Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[ChevronSeven]

I was more impressed with GUP than Stronghold. I did love Amanda in both episodes. And wow, did she look gorgeous in GUP. I can see her wearing that outfit for when she rides her Indian motorcycle.

Stronghold:

Spoiler:

Definitely like Sam leading the troops - Yay! Reynolds was there. Not too impressed with Mitchell's performance. Was he trying to prove something to himself? Whatever.

Grace Under Pressure:

Spoiler:

Can't say enough how much I loved this episode. David and Amanda played it so brilliantly. I laughed so hard at McKay's reactions to Sam. Definitely a stellar episode.

[dmovies]

JM probably knew they wouldn't be able to do that kind of arc very well. Just wondering, but how long ago was that? Guess I'm wondering if that was back when he was a relatively fresher and a newer writer to the show and had realized the strengths/weaknesses of his fellow writers. (*grins* And if he was less cryptic with his answers back then. )

I guess I'd be afraid they'd use it as the excuse for everything... 'Carter can't deal with this because she was violated...' 'Carter can't lead anymore because she's lost her edge because of the rape..." "Carter can't _____ because she was raped..." IMOHO it probably would have become the #1 catchall excuse for the writers (and some fan segments) to explain away anything Sam did. And possibly to have written her as a less strong character.

I know we can debate the changes to the character, especially over the past couple seasons, but think about it... how differently they'd have written the character from there on out with a graphic (ok, as graphic as a PG13 show would allow) rape in her immediate past. Especially if they decided to not ignore it (like they did with other life-changing events) to use that as the defining characteristic of her personality. I'd just be too afraid she wouldn't have been the same Sam we've all come to know and love.

I loved GUP-I giggled a lot! But the thought did cross my mind, poor Sam, she can't even score with a guy when its his delusion!

[Mandysg1]

i want equal opportunity whumpage, but i think society is afraid of going too far *with women*. somehow rape has a different connitation to it than other kinds of violence (and it *shouldn't*).

sally

Here's a link to a story with Sam getting majorlly whumped (no rape involved) Shades of Grey:The Aftermath
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2522868/1/

[jckfan55]

Not stopping, still staying out of this whole icky, yucky topic. Just wanted to post you all your official invite

My eyes! Just when I thought I had recovered.

[jckfan55]

i remember one of the things that had crossed my mind about sam returning to the show *but* not getting her command back... i thought it would be interesting if she'd permanently injured her leg/knee. it could have given her a limp and kept her off the team (or mainly leading it). i kept seeing scenes in my head of how sam would handle this. she wouldn't be a cripple (still be able to walk and such), but she wouldn't be able to be the exact great athlete/soldier that she was before. LOTS of potential for GREAT scenes about this.

but i knew the show wouldn't do something like this, because that would mean the character would be *permanently* changed/different. tv shows don't do 'changed'. what a shame, at least to me.

would any of you liked to have seen sam with a permanent limp?



sally

I don't know that I'd want her with a limp, but when I heard she wasn't getting command back & was afraid they were going to make her a civilian, I hoped it would at least be for a heroic reason like getting injured in the line of duty and so not being up to field work.

[Strix varia]

I loved GUP. I, too, was expecting some cringe worthy moments. They never materialized. Many, many kudos to all involved. I can't think of a single thing to nitpick. (And how often does that happen?)

[dreamer]

I've never sent mail internationally before... would a postcard make it? I mean... it's only a hop up REALLY north, but I wasn't sure if it would survive the postal service...

Mail arrives at most destination quick and easy. I am sure a postcard will arrive without problems.

[jckfan55]

Stronghold

Spoiler:

I thought the episode was generally good. I liked Sam coming up with the plan and leading. I wonder if this is the ep. where AT told Cooper? the director? that Sam should lead since she made the plan? My only complaint was Cam racing off without at least letting Sam know what he was doing. Sure someone had to take out the Jaffa cannon, and it probably would need some brave/reckless individual, but come on--he has a radio. I did suspect he was going to do something stupid like that though after that buildup in the hospital about him being a hot head. At least he recognizes it in himself. Of course, that begs the question of why the AF would put him in command of SG1. Jack was no diplomat, but he wasn't a hot head either. My hope is this idea that Cam is "getting to know himself" is a sign that he will be "learning from the best" more as he claimed he wanted to do in the first ep of the season.

GUP

Spoiler:

I enjoyed this one. Loved the figment Sam. I was a bit nervous from the spoilers, but the kissing was totally in his mind and to distract him, so it didn't bother me too much. And I loved when he said something about taking her clothes off? and she says something like, you know Sam wouldn't be into that. I liked that we got his respect for her as a scientist, not just his crush on her.

[AGateFan]

So Carters like this great character. **cough bump cough**
She was great when in Mckays imagination too.

Spoiler:

I mean Mckay was hallucinating her and he still couldnt get a date until she decided to try to save him from himself by distracting him.
Im not a fan of Pink though... or unzipped shirt\jackets.

[Skydiver]

Here's a link to a story with Sam getting majorlly whumped (no rape involved) Shades of Grey:The Aftermath
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2522868/1/

my only quibble with that one, yeah it's a whump fic and was fun to read but....and i wonder if i'm gonna offend the author, but some of hte injuries seemed a bit OTT. how could sam have still been mobile after a certain point?
in some cases, i'd think she'd be too sore to do much of anything.

it's a common 'trap' for whump writers. not just to hurt the characters, that's easy. but to hurt them believably and, well not acutually kill them

[Tracy Jane]

So Carters like this great character. **cough bump cough**
She was great when in Mckays imagination too.

Spoiler:

I mean Mckay was hallucinating her and he still couldnt get a date until she decided to try to save him from himself by distracting him.
Im not a fan of Pink though... or unzipped shirt\jackets.

Let me guess.... you're more of a fan of blue

[Skydiver]

stronghold spoilers

Spoiler:

i think cam's behaviors are very much my bigget issue with him. what purpose did the dying friend storyline have? other than random cam angst that is.
it was a useless waste of time and had nothing to do iwth the overall story.

then cam behaving very irresponsibly leaving the device there and then his rambo act going after teal'c.....i was just shaking my head.

this morning i asked myself, ok, how would i have handled it had it been jack?

the sick friend aspect would have still been useless unless we'd met the friend before (like the dude from fragile balance) but with jack i could have seen him going after teal'c. 9 years of 'blood brother' kinda dictates that. but even still, jack would not have gone totally rambo. he would still have remembered that there were 20 odd people that he was responsible for and remembered them and not acted ina way to endanger them.

cameron is NOT acting like a leader. he's acting like some wet behind the ears recruit

if tptb are really truly trying to convince us that cam is the best leader in the world, they really need to write him better. cause right now he's nothing but a liability...and an officer that jack would have booted off his team in a heart beat

[AGateFan]

Stronghold spoiler and opinion.

Spoiler:

I agree Jack would not have acted like that. And if someone under jacks command were to act like that (like say a jaffa pretending to be an SG person). He would slap them down pretty quick and tell them if they ever do that again they are gone.

Correction. The kid wasnt a jaffa but a human in the service of apophis.

[Strix varia]

my only quibble with that one, yeah it's a whump fic and was fun to read but....and i wonder if i'm gonna offend the author, but some of hte injuries seemed a bit OTT. how could sam have still been mobile after a certain point?
in some cases, i'd think she'd be too sore to do much of anything.

it's a common 'trap' for whump writers. not just to hurt the characters, that's easy. but to hurt them believably and, well not acutually kill them

It's a trap that Hollywood frequently falls into, as well. The macho guy gets shot a couple of times but is still up and running around for half the movie. Well, adrenaline will allow some pretty amazing things sometimes, but it's like they've never heard of shock before. The human body doesn't deal well with being poked full of holes; getting beaten, burned, and torn open; and losing a lot of blood. Adrenaline and pain tolerance will only get you so far before things start to shut down automatically.

[golfbooy]

Ok, fine. I rewatched Grace Under Pressure last night and I have to say I found it much more enjoyable than I did the first time around.

Spoiler:

All I had to do was completely ignore everything except Amanda Tapping and David Hewlett. I completely ignored the whale (whale? WTF?), the dodgy science of turning a cloak into shields (because we all know that those two are natural inverses), the absence of Ronan, Teyla, Beckett, etc. (must have been on another field trip to the mainland). I ingored the perfunctory effort made with the dialogue, the false pretentions made at character development regarding Rodney, and my ardent belief that it should have been any of the other Atlantis characters going through this situation besides Mckay. And you know what? David Hewlett and Amanda Tapping were great in this one. It was quite enjoyable to watch them act together, and it was great to see Carter given so much prominence. The Mckay/Carter relationship only works as well as it does because it's used sparingly. The two characters are not often together because that would make their interaction trite and unsustainable as it is currently written.

But, like I said, I really enjoyed it.

As for Stronghold, well, it was mostly good. Really, most of it was good. But there was, um, most definitely some bad. See here.