Customer Reviews

Macgyver - The Complete Third Season

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A unique and different kind of TV action series, MacGyver made its television premiere in the Fall of 1985 to much fanfare. Audiences immediately responded to the title character and his unusual penchant for turning everyday items like chewing gum and paperclips into elaborate life-saving contraptions. In this way, it maintained a slight resemblance to The A-Team, and this recurring plot device helped MacGyver build a strong cult following...

Richard Dean Anderson plays the title role of MacGyver, an energetic employee of the fictional Phoenix Foundation for Research. An unorthodox hero by action series standards, MacGyver has a deadly fear of heights. A pacifist who refuses to use weapons, he relies heavily on his ability to use his brain and tinker with the various materials at his disposal. MacGyver's best friend, and the director of the Phoenix Foundation, is Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar). Pete often sends MacGyver on Foundation missions and sometimes comes to his aid (usually after MacGyver has saved the day). In addition, MacGyver is joined on a regular basis by his airplane pilot friend Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill), a man who constantly entangles himself in illegal activities and other troublesome situations. Between the usual slew of bad guys, the vendetta of archenemy Murdoc (Michael Des Barres), and his multitude of troublesome friends, MacGyver is always in the midst of interesting and dangerous events, and the show's true entertainment value derives from watching MacGyver's distinctive method of dealing with each one...

The MacGyver (Season 3) DVD features a number of action-packed episodes including the season premiere "Lost Love" in which a woman from MacGyver's past (a woman he once loved) returns to his life. She also happens to be a known Soviet dissident who begs for his help in aiding her escape from the evil regime. But before MacGyver can help, the KGB kidnaps her and demands a priceless artifact as her ransom, leaving MacGyver as the only man who can save her... Other notable episodes from Season 3 include "The Widowmaker" in which MacGyver mourns the death of his friend at the hands of a former enemy, and "Mask of the Wolf" in which Jack and MacGyver aid in the search for an ancient Indian wolf mask while two mercenaries follow their trail...

Below is a list of episodes included on the MacGyver (Season 3) DVD:

Episode 45 (Lost Love: Part 1)
Episode 46 (Lost Love: Part 2)
Episode 47 (Back from the Dead)
Episode 48 (Ghost Ship)
Episode 49 (Fire and Ice)
Episode 50 (GX-1)
Episode 51 (Jack in the Box)
Episode 52 (The Widowmaker)
Episode 53 (Hell Week)
Episode 54 (Blow Out)
Episode 55 (Kill Zone)
Episode 56 (Early Retirement)
Episode 57 (Thin Ice)
Episode 58 (The Odd Triple)
Episode 59 (The Negotiator)
Episode 60 (The Spoilers)
Episode 61 (Mask of the Wolf)
Episode 62 (Rock the Cradle)
Episode 63 (The Endangered)
Episode 64 (Murderer's Sky)

The DVD Report

With the first two seasons having recently come out on DVD barebones with no extras, don't hold your breath for this third season release. Nonetheless, the quality of the show itself is what really matters, not that of the package. There were a total of 20 episodes produced for this season, and the set has been announced as a 5-Disc collection, following the slim packaging established with the second season set. Richard Dean Anderson is great as the witty MacGyver, who uses his knowledge of things around him as a means of escaping the dreary situations he has to overcome in every episode. Dana Elcar is also fantastic as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's boss at the Phoenix Foundation, and also his best friend. The episodes that will be included in this set are: Lost Love- Part One, Lost Love- Part Two, Back From the Dead, Ghost Ship, Fire and Ice, GX-1, Jack in the Box, The Widowmaker, Hell Week, Blow Out, Kill Zone, Early Retirement, Thin Ice, The Odd Triple, The Negotiator, The Spoilers, Mask of the Wolf, Rock the Cradle, The Endangered, and finally Murderer's Sky. Hopefully Paramount will release the remaining four seasons on DVD soon, and maybe someday we will see extras in future sets.

Out of the 7 seasons of MacGyver, this one is by far the best overall. If you are only going to buy one season this one is for you. The first season set the stage for the show and the second season developed the character of MacGyver, now in the third season the writers really hit their stride. One stroke of genius is the introduction of Nikki Carpenter, a strong female with a mind of her own who butts heads with MacGyver every chance she gets. She drives Mac nuts which creates some great scenes between the two of them as the season goes on. They originally wanted her to be a love interest for MacGyver (she is played by the same girl who is in "Lost Love 1 & 2" at the beginning of the season) but they really didn't have that kind of chemistry. It is more of a brother sister kind of thing so she eventually leaves the show. Also in this season Jack Dalton returns for 5 episodes as does Murdoc in the one of the shows best episodes ever, "The Widowmaker". We get to see MacGyver's soft side when he finds a baby and his rough side when he coaches a hockey team. We also get to meet the many loves of MacGyver that always never quite work out. Overall, season 3 is the best season ever. Season 4 which will hopefully be out by Christmas comes in a close second.

Found this season on sale at the local mega mart and thought it would be a great watch-together for me and my eleven year old boy. Excellent story lines with only a few predictable plots. Fast enough pace to keep me and my young-un interested. Thin storage cases that hold two DVD's each - nice. I was afraid these were going to be double-sided DVD's - always tough to determine which episodes you're loading, but not to worry. Only real complaint is the video transfer. Looks like the source material was VHS tape rather than film stock. Acceptable on a portable DVD player, but annoying when seen on a big screen TV. Would have been 5 stars otherwise.

This is the BEST show on television ever!!! Richard Dean Anderson does an AWESOME job of playing this genious hero. He does a great job of keeping it entertaining and still makes it feel like he is just a normal human being like any of us. This season truely brings out the true MacGyver and MacGyverisms. Thanks Paramount and please keep em coming!

Why dont' they have shows like this on tv now? My five sons adore this show. I can't wait for season four to come! Any ideas as to when it's coming out?

If I were to make a top ten list of my favorite MacGyver episodes, eight of them would be on this season. If you havn't bought a MacGyver box set yet and are looking for one to get, I would recommend this one over the other two, even though they are all good. This is the season that makes MacGyver MACGYVER. I should know; I've been a MacGyver fan since 1986, when I was six years old, and have been hooked ever since.

I was a big fan of this show when it was originally broadcast. I think the writing is imaginative, clever, and oft times humorous.

It is amazinging what Mac can do with duct tape and a Swiss Army Knife. I know the Swiss make army knives, but do they have an army?

All three seasons so far have been well worth the money spent.

The first two seasons on DVD had great picture quality and looked crisp and clean.

Unfortunately this third season of MacGyver on DVD has abysmal picture quality. It looks as bad as a worn-out VHS tape, has color smears and horizontal streaks as if copied straight from somebody's tape collection.

That's a shame because season 3 was the best yet :(
Shame on you Universal!

After buying seasons one and two, of which the episodes were all excellent, I bought season three. This is still a great season, but not all the episodes are as absorbing as the previous two seasons. However there are some great stories in this lot. Look out for "The Widowmaker" A great episode with the Assissin 'Murdock' who appears for one episode in each season (apart from season 5 where he shows up for two episodes).

Overall this is a great show. Looking forward to buying seasons 4, 5, 6, and the final 7th season.

I would rate season 3 as 8/10