MacGyver: Season 1 DVD fails to please
John Grundman
IV Leader Movie Critic
There are many people who hold a vast knowledge of
science, chemical reactions, and general resourcefulness; however, no one had
such an infinite knowledge than that of Angus MacGyver. For those of you who
don’t know who Angus MacGyver is, it’s simple; he’s the guy who can make
anything out of, well, anything. If you are ever in a situation that calls for a
bomb to made out of gasoline and a lemon wedge no problem, or need to start an
airplane engine with a garage door opener, MacGyver can do that, too, and the
list goes on and on. The show aptly named “MacGyver” began its seven year run in
1985 and can now be seen in syndication almost daily on Spike or TV Land.
The plotline never really skewed from the first season the final season.
MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) was kind of a loner who would do odd jobs for,
and eventually ended up working for, The Phoenix Foundation, with Peter Thornton
(Dana Elcar) as his boss. MacGyver would inevitably land himself in the middle
of a situation that no person would want to be mixed up in, and would then have
to find some way of getting himself, and usually others, out of it. Obviously to
sustain his seven year run, MacGyver had to know a thing or two about cheating
death. While MacGyver was not a police officer, he was the quintessential role
model for young viewers. He never smoked, drank, swore, and even refused to
carry or use a gun. The only “weapon” which MacGyver ever carried was his trusty
pocket knife, which came in handy more than a few times. In every episode
MacGyver would manage to solve every situation using his mind and whatever
scraps of garbage might be scattered around. Compared to other seasons the first
isn’t quite as exciting, but it’ll do….for now.
For a TV show converted to DVD at this point in time MacGyver
Season 1 is a little behind when it comes to quality. There are a few episodes
that look a little grainy. The only jolt back to reality is the absence of
commercials. All the episodes are presented in the original full-frame aspect as
is common for a TV show converted to DVD. All in all the DVD’s do provide a
better picture quality than on TV, but not much better.
The mere fact that “MacGyver” is an action show lead me to
believe that the Dolby Surround track would bring the explosions to life like
never before. It is important to remember that this is a show straight out of
the 80’s, so by present standards, the explosions are kind of pathetic, and
therefore don’t give your sound system any real challenge. The episodes do sound
better than they ever have on TV, but just aren’t up to the level of many of the
other TV Show to DVD conversions.
For those of you reading this review to hear about the
dazzling special features, you wasted your time. There are NONE. No interviews
with stars, no behind the scenes features or any of the now standard DVD extras.
You would think with 6 discs there would be room for a little something, but
nevertheless, we’re left hanging on for future seasons to be released.
I would have to say that that MacGyver Season 1 is a
substantially less than average DVD set, which kind of sad considering 10 years
ago people would have loved to have all these episodes recorded off TV with the
commercials. However in this day and age we’ve come to expect a little more. A
little more that just isn’t included with this set. I would only recommend
buying this set to the hardcore MacGyver fan, and the rest of you, just borrow
them from somebody or watch them on TV.