Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Skydiver]

i think a contributing factor to the bashage is what even amanda herself has referred to as 'sibling rivalry'

there is a bit of a 'love triangle' going on between jack/daniel/sam

if sam spends time with jack, then he isn't with daniel.

if there's some rivalry/jealousy between sam and daniel and if fans of daniel covet his appearances, then they're not going to be too fond of anything sam gets that may prevent those daniel or jack/daniel moments

now i do have to say, it's not every daniel fan who acts/feels like this. it'snot even a majority, it's just a handful. just a few who passionately prefer one character over another

however, D&C did do one thing, it took s/j from the theoretical to the 'real'...and that was very frustrating for those who either do not like ship at all or for those who prefer the j/d dynamic since they were probably afraid that if jack would spend time with sam, then he wouldn't be spending time with daniel

[astrogeologist]

you know, folks can bag on sam for being cold and unemotional but you know....me personally? I don't like to burst into tears in public. I don't like or like to be around women tossing a tizzy because someone stole her parking space

and you know, i trust and respect men more who don't act out or explode. control of emotions doesn't mean that you don't feel them, it just means that you aren't ruled by them

And I never thought that AT played Sam as cold or unemotional ... quite the contrary - she has impressed the beejeebers out of me by how well she conveys such deep compassion and heart without histrionics. I haven't seen such great acting so consistently accomplished by any other actor. More kudos to AT!

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

you know, folks can bag on sam for being cold and unemotional but you know....me personally? I don't like to burst into tears in public. I don't like or like to be around women tossing a tizzy because someone stole her parking space

and you know, i trust and respect men more who don't act out or explode. control of emotions doesn't mean that you don't feel them, it just means that you aren't ruled by them

Agreed. But you and I and everyone else on this forum know people of both genders who do all of the above. So if (gods forbid! No, really, I mean it.) the writers wrote Sam tossing a tizzy, she would not be a cliche. She'd be someone every last dang one of us knows - in many cases, she'd be us!

But, if Sam were to toss a tizzy over, say, losing a parking space, you'd just know that there was something really big and dark behind her reaction.

It seems to me that people like Sam, who have to hide their reactions behind the uniform, must take their anger and frustration out on the most trivial of situations. Unless Jolinar, in the brief time she was in Sam, managed to give her some kind of super coping strength(which I kinda doubt as Jols seemed a little impatient to me), then she has got to have an outlet for her frustration, anxiety and anger. As posted here by... someone(s) (sooory, sooory, can't remember who said what, anymore ), her walls might have had several patching jobs.

IMO.

[astrogeologist]

I think that's particularly important for women working in traditionally male-dominated occupations (like the military or fire service). A certain stoicism is expected, especially for anyone in a leadership position. I do think there is a double-standard when it comes to anger, though. It's okay for men to express their anger (chewing out a subordinate for misconduct shows strong leadership), but if a woman does it, she's being a b****.

Well-stated Strix!

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

there is a great fic, maybe it's one of suz's, where the boys notice sam being very quiet and touchy...as in feeling leaves, picking up dirt, tracing her fingers over bark

i remember that jack talks daniel out of a hershey bar and gives it to sam who enjoys the smell and taste

Yes! I remember reading that - but not the title/author.

Terrific fic. There's another out there, a fantastic fic, where Sam is in the computer system, and how she came to type out "I AM HERE"

[astrogeologist]

You asked for it, you got it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../SamBasher.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...r/SBtarget.jpg

Now I have a sudden urge to take a pain stick to that punching bag! Or a ribbon device...

[Agent_Dark]

Yes! I remember reading that - but not the title/author.

Terrific fic. There's another out there, a fantastic fic, where Sam is in the computer system, and how she came to type out "I AM HERE"

Argh, I remember reading both those fics too... I really should start saving some of these great Sam fics to disk so I don't lose them

Wasn't Astro compiling a list of great Sam fics? I seem to remember her saying something about it not being completed yet... o.O

[Agent_Dark]

You asked for it, you got it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...r/SamBasher.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...ar/SBtarget.jpg

LMAO
Those will do quite nicely in the security office, thank you

And Strix Varia - I remember reading some of your fic ages ago. What great stories!

[majorsal]

<snipped>

I really don't know how she managed to deal with McKay without hitting him. The man was nearly slanderous. The fact that she allowed herself to be spoken to in that manner or that her superiors allowed it to even happen was infuriating to me.

I agree with you there, and I remember at the time wishing that someone would tell him to stow it. I'd have liked it if Hammond had made a comment about not talking to one of his officers like that. I think this would have been a perfect time/excuse for Sam to react without restraint. Sure, ppl would diss her, but they do anyways, no matter what she says or does, so what the heck. I didn't like it that she 'forgave' him (even if he'd started acting human-like by the end) and then kissed him... I felt he didn't deserve it. I have a HUGE thing about Sam being treated with respect (that's part of why the second half of Chimera popped my irk bubbles).

I don't consider myself a very vindictive person, but if someone hurt a member of my family, or tortured one of my children... I would come unglued. I don't even know if I have it in me to forgive that person let alone forget what they did and move on with my life.

That reminds me of a story I'd made up years ago. Short version, some aliens are trying to make Sg1 react strongly to audio and visual hallucinations, and then when/if they do, the aliens attack the person and feed off the adrenalin and endorphins, etc. Suffice it to say, the only thing that gets Sam to 'lose it' is when they make her think Cassie is being raped in front of her. Sam reacts, even though she knows it's not real, they attack, and... she goes nutso for a while. (but my stories always end happy and Sam is saved. ) Anyhoo, I had it that the only thing that Sam couldn't turn off/away from was something happening to a child... and I think that could apply to any of Sg1's really.

I honestly don't know how Sam can go through everything she has over the past eight years and keep her sanity let alone her compassion and ability to forgive.

I don't either, and I wish we'd see some of that veneer crack once in a while. And I mean really crack.


Sally

[ChopinGal]

Hmmm maybe its time for some Dark!Sam fics to start popping up. You know, ones where she finally snaps and cuts loose. I havn't seen many around - (hint hint for our esteemed fan fic writers here ) Maybe I should try and put this plot bunny down on paper that I've been thinking about...

I suppose that begs another question - What would it take for Sam to snap?

I think MajorSam is working on a fic like that called Broken. And I'm certainly trying to explore some of the darker emotions in Head Trip that lead Sam into some "unSamlike" (is that a word?!) behaviors.

Stay tuned ... and come join us with some fic of your own!

[Uber]

The thing about Sam that makes her experiences so utterly different and perhaps a bit annoying at times is that she appears to be so completely forgiving and understanding about everything.

With every obstacle in her life she seems to gractiously just accept it and move on without any residual affects; no distrust or disliking for those involved. As MajorSal said in her quote, Sam is virtually raped by Jolinar but after the initial shock of it all, she accepts it and moves on. We never see any distrust from her and the Tok'ra (well other than Anise).

She is blended a second time in Nightwatchers and again just shrugs it off as if it were nothing.

In Desperate Measures, she is used as a lab rat by Adrian Conrad and yet when Sam sees his dead body on the Prometheus we really see no reaction from her. One would have thought that seeing the man who was responsible for her abduction would have caused some sort of mental flashback, angst, something.

In New Order, Sam is kidnapped and tortured by the replicator Fifth, but in Gemini when Sam speaks of Fifth it's with pity and regret in her voice. There is no heat, no show of pain. In fact, we see her almost excuse his actions due to the fact that he is child-like and has feelings for her.

However, each of the other main characters have had story arcs written into their characters that lasted many years. We've seen them struggle in dealing with feelings they have towards specific people. We've seen their anger, pain and frustration in dealing with people who have wronged them.

Over the past eight years, we have seen Teal'c expose his feelings for Apophis: his utter hatred of all the things Apophis did to him. We saw the pain and hate in his eyes each time he had to deal with Tanith, and we felt his raw desire to avenge Sho'nac's death by killing Tanith with his own hands.

Jack has openly worn his dislike and distrust for people on his sleeve. We hear him voice his discontent with any and all situations. We see him verbally attack and question the Tok'ra, the Tollan, Kinsey, ect. We watch him mock Baal continually and see him gloat when Baal is forced to come to him for help.

We see Daniel kill all the symbiotes in Bloodlines for what has been done to his wife Share. We see him deal with his anger and frustration for Teal'c after Share is killed. Since his ascension we have seen Daniel question and become frustrated with Oma and the ascended way have dealing with things. In Full Circle, we watch Daniel frustration reach a breaking point when he goes against all the rules of Ascension and attacks Anubis. In Threads,

Spoiler:

he doesn't just accept that he's dead again and take the path of enlightenment once more;

he pushes, questions and delves to find answers he needs.

Each of the other characters have spent years dealing with deep seeded emotional issues, yet one of the few we have been allowed to see with Sam is one of frustration for not having a boyfriend, a relationship, a family. We
were lucky with Sam in the beginning seasons, we did get to see her delve somewhat in dealing with Jolinar and her father, but over the years they've been steadly putting Sam into a position of eager acceptance or repressive denial, and neither in my opinion has allowed Sam to grow and change in a positive manner.

I know AT's new baby may unintentionally change the way we see Sam on screen. There is a possibility that she may not be the SoldierSam that she has been in the past, but the writers still have a great opportunity to really do some great thing with Sam. My only fear is that with all the new characters, and especially a new male character, that too many of the new storylines will revolve around them and Sam will once again become a filler character as she was in season six. I can accept no Sam in the first five episodes, but without Jack in season nine, I'm not sure if I can accept a water-downed version of the Sam we have come to know and love.

ForeverSG1

On some level I agree with you...

But I can't help but think she has the same mindset as portrayed in one of my favorite Voyager episodes...DEADLOCK.

It's the last scene when Harry is talking to Janeway about how he was in one reality and now he's in another reality - that it's the same but different and how weird it was.

Janeway's response? "This is Starfleet, Ensign. Weird is part of the job."

I think that on some level this is what she has to think "I'm in SG-1 - and being taken over by an alien entity, being blended against my will, being hunted by a super soldier or whatever else... it's all part of the job description."

She's an integral member of the most elite force in the military. She has to be able to take extremely bizarre, death defying, violating situations and deal with them in such a way that she's not falling apart all the time. If she didn't have the psychological profile that could handle the things that happen to her on a weekly basis, she wouldn't have qualified for the team in the first place.

This is not to say of course that she doesn't have the right to fall apart every once in a while or get irritated or irrational (which is why I loved Paradise Lost - when she grieved for O'Neill and lost her temper)... that's just human nature and it would be completely unrealistic for her not to have extreme reactions every once in a while.

That being said - I do agree with you that there have been lost opportunities to explore any consequences/after effects from the situations you've listed...

[majorsal]

Alternate Season 6 Episode Title:
The Changeling---Rescue: SG1

The Changeling = 'I Got To Ride in a Fire Truck!"


Sally

[ForeverSg1]

I just wanted to say that I think you all are really great group of people and I'm very thankful that I was given an opportunity to meet you. There have been times over the past few days when I really ask myself why I bother reading the forums. I find myself reading such negative and hateful comments that I often start feeling angry or depressed and I can't see anything positive through the trash that litters my screen. But then in my moment of darkness, I come here and I vent my frustration and read your wonderful responses and suddenly the world doesn't seem so dark and lonely anymore.

I want to apologize if any of my posts in the past few days have appeared overly negative. It was never my intention. Thank you all for being so kind and understanding, but most of all thank you for just providing 'Sam lovers' with a place to hide away from all the bashing. It truly is a blessing.

ForeverSG1

[astrogeologist]

That reminds me of a story I'd made up years ago. Short version, some aliens are trying to make Sg1 react strongly to audio and visual hallucinations, and then when/if they do, the aliens attack the person and feed off the adrenalin and endorphins, etc. Suffice it to say, the only thing that gets Sam to 'lose it' is when they make her think Cassie is being raped in front of her. Sam reacts, even though she knows it's not real, they attack, and... she goes nutso for a while. (but my stories always end happy and Sam is saved. ) Anyhoo, I had it that the only thing that Sam couldn't turn off/away from was something happening to a child... and I think that could apply to any of Sg1's really.

Was that Night Terrors? - THAT was a *great* fic!
And so was Mirror Image... and every other story that you've written!

[ForeverSg1]

Argh, I remember reading both those fics too... I really should start saving some of these great Sam fics to disk so I don't lose them

Wasn't Astro compiling a list of great Sam fics? I seem to remember her saying something about it not being completed yet... o.O

I read another good story regarding Sam where she's actually stuck in the computer and Jack sits and talks with her on the keyboard. Wish I could remember what it was called. I went through a period where I would read all day long, story titles sort of ran together and became blurry after awhile. I'll have to look for it.

ForeverSG1