Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[MajorSam]

North America is Region 1, Region 2 is Western Europe

And it must be in Amanda's 'Beyond the Gate' special feature. She talks about her directing in that.


Doh! Something to look forward too I guess

Really??? Here I always thought I was region 2... but No, it's not in the Beyond The Gate either. (That's what I meant to say before, isntead of Video Diary...) Like I said, it's a very chopped down version. It still has stuff on her directing, but not anything you guys have said about her special Director's thing, as well i've seen lots of pictures, it's not in the Beyond the Gate. I also have the full version of it on my computer, not there either.

[ForeverSg1]

I'm region 2, aren't I??? I believe all of North America is... I investigated just last nite my Volume 5, with Resurection on it... I have audio commentary, and a chopped up shortened version of Amanda's Video Diary. No special director's diary, no anything...

Hmmm, my dvd are region 1 and I'm in States(Texas). I'm pretty sure region 1 is for US and Canada.

[ChopinGal]

Ah yes my Dear Jester, however the Queen herself has stated that once a year, with a certain collegue by the name of Christopher, (who seems to have a striking resemblance to the ever-popular Murray) She "lets down her hair" shall we say. Perhaps she would be willing to attend to our Celebration and "let her hair" down.

However, Now that I think it over, I am afraid to realize that would not be possible for the Celebration this weekend, as she is with child, whom is her very first priority, as it should be, and I would never ask her Majesty to risk any harm coming to said child, the grand Heir of Samanda.

In light of the Grand Celebratory Event, and the recent currency plans, as well as the usual brilliant posts, I believe it is due time for some recognition to be passed!

To each member of the Kingdom of Samanda, I hereby award The Orange Bean


This bean is the special "tickets" one could say, to attend any Celebration in Honour of her Majesty the Queen. It is Orange, because before one could ever attend an honourific event for her Majesty, one must embrace the joyous vivrant colour that is the favourite of our Queen!

I am sure to see you all this weekend

Cordially,

Madam President

Dear Madam President

You have spoken wisely and well. The delicate nature of the Queen's condition would preclude any mosh pit for this event.

Perhaps, if she were to attend, a Samandan Lullaby would be most suitable. Thus, I will add Puff, the Magic Dragon to Murray's musical selections. It will be delightful to accompany the Minstrels on my lyre for a melody such as this.

By the way, I will invite the Royal Midwife to the Gala should her services be needed.

Sincerely,

Your Jester

[NearlyCircular]

Major Sam, I just looked at my volume 5 and it's on the Beyond the Gate -Amanda Tapping special feature. I'm in the US, so I'm not sure if that's the same version you've got. By the way, I want to say thanks to all of you for reminding me of this special feature. It's so much fun to watch.

Here are a few screen caps from it, including the Molly Shannon bit.

NC

[Skydiver]

may i suggest, oh keeper of the beans, that the baby blue and baby pink ones be reserved to be bestowed upon Queen Samanda's heir, as soon as the little one makes his/her grand appearance

[ChopinGal]

Okay, I found it! The Molly Shannon spoof is on Beyond The Gate, Amanda Tapping, Vol 5 of the S7 DVD set. It happens very fast while she is running down a hall in Resurrection in the black suit. Amanda is talking about directing and listen for the following:

"It turned out to be the single, most phenomenal thing I ever did ...."

As she's saying this, the visual is her turning around and doing a quick knee bend with her hands extended up and out ... to me, this is the Molly Shannon routine on SNL when she plays the Catholic schoolgirl and sometimes does this ... maybe I'm all wrong.

I was wrong about her being director when she does the action, sorry. It looks, instead, like they were just filming her and Michael in one of the running scenes.

[ChopinGal]

Major Sam, I just looked at my volume 5 and it's on the Beyond the Gate -Amanda Tapping special feature. I'm in the US, so I'm not sure if that's the same version you've got. By the way, I want to say thanks to all of you for reminding me of this special feature. It's so much fun to watch.

Here are a few screen caps from it, including the Molly Shannon bit.

NC

NC

These are great! Thanks for putting them up and you did find the Molly Shannon too!

I was beginning to think I dreamed the whole thing - and it all was happening in MajorSam's basement!!!!

[ChopinGal]

I wrote this poem when Amanda announced her pregnancy at her website a few months ago. I had just started writing this kind of verse, and the words just seemed to flow ... I put it up there and at another forum. Maybe some of you have read it already. Now that the baby is almost here, I thought I'd like to post it to our special Samanda Thread ...

Haiku for Amanda

Adored by her fans
And loved by her cast and crew
So what more to ask?

Something still missing
Words spoken in Grace hold truth
Real life mirrors art

Sharing in the joy
Announcing to fans and friends
"Baby on the way!"

Good news travels fast
Amanda as a mother
Two in love make three

Ides of March beckon
Great excitement fills the air
New role to be played

All of fandom know
Proof positive not needed
Glow on face will tell

Outer space gives way
Thoughts of inner space delight
Universe changes

Hope and happiness
Gathering around the clan
Fans will understand

[Agent_Dark]

I wrote this poem when Amanda announced her pregnancy at her website a few months ago. I had just started writing this kind of verse, and the words just seemed to flow ... I put it up there and at another forum. Maybe some of you have read it already. Now that the baby is almost here, I thought I'd like to post it to our special Samanda Thread ...

Haiku for Amanda



Adored by her fans
And loved by her cast and crew
So what more to ask?

Something still missing
Words spoken in Grace hold truth
Real life mirrors art

Sharing in the joy
Announcing to fans and friends
"Baby on the way!"

Good news travels fast
Amanda as a mother
Two in love make three

Ides of March beckon
Great excitement fills the air
New role to be played

All of fandom know
Proof positive not needed
Glow on face will tell

Outer space gives way
Thoughts of inner space delight
Universe changes

Hope and happiness
Gathering around the clan
Fans will understand

I nominate it for a Speckled Bean Award!

[astrogeologist]

What other times do we see Amanda, as actor, doing her usually fine reading, but Sam lagging behind in development (due to the script)?

I can think of a few ... I guess the many times in the later seasons when Carter tries to tell O'Neill her true feelings or personal thoughts ... the script always pulls her back and makes her seem timid. Cases in point: Grace when she awakens and then says "thank you, sir" but can't quite get the words out to explain more to Jack; Lost City at Jack's house before D&T show up and then on the ship where he interrupts her and says "I know" and she just lets it hang; Affinity when she tries to talk to him about the ring but still doesn't push a little harder after his somewhat cryptic remarks. For me, Sam was not growing better and stronger in these scenes; they left me wanting more for her. However, she was not acting in a vacuum. How Jack was being written in these same scenes played an important factor too. He seemed to cut her off in some (Lost City) and remain remote and unreadable in others (Affinity). I don't think this dance did either of their characters any good.

Well-stated and well-referenced, Chopingal. I agree completely.
And I think this uneveness of the writing between the two characters led to much of what Chocdoc remarked upon a few pages back in the thread:

What I don't get is why some anti-shippers perceive that Jack really doesn't like Sam at all, and only patronizes her. I was blown away with this perception! This had never crossed my mind. I think the attraction is mutual, but obviously they could not act on it.

It has come across to me that they have written Sam as strongly pursuing her personal life - including attempting to speak to Jack... and they've had her openly show her feelings about him - examples include
Paradise Lost, when Sam cries in the women's locker room;
Heroes, when Jack is hit by a staff blast,
and in Lost City, when she starts to say that even if they save the world, she doesn't think it's worth the price of his life,
and then again at the end of Lost City, when she speaks to him as he lies unconscious in the Ancient control chair,
and then when she lays her hand on the ice at the end of the scene.

Jack's pursuit of a personal life, or his feelings for Sam, have not been written or shown in the same fashion that we have seen Sam's personal life or her feelings for Jack. I think that this imbalance is the source of many folks' consternation and frustration. It's difficult to understand what isn't said or shown.

With all of the screen caps that I have been working with lately, I have watched snips from lots of the first four seasons... and one thing stood out for me... Jack O'Neill seemed more open and more easy-going in those first few seasons... His smile seemed easier... He called her Sam - and it was no big deal...

Hmmm... just gets me thinking...
.

[astrogeologist]

Haiku for Amanda

Adored by her fans
And loved by her cast and crew
So what more to ask?

Something still missing
Words spoken in Grace hold truth
Real life mirrors art

Sharing in the joy
Announcing to fans and friends
"Baby on the way!"

Good news travels fast
Amanda as a mother
Two in love make three

Ides of March beckon
Great excitement fills the air
New role to be played

All of fandom know
Proof positive not needed
Glow on face will tell

Outer space gives way
Thoughts of inner space delight
Universe changes

Hope and happiness
Gathering around the clan
Fans will understand

I nominated it for a Speckled Bean Award!

I second the nomination!
.

[astrogeologist]

Here are a few screen caps from it, including the Molly Shannon bit.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...r/PDVD_017.bmp
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...r/PDVD_016.bmp
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...r/PDVD_011.bmp
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...r/PDVD_014.bmp
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...r/PDVD_009.bmp
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...r/PDVD_007.bmp

NC - thanks for the great screen caps!
You picked some wonderful shots - love to see AT's smile!
Also- side note - love your current sig pic!
.

[NearlyCircular]

What other times do we see Amanda, as actor, doing her usually fine reading, but Sam lagging behind in development (due to the script)?
...
I can think of a few ... in COTG, Sam was a bit too defensive in the initial briefing room but that was her very first entry as Sam Carter, and it was that scene, not the whole episode. I guess the many times in the later seasons when Carter tries to tell O'Neill her true feelings or personal thoughts ... the script always pulls her back and makes her seem timid. Cases in point: Grace when she awakens and then says "thank you, sir" but can't quite get the words out to explain more to Jack; Lost City at Jack's house before D&T show up and then on the ship where he interrupts her and says "I know" and she just lets it hang; Affinity when she tries to talk to him about the ring but still doesn't push a little harder after his somewhat cryptic remarks. For me, Sam was not growing better and stronger in these scenes; they left me wanting more for her. However, she was not acting in a vacuum. How Jack was being written in these same scenes played an important factor too. He seemed to cut her off in some (Lost City) and remain remote and unreadable in others (Affinity). I don't think this dance did either of their characters any good.

Astrog, I was writing this as you posted, so I can see we're thinking along the same lines. Chocdoc's post triggered some of the thoughts below.

I've been thinking about something along these lines for a couple of days now and wasn't sure if I should post it here, because we are such a positive thread, and I don't want to gripe too much. I'll repeat what I've said before, I still think Sam is the best female leading character in tv, and in all the cases I’m describing below, Amanda did a wonderful job, showing Sam as bashful, funny, passionate, heartbroken, flustered, or whatever was called for in the script. However, I felt some aspects of Sam’s character took a turn for the worse in a few episodes of the last 2 seasons, mainly because of the way TPTB showed her relationships with Pete and Jack.

Looking at Sam’s relationships over the years, it seemed like she was maturing in the way she dealt with the men in her life. In the early seasons, with Jonas Hanson and Narim, she seemed unsure of herself and somewhat shy and embarrassed by the attention. In the middle years, you could see her becoming more secure, as evidenced by the way she behaved with Orlin in Ascension and Joe in 2001. Her teasing flirting in Forsaken and her obvious happiness with Pete early in Chimera showed even more growth. Here was a woman who (finally) felt secure enough with prospective or current boyfriends to kid around with them and actually enjoy the compliments that they gave her. So following that progression, she should have been shown as even more confident in herself this season. Unfortunately, I think TPTB have presented her as even more insecure than the early seasons. In Threads, when Sam is talking to Jack at his house and then later to Pete, I saw a flustered, confused, anxious Sam, not the strong, secure, confident character that has been slowly created over the years. It just didn’t feel right.

It also bothers me that lately, TPTB chose to show only Sam’s struggle with her feelings, and not Jack’s. I know he’s supposed to be the strong, stoic type, but his lack of reaction to Kerry’s speech in Threads and his immediate interruptions of Sam whenever she attempted to bring up the subject as in Lost City, did make him look unfeeling, uncaring, or completely unwilling to deal with that aspect of his life. As you said CG, it doesn't show Jack in a good light either. We know that the man does feel deeply about others, and can show affection, as he demonstrated when he touched Teal’c’s face in Lost City. I found that simple scene with Teal’c to be one of the most moving moments in the entire series. It showed a depth of caring and friendship that didn’t need to be expressed in words. I realize that outward displays of affection between Jack and Sam (other than hugs of comfort) would probably not get by the Air Force advisors. But if they could have shown in some way that Jack was interested, it would have seemed less like Sam was almost begging Jack to pay attention to her.

NC

[Skydiver]

i do think one of sam's quirks is her massive insecurity. she can't conceive that some guy would be interested in her so she feels differently about each interaction.

i think sam and jack, if you choose to see the ship, sam's feelings are that she's afraid of messing up thier friendship by trying for something more. she'd rather be friends forever than try for more, mess it up and lose his friendship

[chocdoc]

It has come across to me that they have written Sam as strongly pursuing her personal life - including attempting to speak to Jack... and they've had her openly show her feelings about him - examples include
Paradise Lost, when Sam cries in the women's locker room;
Heroes, when Jack is hit by a staff blast,
and in Lost City, when she starts to say that even if they save the world, she doesn't think it's worth the price of his life,
and then again at the end of Lost City, when she speaks to him as he lies unconscious in the Ancient control chair,
and then when she lays her hand on the ice at the end of the scene.

Jack's pursuit of a personal life, or his feelings for Sam, have not been written or shown in the same fashion that we have seen Sam's personal life or her feelings for Jack. I think that this imbalance is the source of many folks' consternation and frustration. It's difficult to understand what isn't said or shown.

With all of the screen caps that I have been working with lately, I have watched snips from lots of the first four seasons... and one thing stood out for me... Jack O'Neill seemed more open and more easy-going in those first few seasons... His smile seemed easier... He called her Sam - and it was no big deal...

Hmmm... just gets me thinking...
.

Great points, Astrogeologist and Chopingal. You have me thinking too.

Jack seemed definitely more relaxed around her in the first four seasons. Actually, he seemed more friendly with Daniel as well in the earlier seasons. On the other hand, his expression of friendship with Teal'c seems to have grown over the last two seasons.

Spoilers below for Seasons 7 and 8

















I can think of some softer moments in the last two seasons---in Grace when Jack seemed really frustrated because of Sam's situation and Teal'c has a talk with Jack. Even here, something seemed off though At the end of Grace when Jack was there when Sam woke up--a sweet moment but....The hug they gave each other in Heroes---also tender but not really romantically. Perhaps there are no really clear and obvious moments when Jack expresses any romantic feelings for her or is trying to talk with her about his feelings. I haven't seen the last five episodes yet, so I am kind of curious about how the relationship gets played out---does it become clearer again that he does have romantic feelings for her?

I guess in Citizen Joe, we are to believe that Jack has feelings for Sam, as Joe is interrupted as he is commenting on Jack's feeling for Sam, but this isn't completely clear, although it seemed fairly obvious.

The writers I guess seemed much more willing to sacrifice Sam's character in this story arc than Jack's. That is a bit upsetting to me. They both cannot get together as long as they are in the same unit or Sam is under Jack's command, so they could have just let the attraction ride until the end of the series when Jack could retire, if they were determined to get them together.

AHHHH. Please let's just have the wonderfully complex character of Sam ---a kick-butt science-wiz who is a competent soldier, and a compassionate human being----in season nine.

Sorry for my rambling.