Stream It Or Skip It: ‘MacGyver’

Yes, another remake. At this point, you might be questioning if there’s any original content left. CBS has remade its own action classic, MacGyver, and while the audience for this show certainly exists, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t going into this with a little skepticism. We’re here to let you know whether or not the pilot packs the same punch as the original. 

A Guide to Our Rating System

Opening Shot: The opening of a pilot can set a mood for the entire show (think Six Feet Under); thus, we examine the first shot of each pilot.
The Gist: The “who, what, where, when, why?” of the pilot.
Our Take: What did we think? Are we desperate for more or desperate to get that hour back?
Sex and Skin: That’s all you care about anyway, right? We let you know how quickly the show gets down and dirty.
Parting Shot: Where does the pilot leave us? Hanging off a cliff, or running for the hills?
Sleeper Star: Basically, someone in the cast who is not the top-billed star who shows great promise.
Most Pilot-y Line: Pilots have a lot of work to do: world building, character establishing, and stakes raising. Sometimes that results in some pretty clunky dialogue.
Our Call: We’ll let you know if you should, ahem, Stream It or Skip It.

MACGYVER

Opening Shot: We open on a scenic view of Lake Como, Italy, as our leading man Angus MacGyver (Lucas Till) steps out of a fancy car in his tux and banters with his senior analyst, Nikki Carpenter.

The Gist: Angus MacGyver is an operative of a secret U.S. government agency who is known for his unique problem solving abilities. This guy doesn’t need weapons – give him a paperclip and some scotch tape and he’ll have it figured out in no time. He’s aided in his missions by his team, which includes his muscle, Jack Dalton (George Eads), the aforementioned senior analyst Nikki, and his boss, Patricia Thornton. The gang attends a party where their mission is to retrieve a dangerous bioweapon, and after they extract it, Nikki betrays them and leaves them behind – and she sells the weapon to an even more dangerous group. Director Thornton eventually tells the team that because Nikki has compromised their identities, they must shut down operations, relocate, and change their name, which Mac decides should be “Phoenix”. Nikki is apprehended by the authorities, but it’s not long before she disappears again.

Our Take: Though there are a few moments that border on giving us a good time, the show is overwhelmingly try-hard. The voiceover causes the pilot more problems than solutions, and the casting of Till as this action icon just doesn’t work. There isn’t really any emotional sincerity present over the course of the episode, and it also doesn’t really seem to have a sense of self at all. It’s certainly not in the same league as the original, and it’s hard to trust Till’s MacGyver the way audiences trusted Richard Dean Anderson. Perhaps it’s the difference in age, or the overall vibe of the guy, but Till just doesn’t get the job done.

At the end of the day, this reboot seems to value smoke and mirrors above any kind of depth – sure there are chases and one-liners and dramatic developments, but nothing really carries any weight. Lots of the moments feel like they’ve been swiped from the Mission Impossible franchise and modified/made slightly less interesting for this pilot. The cast lacks the chemistry that makes a show like this work, and it’s hard to care about any of the characters – even when we lose one that apparently means so much to our lead so quickly. There’s also the lovely issue of the way the show portrays women – the seemingly brilliant Nikki is immediately shown as the girl that Mac is hooking up with, and the first mention of Patricia includes how “dangerous” she looks in her dress. With so many other quality reboots on the rise, we expected better from CBS on this one.

Sex and Skin: From the get-go, we get a quick glimpse of MacGyver hooking up with his senior analyst Nikki on a keyboard as he makes a cheesy joke via voiceover.

Parting Shot: After Nikki has betrayed the group and been taken into custody by federal law enforcement, the car passes through a tunnel and we see that Nikki has disappeared, leaving her handcuffs and a hairpin in her place.

Sleeper Star: The only really redeeming cast member of the lot here is George Eads, whose occasional solid instances of deadpan as Jack Dalton actually work here. For the most part, he is let down by lackluster writing and mediocre cast mates, but he does have his moments.

Most Pilot-y Line: “What happened in Cairo stays in Cairo,” is part of an overplayed bit that just doesn’t work. Most of the dialogue in this episode feels forced and cheesy (and not in a fun way), and the voiceover introducing us to each character does not work in the nostalgic, familiar way the show seems to be aiming for. The first minute of the episode is rife with exposition that might make you so overwhelmed you tap out (and you wouldn’t be wrong).

Our Call: Skip it. As mentioned earlier, these bad one-liners and chase sequences don’t offer anything more than a momentary thrill. The superficial, seemingly lazy nature of this MacGyver reboot rules it out quickly when there are so many other series coming out that offer so much more. Honestly, just go watch MacGruber instead.

[Stream the pilot for MacGyver on CBS or CBS All Access]

Jade Budowski is an indecisive sometimes-writer with a knack for ruining punchlines and harboring dad-aged celebrity crushes. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.