Every week I will be posting a new topic titled "Episode Discussion". In this we will discuss an episode, what we liked about it, what we didn't like, etc.


Episode 26 - The Wish Child

In Chinatown, MacGyver tries to rescue a friend's brother from a scam in which he's being passed off as the reincarnation of an ancient Chinese legend.

Votes as of 14th October 2006
Poor [ 1 ] [6.25%]
Average [ 1 ] [6.25%]
OK [ 2 ] [12.50%]
Good [ 7 ] [43.75%]
Excellent [ 5 ] [31.25%]
Total Votes: 16

Archived comments

That one comes very close to my personal favorite. "If they think your crazy, people won't mess with you." You had to have seen what the woman who said that to me had just done to an intern that was trying to kiss butt. Needless to say... she didn't care for brown nosers.

But I digress. The episode balances out for me and left me with a "good" vote

gotta agree with you (mixed feelings) on this one, mm. i like it when mac helps people, but it was "WAAAAAY" out there for me, too.

Is that the Vincent Thomas bridge in the background of the pier shots?

I know they filmed in that area of the port for season 7. (the ship used in the Stringer episode (S.S. Lane Victory) is permanently docked right under the Vincent Thomas bridge)

Another enjoyable and fairly amusing episode from season 2.

Theres at least a couple of great quotes in this episode. Not to mention an interesting little look into some of the stuff MacGyver does in his spare time.. like perfecting the "bucket" technique

One thing the show does give is an interesting look at how young people perceive a situation and not be able to see whats really happening and gave a little bit of insight into how a young persons mind might work with regards to not wanting to listen because they think adults just want to stop them having fun etc.

I have to say James Hong really over-acted his part at the end.

I commented on this episode before, but in the spirit of participation and posting-fun, I will rededicate my opinion.


'Wish Child' is one of my favorite eps from S2. It has all the elements that I enjoy in a MacGyver Story:

MacGyverisms: The firecracker scene , the 'classic' use of 'umbrella kung fu', Mac's lesson in 'how to be untouchable', and the radio control car diversion, among others.
Action: fight scene (okay, be honest... whump scene) when Mac gets knocked out, karate training , and being chased around Chinatown by punks... all good stuff!
Characters: Sam the souvenir saleman (love this actor) George Takei (had a crush on him from StarTrek when I was a kid) James Hong, the infamous immortal Asian Actor who was never young a day in his life! Lisa and Paul, two of MacGyver's young people.

This episode is three for three on the M.A.C. scale! I rate it GOOD.

I enjoyed the ending, where when he "lost" the wish child, he stopped living - kind of aikin to the legend. I don't remember if they said anything about this the episode.

all the macgyverisms seemed pretty real, and the episode seems like it could have happened.

sometimes when messing around with my friends and I'm getting beat up , I go, "Had enough?" and they laugh. obviously i stole that from this episode.

Very good episode! My favorite part is when Mac Puts the hook on the one thugs belt. Very funny scene.

Rocky:

Hi Rocky,
I agree. Sometimes young people don't always see "the big picture" because they are blinded by their own stubborness and just plain ignorance of what's going on around them. So I too thought this was a good example of how young people can mistake something they see as right, when it's actually wrong. As Mac said, "dumb age." And I too really liked all the voice overs in this episode. They really added a personal touch to the episode. I really liked the sparring scene between Mac and Lisa. And laughed when he got his foot stuck in that trash can. I thought that was funny when he tried to cover it up by saying he "perfected that technique." Rick was so funny in that. And I agree, I really loved it when Mac got himself all grubby when he broke into that ship's hull to save Paul. That was priceless! I wonder how long it took him to get cleaned up for the next scene. Btw I found a picture of that scene some time back. I'll post it below. He definitely looked "Untouchable!"

All in all this was a pretty good episode. The little race car under the dragon's head was funny too when he distracted that young hoodlum. LOL Well back to my hockey game. Pittsburgh Penguins are playing Philadelphia Flyers. Penguins ahead, 2-1! Love those birds! lol

Take Care,
Nancy

I remember watching this episode when it first aired; it wasn't a favourite of mine then, and it still isn't, although for different reasons.

I thought the acting was awfully weak on several accounts (although I loved seeing George Takei again!), but more than that, I thought the writing was weak on a fundamental level.

The story itself isn't that strong -- there are a lot of threads that get started and aren't wound up, particularly in terms of Paul's reaction to the legend, not to mention the legend itself. I found myself wondering if they had originally planned for the episode to be somewhat different, working more with a possible borderline-supernatural theme, and then pulled back from that idea and filled in with action instead.

I really wish they had used a real legend, instead of a fake one. The world is full of real stories, each of which carries with it a wealth of fascinating truths about human nature as well as a marvelous context of its native culture. Making up a fake story to fit a contrived plot is a poor second choice.

But it’s really neat to look at the episode and recognise that it was the first one to work with the connection with China, which later became very important – the theme for some really good episodes.

And it's a grand episode for MacGyverisms!

I also loved Sam, the Chinese-American con-man friend of Mac’s; one of the best acted roles in the episode, and a lot of fun. I loved the martial arts scene – RDA was terrific, and the humour was great. And yes, I loved Grimy Mac too.

And in a world where we mostly notice continuity only when we gripe about mistakes, I'm going to comment that the continuity in this episode was really well done -- from the holes in Mac's jacket sleeve to the dirt and grime in the later scenes (and how Paul gradually got dirty from contact with Mac)!

That would apply if it were just one writer doing all the episodes; but it isn't. Just speaking from my own experience, I find plenty of inspiration in mythology as it exists (as well as history, sociology, etc.). I find myself wishing that the writers of this episode had read up on actual Chinese legend and let that inspire a story, rather than coming up with a story and creating an Exotic Legend to go with it. It just seems backwards to me.

I like the episode, though; it just isn't a favourite. With the possible exception of "The Coltons", I'd rather watch even the weaker episodes of MacGyver than just about anything currently on TV!

This wasn't one of my favorite episodes but I'd watch it again. My favorite parts were the fight at the beginning with Lisa, the remote control dragon, and the floating statue. I also liked seeing some of the actors I've seen in other shows.

The "Dumb age" thing... sooooo real!

Don't know if this has been posted but I read this and thought it was interesting since "Minnesota wisdom" has been mentioned several times... James Hong, who played Lee Wenying, is born in Minneapolis.

I just gave this episode an okay and my reasons are similar to yours. I also prefer watching any episode of Macgyver than most of the shows today on TV. Actually, I dont remember watching and following any action/adventure type tv shows since Macgyver. Oh, there is this one show, Due South, that I really enjoyed because of the mountie and his dog and I don't remember it being too violent. But it was a short-lived series, I think.

I voted ok, on this. the storyline it's that strong.

The Finnish episode title is "Ihmelapsi", meaning "Prodigy".

I just watched this again last night on dvd.
(Had my own little Mac-athon)

It wasn't one of my favourites, but I did enjoy seeing it again after so long.

I love anything to do with myths & legends & reincarnation, so that was interesting.

The remote control dragon was funny.

Mac all grimy so he could save Paul was

He could save me anytime!

too childish for my adult taste. I voted poor, it was like one of those disney half an hour preachy episodes about kids staying in school and listening to their fathers.

what I found funny was that they used the same chinese character actors for every american series with a chinese theme. The old chinese guy I think appears in big trouble in little china

Though the "myth" this episode is supposed to be based on is more than a bit cliché (and rather... flimsy... to be honest...) this episode contains lots of lots of humor and funny one liners.

Loved the karate lesson in the beginning, with the trashcan and all.

I thought the entire scene with the firework box was hysterically funny. "No one told me the party had moved upstairs" (or whatever his exact words are...)
And the faces of the crane controllers when he just walks away...

The MacGyverisms are pretty clever indeed. The radio controlled dragon was a great distraction (the only problem I had with it was that I found it just a tiiiny bit implausible that the kids would just get rid of a fully functional toy like the dragon... kids tend to be incurable pack rats... ). And the fireworks escape was neat... good thing he didn't wear one of his more expensive jackets...

As for the "untouchable" appearance, I'm rather convinced it wasn't real oil, just some "ordinary" body paint that will easily be rinsed off.

It was a pleasant surprise to see George Takei as Doctor Shen Wei. As always, I see everything through my "Star Trek glasses," but I do like him as an actor, and the fact that I almost forgot about "Sulu" must mean he did a pretty decent job.

As usual, when it comes to these kind of myths in MacGyver, they don't totally dismissed them either. Neither of them knew why the handprint was a perfect match of Paul's hand.

I'll give it a "Good", but had it not been for the humor thrown in, it would have been an average at its best.

I kind of have very mixed feelings for this episode, but it does have a lot of humor and one liners. I liked the karate lesson in the beginning. I guess it did take Mac a while to perfect the basket trick. I thought the entire scene with the fireworks crate was very funny. "No one told me the party had moved upstairs", and the faces of those dock workers as he walked away. The MacGyverisms are very clever indeed. The radio controlled dragon was a great distraction. And the fireworks escape was dynamite, and a good thing Mac didn't wear one of his more expensive jackets. The way Mac got through the steel doors using only six bullets was very cool. Though I doubt that would ever work in real life. I really liked Macs "Untouchable" look. Although I doubt they would really slather in oil. I give this episode an "Ok", but if not for some humor thrown in, it would been a "Good" episode.

Overall Rating: 6/10

Not one of my favorite episodes but it had a few positives that make MacGyver a great episode. The interaction between Mac and his friend's son was what made this episode good.

A good episode for all the reasons listed above.

Good MacGyverisms, nice idea behind the episode, James Hong at his hammy best, Mac escaping from some unlikely situations and some old Minnesota wisdom... What's not to like?

Also Clyde Kusatsu as Sam the Salesman, who's been in pretty much every TV series out there and is always fun to watch.

Oh, and about the oil trick? Full marks for effort, but YUCK, MAC!

Everytime I see this episode, it reminds me of the Eddie Murphy movie, The Golden Child, which in all essence was the same thing.

The Eddie Murphy movie however was a little darker than this episode but I always got the feeling they must have known about the movie coming out.

Never really liked this episode and still dont like. Definitely one of my least favourites.

Didn't even know this but the star that played Paul Chan, Leon Fan passed away at the tender age of 31 back in 2002. Unfortunately I cannot find anything as to what the cause of death was.

Very sad indeed.

just saw thisa episode, and "The Golden Child" was on my mind the entire time too. Very similar plot and the release dates are even almost the same.

It's not one of the best episodes.

I give it 6/10

I liked that Mac just kept getting randomly attacked the entire first half lol, also it was fun to see Sulu and his overdramatic death expressions lol. The untouchable disguise was fun too. Gave it a 4.

Not one of my favorite episodes, but he has a rather sustained narration, the participation of Tia Carrere, George Takai etc., the well-transmitted legend, after which is not a favorite, but he lets himself be watched.

In France, the title of this episode is “the desired child”.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A cult scene

MacPhoenix trailer

Thanks for the information, it's always interesting to know the episode titles in Our Neighbors ...