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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Felon" data-source="post: 4329708" data-attributes="member: 8158">I'm not sure why you think explaining the show's contrivances on a case-by-case basis somehow undermines an analysis of the the show's formula. MacGyver always had a good reason why he had to design helicopters out of supply-closet odds and ends, and the guys on C.H.I.P.S. always had a reason to get into a high-speed care chase with a requisite twenty-car-pile-up. It's like a guy who comes to work late every day but always has a great explanation; you can explain away individual instances, but when a pattern develops, it's self-evidencing. Are the plots episodic? Yes. Does he risk his life for strangers for completely inadequate compensation? Indeed. Does the show try to portray the guy as an antihero without him doing anything really nasty? Sure.Nothing to feel sorry for. The show's good for what it is: the kind of disposable light fare that's designed to do well in syndication. It's not the kind of show that's constantly trying to top itself; it's got some basic rules and a format. It's not going to have powerful story arcs. It might have the occasional "classic" episode that stands out from the pack, but for the most part it'll be like A-Team or Dukes of Hazard or Monk or the aforementioned Rockford Files, with all of the episodes sort of blending together so that they aren't really memorable individually.</blockquote>