Title: Hellfire
Airdate: 11/24/1985
My Age at Airdate: 2 years, 4 months, 8 days
Episode Type: Hellfire-fighting
Alright, well I know it's been two weeks since we've had a MacGyver monday, but hopefully you spent your time going over the previous 7 episodes and gearing up for HELLFIRE!
No Opening Gambit on this one. Too much Hellfire to combat, probably.
OPENING CREDITS
We open on a helicopter flying over a river. MacGyver is being dropped off by an oil derrick where a blonde girl and a guy recognize him and are pretty stoked to see him. He gives what looks to me like a sarcastic salute to the helicopter pilot.
WHOA. The blonde is that girl from Deep Space Nine with the messed up nose. Marc knows who I mean. I think her name is Nana Visitor.
Two guys are talking oil. They hit liquid so that means there's oil or something. It's all very technical.
The one guy comes over and starts talking to MacGyver and the other one stays on the derrick. If I have my guess, that other dude is going to probably explode. These are the costs of not going over and greeting MacGyver. But, I suppose, being friends with MacGyver means that sometimes you get devoured by ants, so maybe it's a wash....
Huh. The guy didn't explode. He gets to meet MacGyver and they're all very jovial and everything.
This is seriously such a technical episode. Maybe one of the writers had a background in oil drilling.
Plus, MacGyver can juggle!
Oops! A fuse blew. Well, thank God MacGyver's here. This is like "MacGyver Helps Around the House". So he's going to wrap the foil gum wrapper around the fuse (because it's the only one they have) and provide a temporary fix. He's so helpful.
So I guess the main guy got super burned "fighting Hell" which I guess is some sort of firefighting or something. Anyone have an idea of what "hellfighting" is?
Star Trek Girl is telling MacGyver about how Main Guy put all of their savings into the derrick out front and it's basically all they have left. And if it doesn't work, Main Guy goes back to hellfighting. And that's bad.
So they confirmed that they are tapping into an oil vein and everyone's celebrating. Something bad is about to happen with these lightbulbs. A gust of wind has cracked one and it sparked and now the derrick is on fire. So basically, if MacGyver hadn't fixed the fuse, things would be okay. There's a lesson in there, kids: Never Help.
So Second Guy's leg just got crushed by some pipes and they're trying to get it off of him before he burns up. Ok he's free, but man that derrick is exploding and flaming and i think it just destroyed their house, too. So....that's a problem. And I would imagine that it'll keep burning until they fix it or it runs out of oil. So, I guess it's the former that we're going to try.
Second Guy has a fractured leg so he can't help. MacGyver distracts him with scientific mumbo-jumbo and quickly straightens the leg so he can put a splint on. It's kind of funny in a "fixing a broken bone" sort of way.
MacGyver (regarding his distraction material choice): Well, naked dancing girls might have been a little better, but....you know.
So, MacGyver says that they should get the supply plane to bring a firefighting crew, but they tell him that their lease runs out in two weeks and they won't be able to get a crew there in under two months. So, of course, MacGyver suggests that they put it out themselves.
They'll need some dynamite but they don't have any. But there's an old abandoned strip mine a little bit away. So they'll drive the truck down and see if there's some dynamite to be salvaged from there. I feel like Lost ripped off this plot a little bit in the Season 1 finale. We'll have to see if I'm remembering the problems they run into correctly.
Star Trek Girl told Main Guy he promised no more hellfighting (so I guess hellfighting is like literally fighting fire with fire?) but MacGyver very valiantly said he'd be the one to go into the fire and Main Guy wouldn't be in any danger. That seemed to appease her.
So the road is crazy bumpy. Keep that in mind. I think it'll be important in a couple minutes.
Haha they're playing music that sounds like Support Your Local Sheriff. Like, general western town music. It's funny.
So of course the powder shack that has the dynamite is falling apart. Creaky boards and such. There's a box marked "explosives" and they're prying the top off the box. Sticks of dynamite that are dry. Too dry. The nitroglycerin has leaked out of many of them. Mac takes a glob on his knife and goes to the door. He slowly walks outside with the nitroglycerin. And FLINGS it at a barrel. It makes a PING and sparks on the side of the barrel. So it's good stuff.
Now they're doing a weird thing where they're cutting between a conversation with Mac and Main Guy and a conversation with Star Trek Girl and Second Guy. It's kind of roughly edited but I guess they didn't want to have one long conversation between Mac and Main Guy.
So STG and SG are laying out hose for the hellfighting and Mac and MG are slowly taking the boxes of dynamite out of the powder shack.
All of a sudden, a shelf near where MG is standing starts to collapse. He catches it with his shoulder. But now he and MacGyver are holding boxes of dynamite and can't run without blowing up themselves and the shack.
MacGyver slowly goes outside to put his box down. Oh. It's their second trip because they've already both brought a box out. MacGyver goes back in and MG's box. MG turns around to hold the shelf which begins to collapse more. So MacGyver takes the shelf and gives the box to MG.
Suddenly the floor under MacGyver starts to give so he RUNS FOR IT. The powder shack explodes behind him. He realizes that he leaped onto the pile of dynamite boxes. Fortunately, they didn't blow him up.
So now they're rigging up the truck with some wagon springs and sand to cushion the explosives and absorb the nitroglycerin should any leak out. MacGyver is doing his narration of what they're doing, but MG is hilariously adding Southern commentary. Like so:
MacGyver: And some nice absorbent sand in case anything drips out
MG: Hey I'm with you, Mac. I want those blasting sticks to feel real comfortable on the ride back
So now they have to drive the explosives home over 54 miles of bumpy road. It cuts to them driving slowly through the dusk. And, if I'm not mistaken, their playful banter is slowly mutating into bickering. Which is hilarious to hear. But I mean, they're nervous, so it's ok, I guess.
Meanwhile, STG is teaching SG about hellfighting. The water hose is for keeping the firefighters and explosives wet. HAHA. She's talking about how the explosives eat up the oxygen. Then she pulls out a match, lights it, and immediately blows it out. To demonstrate. It's a very awkward moment. But now we kind of know what hellfighting is about. I guess.
Lots of great shots of fire in this one.
They just rolled over a medium sized rock and there were a bunch of closeups of the rope holding the explosives in place. I'm worried that's going to be a problem soon.
They're approaching a stream. The crossing starts well, but now they're stuck! How EVER will they get out?
Oh wait. They're not stuck. They linkage valve is busted. But no worries. Mac will fix it with the spring from a ballpoint pen. Hmm. That didn't fix it. A minor adjustment and boom there we go. Easy peasy.
They just looked at the rope again. They're making me nervous!
Uhoh. There's some nitroglycerin leaking out of one of the boxes. They don't notice it! It's dripping down the springs.
Now, they're heading down a hill on the homestretch. The weird thing is, I think they used the same shot of them going down the hill into the strip mine camp. Maybe the countryside looks the same, but I'm pretty sure it's the same shot.
Man that is a lot of nitro. The sand should be absorbing it, though, right? The drips are hitting the ground and oh no! The brakes are out! So, now they're BARRELING down the hill! The explosives are jostling. This is actually really intense.
Phew. They crashed into the river and they're stopped and non-exploded.
Now all that's left is to put out the HUGE BLAZE with DECOMPOSING EXPLOSIVES.
So, the setup is this: MacGyver needs to get close enough to the blaze to drop a charge of explosives into the well...something. But he doesn't have any high-tech gear. So he's going to have to "entertain a couple of theories a few of my buddies came up with a while ago. Archimedes and Euclid? You may have heard of them!"
He's going to use a refrigerator as a heat shield, the jeep, the dynamite and the pipes that crushed SG's leg as a rail for the jeep to run on.
They're going to basically juice the nitroglycerine out of the dynamite into a thermos. They're having STG do it because, you know, no big deal if she blows up.
MG is upset. He doesn't think MacGyver can do it on his own. The truth about his accident where he got badly burned is that he lost his entire crew. So he says he's going in, but MacGyver says HE'S going in. So they start punching each other and wrestling in the river.
STG comes up with the novel idea that they should go together and work together. Because MG's the best. But so is MacGyver. This would drive my friend Hall crazy, because there can only be ONE "best".
So they're going to push the jeep as close as they can. Ok. That's done. Now they're going to make sure they can release the charge remotely. It looks they have it hooked to some sort of hinge release. Ok. That works.
So they very gently push the canister out to the shaft. Of course it gets stuck, so MacGyver has to get hosed down and push it forward to free it. If you want to see RDA soaking wet, this is the episode for you.
The canister is over the shaft. So, they pull the release and RUN. It's kind of like if the assault on the Death Star was done in Texas. There's a HUGE explosion and then....silence. It's kind of cool how quiet it suddenly gets.
They're talking about their plans and SG says that he'll help drill the hole to get the oil as soon as he can work again. MG says "You'll heal" and gives him a playful slap ON HIS FRACTURED LEG. Of course SG doesn't fall to the ground in agony but still.
MacGyver basically hires himself on to help get the oil. It's a sweet ending, but it's another instance where there's an aftermath that we don't see. MacGyver will be back next week and not mention having helped his friends get their oil at ALL. One of the many weird aspects of a serialized show like MacGyver.
That's gonna do it for Hellfire. I hope we've all learned something today. See you next week!
NEXT WEEK: THE PRODIGAL
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