The original MacGyver TV series aired on ABC from 1985-1992. The series ran for seven seasons/139 episodes, as well as two follow-up TV movies in 1994. The show is a classic, even adding the word “macgyver” as an easily-recognized verb in our everyday lexicon.

MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson)—whose first name isn’t actually revealed until the final season of the series—is an expert problem-solver, and a one-man A-Team. Mac doesn’t like to use guns, ever since the death of a childhood friend. Instead, he has an incredible knack for repurposing everyday objects in extraordinary ways to achieve the seemingly impossible. He always carries his trusty pocket knife, book of matches and duct tape, but makes use of anything else he gets his hands on, such as disarming a bomb with a paper clip, or stopping a dangerous acid leak with a chocolate bar. No matter what dangerous situation he finds himself in, he never loses his cool or sarcastic sense of humor, rattling off one-liners even when it looks like there’s no way out of his perilous predicament. He always remains calm, collected and confident, scanning his surroundings for objects he can turn into tools.

For the first dozen or so episodes of the series, the episode would being with a pre-credits “opening gambit” that would find Mac in the middle of some exciting mission, often narrating a story from his childhood that had something to do with the mission as he worked his magic. I was sad to see these extra action-packed sequences disappear. However, the actual missions of the week often proved to be just as exciting. MacGyver’s narration and stories appear throughout the series, with Mac recounting a memory from his own past, some historic story related to the situation at hand, or describing the science behind whatever gadget he is building to get himself out of trouble.

MacGyver works for friend Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar), who’s initially an operative for the DXS (Department of External Services) when they first meet, but later becomes the director of the Phoenix Foundation, where he pulls in Mac to assist with cases. When the government needs some off-the-books help taking care of a situation in a remote country, or rescuing someone behind enemy lines, it’s MacGyver who’s usually called in to help. But Mac also has his share of local, more personal cases, helping out regular folks who are being threatened or have ended up in bad situations. Even when Mac tries to go on vacation, he somehow ends up finding someone in need of his help. Also, some of MacGyver’s friends have a way of attracting trouble. Best friend Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill), who Mac describes as “a rogue, an adventurer, a liar, and a thief”, is constantly coming up with new get-rich-quick schemes and roping in Mac to rescue him when he ultimately gets in a sticky situation. Fortunately for Mac, Jack’s left eye twitches whenever he is lying. Then there’s also the fast-talking spitfire Penny Parker (Teri Hatcher), a model/actress whose tendency to act before thinking, usually brings trouble whenever she’s around MacGyver. And once or twice each season we get the return of the seemingly-unkillable international terrorist Murdoc (Michael Des Barres), who is constantly trying to get his revenge on MacGyver and Pete. Murdoc is a master of disguise, so he usually manages to set his latest plan in motion before MacGyver even realizes who he’s dealing with.

While MacGyver normally works alone, the third season brings in new Phoenix Foundation agent Nikki Carpenter (Elyssa Davalos), who usually butts heads with Mac as they have different mays of doing things. However, this only lasts for the season and then Mac is back on his own. The series also has some fun recurring/one-off guest stars including Cuba Gooding Jr., James Hong, Tia Carrere, Mayim Bialik, Robert Englund, George Takei, Michael Paul Chan. Jason Priestley, Lyle Alzado, John Anderson, Dick Butkus, James Doohan, Henry Gibson, Sandra Gould, Rich Little, Marion Ramsey, Marion Ross, Jesse White, Wendy O. Williams, Abe Vigoda, Lance LeGault, and Henry Winkler (who’s also executive producer of the series).

The series itself holds up incredibly well 30+ years later. I probably hadn’t seen the series since it originally aired, but it was must-see TV in my house growing up. The show is just as fun and exciting as ever, and doesn’t feel dated at all. I immediately found myself humming along to the theme song as soon as that first disc went in and the menu came up. Then I was enjoying MacGyver’s amazing talents and abilities again for the first time. One thing that surprised me was the show’s production value. I know they didn’t travel around the world to shoot these episodes, but the series does an excellent job of making you believe Mac is a globetrotting adventurer. The action sequences and effects are well done, and there is an interesting variety to the stories and missions, with Mac tackling both your typical drug smugglers, spies and other TV villains, but also helping out runaways, grifters, and other oppressed people. The series also finds a nice mix of foreign and domestic missions for Mac to tackle. It keeps a really fun, light tone, while also giving some big action-packed moments and cliffhangers.

MacGyver makes science fun as Mac explains his contraptions and gadgets to the audience, making you believe that anything is possible if you have a pocket knife, paper clip and some duct tape! Once I started watching the series I just couldn’t stop. There are so many fun episodes and characters that quickly came back to me, like the hilarious Jack Dalton and Penny Parker, to the mysterious and evil Murdoc. I had always been partial to the Penny Parker and Murdoc episodes, especially the fourth season’s haunted house premiere, “The Secret of Parker House”, and when both of them appear together in the fourth season’s “Cleo Rocks”. The series also has some great 2-parters that take the show in unexpected directions, such as the final season’s “Good Knight MacGyver”, which finds MacGyver in King Arthur’s Court, and the two follow-up TV films to close out the franchise.

CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment had originally released the first season of MacGyver on Blu-ray in 2018 as a test run, before ultimately releasing this full box set of the series last month. While the remaining seasons were being remastered for Blu-ray, CBS released a first look comparison video:

As you can see here, there is a vast improvement in the video quality of the show for this Blu-ray release. The picture is generally excellent, with a clean, detailed picture that looks quite good most of the time. You wouldn’t guess the series was over 30 years old if not for the 4:3 format (or Mac’s mullet). Some of the establishing shots/stock footage don’t fare as well, and there is the odd scene here or there with some film noise, or not as clean/clear. But this is certainly the best the show has ever looked, and is quite enjoyable overall. The two TV movies are only presented in SD on this set (despite being on a Blu-ray disc). They still look very good, and feel like some work may have been done to clean them up. However, the picture is noticeably more white speckling than the proper episodes.

The first season is presented in Dolby Digital Mono, the second season in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, and the remaining seasons/movies in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo. I didn’t notice a drastic difference between these, maybe a slightly fuller sound in the stereo tracks. The dialogue remains in the center channel throughout, and effects, action and score in the episodes sound clear and well-balanced, and are satisfying overall. However, there is a lack of that more-immersive feeling you get from the 5.1 audio in a modern series.

Unfortunately, just like the original DVD releases, there is no bonus material included for any of the seasons. I was also disappointed to see that after season 1, there’s not even any English subtitle option for the episodes. It’s a shame that they couldn’t have at least included the webisodes Richard Dean Anderson did in 2009, reprising his role to advertise The New Citan.

Each season resides in its own multi-disc HD keepcase, with the episodes split across 4-6 discs with 4-5 episodes per disc. The fourth disc in the Season 7 case contains the two TV movies (in SD format despite being a Blu-ray). Each disc is a solid color (blue for season 1, grey for the other seasons) with a list of the episodes printed on the front. The seven Amaray cases are placed in a thin outer cardboard slipcover.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (113 hrs, 43 min)

• All 139 episodes of the series and 2 TV movies, spread across 33 discs:
  Discs 1-5: Season 1 (1985-86, 22 episodes)
  Discs 6-11: Season 2 (1986-87, 22 episodes)
  Discs 12-15: Season 3 (1987-88, 20 episodes)
  Discs 16-19: Season 4 (1988-89, 19 episodes)
  Discs 20-24: Season 5 (1989-90, 21 episodes)
  Discs 25-29: Season 6 (1990-91. 21 episodes)
  Discs 30-32: Season 7 (1991-92, 14 episodes)
  Disc 33: TV Movies (1994, “MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis” & “MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday”)
• 1080p / Full Frame 1.33:1 (episodes)
• 480i / Full Frame 1.33:1 (movies)
• Audio: Season 1: English Dolby Digital Mono French Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono; Season 2: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono; Seasons 3-7/Movies: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
• Subtitles: (Season 1 only) English SDH, German, French

Extras:

Unfortunately, no supplemental material is included.

Final Thoughts:

It was so much fun revisiting the classic MacGyver series on this new Blu-ray release. The series holds up incredibly well, featuring interesting missions and action-packed adventures, as well as some great recurring characters. It is always fascinating to watch Mac at work macgyvering up some contraption to get him out of his latest sticky situation. Like the previous DVD releases, the Blu-rays don’t include any bonus material, but the series looks better than ever, with a remastered and cleaned up picture. This new box set is highly recommended for any fan of the series, or anyone looking for an incredibly entertaining and well-done 80s action show.