Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[sky_blue_waters]

semi- OT ALERT ALERT!!---Proof Positive marathon on TODAY at 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM CST on the SciFi channel. hosted by our Amanda Tapping I want to see that classic one where they talk about that ghost that haunts the VIP room at the moonlite bunny ranch (a brothel) in Reno, Neveda. ALERT ALERT!!

[sky_blue_waters]

seriously though, Amanda did a great job hosting that little show. why SciFi is showing it at such a wierd time of day, i do not know

[ForeverSg1]

Hmm, has anyone else read the newest GW story about the new season beginning this week? Most of it was information that we have all heard already, but there was one line that sort of stood out to me...

Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, and Beau Bridges return for another 20 episodes -- though Shanks and Tapping are expected to sit out a few, as well as make crossover appearances on SG-1's sister show.

Obviously, someone has heard more information than the rest of us. I thought Amanda had signed for 20 episodes? I know we had heard that she may do some cross overs, but she's going to be sitting out a few episodes as well? Or were they just implying MS would be sitting out a few and both Amanda and MS would be on Atlantis?

[Agent_Dark]

Hmm, has anyone else read the newest GW story about the new season beginning this week? Most of it was information that we have all heard already, but there was one line that sort of stood out to me...

Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, and Beau Bridges return for another 20 episodes -- though Shanks and Tapping are expected to sit out a few, as well as make crossover appearances on SG-1's sister show.

Obviously, someone has heard more information than the rest of us. I thought Amanda had signed for 20 episodes? I know we had heard that she may do some cross overs, but she's going to be sitting out a few episodes as well? Or were they just implying MS would be sitting out a few and both Amanda and MS would be on Atlantis?

I thought it was 20 eps all up over both SG1 and Atlantis?

[Agent_Dark]

[I]"This year, my work on Stargate has been mainly acting pieces with the occasional fight. Camelot, however has

Spoiler:

lots more action. You have swordfights and these big spaceships on fire and being destroyed. It's just a bigger episode. Also there are tons of visual effects in it, so another interesting challenge for me was doing the storyboards. For example, there's a scene where Carter (Amanda Tapping) puts on a spacesuit and goes out to the Space gate. Imagine standing literally beside the gate when it activates and Ori ships come flying through it. We had to figure out the scale of all that and how we were going to show it to viewers."

Oh wow, that sounds kinda cool

[scarimor]

... I would like to see Sam crossed-over to Atlantis. Lots of legitimate arguments against it which I won't rehash now, but I think SG-1 is dead (even if it isn't) after next season, and I'd like her character to continue on TV in a (more or less) healthy show. So, it's a purely selfish desire on my part.

I favour Carter on Atlantis too. I've also noticed how much more effort goes into the writing of Atlantis episodes than into SG-1 episodes recently. I suspect they will promote Atlantis as the long-runner now with SG-1 bowing out graciously after a record-breaking 10 season run (probably).

It's quite possible, of course, that AT will want to move on from Stargate all together soon. She and CJ have been on the same TV show for an unusally long time (so has MS, but he took a break). The new characters of Landry, Mitchell and Vala (and Lam perhaps) may be expected to take SG-1 further than a season 10 without any of the original main cast.

[Skydiver]

As much as I'd like to see it, I'm sorry to rain on your parade about a Sam SG-1/Atlantis two parter. I'm afraid that the syndication airings may make that hard to pull off. In syndication, some channels air only one or the other of the 2 shows, and if they do offer both, maybe not in the same order as originally presented on SciFi. I've read some of TPTB remarking on these types of problems associated with too much interaction between the 2 shows. It's one of the reasons why they want to keep the shows separate as much as possible.

NC

true. but if they handle it right, use sg1 to set up the issue, then atlantis to solve the problem, then the parts missed on sg1 could be handled with a 'previously on' flashback sequence

kind of like how they did lost city and rising

you needed to see one to fully understand the other, but they both stood alone

[Skydiver]

Hmm? Didn't someone with the initials MS(I won't say who it is) do a recent movie called Swarmed (couldn't bring myself to watch, the commercial was bad enough) Any way did anyone in here actually like the movie????

i believe many people enjoyed his work and performance...while fully recognizing that the movie itself was a pile of doo

[Skydiver]

I favour Carter on Atlantis too. I've also noticed how much more effort goes into the writing of Atlantis episodes than into SG-1 episodes recently. I suspect they will promote Atlantis as the long-runner now with SG-1 bowing out graciously after a record-breaking 10 season run (probably).

It's quite possible, of course, that AT will want to move on from Stargate all together soon. She and CJ have been on the same TV show for an unusally long time (so has MS, but he took a break). The new characters of Landry, Mitchell and Vala (and Cam perhaps) may be expected to take SG-1 further than a season 10 without any of the original main cast.

personally? i'm banking ont his too. scifi seems to have this love affaire with claudia certainly, and wtih ben and seem to want nothing more than to kick AT and MS to the curb.

personally? if there's a season 11 i see it as cam and vala in a ship with teal'c along for the ride and with it bearing little to no resemblance to stargate

[Tracy Jane]

I want to contribute something useful to the discussion, but as usual "I got nothin".

I don't see Sam as a full bird. I'm sorry, but as much as I love the character, I did find two promotions in such quick succession a little hard to swallow. I eventually washed it down with the She-Saved-The-Universe-Again line.

As for plotholes etc and writing skills, and what Sky was saying about the whole family in chain of command thing. I honestly think that they finally tied up the Air Force Advisor and locked him in a cupboard. I swear, if Jack O'Neill were still around this season, they'd be making out in the infirmary. It's that ridiculous these days.

Amanda on Atlantis.... I'd really like to see Sam interact with Weir. Two very strong female characters. Actually, I'd quite like to see her interact with lots of different members of the Atlantis team, not just Rodney all the time. Don't get me wrong, I love Sam/Rodney interaction, always makes me laugh, but I think we need to see more than just that.

And today's headline news? Well, I took it to mean that both Shanks and Tapping are taking time off SG1, and both will be making appearances on Atlantis. I don't think it means Amanda is taking time off, just that she's not in all 20 eps of SG1, which we already knew.

Sorry. I'll go back to lurking, as I have been for the past few days. There's nothing really to contribute.

[Skydiver]

the other way to interpret that is that at is crossing over and ms is taking time off, both of which we knew

[ForeverSg1]

I want to contribute something useful to the discussion, but as usual "I got nothin".

I don't see Sam as a full bird. I'm sorry, but as much as I love the character, I did find two promotions in such quick succession a little hard to swallow. I eventually washed it down with the She-Saved-The-Universe-Again line.

I beg to differ, from what I have read of USAF promotions ( I do not claim to understand it all and may be wrong in my assumptions ), but eligibility for promotion to Major through Major General requires officers to complete at least three years time in grade. However, the three years time in grade requirements may be waved by the SECAF.

Sam was a Captain in July '97
She recieved her promotion from Captain to Major in July '99
and her promotion from Major to Lt. Colonel in July '04

We do not know how long Sam had been a captain when she joined the SGC, but we can just assume it was at least a year. So she would have met her three years in grade requirement when she was promoted to Major. However, it wasn't for another five years that Sam was promoted to Lt. Colonel which was two years after meeting the necessary time in rank requirements.

With all the times Sam and SG1 has saved the planet, Sam should not have had to wait five years to recieve her promotion to Lt. Colonel. In my opinion, she was held back as Major because it would not have been believable for an USAF Lt. Colonel and a Colonel to remain on the same SG team. As a Lt. Colonel, Sam would have been given her own command, so they kept her as a Major until Jack was promoted to Brig. General.

So theoretically, Sam should have been promoted to Lt. Colonel four years ago which would have definitely made her eligible for promotion to full bird Colonel by now and would have probably placed her as a higher ranking officer than Mitchell.

But as I said, these are only my interpretations on the matter, and I may in deed be wrong in my assumptions.

Kat

[Tracy Jane]

As I said, Kat, it was a personal thing, and I eventually said, well, she deserves it after saving the planet. Plus Sam Carter was always meant to be a high flyer on the fast track, you know?

[ForeverSg1]

As I said, Kat, it was a personal thing, and I eventually said, well, she deserves it after saving the planet. Plus Sam Carter was always meant to be a high flyer on the fast track, you know?

It's alright Tracy. I've just heard many people state that they thought Carter recieved her promotions too close together so I thought I'd toss my two cents out there.

The thing is the show has never realistically showed Sam or Jack or anyone else for that matter receiving promotions like they would have in RL.

Jack was a Colonel in the movie, so that means he was a Colonel for at least ten years, probably longer. He would have been eligble for promotion many times during that time period. Now I could imagine Jack turning down a promotion because he didn't want to leave his team and felt he could do more on the front line than he would sitting behind a desk somewhere; however, as few high ranking female officers as the USAF has, I seriously doubt Sam would turn down a promotion. I'm sure it's been a long and often challenging road for her to achieve the ranking and respect that she currently holds. She may not conciously strive for that next promotion, but I see a competiveness in Sam that would prevent her from not reaching for the stars.

So I believe in order to keep the team together they stunted Sam and Jack's normal progression in terms of promotions. I know in Avalon we saw that Jack was a two star General and maybe they[ the writers ] decided that in the time that Jack has served as Colonel he should have already been one and therefore gave him the rank he deserved. Ok, not very likely, but it could have happened. I'd like to see Sam promoted to Colonel, but I won't be holding my breathe to see that happen.

[minigeek]

So I believe in order to keep the team together they stunted Sam and Jack's normal progression in terms of promotions. I know in Avalon we saw that Jack was a two star General and maybe they[ the writers ] decided that in the time that Jack has served as Colonel he should have already been one and therefore gave him the rank he deserved. One can only hope that they do the same for Sam next season.

I think that's wishful thinking, frankly. I think they needed the device in place so they expedited it. I doubt they put as much thought into it as you're hoping they did. Though what you're saying does make sense (perhaps they can grab this and pretend they thought of it all along)

On a related note, I agree with you, Kat. I've always taken a bit ot exception to folks saying Carter has been promoted too quickly or that she's "too perfect" or that she's acheived too much for her years (especially that). Jack was a full bird Colonel well before he was 40 years old. That's no small feat either, yet a lot of people ignore that. Everyone on SG-1 is rather extraordinary, that's why they were recruited FCOL. It really bakes my noodle when people try and make Carter out to be some kind of undeserving Vunderkind by virtue of plot device. Her character is as believably outstanding as any of the others they've created. No more so, no less.

(PS-> Tracy this has nothing to do with your post, hun, nothing at all, I'm referring to others I've read, most specifically in the "Carter Bashing" end of the spectrum who use this particular argument far too often and far too liberally).


MG