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MacGyver Online Forums > Episode Discussions > 2.18 Riley + Airplane

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 22 March 2018 - 11:19 AM

2.18 Riley + Airplane

Airdate: Mar. 30, 2018
Writer: Lindsey Allen
Director:Antonio Negret
Guest Cast:Sheryl Lee Ralph (Mama) , Lance Gross (Billy) , Jermaine Rivers (Frank) , Javicia Leslie (Jesse)
Lowrey Brown (Emil Beck) , Jesse Luken (Owen Palmer) , Park Krausen (Buyer) , Wendie Weldon (Cindy)
Joel Rush (Darryl) , Marianne Fraulo (Ruth) , Carl Kennedy (Phoenix Tech) , Jeff Williams (Captain)
Valerie Sue Love (Flight Attendant) , Robert Catrini (Lawrence Rowell) , Steven Legate (Officer) , Ethan McDowell (Guard # 1)

When Matty and the team search for a former government tech who stole classified intel and has been evading capture, they reunite with the Coltons, the family of bounty hunters, who are pursuing the same man for different reasons.

Posted by: Dragondog 31 March 2018 - 06:25 AM

Hmm, well, two thoughts worth mentioning.

1. I thought that the whole scene where Riley was rebooting the plane was very emotional. Especially when she dropped off the radar and Jack was all, "Matty she's got this, right?" and Matty yelled, "I DON'T KNOW JACK!"

2. So... was Matty flirting with Jack in their younger years?

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 31 March 2018 - 06:46 AM

QUOTE (Dragondog @ 31 March 2018 - 04:25 PM)

2. So... was Matty flirting with Jack in their younger years?

I haven't seen the Episode yet (just the preview Clip) and I thought the signals were mixed; e.g. I felt she just wanted to rile Jack up because she knew it would make him uncomfortable?

Posted by: Dragondog 31 March 2018 - 06:53 AM

QUOTE (DashboardOnFire @ 31 March 2018 - 09:46 AM)

QUOTE (Dragondog @ 31 March 2018 - 04:25 PM)

2. So... was Matty flirting with Jack in their younger years?

I haven't seen the Episode yet (just the preview Clip) and I thought the signals were mixed; e.g. I felt she just wanted to rile Jack up because she knew it would make him uncomfortable?

That's what I thought, but when Jack said, "Matty, we work together!" I got a little creeped out. Then again, Jack tends to be an idiot sometimes, so who knows.

Though to be honest, I always wondered if Matty and Jack would make a great couple...

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 31 March 2018 - 07:22 AM

Preliminary Ratings: http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/the-sked-friday-network-scorecard-3-30-2018.html

It's not bad, but like last year, the Ratings Keep falling... losing about 300'000 viewers with every Episode. Yes, it was a Holiday yesterday and it's not too bad since the Show won the 8pm-slot viewers-numbers-wise; not to forget that recent episodes of H50 or BlueBloods have been a bit lower as well, but I'm not sure these long breaks in between will help the upcoming Ratings. Ratings tend to fall towards Summer anyways and the Season Finale for Season 2 will air three weeks later than the Season 1 Finale did (it had aired on Good Friday, April 14).

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 31 March 2018 - 07:34 AM

I didn't mean to scare anyone - if you look at the 8pm overview via SpoilerTV, it Looks a lot more positive

. I still think Season 3 is a no-brainer. The renewal of both "S.W.A.T." and "Seal Team" was a bit surprising to me, but I think they will rather axe "Scorpion" or shove MacGyver over to "The CW" before they cancel it.

via https://www.spoilertv.com/2018/03/ratings-news-31st-march-2018.html

I just think it's a bit sad to see the Ratings falling because the storylines are so much better this Season and the Show did so well before the breaks. I'm suspecting the final Ratings will be a bit lower, which means this Episode will turn out as the lowest rated of Season 2.

Also, I'm not sure if this might influence the Budget of Season 3. I'm sure it was the high Ratings of Season 1 that granted the Show a much bigger Budget this Season.

Posted by: Dragondog 31 March 2018 - 08:46 AM

If my math is right, considering how many episodes are left, and the scheduled date for the season finale, I don't think they'll be taking any more breaks this season. I could be wrong, though.

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 31 March 2018 - 12:46 PM

QUOTE (Dragondog @ 31 March 2018 - 06:46 PM)

If my math is right, considering how many episodes are left, and the scheduled date for the season finale, I don't think they'll be taking any more breaks this season. I could be wrong, though.

You're right, there should be 5 episodes for 5 consecutive weeks since the Season Finale is set for May 4.

Posted by: Jediferret 1 April 2018 - 02:31 PM

Is it awful of me that I haven't even watched the episode yet? XD I'm just reading comments to get the gist of the plot and trying to decide if it's worth my time to watch it. XD

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 1 April 2018 - 02:37 PM

QUOTE (Jediferret @ 2 April 2018 - 10:31 AM)

Is it awful of me that I haven't even watched the episode yet? XD I'm just reading comments to get the gist of the plot and trying to decide if it's worth my time to watch it. XD

It's definitely worth your time.

This is one of the better episodes.

It's mostly Mac and Jack and the Coltons. No secondary story-lines getting in the way this week and very little Bozer!

It's a win-win-win.

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 2 April 2018 - 09:26 AM

I watched it last night and I liked it. As mentioned, it's only one storyline (besides the Opening Gambit) and the episode doesn't feel overwhelming despite having so many guest-stars. Not all Coltons get lots of screen time, but I never felt that one of the Colton characters was neglected. Also, this is one of the rare episodes where the music didn't bother me at all; I think they toned it down.

Interestingly, despite having so many people drawing their gun, there are no shooting scenes besides a single one seen on screen in the War Room back at Phoenix. I liked that.

Posted by: RidleyJ 2 April 2018 - 11:40 AM

QUOTE (DashboardOnFire @ 31 March 2018 - 07:22 AM)

I think the time change hurt us too! People can and do stay out longer and therefore don't make it in for eight o'clock shows. I really liked this episode. It felt so much like Season one-pre Bozer in the field. I like the Colton's too. Let's hope that the hiatus didn't hurt, but I think you are right. It couldn't have helped either. Dang Olympics!

Posted by: Miasma 2 April 2018 - 01:17 PM

I completely forgot this show was on last Friday. I'll try to watch it before this Friday's episode. Ever since the break during the Olympics, I've been forgetting to watch this.

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 2 April 2018 - 02:26 PM

QUOTE (Miasma @ 2 April 2018 - 11:17 PM)

I completely forgot this show was on last Friday.

You're probably not the only one... on a positive note: All CBS shows gained a few audience viewers in the final numbers. With this, the episode has the second-lowest audience numbers of all episodes so far.

The demo-rating stayed the same and I hope it won't fall within the next five episodes because that would mean a new low; it's never been below 0.8 so far.

via http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-friday-cable-originals-network-finals-3-30-2018.html

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 3 April 2018 - 12:24 PM

I think it's funny that during/after both Reboot Episodes with the Coltons, people have been asking for a Coltons-Spin-Off - even people who never watched the original show and/or don't know the connection.

Personally, I don't need a Spin-Off, but I think the Coltons were cast very well. I guess it's also still rare that the black guest stars on a TV show arent' either the bad guys or the "social case of the week".

Posted by: Dragondog 3 April 2018 - 05:36 PM

I don't really care either way if they give them a spin-off or not. I like them okay, but I'm not exactly sure why they're this popular. Not that I'm complaining.

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 4 April 2018 - 03:13 AM

In case anyone's interested: Half-Hour (HH) ratings of the episode.

As you can see, MacGyver didn't have a straight 0.8 rating. The number was rounded up. So it's actually possible the next episode might be rounded down and garner a 0.7 rating.

Interestingly, while many episodes have better ratings in the first half hour, MacGyver's rating was better in the second one. Guess because there was more action or because people didn't tune in on time.

Posted by: Miasma 5 April 2018 - 04:39 AM

Ok, I finally watched this episode last night, and I thought it was a pretty strong one.

I think they did a good job casting the Coltons, and I liked this Coltons episode quite a bit more than last season's. Of all the recasts from the original series, Murdoc and The Coltons are probably the best in the sense that they capture the spirit of the originals, while also bringing something new. I would like to see each of the Coltons given a bit more individual personality, though. Right now, they feel kind of interchangeable with each other. I wonder if we'll get any episodes where just one Colton shows up, like in the original. That might give them more time to develop their own personalities.

I know it's a small thing, but I found the music fit this episode better than it usually does. It felt more appropriate for this kind of series, and less annoyingly quirky and intrusive. I really hope they keep this style.

Riley shutting down the airplane and rebooting it was a bit ridiculous, but I guess it made for some decent tension (although I doubt anyone actually thought they would crash.)

I didn't really get the point of the opening gambit in this one. To be honest, I'd be fine with them dropping the opening gambits entirely. In the original series, the opening gambits were fun mini-adventures, but in this, they're often a bit too silly and cartoon-like, and really don't add anything to the show. Those few minutes would be better spent on developing the main story.

And, as always, I have to complain about about the predictability of the show's formula. When we saw Mac at the library at the beginning of the episode, I thought MAYBE they were finally doing something different, but then he gets the call that he's needed at Phoenix, as always, and then we see the same briefing room scene that we see in every episode. Come on, writers! Vary it up a bit!

But yeah, overall, I enjoyed this one.

Posted by: Jediferret 16 April 2018 - 08:25 AM

I know I haven't been commenting on the latest episodes yet... mostly because I haven't finished the last two.

I did finish this one. It was okay. Not really memorable.

Though, the interesting scene was Matty obviously flirting with Jack, which made me wonder how much history those two had, but I think this was already discussed a bit... sorry, I'm a tad behind here. lol

I'm having a bit of trouble staying interested, and I keep moving on to other things and then I forget about it. XD

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 17 April 2018 - 12:58 PM

In case you're interested, here are the 7+ ratings (meaning Live viewers plus DVR viewers within 7 days after the episode premiered): http://programminginsider.com/live7-weekly-ratings-roseanne-season-premiere-on-abc-achieves-all-time-record-lifts-in-total-viewers-and-adults-18-49/

The Reboot is a show that gets mostly watched live. But it gained another 1.827 million viewers for this episode, making that 8.256 million viewers in total.

MacGyver usually makes about 1 to 1.5 millions additional viewers in DVR. Now I understand why a show like SWAT seems worth renewing (despite less than 6 million live viewers on average in the first Season): It gained +86% in viewers with the DVR +7 ratings. So in the end, it's about 9 millions. That might be some leverage when selling the show internationally (even if they don't make much money by selling commercial minutes since you can skip them on DVR).

I guess a show like the Reboot that is watched live mostly is more interesting for companys to buy commercial time, but of course total audience numbers after a week don't look that impressive like for other shows.

Posted by: MacGyverGod 5 November 2018 - 04:53 AM

This episode is definitely better and The Coltons were more likeable then last time. I'm in for more Colton-episodes. This was a lighter episode then the previous two so the location puns were less annoying and so was Jack. I really don't know what his problem was last episode and yes, I'm real glad Bozer had a minor role too.

That scene between Riley, Billy and Palmer on the plane was simply hilarious. That was one of the best scenes I've seen so far.

Shame about the truck though. I thought it was cooler then the van.

QUOTE

Riley shutting down the airplane and rebooting it was a bit ridiculous, but I guess it made for some decent tension (although I doubt anyone actually thought they would crash.)

What do you mean? Are you saying that if a plane shuts down they have some sort of emergency generator that would kick in? I don't think everyone knows that if that's the case. Besides hacking is Riley's job so I thought it was only natural that she breaks in the plane's computer systems with ease.

QUOTE

I didn't really get the point of the opening gambit in this one. To be honest, I'd be fine with them dropping the opening gambits entirely. In the original series, the opening gambits were fun mini-adventures, but in this, they're often a bit too silly and cartoon-like, and really don't add anything to the show. Those few minutes would be better spent on developing the main story.

They rarely have a point but I wouldn't mind seeing them go either. Maybe they're implying Jack and Matty had a relationship at some point or of some kind. You might wonder, she seems to be into spanking. That was the second time she spanked his butt.

QUOTE

And, as always, I have to complain about about the predictability of the show's formula. When we saw Mac at the library at the beginning of the episode, I thought MAYBE they were finally doing something different, but then he gets the call that he's needed at Phoenix, as always, and then we see the same briefing room scene that we see in every episode. Come on, writers! Vary it up a bit!

Yep, true. That was actually a WWII museum, I think.

And for the record: that file says 'Strikt geheim' which is Dutch not German.

And I guess we were wrong. Mac needs to find that man in order to find his father. I thought it was weird that Mac's dad would've been over 70 years old when he had him.

This was a good episode.

Posted by: Miasma 5 November 2018 - 01:08 PM

QUOTE (MacGyverGod @ 6 November 2018 - 12:53 AM)

QUOTE

Riley shutting down the airplane and rebooting it was a bit ridiculous, but I guess it made for some decent tension (although I doubt anyone actually thought they would crash.)

What do you mean? Are you saying that if a plane shuts down they have some sort of emergency generator that would kick in? I don't think everyone knows that if that's the case.

No, I just meant we all knew that Riley wasn't going to die in this episode. It's not like watching Game Of Thrones or The Walking Dead where you think a main character might actually get killed. So although the show really tried to play up the tension of that moment, I think we all knew that the plane didn't crash.

QUOTE

Besides hacking is Riley's job so I thought it was only natural that she breaks in the plane's computer systems with ease.

I just meant the fact that she could hack into the plane's system and reboot it from her laptop seemed a bit ridiculous. It reminded me of how Chloe on 24 could use her laptop to do pretty much whatever the plot needed her to do. It became a bit of a deus ex machina on that show, and that's how it felt on this, too.

But maybe that's nitpicking Shows like this do require some suspension of disbelief, obviously. And, nitpicks aside, I did enjoy this episode.

Posted by: MacGyverOnline 5 November 2018 - 02:32 PM

QUOTE (Miasma @ 6 November 2018 - 10:08 AM)

QUOTE

Besides hacking is Riley's job so I thought it was only natural that she breaks in the plane's computer systems with ease.

All the major airlines now offer in-flight wi-fi so I guess she could have hacked the planes system through that.

There was actually a case a few years back where some guy ripped the cables out from under his chair and hooked his computer up to them and was able to take control of the plane. I assume this idea was based on that story.

But having her able to solve any problem by hacking into something is far far far fetched.

Posted by: Dragondog 5 November 2018 - 06:56 PM

QUOTE (MacGyverGod @ 5 November 2018 - 07:53 AM)

QUOTE

I suppose the point was to explain what Matty meant in "Roulette Wheel + Wire" when she said, "It's not like I haven't seen it before"

Posted by: DashboardOnFire 5 August 2019 - 12:37 PM

Blog post by Technical Advisor Rhett Allain about the MacGyverisms used in this episode: https://rhettallain.com/2019/08/05/macgyver-season-2-episode-18-science-notes-riley-airplane/