MacGyver: #135 Friends (S2E20)

Episode Title: Friends
Episode Number: S2E20

Ranking: 135 of 138

CBS.com

Summary: After one too many brushes with death, MacGyver seriously contemplates resigning from the Phoenix Foundation at his surprise birthday party.

Quotable Moment: 

MacGyver: Pete... for the past seven years I have done nothing but travel around the world getting shot up, locked up, blown up, and all I've got to show for it are a couple of empty rolls of duct tape.

Best Part: Either the part where Mac tells Pete he wants to resign or the scene where Penny proves she's not as gullible regarding Jack's tall tales as he thought.

Worst Part: Just the general fact that it's out of character, and a clip show.

Opening Gambit: Something that you will discover about me early on is that I don't like clip shows, and I don't like dream episodes.  Both, to me, are fairly pointless and don't contribute anything substantial to the overall arc of a show.  The only exception to this is when the clips shown in an episode inspire new and emotionally-driven dialogue discussing something that was not addressed in the episode itself.  For example, in "Hindsight," the conversation between Pete and MacGyver about the coma in "Passages" is a great moment for me, because we get to see Pete learn about Mac's near-death experience and discuss mortality.

 But this episode, from what little I remember, does not really inspire introspective dialogue and doesn't really make a difference.  Sure, you've got the whole thing about MacGyver wanting to quit, but that isn't the focus of the episode; instead, it's focused on past episodes, and mostly shows us things we've already seen.  I do appreciate MacGyver's internal conflict about his job at the Phoenix Foundation, but I feel like that could have been much more effectively addressed with a full episode dedicated to this crossroads he has come to.  The decision to keep going has less impact on me when it is buried beneath a pile of memories and clips I've already seen before.

I do remember, however, that the episode was dedicated to a co-worker (I think he was maybe a grip?) of the cast, and while that is very thoughtful and sweet, I think that it could have been even more touching if there had been a full new episode dedicated to him rather than one cobbled together with scenes from earlier episodes.

I don't foresee this episode climbing any on the list, mainly because of my distaste for clip shows, but maybe I'll find some nuggets of goodness buried beneath all the "been-there-done-that"s cluttering the episode.



Thoughts:

• I'm not going to comment on any of the clips we're shown, other than maybe to give an inkling of where they stand thus far in my ranking, because I feel like if I'm going to be reviewing each of these in turn at one point or another, there's no point in discussing them preemptively here.  I'll basically only be commenting on any new content, so this will more than likely be a relatively short post.
• So, the opening gambit: That's what I would really like to see.  MacGyver weaves a story for us in the first minute about his misadventures in Central America trying to trace evidence back to a criminal, and how he almost died three times, and how he spent 12 hours on a turbulent plane coming home... That is an episode I'd like to see.  It's really frustrating that they set up such a great story and nothing comes of it, especially when what happened during that adventure that we only hear about and are never invested in, is the crux of the whole dilemma in the episode.  It seems contrived and quite weak as far as story line and motive go - if they wanted us to believe that MacGyver was this shaken up or exasperated with the dangers of his job, they should have done more than simply tell us about this inciting incident.  It seems, to me, awfully lazy writing.
• And another thing - MacGyver's almost died over and over again since the beginning of the show - at least once an episode!  So why's he suddenly so twitchy about the dangers of his job?  Maybe this is the writers trying to show us that MacGyver isn't unflappable and that he's not a Mary Sue, but if so, they're going about it in the wrong way.  If there was more buildup, and more at stake than his own life (which he's risked countless times before with no second guessing his career choice), then maybe I would believe it, but as it is, it's, as I said before, contrived.  It conflicts with pretty much everything we've learned about his character thus far, with no real explanation other than "because it might make a compelling crossroads decision."  Well, yeah, it might - but only if handled properly, which, in my opinion, it was not, even a little.
• And the episode tricks us into thinking that Mac's little Central American adventure is going to have exciting consequences... but we quickly find out that this is not a bad guy who followed him home to get revenge (which is unfortunate, because that would have made a very compelling episode), but rather Jack Dalton tricking MacGyver into going to to Mac's own surprise birthday party.
• Which brings up another HUGE issue I have with this episode (actually, another three HUGE issues I have with it): (1) Why is MacGyver, even if he's at knife point, just going to give in and waltz right in to the Phoenix Foundation with this supposed drug runner without even trying to MacGyver his way out of the situation?  Also, Mac is part of a government organization, and is former DXS and special ops in the military... so surely, he would have been trained not to give up any secrets or information, even under the threat of torture, so why is Central American Jack's machete making him go all squirrely and just lead the guy right to the secret government agency?  (2) What on earth made Pete and Jack think that this farce of a plan would be a good idea?  Threaten a trained operative with a knife?  Did they not consider the fact that Jack could have been, if MacGyver had indeed been acting like, well, MacGyver, hurt?  You know that if it had been an actual bad guy, MacGyver would have found a clever way to take him down.  But since it was Jack and not an actual bad guy, MacGyver conveniently forgot how to MacGyver for this particular episode.  (3) Does the Phoenix Foundation not have guards?  Contingency plans in case of situations like this?  Codes or something to deal with hostage situations?  On that matter, wouldn't even a receptionist be suspicious to see one of Phoenix's field agents being herded into the Foundation at knife point?  Does Mac not think it the tiniest bit odd that no one has tried to stop Jack?  Nothing about this first part of the episode makes sense at all!!! 
• I do love Bruce McGill, though... his "reveal" is funny and I couldn't help but crack a smile.
• And then there's one of the only redeeming qualities of this episode: HARRY!  Harry is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction, not just MacGyver.  Grandpa Harry, even with as little screen time as he gets, is enough to give me the courage to make it through the episode!
• Ew.  Just... ew.  Penny kisses MacGyver?  On the mouth?!  I'm sorry, but I don't know why this is a thing in this episode.  Never before, and never again, do they display any kind of affection for one another other than a protective big brother and hopeless little sister way.  It just seems... wrong.  When I think about their relationship in "Cleo Rocks," and how much like siblings they are, this just... no.  I don't like it.  I really don't.
• And then Jack unabashedly flirting with the girl Mac just kissed?  Wait, never mind... that's just Jack. :)
• Our first clip is from the season one episode, "Every Time She Smiles" - which is one I love (it's #53 on my list).  But the problem is, I've seen it before, and if I want to see it again, I'll just re-watch the episode... so this whole flashback is pointless.
• The second clip is from the opening gambit of season one's "The Gauntlet" - which is #111 on my list.  Again, it does nothing but pad out episode time.
• While the acting in the scene about 17 minutes in is phenomenal - where Mac tells Pete he wants to resign - my issue with it is the same as before: I just am not invested in it, nor do I believe it.  It's just so out of character and so out of nowhere with not enough context to make it something worth investing in emotionally - and so this otherwise brilliant scene falls flat.
• How is risking your life to save others considered wasting your life, MacGyver?  I just don't understand his sudden change of perspective.  Maybe it is because he's being introspective on his birthday, but... I just don't see it.  This just isn't the MacGyver we know.
• Wait... Pete said that MacGyver is like a cat because he's got nine lives... then Jack blames his twitching eye on a cat being around... does that mean MacGyver's a cat?!  After the sudden changes of characterizations in this episode, it almost wouldn't surprise me!  "MeowGyver!"
• The third clip is from the opening gambit of the season one episode "Thief of Budapest" - #52 on my list.
• The fourth clip is from the actual episode "The Gauntlet," which, as I said earlier, is #111 on my list.
• Okay, I do enjoy the scene where MacGyver thinks he's the father of Kate's baby and then gets all flustered when he meets her husband.  That's a great moment, but it devolves rather quickly when he goes on to tell the story to her husband of how he rescued Kate - when the husband had just said that Kate had told him all about it.
• The fifth clip is also from "The Gauntlet."
• The sixth clip is from the opening gambit of season one's "The Enemy Within" - #101 on my list.
• I do really like the piano music playing when Mac is working up the nerve to sign the resignation letter.  It's very pretty.
• I love Grandpa Harry so much.  His advice to Mac is always heartfelt and genuine!  
• The seventh clip is from the opening gambit of the season one episode "Deathlock" - #127 on my list.
• You do have to love Pete's reverse psychology near the end.  
• The end of the episode is really sweet, though... but it would be much better if it had come at the end of a new episode that fit within the context of the rest of the show.  Unfortunately, Mac's heartfelt speech is less special because of the inconsistency of the rest of the episode.
• The final clip is from the opening gambit of the pilot episode, which is #119 on my list.
• Okay, so Wes Tansey is the co-worker who this episode was dedicated to.  I just think it would have been even more of an honor if it had been more a legitimate episode, because there were so many things that were off from the formula of the show.  But still, I respect their dedication to him, and I think it was a great thing to do.  It does make me wish I enjoyed the episode more.
• Just a quick note here at the end: It's interesting that most of the clips were actually from opening gambits, and so didn't really have much of an impact on the actual show itself anyway.  The only reason I can see this as making sense would be if all of these episodes were ones that Wes Tansey worked on, but I couldn't find any information supporting that idea.

My Conclusion?

There isn't much to say here about "Friends" that I didn't already say in my opening gambit or the thoughts section.  This episode is to me mostly pointless, out of character, and infuriatingly frustrating.  It isn't MacGyver.  I think the only thing that's really changed from my opening gambit is that I've decided I don't really like this episode because of its inconsistencies as well as its being a clip show.  

I can understand to an extent why a clip show might have made sense before seasons were released on VHS or DVD, but for a show like this, that doesn't require a "Previously, on MacGyver" prelude, it still seems unnecessary and repetitive - a whole 40-something minutes that could have been spent on a whole new episode is used to show us bits and pieces of episodes that have already aired.  The conflict may have been good if it had been better set up and executed, but as it is, it falls flat.  I just... don't really like this episode, even though it does have its occasional moments in the sun.

Next time, we'll take a trip to another of my storytelling foes - dream episodes - in the Wild West!  In the meantime, do you agree with my conclusion?  Disagree?  Where do you rate this episode?  I'd love to know. so please let me know in the comments!