MovieChat Forums > MacGyver (2016) Discussion > Question for the haters

Question for the haters

posted 8 years ago by blackflag01609
43 replies | jump to latest

It seems many of you are "Scorpion" fans and seem to think it would be a better "MacGyver" reboot than this. I am repeating a question on this board that is on the "Scorpion" board...

If you don't like this show, why watch and why post?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3514324/board/thread/251565025?d=251565025#251565025

As Progeekzy says in that thread:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3514324/board/thread/251565025?d=251609685#251609685

"So, instead of moving on with your life and simply not watching the show, you spend time out of your day watching a show then complaining about a show you could just.....not watch?

Are you aware that there are other channels and shows out there? Or, read a book. Or go watch Die Hard 2!!!

Why come here and complain about a show you dont have to watch? Just for the sake of complaining?"

I find a TV show that I don't like I don't waste my time watching it. I don't waste my time criticizing it on message boards. Above all I try to respect the fact that there are others that do like it. If we all liked the same thing TV would get very boring very fast.

[–] livvy7 8 years ago

I' not a Scorpion fan. I've never seen it. But I'm not a fan of this "reboot" of MacGyver.

I watched the first episode out of curiosity, and came away really wondering why they bothered to call it MacGyver, since they changed the very essence of the lead character in so many ways. After that, I've commented on this board and elsewhere about that. But that seems to offend you. I guess the fact that I don't like the new shows and expressed that opinion makes me a "hater."

I don't understand why negative comments about the show bother you. I mean, that's what comment boards and forums are for. People have different opinions about a show, and they exchange those opinions. Unless you work on the show in some capacity, it shouldn't get under your skin quite as much as it seems that it does.

Obviously, you like the show. I'm not offended by that. I'm not offended if you write a post that praises the show. It's called a difference of opinion.

The reality is that most people who are posting in all types of forums don't like the new version of the show. And that is the producers' fault. They brought this on themselves by calling it MacGyver, and then having little respect for the original on which they based it. Did they think fans of the original show--which they have been courting to watch this remake--were going to like that? They seriously miscalculated. They should have just called it something else, and had a premise that loosely borrowed from the original MacGyver. Then it could have been judged on its merits without comparison. But this show is NOT MacGyver--or any version of MacGyver. And that's the problem.

[–] blackflag01609 8 years ago

My problem is with the same people over and over again criticizing and complaining. It's just a TV show! Some of us happen to enjoy it, mostly because that's all we treat it as.

I don't understand why negative comments about the show bother you.

I'm trying to understand why people on IMDB will sit on a board criticizing a TV show they can't stand. Like I said, if I don't like a show I don't watch it, I don't visit it's message boards, I don't criticize it. Mostly I do try to respect the fact that even the shows I can't stand do have fans. I don't like "Scorpion", I'm not over there trashing it after every episode. I don't like "NCIS", and I've never made a comment saying the show sucks or is disrespectful the show it's a spin-off of, "JAG", which I did love. (Even though most "NCIS" fans seem to have forgotten that the franchise started with "JAG".)

The reality is in the "live +3" ratings for the pilot episode say that over 13 million people watched with 2.5 million in the demo. https://www.cbspressexpresscom/cbs-entertainment/shows/macgyver/releases/view?id=46118
Reality is the overnights for episode 2 are 9.1 in the overall with a 1.4 leading the night in the demo. (adjusted rating aren't out yet) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-macgyver-wins-second-934435
Reality is that I doubt that all those people have commented one way or another because most won't come to boards like IMDB.

[–] livvy7 8 years ago

My problem is with the same people over and over again criticizing and complaining. It's just a TV show! Some of us happen to enjoy it, mostly because that's all we treat it as.

I think everyone is treating it as "just a TV show." There are forums and forums on the Internet devoted to people commenting over and over again about "just TV shows." That's why you and I are here.

I'm trying to understand why people on IMDB will sit on a board criticizing a TV show they can't stand.

Well, that's one side of the coin. Some people discuss it because they like it, and some people discuss it because they don't. Nothing strange about that to me, although I can see how it would irritate you to see the negative comments when you don't agree with them.

Like I said, if I don't like a show I don't watch it, I don't visit it's message boards, I don't criticize it.

If I don't like a show, I don't watch it either--which is why I didn't go back and watch the second episode of the new version, and why I won't watch any of the subsequent episodes. But that doesn't stop me from giving my opinion on it where the show is discussed.

Mostly I do try to respect the fact that even the shows I can't stand do have fans. I don't like "Scorpion", I'm not over there trashing it after every episode. I don't like "NCIS", and I've never made a comment saying the show sucks or is disrespectful the show...

I think what you're missing here, is that many fans of the original MacGyver think this "reboot" is disrespectful to what that original show was. That's where a lot of the anger and irritation comes from.

The reality is in the "live +3" ratings for the pilot episode say that over 13 million people watched with 2.5 million in the demo. https://www.cbspressexpresscom/cbs-entertainment/shows/macgyver/releases/view?id=46118
Reality is the overnights for episode 2 are 9.1 in the overall with a 1.4 leading the night in the demo.

Let's see how it holds up over the weeks ahead. I'm not rooting for it to fail, although I'm not going to be a viewer. But I know that it didn't remain stable or gain in its second week. Although it won its timeslot and did well in the demo, it lost a lot of viewers. Again, I'll just wait and see how it does over
the weeks ahead. I don't think it will get cancelled right away, because it's performing fine in its timeslot, and since CBS owns the show, the network will give it every chance to survive. But if it continues to lose viewers week by week... I guess we'll just have to see.

[–] boxerrebellion 8 years ago

Really, NCIS fans seem to have forgotten? Um, Bud was on epi one this season with references to Harm and Mac. In fact, the Admiral was John on Lost. But I digress. NCIS has been on forever. My daughter, a high school student never saw JAG because it ended before she was old enough to watch more than Veggie Tales and classic Disney movies. However, not only is she a rabid NCIS fan, she knows several real-life NCIS SAs and had a classmate whose Mom was (well and still is) an SA.

Back to IMDB Boards and those commenting on them. I try to rate every show and movie I watch (with television shows, with this one exception, I tend to watch several episodes before getting on the site, but this is so ludicrous in trying to channel MacGyver that I couldn't stay silent). I read the trivia and goofs as well as any FAQs, then I go down the first page of entries on the Board.

No, I do not 'troll' the boards. I only return if I receive notification that I've received a response to a post.

I suggest you go back and watch the first season of the original MacGyver and see what this show is missing.

[–] Sam-953-169285 8 years ago

Speaking of real-life NCIS, there is (was) a show on another network about actual NCIS cases and agents. The reality is quite different from the fictional show.

For example, in real life it took them a long time (months) to discover there was a relevant life insurance policy. In the fictional show, they would discover something like that immediately. It is discrepancies like that that bother people, and the more that they are discounted, the more important it is to establish the truth. It is simply the denial that bothers many people.

[–] mike-954-404827 8 years ago

NCIS and all the other "procedurals" have about 42 minutes to solve a case. Most watchers realize this and suspend belief for that 42 minutes. I love the show and I have worked with actual SA's (back in the "old days" when NCIS was called NIS). I love watching "The Last Ship" but being a former sailor it sometimes drives me nuts when the show writers get things wrong. I just have to realize that a) some things the Navy does is classified, and b) some things are done for dramatic purposes.
Police procedural shows are much the same - somethings are done to keep the story moving instead of having to wait 4 weeks for DNA results or 3 months to get warrants and then obtain a suspects phone and financial records.
We just have to suspend belief in some things for 42 minutes. There are limits, however, and this version of MacGyver is silliness.

[–] tlm557 8 years ago

I've seen a few of them and l'm currently watching tonight's episode... a shootout in Mac's house....

Earlier in this one, Mac unwired an emergency light and pulled out SEVERAL FEET of electrical wire. That is not going to happen EVER!! A few minutes later, he is locked in a room and does the same thing with an electrical receptacle (outlet), that is NEVER going to happen. There is not extra feet of wire in any of these walls... at most there is a few inches, a foot at the very most. Even if there was a bunch of spare wire, it would be almost impossible to pull out as it would drag and catch on the studs....but that doesn't matter since there won't be spare.

This is just one of a hundred stupid, unrelastic mistakes that have happened so far. Pulling out this extra wire is something that would only happen in an animated cartoon.

These very clear, very obvious, very insane mistakes are what make the show so stupid. It isn't bad because it's a reboot, it's bad because of these things .

[–] tlm557 8 years ago

People are not just sitting here waiting to write more and more negative comments. People are watching the show, giving it a chance, hoping it will get better.

Remember, everybody's entitled to voice their opinion. You act like people are only allowed to voice their opinion if it is exactly the same as yours. Think about what that means about you.

[–] bruno-32 8 years ago

I'm trying to understand why people on IMDB will sit on a board criticizing a TV show they can't stand. Like I said, if I don't like a show I don't watch it, I don't visit it's message boards, I don't criticize it. Mostly I do try to respect the fact that even the shows I can't stand do have fans. I don't like "Scorpion", I'm not over there trashing it after every episode. I don't like "NCIS", and I've never made a comment saying the show sucks or is disrespectful the show it's a spin-off of, "JAG", which I did love. (Even though most "NCIS" fans seem to have forgotten that the franchise started with "JAG".)

I agree what you said..but think of the other side...don't you think that the producers of the show read these comments and perhaps tweak their show accordingly, to find the middle ground? BTW, I dislike Jack's overacting..I like "Bozer" and hope he gets a bigger part, which looks like its going to happen. I thought he was great in that cancelled show he appeared in..the name escapes me.

[–] boxerrebellion 8 years ago

BRAVO!!! You got it it one; and saved me a LOT of typing. We watched ONE episode and will not be watching more - you stated it perfectly, this is NOT MacGyver.

[–] r-spilsbury 8 years ago

I also have given this show a try. I even have watched the original and the reboot is no where close to the original. It does have its moments but not what I was hoping it to be. There have been some shows that are rebooted tv shows that have been good for example dallas and Hawaii five o. But this after watching the first 4 episodes ive interest in it. If you want a good new show to watch I would recommend the leathal weapon tv series.

[–] mttyflynn 8 years ago

Yes, Leathal Weapon good example of a good reboot, Rush Hour another example of a poor reboot.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Vogonavich 8 years ago

I don't hate the show but, for me, it is just too dang flavourless. The gimmicks are stupid (drawing a 2" arc with a car battery?), and the writing makes the ancient "Mod Squad" scripts read like Shakespeare.

I don't mind a show being silly or unrealistic as long as it has something that is fun. Bang bang and vrrroom for half the running time is not enough. The characters need colour; their personalities should be unique. These guys are like vanilla ice cream except someone forgot to add the vanilla.

Final criticism: the outdoor scenes never come close to giving an illusion of being in foreign territory. Definitely needs a production value upgrade.

I would like this show to succeed. I like the actors but they are not being given anything to do. If ep 3 is a clone of ep 2 then I am giving up on it.

[–] blackflag01609 8 years ago

The gimmicks are stupid (drawing a 2" arc with a car battery?)

In the original they did it with a generator and 2 half dollars (thought it was quarters myself). In the original they used to "remove" one key ingredient from each "MacGyverism" because they were afraid of the audience hurting themselves trying it. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that they are in some way "dumbing down" the "MacGyversims" in this version to keep viewers from trying them. The last thing CBS wants is sued and you can't say nobody will ever try them. But it's going to take more than 2, 3, 4, episodes before stories with information like that will start to be told.

the outdoor scenes never come close to giving an illusion of being in foreign territory. Definitely needs a production value upgrade.

It would be nice to have more money but this is network television and there in is the reason why cable television wins all the awards these days. They have to make due with where they film, Atlanta and it's surrounding area because the network television budget is always going to be smaller.

I like the actors but they are not being given anything to do. If ep 3 is a clone of ep 2 then I am giving up on it.

I like the pilot for the hastily written and filmed pilot it was. I liked episode 2 better. As a George Eads fan I feel that episode 2 gave him the chance to do what he does best - emotions - it reminded me of what I fell in love with about his character of Nick Stokes in "CSI".

[–] Vogonavich 8 years ago

Doesn't cost anything to insert imagination and character. Low budget is not an excuse for crappy location design.

"Supernatural" comes to mind: very low budget but excellent writing and superb use of available locale.

These folk need quirks and character flaws to offset their superior talents. Complex back stories cost nothing. The writers do not have to work hard since plenty of political material exists on both the domestic and world stages. The NKorea and Venezuela set ups were simply stupid. They need to either get serious and take a few chances or really go over the top a la "Chuck".

I don't want a copy of the original but I do want something that either adds to the myth or creates a worthy new myth.

Anywho, the question was asked about "haters" and criticism. My answer is: I am curious, this is just my opinion, and I am moving on.

Please, happily enjoy the show if it paddles your boat and nevermind those who don't appreciate it.

My disappointment (emphasis on MY) is that this is a cheese puff without the cheese.

... but I do not hate it. I just wish that it was not so bland.

[–] jptvgta 8 years ago

Didn't you ever see the original? They were filming in one of two locations during it's run, Southern California, and Vancouver. Guess which two types of scenery you ever saw most of the time on that show?

Southern California and Vancouver.

I know this, because I watched it, all episodes, within the last year, in addition to growing up with it. And in my opinion, not much has changed for this show. Some alterations to the characters to fit in modern times, filming style is different as well, but for the most part, the spirit is there, including lying about some of the things Mac does like mixing chemicals so people won't get hurt trying it in real life.

Only complaint I have is the cgi. OG Mac had more real effects. Of course they also had a bunch of surplus Jeeps they could blow up too, but oh well. Hopefully they'll change their effects down the road, maybe get a budget boost to at least make them more realistic.

[–] Progeekzy 8 years ago

Am i famous?

[–] tomk1of1 8 years ago

I think people get excited for a come back of a series they loved and are disappointed. I'm always sceptical. And I'm irritated with so many redoes...Some like to rag...some are truly in disbelief,(not regarding this one exactly) in general. I just posted what is at now 5 Pages I think about how terrible a new si fi series is.."Aftermath". I was in disbelief it made to to tv ... I wasn't alone,,lol

I liked the original so I wanted to see how this one was. I haven't seen it yet,it is in the DVR,,but people ar not saying nice things,,,so many things to watch,you have to be picky. But I don't want to miss something good.

I liked "Burn Notice" because it had the narrating style this does. Explaining how things are done..etc... cabl, esp has so many good series,sophisticated ones,with good stories that fluff style prodeedursls seem silly to some.... but they serve a purpose as the NCIS franchise proves. People like simple entertainment at nite after a busy day. But is has to be good and you have to lie the characters.

[–] danielgalun 8 years ago

And if someone gets murdered in the street, why waste your time, why not just not watch it and pretend it didn't happen? Are you a retard? That's the dumbest logic I've ever heard. If something sucks you need to complain as loudly as you can so that crap will end, if people didn't there would be no laws, no society, no anything. And no, it does not matter that a few people enjoy it, a few people enjoy rape to, doesn't mean we should let those people enjoy it. Sure, I'm being a bit dramatic to make the point, but the fact that this show exists hurts me and makes me think that if I have kids I won't let them anywhere near a TV. When not even MacGyver is safe, nothing is, so this needs to be hated and destroyed

[–] Evariste-Galois 8 years ago

I'm not complaining for the sake of venting my spleen. I"m complaining because the formula for this show is like slow-pitch softball: you're an idiot if you strike out! (especially if you look at the third strike!!)

Go look at my "Quincy" thread and tell me (in all honesty) this should have gone forward. The warning signs were there.

The problem with Mac '16 is it attaches stink to the franchise and it's going to be some time before it's attempted again.

If they wanted to make it an ensemble, I think it's possible - for a younger Mac. And at the end of the series: *boom* big explosion...maybe it's Mac's mistake or maybe Murdoc gets one up on Mac and the team is gone - and he basically sees it to be a case of he can't work with a group again. Either way, it creates a segue to Macyver '85, completing the prequel.

They've had 53 weeks since it was announced and this is the best they can do?

[–] jtmcgheejr 8 years ago

If you wanted the original, then go watch reruns on ME-TV. The new show is different, and dang if it's not just fun! If you don't like it, don't watch it. But I enjoy it, and I will keep watching it.

[–] Sam-953-169285 8 years ago

You know very well people will be like that. So why are you complaining about people complaining? You keep saying the same thing and getting nowhere. Unless you are a writer or other staff in a position to improve the show, we are not trying to change you yet you are trying to change us.

[–] Evariste-Galois 8 years ago

Unless you are a writer or other staff in a position to improve the show...

Unless things have changed [dramatically], those who have direct influence over the show, content/script, etc. can't go out & read/post things such as boards, newsgroups, etc. Not just because they don't have time, but there's too great of a chance something someone says might work its way into a script...that's grounds for a copyright violation suit. While there are some who say, "any publicity is good publicity", usually descendents of Phineas Taylor Barnum, it's not the type of cheque some responsible party wants to endorse & send.

Are you familiar with the Chiffons ("He's so fine") vs. George Harrison ("My Sweet Lord")?

I can provide a MacGyver situation...

[–] Evariste-Galois 8 years ago

Sam

[–] arkay 8 years ago

Can't have the love without the hate, that's life. Get used to it.