Well, first time in this part of the forum... but the subject is already giving me a migraine and I'm desperate enough to ask the most intelligent people out here for help.

I really don't get a real description between the two. I just want to understand the differences, similarities (if any) and all available info about them.

Thanks in advance for all the help!
~Ghosdoll

The easy answer:

The DXS (Department of EXternal Services) is a government agency-- like the CIA or the FBI.

The Phoenix Foundation is a think-tank, which focuses it's energy and resources on research and development, environmental protection, and security issues--both private and corporate--among other things.

I guess the major difference is the fact that the Phoenix Foundation is not run by the government, but by a board of directors, and it is privately funded.


Hope that helps a bit.

Yeah- MacGyver worked for the DXS in the 1st. Season and then switched over to the Phoenix Foundation right at the start of the 2nd. Season- along with Pete, who took over as head of operations at Phoenix.
The DXS was a government-based thing and Phoenix is a privately-funded group as Loth said. But Phoenix often works hand in hand with the government and local police forces and such, much as FLAG does on Knight Rider.

Pretty well covered by the above posts. I think to add a little more I believe the DXS dealt more with James Bond type missions as seen in the first season. The foundation deals more with humanitarian issues and deals.

oh!
Thanks so much for all the info! I was really confused between the two!

Oh my god! Knight Rider! I hope I'm not the only freak that loves that show too... although I like Mac more than Michael (Michael's "I'm-to-sexy-for-my-jacket" attitude gets easy on my nerves sometimes ). Oh god, the good '80s shows... ;_; I miss them (even if I was a toddy in those years)

Nope, there's many others around and heres the proof.

Knight Rider is right up there with Macgyver....please don't ask me to pick a favorite!

The DXS was a fictionalised version of the CIA. It was only really interested in overseas operations (the CIA isn't even supposed to operate inside US borders).

The Phoenix Foundation was pure fiction; I don't know of any real-life organisation that parallels it. Pity!

Other important distinctions:

The Phoenix Foundation often worked with or for the US government; the DXS was part of the US government. This put Mac in a very different legal situation in his work.

The DXS was focused on intelligence operations; the Phoenix Foundations was focused on science and research.

The Phoenix Foundation did not officially engage in any covert operations. Of course, the DXS didn't "officially" do so either.

The Phoenix Foundation, not being a governmental body, could serve as a neutral party or as presumably disinterested observers or mediators (Cease Fire, Humanity, The Wall, etc.). It could also act as an advocate for groups within the US (Trail of Tears).

The Phoenix Foundation would not have been viewed with the same level of suspicion as the US government. This is mentioned quite a few times, although often obliquely.

Phoenix was able to solidly retain its own liberal attitudes, without being in any danger from the changing politics of US governmental administrations.

As Lothi said, Phoenix was privately funded; the DXS would have been paid for with taxpayer money. Mac's ultimate boss at the DXS would have been the US President. His ultimate boss at Phoenix would have been the Foundation's Executive Director, who in turn was answerable to the Chairman (chairperson) of the Board of Directors.

Pretty much all of Mac's DXS work was highly classified. Most of his Phoenix work was not.

Mac's work for the DXS consisted entirely of specific, short-term assignments. His work for Phoenix often involved long-term assignments and research projects; episodes often started with him in the middle of an assignment that had been going on for a while.

Mac worked part-time, in a largely unofficial capacity, for the DXS; he also did jobs for other departments or organisations. He seems to have worked on a less ad-hoc basis for the Phoenix Foundation. In both cases, he had a lot of leeway over whether he would take on any given project or job.

'Beth

Ah, don't we all wish we had leeway in our jobs!

Didn't we had a discussion about the real Phoenix Foundation some time ago? Of course that Foundation doesn't do the same work as the fictional Foundation.

Yep, see Early Retirement for that. Pete is Mac's boss but Farrell is superior to Pete. He's the chairman of the board and I think the actual boss of Phoenix.

I know it would be nice to pick whatever type of bonus you get after completing a job. Unfortunately for me I don't think I would be as resourceful with my bonus as Mac was.

You might be thinking of the topic about the Phoenix Foundation band... or maybe the real challenges club?

Yep, see Early Retirement for that. Pete is Mac's boss but Farrell is superior to Pete. He's the chairman of the board and I think the actual boss of Phoenix.

I was actually describing the way that kind of organisation is set up in general. Although there's a lot of room for variation in the way a board interacts with the executive level of administration -- the personalities involved make a huge difference -- in the end, a foundation is run by its executives, and the executives answer to the directors.

One key difference there is that the executives are hired by the board, and hold their jobs indefinitely until they leave or are terminated. Members of a board, on the other hand, serve for limited terms; the chairman in particular is a term position. So although Farrell was chairman in 1987, he wasn't necessarily still there in later years.

I was under the impression that Pete was not actually the Executive Director of Phoenix overall, but the Director of Operations. There would normally be another stratum of authority between Pete and the Board. But Phoenix could have been different; they could have used the title "Director of Operations" for the overall executive head of Phoenix.

Assuming these sites can be fully trusted, there appears to be a couple of real life organizations known as "The Phoenix Foundation".
http://www.bioport.org/phoenix/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Foundation

http://www.phoenixfoundation.org/

Link #1 leads to a site under construction, last updated in 2007 . . .

Link #2 leads to a Wikipedia article about a libertarian foundation, founded in 1970 and largely inactive since 1980, with a history of half-baked attempts at setting up tax havens . . .

Link #3 leads to a site that hasn't been updated since 2004 . . .

Link #2 also includes this disambiguation header:
This article is about a political organization. For the New Zealand rock band, see The Phoenix Foundation (band). For the fictional foundation, see MacGyver.

Yeah, I didn't say they were all necessarily still active and operating, but there seem to have been some various groups to take the name from the MacGyver show, and some from even before the show ever aired.

Could be.

Well, meaning, that Farrell was chairman of that time and he seemed older than Pete, so he was probably going for retirement. Farrell must be either very old now or very dead.

I think we all know that. But everybody speaks of Pete as Mac's boss at the Phoenix Foundation, so everyone probably thinks Pete's the big boss of the Phoenix Foundation. Early Retirement has proven out that there are bigger chiefs than Pete. Pete is just responsible for the Field Operations. Telling MacGyver which assignments are for him or what he can do.

You can find out more about these and other organizations seen in the show on our Organizations page