The Best of the Best (IV) – Top 5 Blog Posts in 2020

Maybe you joined the fandom recently? So you might enjoy to check out “older” stuff about the Reboot?

Hereby, I present you my Top 5 Blog Posts 2020 – a short write-up of the 5 blog posts with the most hits at the end of last year. Maybe this post will make you curious to check out the full post in case you missed it back when I had originally posted it?

Lucas Till on set of the Unaired MacGyver Pilot 2016 (via Micahveli Shakur)

(Minor Spoiler Alert: You might get spoilered about characters and storylines in Seasons 1 and 2 by reading this post and its comments or by clicking on the links provided!)

 

I have done a few of these before. If you missed the post about the Top 5 Blog Posts in 2017 (all about “deleted” scenes in the pilot script), you can check it out here. If you missed the post about the Top 5 Blog Posts in 2018, you can check it out there. The one for 2019 can be found here. Though I have to admit if you’ve already read the one from last year, there’s not much news for you.

 

Rank 5 (612 Hits): Looking Back at Season Zero (I) – The Unaired Pilot: Origins

In this blog post, I wrote about the origins of the Unaired Reboot Pilot. There’s mentions of another Unaired Pilot (Young MacGyver with Supernatural star Jared Padalecki in the lead role; playing MacGyver’s nephew Clay), a script that wasn’t used, a (heavily revised) script that was used for a pilot that never aired and the reboot of the Reboot… As you can see, there’s been a lot going on with this project.

Unaired Pilot Character Description for Lincoln (via SpoilerTV)

Rebooting a Pilot is not unusual for Pilot Season. The character descriptions alone might be worthy of their own blog post. Too bad we might never get to watch this pilot that shall not be named… but I think they had made the right decision to change, switch and tweak things (even though I’m not all okay with what they did with it).

ICYMI: A few months ago, they re-added the Unaired Pilot as “Episode 0” on IMDb. I’m curious if it gets deleted again or not.

 

Rank 4 (634 Hits): Looking Back at Season Zero (IV) – The Unaired Pilot: BtS photos Part 2

I had amassed quite a bit of material about the Unaired MacGyver Reboot Pilot over time which led to several blog posts. In this one, I took another opportunity to present some of the BtS photos – for example Lucas Till and George Eads during a costume fitting as MacGyver and Lincoln (before he became Jack Dalton).

Lucas Till and George Eads as MacGyver and Lincoln (via Eileen Cox Baker)

It’s not easy to find more BtS material online. Part of the problem is that they had wiped the original entry on IMDb and that some social media accounts of cast and crew members (e.g. assistants) went private.

I’m not sure what the policy is about posting BtS material of unaired projects, but people seem to be pretty hesitant – and so many years later, it’s too much work to scroll through 4 years of posts on their social media accounts.

 

Rank 3 (790 Hits): Looking Back at Season Zero (II) – The Unaired Pilot: Promo

It wasn’t much, but the Unaired Pilot had gotten some promo material: Three Official Stills, a trailer and social media headers. That’s what I wrote about in this post.

Because CBS decided to reboot the Reboot with a different main cast and a different showrunner, they declared the promotional material to “promo non grata” right after the Upfronts in May 2016. The same day, they erased all their former tweets, posts and previously released promo material for the discarded pilot from their social media accounts.

Promo Poster at the LA TV Screenings (via Peter Lenkov)

Well, it’s the internet after all, so they couldn’t erase it completely. Some media outlets still use the old logo and the old stills. What once was posted online, has a tendency to come back. I still hope that some day, we’ll see more of it – without having to go search for it for as many hours as I did back then when I still had the patience.

 

Rank 2 (909 Hits): You can google it (Part 2): About Samantha/Olivia Cage

A lot of readers find my blog by using search engines. I wrote a couple of blog posts about what search terms led to people click on one of my blog posts. Interestingly, a lot of those clicks were due to Isabel Lucas and her character of Samantha Cage (formerly known as Olivia Cage) who was introduced in Episode 2×01 (DIY or DIE).

Isabel Lucas on set of Episode 3×05: Skull + Electromagnet (via Robert Maxfield)

Cage was an underdeveloped character that divided the fandom. Yet, even many of the viewers who didn’t like her too much were rather disappointed when and how she got written out of the show in the middle of Season 2; mainly since all of the “secrets” surrounding her character sort of vanished as well and were never resolved.

Some of her traits were incorporated into the character of Desi Nguyen (who had her first appearence in Episode 3×15), but people still occasionally ask about Samantha Cage on social media.

I haven’t written yet a review about Cage, but if you want to know more about her and what people actually typed into Google only to find my blog, you can find the post here.

 

Rank 1 (1229 Hits): Looking Back at Season 1 (I) – The Hair (Part 1)

The “Winner” of 2020 is the same post that was on Rank 1 in 2018 and 2019 as well. When people talk about Original MacGyver, they often mention his glorious hair. There was a lot of “hair drama” surrounding the Reboot. So in this blog post – my first non-update-blog-post back in 2017, actually – I wrote about MacGyver’s hair. And apparently people keep googling for it; finding my blog post.

Lucas Till in June and July 2016

I’ve been planning to write Part 2 (and probably even 3) since forever, but that still might take a while. Real Life responsibilities, a ton of Reboot Update Posts last year and other stuff, you know.

 

Runner-up posts to give you the Top Ten at the end of 2020:

• Rank 6 (504 Hits): About the Unaired Pilot BtS photos (Part 1)
• Rank 7 (493 Hits): About the Teaser Promo for the Premiere
• Rank 8 (487 Hits): About the portrait photos taken at the TCA Event
• Rank 9 (419 Hits): About deleted scenes in the Pilot Script – the one with Ninjas and Tanks (Part 3)
• Rank 10 (329 Hits): About some more deleted scenes in the Pilot Script (Part 2)

The Best of the Best (III) – Top 5 Blog Posts in 2019

Maybe you joined the fandom recently? So you might enjoy to check out “older” stuff about the Reboot?

Hereby, I present you my Top 5 Blog Posts 2019 – a short write-up of the 5 blog posts with the most hits at the end of last year. And I added a few photos in between so it’s all the more fun for you – and maybe a way to get you to check out the full post in case you missed it back when I had originally posted it?

Official Still of the Unaired Pilot (Ron P. Jaffe/CBS)

(Minor Spoiler Alert: You might get spoilered about characters and storylines in Seasons 1 and 2 by reading this post and its comments or by clicking on the links provided!)

 

If you missed the post about the Top 5 Blog Posts in 2017 (all about “deleted” scenes in the pilot script), you can check it out here. If you missed the post about the Top 5 Blog Posts in 2018, you can check it out there.

 

Rank 5 (408 Hits): Looking Back at Season Zero (IV) – The Unaired Pilot: BtS photos Part 2

I had amassed quite a bit of material about the Unaired MacGyver Reboot Pilot over time which led to several blog posts. In this one, I took another opportunity to present some of the BtS photos – for example Lucas Till and George Eads as MacGyver and Lincoln (before he became Jack Dalton in Episode 1×01: The Rising) during a costume fitting.

Lucas Till and George Eads as MacGyver and Lincoln (via Eileen Cox Baker)

 

Rank 4 (434 Hits): Looking Back at Season Zero (I) – The Unaired Pilot: Origins

In this blog post, I wrote about the origins of the Unaired Reboot Pilot. There’s mentions of another unaired pilot (Young MacGyver with Supernatural star Jared Padalecki), a script that wasn’t used, a script that was used for a pilot that never aired and the reboot of the Reboot… As you can see, there’s been a lot going on with this project.

Unaired Pilot Character Description for Angus MacGyver (via SpoilerTV)

On the other hand, this is not all that exceptional for pilot season. The character descriptions alone are worthy of their own blog post. Too bad we might never get to see this pilot that never aired… but I think they had made the right decision to change, switch and tweak things (even though I’m not all okay with what they did with it).

 

Rank 3 (537 Hits): Looking Back at Season Zero (II) – The Unaired Pilot: Promo

It wasn’t much, but the Unaired Pilot had gotten some promo material as well. Three Official Stills, a trailer and social media headers. That’s what I wrote about in this post.

Because CBS decided to reboot the Reboot with a different main cast and a different showrunner, they declared the promotional material to “promo non grata” right after the Upfronts in May 2016. The same day, they erased all their former tweets, posts and previously released promo material for the discarded pilot from their social media accounts.

Promo Poster at the LA TV Screenings (via Peter Lenkov)

Well, it’s the internet after all, so they couldn’t erase it completely. Some media outlets still use the old logo and the old stills. What once was posted online, has a tendency to come back again. I still hope that some day, we’ll see more of it.

 

Rank 2 (643 Hits): You can google it (Part 2): About Samantha/Olivia Cage

A lot of people find my blog by using search engines. I wrote a couple of blog posts about what search terms led to people click on one of my blog posts. Interestingly, a lot of those clicks were due to Isabel Lucas and her character of Samantha Cage (formerly known as Olivia Cage) who was introduced in Episode 2×01 (DIY or DIE).

BtS of Episode 2×05: Skull + Electromagnet (via Isabel Lucas)

Cage was an underdeveloped character that divided the fandom. Yet, even many of the viewers that didn’t like her too much were rather disappointed when she got written out of the show in the middle of Season 2 since all of the “secrets” surrounding her character sort of vanished as well and were never resolved.

I haven’t written yet a review about Samantha Cage, but if you want to know more about her and what people actually typed into Google only to find my blog, you can find the post here.

 

Rank 1 (705 Hits): Looking Back at Season 1 (I) – The Hair (Part 1)

The “Winner” of 2019 is the same post that was on Rank 1 in 2018 as well. When people talk about Original MacGyver, they often mention his glorious hair. There was a lot of “hair drama” surrounding the Reboot. So in this blog post – my first non-update-blog-post back in 2017, actually – I wrote about MacGyver’s hair. And apparently people keep googling for it; finding my blog post.

Lucas Till in June and July 2016

I’m still planning to write Part 2 (and probably even 3) in the near furture, but that might take a while. Real Life responsibilities and stuff, you know.

 

Runner-up posts to give you the Top Ten of 2019:

• Rank 6 (322 Hits): About the Unaired Pilot BtS photos (Part 1)
• Rank 7 (320 Hits): About the Teaser Promo for the Premiere
• Rank 8 (309 Hits): About the portrait photos taken at the TCA Event
• Rank 9 (294 Hits): About the ever-changing Season 3 airdates
• Rank 10 (287 Hits): About some more deleted scenes in the Pilot Script (Part 5)

You can google it (Part 3): Cast and Characters

It’s been more than 18 months since I’ve started blogging about the MacGyver Reboot on this blog. Most people land here via Twitter or Tumblr, but some also by using search engines. The top 3 list of search terms is still pretty boring:

1. dashboardonfire
2. dashboard on fire
3. dashboard on fire wordpress

Some search engines don’t reveal search terms for privacy reasons. Google, for example, has been encrypting the vast majority of search terms since 2013. So WordPress often can’t specify which search terms were used by visitors who arrived at this site from a search engine. That’s why the majority on my list – over 3800 by now – are unknown search terms.

Excerpt of the search engine statistics (retrieved November 21, 2018)

Still, there’s a couple of search terms I want to address in blog posts and maybe help the unknown searching beings to get answers for their questions. In this post, I’m going to look at some of the most used search terms since May 2018. At the moment, most of you are looking for and asking about “missing” cast members.

If you missed Part 1 (about cast, characters and locations search terms), you can find it here. If you missed Part 2 (regarding Isabel Lucas’ character of Olivia/Samantha Cage), you can find it here.

(Minor Spoiler Alert: You will get spoilered about main characters and storylines in Seasons 2 and 3 by reading this post and its comments or by clicking on the links provided!)

 

Where’s George?
For Seasons 1 and 2, many of you commented with a “Where’s Lucas?” on the cast’s social media posts. Lately, it’s been all about “Where’s George?”, asking about the whereabouts of George Eads who plays Jack Dalton.

Well, George has been on set regularly. But he had a lighter filming schedule this season, not appearing at all in two episodes (3×04 and 3×08) so far. He also wasn’t as generous with posing for photos or videos anymore. The last time I’ve seen him on a BtS photo was on October 31, uploaded by Carlos Bernard (director of Episode 3×11: Mac + Fallout + Jack).

BtS photo of Episode 3×11: Mac + Fallout + Jack (via Carlos Bernard)

I assumed he had asked for a lighter schedule to spend more time with his family; similar to Scott Caan on Hawaii Five-0. But then, news about George Eads actually leaving the show for good hit on November 26. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to announce it. The quite unexpected and somewhat shocking news articles flooded Twitter and other social media for days; also making waves in Europe.

We don’t know yet for sure how or when the character of Jack Dalton will be written out. As ET Online stated on Monday, Eads was currently on set filming his last episode when news got out, which would have been either Episode 3×13 or 3×14. Deadline had more information: While Eads has been released from his series regular contract and his character Jack Dalton is being written out, I hear he is not being killed off, with the door left open for Eads to possibly return as a guest star.

BtS photo of Episode 3×14: Father + Bride + Betrayal (via Avi Youabian)

Of course, networks almost always say that about top-billing guest stars and fan favorites leaving and yet it rarely happens. Let’s hope for the best.

On Tuesday, Justin Hires revealed that George was part of the wedding location scenes they’ve been filming for Episode 3×14. According to Roberto Sanchez, it’s titled “Father + Bride + Betrayal”. Of course, we don’t know if they’ve also been filming some additional scenes (e.g. flashback scenes) for later episodes. Interestingly, neither Lucas Till nor his Stand-In Matthew Albright have been spotted for a week until Lucas popped up in Justin’s and director Avi Youabian’s BtS videos. It’s possible Lucas and George have been filming some scenes on their own that we’re not allowed to know about yet.

Similar search terms:
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did reign edwards leave macgyver
To recap: Reign Edwards plays Bozer’s girlfriend Leanna Martin. She joined back in S2 for a handful of episodes, leading to speculations that she would join Season 3 as a regular field agent; sort of a replacement for Isabel Lucas’ character Samantha Cage. She was listed as a recurring for the first three episodes of S3 – and then she suddenly disappeared. It was mentioned in Episode 3×04 that Leanna was unavailable while being on another mission. But apart from Bozer and his worries about their relationship in 3×05, she wasn’t seen nor mentioned again until she popped up in Episode 3×09 last week.

Screenshot of Episode 2×16: Hammock + Balcony (via CBS)

Reign was filming a pilot project for Amazon Studios in New Zealand. She came back to set in October and should also appear at least in Episodes 3×10 and 3×11. Since then, she hasn’t been seen on set again so at the moment, we don’t know if her character is leaving definitely or staying as recurring. If her pilot was picked up, she might be busy with an other series soon and being written out of the Reboot. If that happens, it would be probably due to Leanna and Bozer breaking up or her being assigned to another longterm mission.

Interestingly, Leanna was highlighted in Episode 3×01 as the field agent that can do anything (e.g. flying a helicopter) and has excellent fighting skills, similar to Samantha Cage. But besides last Friday’s episode (that depicted her as being a bit of a neat freak when it comes to refrigerators), there wasn’t much character development for her.

Episode 3×03: Bozer + Booze + Back to School (Official Still via SpoilerTV)

Similar search terms:
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will isabel lucas return to macgyver?
To recap: Isabel Lucas played Samantha Cage. She was a regular cast member in the first half of Season 2; appearing in 12 episodes.

In general, no cast member is 100% safe on a TV show – not even when their character’s name is the title of the show (see recently cancelled Roseanne and its Spin-Off The Conners). We don’t know if Samantha Cage had been meant to stay on for an entire season initially or not. The character wasn’t well received on social media; enhanced by some of the Jack Dalton fans that feared she had been brought in to replace George Eads.

Lucas Till and Isabel Lucas in Episode 2×03: Roulette Wheel + Wire (Screenshot)

Theoretically, it would be possible for Isabel Lucas to come to the show again since Cage went back to Australia to recover from a gunshot wound. In fact, it happens on Peter Lenkov’s other show Hawaii Five-0 quite often that characters show up again after a season or two. The chemistry between her and the cast seemed good, so I don’t think that would be a problem. Since her character hasn’t been mentioned in Season 3 so far at all, it didn’t seem very likely to happen – but that could change now with George Eads being gone soon.

In my opinion, the storyline of Cage wasn’t resolved satisfactorily. She was almost shoved aggressively into the team at first; making her a regular instead of a recurring character before joining Phoenix – then as the character finally seemed to work it fizzled out and disappearing in the backgroundd, almost being overlooked in some episodes. After a plot twist that was never explained either, she wasn’t seen or talked about again.

Isabel Lucas on set of Episode 3×05: Skull + Electromagnet (via Robert Maxfield)

Also, Murdoc hinted at her not using her real name and having secrets that her friends (aka Team Phoenix) would not approve of. Of course, this could have been a joke regarding the character’s name change after they had started filming (see this post for more information about Olivia Cage), but it rather feels that some of the writers didn’t really know what to do with her, while other writers had had some ideas for the character that somehow didn’t turn out since Isabel’s guest stint was cut short.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind if she came back for another episode or two to wrap up her storyline.

Similar search terms:
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You can google it (Part 2): About Samantha/Olivia Cage

It’s been more than a year now since I’ve started blogging about the MacGyver Reboot on this WordPress blog. Most people land here via Twitter or Tumblr, but some also by using search engines. The top 3 list of search terms is still pretty unspectacular:

1. dashboardonfire
2. dashboard on fire wordpress
3. george eads

Some search engines don’t reveal search terms for privacy reasons. Google, for example, has been encrypting the vast majority of search terms since 2013. So WordPress often can’t specify which search terms were used by visitors who arrived at this site from a search engine. That’s why the majority on my list – over 2500 by now – are unknown search terms.

Lucas Till and Isabel Lucas in Episode 2×03: Roulette Wheel + Wire (Screenshot)

Still, there’s a couple of search terms I want to address in blog posts and maybe help the unknown searching beings to get answers for their questions. If you missed Part 1, you can find it here. Today, I’m looking back at search terms regarding Isabel Lucas’ character of Samantha Cage.

(Minor Spoiler Alert: You will get spoilered about main characters and storylines in Season 2 by reading this post and its comments or by clicking on the links provided!)

 

macgyver diy or die who played agent cage
If you’re looking for a cast member of a specific episode, you might be faster if you head over to the official reboot page on IMDb than trying to Google it. Visiting the site, you’ll find Isabel Lucas’ IMDb page very easily and can check what other projects she has done already.

For example, she is credited for 259 episodes of the Australian TV Show “Home and Away” or for American movies like “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (2009) or “Red Dawn” (2012). She has also appeared in the Music Video for “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran.

On IMDb, you can also find trivia or biographical information, for example:

• Isabel’s mother is Swiss, her father is Australian, so she speaks Swiss German and German as well
• she was born in Melbourne and moved to LA in 2008
• Along with other protesters (e.g. Hayden Panettiere) of Sea Shepherd, she paddled out on surfboards off the coast of Japan to protest the killing of dolphins in 2007. They had to turn around to avoid being arrested for trespassing. (According to Wikipedia, there is still an outstanding arrest warrant for her in Japan.)
• she was involved in a car crash with Transformers-Star Shia LaBeouf in July 2008 (his car had been hit by another vehicle running a red light)
• she has sectoral heterochromia (her right eye has a noticeable brown spot)

FunFact: Isabel has been with Sea Shepherd since 2010. The organization is very close to Original MacGyver Richard Dean Anderson’s heart, so it’s actually possible they’ve met each other before.

Similar search terms:
macgyver blonde agent 2017
isabel lucas macgyver 2018

BtS of Episode 2×05: Skull + Electromagnet (via Isabel Lucas)

is isabel lucas a permanent cast member on macgyver
Isabel Lucas is a regular cast member in the first half of Season 2. She appeared in 12 episodes.

We can assume it doesn’t apply to Lucas Till since the show is named after his character, but in general, no cast member is 100% safe on a TV show. There are never permanent, only current cast members. It’s possible that some actors coming on a show for a new character have a contract for just half the season or a certain amount of episodes so the producers can “test the waters”.

I’m not sure if either Sandrine Holt as Patricia Thornton or Isabel Lucas’ character of Samantha Cage had been meant to stay on for an entire season initially or not. Both characters got mixed reviews, and some negative comments were quite “loud”, so it’s possible that this is one of the reasons both characters “disappeared” after 12 episodes each.

Similar search terms:
why isn’t isabel lucas in the second half of season 2 of macguyver
why is isabelle lucas in so few macgyver episodes?
why hasn’t isabel lucas been on mcgyver lately
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Isabel Lucas in Episode 2×01: DIY or DIE (Screenshot)

olivia cage macgyver
The character of Olivia Cage seems to be a unicorn: Some believe she exists, but it looks like she only exists in theory because no one has ever really seen her.

In an article by Moviehole in July 2017, they revealed that Season 2 would have TWO new female characters: Olivia Cage and an intel extraction specialist named Agent Carmen. While Olivia Cage should have been a “woman to be reckoned with and someone we will get to know well”, Agent Carmen has been described as “late twenties, fierce, focused and utterly fascinating”, being ex-CIA and having history with Matty.

As we know now, this news was either aquired via old and unredacted scripts or had been somehow messed up and mixed.

BtS of Episode 2×06: Jet Engine + Pickup Truck (via Patrick Pierre)

Many have landed on my blog while looking for one of those two women, though; leading to an array of similar search terms like “agent carmen macgyver” or “agent olivia cage macgyver”.

So far, we can say that there isn’t an Olivia Cage on the show currently, but it seems like Isabel’s character was indeed called “Olivia” in the beginning. In fact, I’ve seen a BtS video on Instagram where it says “Olivia Cage” under Isabel’s photo. Sadly, I was never able to get a clear screenshot while on holiday and since Costume Designer Sarah Downer locked her profile to private a few months ago, I was never able to go back and try again.

Another hint is a set report done by Radio TV Talk (presumably on set of Episode 2×09: CD-Rom + Hoagie Foil), posted online on September 29 in 2017:

While the “MacGyver” revival wasn’t a super smash hit last season, it did just fine in its Friday night slot. The bottom line: it’s considered fun, escapist drama that isn’t too taxing on the noggin.

Till said blow back from traditionalists of the Richard Dean Anderson version wasn’t as harsh as he had anticipated. And he’s now more comfortable in his role. “We know what we have now and can build a foundation,” Till said. “The stunts are bigger and we have a new cast member.” CBS indeed added Olivia Cage to their team, played by Aussie actress Isabel Lucas. “She’s a CIA operative,” Till said. “She kicks a lot of a**. Kind of like what Jack does, female version.”

Fun Fact: They might have changed it to Samantha so that it could be shortened to “Sam”. I’ve had the theory in the beginning that Cage might have been a relative to Mac (e.g. a half-sister). Since Original MacGyver got to meet his son S.A.M. in the series finale, that would have been kinda funny.

With Einstein on set of Episode 2×06: Jet Engine + Pickup Truck (via Isabel Lucas)

when does cage come back in macgyver
Well, I don’t know. Since her character didn’t die in the show so far, Isabel could pop up in another episode. In fact, it happens on Peter Lenkov’s other show Hawaii Five-0 quite often that characters show up again after a season or two. The chemistry between her and the cast seemed good, so I don’t think that would be a problem.

In my opinion, the storyline of Cage wasn’t resolved satisfactorily. She was almost shoved aggressively into the team at first; making her a regular instead of a recurring character before joining Phoenix – then as the character finally seemed to work it fizzled out, almost being overlooked in some episodes and after a plot twist that was never explained either, she wasn’t seen or talked about again.

Also, Murdoc hinted at her not using her real name and having secrets that her friends (aka Team Phoenix) would not approve of. Of course, this could have been a joke regarding the character’s name change after they had started filming, but it rather feels that some of the writers didn’t really know what to do with her, while other writers had had some ideas for the character that somehow didn’t turn out since Isabel’s guest stint was cut short.

BtS of Episode 2×09: CD-Rom + Hoagie Foil (via Brandon Smith)

While I didn’t like how her character was introduced and used in the first few episodes, I wouldn’t mind if she showed up this season for another episode or two. Maybe another showdown with Murdoc or Harper (from Episode 2×05: Skull + Electromagnet)? Though now that they added Leanna as another field mission regular, this might be rather unlikely.

similar search terms:
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MacGyver Reboot Update #40

It’s Season 2 Premiere Day! Between filming and posting BtS pictures, the cast is also busy doing promo.

BtS of Season 2 (via Lucas Till)

(Spoiler Alert: You will get spoilered about Season 2 and the Season 2 Premiere Episode by reading this post and its comments or by clicking on the links provided!)

 

Season 2 News and Promo
Season 2 of the MacGyver Reboot premieres today. It is kind of a special date because back in 1985, the Original Show also premiered on September 29.

There wasn’t much promo until yesterday; especially compared to other CBS shows (e.g. Hawaii Five-0). Also, as I’m writing up this blog post earlier than usual, there’s still no press release about Isabel Lucas joining the cast and no press releases or stills for other episodes but the Season Premiere. But we have new interviews and Sneak Peeks; so let’s take a look at these.

Episode 2×02: Roulette Wheel + Wire (via Isabel Lucas)

In TV Guide Magazine (released in print on September 16), Lucas Till and George Eads talked a bit what Season 2 will bring. As Lucas revealed, we will be in Cuba and Turkey, in catacombs and underwater (judging from Stills and Previews, this all might happen in the Season Premiere Episode tonight). They also let us know that Murdoc will be involved in the first four episodes in some capacity and that Murdoc’s son also figures into the storyline. George stated that we will meet Riley’s dad (which was recently mentioned by Executive Director Peter Lenkov on Instagram as well).

This interview was additionally released online on TV Insider yesterday. Sadly, there were no new promo pictures accompanying the article.

BtS of George Eads doing Season 2 promo (via Karyn Greer)

There are some recent interviews released by Canadian outlets. Most of these were probably taken at the Corus Upfront in Toronto back in June – before filming for Season 2 had even started. That’s why Lucas talks about Season 1 and 2 in general, but doesn’t give any specific news.

You can listen to Lucas doing an audio interview with CFox here. He talks a bit about the high expectations he faced for Season 1. In a written interview with Canada.com, Lucas revealed he’s doing a lot of yoga because “action scenes can also wreak havoc on a guy”.

On September 21, the official Instagram Account asked the fans to leave their questions below. So far, there are over 370 comments, but there was no announcement if and how these questions will be answered.

We can expect some more promo and appearances today. Meredith Eaton was in the studio to film a segment for KCAL9 News. You can watch the interview here. She said that she’s having the time of her life and that her role is the highlight of her career.

Lucas Till doing Interviews on Set (via Natasha Lee)

George and Lucas were seen on set doing interviews. They will probably air today. Justin Hires will host Atlanta Plugged In tonight.

Episode 2×01 Promo
On Wednesday, Peter Lenkov released another short Cuba-Sequence and how Jack utilizes his head as a weapon. Ouch.

Yesterday, SpoilerTV released three Sneak Peeks for Episode 2×01 (DIY or DIE). In the first clip, new character Samantha Cage saves Mac and Jack from the bad guys. The other clip plays in Cuba. Mac and Jack are in a bit of trouble (what else is new *lol*), but as soon as they’re out of trouble, it turns out they’re actually on a quest to find Murdoc.

Episode 2×01: DIY or DIE (Sneak Peek Screenshot)

The third clip sees Bozer getting released from hospital after rehab. Looks like not that much time has passed since the Season 1 Finale Episode. We have to assume Mac and Jack didn’t have a lead on Mac’s dad that was deemed worth following any longer or they returned as soon as they got notice about Murdoc breaking out of prison.

Producer’s Praise
After praising Justin Hires on his drama acting chops last week and praising George Eads on his take for Jack Dalton, Executive Producer Peter Lenkov continued honoring the rest of the cast members in different Instagram posts. Besides praising Lucas, Tristin and Meredith, he also revealed some little trivia on each post.

Why walk when you can drive?
The main unit has been filming outside a lot and on some interesting looking sets; e.g. an obstacle course. They also like to use cars, mopeds and other vehicles as props. Jack’s GTO will be back as well.

George Eads and Lucas Till both posted pictures of the same scene where finally, Mac gets to drive while Jack has to sit in the back. Lucas also posted one with George and Isabel inside a car (the same car already seen for a “stunt scene” via Boom Operator Robert Maxfield).

BtS of Season 2 (via George Eads)

The cast and crew members upload BtS pictures almost daily now, adding to the excitement of the fans.

Justin shared more BtS pictures of Bozer and various team members of Team Phoenix in the War Room – one of Bozer with Matty and Riley, one of the whole team and one with Jack being shocked about something he sees on the screen. Meredith Eaton posted a picture of Matty with Bozer and dear old Robot in the lab.

Cast and Character News
Although the main cast welcomed Isabel Lucas two weeks ago, there’s still no official press release about her joining the Season 2 cast. Like Season 1 with Meredith Eaton, it’s possible she doesn’t have an opening title credit in the first episode of her appearance.

BtS of Season 2 (via Roger Floyd)

We know we’ll get to meet Riley’s dad. We don’t know who will play the role, but there has been some speculation it might be Roger Floyd who had posted some funny BtS pictures this week.

Central Casting Georgia has been looking for Stand-Ins, Photo Doubles, Nurses, Techs and Agents and for Security. They also made several casting calls for Fit Students.

Crew and Director News
On Sunday, director Bobby Roth was busy scouting the Porsche museum for the show. Stacey Black, the director of Episode 2×08, finished filming her scenes on September 27.

BtS of Episode 2×08 (via Stacey Black)

Bobby Roth posted a picture with Tristin Mays in the afternoon; indicating that filming for Episode 2×09 has already started. On the same day, Tawnia Canell McKiernan had revealed that she’s packing to leave for Atlanta, so she will most likely direct Episode 2×10. Last Season, she had directed the episode with the Coltons (1×16: Hook).

Rerun Ratings
There was a rerun of the Season 1 Finale (Cigar Cutter) last Friday. While the ratings for Episode 1×20 (Hole Puncher) back on September 2 hadn’t been that overwhelming, the Season 1 Finale won its time slot again and reached about 4.2 million live viewers (with a rating of 0.5 in the important demo group of 14-49 year-olds).

Overall, all rerun episodes managed to reach 4.2 million live viewers on average (with a 0.6 rating in demo). Not bad. Some similar shows don’t even reach as many people during their premiere.

Season 1 DVD News
The Season 1 DVD has already been released in some countries (e.g. Australia, UK) two weeks ago. Many fans have been asking about a US-release on the official social media accounts, but so far no one ever bothered to answer or to even acknowledge the questions. It seems like there is no release date yet which is a bit curious since the newest Seasons of many other CBS-Shows (e.g. Hawaii Five-0 or Blue Bloods) have been released recently. Apparently, CBS is still banking on people getting a pass for CBS All Access, their streaming account.

Season 1 DVD (UK version)

MacGyver in Austria
So far, I haven’t seen any promo on TV or on social media, but the show seems to do well enough in Austria. While Episode 1×03 (Awl) two weeks ago only managed 51’000 viewers on average, Episode 1×04 (Wire Cutter) reached 56’000.

MacGyver Reboot Update #39

One week left until the Season 2 Premiere! The cast is even more excited than their fans and spoils them with daily set pictures!

BtS of Season 2 (via Lucas Till)

(Spoiler Alert: You will get spoilered about Season 2 and the Season 2 Premiere Episode by reading this post and its comments or by clicking on the links provided!)

 

Season 2 News – 2×01 Promo
The Season 2 Premiere is approaching fast and Promo has been picking up. CBS finally managed to upload the Teaser Trailer for Episode 2×01 (DIY or DIE) that has been airing on TV since last week. There’s also an Official Preview on YouTube that’s slightly different; focusing a bit more on new cast member Isabel Lucas.

On the official CBS show website, they posted a write-up for Episode 2×01 and Season 2:

At the end of MacGyver Season 1, Murdoc came after every agent in the Phoenix Complex to exact murderous revenge —and he’s still on the loose. Now we’ll learn how MacGyver and Jack will follow the trail of the deranged killer. Naturally, the explosive show is back with a bang on Friday, Sept. 29 8/7c on CBS.

Meanwhile, Matty’s personal friend—and an exceptional International agent—asks for the Phoenix Foundation’s help in a non-government sanctioned recovery mission in the Middle East. Using only a soccer ball and a cell phone, Mac and Jack assist in the extraction to bring home a Navy SEAL believed to be alive and held captive.

In other news, the MacGyver Reboot was nominated for an Emmy in the category “Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series, or Movie”. Sadly, Stunt Coordinator Jeff Wolfe didn’t snag the award this time around – but maybe next year? An Emmy Award sure would have been the best promo for the upcoming season.

Episode 2×01: DIY or DIE (via Seat42F)

Season 2 News – Episode Titles
On September 15, SpoilerTV revealed the title for Episode 2×07 (Duct Tape + Jack). Based on former Episode Titles, we should assume that they mean the tool and not Jack Dalton (unless they’re implying that he’s a tool as well). It’s interesting to note that this means we have two episodes in Season 2 that could either feature tools or a character – Penny in 2×04 and Jack 2×07. Could be coincidence, of course – but you never know.

We’ve already learnt about the other Episode Titles through IMDb and Instagram, although it seems that the titles for 2×02 (formerly “Roulette Wheel”) and 2×03 (formerly “Mustang and Paper Clips”) have slightly changed. Most of these scripts have been written before filming started and went through several revisions, so changes in the titles wouldn’t be that unusual.

So far, we have following Episode Titles to look forward to:

• 2×01 – DIY or DIE
• 2×02 – Roulette Wheel + Wire
• 2×03 – Muscle Car + Paper Clips
• 2×04 – X-Ray + Penny
• 2×06 – Jet Engine + Pickup Truck
• 2×07 – Duct Tape + Jack

Interestingly, they haven’t released the title for the Halloween Episode (2×05) yet. I remember an Instagram Live Story from July 18 by Justin Hires, in which he quickly swept over his script title pages. Justin made sure it was too fast and too blurry to read instantly, but the title for 2×05 was the only one I could decipher after making a screenshot: Skull + Electromagnet.

Season 2 Script Title Pages (via Justin Hires)

On September 17, George Eads shared another picture of Episode 2×05 with the new field mission trio on a roof. It could be very well some kind of electromagnet that MacGyver is carrying. Apparently, they don’t feel too happy when stuck together in a car, though.

Location, Location, Location
Cast and Crew seem to be constantly on the move, shooting in many different locations. 2nd Unit had been filming a stunt scene in Havana (Cuba) on September 3. The main unit has been filming outside a lot; on sets dressed up as “Cuba”, “Nigeria” or “Ecuador”.

They’ve also been back filming at the Fox Theatre, in Bozer’s old Burger Joint and in a new appartement location. Two days ago and yesterday, there were sightings of production filming on Paper Mill Road in Marietta.

BtS of Season 2 (via Isabel Lucas)

Today, Isabel Lucas revealed that they have been filming in a combustion tank. Apparently, the cast needs the opportunity to get wet and cool themselves down as often as possible.

Mac and Jack, hanging in a Tree…
On September 15, Madeline Grayson posted a picture of an interesting prop that had me immediately thinking of MacGyver. Because many of the Reboot crew members work simultaneously on different projects, you can never be sure if a picture really is related to a certain show.

BtS of Season 2 (via Madeline Grayson)

Peter Lenkov confirmed my suspicions just a day later, though: It’s a MacGyvered parachute for a scene that culminates with Mac and Jack hanging in a tree. Looks like an interesting episode and reminds me of the Original Show.

The cast has started to upload BtS pictures almost daily. So far, they’re doing a better job at promoting than CBS. Justin Hires shared another picture of him and Tristin on the Nigeria Set. It looks like Bozer and Riley are tied up (and judging by the picture he posted today, they aren’t the only ones). On the same day, George Eads posted a picture of him and Lucas getting readied by their Stunt Doubles. There’s also a short video via George and another picture via Lucas just before they prepare themselves to jump off with that paracute.

BtS of Season 2 (via Peter Lenkov)

On September 16, Lucas posted another BtS picture of him and George wearing the Lapland Folklore Costumes which earned a lot of likes and comments.

Justin shared BtS pictures of Bozer, Jack and Riley in the War Room, of Bozer and Mac in the War Room and of Bozer and Jack in Nigeria.

Cast and Character News
The main cast welcomed Isabel Lucas last week. Back in July, Moviehole had released some exclusive details for the storyline of the Season 2 Premiere Episode and about the new female cast members:

We will see 2 new female characters in Olivia Cage and an intel extraction specialist named Agent Carmen. Carmen has been described as “late twenties, fierce, focused and utterly fascinating”. She’s also got history with Matty. Olivia Cage is “a woman to be reckoned with” and someone we will get to know well.

According to Moviehole, Agent Carmen was supposed to join Team Phoenix on a rescue mission in Turkey. She was to be discharged by the CIA for her involvement in the mission, therefore free to join Phoenix.

For almost two months now, C.C. Ice has been listed as stunt double for “Samantha Cage” on IMDb. I always assumed they somehow confused Cage’s name – because IMDb isn’t always the most reliable source and anyone with an account can add more info. As it turns out, Isabel Lucas will actually play (soon-to-be-Ex-CIA-Agent) Samantha Cage.

Either Moviehole had inaccurate info or they switched names/characters at the last minute – like changing Episode Titles, this isn’t such an unusual thing to happen in TV show production.

Screenshot of the Preview for 2×01 (DIY or DIE)

Some people have been worried about Riley and Bozer getting less screentime, now that another field agent joined the team. Peter Lenkov continues to praise Justin Hires’ acting chops as Bozer, so I doubt his character will be written out over the season.

Central Casting Georgia has been looking for Stand-Ins, Techs, a father with his 10-year-old daughter, Hispanic Guards and Fit Students and Instructors. They’ve also been looking for Cars, Joggers, Bikes and Parents, Upscale Patrons and Armed Security and Vape Patrons and Hookah Smokers.

Crew and Director News
Gabriel Beristain, who usually fills the position of Director of Photography, directed an episode (presumably 2×07) last week.

This Monday, filming for Episode 2×08 has started. Like the other directors, Stacy Black  had some help from Einstein. They have been filming on Stone Mountain and in Grant Park.

BtS of Episode 2×08 (via Einstein)

Another upcoming director for an episode is Bobby Roth (who has already directed Episode 1×05: Toothpick).

Reruns
There’s a rerun of the Season 1 Finale (Cigar Cutter) today. I think it’s a good idea to show the Season 1 Finale again; giving new viewers a chance to catch up and getting interested in Season 2.

Season 1 DVD News
The Season 1 DVD has been released in some countries (e.g. Australia, UK) last week. The Special Features on the UK Version are listed as follows:

• MacGyver it! The Making of the Pilot
• Watch Magazine Photo Shoot (with Lucas Till and George Eads)
• Interview with Prop Master Kate Guanci
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel

If you’ve been following the show closely, you’ve probably seen a lot of it already, but I’m looking forward to the deleted scenes especially.

Season 1 DVD Cover (UK Version via DVD Wholesale)

MacGyver in Austria
The Austrian Channel ORF1 airs the Reboot on Saturdays (7.10pm). I don’t know much about regular TV ratings in Austria. The show seems to do well enough, although ratings have been dropping. While the Pilot Episode and Episode 1×02 reached 93’000 resp. 81’000 viewers in demo, Episode 1×03 (Awl) last week only managed 51’000 viewers on average. Compared to other shows, it’s still within the same range as episodes of The Big Bang Theory or The Simpsons that just aired before.

What are Cast and Crew up to?
George Eads uses Instagram very frequently at the moment. The account just got verified recently, so maybe he’s definitely here to stay? On Saturday (September 16), George revealed that he’s busy doing the voice-overs for his cartoon character in the Michael Jackson Halloween Special. He stated being happy about it because his daughter will love it.

Lucas Till is also involved in this project, but he we haven’t seen any news that indicated if he’s already finished doing his part.

Interestingly, CBS just added the date for this Halloween Special: Friday, October 27 – during the same time slot of the Reboot. It’s actually a possibility that the Halloween Episode 2×05 – who was initially supposed to air on that day – won’t air until after Halloween.

MacGyver Reboot Update #38

Two weeks left until the Season 2 Premiere – there are new Cast members, Episode Titles Announcements and a Photo Shoot!

BtS of Season 2 (via Isabel Lucas)

(Spoiler Alert: You will get spoilered about Season 2 by reading this post and its comments or by clicking on the links provided!)

 

Season 2 News and Promo
The Season 2 Premiere is approaching fast. Some of the Promo material and announcements are only partially official, though. Also, there’s still no Season 1 DVD relase date for the US yet. But the news are slowly trickling in.

Although Hurricane Irma had hit Georgia and Atlanta area, production had only been shut down for day. If any indoor stages or locations suffered from the storm, we haven’t heard about it yet. Thankfully, Cast and Crew made it through unscathed; although they experienced some trouble due to power outtages.

On September 5, we got a new official poster via FOX España. The same picture is used as the header photo for the official social media accounts by CBS.

Official Season 2 Poster (via FOX España)

As with the other poster we got two weeks ago, they used the promo shoot Lucas Till and George Eads had done for Season 1 last year. It reminds me a bit of the Complete Collection DVD Set of the Original Show. Some people have been complaining about Jack Dalton being in the front, but I don’t mind as much. It’s interesting to note that they’re focusing more on the bromance than on the main hero the show is named for, though. I don’t know if this is a foreshadowing for the upcoming season (e.g. that the bromance will have more relevance than the team aspect this year).

As Justin Hires revealed, they have been doing a photo shoot yesterday. All cast members were dressed in blue and grey tones. Tristin also posed for a picture with DP (Director of Photography) Gabriel Beristain while Lucas had some “help” from Einstein.

Post-Production on Episode 2×01
On September 5, Executive Producer Peter Lenkov shared a new BtS picture of himself being on set. While he was finishing the editing process for the Season 2 Premiere Episode, he also granted us a glimpse at several short BtS videos. One of them takes place in Syria and is most likely part of the Opening Gambit. Like in the Season Finale, two people (presumably Mac and Jack) crash through the ceiling to take out the bad guys.

Instagram Live Story Screenshots of Season 2 (via Peter Lenkov)

In another clip, Jack urges Mac not to talk about Cairo – especially not when they’re in an airplane, flying directly over Cairo. Isabel Lucas (presumably as Agent Carmen) sits in front of Mac while Riley and Bozer are nowhere to be seen.

Two weeks ago, Peter Lenkov had visited Montreal to teach a Master Class in script writing to film students. On that occasion, he had taken the time to do some interviews. It makes sense now that Lenkov doesn’t engage so much in social media anymore as last year: Besides working on MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0 and Salvation, he’s already working on another Reboot! As he told Quebec’s The Suburban, he can’t reveal yet what the project is, though.

BtS of Episode 2×05 (via Peter Lenkov)

On September 12, Lenkov shared two more pictures: One of Isabel Lucas with Lucas Till and George Eads, and a clearer picture of Jack in his Halloween Costume. So far, we haven’t seen the other costumes, but there’s a good chance that Bozer made “Team Phoenix” dress up as an hommage to The Wizard of Oz. I’m wondering a bit why we don’t get to see Bozer’s supposedly amazing mask making skills, though.

Filming in Cuba
On September 2nd, Alan Cohen revealed that he and Gabriel Beristain were already en route towards Havana to film a stunt sequence. It didn’t take long until Peter Lenkov, Stunt Coordinator Jeff Wolfe or Crew Members posted BtS pictures of a scene involving an interesting vehicle.

The scene reminds me of the Classic MacGyver Episode 2×17 (Dalton, Jack of Spies). As BtS pictures revealed, George Eads’ Stunt Double Reece Fleetwood was indeed in charge of riding the motorcycle.

BtS of Season 2 (via Gabriel Beristain)

The finished stunt sequence will probably be a chase scene. On September 3rd, Peter Lenkov had uploaded a short and rather blurry video sequence of a Stunt Driver getting a car into position. We’ve already seen this car before, but in a studio in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the main cast was filming their part in the same scene in Atlanta in front of a Green Screen. On September 8, George Eads shared a BtS picture of the process on Instagram. It’s funny how the crew is walking around in sweaters while the main heroes have to pretend they’re sweating under the Cuban sun.

(Just days after 2nd Unit had returned from Havana, Cuba was hit by the Hurricane; suffering from major destruction. There are still people without access to fresh water or a place to live since big areas have been completely destroyed.)

BtS of Season 2 (via George Eads)

Filming in “Nigeria” and “Ecuador”
On August 30, Cast and Crew had filmed at Berry Hill Airport. The location was dressed as Nigeria and apparently involves more of Jack running through the woods with his gun while Bozer takes care of the equipment. Apparently, there will also be a stunt involving fire since George Eads had revealed how to fireproof your shoes.

Justin Hires posted a BtS picture of the Nigeria Set on September 9. For several days, he had already uploaded BtS videos; e.g. of the drone that will be used in this episode. FlyWorx revealed that the drone will actually be featured in the episode and wasn’t just used for location shots. Many Extras shared pictures on social media; praising the set decorators. Extra Patrick Pierre was also the first to share a clear picture of Isabel Lucas on set.

BtS of MacGyver Season 2 (via Patrick Pierre)

Cast and Crew seem to be constantly on the move, shooting in many different locations. On September 10, production moved to “Ecuador”. As with the set for Nigeria, the scenes involved high officials and other military people.

They’ve also been back filming at the Fox Theatre (that had already been used as a location for Episode 1×15: Magnifying Glass). In the newest pictures and BtS videos by Justin Hires, we see a new appartement location. Since Justin revealed that we will re-visit Bozer at his first job as a burger-flipper, it’s possible that this appartement will also be part of a flashback scene.

Bonding with “The Gifted”
On August 23, there had been several postings about the new X-Men spin-off The Gifted (FOX) and MacGyver filming on the same location and sharing the base camp. Apparently, Lucas and George weren’t impressed about the MacGyver Crew announcing a showdown between departements: They spent Labor Day with some of The Gifted Crew; swimming in the Lake and cooking breakfast together.

Havok and Polaris (via Emma Dumont)

Emma Dumont, who plays Polaris in the show, posted a picture of her and Lucas Till that soon went viral on X-Men Fansites. In the Comics, Polaris and Havok (played by Lucas in the X-Men movies) are romantically involved. Many fans have been wondering if Lucas would make a guest appearance on The Gifted. As for now, it seems that although other actors (e.g. Amy Acker or Jermaine Rivers) and crew we’ve seen working on MacGyver are involved, Lucas isn’t part of it.

Cast and Character News
We’ve already known for a while about Isabel Lucas joining the main cast this upcoming season. There’s still no official press release yet, but the cast has already granted her a warm welcome: Justin Hires posted a picture of “Team Phoenix” in the War Room on September 11. A day later, Meredith Eaton and Lucas Till posted a welcome picture on Instagram. Isabel also posted the same picture of her with Mac and Jack on set that Lucas had already posted.

Central Casting Georgia has been looking for Stand-Ins, African American Women, Nigerian Townspeople, Techs and Agents, Hispanic Patrons, Reporters, Security and Paramedics, a Photo Double for Lucas, Hispanic Nurses, Patients and Orderlies, for Bad Guys, for Police and for people portraying Neighbors.

Reruns
There’s no rerun today. The rerun of the Season 1 Finale – Episode 21 (Cigar Cutter) – will air next Friday (September 22); just a week before the Premiere of Season 2.

Episode 1×21: Cigar Cutter (via SpoilerTV)

MacGyver in Germany – Ratings
On average, every episode of MacGyver airing in Germany earned about 868’000 live-viewers in the important demo group (14-49 years old). That’s a demo market share of 10% and quite a good result for this sometimes disastrous German TV Summer.

The Network had skipped over 3 episodes (11, 16 and 19) to start early with new episodes of NCIS and the premiere of Bull; followed by Hawaii Five-0. So far, these ratings aren’t as good as they had been for Lethal Weapon and MacGyver. Sat.1 had promised to air the remaining episodes next year with Season 2, but we’ll see if they decide to air reruns if the ratings for their other CBS shows keep falling.

Episode 2×01: DIY or DIE (via SpoilerTV)

MacGyver in Austria
The Austrian Channel ORF1 started airing the Reboot on September 2 (Saturdays at 7.10pm). I don’t know anything about regular TV ratings in Austria, but the show seems to do well enough. The Pilot Episode reached 93’000 people in demo, which is a market share of 4. (For comparison: A new episode of The Big Bang Theory airing an hour earlier reached 64’000 people on average, the Formula 1 race airing afterwards about 775’000 people.)

A week later, Episode 1×02 managed 81’000 viewers on avarage (also with a market share of 4).