MacGyver: Why the Spin-Off Failed
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2024
- MacGyver was one of the most beloved TV shows of the 80s -- so why wasn't there a spin-off? Find out in the newest entry of Behind the Backdoor Pilot.
written and edited by Mike Schuster
narrated by Kevin Maher
produced by Kevin Maher and Nick Nadel for Atomic Abe
Executive Producer: Tim Finn
Thumbnail by Colton Ogburn ( / coltonogburn )
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Great video.
I wrote for MACGYVER for three seasons (3,4,5) and THE WALL in season 6, including the fun silly Murdoc episode, 'Cleo Rocks'.
So far as I recall, this dubious effort was a network initiative that we were pushed into. None of us were crazy about shoehorning it into our show-a bad fit at best. I had forgotten how bad it was! Woof! Cuba was fun to work with - Clevon Little didn't bother to bring it - he knew it was crap. Good idea - poor execution.
I never thought the son was a great idea either but I was gone by then. The reboot sucked. Never crazy about MacGruber either.
We were as guilty as any show using movies as springboards (never crazy about that either!), You left out "The Outsiders" - a shameless ripoff of "Witness".
But as the co-writer of Jenny's Chance, it was NOT inspired by THE STING other than its formative popularizing of the sting/switch genre. (and even though the wonderful Dana Elcar was in it!) No, it started with my long-time friendship with Linda Blair (she LOVES horses) and a true story I found in the news about using an ultrasonic device to fix races.
Oh wow, thank you for the inside info! I wrote and edited the video, and I watched the show religiously during its initial run -- very much enjoyed Cleo Rocks and I'm sure many other episodes you worked on. (Jenny's Chance has a few moments that've stuck with me for over 3 decades. Mac's Dexter Fillmore persona is pretty unforgettable, ha.)
It's a shame The Coltons wasn't given a better chance. Like you said, it's a good idea, but the execution could've used a little more tinkering.
IMO those were the best seasons. I always enjoyed the Murdoc episodes.
I wish I could buy you a coffee just for a chance to learn about some of your behind-the-scenes wisdom!
Glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching and for the behind the scenes info. We're big MacGyver fans so it's great to hear from a writer for the show.
Still, using beloved Movie Classics as an inspiration or a homage is a great idea in my eyes and i loved most of those MacGyver episodes with such concepts. I have watched the classical MacGyver Show at least a dozen times on TV when I count the German and English reruns together, also the after- movies also great fun to watch, at least I see it so. But it is right what the Phoenix Foundation and MacGyver were doing exactly was a bit to much juggled. I am still not sure for myself what his serious main job for the company had been. After all he was a Spy, a Police Agent, a Social Worker, a Geometer, a Technical Advisor, a Counselor for troubled kids and what else not ::)
0;58 CALLING a SWIZZ ARMY KNIVE a toy knife is an insult to the producing company.
Mac didn't need a team..he was the team
One piece of MacGyver media that was absent from this essay was the MacGyver Citan commercial. It was a 10 minute short of an older MacGyver foiling a robbery. Despite it being a commercial, it truly captures the spirit of the original series.
The short is on TH-cam. I recommend checking a look.
th-cam.com/video/ctHqQgnhvKo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=MOurw2dUPHHQWaJe
MacGyver was foundational for me as a child. Nothing was quite like curling up with a bowl of soup on a rainy day when MacGyver would come on.
MacGyver has basically become a verb at this point. I've MacGyver'd a lot of things. My friends often call me to help them with MacGyvering.
They even used that in the first episode of Stargate SG-1. Which starred RDA.
It's true. I'm trying to think of other Names that became a verb. The only one I can think of is a company name: "Google"
What? That's absurd. MacGyver is a proper noun, and a proper noun cannot just "become" a verb.
@@Anakunus Sure it can, that sort of thing happens from time to time. Historically you got things like "Bowdlerize" where they bothered to adjust the name a bit to make it more verb like, but these days people aren't as concerned with prescriptive changes, so things like macgyvering or macgyver as a verb are fine. We could have also macgyverized things, but that's just a mouthful.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade Huh? No! "Macgyver" as a verb is not just fine because it is a _proper noun,_ and a proper noun cannot be a verb.
My FAVORITE McGyver nods are the ones on SG-1.
Well, considering the role that RDA had in terms of bringing SG to TV, that's not surprising.
My mother loved watching this show when she was going through phases of dementia after a stroke. It gave her joy before she died. Reminded me of Patty and Selma from the Simpsons being huge fans of the show.
I'm so glad to hear the character and show continued to bring her joy, that must have provided some kind of comfort. Sorry about your loss. Thanks for sharing this. It's amazing how so many types of pop culture can provide some joy during difficult times.
@@atomicabe I wish you would do a video on why the reboot failed too
@@Psoasmusclepain i wouldn't call 5 seasons "failed", it was a moderate success at worst
I would say I miss MacGyver, but I have the complete series on DVD. I still binge watch it from time to time.
Reading through this comment section makes me embarrassed to not already own it.
There's a clip of RDA from Stargate continuum behind the scenes where he was made a honorary General by the airforce for his Gen. O'Neill role in Stargate, when he was given a hat he was fumbling with the size adjustment he mumbled "MACGYVER My Ass"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
MacGyver proved that a good school education and science knowledge are better than a firearm.
MacGyver was excellent series. Was one of my favourite shows growing up - and referring to a "MacGyver trick" became part of culture.
Shame they never followed through with that Colton family spinoff, always liked those characters.
You failed to mention that Anderson did a short lived steampunk western show called Legend with the John DeLancy ( Q from Star Trek new Gen ) .
Fair point. It's funny because some people complain these videos are too long but then other people note how it could've been longer.
@@atomicabe I should not have failed/because it’s a perfect video.
That info is 100% skippable since it’s a failed show. Sorry. Great channel
@@atomicabe He who is tired of RDA is tired of life.
@@claudiadarling9441 I like to imagine that Murdoch gained access to a time machine at some point and spent a bunch of time solving murder mysteries in Canada. Or more likely, suspended animation that led to him going e-vil.
We should have gotten a Murdoc spinoff or a Jack Dalton show instead
Right? Seems like a no-brainer.
@@atomicabe IKR, Jack Dalton in particular was clearly getting into scrapes when Mac wasn't around, so how was he getting out of them? Was there like this other MacGyver sort that was willing to use weapons A-Team style? And the A-Team also makes me sad because when they did eventually decide to do a reboot, they completely misunderstood what mad that show cool. To an extent, it was more or less MacGyver with guns and a small team.
Jack Dalton is the reason the remake failed in season 5. No Jack, no fun. (And EVERY single thing they did being more unbelievable than the jetski scene from this video's intro)
ah yes MacGyver the american version of Doctor Who, instead of a sonic screwdriver he had a swiss army knife. Starring Murdoc as the Master.
The best thing about McGyver is all the times in gets used in SG-1
A Swiss Army knife (SAK) is anything but a toy knife. I’ve been using various SAK models for 35 years and they are an incredibly useful tool.
This tv series and others iconic 80’s tv series are the epitome of 80’s nostalgic moments ! This Tv is so dear to me thank you from South Australia 🇦🇺
@@chocodiledundee1 I second that from NSW, ❤️ 80's tv
The main issue in rewatching things like this is that the plots were somewhat slower paced than what they are now. The scenes are a bit longer, there's often times a bit more expository pipe that gets laid. Although, a bunch of the MacGyver episodes featured cold opens with a bunch of excitement.Which was a nice detail as the show aired before DVRs were in home use and allowed folks that were a couple minutes late to not miss anything too important to the rest of the episode's plot.
Just found this channel and finished this video. I have not stopped laughing. Subscribed.
I resent the notion that a SAK is a "toy" knife.
Same
@@MartinBeerbom also same. Iv had one since I was 10. I'm almost 38 and use it everyday. Especially at work.
There was some debate here about whether or not to use that term and the history of the knife and it's origins.
@@atomicabe there's one or two documentaries here on TH-cam about the SAK itself that are a great watch.
I wrote the line. I have a Swiss Army Knife on my desk that I use multiple times per week. I do not think it's a toy. It's 100% a joke.
What I find surprising is that Young MacGyver was going to be about his nephew (which as you established in the video, he didn't have due to being an only child) instead of being about his son, which was established in the actual series. I loved MacGyver (Both the original and the reboot)
"The Lost Treasure of Atlantis..t"
I heard you buddy. We all heard you, lol.
Great video. 👍👍👍
thank you
Loved Mac and the A team, Saturday afternoon viewing essentials.
Kevin & Co. are doing an episode on MacGyver? Ok, hold all my calls and nobody bother me for the rest of the night.
Ha ha. Mike Schuster headed up this one, he wrote and edited and brought years of his MacGyver knowledge to the table.
Hats off to the producers that did a lot of work behind the scenes.
without MacGyver existing I wouldn't perhaps even started making films. My first short movie, done for job school during my apprenticeship and which I uploaded on here about a year after TH-cam launched, was a kind of parody but yet action like movie. XD
"Kind of parody" is one of my favorite types of story. (Though it's hard to sell.)
@@atomicabe look the original idea was to make an "action movie" sort of... and the best idea was to use kind of like MacGyver as basis. Not sure if I'm allowed to link to the video, though. It's in german, nonetheless the "action" in it is rather limited - and the video quality is of course meh. Wanted to get a camera which can record in VGA and on SD-Card, hardly any camera could do that in 2005/2006, so I had to go with a chinese potato camera instead.
Nevertheless it was a funny thing to shoot with one of my comerates almost falling into the water in the "bridge scene" we shot illegally there and were lucky not to be caught by the police XD
HELP I'M STUCK ON A TH-cam ESSAY WITH MACGYVER!
It must of been because of Macgyver why I wanted to have a houseboat back in the day. A forgotten memory I suddenly remembered.
I used to beg my parents to let me stay up late to watch this as a kid.....
Me too! I happily gave up my reading time that one night a week for MacGyver!
These videos are so entertaining and always enjoyable as always. I hope you keep up the work!! Mac was such a great show and character, but understanding the limits of reality in a TV show!
And then they revealed his first name, and i could never watch an episode with Murdock yelling 'mcgyver' without replacing it with 'Angus'.
A toy knife? Wtf?
it's interesting to see how Zlotoff continues to cash in on MACGYVER when he had f-all to do with the series after his unremarkable work on the first season.
33:43
"And really, ya can’t make a grenade out of a pine cone without a 'Yes!... and' philosophy"
😂🏆
Jack Dalton had the "Dog The Bounty Hunter" mullet.
Okay I want a conspiracy theory fanfic connecting Facts of Life the show where he was a military Soldier and Stargate!
ha! great theory
The MacGyver reboot was hot garbage. Whose bright idea was it to diminish MacGyver by necessitatting that he need a team to get the job done?
Exactly he didn't need a support team.
They Missed the whole point 😂
It wasn't that bad, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot better if they had chosen a different name. A small team like that makes sense for the A-Team, but not MacGyver the draw for him was more of a 007 without the firearms and having to make his own equipment as he went. Plus, it was a great advertisement for science, even though most of the stuff was intentionally unworkable in terms of what was shown.
@@Tycowiz If they wanted a team, they could have had them all ride around in a van. Perhaps one of them could have a mohawk and jewelry. Perhaps one could be kind of unstable in a comedic way. Perhaps that van could be mostly black with a cool set of stripes.
Just spitballing here, I'm sure audiences would never want to see a show like that.
@@SmallSpoonBrigadeand liam neeson as a master of disguise
This vid knoced Retroblasting's macguver review out of the water. They promised 2 more but this IS the one.
Thanks so much! Glad you liked it. We enjoy Retroblasting as well.
Let's not forget Dana Elcar was in the original Dark Shadows; he never did have hair.
He was also in The Sting, and he had no hair there either.
It's a shame that Murdoc and Zito team up taking down Mac never happened at least for the last season episodes.
'Toy Knife'? I think the Swiss would like speak with you
There is only one reference to MacGyver that matters and it's the one in Stargate😅
Carter: "maybe we can MacGyver our way out of here"
O'Neill: "what did you just say?"
Carter: "surely you know MacGyver?"
O'Neill: "... nope, never heard of him" ❤😂
Thank you for the multiple MST3K references.😁
I had a few "Next week on MacGyver!"s to choose from. There was one MacGyver reference in San Francisco International episode during Dana Elcar's scene, but the "Mostly character roles" zinger was perfect.
"Mostly character roles" is laugh out loud funny.
Don't think I ever knew of this show's existence, let alone MacGyver having a spin-off of any sort. Appreciate the knowledge and humor... 18:00 was an unexpected laugh.
Thanks for watching, glad you laughed.
Not only does this video feature my childhood hero McGyver (as a kid I grew out a mullet just so I could look like Mac), but it also features the word defenestrate. Take my like.
"The Coltons" was actually originally scheduled to air in May 1991 but was postponed, meaning it ultimately preceded "Boyz N The Hood".
My Pap and I used to watch and video tape this show all the time.
I've never got so many commercial breaks in one video...
11:06 he looks like the guy musician who sings "don't worry, be happy!"😂❤
Every decade I have a favorite tv show of that decade. Ignoring cartoons or kid shows. My favorite show of the 80's is probably a tie between MacGyver and Knight Rider.
One of my favourite show as a teenager.
I'm shocked that spin off was never picked up
The spinoff should've featured Penny as the primary character.
TBH, Penny and Jack having a shared spinoff would have been epic.
I did not know that Jared Padalecki was supposed to be a young MacGyver.
I have watched the unaired pilot it was terrible.
@@Tycowiz I went and searched for it after reading your reply.
It was. Ahaha.
Another banger. Maybe you can do the backdoor pilot attempts of supernatural in the future.
Ahhh... memories of the good times back then. This show was my escape from reality. Who knows? Maybe it was MacGyver that got me into a career in science!
Everyone wanted a Swiss army knife when mcgvr was on TV ❤
Jesse looks like Lord Bowler in the adventures of Brisco County jr
25:52 Even if the name did turn out to be Stacey, the existence of Stacy Keach qualifies the first name as "still cool". Might I suggest Sue?
when i think about victorinox knife or swiss army knife, and anything about survival field. i always think about MacGyver
Scott-Irish American bonded with an alien bio-booster armor
MACGUYVER!
Also isn't it odd that there is no nor has there ever been an official soundtrack release for MacGyver?
Not really, I don't remember there being much music that would warrant that outside of the actual theme song.
The reboot should have picked up with MacGyvers son following invisible footsteps, MacGyver running Phoenix Foundation with his friend as company pilot.
This was a fantastic retrospective, thanks! I only saw a few episodes when it first aired.
It is OK for a TV show lead to be in his 70s! Especially when the show emphasized brains over brawn. I would be up for a Richard Dean Anderson-lead new series.
A short lived show that had elements of MacGyver was a show called Sunny spoon.
Yes! Stephen J Cannell show with Mario Van Peeples. Fun show
MacGyver, anime?1? Might be good as a reboot/retcon...
That makes sense.
Macguyver was my hero during my childhood, alongside, Rocky, Rambo and Knight Rider.
Toy knife?????!?!?!?!!??? That is a quality Swiss Army Knife
My theory is this was a slightly different version of Mission Impossible and was popular because it was just fantastic, but sometimes some stories used MI stories here and there it didn't spoil the fun but I did wonder was the writer the same on the MI series and one thing I did think was possible their part of the same universe because there was an episode where Mac mentions his old boss Mr Fleps sure it may not be him but there's a small connection in these shows suitably. MacGyvar did a crazy episode where he bubs into The Men From Uncle agent's and anyone remember this episode? And Patrick Macnee also guest appeared in the series twice.
When I was in the Boyscouts back in the day. There was a requirement that you had to have a knife. And I chose the Swiss Army Knife because of MacGyver. Though I couldn't get a real one, as I guess they were expensive. But luckily, they had a red generic knock off that I got. It worked well enough, but really bummed me out that I didn't have a real one.
Anyways, back when I picked up the blu-ray set to watch, I decided to go ahead and finally get a real Swiss Army Knife. And I ended up getting a Victorinox Fieldmaster. I'm big into logos, and I think the Victorinox logo just looks better compared to the Wenger. And I like how the logo is an inset piece of metal instead of a stamp.
The really ones are either Wenger or Victorinox. And they are pretty expensive. I don't know what they go for now, but when I got mine, it was quite expensive for a basic knife with only like a half dozen functions. I later bought one while in Switzerland and it was a lot cheaper.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade I believe the Fieldmaster I bought a few years ago was like $40 or so. I do think they need to update their tools as no one needs a can opener. They need to change out the tools that are obsolete to something more useful.
By the way we had a successful spin off, it’s called stargate sg1😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
6:30 - And while we still wait patiently for the facts of life pilots, you should also work in to the fact that Diff'rent Strokes has another backdoor pilot called "Almost American" (which aired a week after "Brian & Sylvia".
yes, co-starring Ghostbuster's Ernie Hudson. That's on the list. The "Almost American" concept didn't go to series, but years later Yakov Smirnoff had a similar show, a syndicated series called WHAT A COUNTRY.
I missed the Coltons I was gaming then now I want to see the Coltons oh yeah most these actors are passed away since yrs ago now r.i.p Coltons
The MacGuyver spinoff was Stargate SG-1
27:34 is PURE GOLD 😂😂😂😂
Amazing work with this one, been awhile since I watched one of your vids.
Sidekick looked like old Soviet motorcycle.
Loved Jack's character. He did good playing Captain Braxton on Voyager
great video , and its amazing that Omar's new interview brought me here lol
8:22 And the legendary Vince Korsak!!
I feel like the coltons concept could have been a gem if executed better
I'm young enough that I've never seen a single episode of MacGyver, so even though I always knew he was MacGyver, it feels so weird when I'm reminded that Richard Dean Anderson isn't most famous for Stargate. Like, no, that's Jack O'Neill!
Lucky you, you have the opportunity to watch the series fresh. They do tend to be paced a bit slower than if the series had been made today, but it's mostly pretty thoughtful and you actually get to appreciate the action.
My favourite teenager tv sitcom
along with Young MacGyver and others, there was also a James Bond Jr. cartoon
I think for childern it wasnt that bad.
Dr. Jeff Webber on GH was a whole rabbit hole all by itself.
Do I need to ask what the "jwb" stands for in your handle?
@28:28 you forgot to mention James Bond Jr starring James Bond's nephew James Bond Jr.
Murdoch was scary as man he just wouldn't stay dead even at his end we don't know for sure if Murdoch died for sure he survived everything
Yes, Murdoch was scary for Prime Time TV.
sometimes you forget how good casting was for some of these shows, when with all the guests, cuba gooding jr at this time was at the bottom of you list, like wow
Ahh,a closeup look at Angus MacGyver. .
Wow have a like and a new sub. I remember trying to catch the show when it was on. It was like an on earth Dr Who but instead of a sonic screwdriver it was a pocket knife/paperclip/chewing gum.
Thanks for subscribing! Glad you liked the video and welcome to the channel.
A Swiss army knife is by no means a toy knife
This was a truly wonderful MacGyver retrospective. ❤
Thanks!
Would make the perfect James Bond. Bond. Mac Bond
8:14 BURCE MCGILL:
You could had added his fine performance in the shows TIME COP, BABYLON 5 and RIZZOLI AND ISLES.
And Miami Vice! Great actor
What really pissed me off is that the reboot didn't took it's chance to tell a story about pete backstory and how they meet for the first time. I mean jack is okey, but they no mention pete at all?
Colonel Jack O'Neill of course still was Angus McGyver, it's canon. He just had to cover up his identity.
*In Jonathan Frakes voice* Now, did that really happen or did we just invent it?
Sorry I will always know him as O'neill. But I saw some actors on McGyver who were on Stargate. nice.
not a word about the reboot???? right so...........
"Toy knife?!?"
Richard Gant also appeared in special unit 2