MacGyver Season 1 Review


A lot of characters in TV find themselves faced with impossible situations but MacGyver certainly outshines them all with his smarts and quick wit. Richard Dean Anderson headlined the TV show MacGyver which ran for seven seasons from 1985-1992 and it had a very popular run. The first season of MacGyver certainly succeeds in delivering on what made MacGyver an exciting show to watch: action. The first season of the show defined the character of MacGyver and introduced audiences to how the character thought and how he deferred from many traditional TV characters in that he often got himself out of sticky situations by using his brains rather than his fists.
MacGyver proved itself to be a piece of entertainment whose plot was not to be easily predicted.

  
 The performances from the season are top notch when measured up to fit its tone which is bright and optimistic. Richard Dean Anderson does a good job of portraying a character who takes on assignments which puts him into dangerous situations and challenges his wits. Dana Elcar appears in several episodes as Pete Thornton who works for a think tank that often hires MacGyver to take on risky assignments. Elcar authentically brings to life a good-natured friend of MacGyver who is older and wiser. These two stars are really the only constant the season provides as each episode of the season is stand alone finding MacGyver in different parts of the world taking on different assignments. The villains sometimes prove to be a challenge to MacGyver, however, more times than not are typically pale in comparison to MacGyver and become more of plot devices as the true story is MacGyver versus the situation.


    Tonally this season is bright and optimistic which often finds the episodes in a cheesy style. The argument could be made that this was the eighties and the tone reflects it but a lot of dialogue feels hampered and unrealistic because of it. A commonality that could be pointed to is characters repeatedly using MacGyver’s name or characters resorting to over the top dialogue or other antics. The season overcomes this by highlighting MacGyver and his likeability around everyone he meets and how he uses his technical know-how to succeed in his missions. The season though episodic does effectively construct a narrative theme in MacGyver’s life.
     Slowly over the course of the episodic season, the audience is introduced to MacGyver’s apartment home and the occurring theme in MacGyver’s life of him wanting to get time off after going on assignment after assignment non-stop and his reluctance but inevitable acceptance to assignments Thornton pleads him to take on due to their urgency. The show establishes a theme here that despite the optimism that MacGyver exudes and the globe-trotting life he leads he is still exhausted at the end of the day and feels the burden of life weighing in on him, defining him as truly human. The writers of the show do a nice job of fleshing out his character by digging into his past with his unresolved issues with his grandfather and a past love of his.
 
 The season sometimes falls prey to weak writing giving way to weak dialogue and weak plots but where the season shines is when MacGyver does best what he does best: fix things and problems. This season really gravitates towards great action and establishing a great character in MacGyver. Overall I would say the first season of MacGyver is a good exciting show which I would assign a score of a B.

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