the potential power of a camera.

I am not saying this would ignite the plastique, but consider the possibility

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 22 July 2008 - 04:02 AM

QUOTE (Photonalpha @ 22 July 2008 - 04:53 PM)

In cameras with a flash, a transformer is used to amplify the current for a brief period of time, while the shutter opens. The amount of electricity coming from the circuit in the camera, is not the same amount as 2 double A batteries in parallel connected to the bulb. For an example of how much power is emitted from the camera, please view this short clip. http://youtube.com/watch?v=epaMq1vee_c

Amid incorrect terminology, this video succeeds in demonstrating the potential power of a camera.

I am not saying this would ignite the plastique, but consider the possibility

The cable MacGyver plugged into the C4 was from the camera to the (seperate) flash unit.. I.E. it carried the signal to tell the flash when to fire. The end he plugged into the C4 was the end which would normally go into the flash unit, so it's fair to assume that the resulting current from the camera would be a fairly low "signal" current and not the large jolt used to fire the flash bulb.

Side note: C4 is so stable that it can be shot with a gun and not detonate. In Vietnam the solders would burn small amounts of C4 if they needed a fire in a hurry.. presumably if you burn a large amount it would eventually generate enough heat to actually trigger an explosion.. but smaller amounts is fine.

<<<< oops... used too much to light the fire.

Posted by: Photonalpha 8 August 2008 - 12:04 PM

Thank you, admin, for the clarification.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 8 August 2008 - 02:04 PM

QUOTE (Photonalpha @ 9 August 2008 - 08:04 AM)

Thank you, admin, for the clarification.

No problem.

I reckon the current from the actual flash itself, probably would be enough to detonate the small amount that he used though, but that would have required more time to organize.

Posted by: Photonalpha 28 August 2008 - 03:02 PM

As MacGyver sails away in his convieniently prepared hot air balloon, one must note the shot fired through the balloon. Seeing as it was headed with a diagonaly upward tragectory it should have peirced the ballon material in not one place, but two. (Once on the other side as well.) Mainly due to the fact that a bullet would not be stopped by a single piece of material, and that one small hole would jepordize the performance of the hot air balloon, sealing one hole would not fix his problem.

Posted by: Photonalpha 1 September 2008 - 05:55 PM

Perhaps I was not clear. What I was reffering to was there should be two bullet holes in the hot air balloon; one where the bullet entered the balloon and one where it exited.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 1 September 2008 - 06:21 PM

wouldn't that depend on...

A: the distance the bullet had to travel to get to the balloon.. i.e. if they where quite a distance away and that balloon material I would guess to be of a reasonable strength, it might have only had enough power to get through one side

B: the angle of the bullet?

Posted by: Braddock 2 September 2008 - 09:07 AM

he was shooting an AK-47, they are chamberd in 7.62x39mm(.308) the bullet would go through both sides ! A 7,62 bullet can kill from a long distance! half a mile or so

Posted by: Photonalpha 22 September 2008 - 04:23 PM

According to Braddock, the power would be there. As for the angle, from almost every angle except a shot that skimmed the side, the bullet would make two holes. The only exception would be if the bullet was shot from above the balloon and exited through the hole at the bottom, which is unlikely, due to the fact that it was fired from the ground.

Posted by: stormkite 19 March 2009 - 07:07 PM

QUOTE (Rockatteer @ 23 July 2008 - 12:02 AM)

QUOTE (Photonalpha @ 22 July 2008 - 04:53 PM)

Actually, no. The camera's signal to the flash is simply a brief closing of the circuit through the PC cord. There's actually no power generated from the camera body; all of the power in the circuit comes from the flash unit. (I've rigged several remote triggers for flash units, including the Sunpak 522 in the episode, using hookup wire or zip cord and simple intermittent-on pushbuttons from electronic shops. I've also routinely fired electronic flashes - including again the 522 - through pc cords using Leicas and other mechanical cameras which HAVE no electrical circuitry in them at all.)

As you pointed out, the flash end of the cord is plugged into the plastique, which means that the explosive is being triggered by a totally unpowered circuit. There's just no way that gimmick works.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 19 March 2009 - 07:32 PM

oh, well that's even worse than I thought then!

No power at all.

Myth BUSTED!

Posted by: aatgmac 20 March 2009 - 02:04 AM

QUOTE (Photonalpha @ 23 September 2008 - 12:23 PM)

Unless... the bullet was shot at such an angle that it just skimmed the side of the balloon, making a ripped hole, from the angle those guys were shooting looks unlikely as they probably hit it head on.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 20 March 2009 - 01:27 PM

Yeah it does kind of look like a head on shot really.

Not sure I would be keen on climbing out on that balloon while people are shooting at it though.

Did they stop shooting when climbed out?

Posted by: aatgmac 20 March 2009 - 04:00 PM

I think the leader shouted he is out of range or stop firing...that seems to happen often! Bit silly really...if they kept shooting they probably would have brought him down.

Posted by: jennkurz 29 April 2010 - 12:51 PM

When MacGyver is clipping the camara strap onto the two wires of the electrified fence his bare pinky finger clearly brushes against, moves and then kinda curls around the bottom wire while hes wrapping the camara strap around the two wires. If the fence was electrified even if the plastic strap insulated him from the electricity when his bare hand touched the bottom wire he should have gotten a pretty good jolt.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 29 April 2010 - 09:42 PM

AND he only clipped onto the top wire, the nylon strap pulled against the bottom wire so that would have zapped him as well.

I don't think nylon insulates does it?

Posted by: Wheeljack 14 November 2010 - 02:09 PM

This is a rather old thread, but I'll add a couple personal experiences to the discussion.

To start, I do believe nylon insulates. They use nylon (or nylon-like material) inside larger extension cords for added strength, so it obviously must be none-conductive. We could also assume that the camera strap had a plastic clasp on the end, also none-conductive. It may very well have been metal, as many professional straps are, but let's just say it was plastic in this case.

He may have well touched the wire, I dunno, I'd have to watch again.

I'll echo the thing about the flash cable, that's just.... yeah.

That would be quite dangerous if cables actually carried current like that, I can just imagine someone zapping them self and dropping their $10,000 camera! 8(

The wires from the flash bulb, or more specifiaclly the capacitor, *might* have been enough. I was removing a built-in flash from a camera once, and not thinking cut both wires to the capacitor at the same time, resulting in a really loud pop & spark. A little startling to say the least.

I didn't get stung, but my small wire cutters got a notch burned out of them, so I'd assume that might be enough to set off "silly putty"

Posted by: jennkurz 26 February 2011 - 09:58 AM

in the opening gambit mac looks out the window, then climbs out the window, but when the peasent alerts the guards to his presence , hes looking out the window agian

Posted by: jennkurz 26 February 2011 - 10:02 AM

when mac is sliding down the dune on the map you can clearly see its a stunt double

Posted by: jennkurz 26 February 2011 - 10:04 AM

just a thought ... if mac was gonna climb up to repair the hole why not just put a peice of duct tape over it? instead of chanceing damageing or losing the map

Posted by: jennkurz 26 February 2011 - 10:10 AM

when mac hand his passport to the officers with the bribe its a different angled shot than the one used in the opening credits

Posted by: denizen 26 June 2014 - 09:24 PM

QUOTE (jennkurz @ 27 February 2011 - 06:04 AM)

just a thought ... if mac was gonna climb up to repair the hole why not just put a peice of duct tape over it? instead of chanceing damageing or losing the map

Going through some old posts but guess Mac could have used duct tape all the same. It was just the emphasis on using something multiple times that had the writers make him use the map for all extensive purposes.

Besides, it made the episode, right?

Posted by: beth 3 January 2018 - 12:04 PM

Mac borrowed the strap from Kate's camera bag because it had a plastic clip. All of the other clips and such on the bag were metal. Odds are that the bag would have had either all metal or all plastic instead of a mixture of both.

Posted by: macgybl 16 December 2023 - 07:03 PM

He?s shown wearing 2 completely different watches