Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[majorsal]

Why do I like Sam? Because she's what I'd like to be. It helps that such a *wonderful* actress is playing her (and has a part to do with my love of Sam Carter).

I'd like to start off this thread by naming a few eps that I feel are important to Sam's character in some way. Please add your thoughts and feelings.



When I came into Stargate, it was with an actual minus because I wasn't that thrilled with the movie, wasn't that thrilled with RDA, and wasn't familiar with any of the other cast members. By the end of the first ep, I *really* liked the entire cast. By the end of the second ep (The Enemy Within), I started leaning towards Sam being my favorite. By the middle of the third ep (Emancipation), I knew Sam was going to be my fave. By the fourth ep (The Broca Divide), I'd officially became a shipper.<g>

I've watched Sam change and grow through the years. From season one, I found The Enemy Within, Emancipation, The Broca Divide, The First Commandment, Fire and Water, Singularity, Enigma, Solitudes, and There But for the Grace of God important eps for establishing the character's mind and soul, and showing some growth too. Many of Sam's traits were established in this first season.

Season two, I found In the Line of Duty, Secrets, The Tok'ar (pts 1, 2), Spirits, A Matter of Time, Serpent's Song, and Out of Mind. Out of those eps, I think In the Line of Duty and A Matter of Time to be the most important. The former gave Sam a lifelong gift/burden to live with, and the latter was the first ep I can remember that *really* showed just how smart Sam was.

Season three, Into the Fire, Seth, Fair Game, Legacy, Point of View, Jolinar's Memories, The Devil You Know, Foothold, and A Hundred Days continued Sam's growth, with good follow throughs from the previous season.

Season four, Small Victories, Divide and Conquer, Beneath the Surface, 2010, The Light, Prodigy, and Entity saw a slightly more complex Sam shown. (side note: I thought Amanda was *wonderful* in Entity!) But I felt that some of these eps I mentioned showed a Sam that if things had been different/were different... it was just interesting to see what way Sam would go if certain circumstances were different.

Season five, Ascension, The Fifth Man, Red Sky, Rite of Passage, Between Two Fires, 2001, Desperate Measures, 48 Hours, Summit, Last Stand, Meridian, and Revelations continued the theme. Out of these eps, I found Ascension to be the most important to her character growth. A lot of questions were brought up in that ep that I'm afraid weren't ever answered, but I enjoyed seeing Sam out of her comfort zone.

Season six, Redemption(s), Frozen, Nightwalkers, Prometheus, Unnatural Selection, Paradise Lost, and Metamorphosis. Out of those eps, Unnatural Selection (Fifth) and Paradise Lost (Jack) gave Sam a couple of things to really ponder.

Season seven was the season of good/bad changes for me. Besides being a huge Sam/Jack shipper, I'm also (obviously) a huge Sam fan, so some of the things that happened in this season warred with my feeling and thoughts. I didn't want to see Sam get a boyfriend, but I'm glad they're showing this side of Sam (finally). Like I said, I didn't want to see Sam get a bf, but I feel they should have at least made it believable. Her nonchalance about things by the end of Chimera really floored me (I blame this completely on the writing). My list for S7: Space Race, Avenger 2.0, Grace, Chimera, Death Knell, Heroes 1 & 2, and Lost City(s) were some pretty huge eps for Sam's character. Just in this one season, Sam made a big decision to give life (and one without Jack O'Neill) a try, found a boyfriend, fought for her life alone on a planet, lost her best friend, and almost lost the man she loves. A big season for Sam, that's for sure.

Season eight (first half), New Order(s), Zero Hour, Affinity, and Convenant. (another side note: Amanda was fantastic in New Order/Fifth torture scenes!)I'm also going to include Gemini, even though I haven't seen it yet for myself. I guess out of this list, I'd choose Affinity to be the biggest. She got engaged (whether I wanted her to or not ). From what I've read, Gemini has a lot of ramifications left over, which I can't wait to see.

I hope others contribute to this thread. (please try to keep it positive)


Sally




~~~~oOo~~~~

*editing to add*

here's a link to the 'greatest hits of the sam's a great character thread' -
http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost....postcount=8821

here's another link to the 'sam's a great character thread' index: http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost....ostcount=22392

[THE BIG UNIT]

My first foray into stargate was in the 5th season; The episode The Fifth Man, She became my favourite character instantly because of that episode.
becaue of her determination to go get jack and her interview with simmons. Though i loved all of the characters pretty much straight away, they all made a great impression on me, she was instantly my favourite.

I absolutely love the Jolinar Arc of stories and character development, Jolinar's Memories and the Devil You Know are my favourite Episodes. How she dealt with new memories and abilities and how it changed her was great.
Season 7 was a big year for her, it was great to see so many sides of her character.

Amanda Tapping plays her to perfection. She's a great actress

[aeromathlete]

I have no idea what my first SG-1 episode was, but I do know that I always loved Sam's character. Why? Because here was a smart, talented, female scientist who could kick butt and save the world. And well, she was almost everything that a young female scientist-in-training could aspire to become. I wouldn't say Sam was ever a role model for me...but she did represent what women could become. Smart, beautiful, respected, successful, strong. She was a great ideal. I respect that.

As for the whole Pete thing, whatever...yeah, I'm a Jack/Sam shipper. But I like to think of this as one of those dating flukes that we galz tend to have at some point in our lives. We figure out the best path eventually.

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

Sam was my favorite character from the get-go, and that's not usually the case for me, as made-for-tv female SF characters are usually bimbos.

Sam was one of the first honest-to-goodness-real persons-who-also-happened-to-be-females that I remember ever seeing on tv. The other was Susan Ivonova from B5.

I'm not saying that I've always agreed with the way she's been written; I think her character has been inconsistently written; arcs created for her have not been properly or fully incorporated into the series and she seldom gets a personal aftermath for what she does experience. I often have to work on justifying what they've "done" to my fav character, but I think we all do that for our favs.

[Skydiver]

When i first started watching the show, rda was why i turned the set on....Sam and amanda is why i've kept watching.

I loved watching her grow from this 'yes sir' obedient character to a independent woman who knows when and how to say no.

singularity was great for her and i think ITLOD was the best thing that happened to the character. At times, i don't think the writing has reflected that and the tok'ra/jolinar's left overs have become too much of a crutch for them.

I love the fact that, well until chimera at least, sam wasn't written as the woman on the team...she was the team member who just happened to be a woman.

I agree that it's fun to see sam exploring her feminine side...i still dont' care for just HOW they did it. I don't care for how this independent person all of a sudden turns into a doormat to fulfill society's idea of what she should be...but again, that's not sam, that's the writers.

I love the fact that she's a smart woman, who isn't afraid to be smart and isn't yet another scifi bimbo in a bikini and tight pants.

[MajorSam]

First ep I ever saw was Brief Candle, (though only tiny bits) and although I wasn't really interested at all, I thought Sam was really cool. Second ep I saw was Solitudes, after that I was an official Sam adorer and Shipper forever.

I think she's the best character ever, and i'm actually really happy with what's been happening with Sam. For some reason although she's my fave character and Idol, after Amanda, the things I want to see most are screw ups, and torture, and EVILNESS! I'm super glad that they're acknowledging Sam's feminine side, as long as TPTB do scrap Pete cause I hate him with a passion. Sam and Jack is the thing I most want to see rite now

[majorsal]

I wish the writers would have continued with the Jolinar theme. And that's all aspects of it. Maybe they were afraid it would make Sam less human, but I really feel a lot of interesting things have been ignored.

What I'd like to see next season is Sam *really* commanding. I want to see those hard choices for her, like Jack's had to make a time or two.

Sally

[blueiris]

What I'd like to see next season is Sam *really* commanding. I want to see those hard choices for her, like Jack's had to make a time or two.

Sally

Me too! I want to see Sam make some of those decisions that typically Daniel would object to. To see here resolve herself to doing what has to be done even when she doesn't like it. And to see her get the respect of a commanding officer. So far Jack is the only one (IMO) who has actually shown confidence in her.

[majorsal]

Me too! I want to see Sam make some of those decisions that typically Daniel would object to. To see here resolve herself to doing what has to be done even when she doesn't like it. And to see her get the respect of a commanding officer. So far Jack is the only one (IMO) who has actually shown confidence in her.

I think it would have been interesting to see how Sam would have handled the situations of s5's Red Sky and Beast of Burden. Essentially, it was Sam's fault that things went bad for the ppl of the Red Sky planet, but without Jack being there to talk with the Agsgard, what would have happened? And I'm saying if Sam would have been in charge. And in Beast of Burden, what would have happened if that had been Sam and Daniel imprisoned in that town instead. What would Sam have done?

I think the one ep I'd liked to have seen Sam handle even more is from s4's The Other Side. How would she have handled Alar? Would she have even let the proceedings go as far as Jack did? I want to see Sam have a moral dilemma, and how she'll go about dealing with it and the consequences of it. I've heard it said that Sam's like a combination of Jack and Daniel (hawk and dove) together, so I think it would be compelling to see how someone who's not one way or the other would deal with an intense issue like I've exampled.

Sally

[Madeleine]

First eps I ever watched properly were Serpent's Lair and Serpent's Grasp. There was a woman in it who bit her boss in the hand. How could I not tune in and watch again the next week?

Her finest hour so far was Foothold. She had to be really brave and resourceful, and she quite probably saved the entire planet. Also she called Maybourne an idiot in a particularly witty way.

Her finest moment so far has been blowing up the tok'ra's sun. Not many people can put *that* on their CV.

Best acted bit has come in Meridian, the moment alone with Daniel.

Best line (that I can think of at the mo): "Welcome to [i]my [/]life"

[aeromathlete]

Man, I'm glad this thread is here. :thumbsup:

[blueiris]

I think the one ep I'd liked to have seen Sam handle even more is from s4's The Other Side. How would she have handled Alar? Would she have even let the proceedings go as far as Jack did? I want to see Sam have a moral dilemma, and how she'll go about dealing with it and the consequences of it. I've heard it said that Sam's like a combination of Jack and Daniel (hawk and dove) together, so I think it would be compelling to to how someone who's not one way or the other would deal with an intense issue like I've exampled.

Sally

I don't think Jack is any different from Sam, half hawk and half dove. But when you have to lead you have to be able to think quickly, review your options, and act so quickly that you can be preceived as hawklike, when really you're just 2 steps ahead of the others. And he's had years of practice. Just because Jack is able to see what has to be done and react so quickly doesn't mean that he doesn't feel somewhat the same as Daniel in certain situations. Sam just needs the oportunity to allow those senses to develop. She is military so the understanding is there. I don't think Daniel could ever lead or make those decisions. Not that that is a bad thing. There always has to be a balance of opinions. But the leader has to be able to assess the situation and make decisions in a timely way. I think Sam is capable, she just hasn't been given a situation that calls for her to prove herself. Thats my opinion anyway.

[majorsal]

Her finest hour so far was Foothold. She had to be really brave and resourceful, and she quite probably saved the entire planet. Also she called Maybourne an idiot in a particularly witty way.

I LOVE Foothold! I've got it on tape. That was *so* much a Sam Carter shows her stuff ep. Amanda adlibbed that line to Maybourne.

Best acted bit has come in Meridian, the moment alone with Daniel.

My fave acting moment was in season 5's Entity. I felt her take on an alien life form was original and powerful. If I'm remembering this right, Amanda came up with the idea of how to perform her. How many times can you think of seeing an alien take over someone, but that person does not speak? All of the Entity's emotions showed through on it's face. That scene when Daniel and Jack are interrogating the Entity, and then Jack gets ticked and starts threatening the Entity... I was totally blow away with how wonderful Amanda pulled that part off. You could see her anger and frustration on her face, without one single word actually coming out of her mouth (and I'm not talking about the monotone voice of the voice synthesizer being used). You could see her facial muscles twitching, trying to hold back the rage it was not able to voice. This will always be my fave acting moment for Sam/Amanda.

I also loved (spoilers for s8's new order*s*)

Spoiler:

Amanda's acting when Fifth was torturing her in New Order. In fact, it was the 'only' part of that ep I really liked.

Sally

[majorsal]

I don't think Jack is any different from Sam, half hawk and half dove. But when you have to lead you have to be able to think quickly, review your options, and act so quickly that you can be preceived as hawklike, when really you're just 2 steps ahead of the others. And he's had years of practice. Just because Jack is able to see what has to be done and react so quickly doesn't mean that he doesn't feel somewhat the same as Daniel in certain situations. Sam just needs the oportunity to allow those senses to develop. She is military so the understanding is there. I don't think Daniel could ever lead or make those decisions. Not that that is a bad thing. There always has to be a balance of opinions. But the leader has to be able to assess the situation and make decisions in a timely way. I think Sam is capable, she just hasn't been given a situation that calls for her to prove herself. Thats my opinion anyway.

Yes, so far, we haven't seen Sam really get into the leading thing. Yes, we've seen her lead missions, and lead the other teams/ppl with her, but we haven't seen an entire mission where the entire thing lays on Sam's shoulders. I'm not sure we'll get that opportunity in season 8, but I'm sure hoping we will in season 9.

Speaking of a season 9 - I wish the ptb would start filming in April instead of March, so Amanda might miss less eps. (no eps would be better )

Sally

[tara3583]

I really love how Sam has grown over the years and how Amanda has added layers and such a richness to her.
I fell in love with the character from the moment Sam walked into the briefing room in COTG, my husband has said from time to time that you could really believe that Amanda is a soldier in combat! and he's not a scifi fan but
does look in from time to time.
I hope also to see Sam lead more in s9 and i really want to see how she deals with the fallout from Gemini, lol and does'nt Amanda do evil very well!

Lastly with the news of the new signings i just
wish we had news of Amanda signing on for s9 and yes to the poster that wished they would put back the start of filming to april, i agree
anyway as long as Amanda stays well and enjoys her baby when he/she has arrived i'll be a happy fan!