Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Lida]

OK, I know I'm really out of the loop, because I haven't been posting here very often, for which I apologize, but I really feel out of it. I don't live in the UK, I'm so techo-challenged, I still can't get my burned DVD's to play on my pc, let alone Photophop great sigs or make videos, so I have nothing to add but an occasional comment or pic.

Now, what is this voting for and HOW do I vote???????

Thank you.....if anyone is going to win anything, it better be someone from Samanda!


Hic Comitas Regit

[Qasim]

Now, what is this voting for and HOW do I vote???????

Voting is for the Amanda Tapping contest go to http://www.theamandatappingcontest.tk/ click on videos and vote for 'Mary Beth' to vote for UberSG1Fan's vid

If you click on musings 'Poem by Beverley' is dipsofjazz and 'A Stargate Prayer by Katrina' is ForeverSG1 - I believe you get one vote per day

Theres quite a few GWers on the banners page - infact theres GWers everywhere

Strix and Agent Dark have written fics - havent got round to reading them yet

[Qasim]

Seriously, because when y'all move over to Uber's site

Is Uber having a forum?

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

Über your vid is a shoo-in, for sure.

Ya know, I wish that Olivia had put her vid into the Pairings section, because Les Yeux Revolver is also beautifully done. I love that song and it is a made-to-order fit for AT/Sam and for that vid, but it really is a Sam/Jack as sung by Jack sorta song.
For those who don't understand french, the chorus goes(loose translation):
She has revolver eyes
A look that kills
She fired the first shot
Hit me and now I'm a goner

[Uber]

<quote>As the character of Sam Carter has been fleshed out over the years, as we've become more intimate with who she is, has your opinion of her changed? What I mean is, Sam is often lauded for the show's depiction of her as a strong soldier and scientist in earlier seasons. She is often criticized now for the show's depiction of her personal life and self-conflicts. Do you see her in a different light now (e.g. weaker, less successful) because her character has been expanded? Is she no longer the strong solider or scientist to you anymore? Is she now just a woman? And if so, is that a successful or unsuccessful depiction of Sam Carter?<quote>

I think we have seen sam change. in the first couple of seasons, she was very 'wow, this is fun!'. with the exception of Cassie, most of her actions and reactions were those of someone who was enjoying the adventure. a young person who lucked into a great and unimaginable job and was enjoying every minute of it.

then came jolinar and the 'we're having fun' captain got an upclose and personal encounter and realized that things really were life and death and no one was untouchable.

I think that's when sam got to be a bit deeper. more introspective. she did still enjoy the adventure but she also knew that the stakes were higher than she'd ever imagined.

but also while this was going on, you can see her confidence grow. hammy and jack believed in her 10000% and they let her do her stuff and she grew up. the began to take and accept responsibility and leadership. Jack may have been her team leader, but if you watch her, she began to anticipate him more and more, knowing what needed to be done even before he said it.

as to her relationship bits, well i have to wonder if some of sam's issues mirror amanda's own. and i'm not doing this to pry into her personal life, but we know that, long about s6 to 7 to 8 AT began to want a family. she was doing the math and realizing that she was running out of time and made the choice that her career wasn't as important as a family. which mirrors sam in a way. Sam realizes that she needs to have something in her life more than work.

Grace was a catalyst and Pete was that something. Personally, i think sam came out of grace bound and determined to have a life no matter what and she jumped on the first opportunity. then, in her determination to make it work, she ignored things that she may normally have let bug her.

but, sam is always practical, and finally realized that it wouldn't work. Pete will always want more from her than she can give. there will always be a part of her life that she couldn't share with him and that issue would eventually tear them apart

ARGH!!! I can't GREEN YOU!!!

*grumbles at Napoleonic powermongers*

This is exactly the kind of substantive content that, IMHO, we have been sorely lacking of lately. BRAVISIMO!!!

As to your points...they are brilliant and very insightful.

This is exactly how I see Sam. Her character changed sharply after Jolinar...and I believe that Amanda did an incredible job of showing how the new Sam...the post blending Sam...was more introspective and less gungho. Not that she lacked a sense of adventure...because that's one thing about Sam we know is a constant...but rather that she recognized from her own deeply personal experience just how important her job was and how serious the threat was.

Sam started as the girl of the team having to prove herself...just look at Hathor, where she as much said she felt like the odd man out as it were. Then in Message in a Bottle, I confess to getting a little irked at Hammond for fussing at Sam..."You're telling me to do the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you recommended an hour ago...so which is it, Captain?" (okay not a direct quote but you get the idea) but Hammond saw from that pivotal experience that she was right all along...if they were trying to "kill" the entity, then her plan at least slowed it down but since they needed it to reach critical mass, she was correct in allowing it to take over Jack. Yet another time the SGC and earth was saved by Carter. (I need to start counting how many times she's saved the earth...)

As time passed and she became a stronger member of the team, we watched her struggle with her feelings...for her father, for Jack...and we saw that this brilliant theoretical astrophysicist/soldier had a kink in her armor. She sucked at personal relationships, well at least those beyond friendships. I love the fact that we got to see her relationship evolve with her father through the years and that she was able to finally connect with him thanks to Selmak. Sam even said as much in Threads...that Selmak gave her her father.

As for Jack? Sigh. That poor woman struggled with all kinds of issues...her feelings, regulations, duty...blah blah blah. And she handled it poorly, no doubt. Sky, you have it dead on about Grace...an episode I didn't fully understand for a while but it truly is a deep and rich Carter episode. This superhero/deeply flawed woman was lonely. She wanted to experience that deep, abiding connection with someone...not because she was weak without it, but to further enrich her very full life. At the time, she determined that her feelings for Jack were merely a means to hide from a real relationship (fortunately she figured out later she was wrong...yay) and she was bound and determined to have that kind of white picket fence life.

Enter Pete...but it could have been the mailman for all she cared. She wanted that "life" that so eluded her, and Pete was as good enough as any. I love your insight here, Sky, because lots of people fuss about how she responded to Pete's "stalking" of her, or rather how she didn't respond. I myself was not thrilled with her less than enthusiastic response to his sticking his nose where it didn't belong. BUT when considering the bigger picture, Sam as you point out was focused on the "having a life with someone" thing so much that she pounded that square peg into position, red flags be darned. Again, fortunately, she came to her senses.

So now we have ninth season Sam...a seasoned veteran, her personal issues dealt with...an all business Sam. So far, I'm loving it. She was very subdued at first, which ties in well to the way both Amanda felt as an actress and how Sam might have felt returning to the SGC. The shippy references are subtle enough that even the most rabid of anti's have little to complain over while making shippers like me happy. I can hold out for anything more. I can enjoy the gun totin' Sam of Season 9 with the hopes that we see small shippy nods here and there...

Oh and one last thing...even though Amanda mentioned (I think teasingly) about it not working out between Sam and Jack, she forgets that in pretty much every other AU, Sam and Jack end up together and are happy (well until they, you know, are killed). So, take THAT Amanda!!!

Now let's Samanda on...

[Uber]

Is Uber having a forum?

Among many other things...yes.

[majorsal]

love your new sigpic!

i'm curious, though, what is that fifth picture of?


sally


ps - wait, is that amanda fooling around with the defibrillator paddles, but in negative picture form?

[Qasim]

ps - wait, is that amanda fooling around with the defibrillator paddles, but in negative picture form?

It is indeed

[Uber]

love your new sigpic!

i'm curious, though, what is that fifth picture of?


sally


ps - wait, is that amanda fooling around with the defibrillator paddles, but in negative picture form?

Yeah...in the video, I do a rapid invert on the video and add an extreme glow to make it look like she's really defibbing herself...

[Qasim]

What program did you use to make the vid Uber?

[Uber]

What program did you use to make the vid Uber?

I use Sony Vegas for all my video needs...and Sound Forge for audio...

[Qasim]

I use Sony Vegas for all my video needs...and Sound Forge for audio...

Cool - I have soundforge I will have to check Vegas out

So whats next?

[SamFan31]

What a joy to read all the thoughtful discussions that are reappearing on the thread. It harkens back to the original spirit of Samanda and that is so great.

I’ve loved reading how we’ve seen Sam grow over the years and why those changes have taken place. So, thank you all from a writer-challenged poster for bringing us back to the center of our universe.

[majorsal]

since we're going more in depth talking about sam's personal/romantic life choices, i'd like to add this. before you read this, though, i want you to know this isn't a sam/jack relationship post. whether i'm a shipper or not, i want a real discussion with your honest thoughts and feelings.

spoilers for s7 and beyond






going in a strictly primal way, here's the difference I find between jack and pete. I’m going to put jack, sam, and pete into a high school setting to discuss this.

sam would be the brainy but beautiful super student. high achiever, but could easily be a cheerleader by just her looks. but I don't think sam would want to be a cheerleader. (maybe want to try it and want to be a part of that crowd and fit in like that, but ultimately find it trivial)

pete would be the nice guy she'd see in chemistry or english class. he'd be funny and sweet to her, and someone sam could easily have an *easy* relay with. (I’m ignoring his selfish behavior in the second half of chimera because that was the only time he was a jerk)

now jack would be the jock. good in sports, funny, sly, and dangerous. and I’d imagine sam would feel that someone like him would never even glance at someone like her. (remember, I’m talking about high school versions)

but jump ahead years, and I still see some of these traits in them. I still see sam shy in relationships, and I still see pete the easy relationship for her. pete prob saw that he'd hit the lottery and then some with someone so gorgeous and fantastic falling for him. I still see jack as the jock/funny/sly/dangerous guy, and this is where I see sam being immensely attracted to someone like him. besides sam saying she's always been attracted to the lunatic fringe, I legitimally see them being a good couple together. jack might like to play dumb, but he's far from it.

the difference between them is that sam would be comfortable with pete. security and dependable and easy going. with jack, I see her having a sometimes combustible relationship. she can't run over jack like she could with pete. but she also wouldn't let jack run over her. pete's easy, jack's a challenge. pete would be the perfect husband, jack would make her frustrated. pete would be an easy going Sunday drive, and jack would be the thrill seeking, 90 miles an hour around the curve adventure. basically, pete is the hand-held firework where jack's a sky full of them.

you might think that my sam/jack preference is leading my interpretations (prob is), but if the writers had *really* wanted to move away from the s/j relay and given sam someone she would be with for the rest of her life - pete wouldn't cut it. sam needs that you-take-my-breath-away reaction (like every single person out there wants).

I hope to hear others views on this subject. I know there are at least a couple of anti s/j shippers on this thread, but I’d really like to hear what you think of what I said. if you had to pick which guy was more suited to sam, would you pick jack or pete? and if you didn't like either, which person would you pick (you can pick another character or make someone up)? and think of this from what's best for sam, not your own personal feelings pro or con about s/j ship.



sally

[ChopinGal]

Hear Ye Hear Ye Hear Ye

The past two days seemed to rekindle the spark
Of Samandan posts which hit the mark
Well-posed questions led to discussions
The many faces of Sam, without repercussions

Energy and substance flared
Wit and wisdom from those who cared
Samandans old, Samandans new
Had things to say that rang true

Even though some of the Court are missing
It's good to see the thread still listening
To each other without causing pain
Kindness and support do reign!

Here's to Royal Videographer
Can she soon be award-winning cinematographer?
And don't forget our poets and scribes
Go vote for them, keep Samandan hopes alive

We elders may be behind the scene
But are happy when Samandans earn their beans
Playfulness from days of yore
May yet return to Samandan shores

So here's my song, my little ditty
I must be off and leave our fair city
Real life calls me beyond Samanda's gate
Alas, alack ... I can't be late

Just to know that our collection
Seems to have arrived at its destination
The book delivered to the Studio's door
The week of our fair Queen's birth du jour

Perfect timing, don't you think?
With that, I'll flee and give a wink!

Jester