MacGyver
CBS
Season 2
I will admit that I’m still one of those people who runs out and buys the actual DVDs & Blu-rays of movies and TV shows. I like to physically have possession of them, I like to change the discs in my video player, I like looking at the lithograph and arranging my collection alphabetically. Filing the season 2 of the new ‘MacGyver‘ series into the “M” section of my collection was almost as satisfying as watching the series itself. For those who are somehow unfamiliar, the new ‘MacGyver’ on CBS is a reboot of an 80’s show of the same name. It follows the adventures of the titular character Angus MacGyver (Lucas Till) who is an operative for a covert U.S. Government agency called The Phoenix Foundation. He manages to rig together (or “MacGyver”) some clever inventions with his ingenuity and whatever items happen to be on-hand to help save the day. He is supported by a team consisting of ex-special forces member Jack Dalton (George Eads), savvy hacker Riley Davis (Tristin Mays) and his best friend Wilt Bozer (Justin Hires). This season is a marked improvement over last season in terms of action, effects, and story. But this review isn’t about the season itself. It’s all about the Special Features that the DVD set offers. Let’s get to it!
The first two items are “Mac Hacks” from both Season 1 and Season 2 of the show. They walk you through how to, on a much smaller scale than in the show, make things like an electromagnet, a Leyden jar, a pulley system, a floor jack, a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher, a chemical detector, and many more cool items. A stern warning is given – “DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RECREATE” but I am relatively certain that some people will try to recreate a few of these as they are rather cool.
Next up is a feature called “MacGyver In Cuba” in which members of the crew (I.E. Executive Producer Craig O’Neill and Stunt Coordinator Jeff Wolfe) talk about filming the opening of the season’s first episode. It’s a great behind-the-scenes look at filming the actions sequences on location in Cuba and then getting some of the pick-up shots back in their home base of Atlanta, GA (where the vast majority of the series is filmed).
Then we get into “Saving The Day, Season 2”. This special feature basically serves as a quick synopsis of the season and takes highlights of several of the episodes and provides commentary by members of the cast and crew. It’s always enjoyable to hear the people involved comment on what they loved about a particular scene or the difficulty in doing a certain stunt. This was definitely one of my favorites of the Special Features offered.
Our 5th item on the Special Features list is self-explanatory: “MacGyver: Special and Visual Effects”. Other than the Gag Reel, this was probably the shortest entry on the list and we really only got to see 2 or 3 of the mentioned effects. With such a stunt-heavy show, I feel like this could have been given more content and I confess to being quite underwhelmed by this feature.
A highlight, for me, of any movie or TV series, is getting to see the actors as real people. That’s right – it’s the “Gag Reel”. As expected, more of the gag clips come from George Eads and Justin Hires, but there are plenty of clips of the entire cast to go around.
Finally, we get to the “Deleted Scenes” which are always interesting. Usually one can understand why a scene was cut, but it’s still a treat to see that missing piece of the episode that, sadly, had to be relegated to the cutting room floor. We get nearly a dozen scenes here spanning the entire season which is perfect for those of us who can’t get enough ‘MacGyver’ in our lives.
Overall, this was a great season with a lot of bonus features. If you’re a fan of this show, then the DVD set has a lot to offer you and will be available for purchase beginning on September 18 at a suggested retail price of $29.98.
