Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Sam's not a great character. Potential Spoilers

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Sam's not a great character. Potential Spoilers

    This thread is for those of us who don't think Sam Carter is God's gift to crisis situations.

    It's not that I hate Sam. Far from it. I just think she had her day at the end of S8. She is by far my least favourite member of the team (and this includes Cam and Vala). I feel she comes over as too perfect. Too strong. She is, in my opinion, very much a Mary Sue character. I didn't so much of have an issue with this in S1-8, but after her initial absence in S9, I've realised how little I actually like her.

    I prefer to see McKay's scientific theories instead of Carter constantly being THE science person, solving all situations, when the experts in a particular field can't. "Children of the Gods" for example, saw her say to a Medical Doctor - "I'll take over". What gives her that right?

    She demonstrates far too many skills to be realistic.

    Before anyone makes this claim, I do not have anything against her because she's a woman, as Jack put it - I like women. In fact I think Weir, Frasier and Vala are excellent characters. Weir especially is a fine leader.

    Hell, I'm a Sam/Jack shipper, doesnt mean I liked her presence in S9 and 10.

    I'm just sick of everywhere I turn seeing nothing but praise for the woman. IMO, her place is at Area 51.

    Anyone want to contribute?


    "Five Rounds Rapid"

    sigpic


    #2
    Originally posted by Flying Officer Bennett
    I prefer to see McKay's scientific theories instead of Carter constantly being THE science person, solving all situations, when the experts in a particular field can't. "Children of the Gods" for example, saw her say to a Medical Doctor - "I'll take over". What gives her that right?
    Nothing against the topic, but if I could just set you straight on this one point: Sam wasn't "taking over" a doctor's duties in COTG. Ferretti was about to enter the gate co-ordinates for what turned out to be Chulak. That was sensitive info the medical staff did not "need to know," but that Sam was both cleared and qualified to know.

    Now, back to your regularly scheduled topic.
    Gracie

    A Cherokee elder sitting with his grandchildren told them,
    "In every life there is a terrible fight – a fight between two wolves.
    One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity,
    resentment, and deceit. The other is good: joy, serenity, humility,
    confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion."
    A child asked, "Grandfather, which wolf will win?"
    The elder looked the child in the eye. "The one you feed."


    Comment


      #3
      I suppose that's fair enough. And I am willing to conceed on that point. But I think she should have asked if she could take over. But that's a minor point.

      I hope people don't think I'm being unfair... it just seems that youre allowed to dislike any character except Sam...


      "Five Rounds Rapid"

      sigpic

      Comment


        #4
        You're very much allowed to dislike any character you want, just head over to Solutions or Sony and you'll see that the dislike of Sam is a rather popular idea.

        I'll just preemptively remind folks, dislike the character to your hearts' content, just leave the actress out of it
        Where in the World is George Hammond?


        sigpic

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Flying Officer Bennett
          I suppose that's fair enough. And I am willing to conceed on that point. But I think she should have asked if she could take over. But that's a minor point.

          I hope people don't think I'm being unfair... it just seems that youre allowed to dislike any character except Sam...
          Actually, she was acting more in line with a military manner, there. Captains give orders, they don't make requests, and the med staff in a military installation would know that. I for one am glad to see that Sam has finally grown a military backbone these last few seasons, being more willing to give forceful commands rather than those prim&proper, oh-so-polite "if you please and thank yous" she was usually giving.

          I think that the character of Sam is the victim of Mary Sue writing. I've always loved the potential that is Sam more than the portrayal, and this from a fan of the character.

          Sam takes true form, for me, in well-written fanfic more often than she does on screen, and that's a shame because the character has had many wonderful moments on screen. She's just not a consistant character, IMO.

          As to being "allowed" to dislike a character, well, that's the result of the community taking offense. It's a basic human reaction. We tend to react to negative comments as an attack.

          I guess that's why we have to enshrine the right to free speech in laws, you know, because we don't respect that naturally.
          Gracie

          A Cherokee elder sitting with his grandchildren told them,
          "In every life there is a terrible fight – a fight between two wolves.
          One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity,
          resentment, and deceit. The other is good: joy, serenity, humility,
          confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion."
          A child asked, "Grandfather, which wolf will win?"
          The elder looked the child in the eye. "The one you feed."


          Comment


            #6
            I don't think that you could have SG-1 without Sam. She serves the same function as Daniel in that she is there to provide solutions, but while Daniel's solutions often cause problems and conflict of their own, Sam's are more cut and dried being science or mathematics based. I think that she has suffered from sloppy writing, taking the easy option of Sam being so brilliant in so many disciplines instead of an expert in one or two. Nobody likes a know-it-all and I think that it is a tribute that AT's acting that Sam insn't more of a pain in the mikta.

            Comment


              #7
              What happened to the old thread that had pretty much the same name and the same theme?!



              Comment


                #8
                I did a search and the only thread that came up was the "Sam's a great character" thread. This is for people with the opposite opinion.

                She HAS suffered from poor writing, and she DOES have potential. Yes. And I think AT does a great job of portraying her, but I also think she's not wonderful.

                With the COTG scene... I KNOW military protocol. I didnt catch the rank of the doctor, but either way. When dealing with Doctors, you ask. You dont demand.

                What bugs me is that Walter is always being made to look like and idiot, as are all other gate technicians and scientists. This annoys me. Jack has demonstrated flawed judgement. As has Daniel. As has Teal'c (usually down to pride). I fail to recall one moment when Sam has had flawed judgement. Except in accidentally blowing up a sun by making the wormhole travel through it... That was just put in there so she made ONE mistake.
                Last edited by Flyboy; 30 August 2006, 11:20 AM.


                "Five Rounds Rapid"

                sigpic

                Comment


                  #9
                  No, really, there was a thread with an almost identical name like this one. I posted in it. o_O



                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Flying Officer Bennett
                    What bugs me is that Walter is always being made to look like and idiot, as are all other gate technicians and scientists.

                    Really? You mean Sam makes them look that way? I've never seen her roll her eyes at Walter or otherwise make him look incompetent. I do remember not liking that one time when 'Rodney and Sam are the only smart ones and the rest of the base scientists are useless' scene in season six' Redemption. But with Walter you'll have to refresh my memory. And I'm not saying it hasn't happened. It certainly has set my teeth to grinding when Jack or Daniel make others look stupid.(Daniel in The Fifth Race when the other scientists can't figure out what even Sam can't figure out about the DHD, and Jack's attitude toward the ATF guy in Seth immediately spring to mind.) This sort of thing annoys me no end. How can you be heros if you surround yourselves with idiots? I'd much rather have the heros interact with competent security guards, scientists and soldiers.


                    This annoys me. Jack has demonstrated flawed judgement. As has Daniel. As has Teal'c (usually down to pride). I fail to recall one moment when Sam has had flawed judgement. Except in accidentally blowing up a sun by making the wormhole travel through it... That was just put in there so she made ONE mistake.
                    I know what you mean, but Sam has actually used bad judgement a number of times(The First Commandement, Gemini, possibly, in some fan's opinion, Red Sky and Heroes, and others). Unfortunately, because of the way she is generally written, fans take her character to task for those lapses in judgement rather than see these as interesting character flaws.

                    I love the character so much that I do the extra digging to find subtle meanings behind her every action and reaction. But truth be told, I'd enjoy actually seeing more of the character's 3 dimensions on screen.
                    Gracie

                    A Cherokee elder sitting with his grandchildren told them,
                    "In every life there is a terrible fight – a fight between two wolves.
                    One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity,
                    resentment, and deceit. The other is good: joy, serenity, humility,
                    confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion."
                    A child asked, "Grandfather, which wolf will win?"
                    The elder looked the child in the eye. "The one you feed."


                    Comment


                      #11
                      she used to be a great character, but now she seems only to be taking up space. she still is good looking, but the acting just seems to be... pointless.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        The thing is ... Carter has made mistakes, but she is not called in on them. Instead the characters around her are bent out of shape to give her 'pats' on the head.

                        For example:

                        Heroes Pt 1

                        Abandons her post - is she reprimaneded for it? No.

                        Gemini

                        She gave the information to the Replicarter on a silver platter. She disobeyed Jack's orders. Indirectly her actions cuased the death of another member of SG-1 and put the Earth (and the glaxay) in dire danger.

                        Court Martial? Nope. Pat on her head, even when she for a brief second admitted it was her fault.

                        TPTB don't allow MissNationalTreasure to either a) Make mistakes or b) pay for them when she does.

                        Therefore, Carter is a one dimensional character - the other characters are allowed flaws which makes them human, sympatheitc and likeable.

                        And frankly, Carter hasn't got the time to be knowledgeable in ALL areas of science and then some ... actually, few people do or would even have the talent to do that. It's just not realistic.

                        Why, would Carter - not Janet - be doing the dissection of the Super Soldier? I can understand possibly overlooking the operation but taking front place? Unblievable.

                        Carter's character suffers unfortuantely from bad writing - particulary in later seasons, and ship.
                        The man who opened the way.

                        The man who led the way.

                        "It will take you a million light years from home. But will it bring you back?" Stargate the movie

                        A mystery ... a secret ... a threshold ... to the future. Stargte the movie

                        The perfect SG-1 team: Colonel Jack, Daniel, Major Ferretti and Jonas

                        Comment


                          #13
                          I've never been a big fan of Sam tbh.

                          I don't hate her or anything...I just don't think she's written in a realistic way...her behaviour is never continual...it's like each writer writes her ever so slightly different.
                          sigpic
                          Part 2 coming very soon!! (this is a fic btw, not the Fandemonium novel)

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by sueKay
                            I've never been a big fan of Sam tbh.

                            I don't hate her or anything...I just don't think she's written in a realistic way...her behaviour is never continual...it's like each writer writes her ever so slightly different.
                            I think you've hit the nail on the head. Each writer naturally sees something different in a character, but it is as if TPTB don't even care to have continuity between their writings. Also, I believe that J/S ship ruined her character even more, reducing her to a woman pinning over a man clearly (IMO) not itnerested in her. Either way, it did a great deal of harm to her character overall.
                            The man who opened the way.

                            The man who led the way.

                            "It will take you a million light years from home. But will it bring you back?" Stargate the movie

                            A mystery ... a secret ... a threshold ... to the future. Stargte the movie

                            The perfect SG-1 team: Colonel Jack, Daniel, Major Ferretti and Jonas

                            Comment


                              #15
                              My current gripe is as to Sam's blatant Mary Suism when it comes down to being able to do everything.

                              I propose we make a list of every skill that Carter apparently has.

                              So far I know the following:

                              Studied Nano-technology
                              Studied Medical science
                              Studied the Stargate EXTENSIVELY
                              Can fly a fighter jet.
                              Is field combat trained.
                              Is a skilled mechanic and engineer.


                              Anyone got more?

                              I mean O'Neill being pilot trained is bad enough, but Sam is ridiculous.


                              "Five Rounds Rapid"

                              sigpic

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X