DVD Review | MacGyver (Season 1)
Written by: Kage Alan

Season Rating: B+
DVD Special Features: F

Here’s another show my parents used to watch that I boycotted for that very reason.  It’s amusing how teenagers will act just to prove they’re cooler than their folks, isn’t it?  Not if you’re the parents, I suspect.  In any case, thanks to a wonderful turn as one of the leads in “Stargate SG-1,” I’ve come to appreciate Richard Dean Anderson’s ability to take on a complex role and make it his very own.  Best of all, he makes it interesting not only for himself, but also for viewers.  MacGyver is no easy role, either.  The character is fairly restricted to serious improvisation and non-lethal methods of solving problems.  How many television shows can you name with a similar theme running through it?

Right…so, MacGyver is something of a Government problem solver who works outside the system, yet has some fairly incredible resources and intelligence information without having to deal with all the red tape.  Best of all, he’s incredibly resourceful when it comes to making decisions on the fly and accomplishing his missions against the most incredible odds.  Whether it’s stopping a deadly chemical leak in the pilot episode or stealing back a watch that was lifted from somebody else, there’s bound to trouble and a need for the man with a thousand ways to get out of a situation…or at least one really solid plan.

Standout episodes in Season 1 include coming to the aid of a journalist (Robin Curtis) by assisting her across a heavily guarded border, stealing a major amount of diamonds from a well-secured penthouse casino vault, putting out an oil fire (featuring a pre-“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” Nana Visitor), meeting MacGyver’s cantankerous grandfather, escaping a safehouse that is anything but safe, disarming bombs on a cruise ship, earning the trust and assistance of a young female computer geek and going up against a professional assassin.  No matter who his nemesis, MacGyver is up to the challenge.

Paramount has released “MacGyver (Season 1)” in its original Full Screen format.  Video quality is fairly solid for a television show of this age, though there is some grain along with flecks and specks.  Fortunately, it’s not overly distracting.  Audio is acceptable, but not overly dynamic, which is to be expected.  As for extras, this is where the studio really lets us down.  With so many of their other box sets containing some wonderful commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, bloopers and other bits of interest, it feels like somebody totally dropped the ball here.  One can only hope that the set sells well enough to warrant looking into some extras for either the next or another upcoming season.

Rather than be a typical Rambo-style hero representing what is most violent about the ol’ red, white and blue, MacGyver is intelligent, thoughtful, believes in violence only as a last resort and is a true gentleman with the ladies.  Even for an enigma nobody knows much about, the man has got a dry wit that makes each episode worth looking forward to watching.  With six more seasons (I believe) and a handful of made-for-TV-movies to go, it’s going to be great fun rediscovering a gem I once thought I was too cool to watch.  So much for what I knew at an early age.