Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[chocdoc]

choc, well articulated. At the end of the day, YES. It's entirely possible that interference from Sony may eventually drive the Stargate franchise/series into the ground. What big network hasn't ruined a great TV show yet? But for the time being I stil have enough vested "like/interest" in the current character set to keep watching. Personally, I think the storytelling this year hasn't been as powerful as previous years. The new characters have some potential (even Vala if you tone her down a bit), it's the writing that seems weird and contrived. But somehow, it's still the SG-1 universe, in some incarnation. It's still Stargate. Still about a gateway of wormholes through the universe. Still about Ancients and Asgard and the occasional snakey-dude. Plus, after so many years, the characters become like "old friends" - you'll follow their adventures pretty much wherever - out of familiarity and an oddly inexplicable sense of loyalty. I was laughing to myself after the last Harry Potter book (because I didn't like it as much as some of the others). The problem is, I'm hooked on the characters already, so I'll read the next book too. And likely the one after that... Somehow, the characters themselves lend the story a little light, even when it's not as strong as it could be. It'd be nice if, instead of spending $$ on cast members next year, they spent some money on new writers instead - and perhaps a new "supervising executive producer", too.

Yes, I keep holding on to the hope that we can still have some good team adventures and some good storylines. Speaking of $$ for cast members, I wonder whether Lou Gossett Jr. will be back? I just have this funny feeling that we won't necessarily see him next season. IMO, I haven't cared for his character and something just seemed wrong in the delivery. Don't get me wrong--he's a great actor, but I don't think this gig was that good for him.

I agree too that the writing has been off in general thus far. For me this is because there is little warmth on the show at this point. This could change. We need those little nuances between the characters (ALL the characters) for the show to really work. We don't have these yet---and surprisingly we don't have them between Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c as much as we should.

The characters are like old friends---ones I'm not willing to give up on just yet, and Sam in particular.

[Skydiver]

let's make a silk purse out of this sow's ear we've been dealt

let's play pretend...we're pretending that the writers will remember that they have 2 characters, they'll let them actually *gasp* talk to each other and co-exist...OMG, they will share a screen and the world won't end and die of estrogen poisoning.....so, what would your fantasy s10 episode be?

the one criteria....it's gotta include vala AND sam...and no one dies

[Simhavaktra]

Dumb question here...but where does it say that Amanda's signed on to be a regular next season? I only saw that she's re-signed a contract. Contracts are for any kind of commitment...heck, she'd need a contract for one episode.

I *want* to be optimistic. I mean, Spazmeister, SunKrux and myself have been fairly vocal about wanting a great friendship betwixt the two characters of Carter and Vala.

It's just that I currently have less optimism than usual in the PTB to actually have two strong leading female characters at the same time and to portray them well...

I've said it before. I'll say it again. I think that if they were written well, Sam and Vala would size each other up for a couple episodes, discover common cause, or, at least, common ground, and, the next time there was a crisis, they'd be running the entire Tau'ri Stargate program and saving the world before the boys of various ages, literal and figurative, could find their way to the Gateroom.

They're both strong, intent, determined, intelligent and creative, good at planning and executing their plans, no matter how difficult, complex, unlikely, or dangerous. And, I think, if they were real people both Sam and Vala would catch on pretty quickly to the fact that together they could be not only a force to be reckoned with, but a highly capable and effective team, that could achieve objectives for the Tau'ri, against the Ori, and, if Vala were to be developed to the point where she had objectives that didn't involve the acquisition of huge piles of (anachronistic and unlikely to be highly valued when there's naquadah, information and technology to be obtained, traded and sold) gold and jewels, for Vala herself.

But, I can't find it in me to believe that the collective PTB both want that kind of writing, and are capable of producing it. Too complex, too difficult, too time consuming - too much work and not enough 'fun' for the writers and producers, Sony, Sci Fi et cetera. And too threatening to what the collective PTB seem to perceive as their core audience.

In the last issue of Sci Fi Magazine, amidst reviews of games that seem to be designed for young males, and movie reviews that are slanted to the interests of young male potential viewers, I read a review of possible Christmas presents which noted that the novel "The Time Traveller's Wife" would be a good present to get someone who isn't into science fiction, like your girlfriend.

Er, pardonez moi?

Apparently, judging from the way the Vala character was conceived, written, costumed, hyped, and slurped for her first seven appearances, and the apparent bias of the network's magazine, the assumption that no fan of Sci Fi or science fiction will ever have / has ever had / would ever want a boyfriend is core to Sci Fi's vision of all things Sci Fi and science fiction. And that leads me to fear that the involvement of the network, and the people who own and direct the network, will prevent much of anything that might... disturb... the preconceptions of those by-definition-young-male viewers from finding its way into SG-1.

Women in command, strong women who are neither wall papered nor sex objects, women who don't take a back seat to the guys in any category other than fatherhood, women who have power in their own right and who are friends with other women, who also have power - these are things that modern American society historically assumes to be frightening to a great many young males. Having not been a young male in this lifetime, I don't know if they are frightening or not, but I do know that estrogen makes many males uncomfortable, and most males that I know seem to take the "boy's club" aspect of life for granted: of course things will always be arranged for their maximum comfort and satisfaction. It is the natural course of the universe.

Blech.

I want to see Stargate as written by a certain Marine Corps aviator I met at an airshow a number of years ago. This young officer was an F-18 Hornet pilot, standing with his plane as part of the ground display at the show. I love airplanes (the guidance counselor who informed me in 4th grade that my eyesight (20/232 in the good eye) would keep me from ever being an Air Force fighter pilot has still not been foregiven ) and I was making pictures of my first up close F-18, and, in the days before 9 / 11 up close was 'lean against the engine cowling while taking artsy shots of the nose of the plane against the contrails in the very blue sky' close. And this was quite alright with the Captain (I asked before I leaned ). Along came two kids, a boy and a girl, about 9 or 10, and 7 or 8, and obviously brother and sister from their looks. When the girl tried to talk to the pilot, ask him very intelligent questions about his plane (how high did it fly, how fast, could it land on a carrier, too?) the boy got mad, grabbed her by the arm and told her "Come on! Girls can't do anything like that! Girls aren't allowed to fly airplanes!" and tried to drag her off. I thought that Marine Corps pilot was going to pop an artery. He told that kid to let go of his sister. Pilots were gentlemen, and gentlemen did not behave like that. He did not raise his voice. He did not move. He just stared at that kid, and the kid wilted. The next part of the pilot’s remarks, as close to verbatim as I can recall went like this "And I will have you know that women do fly planes. Women fly jet fighters, just like this one, in the United States military. My first instructor pilot was a woman. She taught me to fly. She taught me to survive aerial combat and emerge victorious. She is the best pilot I've ever known, and I owe my success as an aviator, and my life as a veteran of the Gulf War, to her."

The boy took off running.

I applauded, literally.

The pilot gave me a nod - and went back to talking airplanes with the little girl until the boy and their parents arrived, whereupon he told them that their daughter wanted to be a pilot, and he hoped they would support her in that, because she had the makings of a fine pilot.

I want that Marine Corps aviator to write for SG-1, specifically for Sam and Vala.

[dreamer]

I've always liked Daniel (it's some of his fans that I have issues with ). However, if they lose Daniel, Teal'c or Sam, I think they'll lose a huge portion of the audience. It just wouldn't be the same show, and I don't think they'll be able to suitably replace what they'll have lost. Yes, it survived losing RDA, but fans have seen that coming for a long time, and I think many were willing to give BB a shot at it. However, if AT hadn't come back this year, I wouldn't be watching. Same would hold true, I'm sure, for uber fans of Daniel and Teal'c, too, if those characters had not returned.

Sony may believe otherwise, but I think the team dynamic is what keeps people watching the show. The concept of the gate isn't novel anymore, and I don't think folks are really fired up about the Ori as the new villians. If they lose the team dynamic (which they've already screwed up with the Mitchel leadership debacle), the show is, IMO, toast. Honestly, I think they're really lucky it was renewed for a 10th season. If they lose another major character, I really can't see it surviving for much past that. What astounds me is that Sony doesn't seem to see that with the same clarity that I do. But maybe that's why I'm not working as a network executive.

I agree. It was the team and friendship of the characters that brought people to the show and I believe the lack of it that will destroy the show. Already too many of the characters have been removed. No more. There is room to bring in new characters but don't loose the old ones.

[LaCroix]

I think that I'd wouldn't have been bothered as much if I heard the news here first. But this is how I learned of it.


SG-1 Adds Black As Regular
Claudia Black (Farscape) joins the regular cast of SCI FI Channel's original series Stargate SG-1 in its upcoming 10th season, and the principal cast members of both SG-1 and its spinoff series, Stargate Atlantis, have signed on to reprise their roles in the recently announced new seasons, the network said. More ...



This is from Sci-Fi wire and as much as TPTB want to work it, I think a picture paints a thousand words. And believe me some people at SG-1 BB's ( Sci-Fi official) aren't happy with this either.

[Suzotchka]

I get the feeling of being trapped between a rock and a hard place. If I give up watching SG-1 then I give up watching my favorite character. If I do watch SG-1, I know I'm going to end up being mad.

Do I have hope? Hmm .. not sure. It is a four letter word afterall.

[Skydiver]

This is from Sci-Fi wire and as much as TPTB want to work it, I think a picture paints a thousand words. And believe me some people at SG-1 BB's ( Sci-Fi official) aren't happy with this either.

ooh yeah. it will be a case of 'be careful what you wish for'.

all those that wanted vala because more vala = more daniel will be out in the cold. daniel will be sidelined to make way for cam.

it'll actually be quite fun to watch. it'll start when the s10 promotion focuses almost totally on vala joining the cast, followed up by the inevitable farscape mentions.

vala then will turn her attentions from daniel to cam and by this time next year all those that have been spamming every message board in the world promoting vala will be expressing thier annoyance at the wallpapering of thier favorite actor.

this is why i think sam being on atlantis is a good thing. she's got an escape route.

[ann_sgcfan]

I get the feeling of being trapped between a rock and a hard place. If I give up watching SG-1 then I give up watching my favorite character. If I do watch SG-1, I know I'm going to end up being mad.

Do I have hope? Hmm .. not sure. It is a four letter word afterall.

See I feel the same way. Why am I watching Stargate SG-1 now? Is it because I keep hoping S9 will get better or am I really enjoying the show? Well as minigeek pointed out I don't have the most positive outlook right now, and minigeek is right. I don't want to stop watching, but the show is slowly losing my interest. Sam is a great character and I love seeing the character kickbutt, solve the problem, save the day with her teammates. I want to support AT and let her know that she has fans that love her. THat there aren't just samhaters out there, there are those smart enough to see talent and a great character. So I too feel divided.

[Traveler Enroute1]

AD, your suggestion was heard by TPTB. It took a bit of time to round up all the team members for their publicity photo. In fact, one of them had to travel from a galaxy far, far away and didn’t have time to dress in the appropriate BDUs. However, the photographer managed to assemble all six members and here’s the result.

They are a new team and Stargate Command has assigned a name in your honor. Click below to see your favorite team.

STARGATE: AD

! ('cause green chip jar is missing??)

Just sayin', that so works!

[LaCroix]

ooh yeah. it will be a case of 'be careful what you wish for'.

all those that wanted vala because more vala = more daniel will be out in the cold. daniel will be sidelined to make way for cam.

it'll actually be quite fun to watch. it'll start when the s10 promotion focuses almost totally on vala joining the cast, followed up by the inevitable farscape mentions.

vala then will turn her attentions from daniel to cam and by this time next year all those that have been spamming every message board in the world promoting vala will be expressing thier annoyance at the wallpapering of thier favorite actor.

this is why i think sam being on atlantis is a good thing. she's got an escape route.

Hopefully she'll have two. If I read JM's answer to the question of AT directing an episode over at SGA right, she may have a better position after SG-1 ends. That is if SGA has a season 4, so she can be one of the
directors on that show.

Here's hoping.

[minigeek]

I don't want to stop watching, but the show is slowly losing my interest. Sam is a great character and I love seeing the character kickbutt, solve the problem, save the day with her teammates. I want to support AT and let her know that she has fans that love her. THat there aren't just samhaters out there, there are those smart enough to see talent and a great character. So I too feel divided.

Ann, I think you put into words pretty much exactly the way I'm feeling right now as well. I don't want to have to say "adios" to Stargate. So I'm choosing to (perhaps irrationally) continue to hope that it gets better. But on the other hand, neither do I really want to spend a lot of my "free time" feeling blech-y about a TV show, either, so I think that's also part of it. If it tanks, I'll stop watching. But for the time being, I think I can still muster enough positive energy to play the what-if game in a somewhat hopeful way. Without being naieve about Network politics, I'll keep my feelers up. At least for now!

[chocdoc]

See I feel the same way. Why am I watching Stargate SG-1 now? Is it because I keep hoping S9 will get better or am I really enjoying the show? Well as minigeek pointed out I don't have the most positive outlook right now, and minigeek is right. I don't want to stop watching, but the show is slowly losing my interest. Sam is a great character and I love seeing the character kickbutt, solve the problem, save the day with her teammates. I want to support AT and let her know that she has fans that love her. THat there aren't just samhaters out there, there are those smart enough to see talent and a great character. So I too feel divided.

The samhaters are a very small, but very vocal, minority. They spend their time saying the same thing over and over. Most fans seem very supportive of sam, and then another set of Sam loving fans of course are crazy about her . Look at the strong response after the news from GABIT. Sam has alot of supporters and of course she will always have them as long as she exists.

I feel alot like you do. I keep asking myself, do I really like the show--I want to like the show! I ended up liking the last two episodes before break--and I like some of the spoilers for the second half--so there you go. Let's see waht they have done for the second half.

I am hopelessly addicted to the Sam character, so I'll continue to watch, and I really hope for a well written Carter (I can hope, can't I), next season.

[Skydiver]

this is why, even if it seems like she's being demoted or side lined by going to atlantis, i don't quite see it that way.

would i love to see 20 eps of sam in command on sg1? heck yes. do i think i'll get it? no.

cam is the 'boss' and vala is the new star. out with the old and in with the new.

BUT, atlantis is AT's life raft. she did great directing resurrection. and if she's got smaller parts in atlantis or sg1, do you really think she'll jsut go home and work part time?
no, if i know her the way i think i know her, she'll hang on the set, watching and learning and perhaps unofficially directing. she'll learn a new craft, one that's not dependant on looks but skill

and she's got the skill. resurrection proved that.

[ChevronSeven]

Ann, I think you put into words pretty much exactly the way I'm feeling right now as well. I don't want to have to say "adios" to Stargate. So I'm choosing to (perhaps irrationally) continue to hope that it gets better. But on the other hand, neither do I really want to spend a lot of my "free time" feeling blech-y about a TV show, either, so I think that's also part of it. If it tanks, I'll stop watching. But for the time being, I think I can still muster enough positive energy to play the what-if game in a somewhat hopeful way. Without being naieve about Network politics, I'll keep my feelers up. At least for now!

Yep. I wholeheartedly agree with this. I've lost too many quality shows. However, Stargate has started to sink because of the lack of TPTB seem to have over core characters. Even characters that are no longer a constant presence on the show (Hello? Anybody remember Jack O'Neill?). I feel very strong about there being no Daniel/Vala ship, basically because Michael doesn't like it. So...they'll just put Vala with Cam and have the two galavant across the galaxy and oh yeah, perhaps throw us a bone every now and then with Sam.

Sigh. I'm just so sad over this.

[ann_sgcfan]

Hopefully she'll have two. If I read JM's answer to the question of AT directing an episode over at SGA right, she may have a better position after SG-1 ends. That is if SGA has a season 4, so she can be one of the
directors on that show.

Here's hoping.

THat would be awsome for AT if she got the chance to do more directing, since she obviously loves it! I agree with Skydiver, AT did a great job on Resurrection!