Title: The Prodigal
Airdate: 12/8/1985
My Age at Airdate: 2 years, 4 months, 22 days
Episode Type: Witness Protection
Wow, so the big news for MacGyver Mondays is this: The Prodigal starts Disc 3 which I THOUGHT contained my all-time favorite episode "Countdown". But I was wrong! So now I have basically a month more to figure out if I'm going to do anything special with it. My friend Marc suggested I do a podcast for it. We'll see. Let's get into The Prodigal.
No opening gambit. You see how they are a very early first season thing? Yeah, me too.
OPENING CREDITS. I think by now all the episodes with clips in the credits have happened. Which is a cool place to be.
We're starting at the beachside. This was Mac's first house. A third story apartment on the beach. Takes me back.
A little MacGyver complaint about junk mail that makes him seem like a grouch. how endearing :)
A dude drives up in a nice sports car and MacGyver meets a shifty looking guy. He asks Mac if he can make him disappear. He's apparently going to testify against the mob. Oh no! A car with two goons drives up and snatches Shifty before Mac can get to him.
MacGyver runs to the sports car and hotwires it (doesn't he have his own car? He has a jeep pretty early on, but maybe this is the push he needs to finally buy a car of his own) while the goons' car is being conveniently held up by a gigantic garbage truck making a 3-point turn in the middle of the road. Now, I didn't see Mac hit the "Activate Kidnapping Inconveniencing Device" button, but maybe it's on a remote.
He races past the garbage truck which is just SITTING there.
So the goons are taking Shifty to see his brother. So I'm thinking Shifty is The Prodigal?
They take him to a warehouse and MacGyver has caught up with them enough to see them go inside and start scoping out the security he's going to have to take out to get in and rescue Shifty.
Shifty's brother isn't there yet, so the goons go to have a cup of coffee and Shifty gets to wait. And MacGyver has time for sneaking around. Ooh, not much time though. There's The Brother. Maybe he's pissed that their Dad slaughtered the fatted calf for Shifty and not him and this is how the mob sorts that kind of thing out?
So first thing Mac is gonna do is to take the lugnuts off Brother's car. Setting the scene for hilarity later.
Brother wants to talk to Shifty. Their Dad is dead and Mom is in the hospital. Brother's mad because maybe Shifty's going to talk to the feds. Shifty doesn't like Brother's drugs. His friend at work recently OD'd, so he wants Brother to shut down the drug business.
Meanwhile, Mac is doing something with a wooden board, some duct tape, a circular saw, some other wood. I sense a distraction abrewin'.
Brother's side is that the kid would have gotten the drugs somehow and it's not his fault he OD'd. He just provides a service. A very lucrative service. And he's offended that his own brother would rat him out. So they're going to have to kill him. But Shifty wants Brother to do it himself.
MacGyver's making some elaborate distraction with the aforementioned stuff and a vacuum and some sawdust. BOOM! It goes off spectacularly and everyone is all blinded with sawdust.
So now they're on the run. They wait for the mobsters to get outside and see them in the sports car before starting to drive. Brother takes one shot (Stormtrooper Aim) and then they drive past them. If he had waited for them to get closer maybe he'd have hit something. But no. It's time for the mob to chase after them in their car. We zoom in on the missing lugnuts to remind us what Mac did and then Brother's tire falls off. That MacGyver. He sure can help a brother out.
Brother tells Uncle that he wants them both dead.
So now Mac and Shifty are back at Mac's place. They've cleaned off the sawdust and are changing into button-down shirts. Mac asks Shifty if he's going to testify. I guess I forgot to mention that both times Shifty has been asked about testifying, he's been really...well, shifty about it. He is wavering. But now the Federal Marshall that is coordinating the Witness Protection/MacGyver Bestfriendship program is here. And remember kids: if this guy has more than just a couple lines, he's probably working for the bad guys. Don't trust the government.
Ok, so he tells the Marshall that he'll talk. That's good. Another good thing, and I'm just saying this because I've found it to be true: Federal Marshall is black and so we can probably trust him. Probably. Basically the plan is that Shifty will go get deposed at some office and then I guess moved to another office? And then MacGyver will take him to get a new identity.
Oh, but first Shifty wants to go see his Mom at the hospital. This'll go well. Oh wait. There was a very subtle and quick shift. Shifty asks MacGyver to visit his Mom and let her know he's ok and that he loves her.
Cut to Mac finishing talking to Shifty's mom. She understands and then she tells MacGyver that she's going to die and soon. She asks MacGyver to tell Shifty she wants to see him before she goes. So MacGyver promises to tell him.
So Mac leaves her room and encounters Brother who is arriving with flowers. They slowly walk up to eachother. They agree not to have any trouble at the hospital. But Brother gives Mac a threatening message for Shifty.
He looks at the Federal Marshalls' car which is clearly labelled with a placard. Hmm....if I were in the mob....
So now Shifty is finishing up is deposition. The deposition was a doozie to judge from how the feds are treating him.
Federal Marshall meets Mac in the office lobby and says that MacGyver can't deliver Mom's message to Shifty. They already know that she's dying, but they don't want Shifty to know in case he wants to go visit her and Brother goes and shoots him on her deathbed.
MacGyver goes all constitutional on his ass. Federal Marshall counters with threatening the arrest of MacGyver in a strategy that wouldn't be too ridiculous even today. But then Mac starts making a scene. That calms Black Federal Marshall down, but he's not budging. Then MacGyver gives in a little too easily.
He leaves the building, goes and calls a tow truck. Then he pulls a valve on the Federal Marshalls' care and green liquid starts leaking everywhere. I guess it's antifreeze?
At this point, I don't suppose the mob is going to blow up Black Federal Marshall in his car like I was guessing.
Mac goes into a drug store and asks for a dozen mixed sodas, some dry ice, and some "fizzy dealies" (we're going to have to wait to see what he's talking about. maybe alka selzer? maybe pop rocks?).
He puts the dry ice in a ventilation shaft, pours some soda and pop rocks on it. It creates a fireless smoke effect and sends the feds into a panic. They're going to evacuate Shifty to the safe house.
The Federal Marshall's car drives off and Mac follows in a tow truck. So wait. Did he RENT a tow truck?
The car breaks down just as tow-truck MacGyver shows up. It's a good thing Black Federal Marshall isn't there (he's not. he stayed at the office to investigate the smoke) or else he would have recognized MacGyver.
I just had to go through and change all my "Federal Marshall"s to "Black Federal Marshall"s. It was awkward, but now there are two White Federal Marshalls, too. I didn't realize they'd be lasting characters. So that's just the way it is. Some things will never change. Sorry. I like that Bruce Hornsby song.
MacGyver's putting on his country hick voice. Which also has a little Brooklyn in. He hoists their car up, Shifty gets in the cab and they take off with the Federal Marshalls' car. Surely that's like a felony or something.
So the Feds commandeer a vehicle and follow him easily until Mac takes them down an alley and unhoists their car. Unhoists? You know what I mean, right? Like, lets it down and blocks their way.
Now we're at the hospital, but Mom isn't in her bed. Her bed is neatly made. But I've seen enough movies and TV shows with this twist to know that she's probably not dead. But maybe. You never know.
The nurse tells them that Brother has discharged her and taken her to the family home. It cuts to commercial on a freeze frame in the middle of their conversation. Shifty says he needs to see her even though it's almost certainly a trap. And then FREEZE. Go to commercial. It's awkward, you guys. Really awkward.
Fade back in with Mac and Shifty looking at the family home. We go inside and see Brother talking to Mom. She mistakes Brother for Shifty and when he corrects her, she looks....something. Disappointed? I don't know.
Ok, so Black Federal Marshall and all the others pull up to the house and ask to see Shifty. Uncle says he's not there (which is true) so the Feds decide to stake out the house. But only the front of the house. Not the side....
....where Shifty and MacGyver are jumping the wall. Shifty's going to go in, but he can't let the Feds see him going in or else they'll charge the compound.
Shifty walks into the compound. He's greeted by Brother. Shifty verbally jabs Brother and heads upstairs to talk to Mom.
Brother calls Black Federal Marshall and pretends to be Shifty. He tells BFM that he's at MacGyver's place and they all clear out. The cameras suddenly come back to life and a goon comes out of the house with the hounds. That's right. The hounds.
Shifty is talking to Mom. Reminiscing. She tells him it's her time. She tells him it's good to hold his hand again. And then she dies. Kind of a somber scene. Pretty touching soundtrack music.
Shifty looks out the window and sees that the Feds are gone. He pulls the curtains which is the signal to MacGyver that he's ready to go, but since it's not as simple as calling in the Feds, MacGyver has to devise something.
He quickly picks the lock with his to a side door Swiss Army knife before the hounds get to him.
Shifty encounters Brother and one of the goons in the hall. They take him off to kill him.
MacGyver rigs a trap on the stairs with a pole and some string. Brother and the Goon trip and fall down the stairs. Mac and Shifty run up the stairs and Fat Goon shoots one time at them (You guessed it. Stormtrooper Aim). This time, I understand only shooting once. A) They're running away from you and B) You're inside standing next to the owner of the house in which you're shooting. Probably not a good idea to get it full of holes.
M & S head for the back stairs, but Skinny Goon approaches from that way, popping a magazine into a rifle (semi automatic, I think, but I'm not sure). He is less concerned with damaging the house, clearly.
So our heroes turn tail and run for the attic. I was about to comment about them pulling the classic serial killer evasion tactic of going up instead out outside, but remember the hounds are outside. If all the buxom broads in the slasher movies had hounds to contend with, no one would make fun of them for running up the stairs.
But it's hard to imagine how they'll escape the attic.
Fat Goon lackadaisically throws himself against the door a couple times. And Skinny Goon shoots the door with his Automatic. But to no avail.
"[Shifty], what we need is wings"
--How great MacGyver solutions start
Looks like we're going with cleaning solution, camphor balls, a pulley and some extension cords. Shifty gives the obligatory sarcastic disbelief at what Mac is up to.
Oh and it looks like a flag and a telescope. They're making a rocket powered harpoon. I freaking love this show.
Meanwhile, two full clips and Fat Goon's shoving haven't moved what has to be the sturdiest cabinet ever placed in front of a door.
Mac fires the harpoon and the flagpole goes between two tree boughs. Excellent aim. Just superb, really. So, Shifty goes across the lawn on the wire-pulley contraption. He's safe. Mac follows. And he's safe! They make sure the other is ok. And THEN Brother gets into the room. That is some sturdy cabinetry.
The Feds show up and Brother is finished.
MacGyver: Regrets?
Shifty: Some, but, uh, that's how it's gonna end.
FREEZE FRAME AND FADE TO BLACK
--The sign that the writer(s) used up all their juice in writing that rocket-powered harpoon bit and couldn't be bothered tagging the episode with a quirky and clever ending. The went the kinda meta route. Which is fine.
So, that's, uh, how it's gonna end for me too! Thanks for reading. See you next week!
NEXT WEEK: TARGET MACGYVER
No comments:
Post a Comment