OG vs 2016
Ok so I'll admit, I was never an avid MacGyver watcher. I've seen a couple episodes here and there but I was adamant to have a say on this. So, old man Mac is back. This time it's with Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus' on screen boyfriend. Well he's been in X-men and some other stuff but like that's what most of remember him as... right?
I know reboots are a thing now because Hollywood doesn't know how to sell anything original (I should know, I'm doing a whole course at uni about adaptations and screen franchising) but more often than not, reboots don't last more than a season (and sometimes even less).
Watching the first episode, I couldn't help but cringe - only a bit. The dialogue is trying WAY WAY too hard to be entertaining and his sidekick Jake who is supposed to be the class clown/comedic character(?) (Sorry the right word escapes me) just doesn't do it for me. Like it might be the timing, or the fact that he's just not as charismatic as I hoped he'd be or just the jokes are poorly written, I felt uncomfortable every time he'd open his mouth. Hopefully that changes haha. I did watch the pilot of the original show after watching the premiere of the reboot, just to see what differed and so that I wouldn't sound uneducated when reviewing it. It seems as though the character was the same person; you know, MacGyver, the man who can make a weapon out of anything! But other than the characters - who I'm not sure are the same as I've just seen the pilots of both at this point - and what Mac does, the style is different. Obviously this happens when there's 30 years difference in tv show but I guess it had to be done in order to give some substance and also give a reason for people to watch this one and not just old reruns. I guess many fans wouldn't be happy with the reboot because it 'ruins' the classic but sometimes it's nice to incorporate a bit of nostalgia into something new. However people like it more when it's subtle, not when the same name is plastered all over it. I read a couple reviews on imdb that were kind of mad about it stating that Jake was never Mac's sidekick or that they didn't really work together and how there wasn't much substance there. I have to disagree with that because it's just the pilot and while the dialogue needs help and the characters need to adapt into their roles a bit better (I mean heck Vinnie Jones' cameo was better than all the actors combined), there's some untapped potential with MacGyver's skill-set and now with the computer age and needing a techie/hacker to basically do anything these days, there's something here. That being said it's only going to work if they don't fuck it up which I'm afraid they might do. There was also a comment on how it took Mac 7 years to reveal his first name in the last episode. This may have annoyed that reviewer but in my opinion, if it was already public knowledge, there's no harm in introducing himself with his full name in the narration. Maybe he could have been more suss about it when introducing himself to people, but everyone calls him Mac anyway and he really only met one person in the pilot so there wasn't a real chance there to be mysterious. Also, not telling anyone your first name is so 80s (oh look at me sounding all millennial - gross).
Only thing about procedural crime/intelligence shows is that they've all kind of become the same. The same plot twists and storylines... well kind of. I was kind of thrown off by the beginning which (spoiler) Mac's girlfriend gets killed off straight away. BUT because this happened, I knew it was fake and that she'd come back. I do like how they added a new chick to their team straight after and she was way more likeable than Nikki. Even though she took some warming up to at the start, I liked how straight off the bat, both Nikki and Riley actually liked Mac and didn't have rocky banter with him like most shows usually do. I mean they did that with Jake but that's just a trope that has to be done in like every network procedural drama for some stupid reason.
Drawing on Mac himself, I like him, he's alright. Yes I liked the old Mac a bit better but that's always how it's gonna be for some reason. Did the OG MacGyver kiss a random woman he just met in the pilot for literally no reason? Yes but that's another 80s trope that we won't go into. I liked how MacGyver actually had a girlfriend and not a bond girl, even though she turned into a femme fatale, I mean at least it showed he's into monogamy ja feel? I probably sound all over the place at this point.
Anyway I'm going to keep watching. As I always say, don't judge a show by it's pilot. Wait until the 3rd episode. (Ok maybe it's second season HAHaha that's when they start falling apart) (if it even gets one). The 2nd ep is out today and I'm about to watch it. I'm excited to see where it goes and I may even get down to watching old eps too.
I'll try to keep up as much as I can and make youtube videos too. Lord knows I've delayed myself ahhah.
Ok Ish OUT cya next time :)
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