Season 4: Favorite/Most Memorable AT Acting Scenes

[astrogeologist]

Season Four

What episodes feature the scenes
where you feel that
Amanda Tapping's
wonderful acting talents
get to shine?
(without reference or consideration
for hair or clothing styles...
or ship or such... )

Please note that you can vote for several episodes when you cast your ballot,
but once you hit submit, it won't let you come back and vote again.

You can vote in the poll, and then post your comments in this thread.
Comments and discussion may also overlap into the Sam's A Great Character Thread.

Pics that capture your favorite AT acting scene are greatly appreciated too!
(A picture is worth a thousand words...)

If you want a reminder of what each episode was about... Season 4 Episode Summaries

The Poll

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Over the years, we've discussed which episodes (and scenes) were the best, or most important, for the Stargate characters. We've run 'Best Episode' Polls for each season and such.

However, when trying to decide which episode was the best of a season for a certain character, such as Sam, one of the issues that fans have wrestled with is... whether to pick the episode which features the most/best AT on screen, or the episode which features the best Sam Carter scenes. Examples include Entity (which had some wonderful AT acting scenes, but she wasn't playing Sam Carter, as much as she was playing/acting an alien entity). Another example would be an episode with lots of RepliCarter, or Geek!Sam, where again, these are wonderful AT acting scenes, a wonderful look at AT acting out-of-the-regular-confines of the character of 'our' Sam Carter.

So, we've already done the 'Best Sam Carter' Episodes of each season (polls were done last year on the GW forum, and informal polls were also conducted again recently on the Sam's A Great Character Thread), and many have recommended that we should do some 'Best AT Acting Polls'... so here we go

The Poll

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Results of Season 3 Poll + posted comments
Results of Season 2 Poll + posted comments
Results of Season 1 Poll + posted comments
..

[astrogeologist]

I voted for

Small Victories Loved the scenes with Thor. *Still* LOL at the 'yellow ones' and AT's reaction. Hugging Thor was perfect as well.

Upgrades I don't wanna stop!

Chain Reaction Great scene with Gen Bauer.

2010 One of the best Carter/AT episodes of the entire series. AT's scenes with Janet were perfectly played. So poignant! Also, the emotionally charged bedroom scene with Joe. And then the cabin confrontation with Jack - AT played it with strength, and without being a whiny [email protected]

Prodigy Great scenes with Hailey.

Entity Great job of playing something else inside Carter.

Double Jeopardy Great scenes with RoboCarter and RoboTeal'c (and the headless RoboJackson).

Exodus Great scenes with Jacob. AT always shines here. And... doesn't a sun get taken out hereabouts?

[ReganX]

So many great episodes to choose from...

Small Victories - I love her interaction with Thor, especially the "yellow ones" moment. Nice scene between her and Jack in the lab at the beginning too.

Divide and Conquer - Beautifully acted throughout. Amanda did a great job of showing Sam's emotions over the possibility that she and Jack were zatarcs, the dilemma over whether or not to undergo the procedure, seeing Jack volunteer himself as a guinea pig more or less for her sake, over the revelations during the second round of tests and at the end with Martouf.

Scorched Earth - Sam's conflicted emotions about what Jack had ordered her to do were well acted. She was basically put in a position where she had to choose which of two races would live and which would die and Amanda was able to show the burdens this choice placed on Sam.

Beneath the Surface - Another wonderful job by Amanda, she handled Therra and the way Sam's personality shone through the memory stamp of Therra really well.

Chain Reaction - Given Sam's good relationship with both Hammond and Jack, and their obvious faith in her abilities and trust in her as a person, it was great to see how Sam fared with a commanding officer she didn't have the same connection with. Amanda did a great job of portraying Sam's frustration with General Bauer's orders when she had to be outwardly respectful and obedient at the same time.

2010 - One of my favourite episodes. Sam's strength and her determination to set her mistakes right were fabulous, as were her interactions with the other characters, Janet, Jack and Joe in particular.

Entity - It never ceases to amaze me how well Amanda handled playing the Entity, especially when she wasn't even speaking.

Exodus - Some wonderful scenes with Jacob, and I love Amanda's delivery of the line "I've just never blown up a star before."

[shipper hannah]

Divide and Conquer
ok so some of you may not like this episode, but there's no denying AT's acting is top-notch in this one!
so yeah, the whole zatarc thing, the martouf bit at the end.. all good.

2010
yep more good acting there..
the bit there she finds out she can't have kids stands out.

Small Victories
the bit with thor and the yellow stuff, the bit at the beginning with jack in her lab..

[TheWarrior]

Small Victories:
Carter scenes with Thor - priceless.

Entity:
Great overall acting by AT - the look on her face when she types on the keyboard when the entity is communicating - looked so manacing.

[RepliCartertje]

Ok season 4 is really hard, If I could I would choosse them all... AT was in every episode so great. she did a wonderfull job in season 4. So this is really hard for me but well for these I have voted:

Small Victories:
* it is really a great episode cause here you can see that she really can talk about something that really is technobabble and still you understand it. It is just to great. She gives so much explanation. And she does it so naturally. You see how much preparation she does for it cause no one explains things better than her
*when she talks to Jack about going fishing, you see how she really love to go, but doesn't go cause she really thinks that the replicaterblocks are more interesting. BUt her face and smile says so much about everything

*when she is in the gateroom and thor needs someone with a domb idea and the way Sam volenteers is great. The look on her face and the way she responds to Jack by saying that she can handle it. It says so much about their relationship and about how much she likes helping people. How caring she is for the asgards. SHe really wants to help him. she leaves earht to help them, even knowing that they also have troubles with the replicators

*when she is working on the solution to destroy the replicators and when she eats that yellow thing. Here face expressions are great. But when she hugs Thor and then after it. Well that just says it all about her. She really don't see thor as an alien but as a friend. and AT is so convinsing at doing that. I mean it is a puppet.


The other side:
*love the interaction between her and Daniel. She really does a great job. She just tries to convince him that it is the best solution. But when she finds out that they aren't who they say they are... and starts to fight. It really looks great. Such a nice fight. Really convincing. Soldier sam looks so nice

*and when they are leaving all the people behind knowing that they probably will all die because they didn't help them. Well it is normal that you didn't help them but still. The look on her face when after jack the iris closes. All those feeling that there are on her face. It says so much more than words


Divide and conquer:
*Is a really great episode cause you lear about Sam's feelings not only for Jack but also what she feels for Martouf. and how good friends she is with Janet.
*When they tested her and she finds out about it that she is a zatarc, after it she talks with Martouf about everything. And well you learn a bit how sam thinks and does. What she feels and stuff. I really love that scene, and AT portrays it like the best.

* when she knows that Jack is going to that zatarc detector thing again to fix the fact that he is a zatarc. Sams face when he is leaving. All the pain, the sorrow, the love you can see in her face.

*and the look on her face when she knows she has to shoot martouf. oh that is just so a touchy moment. She knows she has to do it, you can see it in her face but also the pain she has in killing him shows. There are just 2 emotions on her face. and after it when she holds in her arms you only just see the pain of the loss of Martouf


2010:
*when she first hears that she will never can have a child...oh that emotion. First she has sorrow for it but than the madness comes because the ashen told her that she can have children. She is in so much pain because she can not have children, but also she knows that they are lying to her and that hurts her.

*when she talks with Joe about it and how she reacts when he knows it. She just can not believe it. And than how she can convince him to help them.

*the rest of the episode is also really great but those 2... are just worth mensioning.

Entity:
*is a great episode for AT and sam. Just because she can play someone totally different. She is not sam but the entity and she really does it that convincing. The look on her face tells you that she isn't the same anymore. and she doesn't blink with her eyes. that makes her so much scarier.


Exodus:
*when she talks about blowing up the sun, You really understand what she is saying. I mean she really does it such convincing.


and again sorry for the long post.

[L.A. Doyle]

This was SO hard, once again. Season 4 is AWESOME!

Small Victories-I love the chemistry AT has with RDA. A classic moment is the scene in her lab-I love it! I also love the scenes with Thor. You have to admire the woman for working so well with a puppet!

The Other Side-Well, besides the fact she got to kick some butt, the end is very powerful. The look on Sam's face when the Iris closes is something that sticks in my mind. Well done by AT.

Upgrades-What can I say? She showed such an acting range in this episode. From fun loving Carter, to kick butt Carter, to uh-oh I'm in trouble Carter, AT played it wonderfully.

Divide and Conquer-I LOVE this episode. So much was said with so few words. The woman doesn't need words to convey how she's feeling. The scenes with the force field get me every time. AT shines the entire episode.

Window of Opportunity-Gotta give her props for getting to kiss RDA like that! On a shallow note-loved the hair!!

Beneath the Surface-I just find Sam so adorable in this episode. She has no memories of who she is, but is essentially the same sweet person. AT found the perfect balance.

Chain Reaction-I love when Sam basically took control at the end. AT plays Sam as a strong and savvy character(as always) ready to take charge when things go south.

2010-Great episode. We get to see Sam face the past with Jack, worry about the future with the Aschen, be devastated that she couldn't have a child, and save the world all in one episode. AT's acting is phenomenal!

The Light-I think I picked this because I got to see an insubordinate Sam.

Prodigy-The scenes with Hailey. I love military mode Sam.

Entity-WOW. This episode is just wow. AT played the entity so well. I mean, she didn't even need to use words to show what the entity was feeling-her facial expressions said it all.

Amanda just does an amazing job ALL the time. She never stops acting, which makes these polls so darn hard, but so fun!

[JacksYummy]

This was SO hard, once again. Season 4 is AWESOME!

Small Victories-I love the chemistry AT has with RDA. A classic moment is the scene in her lab-I love it! I also love the scenes with Thor. You have to admire the woman for working so well with a puppet!

The Other Side-Well, besides the fact she got to kick some butt, the end is very powerful. The look on Sam's face when the Iris closes is something that sticks in my mind. Well done by AT.

Upgrades-What can I say? She showed such an acting range in this episode. From fun loving Carter, to kick butt Carter, to uh-oh I'm in trouble Carter, AT played it wonderfully.

Divide and Conquer-I LOVE this episode. So much was said with so few words. The woman doesn't need words to convey how she's feeling. The scenes with the force field get me every time. AT shines the entire episode.

Window of Opportunity-Gotta give her props for getting to kiss RDA like that! On a shallow note-loved the hair!!

Beneath the Surface-I just find Sam so adorable in this episode. She has no memories of who she is, but is essentially the same sweet person. AT found the perfect balance.

Chain Reaction-I love when Sam basically took control at the end. AT plays Sam as a strong and savvy character(as always) ready to take charge when things go south.

2010-Great episode. We get to see Sam face the past with Jack, worry about the future with the Aschen, be devastated that she couldn't have a child, and save the world all in one episode. AT's acting is phenomenal!

The Light-I think I picked this because I got to see an insubordinate Sam.
Prodigy-The scenes with Hailey. I love military mode Sam.

Entity-WOW. This episode is just wow. AT played the entity so well. I mean, she didn't even need to use words to show what the entity was feeling-her facial expressions said it all.

Amanda just does an amazing job ALL the time. She never stops acting, which makes these polls so darn hard, but so fun!

I love so many of these epis, but I have to agree with you I love the light for the same reason!

[Chelle DB]

I chose Upgrades, Devide and Conquer and Entity because these eps were Sam based and Amanda put a lot of emotion into these eps especially Entity. I loved Upgrades the most but it was such a tough choice...they were all brilliant.

[ChopinGal]

Not fair - Season 4 provided so many grand AT moments. She was really hitting her stride by the fourth season.

Small Victories and the comic turn with Thor's yellow tofu; Upgrades and Divide and Conquer held such powerful dramatic moments - my favorite was the intensity of her look when she was trapped behind the force field and Jack was trying desperately to save her. Amanda threw everything she had into that scene and it still sets my little shippy heart ablaze.

I think for most AT signature moments in an episode though I'd have to choose two: Entity and 2010. She had to change her persona in Entity and communicate so much through the nuances of her facial and body language and in 2010 she didn't miss a beat in any of the scenes - giving us poignancy, determination, anger, frustration, love ... yadda yadda ... Amanda is a superb actor and Season 4 will always be one of my favorite years!

[SimilarCadence]

There was a lot to choose from again! In the end I voted for:

2010 -- I love watching AT with TR....they have such a wonderful chemistry together and both actresses know how to play off each other well. The whole episode is great, but I think the scenes that stand out to me are Sam's scenes with Janet in Janet's office: sorrow that she can't have children; anger that the Aschen have been lying to her;frustration in not knowing what to do next. The other scene that stands out to me the most is the one where Sam goes to Jack's cabin to talk him into helping them. I always felt that Jack was bitter towards Sam for not siding with him on the Aschen problem so many years earlier and also because she married Joe instead of him (my imagination tends to "write in" what the the writers don't when it comes to Sam and Jack ). AT plays the scene with just the right balance and flair.....

Divide and Conquer -- there's so much angst and UST in this episode.... AT brings a great deal of depth and intensity to the scenes with Jack at the force-field and then the SGC hallway as he goes off possibly sacrificing himself in the hope that Sam can be saved as a result. AT just says "Sir!" and you can see the deep emotions rushing up from deep inside Sam, knowing she may never see Jack again....

Beneath the Surface -- I love the way AT pays Sam in a relaxed relationship with Jack....she's Sam without the emotional restrictions that would normally be in place and I genuinely enjoy this episode because of that. Like L.A. Doyle said, AT found the perfect balance.

Entity -- this is the first episode where I noticed how skillfully AT switches from one personality to another without skipping a beat. Wonderful acting....

[Seshat]

I voted for Small Victories and 2010 for all the reasons others have stated above. Anyone who can work with a puppet and make them seem alive is tops in my book.

[majorsal]

i voted for 'entity' and 'the light'.





sally

[Gate gal]

So hard to decide! AT rocked in season 4! I believe it was some of her best work!