Episode Number: S6E8
Ranking: 134 of 138
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Summary: When Maria presses MacGyver to consider commitment, MacGyver dreams that he's a cowboy in the wild west who helps two mail-order brides escape from a group of outlaws.
Quotable Moment:
Maria: Are all American men frightened of marriage? Or is it they are frightened of women?
MacGyver: Oh, come on. What are you talkin' about, "all American men"?
Maria: Okay. Some American men. Like cowboys, who are faithful to their horse, but not with a woman.Best Part: When MacGyver escapes the noose and signpost trap with only his belt buckle and upper body strength.
Worst Part: The mustache.
Opening Gambit: Like I said in the last post, I am not a fan of dream episodes. Much like clip shows, they seem pointless to me. However, I think that dream episodes are generally more useless than clip episodes because they contribute nothing to the show. I can only think of a handful of episodes from the dozen or so shows I watch that I can actually get behind because they do actually further the character, inspire character growth, or contribute in some way to the plot of the show. "MacGyver's Women" is not one of them. To me, it's just an excuse to dress Mac up in a cowboy costume and plop him into the old west just for kicks. It doesn't fit with the formula of the show, and it doesn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: if you're going to add an element to a story, it needs to be something meaningful. If it's just there for fun or a joke, then you're not doing your job as a storyteller justice.
But I'll admit, it isn't even the fact that it's a dream episode that's got me putting "MacGyver's Women" (and next week's episode) this low on the list. Well, not entirely. After all, "Good Knight MacGyver," while still not up there on my list, is significantly higher than the western episodes. No, my biggest problem with this episode (and call me shallow if you wish; I'll stick to my guns 'til the end) is that stupid, ugly mutant caterpillar that attached itself to Richard Dean Anderson's face and then died there. Don't remember a mutant caterpillar? Scroll up to the picture from the episode and take a gander at that atrocious mustache. Even from that angle, it's hideous, and I can't take Mac seriously with that thing on his face. There are plenty of outlaws in the western episode that are clean-shaven - why can't Mac be like them? I know, I know - it sounds really petty, but the mustache really, really bothers me. A lot.
