Maybe Murdoc has a nice side to him after all in this episode. Like we all know he returns back to his crafty self.

Knowing Murdoc this could of been one of sick games, and a test for the lead chairman, to see if he could cut the butter as they say and when the lead chairman died the test was over and MacGyver was none the wiser, we all know Murdoc doesn't really care for anything he says he cares for his sister but after she "dies" he goes back to his ways. you know he could of plained this even getting rid of his only sister, his only weakness.

This is one of my favorite episodes (so far). I love the kind of eerie and mysterious feeling the episode emits with its Halloween theme. As many others, I was just waiting for Murdoc to double cross MacGyver. I also think the headquarters of H.I.T was pretty cool, especially the gauntlet. At first, I wished that MacGyver and Murdoc would become partners/friends for the rest of the series (fantastic duo, almost in class with Mac/Pete and Mac/Jack), but that would also mean a loss of a very interesting and clever enemy. I voted excellent on this episode.

Saw this one today for the first time and was really looking forward to it being a Murdoc episode and the good things I heard about it. It definitely lived up to the hype and I really enjoyed it as I have all other Murdoc episodes. I thought it was interesting as to who moved Mac's stuff out of his house. Mac's neighbor said it was a guy matching Jack's description but we all know how Murdoc is a master of disguise so it was very likely him. If Murdoc's plan was elaborate enough, I bet he could have fooled Jack into moving the stuff and then taking off somewhere. I also scratched my head at the whole flat tire continuity. I'm sure we're supposed to assume Mac had a spare. On a related note, I really hope I see the iconic Jeep used again in the show. Harry's truck is fine, but the Jeep is just too iconic for me. The truck makes its debut in Black Corsage (at least as far as Mac having it) and I can't recall if it was seen in the 2 part Holy Rose opener for season 5.

Saw it for the first time today. It was really good. I wonder how Murdoc managed to fix his face, though?
It was good to see Mac and Murdox work together and who would have thought that Murdoc would have fears of his own?

I wonder why Murdoc would even bother coming back to kill Mac. He's seen how genius Mac is so why would he bother when he knows he'd never win? But then Murdoc is the kind of person who would never give up, even if he knew he'd lose.

He mentions plastic surgery somewhere in this episode I think

I voted excellent for this episode

It has everything - an unwilling partnership (with the arch-stinker Murdoc, no less), saving an innocent victim from a cunningly designed trap, nicely overblown bad guys, great comic moments and a twist in the tail.

It has more background on Murdoc, and it's always good to know more about your nemesis after all... I like that he has this vulnerable spot in the form of his sister and that he's so scared of snakes that he has to accept a piggyback from his worst enemy to avoid them. I also like the skill with which Michael des Barres made him seem - if only for a moment - likeable and misunderstood.

But what it also has is RDA at his considerable best in acting without speaking. His reaction to the emptied houseboat is brilliant even before he starts shouting, you can see the' "Oh, man!" in the set of his shoulders when Murdoc tells him he'd be responsible for Ashton's death, the silent' "Oh, this is going to hurt..." reaction when he gets trapped in the boardroom and asked for his report and the filthy look he gives Murdoc when he puts on the joker hat is priceless

Keep looking over your shoulder, folks...

This is one of my favorite episodes, for sure! There's something about Mac and Murdoc that can't go wrong. Plus, it had a Halloween theme and that is my favorite holiday!

I also wondered about the spare tire.

And I loved that Murdoc was driving a hearse

I was really pumped for this episode having read all the favorable reviews. I liked it and give a big thumbs up but it may not fall within in my top 10 when all is said and watched. For starters, I'm bit gun shy about this series shadowing pop films of the day.

Mac & Murdoc are excellent together as an uneasy, unlikely, dynamic duo. The dialogue between the two is clever and concise. The Halloween backdrop is always intriguing and the sets are refreshing.


Unfortunately this one appears to have 'borrowed' the gauntlet scene from 'The Man with the Golden Gun' teaser complete with the H.I.T Head looking an awful lot like Christopher Lee's Scaramanga character and the whole 'hit'man plot thing is a bit too close for my liking.

Okay, more small potatoes but I absolutely hate getting that deja vu - where have I seen this before - feeling when watching something I've never watched before. Of course the 'I hate snakes' thing was the very endearing line used by Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark but it works well here and reminds us that even 'high rollers' have phobias like you and I.

An interesting fact here is that Micheal Des Barris does actually hate snakes and the whole MacGyver carrying Murdoc scene came about because Micheal insisted it was the only way he would do the scene.

Bu they didn't use real snakes, did they? If they did, surely it was edited/partitioned cleverly to only simulate Mac 'wading' through them. The scene in Raiders was done with rubber snakes, iirc.

It seems that they did use real snakes.

You can see RDA playing with one of the snakes in this news item from ET where he says they have about 300 snakes.

I just looked at that segment again. No doubt that there are some real snakes integrated into the scene .... but you don't really ever see Mac walking through the swath of serpents - only one or the other but never both. So it was most likely the two takes were filmed in different areas for both the reptile & human safety factor.

Regardless Murdoc showed us what a big girl sissy pie he is and Mac should have bucked him off half way across for his own good & to make a man out of him - once and for all.

Just got this tweet back from Micheal Des Barres saying they were all real snakes. 300 odd real snakes seems like quite an undertaking.

Same difference - regardless, two separate shoots. Depends where the snakes and wranglers are located as to whether it's easier/economical to send a camera & crew to them for a close up or two, or bring the snakes et al to the set.

How do you mean "Same Difference"?

RDA is seen on set with the snakes and talking about having 300 odd in the video clip. That with Micheal's response and the fact that they had really tight filming schedules (8 days from conception to ready to broadcast) indicates to me that they had a pit full of real snakes and once scene.

So now the question becomes "How many takes did they need for the scene? AND Did RDA mess up on purpose just to torture MDB?

Lol! That's interesting. I did wonder about the snakes. They looked real.

How do you mean "Same Difference"?

RDA is seen on set with the snakes and talking about having 300 odd in the video clip. That with Micheal's response and the fact that they had really tight filming schedules (8 days from conception to ready to broadcast) indicates to me that they had a pit full of real snakes and once scene.

So now the question becomes "How many takes did they need for the scene? AND Did RDA mess up on purpose just to torture MDB?

There's no video evidence of Mac/Murdoc ever being in the same frame as the snakes so I'm not quite ready to drink the kool-aid yet. And the other animals that I've seen in the episodes leading up to this one often appear to be either stock photos or macgyvered in someway. A high camera wide angle would have been easy to arrange and to show the snakes slithering through and around and over the moving feet. But we don't see that.


It looks like 'someone' walked through a mockup of a mixture of fake & possibly real snakes, the snakes in the macro, closeup shots were real, and the snake RDA was handling in the promo shot was indeed real. But you'd have a hard time convincing me that RDA actually walked with MDB on his back through the implied set with 300 snakes under his feet.

Also in the ET clip, RDA seems confused if his character is suppose to walk or crawl which could imply that he was not needed for that particular scene. Also he mentions that he had some injuries to his feet recently and there's no way he'd actually piggyback someone over 300 snakes with that recent medical history - no easy feat for a newbie.

Just my opinion and I do love analyzing and trying to understand the hows & whys of each scene. The ET clip was excellent btw and can't wait to see some more when I finally get High Speed Fiber Optic service at the end of the month. I'm no expert on snakes either but I've spent a bit of spare time around them and even operated as a snake charmer on the streets of India a few times ....

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Great picture!

I'm just working off MDBs reply to my questions asking if the snakes were "all real" when I asked if they used a combo of real and fake for the shot and his story on his radio show about how he insisted that he would only do that scene if RDA carried him through the snakes because he hates them so much.

At the end of the day it really doesn't matter. What ever they did worked and we have a very funny scene with the big evil hitman being a total wuss.

It's worth noting that the foot "injury" was actually foot surgery to repair damage and took place during the hiatus between seasons. So it's probably fair to assume that his feet where better after that surgery and not an issue for anything he was doing on camera in any of the episodes. Although he has had further surgery since. I think later foot surgery (and the pain medication) was credited as the main cause of his weight gain in recent years.

Yes, it's a very good episode with an unusual plot that works well in kind of toying with and humoring us together.

A Canadian snake charmer..

Omg that is so awesome that he responded to you. It's the little things in life!

He believes in connecting people and he usually does respond

That's funny that MDB hates snakes, too! I think it's awesome that the show's producers let him bring that bit of his personality to his character, just as they let RDA bring parts of his own personality to the character of Mac.

They may not have had a choice. Some things you can't pretend not to hate or be scared of.

Or they may just have seen the potential humor of the scene and decided it was a good idea.

This is a very good episode.
I like every moment of it, but especially the scenes from the shooting gallery to the end of the episode. I'd never thought those snakes were real , I thought it was some kind of trick!
I like the interaction Mac/Murdoc.
I also like this episode because it shows a vulnerable Murdoc, not the usual enemy, so

I really like this episode. It's great to watch at night, with the lights out. I love that it's dark and psychologically scary, especially at the end when Mac finds the note on his windshield, looks around and Murdoc's nowhere in sight.

One of my favorite "Murdoc" episodes. The reason. Murdoc revoked their deal? Because Murdoc is Murdoc and MacGyver is MacGyver. "MacGyver! It's a shooting gallery and we have no guns!"

I don't watch this episode but I would like to know what happens. So what does happen? (I need to know so I will understand strictly business better.) Thanks you!

Why don't you watch it? There's nothing wrong with it.