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MacGyver Season 5 Episode 12

Serenity

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7.5

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 1/8/90

MacGyverâ€”who is exhaustedâ€”dreams that he's a Civil War veteran trying to claim a home in Montana, which is threatened by a neighboring rancher who looks a lot like Pete Thornton. But this Pete has hired Murdoc to kill MacGyver.

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Fan Episode Reviews (4)

good episode...

8.6

By Fwirrel, May 06, 2008

Mac comes home and is really tired, falls asleep on the couch while watching a western and then dreams of being in a western. This type of story makes me very skeptical, but MacGyver pulled it off. It had all of the regular characters in their respective roles. Murdoc is my favorite bad guy and he was great in this episode. It was weird that this episode had no macgyverisms, but it would have been out of place if their were. The story was interesting, but had been done before. Still, overall, it was a pretty good episode with good characters...and Mac had a funny moustache.moreless
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An epic production is largely wasted on a ho-hum script.

7.2

By mark_28, May 10, 2007

MacGyver kicks off the 1990's with a gimmicky time-travel episode that many would consider to have "jump the shark" qualities. Generally, this episode was decent enough to avoid a loss of credibility, and I'm really surprised to see how many fans it has. Nonetheless, it peaked early for me with the opening scene in which Mac and Pete are engaged in a rare fight. Mac's ensuing response to the phone messages from Jack and especially Penny were hilarious, but I can't say as though that energy transferred as well to the dream sequence. While it was nice to see the cast joined together for this epic and well-produced period piece set just after the Civil War in Montana, the flow of the narrative and various storytelling shortcuts annoyed me. The acting was generally good, but the story got silly in the second half with Mac and Pete becoming fast buddies and Pete getting shot at by the guys who called him boss only hours earlier. And I would think that an 1867 MacGyver prototype would be smart enough not to fall for the amateur stunt where Murdoc propped Penny up with a rifle to make her look like the shooter. Even at age 12, I could see coming the Swiss army knife deflecting the bullet at the end of the dream sequence. Overall, this episode was decent fun and a nice change of pace for a veteran adventure series, but it doesn't hold up well to repeated viewings. Not a jump-the-shark episode, but also not one of my fonder MacGyver memories.

Ratingswise, this episode was the latest example of MacGyver waging a comeback following after the football season. Mired with marginal ratings in the season's first half that may not have even warranted a spring renewal had the ratings not improved, MacGyver immediately perked up to a season-high 13.7 with this outing (the previous high for season five was a 12.8). And best yet, the competition was only about a month away from a serious viewership meltdown that would crown MacGyver king for his timeslot for the first extended period in the series' history.moreless
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One of the best season 5 episodes....

10

By green_arrow92, Nov 19, 2006

In this episode Mac is tired and falls asleep on his couch, He dreams he is in the old west. Pete is a big rich guy and wants the property that MacGyver has for the water, when Macgyver doesn't cooperate Pete is forced to bring in Murdoc! I really liked this episode it is on my top ten list of favorite MacGyver episodes. Some of the best episodes have Murdoc in them. Jack and penny are also in this episode. This is the last episode to have Penny parker in it. I thought she should have been in more. This episode takes place in the old west. Later...moreless
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This was I think my favorite episode so far...

9.6

By Firniswin, Aug 12, 2005

As I said before, I loved this episode. I don't really know why- maybe it was the interesting change.

I loved the end! It was wonderful! Hillarious, even!

Anyway, I really like this one! I like how all the different characters still kept to their original characteristics! Like MacGyver not wanting to carry or fight with a gun.
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Dana Elcar	Peter Thornton
Richard Dean Anderson	MacGyver

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Cuba Gooding Jr.	Billy Colton	Guest Star
Robert Donner	Milt Bozer	Guest Star
Matthew Walker	Emmenthaler	Guest Star
Teri Hatcher	Penny Parker	Recurring Role
Michael Des Barres	Murdoc	Recurring Role
Bruce McGill	Jack Dalton	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (9)
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- MacGyver: Mister...?
  Jack: Dalton. Andrew Jackson Dalton. No relation to the Dalton Gang. Call me Jack.
  MacGyver: MacGyver.
  Penny: First or last?
  MacGyver: Yep.
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- MacGyver: You think the marshal in Serenity will stand up to Murdoc?
  Pete: Wyatt? He's about as tough as a bucket of warm spit. Nobody in town's going to help us. They're all scared of Murdoc.
  MacGyver: That's reasonable. So am I.
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- Pete: (at Colton's grave) I'm responsible; can we talk?
  MacGyver: Your timing's a bit irregular. (walks away)
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- MacGyver: See, I came out here cause I wanted my life to be different. I believe that's the way you make the world better, one person at a time.
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- Pete: I hear you're good.
  Murdoc: To be precise, I'm the best.
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- Pete: Well what am I going to tell the board?
  MacGyver: Tell them you made a big mistake.
  Pete: Mistake, what mistake?
  MacGyver: You forgot to ask me!
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- Pete: I told the board you would do it. I gave them my word. I made a commitment.
  MacGyver: You committed me! Without asking me, without giving me a chance to say yes or no. Now, come on, Pete, look at me! I'm a hurtin' guy, I'm beat up. I need a month's worth of sleep... and I need a haircut!
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- Emmenthaler: But a man needs a gun.
  MacGyver: You know, I can't figure why. I wasn't born with one. Surely don't plan on dying with one.
  Emmenthaler: My friend, you will die much quicker without one. You will be the only man in Montana without a gun. How will you defend yourself?
  MacGyver: I'll just have to think of something.
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- MacGyver: Well, the problem there is I'm not much of a drinker, but I'd be willing to pay for the food and settle for a bottle of milk.
  Wilt Bozer: Milk?
  Milt Bozer: What kind, pilgrim? Cow? Horse? Goat? Or mother's?
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NOTES (5)
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- This is the first of Randall Wong's two, unrelated appearances on MacGyver. He can also be seen in season six's "There But For the Grace".
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- This is the third of Claire Brown's four, unrelated appearances on MacGyver. She can also be seen in season three's "Thin Ice", earlier this season in "Legend of the Holy Rose", and season six's "Twenty Questions".
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- This is the first appearance of the third of Robert Donner's three, unrelated roles on MacGyver. He can also be seen in season two's "Soft Touch" and season four's "Cleo Rocks".
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- The German episode title is "Im Wilden Westen", meaning "In the Wild West". The Finnish episode title is "Rauhan tyyssija", meaning "Peaceful Retreat". The Italian episode title is "Sogno o realtà", meaning "Dream or Reality".
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- The opening guest and crew credits use a different font. The end credits are in the regular font but a more Western-like version of the MacGyver theme tune is played.
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