MacGyver remake comes to CBS (Lucas Till, George Eads)

[Aragorn]

I won't be watching this, but it fits right in on CBS with Scorpion, which isn't a compliment. It's going to be a Friday show as the lead in for their other remake, Hawaii Five-0. CBS is about the only network with a track record of long term successful Friday night programming. Do you think this show will be any good and/or last very long?

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A secret agent unlike any other, MacGyver escapes perilous situations with nothing but a paperclip, his trusty Swiss Army knife and his wit. A dynamic reimagining of the hit television series, this action-packed origin story follows the young MacGyver as he returns from war, a hero with an idealistic vision of saving the world. He and his late father’s best friend partner to form the clandestine Phoenix Foundation. Using his scientific know-how and resourcefulness, MacGyver—alongside his intrepid team—undertakes missions to save lives and change the world.

 

[StarMan]

I really needed an RDA cameo and ... da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaaaa!

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[Christopher]

A secret agent unlike any other, MacGyver escapes perilous situations with nothing but a paperclip, his trusty Swiss Army knife and his wit. A dynamic reimagining of the hit television series, this action-packed origin story follows the young MacGyver as he returns from war, a hero with an idealistic vision of saving the world. He and his late father’s best friend partner to form the clandestine Phoenix Foundation. Using his scientific know-how and resourcefulness, MacGyver—alongside his intrepid team—undertakes missions to save lives and change the world.

Hmm, I dunno. "Returns from war?" I suppose there's some precedent for that in the original, since the first season established that he'd been on a bomb defusing team in the Vietnam War. But I don't want to lose the idea of MacGyver as someone who refuses to use a gun. I suppose it's possible he could've been at war in a noncombatant capacity, but it remains to be seen.

And the idea of a "clandestine" Phoenix Foundation bugs me. It's like they're trying to conflate the Foundation with the DXS, the intelligence agency Mac and Pete worked for in the first season. I prefer the idea of Phoenix as an openly philanthropic think tank, using Science to save the world and fight poverty and hunger and aid law enforcement and so on. And losing Pete Thornton and giving Mac a partner/team... I dunno. Part of the charm of the original was that Mac was a lone hero who tended to make friends as he went and had an ever-growing supporting cast of oddball allies, often ones who drove him crazy, like Jack Dalton and Penny Parker. I wonder if we'll see updated versions of them, or of Mac's archnemesis Murdoc. (Ooh, how about getting Mark Sheppard to play his father's character Dr. Zito?)

Overall, it seems a little self-conscious about "Hey, look how MacGyver we are!" Like, they took the idea of the famous mullet and went twice as long. And the bit at the end there, "Anyone got any bubblegum, wink wink nudge nudge?" Trying too hard. It seems they've embraced and leaned heavily on the surface elements that everyone recognizes, but not bothered to stay very true to the more in-depth elements of the series. (Cute having the "V" in the logo be a Swiss Army knife, though.)

 

[sojourner]

That Macgyver looks like an insufferable punk.

 

[Stephen Lee]

... so how old is Mac supposed to be?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Didn't work for me.

geo locking.

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[Christopher]

... so how old is Mac supposed to be?

Well, everything has to be an origin story these days, so this is a young MacGyver who's just starting out. Lucas Till is 25, which is a decade younger than Richard Dean Anderson was at the start of the original series (and nine years younger than the character was at the time).

 

[STEPhon IT]

I would watch it but I'm not usually home on Friday nights. Not even my Mom and Dad watches TV on Fridays. CBS is not expecting much from this show if its on Fridays.

 

[Stephen Lee]

I guess I will give this show a try.

 

[The Wormhole]

That looks pretty awful, in fact I groaned right away when the trailer started with that annoying "Inception noise." There's nothing in the trailer that screams "MacGyver" and everything about it looks like any other generic show about a specialized team, of which CBS pretty much has dozens already. Will it last? I have my doubts, but then I remember thinking the Hawaii Five-0 remake wouldn't last.

And based on the trailer alone, the actor playing MacGyver (who kind of reminds me of Jesse Eisenberg) does not have RDA's charm, charisma, or presence.

Sweet shit, even I'm surprised how much I come of as a cliché internet fanboy with this post. Even I'm reminding myself of Comic Book Guy. That's just how much of a bad taste that left in my mouth.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Will this show also be included on CBS All Access?

 

[Christopher]

There's nothing in the trailer that screams "MacGuyver"

I wouldn't go that far. There was a "MacGyver building stuff" montage that was a pretty dead-on recreation of the opening shots of the original main titles. That's form over substance, yes, but at least it was something.

(And please, it's MacGyver, no U. Every time I see "MacGuyver," I think it should be about a really inventive guy who's bonded with a suit of alien bio-armor.)

And based on the trailer alone, the actor playing MacGuyver (who kind of reminds me of Jesse Eisenberg) does not have RDA's charm, charisma, or presence.

It's Lucas Till, who's Havok in the X-Men movies. I'm not sure about him either, but he's nowhere near as annoying as Eisenberg's Lex Luthor in the BvS footage I've seen.

 

[Skywalker]

This certainly isn't the first time TV has tried to bring back the MacGyver franchise. I remembering watching the pilot for a show called "Young MacGyver" (he was supposed to be Angus MacGyver's nephew, I think) which starred Jared Padalecki in his pre-Supernatural days. It was...not so good.

 

[The Wormhole]

(And please, it's MacGyver, no U. Every time I see "MacGuyver," I think it should be about a really inventive guy who's bonded with a suit of alien bio-armor.)

Whoops, I don't even know why I did that. Talk about a brain fart.

but he's nowhere near as annoying as Eisenberg's Lex Luthor in the BvS footage I've seen.

I was more referring to a physical resemblance. The two look similar to each other, IMO.

 

[Commander Richard]

I remembering watching the pilot for a show called "Young MacGyver" (he was supposed to be Angus MacGyver's nephew, I think) which starred Jared Padalecki in his pre-Supernatural days. It was...not so good.

I downloaded that pilot years ago but haven't watched it yet. Didn't know that Jared Padalecki was in it. This new guy looks like him and Matt Smith.

Anyway, not impressed for reasons already given. I'm all for remakes and updates but this one doesn't capture the spirit of the original character or the show. It bungles things up too much for my tastes. I will of course check it out though.

Speaking of original MacGyver...

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[Christopher]

Whoops, I don't even know why I did that. Talk about a brain fart.

I've seen countless people misspell it "MacGuyver," which is why it bugs me so much. It's probably because it sounds like "Guy" to them. I doubt that most of them are all that familiar with The Guyver. (If anything, I think "McGiver" is probably a more common spelling of the name, e.g. Person of Interest actor Boris McGiver. Or Marla McGivers from Star Trek: "Space Seed.")

I was more referring to a physical resemblance. The two look similar to each other, IMO.

Didn't notice. I've actually seen Lucas Till in more movies (2 X-Men films so far) than I've seen Eisenberg in (just a few trailers and clips so far).

 

[Romulan_spy]

The trailer left me unimpressed. The only thing in the trailer that reminded me of classic MacGyver was the fact that you have a guy building gadgets with common items. The trailer seemed like a very generic "young people run around and save the day" show. They didn't even do the classic theme song.

 

[Christopher]

They didn't even do the classic theme song.

I honestly never liked the theme song much. I liked Dennis McCarthy's episode scores (and the character theme he used for MacGyver in them) much better. Although I have mixed feelings about the work of the other main composer in later seasons, Ken Harrison. His work sounded good, but it was incredibly repetitious, all built around a very few melodies and chord structures, so I got tired of it after a while.

 

[stardream]

Husband LOVED MacGyver and Richard Dean Anderson. He stopped watching Stargate the moment he left. I guess we'll be checking this out.

 

[Romulan_spy]

I honestly never liked the theme song much.

Blasphemy! LOL Seriously, the theme song is my one of my all time favorites. For me, it has become a classic like the knight rider theme, the A team theme or the airwolf theme.