Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Uber]

Hi - seems my post is the one that made you (and MajorSam) mad - I am expressing my opinions on how I perceive the downfall of the character - I agree - exploring personal lives can make the character more rounded - here though, IMO, TPTB did an absolutely horrendous job with Carter and portrayed her as so much less than she is capable of being (as shown by the picture you chose to provide - THAT is THE Carter I grew to know over 6 1/2 seasons - not that shell of a character from Chimera, Affinity, New Order, Gemini, etc.) My opinion, of course and didn't mean to make you mad - don't waste your energy on my posts by letting them get you mad. I get mad at TPTB when I see eps like Singularity, Foothold, Enemies, Hathor, Jolinar's Memories, Tokra 1 and 2, 2001, 48 Hours, Matter of Time, Nightwalkers, etc., and put them up against those from S7 and S8 - oy what they did to drag this character down from where they had taken her makes me mad . . . .

Not sure why you are mad at me all of a sudden - I have posted some of the the same opinions on this thread and others before and many people have given me green rep points for them - I have also read quite a few other posts, here and elsewhere, that basically agree with mine re: the direction they took Carter in the past season and a half. I am all for this character - I am fighting for this character because I think they have done her and some of the Carter fans a horrible disservice (as you can see from the post I put in the Ask JM thread - GW is not the only place where there are fans talking about the lousy direction they have taken Carter - you feel one way I, and others, feel another.) Carter is a great character and she does have the potential to be that once phenomenal character she was, I only hope TPTB get BACK to that character, the one that, IMO, was lost in the middle of season 7.

I'm not mad at you... I just disagree with you because in each episode she's in, I can find traits that showcase Sam as an extremely capable, powerful, confident and smart (yet fallible) person.

I think what makes her so great is that she is still a hero, but we know her weaknesses. The fact that the picture I posted is from Reckoning 2, one of the last that has aired, is proof that Sam is still Sam. She is still a great character (hmm, someone should start a thread along those lines...), weaknesses and all. In fact it IS the weaknesses that humanize her and make her more attainable than a superwoman with no faults.

JMHO here.

[Carterslave]

Lol, is that the vid to the tune of 'Do it with Madonna' by the Androids? Thats a great vid
http://www.laurajo.net/sg1/videos/otherpairing.htm

That's the one! It's a total delight & I haven't been able to stop playing it. It really captures how I (and, I suspect, many other people) feel about Sam. Even though the video is told from O'Neill's point of view, it even manages to get some SamJan in there, to my utter joy.

I love it... her expression is completely "Oh yeah, i'm cool, and I know it!"

Indeed. She looks like she's ready to roll on the mean streets of Vancouver & chase down a few perps.
I can understand people bailing out before S9 for many reasons, but the lack of S/J shipping doesn't seem like a good one. After all, there was little or none in S1-3 and S5-6. Maybe TPTB will remember that the show is called Stargate & resume using that round thing that "flushes sideways." And maybe, just maybe they'll stop dumbassifying & domesticating Sam. The way she's been written lately it looks like either the showrunners are threatened by female authority figures or they think the audience is.
(That said, I *liked* Moebius, which had me in hysterics for much of its duration, so what do I know?)

[MajorSam]

Hey everyone, random selfish post, but I just had to say that

I'M A SYSTEM LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!


WOOOOHOOOOOOO *Does crazy system lord dance*

So happy I've always really wanted to be one!! Didn't think I'd ever get there!

Thank you SOOO much to everyone who's ever given me rep

*sniff choke sob* I'd like to thank my brother, sister, parents, Amanda, and of course GOD, and... nah, Im just kidding

*is Extremely happy*

I dedicate all my power and status to (big suprise here) Amanda, Alan, Abbie, and wee Olivia May they be fantastically happy for all of time!

[SamFan31]

First, congratulations to MajorSam, our new SYSTEM LORD! Way to go!!! Couldn't happen to a nicer person.

I was going to post a favorite Sam picture, but got carried away with the scene and I couldn't choose just one photo since it's such a Sam classic.

Sam’s adventurous spirit takes her in new and wondrous directions, some more rewarding than others.



I'm not so sure about eating exotic yellow entrees.


Oh, YUK!
I'm so hungry. I just wish I had an Astro Oreo...


Getting rid of this right NOW!


Caught by my host!


I'm sorry. I hope I didn't offend you.


Do not worry, Samantha Carter. Yours is the sentiment of many of my guests.

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

Here's another of my all-time favorite Sam pics


.
.

Episode:

Spoiler:

Fail Safe

I think....

Caption:
<tsk!> The Goa'uld are so disorganized; these crystals aren't sorted either by size or by color. I don't even want to think about the state of their sock drawers....

[Skydiver]

i do think that they know that people don't like what they've done to sam. Yes, some of the anti's loved pete....but at the same time, they didn't like the whole soap opera aspect of it and, imho, liked pete only because he vexed the shippers

many of the shippers were happy with the implied ending and fishing, yet others were dissatisified having wanted more.

i can't say that sam has been irreparably damanged by eps such as gemini, i jsut think, in that one, we got a glimpse into just how messed up fifth left her.
I do think that most of the negative feelings stemmed from folks who will dislike everything and anything she does and things were blown out of proportion.

i do think that they are being cagey about sam's return for two reasons, soem of it might still be being written, and also, with rda mostly gone, well sam/amanda's fans really are a large contingent of the audience. be a person a sam fan, shipper, femslasher....sam and amanda is immensely popular an only really disliked by a small percentage of the viewers. IMHO, they have to handle her return well. they have to avoid any semblane of 'you're picking on her character because the actress dared to inconvenience you by getting pregnant'

i also think that they know that, if they handle it poorly, well then the whole show rests on Daniel, Teal'c and a whole slew of new characters.

it's a very high dollar gamble that can literally make or break the series as a whole.

and, well it's just m e, but i have yet to read a spoiler for any of the first few eps that has any other reaction beyond me raising my eyebrows and wondering what's in the water up there

ooh, and also, bear this in mind, Joe once said that REvisions was his ultimate favorite episode of season 7......one of the many that i personally found boring, dry and totally anti-dramatic

so tastes obviuosly vary and if nothing else, Joe is the master of posting a lot and not saying a single thing

[binkpmmc]

very well said in all respects from Carter to AT to your description of Mallozzi's posts - he is indeed the MASTER of that talent.

[binkpmmc]

I'm not mad at you... I just disagree with you because in each episode she's in, I can find traits that showcase Sam as an extremely capable, powerful, confident and smart (yet fallible) person.

I think what makes her so great is that she is still a hero, but we know her weaknesses. The fact that the picture I posted is from Reckoning 2, one of the last that has aired, is proof that Sam is still Sam. She is still a great character (hmm, someone should start a thread along those lines...), weaknesses and all. In fact it IS the weaknesses that humanize her and make her more attainable than a superwoman with no faults.

JMHO here.

I wish I had your optimism. I knew that pic was Reckoning - that ep was pretty much the only one (of the few I watched) that I thought they treated Carter with the type of respect or dignity she deserves. Unfortunatrely, for me, the horrible way they wrote this character for a season and a half, and the Chimera debacle was just something I could not accept or leave behind. With Chimera it was not the fact that pete was around, I am not a shipper or an anti-shipper, it was the fact that, IMO, they wrote Carter as an immature, high school girl that let herself be treated with disrespect and then she was the one that made it seem like it was her fault and she went chasing him (little did she know she could not get him on the phone because he was too busy checking up on her behind her back and following her). Affinity was not the pete thing either, it was the horribly out-of-character, and yes I will say it - unprofessional way they tretaed the character - the ending??, please where is the dignity and self respect. This is what we get when they finally show this character in charge of a mission? I pray for her in season 9!!!

For 6 1/2 seasons I never viewed this character as perfect or faultless superwoman (A Matter of Time is a good example of the top of my head wherein I saw faults with this character - she was always, IMO, for 6 1/2 seasons portrayed as real and human, and NOT perfect, I would not have liked the character if she were perfect, for 6 1/2 seasons she was attainable. IMO, the past season and a half has shown her to be at times childish, incompetent and unprofessional. I am not saying it was all of the time but for me the episodes mentioned, as well as others, and this portrayal of the character were too much for me to accept or overlook without having it affect my overall perception of the character. Again, I want to be a great fan of Carter's again, I am fighting for this character because I want the Carter of 6 1/2 seasons back for S9.

I do not think we will ever agree on what happened to Carter in the past season and a half but I do think we agree we want to see that strong, competent, kick-a$$ Carter as leader of SG1 (and NOT the way it was done in Affinity) and as leading astrophysicist helping to save the world. My REAL hope is that they leave all of this personal stuff behind and get back to what made Stargate Stargate.

[Strix varia]

So, it appears that we have fairly universal agreement that we want to see kick a$$ Carter return in Season 9. We want to see her commanding SG-1 and saving the world with her brilliant brain. But I'm curious if you all have any specifics in mind. What scenes would you like to see Sam in?

Me, I'd love to see her leading a couple of volunteer SG teams to rescue another team (maybe Hailey?). We've seen other SG teams volunteer to come to the rescue of SG-1... I think it would be cool to see Sam return the favor, and in doing so, earn the respect and admiration of some of the other SGC personnel. Maybe this is in reaction to the Blue Feather syndrome...but I want TPTB to SHOW that Sam is respected by her peers, and that not everyone thinks she slept her way to her promotions, etc. etc...

Along the same lines, I'd love to see her show off some of her skills as a pilot in combat.

Anyone else have any dream scenarios they'd like to see for Sam in Season 9?

[ForeverSg1]

That's the one! It's a total delight & I haven't been able to stop playing it. It really captures how I (and, I suspect, many other people) feel about Sam. Even though the video is told from O'Neill's point of view, it even manages to get some SamJan in there, to my utter joy.

Indeed. She looks like she's ready to roll on the mean streets of Vancouver & chase down a few perps.
I can understand people bailing out before S9 for many reasons, but the lack of S/J shipping doesn't seem like a good one. After all, there was little or none in S1-3 and S5-6. Maybe TPTB will remember that the show is called Stargate & resume using that round thing that "flushes sideways." And maybe, just maybe they'll stop dumbassifying & domesticating Sam. The way she's been written lately it looks like either the showrunners are threatened by female authority figures or they think the audience is.
(That said, I *liked* Moebius, which had me in hysterics for much of its duration, so what do I know?)

I think what a lot of people tend to ignore is that many of the changes that we have seen with Carter over the past few years are changes that Amanda herself has wanted to have added to Sam. I have to believe that over nine years she, more than anyone else, has begun to truly understand what Sam thinks and feels as she is the one to put her heart and soul into Sam on a daily basis. The writers may add a voice to Sam, but it's AT who adds emotion. I think AT was bothered by the one dimensional aspect of Sam in first few episodes of the show and pushed to have more depth added to the character over the past eight years. Amanda herself is the one who wanted to see a more personal side of Sam shown and who wanted to show Sam as fallible.

Hearing Sam spit out all of that techo-babble may be cool for us, the viewers, but for the actress there may be little to no challenge in doing that on a daily basis. In season six, Sam was nothing more than a backdrop, a filler to tie in the scientific aspects of each episode. AT was great at what she was given, but one would think that after six years this would become very tedious and predictable.

Sam in seasons 1-3 was very cool, but let's face it she was over the top... a beautiful, brilliant astrophysicists and kick-ass soldier who never failed at any task she was given was very unrealistic. They placed her so far up on a pedestal that it was inevitable that she would come crashing down to Earth eventually. Now personally, I think it may have been much more interesting for many of us if we had been able to see that burn come from something like being tortured, kidnapped, or taken over by an entity rather than say dealing with her feelings for someone unattainable or a new boyfriend; but I do not feel they have dumbassified & domesticated Sam as some would put it.

I really believe what the writers 'tried' to do in seasons seven and eight did allow the character of Sam to grow and evolve as a human being. Sam has been slowly evolving since the beginning. You can go back and look at the immense change in her character just from COTG/Emancipation to Singularity. The character we saw in those first few episodes was an in your face ‘Anything you can do I can do better’ kind of attitude. In Singularity we saw Sam soften and show a bit of emotions…AT was allowed to really get into the part and I think she did a brilliant job. You can definitely see that she enjoyed what she was doing in the latter much more than the first two.

Unfortunately, although I think the writers had good intentions over the past few years, the scripts really seemed to miss their mark on many occasions, and things that the writers and the actress saw as human tendencies...fans saw as weaknesses and betrayals to the character.

I know this is very hard for hard-core fans to grasp because we fall in love with characters and we want them to stay eternally the same, but people change. Their beliefs and desires in life change and evolve as they gain knowledge and experience.

Something that may seem extremely important to you at the age of twenty-one will not necessary be something you even like at the age of forty. The same thing can be said for Sam. When we first met Sam she was a bright-eyed, highly curious twenty-eight year old who had no idea what she was walking into when she took her first step through the Stargate. She couldn’t have even imagined that eight years later she would have been infested by a parasite, had her mind downloaded into a computer, tortured, or stand face to face with her double on numerous occasions. The person we saw step through the gate is not the same person we know today. No one could possibly have gone through what Sam and the other members of SG-1 have gone through and not be forever altered. I think what we saw in Grace was totally in character with Sam. I saw it as Sam looking at her life, her experiences, her own mortality, and questioning whether she had made the correct choices in her life…if she had given up too much for the sake of her career. When we are young we think we are immortal. That life will just go on and on, but there comes a point in your life when you realize that we are only on this planet for a very short period of time. We get so wrapped up in our jobs and the fast life that we forget to stop, close our eyes, and simply enjoy the moment. To take advantage of all the simple pleasures that life has to offer. To do so does not make us weak…it makes us human.

I, for one, love Sam. She’s a wonderfully, well-rounded character with strengths and weaknesses. I love her in spite of all her faults and idiosyncrasies. She’s not a plastic barbie doll pretending to be a soldier. She is stunningly beautiful, but she’s completely unaware of it. She’s brilliant, but unlike other scientists on the show she isn’t a bumbling idiot ( Felger ) nor is she totally full of herself ( McKay ). She’s fierce, independent, compassionate, and loyal beyond words. She may not have all the answers, but she never gives up trying to find them. She may screw up occasionally, but she always the first to admit when she’s made a mistake. She has insecurities, and like many of us, she may have allowed her feelings to get the better of her at times; but regardless if you agree with the things she does or not… you are still here. You are still watching. Whether you have a smile on your face, or you are jumping up and down, yelling and screaming at the television, you are watching…because you care. And in the end…that’s all the writers are trying to do… to get you to watch. We may not agree with everything the writers have done to Sam, but if they didn’t take the risks throughout the years, Sam would still be the same uninspiring character she was in COTG. So I for one am very happy for what they have given me.


Kat

[jckfan55]

I think what a lot of people tend to ignore is that many of the changes that we have seen with Carter over the past few years are changes that Amanda herself has wanted to have added to Sam. I have to believe that over nine years she, more than anyone else, has begun to truly understand what Sam thinks and feels as she is the one to put her heart and soul into Sam on a daily basis. The writers may add a voice to Sam, but it's AT who adds emotion. I think AT was bothered by the one dimensional aspect of Sam in first few episodes of the show and pushed to have more depth added to the character over the past eight years. Amanda herself is the one who wanted to see a more personal side of Sam shown and who wanted to show Sam as fallible.

Hearing Sam spit out all of that techo-babble may be cool for us, the viewers, but for the actress there may be little to no challenge in doing that on a daily basis. In season six, Sam was nothing more than a backdrop, a filler to tie in the scientific aspects of each episode. AT was great at what she was given, but one would think that after six years this would become very tedious and predictable.

Sam in seasons 1-3 was very cool, but let's face it she was over the top... a beautiful, brilliant astrophysicists and kick-ass soldier who never failed at any task she was given was very unrealistic. They placed her so far up on a pedestal that it was inevitable that she would come crashing down to Earth eventually. Now personally, I think it may have been much more interesting for many of us if we had been able to see that burn come from something like being tortured, kidnapped, or taken over by an entity rather than say dealing with her feelings for someone unattainable or a new boyfriend; but I do not feel they have dumbassified & domesticated Sam as some would put it.

I really believe what the writers 'tried' to do in seasons seven and eight did allow the character of Sam to grow and evolve as a human being. Sam has been slowly evolving since the beginning. You can go back and look at the immense change in her character just from COTG/Emancipation to Singularity. The character we saw in those first few episodes was an in your face ‘Anything you can do I can do better’ kind of attitude. In Singularity we saw Sam soften and show a bit of emotions…AT was allowed to really get into the part and I think she did a brilliant job. You can definitely see that she enjoyed what she was doing in the latter much more than the first two.

Unfortunately, although I think the writers had good intentions over the past few years, the scripts really seemed to miss their mark on many occasions, and things that the writers and the actress saw as human tendencies...fans saw as weaknesses and betrayals to the character.

I know this is very hard for hard-core fans to grasp because we fall in love with characters and we want them to stay eternally the same, but people change. Their beliefs and desires in life change and evolve as they gain knowledge and experience.

Something that may seem extremely important to you at the age of twenty-one will not necessary be something you even like at the age of forty. The same thing can be said for Sam. When we first met Sam she was a bright-eyed, highly curious twenty-eight year old who had no idea what she was walking into when she took her first step through the Stargate. She couldn’t have even imagined that eight years later she would have been infested by a parasite, had her mind downloaded into a computer, tortured, or stand face to face with her double on numerous occasions. The person we saw step through the gate is not the same person we know today. No one could possibly have gone through what Sam and the other members of SG-1 have gone through and not be forever altered. I think what we saw in Grace was totally in character with Sam. I saw it as Sam looking at her life, her experiences, her own mortality, and questioning whether she had made the correct choices in her life…if she had given up too much for the sake of her career. When we are young we think we are immortal. That life will just go on and on, but there comes a point in your life when you realize that we are only on this planet for a very short period of time. We get so wrapped up in our jobs and the fast life that we forget to stop, close our eyes, and simply enjoy the moment. To take advantage of all the simple pleasures that life has to offer. To do so does not make us weak…it makes us human.

I, for one, love Sam. She’s a wonderfully, well-rounded character with strengths and weaknesses. I love her in spite of all her faults and idiosyncrasies. She’s not a plastic barbie doll pretending to be a soldier. She is stunningly beautiful, but she’s completely unaware of it. She’s brilliant, but unlike other scientists on the show she isn’t a bumbling idiot ( Felger ) nor is she totally full of herself ( McKay ). She’s fierce, independent, compassionate, and loyal beyond words. She may not have all the answers, but she never gives up trying to find them. She may screw up occasionally, but she always the first to admit when she’s made a mistake. She has insecurities, and like many of us, she may have allowed her feelings to get the better of her at times; but regardless if you agree with the things she does or not… you are still here. You are still watching. Whether you have a smile on your face, or you are jumping up and down, yelling and screaming at the television, you are watching…because you care. And in the end…that’s all the writers are trying to do… to get you to watch. We may not agree with everything the writers have done to Sam, but if they didn’t take the risks throughout the years, Sam would still be the same uninspiring character she was in COTG. So I for one am very happy for what they have given me.


Kat

Thanks for another well thought out post, ForeverSG1. AT (and dare I say it the writers) must have done something right or we wouldn't care this much about the character. I think the writers have stumbled a bit, missed opportunities to deal with "personal Sam" in a non-soapy way,(as you say--the fallout of real trauma Sam's dealt with would be a good example) but I hope for the best in season 9. I do think having some good women writers on the staff might have helped here. But you know, I think sometimes we forget that the writers have to crank out an awful lot of episodes in a short time. I know that's what they're paid to do, but still it has to be challenging. How do you get some action, a good SF premise and character development in an episode that is going to be about 45 minutes? How do you serve all 4 characters too?

[ForeverSg1]

So, it appears that we have fairly universal agreement that we want to see kick a$$ Carter return in Season 9. We want to see her commanding SG-1 and saving the world with her brilliant brain. But I'm curious if you all have any specifics in mind. What scenes would you like to see Sam in?

Me, I'd love to see her leading a couple of volunteer SG teams to rescue another team (maybe Hailey?). We've seen other SG teams volunteer to come to the rescue of SG-1... I think it would be cool to see Sam return the favor, and in doing so, earn the respect and admiration of some of the other SGC personnel. Maybe this is in reaction to the Blue Feather syndrome...but I want TPTB to SHOW that Sam is respected by her peers, and that not everyone thinks she slept her way to her promotions, etc. etc...

Along the same lines, I'd love to see her show off some of her skills as a pilot in combat.

Anyone else have any dream scenarios they'd like to see for Sam in Season 9?

Unfortunately, I find that whenever I hope too much for things I am often highly disappointed when they don't come to pass...so I decided a long time ago not to wish for too much. In all honesty, my only dream for season 9 is that we get to see LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of Sam. Personally, even seeing Sam in a scene I don't particularly care for is much better than not seeing her at all.

As much as I really like Teal'c and Daniel, without Sam or Jack in the first six episodes, season nine is going to be immensely hard on this particular fan.

I am trying to be optimistic that everything will work out in the end, but I keep telling myself that nothing can last forever. Eventually either the show will end or I will lost my interest and walk away. If that happens, I won't blame anyone nor will I regret the time I spent watching the show. It was still a wonderful ride and I will always have my DVD's to watch.

I just look at Stargate like I do every book I read. As I'm reading the book, I'm totally wrapped up in the story, but when the book comes to an end as exciting as a journey may have been, I am always disappointed that it is over. I always hope there will be a sequel, but whether there is or not, they are fictious characters who will always be there whenever I feel the urge to spend time with them again.

And luckily for us, there are thousands of fan fiction stories out there to keep the characters of Sam, Jack, Teal'c and Daniel alive for years to come.

I hope all of the wonderful scenerios everyone has been posting for Sam in season nine come true. It will be truly wonderful to see her in so many great storylines but for now I'll just hold on to my one wish... Lots of Sam.

Kat

[astrogeologist]

Deep. Breaths.

Breath in....*Insert breathing in sounds*

Breath out...*Insert breathing out sounds*

Happy Place... Sam... leading Sg-1... kicking Alien butt... pulling brilliant idea's out of her "head"... hand to hand combat...


(I am totally with you though. Those kind of posts...*ARGH* i've become so angry at them it's just a numb rage... can't let these things get to you!!!!)

(Fab pic )



(((((((((((Binkpmmc))))))))))))

I hope for your, and all our sakes that they "really pull it out"

Although I won't stop watching, my fave thing could end with dissapointment, rage, resentement etc. and I really don't hope that on anyone. If keeping on watching means that to you, then I hope you had a good ride up till now!!!

I think we need some moral upbringings....

Dear Samanda....

Don't dispare in these hard times



Just because TPTB answers and people's opinioins may seem imprisonable like crimes



Although our dear Sam may seem to have been destroyed by some stuff..



She's still our kick-a$$ girl Soldier/Scientist/Woman, I've said enuff!!

More great pics, Major Sam! And you even rhymed that didn't you

[ForeverSg1]

Hey Sky...

I found a cute little story with Teal'c and Sam that you might like here on GW.
Not sure if you've read it already, it's called 'Behind Closed Doors'. Just a bit of fluff to put a smile on your face.

Kat

[astrogeologist]

I'm not mad at you... I just disagree with you because in each episode she's in, I can find traits that showcase Sam as an extremely capable, powerful, confident and smart (yet fallible) person.

I think what makes her so great is that she is still a hero, but we know her weaknesses. The fact that the picture I posted is from Reckoning 2, one of the last that has aired, is proof that Sam is still Sam. She is still a great character (hmm, someone should start a thread along those lines...), weaknesses and all. In fact it IS the weaknesses that humanize her and make her more attainable than a superwoman with no faults.JMHO here.

I think the answer is 'balance'... we've talked about this before in the thread, but it's a topic that will resurface occassionally, and it's worth discussing with new folks and new opinions.

What brought me into the Stargate series was the 'balance' between the lead characters - as we've said before, Sam was treated as an equal amongst the lead characters... She wasn't 'the' lead, but she was one of the team, and she got to be in on the major heroics... they've written and shown her standing alongside the guys in firefights and yet she is smart and intelligent and comapassionate. Right from Season 1, they allowed her character to carry major storylines (e.g., Singularity and In The Line of Duty). They showed a solid, competent officer who had enthusiasm, passion and heart (Singularity). She was heroic and her character was involved in the scifi developments of the series (In The Line of Duty, Ascension, etc.).

Yeah, I love it when Sam gets so enthusiastic about something. I love the character of Sam for being smart, funny, beautiful but not the "glamor girl" and competent in the field to boot. Competent AND feminine, what a concept. I can imagine kids playing "Stargate" and imagine-- the girls can be Carter and not have to play one of the guys to get a good part. That sounds like a bit of a role model to me.

They also developed and integrated aspects of her personal life (Secrets, Tokra, Jacob, First Commandment). We also got to see some of her mistakes and vulnerabilities (Red Sky, 48 Hours, First Commandment, etc.).

For 6 1/2 seasons I never viewed this character as perfect or faultless superwoman (A Matter of Time is a good example of the top of my head wherein I saw faults with this character - she was always, IMO, for 6 1/2 seasons portrayed as real and human, and NOT perfect, I would not have liked the character if she were perfect, for 6 1/2 seasons she was attainable.

To be honest, no other Stargate character was developed as well as Carter was. And, certainly, no other lead female scifi character has ever been developed as well as Carter was developed over the first 5 seasons. And they did it without Sam being 'the' lead. As we have worked our way through the seasons with the Best Sam Polls, the polls have consistently identified 2-5 really standout episodes each season that featured Sam. That's 2-5 out of 20-22 episodes... or less than 10-25% (which is not to say that she was left out of the other episodes - or didn't have good scenes). It's not the Sam Carter Show... it was actually closer to the Jack O'Neill show... and yet, look at what they accomplished for the character of Sam Carter! This kind of character development is typically only seen for the main male lead. (Although I am sure that there are exceptions, that doesn't invalidate the more general rule).

So...back to the 'balance'... for a series about a team of 4 lead characters, I think that our Sam-episode Season Polls show that Sam's character was treated fairly and equitably over the first 5 years. Great character development, a solid female lead and they were building a fairly well-rounded character.

Season 6 did not show the same type or level of development or enrichment for her character. AT has expressed the same evaluation for Season 6 and has stated that the writers and such admitted the same. AT however appears to hold no real rancor and took it in stride.

Hearing Sam spit out all of that techo-babble may be cool for us, the viewers, but for the actress there may be little to no challenge in doing that on a daily basis. In season six, Sam was nothing more than a backdrop, a filler to tie in the scientific aspects of each episode. AT was great at what she was given, but one would think that after six years this would become very tedious and predictable.

Personally, I found Season 6 to be kind of blah and I can't say that any of the episodes get me very excited in terms of stellar Stargate Sam-episodes. The discussion on this thread has helped me identify and enjoy more of Season 6's Sam scenes, but when I want to go back and watch a good old Sam episode, I don't tend to find myself delving into the Season 6 DVDs.

Season 7 had Grace and Death Knell - simply standout Sam episodes. Season 7 also had the beginning of the soap-Sam story-arc. And it's here that the series loses it's 'balance' when it comes to Sam's character as well as the balance between the characters.

Lack of balance: They soaped Sam's character without doing a similar degree of personal scenes and arcs for Jack, Daniel or Teal'c.

Lack of balance: They soaped Sam's character and effectively removed her from the main scifi storylines of a couple of episodes. Examples are Chimera and Threads, where in both of these episodes, Daniel's character ended up dealing with the main scifi storylines while most of Sam's scenes were purely personal.

Now personally, I think it may have been much more interesting for many of us if we had been able to see that [crash and] burn come from something like being tortured, kidnapped, or taken over by an entity rather than say dealing with her feelings for someone unattainable or a new boyfriend

Lack of balance: In Season 8, they ended up spotlighting Sam's vulnerabilities and insecurities; e.g., New Order, Affinity, Gemini, Threads were strong episodes for showing Sam's personal vulnerabilites and insecurities.... without balancing that enough with strong scenes that reinforced her compentence, leadership and heroism (Reckoning pt 2 is the best for having competent Sam scenes).

What were some of the positive sides of Season 8?

They really 'worked AT' in Season 8; they allowed AT to show and demonstrate some of her wonderful acting range. And Moebius simply looked like they got to play around - let the actors have a little fun and cut loose.

-she played tortured and broken by Fifth (New Order)
-she played an evil supervillian in RepliCarter (Gemini and Reckoning)
-she played 'beside herself' in Gemini where she was both Sam and RepliCarter on the screen at the same time (Gemini)
-she played the continuing soap-opera drama (Affinity and Threads)
-and she got to play comedy with AU Geek!Sam (Moebius)

What amazing range and breadth... and.. simply.. what fun!

My 'favorite storylines that illustrated Sam's more typical strengths' were harder to define, because Season 8 mainly used Sam's character (and AT's acting) for other purposes. Reckoning, pt 2 does a good job at showing 'the old Sam'.

So, for me, it's all about balance... and Season 8 was 'out of balance' in terms of showing and developing the character of Sam Carter as a strong, competent female lead hero in a scifi series. If I take the events of Season 8 and think of them in terms of the 8-year-span of the series, then it seems more reasonable. But the soap-Sam and insecure-Sam came across so strong in Season 8, that I really find myself missing competent, heroic Sam.

I also wonder how Sam would have come across if they had soaped the other leads the same way that they soaped Sam. If they'd shown Jack, Daniel and Teal'c wrestling with their personal lives in the same way that they'd shown Sam. If they had, the series would have had more balance... and Sam wouldn't be singled out for criticism and venom by those viewers who don't want to watch the soap-storylines... and if it had been spread out amongst the leads, then I think I could have shouldered it better. But having it so focussed on Sam makes me want to take Sam aside and hug her and hide her away.

Balance. I like seeing the personal sides of the characters. And without the insight into their personal lives, the characters are flat and uninteresting and hard to relate to. I wanted to hear that Sam had a boyfriend... and I want to hear them refer to a trip she just went on with Cassie... and such stuff. But Stargate is a scifi series and the personal stuff must be cleverly interwoven into the stories. I think that Stargate did a fantastic job (on average) through the first 5 seasons of developing depth and breadth into Sam Carter's character.

In Season 8, I think they went too far all at one time, and because they did so much all at once, it pushed the heroic, competent Sam into the background. Out of balance.

So I've been trying to look on the positive side of things... (glass half full sort of stuff...)... In Season 8, they developed Sam as 'more human' and less of the 'perfect hero'...I'm trying hard to see that as a plus - and I really am trying... I know that AT was tired of Super!Sam...I wasn't, but I can understand that AT was... In Season 8, they allowed AT to play a range of roles - from supervillian to fallible Sam to emotional soap-and-ship Sam to comedy Geek!Sam... and AT has been so wonderful over the life of the series, that she deserves to take the character in new directions. And I really do believe that AT deserves that and more (as much as I may not like where they end up taking the character of Sam Carter).

I do think we agree we want to see that strong, competent, kick-a$$ Carter as leader of SG1 (and NOT the way it was done in Affinity) and as leading astrophysicist helping to save the world.

Binkpmmc - I understand your feelings, and you are not alone in your frustrations. Please don't stop posting here... we need healthy, meaty discussions to balance things out. There will sometimes be disagreements, but one of the best things about this thread is getting to see how things look from other folks' perspectives in a contructive and non-venomous environment. Because of this thread, I have come to appreciate a lot of Sam scenes that I had completely forgotten about. I mean.. geesh - you folks even got me to appreciate some of the better scenes in Emancipation and Hathor - 2 episodes that I originally couldn't stand!


The character evaluation that we've done over the past few months has been intellectually stimulating and nothing short of amazing.. To be honest, there are college courses with less content than this thread! (Not *my* college courses, of course! )
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