Stuff We Don’t Like: MacGyver (2016)
This modern reboot of an 80’s classic would make more sense as anything other than a MacGyver reboot. Starring Lucas Till and That Guy From CSI, the show adds into the mix a sexy hacker, for some reason, and gives MacGyver a roommate that fills all of the ‘black best friend’ stereotypes. Even the absurd “inventions,” a staple of classic MacGyver, are worse in the hands of this adaptation. A perfect example appears in one episode where, to evacuate civilians from a crowded hotel, Mac mixes some broom closet chemicals into a bucket before adding a wad of tinfoil to make some allegedly harmless smoke to set off the fire alarm. He could have also, y’know, pulled the fire alarm. In short, the new MacGyver reboot is, like his inventions, convoluted and unnecessary.
Stuff We Don’t Like: Powerless
This DC Comics comedy show has several recognizable faces. Abed from Community! The girl from High School Musical! The pilot from Firefly! Others! So it is surprising that the jokes are as obvious and predictable as a Disney Channel tween sitcom. It doesn’t have a laugh track, so that’s a plus, but that’s about it. The main character is perpetually cheerful, the co-worker is constantly abrasive, the boss is always incompetent; the clichés go on and on. Overall, Powerless has a super cast but civilian writing, and its biggest crime is that it is ‘sort of okay’ at best. And, in today’s world of blockbuster, five-star, spoil-the ending-and-our-friendship-is-over television, ‘okay’ is not a passing grade.
