Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

Beautiful. I don't see why TPTB can't come up with these simple things

Well, in all fairness, we're Monday morning quarterbacking.

It probably made some sense to the PTB way back in preproduction, while they were distracted with juggling a few other scripts, casting, deadlines, etc. I can spend months on a simple fic, with no deadlines, and, yet, after I finally decide that it's publishable, I later find tons of plot-hole type stuff I'd like to go back and change.

Art, as they say, is never finished; it is merely abandonned.

[astrogeologist]

Spoilers for Season 7

Spoiler:

Fallen/Homecoming: Sam is extremely sensitive to Daniel when he can't remember who he is. She is the one that tells him how wonderful he is--how passionate he is, etc. Sensitive and good friend Sam. also kick-butt sam in tackling Jaffa.

Revisions---competent Sam again helping a people realize what the Link really is. Competent techno sam.

Space race---Sam as a speed-junky--the fun, lighter side of sam too.

Evolution 2: Carter is leader of recon mission to discover what Anibus is doing with his soldiers.

Fallout---Carter helps Jonas out with problem with naquadria mine. Willing to risk her life here. Brave Sam.

Grace-- yes, this is about her personal life somewhat---she has a severe concussion, is hallucinating, probably is going to die---yes she is doing some evaluating of her life under these circumstances. Good for her. Reflective Sam.

Death Knell---resourceful soldier under dire circumstances---true grit Sam.

Heroes---devastated by Janet's death. Glad Jack is still alive. Gives great tribute to Janet with help from Teal'c.

Chocdoc has done for Seasons 7&8 what I was hoping we could all do for the earlier seasons! I was thinking about it yesterday, but the other posts on here were so great, that I couldn't find time to put something together. And then Chocdoc went ahead and did it - and I really like her format (see quote above for examples)

So here's what I was thinking:
How about if everyone posts their brief comments on any and all of their favorite Season 4 Sam-scenes?
As the Royal Archivist, I am willing to compile the responses and then post the summary when we have the results from the Season 4 poll on Friday. This will help shine some light on the episodes that 'don't get many votes' (as Skydiver so astutely noted after the past couple of polls).

You don't have to even use complete sentences... chocdoc's format was perfect! (shorter will be better when I compile the responses together)

To help folks along, I've listed the Season 4 episodes below, with the GW brief summaries (for those of us who haven't memorized all of the episode titles).

SMALL VICTORIES O'Neill and Teal'c risk their lives to keep the Replicator bugs from gaining a foothold on Earth, while Carter helps the Asgard fend off a Replicator invasion. (Part 2 of 2)

THE OTHER SIDE A warring alien race offers to exchange their advanced technology for Earth's help in defeating their enemy.

UPGRADES A Tok'ra archaeologist arrives at the SGC with newly discovered technology, giving the SG-1 team superhuman powers.

CROSSROADS Teal'c is reunited with his lost love -- a woman who claims to have found a way to communicate with her symbiote and defeat the Goa'uld.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER When a member of the SGC tries to kill a Tok'ra, it is revealed that O'Neill and Carter may be victims of an untraceable form of Goa'uld mind control.

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY O'Neill and Teal'c are caught in a time loop in the SGC, and must relive the same 10 hours over and over again.

WATERGATE The Russians recover a Stargate from the bottom of the ocean, and turn to the SGC for help when their experiments go awry.

THE FIRST ONES Dr. Jackson is taken captive by an Unas while on an archaeological dig. The SGC mounts a rescue operation, but discovers a danger of their own.

SCORCHED EARTH SG-1 is caught in a conflict between two civilizations trying to colonize the same planet.

BENEATH THE SURFACE The members of SG-1 are used as forced labor in an underground alien facility after their memories are erased by the ruling elite.

POINT OF NO RETURN SG-1 investigates a conspiracy theorist who has detailed knowledge of the Stargate program.

TANGENT A test gone wrong leaves Jack and Teal'c marooned in space aboard a damaged prototype attack ship.

THE CURSE When his former mentor dies, Dr. Jackson returns to his roots -- and discovers an ancient Egyptian artifact containing a Goa'uld parasite.

THE SERPENT'S VENOM SG-1 must stop Apophis and Heru-ur from forming an alliance of their powerful forces, while Teal'c is captured and tortured by the Goa'uld.

CHAIN REACTION SG-1 must adjust to a new commanding officer when General Hammond steps down -- but O'Neill discovers foul play behind the general's resignation.

2010 Ten years into the future, the former members of SG-1 must send a message into the past to prevent the extinction of the human race.

ABSOLUTE POWER Jackson's teammates notice a disturbing change in him when he is reunited with the Harcesis child and given the Goa'uld genetic memory.

THE LIGHT SG-1 finds a deserted Goa'uld palace, where a beautiful device causes suicidal tendencies.

PRODIGY Carter must help keep a promising young cadet from throwing away a future at the SGC. O'Neill and Teal'c encounter a dangerous life form at an offworld research base.

ENTITY The SGC is invaded by an alien life force that takes up residence in the base computer system -- and in Major Carter.

DOUBLE JEOPARDY SG-1 must rescue an alien world from the Goa'uld -- with help from an unexpected source. Teal'c seeks revenge on the System Lord Cronus for the murder of his father.

EXODUS SG-1 helps to evacuate the Tok'ra to a new base -- but matters are complicated when a spy reveals their location to Apophis. The team attempts a daring plan to take out the Goa'uld's powerful fleet. (Part 1 of 2)

[Skydiver]

SMALL VICTORIES - sam and thor, kicking rep tushie

THE OTHER SIDE - how sam knew that jack was letting alar die...and let him

UPGRADES -the pool scene....and amanda was so hot in that red sweater

CROSSROADS umm....i'm drawing a blank on this one

DIVIDE AND CONQUER - realizing the truth before they were both killed
and making jack see it, despite being distinctly wiggy from the drugs. not to mention killing marty

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY sam was so fun when she was egging jack on. 'so, what's going to happen now'...believing him even though his story was incredibly unbelievable

WATERGATE lol, the whole sub stuff. sg1 does abyss

THE FIRST ONES simply being soldier sam, going after a missing friends

SCORCHED EARTH her balancing her personal beliefs with doing her job.

BENEATH THE SURFACE Thera was sam...just a less inhibited sam.

POINT OF NO RETURN the whole 'torture' bits with Tanner

TANGENT oh i love this one. going to dad to get help, how she defused his anger in an instant with 'colonel o'neill and teal'c need your help'.

THE CURSE ooh, shooting osiris. we had rambo sam, taking on a goauld

THE SERPENT'S VENOM i LOVE the whole bomb bit.

CHAIN REACTION how sam manages to balance what she needs to do with what bauer is making her do...and her supreme snarkiness in the end. the ultimate 'i told you so' moment

2010 sam, saving the world one more time...and paying the ultimate price to stop the aschen

ABSOLUTE POWER fighing the unfightable force of power mad danny

THE LIGHT the fight on the beach, her falling for the light

PRODIGY she did such a good job dressing down the recruits. she's definitely been hanging aroudn jack too long

ENTITY she did such a good job being so cold and bad

DOUBLE JEOPARDY hey, robo sam saved the day.

EXODUS blowing up a sun...who can top that???

[splifficated]

Hmm. The best Sam moments for me in season 4 were

a) Small Victories - watching her figure out how to save the day with her "inferior" intellect . And blowing up the O'neill was just a bonus .

b) Prodigy - I liked seeing Sam as a soldier and a scientist in this one. She did both well.

[MajorSam]

SMALL VICTORIES - The yellow ones. Sam uses her “stupidity” to save the Asgard as we know it

Didn’t do all of them… just the main type ones!

THE OTHER SIDE Sam’s reaction to the wormhole closing on the people. So human… beautiful

UPGRADES Zipping through crazy force shields, need I say more!? Great humour with “diet” soda etc.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER Beautiful reacting in the face of admitting feelings she definitely shouldn’t have. She kept it professional, even when said confession were done. Had to watch someone she has feelings for, even if they’re not hers, die. Very powerful, with the whole “Samantha?” and then having to shoot him… 

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY Sam’s different reactions in the loops “Since when have you heard Colonel O’Neill use *insert technobabbleI* in the same sentence!? And correctly… for the most part…

WATERGATE Loved how they Sky-Dived out. Amanda herself loves it, and I’m sure she had fun getting all done up in the Artic suit

SCORCHED EARTH The whole thing with the bomb and stuff..

BENEATH THE SURFACE Seeing a more innocent Sam. Even with her memories erased, she wants to use her knowledge to help everyone. Handled “feeling feelings” at the end very well. “Sir…” very sad. Yet another showing of the sacrifice she’s doing for her duty.

TANGENT “Damn it Colonel we didn’t come all this way to take you home in a box, now wake up!”

THE CURSE Vintage Motorcycle can you say!?!?! A first peek into the adrenaline junkie that is Sam
CHAIN REACTION Showing relationship between Hammy and Sam. I loved it, so father/daughter like

2010 A look at what could have been. From what I say, how she betrayed herself, and Jack, to go to Joe. She, and everyone else, messed up, and now they’re seeing the consequences. They sacrifice themselves to try and fix it. Very profound

ABSOLUTE POWER “I just have my opinion. That used to mean something to you…” A very intriguing look at something that could have been, and of course that sexy orange suit! As well interesting bit of Sam-Torture in Danny’s mind.

THE LIGHT The one time Sam actually possibly yells at someone

PRODIGY Showing the young ‘un how it’s done. Love seeing her challenged, and by someone so young Nice insights into her past life as Resident Acadamy Geek

ENTITY Uh… the whole episode! How it shows she’s invaluable to the program. Brilliantly acted. And she died!

DOUBLE JEOPARDY Two Sams!!!! Maybe we should have three for the price of two deal

EXODUS “How do you know these things!?” “I studied Mothership blueprints” “You know how to have a good time…” “Havin a good time now Sir” “You go girl” Sry, can’t remember if that’s in here, or the second part… And of course Blowing up a sun!

[Agent_Dark]

How about if everyone posts their brief comments on any and all of their favorite Season 4 Sam-scenes?

Good Idea

Small Victories - Sam saves the Asgard from total destruction with a 'dumb' idea. 'Nuff said.

The Other Side - The scene at the end where O'Neill orders the iris closed even though he knows that the guy is going to come through. The look that Sam's gives him speaks 1000 words. Brilliant.

Upgrades - Sam the Pool Shark! Pity we didn't get to see Sam hold her own up in the fight though

The First Ones - Sam in woodland BDU's. I think SG-1 should wear them more often

Scorched Earth - Sam being ordered to do something she obviously didn't agree with. It was good to see her personal morals conflicting with her duties.

Chain Reaction - Again Sam's morals conflicting with her duties.

The Light - Sam's 'stoned' look was great lol. And the scene on the beach where she's arguing with O'Neill was great.

Prodigy - Got some Carter backstory out of this. The more backstory the better I says!

Double Jepardy - Carter's android double shows us Sam's strength of char by sacrificing herself.

Exodus - Sam getting nervous about blowing up a sun -

[MajorSam]

The recent bringing-up of Robot Sam inspired me to throw together some pics of all the Different Sam's we've seen!



sry for the simplicity and ammatureness, but hey, I did it in 2 seconds! I'll be making a nice one later.

[Agent_Dark]

So many different Carter's...

[splifficated]

So many different Carter's...

... so little time.

[NearlyCircular]

How about if everyone posts their brief comments on any and all of their favorite Season 4 Sam-scenes?

What a coincidence! I was actually taking notes today while I was trying to decide on my favorite season 4 episodes. Here are some that I don't think others have mentioned yet.

Small Victories -"Yeahsureyoubetcha" and hugging the puppet.

The Other Side - the long look she gives Jack at the end

Watergate - good interaction with Markov. But another strong female character we probably won't see again.

Scorched Earth, Chain Reaction and Absolute Power - all episodes where Sam faces a moral dilemma and takes the high ground each time.

Serpent's Venom - "It's all Phoenician to me, sir." and "Trust me, it's a math thing."

The Light - Sam's reaction when she figures out that Jack and Daniel are betting on her, and I love the beach scene, too.

NC

[astrogeologist]

.
Great Season 4 comments! So far, I've downloaded the comments from Skydiver, Splifficated, MajorSam, AgentDark, NearlyCircular and ForeverSG-1. If I missed anyone, please let me know (and give me the link to your post so I can find it )

To end the evening, some screen caps from the Season 4 episode 'Watergate'

As for good "competent Sam" moments-- let's not forget how she matter-of-factly jumped out of the plane in Watergate. What a gal.

Geronimo!
.
.
'Night all!
.

[majorsal]

warning - spoilers for s7 and s8 eps

That said, I don't think the last two seasons have been "dominated" by her personal life. It just seems that this is so because it stands out in two episodes (actually three but haven't seen Threads yet) out of 40 episodes, where it has not stood out before. All the things that Carter has done in the other 37 episodes go to the background when in fact she has done a number of huge things in the scifi world. I think it is easy to take her contributions for granted--I'm not sure why though. Her story arc is not all-consumed by her personal struggle regarding relationships and family (which I actually don't think is a terrible thing if it is one of several story arcs), but it feels like it to some because it is focused on at all in the last two seasons relative to the previous seasons.

<snip>

Left out alot but way too long of a post. Sorry. I think all of Sam's contributions get pushed to the wayside here and for some fans Sam is only defined by her lovelife. I think that negates all the things that she does do that is central to the scifi stories. Her abilities and strengths are taken for granted. I don't know that this happens for the male characters.

I agree with you completely. As I've said before, for me, I like Sam reevaluating her life (even if it went in a direction I didn't like *Pete vrs Jack*). Grace started it, but after that, it's only been in Chimera, semi New Order, Affinity, and Threads. It's not really that much to me, and I think we're a bit knocked out by it because the writers had never shown this side of Sam before. It could have been 10 times worse (especially after she'd gotten engaged), but it didn't. (as an s/j shipper, thank you).

In Grace, Sam questioned her life and the choices she'd made. From that, she made a new choice and stood by it. Time went by and she realized her choice was a substitute for the real choice she was afraid of making. That's a big storyline for Sam or any character, and it really didn't seem like that much time was spent on it.

What I *do* think has been a problem/was neglected was Sam commanding Sg1. I was literally jumping up and down with It's Good to be Kind, because Sam was commanding! I definitely want to see more of this in season 9. I don't know how much can be done because I think Amanda's going to be pulling back her time spent on set (baby needs her mom), but I still think it can be addressed.

I'd like to take a moment to say how proud I am of this thread. We're a good group of ppl, because we've always shown respect to each other and differing opinions. I'd like to think Amanda would be proud of us too.


Sally

[majorsal]

Great ideas Skydiver and MajorSal!
Those scenarios would have worked beautifully!

.

Astro, please call me Sally.

Sally

[majorsal]

Here's a great Sam whumpage fic that I read some time ago. I still crosses my mind sometimes (I wish the author would do a sequel). Anyhoo, it's called Shade, and it's by Gene Este.

link for fic: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/95242/1/

It's a bit long, but soooo worth it. Enjoy.


Sally

[Agent_Dark]

Here's a great Sam whumpage fic that I read some time ago. I still crosses my mind sometimes (I wish the author would do a sequel). Anyhoo, it's called Shade, and it's by Gene Este.

link for fic: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/95242/1/

It's a bit long, but soooo worth it. Enjoy.


Sally

Thanks for the link!