Starring Richard Dean Anderson, Dana Elcar, Bruce McGill, Teri Hatcher
Written By:
Directed By:
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Buy on Amazon.com link

I’ve been waiting for MacGyver to arrive on DVD for many years now, and the first season is finally here! And no, this DVD didn’t come with a Swiss army knife, duct tape and a piece of gum.

I used to watch MacGyver when it originally aired & the reruns when I was growing up. Then a few years ago, they stopped airing the episodes on USA or wherever the show was syndicated on. TV Land started to air episodes last year, but I never got a chance to watch too many episodes.

MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is a secret agent/ environmentalist/ survivalist of some sort, who uses his brains instead of guns. He’s not perfect and usually gets caught every episode. But the mysterious man finds a way to survive in the end. He manages to beat the bad guys with household items and things conveniently at his will. He never uses a gun and tries to find other alternatives to use. Though didn’t he use a gun in the very first episode? Um maybe it’s AFTER that haha. He doesn’t leave home (where that is, I don’t know?) without his trusty Swiss Army knife and duct tape. PLUS Mac is a killer with the ladies! Each episode is a different story, taking MacGyver places all over the world, and usually battling the same type of villain. Sometimes MacGyver might find himself at a nuclear power plant, or in the jungle. Maybe running from some corrupt Latino Government, or maybe fighting…killer ants! Sometimes MacGyver has an off episode and you might see him helping teenagers with their drug problems or coaching a hockey team; I’m telling you, the man does it all!

As I watched episodes of MacGyver, I started to realize how cheesy the dialogue & effects were. The show is really dating itself, especially with some of the music. Some of the songs playing in cars, and the score by Randy Edelman, gets very 80’s at times. I still love the show and theme song though. Richard Dean Anderson plays MacGyver brilliantly, and I couldn’t picture anyone else playing that character. I love how he gets out of situations, and it’s really unrealistic how things play out. Like come on, how many times can one man escape death? When you watch the episodes, you just say to yourself, “yeah right, like that could happen in real life!” It’s sort of the same thing with 24 with Kiefer Sutherland. Surely one character can’t have all these eventful things happening to him, but then again it’s TV. You have to suspend reality and just enjoy the entertainment. If MacGyver would have started it’s run a few years ago, I don’t think it would have been as successful, and it might have been censored. The reason why I think it might be censored is because of the demonstrations on how to make explosive devices from household items. Do you really think right-wing and religious groups would put up with that? I’m sure some jackhole still tried to make bombs or whatever from watching MacGyver.

My favorite type of MacGyver episodes are when he’s out in the jungle or in a forest, or perhaps dealing with kidnappers or Murdoc (who doesn’t show up til season 2). I remember one episode, in one of the newer seasons, when Pete and MacGyver are trapped in a forest. Pete is injured and MacGyver has to get him out of the woods, but they have escape drug dealers or whoever first. I like episodes when he starts to work hand in hand with Pete at the Phoenix Foundation but that doesn’t happen til later on in the season. There is a lot of notable actors & actresses on the show that serve as sidekicks or villains. Like Terri Hatcher and Bruce McGill have been on the show several times throughout the seasons, and Vernon Wells & John Vernon make appearances as villains. Plus there is other recognizable actors you would know if you saw their faces.

The only thing I’m disappointed with this DVD is that there isn’t any extras on here. I would have liked to see a featurette on the show or a retrospective with new interviews with cast members. Maybe next season, the DVD set will have that stuff, along with commentary and outtakes. I’m sure MacGyver flubbed his lines. If you are a fan of this show or just 80’s shows in general, this DVD is a must to own. Unless you want to watch the episodes on TV Land but I’d rather own this DVD. I hope more seasons of MacGyver will get released on DVD because I think the episodes get better as the show progresses.

Features:

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Mono

Video:
Standard 1.33:1 Color

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: The Gauntlet, Last Stand, Target MacGyver, Deathlock
Rating: –Select–
Running Time: 1045 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: