MacGyver 2016: A Below-Average MacGyver?

Even though it has received largely negative reviews from both tenured critics and TV viewers with a blog, does the new 2016 MacGyver reboot a rather pale comparison to its 1980s era original? 

By: Ringo Bones 

Despite of its moments, the 2016 reboot of MacGyver has largely received a negative reception, mostly by those who are fans of the original TV series that aired from 1985 to 1992. The new Angus “Mac” MacGyver, played by actor Lucas Till, still prefers to use unseemly ancillary objects lying about instead of guns to fight off bad guys due to his inherent ingenuity. But compared to the original Angus “Mac” MacGyver played by Richard Dean Anderson, the acting of Lucas Till on the new MacGyver doesn’t seem convincing enough via his acting that this is a person who prefers to use other ancillary objects though his ingenuity instead of guns to fight off bad guys. 

The new MacGyver does explain the scientific principles behind the unseemly contraptions he builds with ancillary objects to fight off the bad guys but Till’s acting is largely woody and stilted in comparison to Richard Dean Anderson’s delivery in the original MacGyver. Even though I’ve only seen the first four episodes, if the status quo continues in the subsequent series, I think the new Lucas Till MacGyver probably won’t last beyond a single season – but the potential is still there for improvement to make the series as good as the original. I think making Jack Dalton character (played by CSI’s George Eads) less “flakey” than in the original series, the 2016 MacGyver does have potential to go into somewhere unexplored by the original series. Although making the new MacGyver more like a Mission Impossible variant is probably one of the biggest negatives of the reboot when compared to the original.