The Samanda Whinge nuts

[DEM]

OK.... this is the Samanda Whingenuts thread...right?

The thread for venting? right?

OK, check.

Heh.

So what in the world happened with Season 9? [...] what's left of/for Carter?

All I can see is Carter the scientist. The other facets of Carter are ostensibly still available, but aren't being used, and have in many ways, been replaced by similar or identical features in other characters.

Well, at least she's MORE REALISTIC NOW!

Great post, astro.

although, to be frank, i do prefer the less socially adept Carter...

[RepliCartertje]

Thanks to NearlyCircular for the article

Well said astrogeologist, that is just the way I think about it...
Sam Carter wasn't a stereotyp in the beginning... Ok she was sometimes to perfect... but that changed after season1. I did find her character rather complete... She was not a typical military or a typical scientist... she made mistakes that make her human and someone who you can relate to... And well of course she is a woman that did not make a difference to the rest of the team, now in season 9 with Mitchell, I get the feeling that she is becoming the lady or the woman and than the girl who knows everything about science. And I don't like where this is going to...
Just let her be the Carter from the previous seasons... there she was normal... Now she is becoming a geek(ok not really a geek but they do think that she is the answer for every problem)
and besides the fact that she is a scientist, she doesn't have a personal life in season 9... where is that side of her?

[Tracy Jane]

and besides the fact that she is a scientist, she doesn't have a personal life in season 9... where is that side of her?

All I can say about that is THANK GOODNESS. I'm sorry, but after season eight, I'm GLAD there was no personal life. I don't mind ship, honestly I don't, but at the end of the day, it is a sci-fi show and not a soap opera set in space. I felt that season eight was far, far, FAR too heavy on Sam's personal relationships, be it with Pete, with Jacob or with Jack. We didn't see enough of Sam the Scientist or Sam the Soldier, we just saw Sam the Lovesick Damsel in Distress. And that was AWFUL.

So as far as that goes, I quite enjoyed season nine.

[RepliCartertje]

All I can say about that is THANK GOODNESS. I'm sorry, but after season eight, I'm GLAD there was no personal life. I don't mind ship, honestly I don't, but at the end of the day, it is a sci-fi show and not a soap opera set in space. I felt that season eight was far, far, FAR too heavy on Sam's personal relationships, be it with Pete, with Jacob or with Jack. We didn't see enough of Sam the Scientist or Sam the Soldier, we just saw Sam the Lovesick Damsel in Distress. And that was AWFUL.

So as far as that goes, I quite enjoyed season nine.

well I am not refering to the ship, ok maybe a little but it is just that in season 9 she only was the scientist and nothing else... it looks just like she got nothing else to than being the scientist... I mean she does have a life outside it and sometimes it is nice to see that... that makes it more realistic... I did find it hard to believe her in season 9. Nothing against AT, she did a wonderfull job it is just... we saw only one side of her and that was the scientist.

[minigeek]

i think perhaps she would not have used that word in, say, season 8. in that way, i disagree that they are mutually exclusive. makes sense?

It does indeed. We interpreted the scenario differently.

[minigeek]

I think, with all due respect to everyone's opinions, we're making a mountian out of a molehill

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[Tracy Jane]

well I am not refering to the ship, ok maybe a little but it is just that in season 9 she only was the scientist and nothing else... it looks just like she got nothing else to than being the scientist... I mean she does have a life outside it and sometimes it is nice to see that... that makes it more realistic... I did find it hard to believe her in season 9. Nothing against AT, she did a wonderfull job it is just... we saw only one side of her and that was the scientist.

And having said that, the show is Stargate SG1 and it is about their work lives. If their work lives start to interfere with their personal lives, like in Chimera, I can handle an episode. But do we need to know about Sam's current boyfriend or whether Jack still speaks to Sara? We don't see them go to the loo or take a shower, and that would make it more realistic. We don't need to see everything. This show is about their JOBS.

[minigeek]

And having said that, the show is Stargate SG1 and it is about their work lives. If their work lives start to interfere with their personal lives, like in Chimera, I can handle an episode. But do we need to know about Sam's current boyfriend or whether Jack still speaks to Sara? We don't see them go to the loo or take a shower, and that would make it more realistic. We don't need to see everything. This show is about their JOBS.

Welllllllllllllllll..... yes. But at some point, it's about more than just their jobs. If it were just about their jobs, it could be four robotic squares with no eyes, ears, noses or mouths hopping around saving the universe. It has to be about the PEOPLE at the root of their jobs and their action/heroics, and part of that is some lower level basic exploration (even if it is an allusion only) to a more personal element in their lives. What demons does Sam Carter harbor from her past? Or Jack for that matter? Mitchell? Is Daniel really that perfectly balanced and normal or is there something about his past or his personality that we don't know about that makes him a potentially loose canon? Things like that (and you cannot exclude romantic interest for the sake of it, because it's just as valid a device of this sort), make the characters; the PEOPLE more interesting to watch within the context of their jobs. And that makes the story about them (not the Stargate). The stargate is boring, it's a big giant hunk of alien alloy. It's the stuff that happens TO the people when thye go through it that makes things interesting. Which isn't just their jobs, it's every aspect of their multifaceted characters. We should never dwell heavily on any ONE aspect (ie-> Romance) or it becomes maudlin and cliche, but that's not to say we should NEVER have emotional baggage for our characters (romantic or otherwise). Done well... it's magic. Done well... it's part of the bigger story.

[RepliCartertje]

Minigeek... exactly my words. Ok I am a shipper but I mean there is a lot more going on than that... and I do understand people who don't like that. It is just... you are dealing with people and yes off course they have their jobs but there is something more that that to them.

[minigeek]

Minigeek... exactly my words. Ok I am a shipper but I mean there is a lot more going on than that... and I do understand people who don't like that. It is just... you are dealing with people and yes off course they have their jobs but there is something more that that to them.

ANd I'll qualify that even further by saying that I'm one particular shipper who (like Tracy, I think ) will be first in line to stand up, shake my head and say: "UGH" if they put too much oooey-gooey smarm into the mix. The allusion to, even the occasional actual brush with, something like that is great. But too much of it and it turns into what I think Tracy was getting at with respect to a science fiction / action adventure series that somehow lost its science fiction action adventure and became someone's soap opera. Ewww. That would SUCK ....er.... BITE (and uh... I mean that...um, not literally) LOL

So we know Sam's got a boyfriend; so we know Jack got back together with Sara , so great, so that's a neat couple of minutes, it's good conflict for character, lets move on and weave it into the bigger picture - which is ... the freakin' world is about to be taken over by evil brain-sucking aliens!!! Oh, wait, no, that's season eleven... my bad.

[AGateFan]

Now I'm wondering if she'd get the same disapproval if she talked about turning CJ into "Teal'c, Jaffa hunk"?

She would from me.
Teal'c is more then some shallow "hunk" and way way more then a stupid sleevless shirt. Poor poor Teal'c he has gotten the shaft more then anyone but no one seems to notice since the ironic part is he is the only one that fits into the "new formula". Well by fit in I mean they wont shuffle him off to another show or 'retire' him. They need that steotypical alien even if he is now treated as nothing but pretty wallpaper and cartoon super hero strong-enforcer sidekick.

[Uber]

I don't have an issue with Sam being called a "babe" because let's face it...she is one. It's why I feel safe platonically thunking for her because she's a knockout.

However, it's not ALL she is. I read a few pages back where AD was lamenting not finding fics with Sam not being part of a ship...and I have something to contribute here.

Oh no, I understand that. 'Why do something unless you enjoy it?' and all that, but it does seem to reinforce the point that Sam will always be a part of the ship. The majority of writers who write Sam are shippers and thus include Sam/Jack. Ergo it's hard to find fic that shows that Sam is not part of Sam/Jack? And unfortunately, no matter how many times people say that she isn't part of the ship, I can't find the fic to back it up.

My contention has never been and never will be that Sam is not a part of Sam/Jack. As you well know, I believe strongly that she is. I believe just as strongly that this is not all she is.

Just like Sam is not just a "babe," neither is she just part of "SamandJack." It, just like her babehood, is a part of what makes up who she is. Additionally, she's a speed junkie. And a scientist. And a soldier. And a sister. And an aunt. And a mother...etc. etc. etc.

Of the elements that make up who she is, her personal life usually rates lower in her immediate focus as say her leadership side or her scientist side. It's there, simply not dominant. Thusly her babeness is a constant but is rarely a focus of who she is as a person.

She is a multi-dimensional character and her parts are many. And while I love her shippy side, I don't ever want that to be her dominant trait. Same with her babe-i-tude. I like that aspect of her being played down, thank you very much. I love that it simply is and isn't crammed down our throats.

I would like to see as dominant her her leadership side, her speed junkie side, her maternal/family side, and her science genius side...with a flavoring of ship and babeness here and there.

err, well it's not unreasonable to expect someone who is stranded EVA to need a bit of help getting back on-board...

I figured she'd be rescued by somebody (hopefully after doing something incredibly heroic )...but does it have to be Mitchell??? Couldn't Teal'c do it or Emerson or Kvasir???

See, I see this as yet another in the long line of "evidence" of how wonderful Mitch really is. And special. And great. And super. I figured after last year that they had done enough with the "Mitchell MUST be the hero" thing (Stronghold, Off the Grid, Cam-A-Lot, EDM, etc.) and would allow other people to contribute on this part.

THAT'S where my beef is...where the kneejerk reaction originates. Not that Sam had to be rescued because, like you said, she's EVA. My issue is that it seems to be a continuation of the campaign to prove Mitch's superness rather than for it to be a logical flow of the story.

Btw...I love you AD.
*just in case you think I'm picking on you*

[minigeek]

Yeah, what is this, we're getting all divisivey over Sam in season ten.

Ooooober you're so right. So right, and I have no green. No green in my oooober fridge. Oh the humanity! *sigh*

I think Kvasir should rescue Sam, and then rag on her for not being smart enough to devise her own backup plan.

[Mandysg1]

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Ah mini, I already had to do a project on the mole with my Gr. 9 nephew, did you have to bring it back up
*tries to forget doing grade 9 homework __ years later *

[Mandysg1]

Hmm? About Sam needing to be rescued

Spoiler:

Yes she does need help, unfortunately I see Cam flying his F302 (or the one he stole from some other unsuspecting pilot.) Using the newly installed grappling hook and lassoing Sam towing her to the nearest ship. Yee haw! But Cam doesn't realize Sam only being the space suit is having a hard time with the speed at which Cam is travelling causing her pulchritude to be shifted (sorry couldn't resist )