Where to start with this show? I admit to seeing all versions of MacGyver (I guess that makes me old).
MacGyver2016 is clearly being targeted to younger people, and that's cool. It's seems a little like they updated this for the information age to include all the kinds of technology common post 1995. I like the idea of updating for these two things, and gosh, I like Tristin Mays :)
But, past that, in a world where MacGruber is a thing that happened, MacGyver2016 seems like it struggles to keep from falling into a parody with the laughable things that happen. MacGyver seems to know everything, but not technology? Why in the world does he need a technology sidekick in the first place? It seems so out of lace. For George Eads, his inclusion makes more sense (in the brute force capacity), and I see he's having fun. Fun lasts so long, right.
For MacGyver1985, we had a character that was perhaps a little like Magnum PI (with another fairly iconic opening theme) who was more cerebral and didn't need to resort to shooting at people. He was a great counter to the Rambo/Schwarzenegger action explosion-fests of the time. This was perhaps why I remember MacGyver1985 being so fresh then (or at least my little kid brain did).
Today, MacGyver2016 feels slickly made and derivative. It's a world where geeks are no longer fresh, they're de rigueur. (Scorpion, Big Bang, Mr Robot, Half and Catch Fire), and It's a world where a MacGruber sequel might seem like a fresher take on the subject matter. Can this show improve? I'm sure it can, but I'm not sure it can cure it's biggest challenge: bad timing.
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Where to start with this show? I admit to seeing all versions of MacGyver (I guess that makes me old).
MacGyver2016 is clearly being targeted to younger people, and that's cool. It's seems a little like they updated this for the information age to include all the kinds of technology common post 1995. I like the idea of updating for these two things, and gosh, I like Tristin Mays :)
But, past that, in a world where MacGruber is a thing that happened, MacGyver2016 seems like it struggles to keep from falling into a parody with the laughable things that happen. MacGyver seems to know everything, but not technology? Why in the world does he need a technology sidekick in the first place? It seems so out of lace. For George Eads, his inclusion makes more sense (in the brute force capacity), and I see he's having fun. Fun lasts so long, right.
For MacGyver1985, we had a character that was perhaps a little like Magnum PI (with another fairly iconic opening theme) who was more cerebral and didn't need to resort to shooting at people. He was a great counter to the Rambo/Schwarzenegger action explosion-fests of the time. This was perhaps why I remember MacGyver1985 being so fresh then (or at least my little kid brain did).
Today, MacGyver2016 feels slickly made and derivative. It's a world where geeks are no longer fresh, they're de rigueur. (Scorpion, Big Bang, Mr Robot, Half and Catch Fire), and It's a world where a MacGruber sequel might seem like a fresher take on the subject matter. Can this show improve? I'm sure it can, but I'm not sure it can cure it's biggest challenge: bad timing.