16 – Every Time She Smiles

Airdate: 19 Feb 1986
Writer: James Schmerer
Director: Charles Correll
Guest Cast: Teri Hatcher as Penny Parker , Kai Wulff as Stephan Frolov , Michael Fox as Burak
Milos Kirek as Petrovich.


MacGyver travels to Bulgaria to retrieve a microfilm. But his plans for a quick departure are thwarted by an American women who involves MacGyver in her lovers quarrel with Bulgarian security officer.

Votes from 26 March 2006
Poor [ 0 ] [0.00%]
Average [ 1 ] [9.09%]
OK [ 3 ] [27.27%]
Good [ 6 ] [54.55%]
Excellent [ 1 ] [9.09%]
Total Votes: 11

Archived comments

Chicken mess is often used in buildings as an internal structure for support and attaching materials onto. It’s also used to hold the building paper onto the insides of the walls and ceilings..

In this particular case, it looks like it was used to provide extra support and strength to a flimsy wall.

Yeah Mac wanted to get the hell out of there ASAP!!! Oh i was mistaken Penny wasn't kinda dumb she WAS dumb rofl. Yeah dumb but funny ROFL.

"a beaver's structure"?

LOL

Although why, God only knows! They'll be calling painting a sport next, because it requires skill and ability!

It depends how it's used...

IMO, if it's used in anger or thrown around frivolously, then that's a no no.

I saw a rerun on Game Show Network and the contestant won and she said "Oh My God!, Oh My God!". At the time of the original broadcast, the word "God" was deleted.

Years ago, you couldn't use the word "pregnant" on TV. Now you can show how you get that way.

Nice try....

But if you don't sweat, it's not a sport.

I can't stand Penny in this one...ok, in general, but she does improve, so I had to vote 'poor'. Just too bad to stand more than once.

I rated this episode good. Yes I agree, Penny Parker can be extremely irritating, but she also brings out an element in MacGyver's personality that we rarely see in his interactions with other people. The possible exception might be Jack Dalton. Penny annoys that hell out of MacGyver. This is evident in the scene at the airport where he's stnding around, minding his own business, waiting to clear security.

She strikes up the conversation, and like Mac says later in the show, "A guy just can't be rude." He's very patient with her, but its also clear he wishes she would just shut up and leave him alone. I think anyone who has ever flown anywhere has met a person that immediately wants to be your new best friend. Been there, done that, got the T shirt. The problem with these people is that they just don't know when to quit.

MacGyver deals with Penny's innteruptions and interferences with a suffering patience that actually makes you feel a little sorry for the guy.

Penny is a real dingbat. Unfortunately, there really are people like that in the world. I know, I'm realated to one. She does provide some comic relief, without crossing into Keystone Kops territory. I can't help it, but I find the scene of her running out in the street in a teddy and that coverup with the feathers hilarious. Mac yelling at her, "I said a bathrobe." and She answers, "this is the nicest one I have." Like she's not going to attract attention dressed like that.

Overall, the acting isn't too bad from the rest of the supporting cast either. Teri Hatcher did get better in the later episodes she appeared in, but she did ok here.

The one thing that I have to ask, even though it was pointed out in last year's discussion. Why didn't Mac pick the lock on the handcuffs before breaking out of the airport interrogation room? Penny had the earring, you couldn't miss it swinging like a fishing lure, yet Mac didn't think to pick the lock on the handcuffs until they got to the park. the other nitpicky thing that bugged me was that Penny kept wearing the other earring instead of taking it out. Its probably just me but it looks really weird and it just annoys me.

Overall, not a bad episode. I go back to this one when I need a little levity in my day.

And a question: is it me or does the actor playing Constantine at the end of this episode bear a strong resemblance to the Russian jr officer driving the tank in To Be A Man?

This is a good fun episode. I like that spy adventure type feel at the start with the sneaky way to hide the microfilm on the postcard.
Penny brings in some entertaining moments. Yes, she is an irritatingly silly girl but she has a sweetness to her that makes her bearable. She is amusing and entertaining enough for me to forgive her irritating side, most of the time! I also like that she is game to go along with MacGyvers plans and doesn’t act the helpless female all the time.
The episode was good but I think the introduction of Penny made it more memorable than it otherwise would have been.
Its really funny to watch MacGyver try to keep his temper and not patronise her.

I added my "OK" vote.

I'm not too fond of the Penny Parker character. I think the PTB's could have written her just as child-like and naïve without her seeming like a total bubble-head.

I do like how they worked around RDAs injury, though. Though being handcuffed together is a bit unbelievable. Necessary for the storyline, I guess. *shrug* And as pointed out before, he could have pick the lock on the handcuffs earlier, especially with one hand free.

And another run for the border... (Has anyone counted how many time he had to get over the border?)

But all in all, this is an entertaining episode-not one for the record books for memorability, but I don't turn it off when it's on.

I have rated "good".

It's because I lgenerally enjoyed the episode, but I have a little problem with Penny too. On the one hand, I think that she is a very nice girl, but on the other hand I find her quite annoying. Poor !
I liked her about as much as in "Cleo Rocks" and "The Secret of Parker House", which were actually the episodes where I saw her first.
But thanks to her those episodes are very entertaining.

I like the story, somehow it reminds me of James Bond (Eastern Europe, the game of chess with the contact, the café and so on).

That handcuff-thing also seems a bit strange to me. Apparently Mac likes to be attached to women in this way (We know about his problems with commitments ):
I remember the escape with Lulu in "The Lost Amadeus". He was in no hurry to get rid of the handcuffs until she had that "little problem".
But it surely adds a bit of fun and suspense to the episode.

you know.. I've never actually made that connection with the handcuffs.. but now that you mention it...

Although a rather annoying debut for Penny, this really opens up Mac. Whereas Jack is kind of Mac's brother, Penny really has a similar effect. Mac eventually sees her as a sister, him being the over-protective brother.

I gave it excellent because it makes me laugh SO many times.
When the come out on the baggage claim, and oh my God, when Penny descibes the "farm machine" and MacGyver says, "A Trac-Tor?" I crack up.
Not the best ep for serous stuff, but oh, so damn funny.

Edited because I could not think of the word for baggage claim; I'm a high school teacher, it's Friday, and it's been a LONG day!!! LOL Even now I'm not sure I spelled it right, could I be having a stroke here?

That "trac-tor?" line is one of my favourites, also -- fantastic delivery!

Another fave moment fir me is when Mac is running for the bathroom in the airport and he runs into an older, overweight, Bulgarian (supposedly) woman who screams and causes Mac to scream.

well, it's just an okay episode. penny annoyed me a bit.

Yep, that's what you get with Penny Parker: annoyed. Does anyone wonder if Teri Hatcher doesn't seriously regret the role?

she's an actress. she's bound to have done roles she didn't really like but needs the exposure. at least with penny parker, it's a recurring role in a popular tv show. so, i don't think she regrets it. imo, of course. :-)

I guess it comes down to how secure she is.

If she thinks of herself as a smart intelligent person, she would have fun with the role, goofing around and pretending to be a bimbo. If she wasn't' so sure.. she might have worried that people would think she was really like that.

I think her role of the strong feisty intelligent Lois Lane in Lois & Clark would have superseded any presumption of her being a bimbo in any case.

I liked her in her first time playing Penny she acted like a blonde more then anything else.

I believe Ricky Dean had broken his wrist during filming that season. I voted excellent, which pretty much sums up the first season to me.

I think this is my favorite Penny Parker episode. I love it when she starts talking about "the thing that plows" and MacGyver responds "a trac-tor?"

And also the look on his face when she kisses him at the restaurant like he was thinking what a terrible idea it was (nothing like when she kissed him in "Friends")

Penny Parker is one of my favorite supporting characters. She and Mac just sort of bounce off one another. I loved this episode! I gave it an "Excellent". It was really fun to see mac in this sort of situation. You could just tell he wanted to pull his hair out, but he was really sweet with Penny. That's what makes this episode so good. i'm glad they brought Penny back a few more times too. Her episodes are just so much fun to watch because she's such a ditz and Mac knows it, but he still cares about her and is really a great friend to her.

Here's a question for you. Do you all think Penny really is that dumb, or is she smarter than she lets on? If it's the latter, why?? If she's doing it because she thinks men find it attractive, she's definitely wrong. The only guys who like dumb girls are a) dumb guys and b) guys who want a trophy girlfriend.

I wouldn't say that Penny is dumb, ditzy as heck, yes, but not truly dumb. I knew someone like her growing up in small town Michigan. Annoyed the hell out of me with her ditzy dumb blond attitude (forgive the saying). Turned out that she hadn't travelled much, let a pretty sheltered existance, even more so than me, and just hadn't spent much time thinking about what she truly could do with her life. Granted that was her at 16 yrs old, not 25 or 30 like Penny.

Now, I've moved out to Minnesota, and I have managed to find a young 30 something woman who could pass as Penny...and the scary thing is this friend has a BA in Art and is working on a Masters in Education...early childhood education. Again, hasn't travelled much, sheltered youth, and a very simple/naive view of things. I've also run into a 26 year old male, who could pass as a male version of Penny in that respect...kinda spooky really.

Now saying this, I find Penny to be an annoyance in this episode, but I love how Mac deals with her....

It's okay. I wasn't expecting Teri Hatcher to pop up in it, so I was quite surprised to see her.
She drove me nuts! It's amazing Mac didn't tell her to bugger, that woman could talk the hind leg off a donkey!

I think she and Mac started to get along well, but he does seem to get frustrated at her incessant babbling.

The frame story of this episode is actually rather interesting, and I think RDA is doing a great job here, considering that his arm is actually broken for real.

However--I'm sorry, but I find it very difficult to like Penny Parker. Teri Hatcher seems to have a talent for dancing and stage acting, and of course, there's the comic relief factor... but, the Penny Parker character's attitude just drives me nuts.

I think the reason for me is simple--she's everything I *don't* want to be. Now, don't get me wrong here, I'm not an extreme feminist or a fighter for women's rights, and things *have* changed since the 80's, although we're not quite there yet (and I doubt we'll ever be, simply because there *are* differences between men and women, and it's hard to overcome our natural instincts).

That said--as a woman in a men's world, (as is often the case with me, since I am much of a technical troubleshooter and audio system rigger... plus I'm also an avid urban explorer, just to mention some things...)--it can be hard enough to make people forget that just because you're a woman, it doesn't mean you're more fragile as a person.

Penny Parker is using all her female qualities, including her (assumed?) lack of intelligence, to draw attention and sympathy from the men. (Yes, there are many unintelligent men out there too, but very few are using it for sympathy the same way women tend to do--hence the "myth" of the "blonde" female, I think... )

I may sound harsh, but in my opinion, characters like Penny Parker help feeding this clichéd myth which so many of us just... detest. I know, these were the 80's, and some things have changed since then--I imagine it would be much harder today to establish a character like Penny in a modern TV series... but she still bothers me.

That said, I mean no offense to those of you who actually like her, (as long as you don't expect real life females to act and be treated like that... ) She does provide comic relief now and then, as with the famous "trac-tor" line...

Needless to say, though, I'm glad that her and Mac's romance was ignored in the later Penny Parker episodes, and he said she was like a younger sister instead.

Voting "OK" on this one.

The plot/premise is alright. PP is soooo annoying and childlike though - that I had to fast forward through many parts of this. Nobody could be that ditzy, could they? OKay maybe 1980s Valley Girls for which I think her character was based upon!? Thumbs down on this one.

This episode is just so funny, and the reason it is sooo funny is Penny. Mac gets into this situations because he is such a nice guy and can't be rude and that is part of why we love him.

The classic spy stuff at the beginning was fun as well.

I can not be at an airport, see the baggage claim conveyor belt and not think about this episode.

And I have different ran into those people that just won't stop talking to you, even though they don't you. On a overnight flight to Manchester, a Texas lady, very much like Penny, would not stop talking the entire flight to the British woman seated next to her. I was across the aisle and row back and heard every word of the conversation. my intent was to sleep through the flight. It didn't happen. Soon as the plane landed the British woman bolted. We saw the same Texas lady chatting up everyone she was in line with throughout customs. People like Penny are there.

Oh yes, that happens to me a lot! I'm one of those who seldom talk to strangers but for some reason I attract chatty people. Most of the time I don't mind. I'm glad everyone is not as shy as me, that would be boring. But some people just talk too much! Once I was on a bus trip that lasted six hours and a man was talking (to himself as well as to me) ALL the time. I have a fear of being impolite, however I discreetly tried reading a book, listening to music and pretending to be asleep. It did not help.

Well let's not confuse 'chatty' people with complete ditzes. Talkative, friendly people with alot to say are one thing .... but PP is completely over-the-top in the airhead department, imo.

You'd think that Mac would prefer a slightly more 'cerebral' woman to get nose to nose and toes to toes with .... but then again opposites do often attract.

I liked this episode too; I like the way Mac is totally taken aback by Penny and can't work out how to deflect her without seeming rude. That cracks me up every time!

While Penny is certainly annoying, I still find her funny. If only for the effect she has on everyone around her and the fact that we've all had to deal with a Penny at some point!

Also, as noted by others here, I think RDA is doing really well for a guy with a busted arm. He ends up doing loads of stuff with both hands, which must have hurt.

NightTinkerer: You took the words right out of my mouth, and said it better than I could. That's why Penny irritates me, too.