Did MacGyver come back from the dead twice? I think not. Silly, silly people.

Rebekah | November 20, 12:12 CET

Let's see Buffy stake a vampire using a toilet paper roll. Until then, I won't be dissing MacGyver.

WindTheFrog | November 20, 12:14 CET

Why, did MacGyver ever stake a vampire using a toilet paper roll?

@theonetruebix | November 20, 12:17 CET

MacGyver is great and cool and all... but the toughest??? Sorry, I don't see it!

Spikeslady | November 20, 12:18 CET

Damn right.

death is my gift | November 20, 12:24 CET

MacGyver is pretty badass. Also I grew up watching Magnum PI, and I gotta say-- why is he there?

Sunfire | November 20, 12:26 CET

I loved MacGyver, but no way is he tougher than Buffy. He's not even tougher than O'Neill on Stargate.

NYPinTA | November 20, 12:40 CET

I say sexism! MacGuyver never killed a vampire with a drum cymbal or even the wooden part of a spatula. Buffy has!

impalergeneral | November 20, 12:43 CET

MacGyver kicked all kinds of ass. I always have duct tape in the car, and I carry a Swiss Army knife because of him. But I never really saw him as an action star.

Is there some HUGE online following for MacGyver I don't know about?

[ edited by EvilElecBlanket on 2008-11-20 21:44 ]

Eric_Curtis | November 20, 12:44 CET

Erm...Xena anyone? and I love the picture of Sarah Michelle Gellar, I've never seen it before.

shesmyeverything | November 20, 12:54 CET

Good to see Buffy on there and so high too. Despite being the only genuine super-hero on the list she was also probably the most human, not always easy to balance that with tough but Purp and the Gang managed it.

And I thought the whole point of MacGyver was that he wasn't tough, that he used his brains (as well as a Swiss army knife and, sometimes, bits of a pair of binoculars) to get himself out of trouble ? He did have a certain never-say-die, where-there's-a-will-there's-a-way tenacity to him though (bit like Jack O'Neill in that regard).

Not an insane list apart from that, Magnum was usually the cheeky rogue we saw on the show but I remember some episodes where he flashed back to Vietnam and those showed he had some iron in his bones.

(i'd probably include the Unstoppable Jonas Blaine - I genuinely can't think of him without putting some sort of qualifier in front of his name ;) - from 'The Unit', he's a bit unrealistic but still proper tough. And going back a bit - and over [the pond] a bit - Callan)

Saje | November 20, 12:55 CET

How about Kwai Chang Caine from Kung Fu? Can you really see MacGyver kicking his ass? I think not!!!

Why not just pit Professor Roy Hinkley against MacGyver in a build-off deathmatch. Give them both a coconut, a paperclip, a bag of dirty laundry, 600lbs of sheet metal and an elect Nixon button, then see if they can build a fuel efficient car.

Since the criteria for this list seems kind of loose, maybe we should include Jim Rockford. Here's a guy who got his butt kicked at least once a week and still managed to come back for 122 episodes.

Sorry, but this list just pissed me off! *sigh*

[ edited by Night Gallery on 2008-11-20 22:39 ]

Night Gallery | November 20, 13:05 CET

And I thought the whole point of MacGyver was that he wasn't tough, that he used his brains (as well as a Swiss army knife and, sometimes, bits of a pair of binoculars) to get himself out of trouble ?

This is what I always thought as well. He's almost an anti-action star.

Eric_Curtis | November 20, 13:09 CET

Staying cool and creative under fire is a kind of toughness.

Yeah Xena should be #1. She's got both the physical and mental qualities.

Sunfire | November 20, 13:20 CET

Even though this is a "TV Guide Poll" I'm thinking this poll must have been exclusively on ILoveMcGyver.com. ;)

montresor | November 20, 13:29 CET

What, no Walker, Texas Ranger? That's madness! (Madness? Yes. Yes it is.) He should have at least beat Magnum! Hell, Michael Knight should've beat Magnum. Come to think of it, Jessica Fletcher should've beat Magnum. And Sydney Bristow as well (just 'cause I haven't even seen Alias).

GreatMuppetyOdin | November 20, 13:39 CET

Walker, Texas Ranger?

Hey, are you Jack O'Toole? :)

jcs | November 20, 14:25 CET

No one, NO ONE, is tougher than Walker, Texas Ranger. And where's Mr. T? Sigh...

mister0 | November 20, 14:31 CET

That looks like some kind of illustration for a book or graphic novel or something.

There is a lot being said in that picture.

Why are Angel & Spike out on that rock? What's with the goth eye makeup and the swords? Who's the skeleton?

ShadowQuest | November 20, 14:46 CET

That's actually a photomanip by Zugma. I wonder if they got her permission to use it there.

Enisy | November 20, 14:54 CET

So are we in on a sort of cavemen versus astronauts here, with Buffy as the caveman (solves problems with brawn) and MacGyver as the astronaut (solves problems with brains)?

'cause that would be too funny.

bookwench | November 20, 15:16 CET

Xena definitely deserves props. I'm remembering this scene where she turns her back on her evil gang and in order to leave, she has to walk through a line of them all beating her. Death or freedom - and she made to the other side because of how tough she was.

Emmie | November 20, 15:34 CET

That was an odd choice of picture.

And tough isn't a synonym for strong or dangerous. A lot of it is how hard a hit you can take, and also partly to come back even when you've been pushed to a limit. With Buffy 's super-powers, her limts are harder for circumstances or a bad guy to reach. Yes, of course she was tested, harshly, but reaching a point that woudl test her at all is a much lnger journey and so she could conceivably come in behind a normal person. It's possible. It has been argued that the toughest person in Avengers Mansion is Jarvis.

DaddyCatALSO | November 20, 17:15 CET

I think it's cool that three of the five on the "Tough Guy" list were female!

floofypooh | November 20, 21:25 CET

Three? Did Magnum have a secret I didn't know about?

Man, Omar gets no respect at all... not that he could take Buffy.

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | November 20, 21:42 CET

Do you mean Omar Little?

RCM | November 20, 22:10 CET

Omar Little is more of a bad ass than a tough guy.

@theonetruebix | November 20, 22:20 CET

A good point; I'd forgotten the precise distinction. The complaint is withdrawn.

I'm still surprised that Magnum was actually a crossdresser.

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | November 20, 22:51 CET

But if there were a list of top bad asses, I'd be very angry if Omar didn't top it.

@theonetruebix | November 20, 23:09 CET

MacGyver was too girly -- RDA didn't get tough until S2 of SG-1. :P No way MacGyver could ever beat Buffy.

cabri | November 20, 23:13 CET

Well they got the women right, anyhow. ;-)

I love the manip, I have one similar but a little different that I've had for so long, I can't remember where I got it (major difference is it's a Spuffy, so no Angel).
Thanks for the link Enisy. And it does say you need permission for anything other than personal use.

Shey | November 21, 01:02 CET

Never saw MacGyver skewer someone he loved to save the world.

Never saw MacGyver tell the first evil of the world to "Get out of my face!" after being stabbed in the abdomen.

quantumac | November 21, 07:01 CET