Amanda/her roles discussion and appreciation thread

[majorsal]

"Emancipation" was the second episode I saw and it immediately launched Sam to the spot of my favourite character. Amanda did an amazing job with that episode, and with every other episode.

And that's a mark of a truly spectacular performer. A bad performer can make good material painful but it takes somebody extraordinary to make something good out of bad material.

i know amanda and some of the ptb don't really like 'emancipation', but i think they'd love finding out just how many fans became *sam fans* because of it. so it must have been doing something right.

and you're *so* right about a great performer taking something ordinary and making it extraordinary. amanda did it and IS.

to borrow a quote from another thread, *sam's a great character* and *amanda's a great performer*.





sally

[majorsal]

That's how I feel about the infamous reproductive organs comment Sam makes in CotG. On paper, it's an AWFUL line. AT manages to twist that whole scene, making it clear - to me - that Sam's attitude is smoke and mirrors to cover her personal insecurities. And it's done through the acting, both hers and RDAs, and not anything which I think was probably ever written down.

that line *could* have been a prob if the chip-on-the-shoulder attitude had continued past the line, but it didn't. i think sam came into that briefingroom expecting to be shot down by the 'men', and basically, she was.

the delivery of said line and her challenging jack to arm whestling was a moment of 'you guys have already screwed me over and i'm standing up for my rights so DEAL with it'.




sally

[majorsal]

I'd say that Sam was either beaten - extra kudos for her thorough trouncing of Turghan if she was - or else, perhaps more likely, given to understand that she was to be beaten and/or raped that night and that if she tried to escape, Turghan would do the same, if not worse to his other women in reprisal.

*nods vigorously*

the good guy leader (guiding sg1 to the bad guys hideout) said as much about sam's fate.

i'm really, REALLY glad they showed sam fighting turghan, because 1- sam needed to stand up to that bully for self esteem reasons, and 2- we, the viewers, needed to see what kind of soldier sam was.

whether some think 'emancipation' was a weak ep or not, it accomplished it's goal in letting us see the strong and determined and 'solder' side of sam. very important with it being so early into sam's character time.




sally

[L.A. Doyle]

i know amanda and some of the ptb don't really like 'emancipation', but i think they'd love finding out just how many fans became *sam fans* because of it.

*waves hand* ME!

[majorsal]

My fave ep of all time though is Singularity, oh I love this ep, the choices Sam struggles with between what she as a soldier knows is her duty and she as a woman feels are totally at odds with one another and for the first time we see her insecurities and vulnerabilities shine though, and its also I think the first time she goes against orders to stay with Cassie, and the bunker/elevator scene has me crying every time Amanda is just wonderful in this scene I think that when admire turned to I love Sam and I want know more about this actress who plays her.

it's been a while since i've seen this ep, but i remember *so* much of it because of sam!

i loved sam's reaction to cassie clinging to her, before they left the planet. you could tell by her reaction that she was *so* surprised that this little child was turning to 'her' for comfort and protection. and when they went back, cassie was clingy again with her in cass's room. amanda played that sooo great because i 'think' it was sam's first hints of mothering feelings creeping in.

that elevator scene... when cassie woke up, what person could leave a child to DIE down there? at that time, sam was totally and completely career minded, but she chose to stay with this little broken child and possibly die because she knew that she couldn't let this child die alone and she knew she couldn't live with 'herself' if that worst had happened...

amanda nailed that scene!!

i remember amanda commenting about this scene years ago, saying that the director pushed her and basically ticked her off to get more of a rise out of her. that ticked *me* off , but it seemed to work well enough and amanda didn't seem to hold any grudges.

Thats when I became an Amanda Tapping fan too and not just an SG fan, Amanda is amazing she's so open, honest and very genuine, she'll make time for anyone and makes everyone she meets feel important and special. She has helped me through some tough stuff in my life, she's the person I look up to the most and she's the person who inspires me to follow my dreams of acting

as i've stated on the sam thread, my fave amanda quality is her niceness. i don't want that word to lose it's impact, but amanda is truly and genuinely a *nice* person.

i've been a fan of country music singer barbara mandrell's for years, and barbara had said once that when fans came to see her perform, she knew that might be the only chance they ever got to see her, so she wanted to give them the *best* of her. bad moods and feeling under the weather didn't matter, because barbara had so much respect for the fans that she knew loved and respected her. amanda is exactly the same way, and i've yet to read one, single person say that amanda was nothing but gracious and kind to them at cons and appearances.

amanda's an honestly NICE person.

haven't seen Amanda act in anything other than SG yet but I'm really really looking forward to Sanctuary and I'd love to see Stuck too. Can anyone tell me, where can I buy The Void from?

i'd look up 'the void' at amazon if i were you. i think that's where i bought it years ago.

Amanda is awesome!!!!

yes she is.





sally

[majorsal]

Oh you have no idea how I ROFLed when I saw that extra on the dvd...it was so funny when she said it...that is really Amanda witty and funny...but she is also caring, loving,...I mean she is just an all round person who you just can't love.

the extra was on the x-files dvd? is there anyway of someone uploading this part somewhere so i can see it? *embarrassed grin*

And cause I finally found them (and Sally yes you can look)

i looked, eve , even though the last one...

did amanda talk about filming the sex scene with skinner in this dvd extra too?

As for her meeting Mich Pileggi (sp?) again that will be great. I do hope to see some new and shiny interactions between them. I also am hoping on some nice Sam/Teyla moments or Sam/ Ronon moments. those are the ones I really want to see. I also hope that because of Sam being there they will go deeper in the characters. I mean that is something I have been missing on SGA and I think Sam can help with that.
I really look forward to SGA...I have been a fan of that too, even though I never really gotten into it, but with Sam there I know I will love it.

sam going to atlantis is like her joining 'grey's anatomy' or something, because i don't know the characters there anymore than 'grey's'. but that's part of the extra charm for me because it'll be just as new for *me* as it is for sam. *super happy smile* ~i have to cut out 5 smilies or it won't let me post. hehe~

I loved her appearance on SGA season 2: Grace under pressure. It wasn't really Sam and Amanda did a great job with portraying imagination Sam. Cause that is how McKay wished Sam was...I think that Amanda did great with that. You still could see Sam in it but also saw things in it that weren't Sam at all

i watched this episode on my computer (ooh, magic! hehe), and i LOVED the way amanda portrayed sam in this ep. you're right, it was sam yet it wasn't sam. now *that* has to be hard to do, you know?

the only part of the ep i didn't like (besides seeing sam and mckay snogging, being the huge s/j shipper that i am ) was when mckay was leaving the puddle jumper and looked back and saw sam standing there, waving goodbye. yes, i know she wasn't real, but it... i don't know, it almost made me want to cry. amanda played her so convincingly that it 'was' kind of sam there, so sam was being left behind ALONE... okay, i know, not real, but still. *silly grin*

(i read this fanfic once based on s1's THE TORMENT OF TANTALUS where it was sam and jack left behind alone on the planet, with jack dying almost immediately (sam 'had' to shoot him) and sam being left totally alone... it was a very hard fic for me to read, because the writer showed sam slowly going out of her mind. i also remember an ep of the original battlestar galactica where starbuck crashed on a planet with one person living there. the woman ended up a robot or something (i think i'm remembering this right), but she died and starbuck was left alone... for the rest of his life. it showed starbuck sitting on a rock or something, looking out at the landscape. that was his last episode, and it left the viewers with knowing starbucks's lonely fate. i think this is why i hate fics with ppl being alone... (((sam and starbuck))) )

Oh Stuck...I so wanna see that movie after the 400 screencaps I have seen I think that movie will be amazing. I know for Amanda it is a totally different role then Sam and every other role she has played.

i've seen the caps too. i've saved them. *silly grin*

I think for Amanda it must have been great to play it too. I think if I ever see that movie. I will not even think of seeing Sam... I mean she is way to different. I never see Sam in any of the other roles Amanda plays so I am sure I will also not see Sam in Stuck. I mean that makes Amanda a great actress

i think the only thing that's going to be a so-called problem for me is seeing jr bourne acting opposite amanda in the boyfriend role. i don't want to see 'martouf' there at all, or i'm afraid it'll ruin seeing martouf for me after that.

but to see amanda be given the chance to take on a role that's sooooooo opposite HER is... if i were an actor, this is the kind of stuff i'd choose to do too. a variety. but i'd have grabbed onto playing sam carter with both hands (and the casting directors would have had to take me away in handcuffs. )

-i'm typing so much that i'm getting that carpal tunnel syndrome thing in my left wrist -

I love Hathor...true it is one of those early cliché eps...but then again it was ok I guess. It had some funny lines too
I also think this is the beginning of th Sam/Janet friendship. It really shows Sam in command and she knows how to handle things if she has to...She shows she can do it. but she also admits she needs help from others...like Janet and the other women.
I love the Janet/Sam friendship...I really think they did a great job with that the writers

yes, the *wonderful* sam and janet friendship!!

and i remember amanda saying in an interview that her and teryl wanted to have sam and janet be friends, not rivals and such. (i know amanda and claudia have said the same things )

Great post Jenn!! I really hated that line...I mean it was so innapropriate but Amanda made it into something that was ok...just cause of her acting. I mean every other actress could have made me turn of that show just because of that line...But she didn't. I stayed tuned. cause in a way I noticed her from the first moment. I think she did good with that line
It showed even then on who Sam was...it was a glimps we got from the Sam to come in Emancipation... And I think Amanda just grew on from there on to make Sam into who she is.

this paragraph is making me remember a couple of other scenes i loved from the first ep.

when sam and jack are standing at the threshold of the stargate, and sam's just staring at the event horizon like it's the second coming of christ or something... that child-like expression on her face was magical. this was the super excited scientist standing there, and jack, the soldier was like 'get on with it already'. it was a cute moment.

i also like the scene were jack had told sam to set up some charges (i think), and after she did, jack and kowalsky (sp?) made some stupid remark, thinking that sam couldn't handle this stuff, but boy did she show them! if i'm remembering this right, she just made some quip back and then rolled her eyes. go sam!

-i'm serious about my wrist hurting now, but i'm going to post about amanda! -





sally

[majorsal]

Hey people,

I heared of this thread and i just had to find it out, haven't totally catched up yet...but then again long posts...i like the ones i have read untill now...

About Amanda Tapping in roles...i don't know many of her...i should buy some movies of her soon

But i *love* her role as Samantha Carter...

favorite episodes with her...to many to say...

But i think that

Line in Duty
Grace
Line in Sand
And Road not taken

are some of her best episodes i so can say out of my head*together with all shippy episodes on SG*



Short post...but i hope i am gonna enjoy this thread as well...and i have a feeling i will

i have the first two eps on tape (the last two haven't aired yet). i have a feeling if there was a fire in my house, i'd grab my stargate sg1 eps first.

i'm enjoying us starting with season one eps. i think this is a good idea so we can go through the seasons with sam.

any lurkers out there, please join the discussion. the only thing you need to join in is appreciation of the character.

or any of amanda's characters. or just talk about amanda.




sally

[majorsal]

ok I just spend my whole evening on this wallpaper...and I am still not happy about it but I think it is good enough to post here so...I hope you all like it.
It is actually just about Samantha Carter and how she inspires us



clickie for bigger

that's beautiful, eve!

on amanda's official website, kamil, her website administrator, has told amanda fans that he's getting together some easter greetings for amanda. you could give this wonderful wallpaper as a gift to amanda.





sally

[antoa]

I've read through all the posts so far, so I thought I'd chime in.

I am a late comer to the party - I only started watching Stargate maybe a year and a half ago - at most. I had been told by many that I should watch and had actually seen bit of a few eps here and there and liked them, but I just didn't get around to it until I got a TiVo and it started recording SG-1 eps thinking that I would like them (since I was recording BSG and Star Trek). I finally gave into my TiVo and watched the eps.

I was a huge X-Files fan, especially Scully. She was smart, kicked a** and carried a gun.

Then I discovered Sam Carter. She was even smarter, kicked even more a** and carried and even *bigger* gun.

That was it. I was hooked. I don't even remember a specific episode, but it probably was Emancipation.

After watching a few episodes on my TiVo, I was terribly confused since they were from several different seasons, so I downloaded all 9 seasons and watched them in about a month and a half. After I was finished, I went and bought all of the DVDs.

[L.A. Doyle]

I am a late comer to the party - I only started watching Stargate maybe a year and a half ago - at most.

I was a huge X-Files fan, especially Scully. She was smart, kicked a** and carried a gun.

Then I discovered Sam Carter. She was even smarter, kicked even more a** and carried and even *bigger* gun.

That was it. I was hooked. I don't even remember a specific episode, but it probably was Emancipation.

That sounds *just* like me. I LOVED The X-Files. Loved Scully. Then I saw 'Emancipation' about a year and a half ago, and was hooked. Sam Carter rocked.

[majorsal]

I've read through all the posts so far, so I thought I'd chime in.

I am a late comer to the party - I only started watching Stargate maybe a year and a half ago - at most. I had been told by many that I should watch and had actually seen bit of a few eps here and there and liked them, but I just didn't get around to it until I got a TiVo and it started recording SG-1 eps thinking that I would like them (since I was recording BSG and Star Trek). I finally gave into my TiVo and watched the eps.

I was a huge X-Files fan, especially Scully. She was smart, kicked a** and carried a gun.

Then I discovered Sam Carter. She was even smarter, kicked even more a** and carried and even *bigger* gun.

That was it. I was hooked. I don't even remember a specific episode, but it probably was Emancipation.

After watching a few episodes on my TiVo, I was terribly confused since they were from several different seasons, so I downloaded all 9 seasons and watched them in about a month and a half. After I was finished, I went and bought all of the DVDs.

that is a LOT to take in in such a short amount of time. sounds fun actually!

what are you fave sam *scenes*?




sally

[RepliCartertje]

Didn't want to reply sooner cause my wrist already hurted lol... no kidding. I mean the wallpaper gave me way to much work lol

i know that's silly, but amanda plays sam so *normal* and reachable, but sam just happens to be drop dead gorgeous and smarter than einstein.

I think that is the strength of Sam!!!! I mean she is just next to the door kind of girl. you could bump into her anytime. She is kind, sweet, open,...
But also very brilliant and a great soldier. And that makes her special.
I think that is why a lot of us look up to her. The fact that even with everything she can she stays humble. She doesn't want to be in the spotlights. she just want to help everyone. She wants to make the world and the galaxy a better place to live in...
And that is also somehthing I want to achieve. Help people...so that everyone can be equal. And that is also what Sam stands for equality for everyone. Not only women, not only Jaffa, not only other people, everyone who is surpressed in any way!!!
And that is also what we have to fight for every day! Live like Amanda just so the world can be a better place!!!

but i also see the sunshine in helen, because she's got a wonderful daughter and she *is* making a difference in the lives of the sanctuary dwellers.

That is why I want to see Helen the most...The fact that she is so messed up like you said but also still wants to help people. I think we will see someone totally different then Sam for sure... and I only can look forward to it. I really am excited about especially after seeing all the teasers and all...I love it
is it May yet???

i know amanda and some of the ptb don't really like 'emancipation', but i think they'd love finding out just how many fans became *sam fans* because of it. so it must have been doing something right.

See I never got that part why Amanda never liked it. I mean I think it is one of the eps that show Sam her strength. I mean I can understand that it is a cliché story line, granted...but if you look back at season 1...lots of cliché's there eh...

I mean I think this ep tells you a lot about how Sam grew during the years. I mean none of us can see Sam back to that woman. She grew out of it but at that time, that was who she was... And remind you that it where the 90's...So yes that was honestly how they would have handled emancipation and feminism... so considered is this ep situated good.

And even now in the year 2007 it still stands, cause not a lot has changed in 10 years... I mean little changes have been made but still...Feminism is needed...and it isn't a bad word!!!

to borrow a quote from another thread, *sam's a great character* and *amanda's a great performer*.

Yes she is a great performer but not only a performer but a great human, a kind and genuine caring person...Also a great director...I loved her directing Resurection...it is actually one of those eps I really love

And even though on this I am most speculating but also think she is a great mom and wife... Cause that is just who she is!!!

Amazing Amanda

i watched this episode on my computer (ooh, magic! hehe), and i LOVED the way amanda portrayed sam in this ep. you're right, it was sam yet it wasn't sam. now *that* has to be hard to do, you know?

Yeah that must have been hard on her... But she did great with it...it were some of the little details too that reminded you of the fact that it really wasn't Sam but McKay his imagination... I think little things that Sam would never do. I mean they way she stands. It was so not Sam but in a way it would have been how Mckay would see Sam

the only part of the ep i didn't like (besides seeing sam and mckay snogging, being the huge s/j shipper that i am ) was when mckay was leaving the puddle jumper and looked back and saw sam standing there, waving goodbye. yes, i know she wasn't real, but it... i don't know, it almost made me want to cry. amanda played her so convincingly that it 'was' kind of sam there, so sam was being left behind ALONE... okay, i know, not real, but still. *silly grin*

ok I'll admit I cried. I know I am a person who cries easily but that moment was so touching. I think it is the way how Sam said goodbye to McKay. and even if Sam wasn't real for McKay she was. And she was there for him when he needed him, even though it was a halucination...
I think it was sad that he left her there alone. Cause that is how it felt like it. For me I always saw it as McKay saying that he leaves Sam for what she was. That she was the girl of his dreams but he would never get her. So I saw more in that moment. It was really saying goodbye for McKay but also for Sam...

but to see amanda be given the chance to take on a role that's sooooooo opposite HER is... if i were an actor, this is the kind of stuff i'd choose to do too. a variety. but i'd have grabbed onto playing sam carter with both hands (and the casting directors would have had to take me away in handcuffs. )

I think seeing Amanda in the role of stuck will be refreshing and so different. I think the whole addict thing must be a great challenge for her. I mean it is really so different then playing Sam. I wonder how she prepared herself for that role. I mean for Sam we know she reads books and explains it to Alan...but how do you prepare yourself for playing an addict??

And I think Amanda is lucky that she got the role of Sam. I mean for her it must have been great. I mean before that she only had some small roles here and there but not really something big, and then all of sudden she gets this opurtunity...what more do you wish for...and she does an amazing job with it and finally she gets the recognition of how an amazing actress she is!!

yes, the *wonderful* sam and janet friendship!!

and i remember amanda saying in an interview that her and teryl wanted to have sam and janet be friends, not rivals and such. (i know amanda and claudia have said the same things )

Oh Sam/Janet...swoon

yeah I think in one of the early interviews Amanda says that she was happy that they made Janet and Sam into friends and not rivals. And I think that is good...Cause for all they could have made her into rivals. But the idea behind a close friendship was good. cause when you are in a men's world... and the AF is a men's world...You need someone to talk to about it. And talking to men doesn't work then So she found a friend in Janet what is great

And yeah I think Sam and Vala is good to although not as good as Sam and Janet.
I think the whole Sam and Vala thing started different. Now they are friend, girlfriends but not close friends as Sam and Janet.
I think Sam and Janet were a bit the same...Sam and Vala are so different.
In a way Sam is discovering stuff about herself cause of Vala though. But also the other way Vala has learned a lot cause of Sam.

I know the first few eps they didn't like Vala at all...Also Sam didn't like her that much... (think about that line in Beachhead where Sam says what is it with the background singer)
That just says Sam didn't like her that much eh...and honestly can you blame her after what you know from Vala but in time Sam got to know Vala and the real person behind her and forgave her for what Vala did in the past and they became friends on whom they could rely on...Different background but also a few thing that bring them together as great friends

Then I discovered Sam Carter. She was even smarter, kicked even more a** and carried and even *bigger* gun.

Yeah she can kis a$$ eh I think that is great...but not only can she do that , she also can forgive...what is something not a lot of people can do...I mean forgiveness is hard for people but Sam can do it!!!

And kick a$$ Sam is fun

I also was first a X-file fan and a Dana Scully fan but after seeing SG...I must say Sam took her place rather fast. I mean yeah Dana was great too but Sam has that something more. That something I sometimes missed with Dana...

I think Sam is an all round character!!!


ok now my wrists hurt lol...but that is good...means we (or I ) am discussing stuff

[antoa]

that is a LOT to take in in such a short amount of time. sounds fun actually!

what are you fave sam *scenes*?




sally

It was the first 8 seasons in about that time - I put off watching the 9th season for a bit because I hear that Sam wasn't in it for the first few eps.

As for my favorite scenes...

All of 'Grace' and 'Death Knell' (love Whumped!Sam)
I am a shipper, so of cource Divide and Conquer. I love how those two can have entire conversations with their eyes (Amanda most of all)
Thread - the porch scene and the scene with Jacob are just heart wrenching.
I am also a *huge* fan of Geeky!Sam in Moebius. Amanda threw it down in that episode. She was so funny!
There are more, I know.
Anytime Sam is on screen really

[majorsal]

That is why I want to see Helen the most...The fact that she is so messed up like you said but also still wants to help people. I think we will see someone totally different then Sam for sure... and I only can look forward to it. I really am excited about especially after seeing all the teasers and all...I love it
is it May yet???

it's going to be *so* weird to see amanda with dark hair, so see her playing helen so unsettlingly quiet and wondering what's going on behind the shell, and to hear her speaking with an english accent.

Yes she is a great performer but not only a performer but a great human, a kind and genuine caring person...Also a great director...I loved her directing Resurection...it is actually one of those eps I really love

oh, yeah, she really did a great job with that ep.

i wasn't that crazy about the storyline, but amanda added some great atmospheric vibes and i felt this could have been an x-files ep. that's a compliment.

I think seeing Amanda in the role of stuck will be refreshing and so different. I think the whole addict thing must be a great challenge for her. I mean it is really so different then playing Sam. I wonder how she prepared herself for that role. I mean for Sam we know she reads books and explains it to Alan...but how do you prepare yourself for playing an addict??

that is a wonderful question! how did amanda prepare for this role? you just know she didn't simply go into it and hope for the best. she's a total professional.

i hope someone gets to ask her this question at a con or another chat.

And yeah I think Sam and Vala is good to although not as good as Sam and Janet.
I think the whole Sam and Vala thing started different. Now they are friend, girlfriends but not close friends as Sam and Janet.
I think Sam and Janet were a bit the same...Sam and Vala are so different.
In a way Sam is discovering stuff about herself cause of Vala though. But also the other way Vala has learned a lot cause of Sam.

the sam-vala relationship has it's moments, but they've been few and far between. it's the sam-janet relationship, for me, that has more depth. s9's 'ripple effect' was a HUGE waste of some sam-janet friendship times.

another thing i've liked about sam-janet is that they're both very nice and normal ppl. with vala, there's that opposites attract thing -like with daniel and vala- but those opposites thing can just totally wear a person out, you know?





sally

[majorsal]

It was the first 8 seasons in about that time - I put off watching the 9th season for a bit because I hear that Sam wasn't in it for the first few eps.

As for my favorite scenes...

All of 'Grace' and 'Death Knell' (love Whumped!Sam)
I am a shipper, so of cource Divide and Conquer. I love how those two can have entire conversations with their eyes (Amanda most of all)
Thread - the porch scene and the scene with Jacob are just heart wrenching.
I am also a *huge* fan of Geeky!Sam in Moebius. Amanda threw it down in that episode. She was so funny!
There are more, I know.
Anytime Sam is on screen really

you've just covered some of my fave stuff.

amanda went to town with geekysam. she was soooo sweet and adorable! (((geekysam)))

but you could see the work amanda put into geekysam. the way she carried herself, the voice, the way she grabbed the bottom of her sleeves. and then when her a geekydaniel were first on the mission, and you just expected both of them to be killed off instantly because they were so out of their element.

when amanda's ever played a different sam, you SEE the difference. it must be very hard to play the same character but with a slight different taste.

how many different sam's have we seen? i'm thinking geekysam (moebius), point of view sam, beneath the surface sam... can you guys name some more?





sally