I wonder if "A little too late" meant that he wanted to have input into the planning and production of it? And of course by the time they contacted him they were already past all that and filming episodes.

If that's the case, they kinda missed an opportunity... they'd have a better product, me thinks.

But, that's just me...

I'm not quite sure that's what he meant.
Since Henry Winkler and Lee David Zlotoff were/are part of it , it would have been better/nicer to talk to RDA about it earlier...they worked together for years , didn't they ? If the show was so successful it was partly ( for the most part ?) thanks to RDA.
It seems they 'remembered' him only when they realized the reboot wasn't too good .As RDA put it, it was a bit late, too late .

Well, one thing I know is that RDA seems to be done with MacGyver... period. When Young MacGyver tried to get off the ground, he wished them luck, but didn't want to be a part of it... possible he feels the same way with the reboot.

Of course, Jared Padalecki (aka Clay MacGyver) went on to become very popular in Supernatural. Next to RDA, he's one of my favorite actors. If they had done a reboot "movie" with a 30-something MacGyver staring Jared Padalecki... I'd totally see it. Jared is a really good guy... very sweet.

If anyone dissed Jared... there'd be hell to pay. =P

Which is why I'm against dissing Lucas Till. I don't know him... for all we know, he could be a really good person.

But what if he's really bad?

He doesn't seem like a bad guy... well, not to me anyway. But, what can I say? I try to look at the good in people... lol

I assume they didn't ask him before Lenkov came on board.

Now that we've seen the pilot it's clear they took over a lot from Colaizzo's script for the unaired pilot and probably some of director Von Ancken's editing (which is why Colaizzo and Von Ancken are also credited in the new version).

They probably didn't involve RDA before; not knowing if the reboot is going to be picked up. And with the need to "MacGyver" together a new version with parts of an old script, but a new team and a new location, yet CBS insisting to be ready for Fall Season, they're wasn't much time left.

What a pity... who knows - if not as an actor, maybe RDA would have been interested in being an EP or an adviser or something.

I always thought it would be great if they just had RDA come by the set... not to work or anything, but just to chat. Even though I've never met him, I know he's a super nice guy. They could learn some things from him perhaps. Honestly, having RDA involved in some fashion will produce a much better show.

I think one thing they need to do is utilize any of Lucas' own personal skills. For instance, I read he supports a charity called Nightlight International, which is an organization that reaches out to victims of human trafficking.

They could even do an episode around that! lol Kinda be like what the original did for Challengers Club.

RDA talks a bit about the Reboot in this new Interview for Megafest ComicCon: http://www.telegram.com/entertainmentlife/...afest-comic-con

(...)

Anderson confesses that he’s not a fan of a new “MacGyver,” calling the reboot “a little too flashy and goodsy” for his taste and missing that nuance of coolness that the original show had.

“The obvious problem I have with the new 'MacGyver' is when it takes place. It’s a modern-day 'MacGyver,' ” Anderson explained. “MacGyver in 1985, I could believe that he didn’t have a cellphone and couldn’t communicate with the outside world and call in for help. Like nowadays, there’s so much technology that you almost look silly not utilizing it, unless you’re just backwards.”

(...)

Sorry, but this just makes him sound bitter and his argument is ridiculous.

So you call for help.. then what? You still have to deal with the problem while you wait for the help. AND MacGyver is the guy you call for help, NOT the one doing the calling.

We saw then trapped in a burning building last week. So what, they call the fire brigade and then burn to death waiting for them to turn up or find a way our of the building to save yourself.

Look at last weeks episode with the bomb. How would having a smart phone help disarm a customized bomb that only 2 people know how to disarm?

Look at the episode before that.. how would having a smart phone help stay that guys life? Mac already knew what to do, but they were being hunted so had to stay on the move.

And this weeks episode is on a sabotaged train. Hows a smart phone going to help?


I'll say it again....As much as I respect RDA... That argument is ridiculous.

Sorry, but this just makes him sound bitter and his argument is ridiculous.

So you call for help.. then what? You still have to deal with the problem while you wait for the help. AND MacGyver is the guy you call for help, NOT the one doing the calling.

We saw then trapped in a burning building last week. So what, they call the fire brigade and then burn to death waiting for them to turn up or find a way our of the building to save yourself.

Look at last weeks episode with the bomb. How would having a smart phone help disarm a customized bomb that only 2 people know how to disarm?

Look at the episode before that.. how would having a smart phone help stay that guys life? Mac already knew what to do, but they were being hunted so had to stay on the move.

And this weeks episode is on a sabotaged train. Hows a smart phone going to help?


I'll say it again....As much as I respect RDA... That argument is ridiculous.

Agreed. The new show is garbage but for totally different reasons than the one he brought up.

I hesitate to assume someone is "bitter", particularly if I don't even know them, and particularly if I hear good things about them.

On the other hand, I agree that the "we have smartphones" argument is a weak argument. But sometimes people put forward weak arguments in defence of sound decisions.

This is speculation, bu maybe the reboot is putting too much emphasis on Mac's technical abilities and not enough on his character.

For me, and maybe this explains why I wasn't a fan first time round, not seeing enough episodes to get the whole picture, the absolute best thing about the original was 's innate integrity and idealism. It's not just that he wanted to save the planet and not kill his enemies and promote human rights across the world and bring in glasnost. It's also that he could be extremely intelligent, physically fit and brave, without thinking, "Wow, I must be some kind of alpha male, I should probably find someone to boss around or look down on". He just doesn't buy into that way of thinking. At all. It doesn't enter his mind to look down on people because of their nationality or because they have addictions or they're mentally unwell ...

And I haven't had the opportunity to see any of the reboot so far ... I don't know whether the new writers have really captured that aspect of the original Mac.

Well, I'm not 100% sure how RDA feels about MacGyver as a whole... but based off his reaction to the Young MacGyver series, I think he's just plain done and doesn't want anything to do with it.

As I said before, it's probably just an "excuse" explanation because he doesn't want a part of it.

Even if we don't agree with why he doesn't like the reboot... at least he seems to share that feeling that the reboot just doesn't quite fit as MacGyver.

I understand what he's trying to say, but he's not completely right on that...

The reason being that people these days rely too heavily on smartphones and technology to the point that they're taking it for granted. Some day, perhaps sooner rather than later, we may be with out those things. Then what? A hero like MacGyver is needed because he knew how to survive without smartphones and technology to always bail him out.

If a kid has to go on wikia to find out how to build a fire... we're in deep trouble... =P

RDA talking about the reboot at the Toulouse Game Show this weekend (Sound is not that great): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUniVq6NuLE&feature=youtu.be

I have to say, I agree with him; and he's mentioning all the problems we've discussed in here (concerning Jack Dalton and his gun, big explosions and the MacGyverisms happening too fast).

I haven't seen anything yet but it seems spot on from what I know so far. Explosions should be used as diversions. Blowing up an ammo depot as he did so many times or a failed bomb defusing attempt. Jack should be a pilot with a moustache and a twitch.

Exactly how i feel toward every episode so far. Jack Dalton, guns, killing. Yup. He nailed it.

Yep. He nailed it.

Yep, it seems RDA has the same thoughts most of us have had.

I really wonder if Lenkov hears these complaints. I mean, it seems that the complaints are pretty consistent. RDA is basically echoing what many of us have already said countless times, and I see similar complaints elsewhere on the internet. So is Lenkov aware of it, and does he plan to make changes? Or does he just figure that since the rating are good, there's really no incentive to change anything?

If you did something that was bringing home the bacon (And enough of it), would you change it?

I think they did listen to the complaints after the release of the trailer for the unaired pilot; they changed a lot for the better.

I also think they did adjustements after the first few episodes; e.g. the Bozer-Storylines with his movie project (remember the "Ninja Babes on Tanks"-Scene that got cut out?) and getting Riley's phone number have been reduced majorly. Justin Hires revealed beforehand that he will have more work to do after Episode 8 and I think they adjusted his character a bit since the pilot.

On the other hand, since this is a reboot and not a remake and the ratings are rising again, CBS along with Lenkov and the other producers probably feel entitled to their ideas and that they have already adjusted enough because of complaints. They want to do their thing now (at least for the rest of the initially 13 episodes they had planned).

But I guess it's possible that they store complaints and viewer ideas to get some more inspiration for Season 2 (if the show gets renewed).

Well he gets included in quite a few negative tweets about the show, but only ever responds to positive ones.

Also we're 3 episodes past the pilot airing date (they were filming episode 6 when the pilot aired) and if they were taking any of the comments on board we wold have seen changes by now. So I think it's pretty clear that Lenkov doesn't give a damn about what the fans think as long as his ratings stay up. Which I must admit I find very disappointing. From the way he talked about being a fan himself and wanting to honer the original I had hoped he would be looking for ways to improve the fine tune the show, but alas it's now becoming very clear that he's not.

Could they really make changes that quickly, though? It would take time to sort through all the feedback, and I assume they wouldn't make drastic changes based ONLY on feedback about the pilot episode. It seems more likely that we would start to see bigger changes after the show takes a break (maybe between seasons, or at least after the original 13 episodes are finished, especially if there's a midseason break.) Right now, I think they pretty much just need to keep churning out the episodes based on their original plan in order to get everything done on time. That's just my guess, though.

No, if ain't broke(re: ratings), don't fix it. Be nice if he had 80s clothes, 80s mullet, and talked hockey 24/7 from my end .... but I guarantee you the ratings would take a nose dive. I don't think they really care what the small demographic of old school fans 'need' to see in their hero ... because it almost assuredly won't pay the bills as well. And that's the bottom line.

True. The interviews and statements were very encouraging and promising, so the end result is very disappointing.

Yet I don't think it's all Lenkov's fault; but in part that he succumbed to the pressure and orders from CBS. Although they were only filming on Episode 6 while the pilot aired, most episodes must have been already written (or at least heavily outlined and connected with following episodes); crew hired, locations scouted, places and equipment rented and sets built. Maybe with having to carry 2 shows running at the same time, he's not strong and/or willing to butt heads (e.g. fight for more money) with the "big bosses" at CBS.

And this is why the new MacGyver will always be a shadow of the original. Bunch of guys that saw the first season and worked on that concept by totally missing the point of the character and who he ultimately became.

When i think of RDA MacGyver, i think, nice guy, cares about people, is against killing. Comes up with constructive ways of improving peoples lives.

Wow, you'd think that his team in the new one would have taken some notes on how to be like him but they just prefer to make lame jokes and shoot people.

Could they really make changes that quickly, though? It would take time to sort through all the feedback, and I assume they wouldn't make drastic changes based ONLY on feedback about the pilot episode. It seems more likely that we would start to see bigger changes after the show takes a break (maybe between seasons, or at least after the original 13 episodes are finished, especially if there's a midseason break.) Right now, I think they pretty much just need to keep churning out the episodes based on their original plan in order to get everything done on time. That's just my guess, though.

yeah that's a good point.

Does this season 1 get 22 episodes?

According to some articles, yes the episode count for Macgyver series is set to full-season 22 episodes.

Regarding the latest interview that RDA gave in TGS recently (which i need to investigate further, I found some short clips and a long version with poor audio quality) I know he constantly refers the Smartphone to solve situations and that this will ruin the new show, but guys maybe some of us don't realized how things has changed since the 80s, in the past whenever he knew something regarding science or physics, most likely the majority of the ppl won't know those things, now you just need a phone to clear out any question you may have, even for experiments, languages and all the notions of the world, etc. And we can't forget the power of a cellphone nowadays, so he has a good point of view, in fact thinking on the new show, do they really need Riley? I'm not an expert on the new series, but for the 5 episodes I watched shes is just the classic pretty girl carrying a portable computer, but Mac could've resolved most of the issues with his cellphone, but since they need a pretty face (every time bending over to show her attributes) and for the rest well RDA pointed out same thoughts most of us already discussed.

I don't think most cell phones can do what Riley's comptuers do. Hell, I don't think most computers can do what Riley's computers do. That's what I don't like about it-- her computers are like these magic machines that can just do whatever she needs them to do. "24" had the same problem, with Chloe being able to do anything she wanted on her computer. I get that it's fiction, and we need to suspend disbelief a bit, but it always just seems like a bit of a cop-out when computers can be used to do anything.

If I were in charge of restructuring the show, and if CBS insisted that Riley had to stay, I would have her working from the Phoenix Foundation, not out in the field. She could use her computer expertise to examine evidence or whatever else Mac brings back from his assignments, but try to keep it at least somewhat grounded in reality.

While I like Riley, I agree that the show would work better if she wasn't out in the field on a mission every episode. The team is too big with Thornton and Bozer also demanding screentime.

Take Episode 3 (Awl): While her computer translating the Malaysian Doctors Orders is a very neat thing, it takes a lot of screen time that could have been used for something else.

Like if the episode had played in the US and/or the doctor had been fluent in English, and if maybe it had been Jack on the phone with some random hospital doctor they had called, the resulting leftover screentime could have been used on the MacGyverism instead or on character development. The storyline would still have worked.

I write texts for a living (information brochures for cancer patients) and I learned that if you still understand the text, there's no need to add unnecessary and "decorating" words.

Yes, a TV show is art and not a documentary or just some type of information, but if the storyline still works, why add unnecessary things? (in this case, characters and B- and C-storylines like Bozer trying to get Rileys phone number).