Do TPTB hate Carter/Tapping?

[Major Tyler]

Ever since Amanda left for maternity leave (and maybe even a bit in Season 8) it seems to me that TPTB have been treating Sam like she is a fifth wheel. I can say without hyperbole that Sam is my favorite character on SG-1, and her leaving the show would affect me much more that Jack leaving. She is such a cool/smart/tough/beautiful/badass character, and Amanda is all those things plus an absolute laugh riot and a sweetheart.

Seeing her treated this way hurts me as much as seeing how Rainbow was treated on Atlantis. Even more so in some ways because Amanda has been on the show for 9 years! You'd think that by now she should have one of the most important roles on the show instead of being shuffled around trying to stick her somewhere. I hope Sam isn't slated to be the next Jonas/Aiden, shoved into obscurity.

I'm sorry...I'm just ranting because I am frustrated. First Aiden, now Sam...ugh.

[TechnoWraith]

To be honest, if the producers were that upset with amanda for taking maternity leave, they would have gotten rid of her far sooner. And besides, aren't they legally obligated to allow amanda to retain her job after maternity leave? (Are the labor laws different in canada?). You can't really expect someone who's pregnant and having a baby to be running around in battle fatigues and stuff.

[skritsys]

TPTB better not cut AT or there will be some seriously frustrated fans out there. Especially since she is such a major influence on the fans of SG, it would be a bad choice by TPTB if they did cut her for whatever reason.
Who else can play a smart, intelligent officer and still look great?

[sueKay]

Hate Tapping? No...but it seems to me they're using her maternity leave as a way to edge her out of the show...

Hate Carter? Probably yes...she's not as crass as Vala and doesn't need to show off her cleavage to prove she's a woman. (No disrespect to CB...I like her fine...I just can't stand Vala)TPTB are obviously edging towards the younger male demographic, and Vala now fits the bill.

[skritsys]

Excuse my reference to the show, but I honestly hope that SG-1 S9-10 does not become what Voyager was to Star Trek.

[Melyanna]

No, they don't hate her. I think they're just at a loss as to what to do with the character. I think it's a little premature to say there's nothing else for her to do, but I think this really is an attempt to give Amanda Tapping something different to do. Unfortunately, I don't think it'll fly with the vast majority of the fandom. It just creates more problems than solutions.

[binkpmmc]

Do they hate either - probably not - are they being disrespectful of both, especially AT - absofreakinlutely!!

IMO they are doing this, and they pull out that lame excuse of "we don't know what to do with Crater", because Carter makes their new Male Lead look bad. Plus many fans have reacted poorly to Mitchell as leader or co-leader and they won't accept it as long as Carter is around. She is more experienced with the Gate and Offworld missions, she knows aliens and how to deal with them, friend and foe, she clearly runs circles around Mitchell when it comes to command of the team, etc., etc. They (sony/skiffy/mgm/bridge?) want the male lead and they have to remove the impediment that makes him look bad and incompetent, so they remove Carter from playing a pivotal, integral role in SG1 by splitting her with SGA. They also open up more time for the cheap, crass, sexual unnuendo that vala brings to the show.

[Nikki]

I am soooooo angry at the way their treating Tapping/Carter. Tapping has been so loyal and dedicated to the series for nine years and now that her character is an 'incovenience' to TPTB, they're trying to get rid of her.

IMO if they get rid of, IMO, the best character in sg1, they are going to lose a large part of their current audience and fans. After RDA left quite a lot of people stopped watching but if AT goes as well, i don't think daniel and teal'c (from the original sg1) will be able to hold up the show. And lefts face it cameron and vala are nothing compared to o'neill and carter.

And i agree with alyssa, i also wish that RDA was still involved behind the scenes, he would never have treated AT with such disrespect!

[sueKay]

AT has given more of herself to the show than *anyone*

She spent a year apart from her husband for season one, before eventually he closed his business and moved down to be with her. She's worked through some hard personal times and has had to adjust to Vancouver. She's always doing conventions and interviews as well as keeping in touch with the fans...

...and this is how they repay her for her loyalty.

[Rogue]

You know the crap that is going on now reminds me of a post I read a few months back. Someone posted they would rather have Vala on their team than Sam because Sam wouldn't be any fun at a BBQ. I wonder if one of TPTB posted that because that seems to be their attitude.

[Jace021903]

I don't think that any of the powers that be hate Amanda or Sam.

I am sad to hear that she apparantly wasn't kept in the loop about the status of her character. They probably could have handled that better. But at the end of the day, business is business. I know people who have been downsized after twenty or thirty years on the job. It's sad, but it happens.

I completely understand how the Sam/Amanda fans would be upset.
But since, I am not personally privy to all the negotiations, I am going to reserve judgement about who should have been talking to her and at what point and try for a positive spin--for what it's worth.

At the beginning of season 9, TPTB faced a difficult situation in that two of the four leads were going to be MIA. They took the show a different direction and it was generally well received--I have to repeat the word "generally" because while I know there are folks here that don't like it at all, the ratings and reviews were pretty positive for the first half of season 9. So now, they want to continue in the that direction and are faced with integrating another lead into the mix. I don't think it has anything to do with not liking the actress or the character.

If they really don't like the character of Sam anymore, they could have certainly wallpapered her throughout 20 episodes in SG-1 in season 10. She could have come on to do the exposition and little else. It sounds like they want to find something interesting and worthwhile for the character and the actor so they are kicking around having her cross over to Atlantis which actually could be a great opportunity for Amanda.

There is really no legal discrimination here since she has been offered 20 episodes like everyone else whether they had a baby or not.

Amanda has been negotiating contracts for awhile so I'm sure she will do what is in her and her family's best interests. I certainly wish her the best.

Jace

[sueKay]

You know...doesn't this sound like Ford all over again???

Don't TPTB realise that their 'boredum' with some characters has far reaching consequences for both the actors and the shows?

[Madeleine]

Hate? No.

Undervalue? Very probably.

IMO... They've had a lot of flak for how they've written Carter these last couple of years, and they're seeing it as a problem with Carter rather than with their writing. We've seen this before - they weren't really sure what to do with Daniel so they made it clear to MS that he wasn't wanted for s6. Ooops. Are they doing the same to Amanda? It sounds like it. More fool them. If they don't know what to do with Carter then they don't deserve to still be writing the show. They should d___ well think something up to do with her, and the LAST thing they should EVER do is to make the actress feel like she's supernumerary. That's horrid.

Apologies if I'm over-reacting. I'm not a massive Sam-fan, she's #3 on my list of the original SG-1, but still... she's part of what's made the show good, and part of what makes it SG-1. I'd miss her. If AT DOES leave, please let it be because she wants to, not because she feels it's walk or get pushed.

[Jeyla4ever]

I just read about this whole thing in the Teyla thread..many are concern that the characters of Teyla and Elizabeth might suffer greatly if Amanda was to join partly in Atlantis.....which is the rumor lurking in the Teyla thread....
so, I'm not sure what is what and/or if nothing has really been decided...I didn't have time to read all of the postings here..so, forgive me if I am way off..I did read Madeline W...and I have to agree with her...

Amanda's character in SG-1 is so different from many of the other characters that I have seen in Sci-fi...Eventhough the writers were not always consistent with her character (the whole Jack/Sam thing) she brought something to the show that basically attracted both genders and of different ages...She is a strong, character that represents an elite style of female characters that is just barely starting to take a turn in the entertainment world...and for that I give lots of credit to Amanda... And now, not only I they substituting her for someone who is going to portray a complete opposite of her character, but also, they are going to jeopardize not only Sam's character but also the female characters in Atlantis..IMHO...

But, only time will tell and things still haven't been decided and lots can happen from now until "curtain time"...let's hope that TPTB realize the horrible damage that they will be doing should this rumor become a reality...

And if Amanda decides to leave... (but if I were her, that is exactly what I would do..I am sure that there are many out there who would take her in a heartbeat) it will be the loss of SG-1.....just my honest opinion folks...

[jckfan55]

Hate? No.

Undervalue? Very probably.

IMO... They've had a lot of flak for how they've written Carter these last couple of years, and they're seeing it as a problem with Carter rather than with their writing. We've seen this before - they weren't really sure what to do with Daniel so they made it clear to MS that he wasn't wanted for s6. Ooops. Are they doing the same to Amanda? It sounds like it. More fool them. If they don't know what to do with Carter then they don't deserve to still be writing the show. They should d___ well think something up to do with her, and the LAST thing they should EVER do is to make the actress feel like she's supernumerary. That's horrid.

Apologies if I'm over-reacting. I'm not a massive Sam-fan, she's #3 on my list of the original SG-1, but still... she's part of what's made the show good, and part of what makes it SG-1. I'd miss her. If AT DOES leave, please let it be because she wants to, not because she feels it's walk or get pushed.

Excellent points. And see--it's not just Sam fans who are upset.