Calendar that appears at the end of this episode, is DECEMBER 1986, where Christmas at that time fell on Thursday.

I was 5 years old at the time, hehehe ....

Exactly. It's a poor man's Die Hard, like how "Eye Of Osiris" is a poor man's Indiana Jones. Fortunately, when this episode first aired, I hadn't seen Die Hard, so I didn't realize that, and I just enjoyed it on its own merits. I still think it's a pretty fun episode, overall.

The fight scene in this episode is one of best comedic moments in the entire series. I mean, it's literally laugh-out-loud hilarious when she jumps through the window.

Voted Excellent... I really like this episode

Is it just me, or did anyone else laugh at the amount of money Victoria was being given to kill Mac? I mean, if Mac was this genius who could do anything, and was dangerous because he was so smart, surely they would have offered more than a pissy little hundred grand?
I was expecting at least a million.

The fight scene was awesome. Not the first time Mac had his butt kicked by a woman, lol.

yeah but your working on today's money value.

Back in the 80's $100,000 was worth a lot more than it is today so it would have been a significant amount.

I just realized that this episode predates Die Hard by about 2 years. Hmm, I think I respect it a little more now.

I've not abandoned MacGyverOnline, should anyone wonder. I've just had a very busy week, and the next couple weeks will be even worse, so please bear with me. I'm not abandoning any unfinished projects.

Anyhow--"Phoenix Under Siege" is definitely one of the highlights of Season 2, in my opinion. Not only do we get a lot of vital information about MacGyver's background--some of the most traumatic memories presented through the eyes of MacGyver and his grandpa, in a very subtle and touching manner--but the episode also contains a lot of drama, suspense and the kind of humor that truly defines the MacGyver series.

John Anderson is perfect in the role as Harry Jackson, the chemistry between him and RDA really works. It's obvious that Mac and Harry have a close relationship, yet the events of the past still affect it. You can see how much they both appreciate that they're once again part of each other's lives--still, they're reminded that time has not been standing still, and Harry has begun to show signs of old age.

The hockey game subplot was very entertaining in itself, for various reasons. First, there's the fact that Mac, despite his "super mind" actually misplaced them and forgot them at work! I felt like a total idiot when I did a similar thing this week, but it's comforting that even people like Mac make such mistakes... sometimes.

The Phoenix scenes were really suspenseful, of course, though, as some of you have already pointed out, some of the MacGyverisms were probably a bit implausible. I agree with the previous posters that the fight scene is rather humorous, and I bet it's unintentional, for the most part. Mac just seems completely dumbfounded--I think it was pretty obvious that he just didn't know how to act, with a woman fighting like that... it goes against his morals to hit a woman (yet he does it in "Trail to Doomsday"... but she really, really deserves it... well, that's another story).

Love how part of him just want to snatch the hockey ticket at the end!

A definite "Excellent" vote from me.

Revising what I said a while back, I've since learned that there is a lot of stainless steel that will respond to a magnet, however much less than a piece of regular steel. But I still think the faucet was just a normal chrome plated brass faucet, meaning it wouldn't have done a thing.

I liked the episode though.

This was an excellent episode. I really do like the interaction between MacGyver and Harry. And the look on Mac's face when Harry is headed out the door with his hockey ticket and Mac looks back at his in the bomb was priceless!!

Phoenix Under Siege is definitely one of my favorite episodes of Season 2. We get a lot of vital information about Mac's background and some of the most traumatic memories are presented through the eyes of MacGyver and his grandpa. This episode also contains a lot of suspense, drama, and humor that really defines the series. John Anderson is perfect for the role of Harry Jackson, the chemistry between him and RDA really shows here. It's obvious that Mac and Harry have a good relationship, and the events of the past still affect it. The Phoenix scenes were very suspenseful, but some of the MacGyverisms seemed a little exaggerated. I love how part of Mac just wanted to grab that hockey ticket at the end. The look on RDA's face was priceless. A "Excellent" episode in my opinion.

Overall Rating: 10/10

Excellent! Of course it especially appeases myself because of the whole episode revolving around the Gretzky/Oilers ticket search. I saw Gretzky's Oilers play live several times during that era and it was as exciting as Mac and Harry were .... anticipating. The lighting and cinematography is well done and smooth as silk. The female ninja terrorist part is well acted by Tricia O'Neil and with some timely tongue in cheek humor thrown in. The flashbacks are well infiltrated within the hour and are welcomed and historically important for we MacGyver cronies.

A point on the hockey prop: Mac is wearing a Calgary Flames hat again, although he's clearly infatuated with the Oilers as professed in this and several other episodes. One thing is certain in life is that Oil and Flames do not mix and this is especially so in Pro Hockey - as you are either an Oilers fan or Flames fan and rarely both. I realize that the shows producers were trying to ride the coattails of the upcoming Calgary Olympics ..... but I think that Mac might have been better suited/costumed in an Oilers hat.

The Macgyverisms and suspense made this one a great episode. Also Mac working with his grandfather, who was Mac's first guiding light.

I just watched this again so I should know the answer... Mac searched the inventory file. How did he know that the bomb was already in the building before the terrorists arrived?

I think he put 2 and 2 together didn't he?

Saw this episode last night again. Was a good episode indeed. Also really liked the chemistry between Mac & Harry.

Did not rate excellent however because there are rarely any episodes I watch that can ever be rated this good. There were still some flaws.

Despite the security guard change, I found it difficult to believe that Mac actually bothered to put one and one together in identifying that the cigarette did not belong to the lady simply because there was no lipstick on it?!

Any episode with Harry is excellent!

That episode seems to be only where he drives jeep with top on and doors off. The Back From The Dead episode is only where he only got doors without hard top, but when he got time to change those doors when went to the church without doors and returned with doors

So far this has been the only one that I have not enjoyed. The way
that woman could ask them their name and then shoot them really disturbed
me. It actually made me question whether or not I would continue watching the
episodes.

On a lighter note, the MacGyverisms were great!

You must have problems with modern shows then. They have a lot more sick twisted violence than that in them.

Do you know how many times and having had seasons tickets in Toronto & Buffalo - that friends and I've attended NHL games and had some kind of pregame 'ticket malfunction' and, yes, even with Gretzky in town? More than a few. re: I thought you had the tickets? No, you were given control of them last Saturday and put them on top of the fridge ... remember? Yes, now I do ... who's round is it & how much time do we have?

So ...... it goes without saying that this episode scores high on my top episodes list .... just because of that backdrop theme alone. And then it just keeps getting better.

I mostly just never expected that to happen on a MacGyver episode.
On modern shows(of which I don't watch a lot) I have come to expect
things like that.

This is one of the best episodes of the second season. Besides, this is not the only episode where in the villian disposes of their henchmen.

Actually it's quite funny when she shoots that guy in front of Harry.

'The deal I have with the liberation front is that you are all expendable. Besides that, you annoy me.'

When she says they annoy her, she says it so dry and maybe a bit bored.

By the way, did you notice that that gun wasn't actually loaded?

Well it's and action adventure show and bad guys are called bad for a reason.

And remember the show is about MacGyver not using a gun, not the bad guys being unarmed.

Yes, it does kind of have a similar feel to Die Hard, that thought crossed my mind too. Nonetheless it's one of the best episodes during the entire season. Always interesting to see Mac and Harry bonding, making quips and remembering past events in their lives.

I always have a laugh with Harry's comedic quotes

The fight scene and subsequent death of the villain woman are kind of lame though

It's one of my favorite episodes and I'm quite impressed that an episode with almost no outdoor scenes has such a great atmosphere.

Agreed, great ambience for not much expense in the set location department. But a dark
& stormy night with imminent danger, interspersed with clever reminiscing & all built around the subplot of an Oilers/Kings game will always work for me. Golden! I remember this one getting a lot of publicity in the Canadian media circles because of the hockey angle and, accordingly, the Gretzky name dropping.

I loved it!! Any episode with Harry and Mac means tons of MacGyverisms, great interaction, and plain fun! I love it when the hit woman gives the flying leap out the window at the end. A very cold part played well by the actress. I haven't watched it in awhile...I'm going to put it on now!

I recently saw this episode again. It was a good episode although it was a little silly at times. I guess most television of the era had a campiness to it. The irony is that had the villains just kept quiet, they could have gotten away with it. I know about the extra money to take out Mac but they could have just been brief and left. Not that I'm routing for the villains! I'm not!!! I'm just saying! That's all!

I agree Denizen...and walked away $100K richer!

$100K? That's pathetic! I wouldn't go under 250K. But of course 100.000 was a lot of money in 1986.

This episode however lost with an inch to Three For The Road for me as top favorite. But it's a great second though.