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The Movie: The Movie: One of the most entertaining shows of the 80's, "MacGyver" offered a spy series that entertained audiences with a fairly clever and intriguing premise: the show focuses on MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson, who later went on to TV success with the "Stargate" series), a freelance special operative who can make a laser out of a paper clip and a broken mirror. That's being a bit much, but "MacGyver" became famous for its lead character's ability to make gadgets out of whatever happened to be lying around at the time. Aside from the clever gadgets, the show was also helped along by a solid, compelling lead effort from Anderson, and fine supporting performances ("Desperate Housewive" Teri Hatcher makes an early appearance here.) With somewhat similar action shows on TV in the 80's like "A-Team" and "Knight Rider", "MacGyver" fit right in and quickly became a hit. The fourth season of the series provided Anderson's MacGyver with a wider variety of everyday issues to confront, as the show also became somewhat more somber and intense in tone. The results were actually quite good, and despite the fact that it's not a vast change from the prior seasons, it's enough of a switch to give the show a refreshed feel. One of the main highlights this season is the excellent "Gold Rush", which struck me as one of the most (if not the most) "cinematic" of the "MacGyver" episodes I've seen so far. The episode has MacGyver heading into Russia to help in a US/Russian effort to try and track down a plane full of Russian gold that was lost years earlier, and has been buried until only recently. When the group arrives there, they find that someone has already been there, and the plane's contents have been almost entirely picked clean. Superbly acted by Anderson and an excellent supporting cast, this remains a gripping mystery. Other good episodes include the spook story "The Secret of Parker House" (MacGyver accompanies friend Penny Parker to a house she inherited from her aunt, which may be haunted), "The Outsiders" (MacGyver helps an Amish community confront a construction crew trying to force them off their land), "The Survivors" (MacGyver and Pete are out in the wilds when they find a downed DEA plane, and then find themselves trying to escape the smugglers who brought the plane down), "Cleo Rocks" (which sees the return of Teri Hatcher's Penny Parker) and "Brainwashed" (MacGyver and Jack are invited to an African country to get medals, but Jack has been brainwashed to assassinate the country's leader). 65. 4- 1 065 31 Oct 88 The Secret of Parker House 66. 4- 2 066 21 Nov 88 Blood Brothers 67. 4- 3 067 28 Nov 88 The Outsiders 68. 4- 4 068 5 Dec 88 On a Wing and a Prayer 69. 4- 5 069 12 Dec 88 Collision Course 70. 4- 6 071 9 Jan 89 The Survivors 71. 4- 7 072 16 Jan 89 Deadly Dreams 72. 4- 8 070 23 Jan 89 Ma Dalton 73. 4- 9 073 6 Feb 89 Cleo Rocks 74. 4-10 074 13 Feb 89 Fraternity of Thieves 75. 4-11 075 20 Feb 89 The Battle of Tommy Giordano 76. 4-12 076 27 Feb 89 The Challenge 77. 4-13 077 13 Mar 89 Runners 78. 4-14 078 27 Mar 89 Gold Rush 79. 4-15 079 10 Apr 89 The Invisible Killer 80. 4-16 080 24 Apr 89 Brainwashed 81. 4-17 081 1 May 89 Easy Target 82. 4-18 082 8 May 89 Renegade 83. 4-19 083 15 May 89 Unfinished Business The DVD VIDEO: "MacGyver" is presented by Paramount in the show's original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. The presentation does look somewhat dated and a bit worn, but it's not too bad overall and, as with the third season, this season looks slightly better than the seasons that came before it. Sharpness and detail are generally fine, although inconsistent. Some scenes appear somewhat soft, while others are crisp. The presentation did not suffer from any noticable edge enhancement or pixelation, but some wear was occasionally visible - seemingly a bit less so than prior seasons on DVD. The picture appeared a bit rough and grainy at times, and there were a few specks, marks and similar issues present in the occasional scene. This didn't take away from the overall impression a great deal, but it certainly knock it down a notch or two. Colors did not appear smeared or otherwise problematic, but they did look a touch faded. SOUND: The show's stereo soundtrack wasn't anything to write home about, but it fared fine. Dialogue was easily understood and clear, music and effects seemed fairly well recorded and no distortion or other issues were heard. The elements were certainly not up to modern standards, but in comparison to other shows of the time, "McGyver"'s mono track came out even. EXTRAS: Nothing. It's too bad that these season sets have been free of any features, as the show certainly has a cult following that would be interested in seeing some interviews or other supplements. Final Thoughts: Although not among the show's hardcore following, I think "MacGyver"'s fourth season offers some of the best episodes in the series up to this point. Paramount has released the third season set with image and sound quality that remain adequate. The lackluster point, as with the prior season, remains the lack of supplements. Still, I'd recommend this one to fans. |