Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[scifi_girl]

Has anyone read the new AT interview here on GW? I enjoyed it and, as always, loved to hear her thoughts!

I've read it. I thought it was good. I agree with you it is nice to hear her thoughts.

Spoiler:

I cant say that I'm a Vala fan but the scene with them both in it sounded good, shame it was cut. When Amanda said about Sam and Vala I liked the idea of them two getting on with each other, and maybe being friends rather than hating each other

[L.A. Doyle]

I've read it. I thought it was good. I agree with you it is nice to hear her thoughts.

Spoiler:

I cant say that I'm a Vala fan but the scene with them both in it sounded good, shame it was cut. When Amanda said about Sam and Vala I liked the idea of them two getting on with each other, and maybe being friends rather than hating each other

I think it is a shame the scene was cut! I may not like Vala much, but moments like that would have softened me up a bit. If Sam can tolerate her, so can I. Hopefully TPTB aren't cutting every scene that shows a bit a character development.

[scifi_girl]

I think it is a shame the scene was cut! I may not like Vala much, but moments like that would have softened me up a bit. If Sam can tolerate her, so can I. Hopefully TPTB aren't cutting every scene that shows a bit a character development.

yeah

Spoiler:

it would have been nice to have heard something about RDA. What i like about Amanda is how down to earth she seems. I also liked the idea of seeing a little more of sam's funny side, i think that would be nice.

[Lizlove]

I am obviously not expressing myself appropriately - first I did say that I was likely the only one disappointed with the interview so I am not going to respond to every post that challenges my posts on it or tries to convince me that my take on the interview is wrong - I was being honest and I already admitted I probably shouldn't have been since I knew what I had to say might not sit well.

Well, I was kind of dissapointed too because I expected to read more about Sam in the past decade. What changed her, what sheaped her. I wanted to read more about the character then the interactions with the others or her thoughts on the future season. I guess I was unclaer about that and got carried away because I was so happy to read a new interview again. But it's sad we didn't hear much about her whole character, since the very beginning of Stargate. What she thought was a big episode for her. But it's nice to read she still loves her job and knows why she does it. And I'm sure we could create our very own interview about her decade as Sam Carter with everything we read over the years. *thinks about the AT chat a few months ago*

[dipsofjazz]

She definitely seems to have always been about what makes the show good, not just what's good for her. In some respects we've said here she should stand up for herself and be the squeaky wheel more, but I suspect that's just not her. IMHO, when you sideline one of the main characters, be it Sam, Daniel or TEal'c that takes away from the overall show.

I loved her comment in the interview that

Spoiler:

"this isn't a comedy." Can we hope certain B@B have remembered that too? I was a bit concerned about the idea that she's concerned that Sam might wind up being the straight man for Vala. I mean the writers know AT is funny--they mention it in many commentaries. On the other hand, I don't think Sam's character is exactly a comedy character. Her funniest moments come in things like the "steam comes out of it and everything" kind of moments, IMHO.

I think the best humor has come in episodes that weren't "comedy" episodes.

My favourite Sam joke is in 'The Serpent's Venom'..

Jack: (gesturing at a large book) Do you understand any of that?
Sam: It's all Phoenician to me, sir!

[the dancer of spaz]

i love the subtleness of Sam's humor. and i think AT does it really well. considering her background in humor, i would have thought she'd play it up more. but it was subtle, at least before. now its almost non-existant. i think that she reminded TPTB that Sam has a sense of humor. but was it just me, or did you get the sense that she was afraid of what would happen to her character in the vala (plat) relationship? i don't want to see sam be made the fool OR the straight man, or even a little of both. i want to see her be presented as SAM. not bent around the "wacky" character.
don't get me wrong, i'd love a good, REALISTIC, sam/vala platonic relationship. but i don't think it should spring out of no where. they're 2 very different women, and vala's the type to try to irk sam to her limit when they first meet. friendships don't just "happen" between people like that. i'd like to see sam earning her place in vala's eyes by countering her in her own sam-like way. a bit like she did to the ambassador in Scrouge, not The Final Word (i'm the boss), because vala would never buy that. not the type to walk into all her jokes, sam's too smart for that, at least once she gets that hang of vala's style. countering her the way SAM acutally would, not the way the writers want her to to make vala look better. conflict first, not so much competition, because i don't see sam actually stooping to that level, but conflict, until vala (and sam) excepts the situation. then they can sort of distance them selves from each other until sam breaks the ice, or start to become friends right away but slowly. either way, make it REALISTIC and EQUAL. i had enough of contrived and unrealistic characterization with the sam/mitchell "freindship".

Great points, PR! I almost snipped some, but it's all very relevant. You're so right about the fine line they need to tread.

In the past, one could say that Sam played as Jack's straight man at times. I think it's been mentioned before (by whom? I can't remember). But what you're talking about... That Sam-like way of responding... It's just as jckfan said, too. She's way subtle about her humor, and she's not stupid enough to walk into any lame jokes, I agree.

It's a very fine line indeed. If it were just up to AT and perhaps a few choice writers, I'd say it could work. But these days I'm not so sure. If they can get equal distribution among the team, great. But if they have to contort the character - in this case, Sam - in order to incorporate the team, I'd rather they ship Sam off on some new ship to some new galaxy, with Teal'c (and Daniel) in tow, so we can end this farce.

[RepliCartertje]

My favourite Sam joke is in 'The Serpent's Venom'..

Jack: (gesturing at a large book) Do you understand any of that?
Sam: It's all Phoenician to me, sir!

yeah that was really funny.
I also liked that scene in space race with the technobabbel

[the dancer of spaz]

In case there were any Samandans wondering if purchasing the latest TV Zone was worth it, unless you want to read a butt-load about anyone and everyone BUT Sam/Daniel/Teal'c, this is probably not the mag for you.

You can view the mag Here.


And, if you'd like to discuss its contents elsewhere, there are three threads I frequent these days, where I've gone to great lengths to repeat myself and my feelings on the subject. I'd be happy to join you in your anti/whinge/raging over there.

[golfbooy]

Hmm...what to say about the interview? Well, as always, it's nice to hear from Amanda Tapping. I've never found GateWorld's interviews to be particularly in depth or penetrating, so I can't say I'm disappointed in the lack of substance, but I do agree that this one is "fluffier" than usual. I think that part of the problem is that so many interviews with the cast and crew are published far too late to be relevant. Holding interviews for months may help the site ration its "exclusive" content and help guarantee a certain amount of hits to the site over the course of a year, but it's not the best way to deliver timely or meaningful commentary.

As for what Amanda herself had to say, well, I think she was speaking more from hope than she was from any sort of reality on set. No doubt she and Claudia are going to do their best to add some layers to the Sam/Vala relationship, but at the time this interview was given I just don't see how she could be speaking with any kind of certainty. [spoilersold]Flesh and Blood has Vala off with Daniel and Adria on the Ori ship, Morpheus has Vala alone (?) on base for psych review with everyone else off-world, and Pegasus Project has Vala off with Daniel again in Atlantis.[/spoilersold] So, my point is I don't believe that there had been any opportunity for a Sam/Vala dynamic to be worked out, aside from a few comments or glances in a couple scenes. I hope I'm wrong. We'll see.

I'm glad to hear Amanda say that she's feeling a bit more comfortable on set this year. With any luck that comfort will translate on screen to the same extent that her discomfort did last season. That she admits to sometimes feeling like nothing more than a tool that moves the plot along bodes ill, and I'm not sure I see that changing with the way stories are coming these days. Both Vala and Mitchell seem to bring fairly little with them to stories outside of the space they fill, which leaves Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c to explain things and actually progress the plot from A to B to C. Almost by default, the brunt of the Big 3's (as they've so been so aptly dubbed ) time has to be spent doing the work of telling the story, rather than getting some meaty character stuff. It's just the reality of the current set up. I suppose, however, that it might be preferable to playing the buffoon who gets everyone else in trouble.

As an aside, I think that setup described above doesn't work for any of the audience. Fans of Carter, Teal'c, and Daniel are always going to be frustrated with those characters having so little substance to work with. And fans of Mitchell and Vala are going to be frustrated with them always playing the comic relief or uber-cliche. Currently, nobody wins.

And on that note, I think I'll take my leave. I seem to be on a collision course with spaz's trifecta of unspeakables. Ciao.

[minigeek]

I'm glad to hear Amanda say that she's feeling a bit more comfortable on set this year. With any luck that comfort will translate on screen to the same extent that her discomfort did last season. That she admits to sometimes feeling like nothing more than a tool that moves the plot along bodes ill...

That's the point that I actually latched onto with respect to hope. Because if she's saying that it's different for her this year than it was last year (admitting again that last year wasn't so terrific), and that Sam (and Amanda) feel more 'part of the team' again, there will definitely be translation on the screen. I think most of us did perceive Amanda's discomfort last year on the screen (however steep or slight our individual perceptions may have been), and certainly many of us didn't see the kind of team we were used to / hoping for. If nothing else, my take on the interview was that Sam's got a stronger role to play in the overall cohesion and dynamic of the SG-1 family again, or Amanda herself wouldn't juxtapose it with last year's lack thereof. Something to hope for more of, imho.

minigeek

[Uber]

That's the point that I actually latched onto with respect to hope. Because if she's saying that it's different for her this year than it was last year (admitting again that last year wasn't so terrific), and that Sam (and Amanda) feel more 'part of the team' again, there will definitely be translation on the screen. I think most of us did perceive Amanda's discomfort last year on the screen (however steep or slight our individual perceptions may have been), and certainly many of us didn't see the kind of team we were used to / hoping for. If nothing else, my take on the interview was that Sam's got a stronger role to play in the overall cohesion and dynamic of the SG-1 family again, or Amanda herself wouldn't juxtapose it with last year's lack thereof. Something to hope for more of, imho.

minigeek

I agree.

Her discomfort really translated onscreen last year...but then, we are also pretty in tune with her and recognize and can translate her mannerisms and gestures quite easily...so we'd notice this before perhaps Joe Publicviewer might.

And as bothered as I was by her obvious lack of ease, it also made sense to me for Carter to also feel a bit out of sorts given all that had happened to her at the end of the previous season in her personal life...the whole Jack thing, losing her father, dumping Pete, etc...and the beginning of this season, where she believed she had left the SGC for good and was pulled back in because of her sense of duty and responsibility and so forth. It made sense to me that she wouldn't feel entirely comfortable returning to the SGC and eventually SG-1. Amanda's personal misgivings tied in very nicely with Carter's.

All that being said, I am thrilled that she is feeling more in tune with the direction of the show...that she's latched onto Claudia as she has, meaning that she has a solid connection with one of the newcomers that she feels she can build a deep, meaningful and potentially funny relationship off of as well...because I don't have the sense that either Sam or Amanda have found that connection with Beau/Landry, Lexa/Caroline or Ben/Mitchell.

My sense is that she has found a connection with Claudia/Vala from which to expand and develop Sam further...and that actually makes me hopeful for next year as I love both Amanda and Claudia (Amanda a bit more though of course ) and I'm delighted that I could have my dream team/angsty/slightly antagonistic/potentially really funny friendship pairing on my favorite show.

[the dancer of spaz]

Hmm...what to say about the interview? Well, as always, it's nice to hear from Amanda Tapping. I've never found GateWorld's interviews to be particularly in depth or penetrating, so I can't say I'm disappointed in the lack of substance, but I do agree that this one is "fluffier" than usual. I think that part of the problem is that so many interviews with the cast and crew are published far too late to be relevant. Holding interviews for months may help the site ration its "exclusive" content and help guarantee a certain amount of hits to the site over the course of a year, but it's not the best way to deliver timely or meaningful commentary.

As for what Amanda herself had to say, well, I think she was speaking more from hope than she was from any sort of reality on set. No doubt she and Claudia are going to do their best to add some layers to the Sam/Vala relationship, but at the time this interview was given I just don't see how she could be speaking with any kind of certainty. [spoilersold]Flesh and Blood has Vala off with Daniel and Adria on the Ori ship, Morpheus has Vala alone (?) on base for psych review with everyone else off-world, and Pegasus Project has Vala off with Daniel again in Atlantis.[/spoilersold] So, my point is I don't believe that there had been any opportunity for a Sam/Vala dynamic to be worked out, aside from a few comments or glances in a couple scenes. I hope I'm wrong. We'll see.

I'm glad to hear Amanda say that she's feeling a bit more comfortable on set this year. With any luck that comfort will translate on screen to the same extent that her discomfort did last season. That she admits to sometimes feeling like nothing more than a tool that moves the plot along bodes ill, and I'm not sure I see that changing with the way stories are coming these days. Both Vala and Mitchell seem to bring fairly little with them to stories outside of the space they fill, which leaves Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c to explain things and actually progress the plot from A to B to C. Almost by default, the brunt of the Big 3's (as they've so been so aptly dubbed ) time has to be spent doing the work of telling the story, rather than getting some meaty character stuff. It's just the reality of the current set up. I suppose, however, that it might be preferable to playing the buffoon who gets everyone else in trouble.

Well said, golfbooy. The interview was really great, and it's always nice to hear about AT's thoughts and insight. But, like you pointed out, it was too early in the game for us to be given any real examples of facts. Hopefully, by July, we'll be given enough information, so we can truly determine how involved AT/Sam will be. Hope is great, but actuality is better.

Unfortunately, these days we no longer have the luxury of reading everything and taking it at face value. We kinda have to read between the lines of nearly every interview to get the (potential) full meaning.

I dunno about anyone else, but it's rather tiresome.

And on that note, I think I'll take my leave. I seem to be on a collision course with spaz's trifecta of unspeakables. Ciao.

*snerks*

Oh, you know you want to take a gander or three.

[majorsal]

spoilers for fanfic 'wings of the apocalypse'

Spoiler:

i'm not sure i got the link for that fic from here, but i finally finished reading that long fic last night...

wow!

i loved what was done with sam! i like that meaty, broken-like sam.

it really was a very different and melancholy fic. MORE!!

sally

[minigeek]

Her discomfort really translated onscreen last year...but then, we are also pretty in tune with her and recognize and can translate her mannerisms and gestures quite easily...so we'd notice this before perhaps Joe Publicviewer might.

Nope, very true. Joe Public would just think they didn't like the show as much as before, they'd think the characters had gotten 'boring' and not really analyze why. That happened to a lot of long-time Joe Public fans last year, I'm afraid.

And as bothered as I was by her obvious lack of ease, it also made sense to me for Carter to also feel a bit out of sorts given all that had happened to her at the end of the previous season in her personal life...the whole Jack thing, losing her father, dumping Pete, etc...and the beginning of this season, where she believed she had left the SGC for good and was pulled back in because of her sense of duty and responsibility and so forth. It made sense to me that she wouldn't feel entirely comfortable returning to the SGC and eventually SG-1. Amanda's personal misgivings tied in very nicely with Carter's.

Wellllll.... there's discomfort fitting in, as an actor, and there's discomfort fitting in as a character. You were far more willing to let Amanda's discomfort translate that way for you because you knew the score; knew Amanda and knew the storyline inside and out. That Joe Public person you mentioned earlier wouldn't have. Now, I adore Amanda's professional work, don't get me wrong, but the ENTIRE TEAM last year looked... like the director needed... direction. There was a lot of stilted dialogue, scenes that didn't gel or make emotional sense, and that's where the line between actor-discomfort and character-discomfort is drawn.

For an actor, an emotion is a tool, and if you're seeing it too much, or it's not calculated into your scene-work precisely, it can be an energy force that's not necessarily positive to your character's expression (even if your character is supposed to feel that particular emotion). It's not quite so cut and dry that you can say Amanda was uncomfortable, but that's OK because Sam Carter was supposed to be uncomfortable too, so it all worked out. It doesn't actually work out quite so well because the 'real' actor's emotion doesn't automatically translate into a perfect character emotion without a lot of thought and assistance from the actor. If you can tell that the actor is feeling something (above the character), you've got an issue that needs dealing with, externally to the scene. And that would normally be where a director comes in, if they have the means to help sort it out, and/or if they don't glance over it and hope it just goes away on its own.

Likewise with the rest of the team, it wasn't just Sam that was out of sorts last year. Season nine (for me and I know others) just didn't gel the way it had in previous years, the old sparkle between the characters was gone. We saw it maybe twice or three times the entire season, and we missed it - desperately. (A great many of us, in any event).

Tough nut to latch onto and crack. But hopefully next year, not quite so huge.


mg

[binkpmmc]

Another couple of question for AT at the next con -

After the big deal made with Carter and her motorcylce riding abilities and the leather and the helmet in the Space Race scenes, the scene with the Indian and Siler helping Carter work on it several seasons back, etc., Carter is the motorcylce junkie, what were your thoughts when the big MOTORCYCLE chase scene was made available from Momento Mori and it was NOT Carter?

Are there any aspects of Carter's past that are still uniquely Carter's that we will see Carter using in S10 - such as any of the abilities experiences from Jolinar, like the healing device, etc., or will all of that now be vala's as the motorcycle is mitchell's?