Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[majorsal]

And, I mentioned this about a thousand pages back ... the scene in Space Race where Teal'c tells Jack that Sam has asked him to stay with her to help out ... when AT fixes Teal'c with a knowing look and says "Indeed ..." everything in that moment is pure Emma Peel ... the timing, the look, the delivery, the tone ... I was back with Mrs. Peel and Steed and couldn't stop grinning.

Sorry for going slightly OT, but you touched a nerve!

your post reminded me of this... remember in season 5's desperate measures, when jack comes in just in the nick of time to rescue sam from being injected with icky death making medicine? sam says, to jack's ("You alright?") sudden and appreciated rescue, "Yeah. Very dramatic, thank you." I LOVED the way amanda delivered that line! i played it over and over. it was not only the look on her face (and she *so* nailed that near panic mode), it was the sound and inflection of her voice.


sally

[tsaxlady]

ÜberSG-1Fan - Sorry I have not been around much but it's that time of the school year that concerts are keeping me really busy. I know several long pages ago you were asking about AT injuries and I ran across this quote from Ultimate TV Chat with Amanda Tapping
May 26, 1999

Have you ever been hurt on the set?
Yes, I got a concussion in Season 1 and a small explosion went off in my face during Season 1. I was supposed to run past and the bomb would go off, but we had a happy trigger finger happening. I wasn't seriously hurt. Just a minor spotting on my face.

In case you want to read the whole article here is the web link http://fortunecity.com/lavendar/east...ptv.html#taptv

[jckfan55]

What fun, Kat! And I think you made AgentDark's day with this collage! Here's to hoping that Sam in Season 9 is happy... riding her cycle on her downtime and just enjoying life!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ncilbright.jpg

Edited to add: As I continued to catch up on reading the posts, I see that Jckfan posted a similar comment about seeing Sam having fun and enjoying life and riding her motorcycle:
The second one reminds me of some of the leather tops/outfits that Emma Peel wore on the old Avengers TV series. (I'm not against them in either series or on either woman). Emma Peel was a great female lead who 'kicked serious bad guy butt'! (If anything on that wonderfully campy series could be considered serious)

True, Emma Peel was great. I think that 2nd outfit just wasn't appropriate for the stakeout. Though, given the question a ways back about what Sam watches--old episodes of the Avengers wouldn't be far fetched. Maybe she was in an Emma Peel mood that day.

[chocdoc]

speaking in broad, broad, broad generalizations here, for the most part you have

jack fans
daniel fans
jack/daniel fans
jack/sam fans
sam fans

in all honesty, teal'c fans, to the point of web sites/fic/artwork are few and far between

there are jack fans who like sam/jack, jack fans who like jack/daniel, jack fans who don't want any pairing, etc, etc, etc

Now, again, i'm speaking in broad generalities and not aiming at anyone, most of the sam bashers that i've noticed are also daniel or jack/daniel fans. There are a few jack fans who also enjoy bashing sam

reasons can be wide and varied. maybe they see sam as a threat to thier preferred character or pairing. maybe there is some jealousy, admitted or subconscious (face it, Sam is the co-worker any woman would hate for her husband to work with. good looking, smart, nice...the perfect threat)

I do think, for some, it can boil down to 'ok, so my favorite screwed up so let's see how i can put the blame onto someone else' and sam becomes the fall guy

It would make sense that Jack would have the most fans in general because of RDA's visibility. And it does seem clear that Teal'c does not have a large fanbase, altough I think most fans like him.

Actually, when I first got online not too long ago, I was amazed that AT/Sam has such a large fanbase for two reasons:

--It seems that there is a higher percentage of women than men in stargate's fanbase online (at least those that post) -- many women are going to choose Jack or Daniel as there favorite character because they find them attractive, etc.... I can't believe how many "thunk" threads there are!! Men don't seem to have these types of threads---the "hot" threads for female actresses don't last very long.

Jack and Daniel are the original characters---so some fans like to stay "true" to the beginning storyline of stargate, and are loyal to these two characters.

So, to me it is quite incredible that AT/Sam has such a large online fanbase out there because most of this fanbase consists of women who like Sam's character, and not because she's HOT. Of course many men, and some women do think she HOT, as they should . But she is not an original character, so I think this puts the character at a disadvantage (same is true for Teal'c). Clearly, AT was able to make many fans really like and admire Sam.

I think there is also the group in fandom who really likes all four characters alot.

People who watch the show and never get online? Hard to tell who is their favorite character. How about those vast number of men who are watching? I'm sure they don't mind watching Carter.

Maybe it is this. Probably many men really like Carter, but their favorite character has to be a guy, cause guys rule. And many women also choose a male character because they are liking the qualities of the guy better too (and as some of said some women may get jealous of Sam). Maybe that is why so few scifi shows risk having a female lead only. So again, it is amazing that AT/Sam has such a strong fanbase in the first place, and this is a credit to AT.

[Lida]

I also have a question, I can't seem to dl the "massive tome". I have Adobe, but whenever I try to dl from the link, nothing happens....any suggestions. You all have worked so hard on this, I really want to see and read it!

I will appreciate GREATLY any suggestions......my pc has not been very nice to me lately.

PDF's are notorious for moving very slowly

have you tried right clicking on the link, downloading it to your harddrive then, once it's done, seeing if you can open it?

I'll give it a whirl Skydiver and let you know if it works. Thanks!!! As usual, one of Samandans has come through. But then, you all always do.

And as usual, reading your posts has been great, informative, and just plain fun. I feel so inadequate though. You know sooooo much, and have such great insight, I have to admit to being a bit intimidated. But I'll work on getting some backbone, like Sam, and start posting.

[Skydiver]

your post reminded me of this... remember in season 5's desperate measures, when jack comes in just in the nick of time to rescue sam from being injected with icky death making medicine? sam says, to jack's ("You alright?") sudden and appreciated rescue, "Yeah. Very dramatic, thank you." I LOVED the way amanda delivered that line! i played it over and over. it was not only the look on her face (and she *so* nailed that near panic mode), it was the sound and inflection of her voice.


sally

yeah, she had that 'i'm clinging onto my sanity by a tiny little thread' tone in her voice. like she was >< to losing it but was trying not to

[jckfan55]

Okay...brace yourselves as I am in quite the mood.....

I just read some material on a thread that will remain nameless (as I don't want to give it any publicity) that made my hair stand on end.

I know the one you mean.

Now about that MISTAKE...it was a standard recon mission for crying out loud. How many times had Jack ordered his backup to cover their six at the gate? How was this a blinding mistake on Sam's part? She had no way of knowing that Ba'al took advantage of them being missing...and most importantly, she got her team home in one piece.

*growl*

I tried making that point myself. Great post. Can't rep you, so take this restorative green jello.

[Charlie]

Hey everyone! Thanks to all those who wished me a happy birthday! I've been catching up on all the posts and you've all said such beautiful things about AT that I really dont know how I can add to it! Just to say that she's an amazing role model...she has all the qualities I most desire - grace, courage, compassion and humour.
I guess in a way many of us are obsessed with the show, or with her - I know my parents certainly think I am! But it's not a bad stalkerish, taking over every aspect of your life, cant seperate reality from fiction obsessive...I think that everyone here on this thread has a wonderful respect for Amanda and for what goes into the making of the show (even if we dont always agree with it.) I think that, for me at least, Amanda's main appeal is not only her amazing acting skills, but her humanity. She doesn't pretend to be perfect, and she's very gracious and down to earth - well, from what I know and have heard about her! IT's not like I've met her or anything. But I can imagine her having a bad day, or being tired and fed up or frustrated about something...I love and respect her because she's not the perfect 'hollywood goddess' but a good and talented human being. She's the sort of person I want to be, and if being 'obssessed' with her will help me accomplish that, then okay!

[chocdoc]

Not only is there nothing wrong in criticizing the actions a character takes...it is IMHO an integral part of fandom. I don't agree with everything Sam does and I have openly criticized some of her more egregious errors in judgment...At the same time, I believe that most of the mistakes she makes are in character...based on her personality or past experiences. Gemini is the flashpoint I think because for Sam, RepliCarter personified the mistake she made betraying Fifth...so she was even more prone to errors in judgment. RepliCarter knew exactly how she felt and knew exactly how to exploit Sam's humanity to her advantage.

But the line is exactly where you place it...criticizing vs. bashing. One is constructive the other destructive.

Sam has never demonstrated weakness to me. Has she made mistakes? Of course. Has she had moments of doubt? Undoubtedly...and like I posted in my diatribe last night, even Jack doubted his own abilities...I didn't hear the masses scream for his head on a platter for being "weak."

I hope I didn't offend anyone...I guess my ire goes up when people trash someone I kinda view as my hero figure...

I agree with you, Uber. You presented a very convincing argument earlier and I agree with you. I think most of the things Sam has done over the last several seasons has been in character, except one thing--accepting so easily Pete's behavior at the end of Chimera. This second half of the episode was out of character for me.

Otherwise, I agree that Sam has made mistakes, but she is clearly not weak or incompetent. I see her this way because I can't just look at one behavior (or one scene) and determine she is now weak and incompetent. I look at the whole history of her character over time. I made a list awhile ago of all the competent things Sam did in season 7 and half of 8 thus far. I like seeing different sides of her, and I am definitely willing to forgive her if I think she did something stupid!! All the characters do stupid things for the sake of the plot.

I think it is interesting that AT won the Saturn award this year. She had been nominated a number of times, but never won. Now she does, and there was tough competition. Maybe it is because she was allowed to show a range of emotions and behaviors (seeming to fall in love, being giddy and fidgety, losing loved ones and therefore feeling grief, playing evil, playing geeky, being vulnerable, being shy, being embarrassed, doubting oneself a bit in a new leadership position, yet still solving problems, caring for her teammates, spitting out technobabble, playing spy and solving problems). AT got to play more dramatic situations, romantic situations, and comical situations too.

Even though I may not have liked the way Sam was written at times (I feel this way about all the characters), I do appreciate AT's ability to play this range.

[jckfan55]

A fleeting thought.... If I were Amanda, I'd be interested in knowing a little bit about the people who produced this massive tome...

I think it would be nice to include that info. Even if we are crazed, we're a *diverse* and educated bunch of whackos.

Good thing we have a psychiatrist on the premises in Lida.

[chocdoc]

Who/what am I leaving out?

:

Hi Strix varia,

I'm afraid I am not adding any variety to the list, but I am another college professor.

[Strix varia]

It would make sense that Jack would have the most fans in general because of RDA's visibility. And it does seem clear that Teal'c does not have a large fanbase, altough I think most fans like him.

Actually, when I first got online not too long ago, I was amazed that AT/Sam has such a large fanbase for two reasons:

--It seems that there is a higher percentage of women than men in stargate's fanbase online (at least those that post) -- many women are going to choose Jack or Daniel as there favorite character because they find them attractive, etc.... I can't believe how many "thunk" threads there are!! Men don't seem to have these types of threads---the "hot" threads for female actresses don't last very long.

Jack and Daniel are the original characters---so some fans like to stay "true" to the beginning storyline of stargate, and are loyal to these two characters.

So, to me it is quite incredible that AT/Sam has such a large online fanbase out there because most of this fanbase consists of women who like Sam's character, and not because she's HOT. Of course many men, and some women do think she HOT, as they should . But she is not an original character, so I think this puts the character at a disadvantage (same is true for Teal'c). Clearly, AT was able to make many fans really like and admire Sam.

I think there is also the group in fandom who really likes all four characters alot.

People who watch the show and never get online? Hard to tell who is their favorite character. How about those vast number of men who are watching? I'm sure they don't mind watching Carter.

Maybe it is this. Probably many men really like Carter, but their favorite character has to be a guy, cause guys rule. And many women also choose a male character because they are liking the qualities of the guy better too (and as some of said some women may get jealous of Sam). Maybe that is why so few scifi shows risk having a female lead only. So again, it is amazing that AT/Sam has such a strong fanbase in the first place, and this is a credit to AT.

Ooooo, very interesting take on things... It hadn't occurred to me that it might make a difference that Sam and Teal'c weren't "original" characters.

And I left you off my demographics list, too... <going back to add chocdoc to the mystery occupation category...>

On edit: D'Oh! That'll teach me not to finish reading all the latest posts before hitting a reply. College professor... of choc?

[jckfan55]

Not sure if someone else already posted a pic and I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toe. I just got to thinking after I read this post and started playing a bit.

Exactly the spot I would have suggested. Reminds me of Wordsworth's "The Daffodils."

[Skydiver]

I agree with you, Uber. You presented a very convincing argument earlier and I agree with you. I think most of the things Sam has done over the last several seasons has been in character, except one thing--accepting so easily Pete's behavior at the end of Chimera. This second half of the episode was out of character for me.

i agree. the sam that let pete off the hook is not the sam who got in mckay's face over his em pulse generator, or who faced simmons down over the briefing room table, or who punched the guy in first commandment

the sam in chimera, to me, smacks more of a man's fantasy of a woman. gorgous, funny, sexy, mysterious, all forgiving

[chocdoc]

OK, folks here's the latest updated version of the SaGC Collection for AT

http://home.comcast.net/~1annex/SaGCCollectionforAT.pdf

This is fabulous, Astrog!! Thanks for doing this!! I'll think of a comment to AT and get that to you soon.