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Every week I will be posting a new topic titled "Character Discussion". In this, we will discuss a character, what we liked about them, what we didn't like, etc.
Nikki Carpenter
Known as Nikki to her friends, Nicole Anne Carpenter is an investigator with police training who met MacGyver while she was investigating her brother Danny Barrett?s murder.
Although Nikki and MacGyver didn't get along to start with, over time they have become very close friends and Nikki has come to respect MacGyver's experience and knowledge.
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Season: season 1
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Well, it seems that most of the female characters on MacGyver have been fairly short-lived. I liked Nikki Carpenter pretty well and I'm not sure of why she left the show. Elyssa Davalos may just have had other projects to do. Anyway, it seems any time there was any attempt at romantic pairings for MacGyver, the female fans of the show complained (particularly with "The Wall" episode, introducing Maria Romburg. 3 episodes later, "MacGyver's Women"- she was off on assignment for Phoenix in Brazil, never to be heard from again!)
The thing with MacGyver is that there are so few actual cast members. For the first season it was only Richard Dean Anderson. By the second season, we have Dana Elcar as Pete Thornton on a full time basis now, and Richard Dean Anderson as MacGyver. But no one was ever really introduced as a full time member of the cast. That's why we kind of have to cobble together the recurring guest stars that would form the MacGyver universe- which would definitely include Nikki Carpenter. It'd be cool if she had been kept on as a permanent cast member and that would have given the Phoenix Foundation a bigger agent base, at least one known to the viewers. I assume other agents are employed there and go on missions- but obviously the ones we focus on are MacGyver's.
As I understand it Nikki was introduced with the idea of becoming a love interest to Mac...
And we all know what that means. *eyeballs all the women*
It's a pity they decided to cut the character all together instead of keeping her on as a co-worker and friend. They did have a good dynamic together and was fun to watch.
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Season: season 5
Episode:Serenity, Passages, Humanity
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Black/Navy flight
House: House boat
Since I bought the third season of MacGyver I developed a big interest in Nikki Carpenter. I actually like her. She had six episodes throughout the third season and had enough depth the use her as much as we want in the fanfic world.
I think the poison that was used was applied to this knife, passed to the mutton when it was cut and then activated by the wine. - MacGyver. Sometimes you just have to die a little inside to be reborn and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you. It's better to be a little sad than to be fake content.
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Season: season 3
Episode:Passages
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I like Nikki too, and I try to use her in my fanfics as often as I can because I can develop her character a little more. As a female viewer of MacGyver, it's a joy to actually have a sharp, strong woman character instead of a weak, helpless, whining damsel in distress. I agree that she complements Mac well. It's a shame they don't have her as a recurring character far more often. I miss her.
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
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Season: season 1
Episode:Jack in the Box (...possibly!)
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: House boat
I would have liked more Nikki in the show. I liked the way she didn’t fawn all over MacGyver. She treated him as an equal. She seemed more real than Penny and I thought after the Widowmaker there should have been a lot more of MacGyver and Nikki together. She helped him through a rough time and that would have brought them closer together. I think they were great friends but I wouldn’t have liked the writers to have their relationship change too much. I quite liked their almost sibling like squabbles and if they were suddenly all lovey-dovey with each other that would have got lost.
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Season: season 1
Episode:
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: Observatory
Well, I think MacGyver and Nikki's squabbling might have eased over time and slowly (like, over the course of a season or two) they could have started to fall in love. Then they would have a romantic element to build on in the show as well, and I would think that would draw in even more female viewers, like maybe fans of "Beauty and the Beast", for instance.
Of course, I wouldn't have cared, as long as MacGyver was still doing plenty of daring missions and crazy MacGyverisms throughout the show!
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Season: season 5
Episode:Serenity, Passages, Humanity
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Black/Navy flight
House: House boat
Nikki should've at least showed up in the fourth season again. Nikki would've actually been the perfect love interest. She has guts, she can obviously defend herself and is not afraid of saying something when she doesn't like something. As long there are dangerous missions and MacGyverisms, what's the problem? Even if she was in it doesn't mean she has to be in it every episode. A recurring character like Jack. Blow Out was a great episode to learn about her past.
I think the poison that was used was applied to this knife, passed to the mutton when it was cut and then activated by the wine. - MacGyver. Sometimes you just have to die a little inside to be reborn and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you. It's better to be a little sad than to be fake content.
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Season: season 4
Episode:Too many to choose from
Vehicle: Nomad
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House: House boat
Oh, I really wished they'd kept Nikki.
She was different from the other women in the series... rather than being a whiny damsel in distress, as MC so aptly put it, Nikki had a tendency to take charge and take the situation into her own hands... which was what often got her into trouble, ironically. She was a good example of what can happen when you don't ask for help when you need it.
Also, it was really fun to watch her and Mac bounce off each other. They could be arguing and insulting each other in one scene, and a few scenes later, would be working together.
This is why I've kept Nikki for my fanfics. Haven't done one with her yet, but will sometime.
Do not pity the dead. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
You don't eat things like that, you call pest control! Kate in The Gauntlet
What's that? Lateral... cranial... impact... enhancer. *whack* Last Stand
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Season: season 3
Episode:The Widomaker
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: House boat
I like the fact that Nikki was very fiery but, when she knew she was wrong, she could back off (after a while at least ).
An old climber's saying: "It's not the fall that kills you it's the sudden stop." Old Minnesota wisdom: "If you don't want to be touched, look downright untouchable." "I remember that age when it was cool to be bad, dumb age."
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Season: season 3
Episode:The Widomaker
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: House boat
I say we should have a Nikki day. To celebrate a wonderful actress.
An old climber's saying: "It's not the fall that kills you it's the sudden stop." Old Minnesota wisdom: "If you don't want to be touched, look downright untouchable." "I remember that age when it was cool to be bad, dumb age."
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Season: season 5
Episode:Serenity, Passages, Humanity
Vehicle: Jeep
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House: House boat
QUOTE (MacGyverluver @ 3 August 2007 - 10:30 PM)
I say we should have a Nikki day. To celebrate a wonderful actress.
Well we've got Nikki's birthday around here somewhere.
I think the poison that was used was applied to this knife, passed to the mutton when it was cut and then activated by the wine. - MacGyver. Sometimes you just have to die a little inside to be reborn and rise again as a stronger and wiser version of you. It's better to be a little sad than to be fake content.
The Nikki character was brought in to sort of have the same thing that the other ABC show "Moonlighting" had with Willis and Shepherd. At the time, it was very popular, and many shows tried to copy it.
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Season: season 5
Episode:Serenity
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: House boat
QUOTE (MacNymph @ 3 August 2007 - 09:14 PM)
QUOTE (Lothithil @ 1 August 2007 - 10:00 AM)
QUOTE (MacNymph @ 31 July 2007 - 01:16 PM)
QUOTE (Rocky @ 31 July 2007 - 09:54 AM)
And we all know what that means. *eyeballs all the women*
Knock it off, will ya?
Alas, Nymphy... we share the sins of our gender!
OH NO! I'm not taking the rap for what some of the wenches do. Especially the ubber RDA nut jobs. *shakes head* Nun't uh!
Actually, I share your feelings, Nymphy. I didn't like Maria, but I would never have written the studio and insisted on her being tossed out because I didn't want to see MacGyver with some woman who wasn't me!
Penny was an idiot, but she was sweet, and didn't she say once that Mac was like a big brother to her?
Nikki had other interests in men and proved it by dating that guy in 'Early Retirement'... she was ambitious, and she was attracted to that kind of man.
So, Rock... don't blame all the women! Some of us have at least two brain-cells to rub together!
Everyone, sometimes, needs a camel.
Old troubleshooters never die... They just wait til the last moment and then rescue themselves!
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Season: season 6
Episode:Humanity
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: House boat
I liked Nikki, alot. I think she was the perfect counterpoint to Mac and she would have been a good love interest. Maria was too over the top, and Penny a little too flighty, but Nikki had the strength, character and intelligence to stand up to MacGyver, especially when he gets into overprotective male mode.
Yeah, Nikki added a really interesting dynamic to the show.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein
The stuff is already here, I just find a different way to use it. MacGyver
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Season: season 3
Episode:Blow out
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Black/Navy flight
House: Loft
I think that Nikki was an awesome co-star. Even though her and Mac really diden't get along at first, she turned out to be really sweet. She is my favorite female character in the show! I really wish that she would have stayed in for the rest of the show!
"...Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3
"And where are my shoelaces!?"-Dexter Fillmore, Deep Cover
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Season: season 1
Episode:
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: Observatory
Just a random thing to throw in here, but I recently noticed Elyssa Davalos in an earlier role- about 10 years earlier or so! She appears in "The Mystery of King Tut's Tomb" in the 2nd. Season of "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" (you know, the 1970s show with Shaun Cassidy, Parker Stevenson and Pamela Sue Martin! ) Just thought that was neat.
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Season: season 1
Episode:
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: Observatory
That's right!!! I remember noticing that when I went to see the 2007 Nancy Drew movie! That's cool- Elyssa Davalos has 2 connections to The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew now- in 2 separate productions. That's pretty cool.
I really like Nikki and I would've loved to see her and Mac fall in love! They're both strong willed and how much over time have you seen strong willed characters argue at first (the sparks fly!) and then fall in love? Happens all the time!
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Season: season 3
Episode:
Vehicle: Jeep
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House: House boat
I really liked Nikki as well, although I didn't see her as love interest as much as the brother and sister relationship. There's only one sort of contrary image I have: when Mac meets her, she's this tough chick who can kick butt and has no time disarming men with guns. So why suddenly does she turn into a sort of damsel in distress when she meets Murdoc? I mean, she climed down that balcony with a hose in a short mini after she met Mac, but when Mac was leading her through the woods with Murdoc chasing her, she certainly wasn't as saavy. Or, in the GX-1 episode, they made her look the same way as she tried to find MacGyver to give him that message. It just doesn't really add up to me. When he kicks her out of the balloon that is pricelessly funny, but again, she's kind of a sissy about it! Forgive me for not remembering episode names. I have seen every single scene of every MacGyver but I am terrible with ep names. I will have to look through my DVD's and fix that!!!
I really liked Nikki as well, although I didn't see her as love interest as much as the brother and sister relationship. There's only one sort of contrary image I have: when Mac meets her, she's this tough chick who can kick butt and has no time disarming men with guns. So why suddenly does she turn into a sort of damsel in distress when she meets Murdoc? I mean, she climed down that balcony with a hose in a short mini after she met Mac, but when Mac was leading her through the woods with Murdoc chasing her, she certainly wasn't as saavy. Or, in the GX-1 episode, they made her look the same way as she tried to find MacGyver to give him that message. It just doesn't really add up to me. When he kicks her out of the balloon that is pricelessly funny, but again, she's kind of a sissy about it!
yeah. Your right. I'd never thought about that.. but your right.
They pulled that same stunt with the Murphy character too!
QUOTE (Lucky Charlie)
wasn't the same actor MacGyvers lost love?
yes she was.
You can see a list of all the re-cast actors and the characters they played here.
Theres also a list of characters who where played by different actors here
I like Nikki, and she is one of the reasons why I chose Season 3 as my favourite. If Mac has to choose a girlfriend she would be a perfect candidate, much, much better than Maria in 'The Wall'. When Starkoss told Mac that he would come to love her in 'GX-1' I think there would be further development on their relationship. Therefore I was quite dissappointed to see Nikki 'vanished' from the show after 'The Negotiator'.
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