In the opening gambit of the pilot episode.. MacGyver appears to be an expert rock climber.

Again in eagles we see he has considerable rock climbing skills.

Yet in The Widowmaker episode we see Mike "teaching" him how to rock climb, and we also see his fear of heights interfering with his climbing, which didn't happin in the earlier episodes.

I can understand the pilot being a inconsistency in character development, but that was well on its way to being sorted by the time eagles was produced.

Good argument, Rock. We can't really say that the mountain in 'Eagles' was an 'easy climb'!

*heartattack* when he almost fell!

Well it all depends on the difficulty of the rock he is climbing. As I recall, the rock he was climbing in widowmaker was regarded as like one of the hardest.

I've been rockclimbing before, and there are really alot of different factors on different rocks. Though I'm not sure.

I generally don't get too nitpicky over things like that. Just chalk it up to script inconsistencies and enjoy the show!

But if you want a take on it, you can say that in "The Widowmaker" it was a level of mountain climbing MacGyver hadn't done before. He did some rappelling in "Trumbo's World" (in the opening gambit) too, for that matter.

I suppose that could be an explanation... but how do you explain the vertigo and just plain fear of heights he was experiencing in the Widowmaker, but seemed absent from Eagles.

I don't think we can include the Pilot in any character nit-picks because we know the character wasn't' developed, so I'll focus on the Eagles episode as the case point.

It just seems odd that in the Eagles episode he seems very confident in his climbing abilities, yet in the Widowmaker he seems very uncomfortable and not so confidant.

Actually I just thought of something else. And even Nikki mentions this at the end...

In the beginning of the Widomaker, he's all vertigo and "I hate heights" etc, then after Murdoc chases them to the cliff edge, he's suddenly a "mountain goat".

It just seems to be a big inconsistency to me.

But that's the whole point of this site.

To really dig into the nitty gritty of the show, from all angles and get some good discussion going about all aspects of the show. With other people who really know and like the show.

Well, I thought that's what the "Think Tank" section was for...

I like talking about the show with other fans of course- but I guess I don't always get too focused on all of the intricate details...

by the way, all that's not to say that this isn't a valid and interesting question.
Truthfully, I really hadn't thought about it before.

So maybe all that I said before was a cop out to say that I really don't have a good explanation other than script inconsistencies (which it obviously is)

The writers did glaring inconsistencies throughout the show as to Mac's climbing abilities.

In Two Times Trouble, when Mac and Roxie were reminiscing, they talked like Mac was a novice in comparison and then Roxie had to walk Mac through climbing out of an elevator shaft.

But in the flash back from Trail to Doomsday, Mac was a proficient enough climber to pull himself and Paul out of a sticky wicket.

Hmmm hmm hmm

I think it all depends on indeed the difficulties levels of the mountains. One mountain can be easy the other not. I never thought of MacGyver as an expert climber but more as an experienced climber.

I think when your life depends on it, you can do a lot more than you first expected.

And I do have to say I have a lot of respect for MacGyver that he at least dares to climb mountains all the way to the top despite his fear of heights.

Yeah. exactly.

If he was able to climb that mountain in eagles.. he certainly should have been able to climb up that elevator shaft without being "walked through it".

And that mountain in the Eagles episode had him hanging out over a ledge. It looked to be more of a challenge than anything we see in the widowmaker episode.

I think when your life depends on it, you can do a lot more than you first expected.

I agree with that theorem in general, but in this/these scenerios, I would say, anytme your fanny is hanging on the side of a cliff wall (or in an elevator shaft), your life depends on it.

I suppose the difference might be team climbing as opposed to climbing alone.

Climbing with a 'buddy', you place your lives in each other hands, whereas climbing alone, you have only your own mistakes to die for!

About the "incapacity" of his rock climbing in the Widowmaker; I think that mountain was named that way for a reason...

It's one of my very fav eps and I don't want to hear any nitpicks about that one.

*puts fingers in her ears and starts humming*

I'm more concerned about why he had vertigo in the widowmaker.. yet he didn't have any problems in Eagles.. even after he fell and was hanging upside down... he just pulled himself up and carried on.

It's a pretty big inconsistency in character development.

Eagles and Widowmaker are both in my top 11 episodes of all time, but inconsistent character development/inconsistencies in general annoys me! And drives me bonkers!

Maybe MacGyver had an inner ear infection in Widowmaker that caused his vertigo? Ha! This is so weak and I know it. I can't rationalize the inconsistency away...I will have to swallow it like a big gritty mouthful of sand...

Replying as someone who 'hates heights' and has vertigo, I don't find this inconsistent at all.

The climbs in Eagles and Widowmaker are very different. There's one thing about climbing where it's just a matter of going up and another when you have to rely on tiny foot/hand holes, have to dangle in thin air, etc. I've done climbs like in Eagles with little issues, but a climb like in the Widowmaker is beyond my abilities.

Rappelling is a very different experience.

Mac
making a mental note to rewatch Eagles this weekend--the vistas will probably be amazing on the LCD screen!