Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[ForeverSg1]

I'm assuming this is our first look at S10 promo photos, as I don't recognize the shot of Amanda.

http://forum.gateworld.net/showthread.php?t=29298

Thanks for posting this info Parsifal. Amanda really looks lovely in the photo.

[astrogeologist]

they genuinely don't seem to see anything wrong with the sexist message their choice to remove Sam from command is sending.

And that's amazing to me... how in the world could they do what they did?

This is semi-OT but still has a message for those of us who miss the good old days of Stargate SG1 ...

A sci-fi buddy sent me the DVD set of Season One of The Closer (TNT Cable Channel) with Kyra Sedgwick (Kevin Bacon's wife) starring as Chief Deputy Brenda Johnson. She works an elite homicide unit in L.A. in charge of mostly a bunch of men who hate her guts at first as she is a transfer cop from Atlanta. I just spent six hours watching the first several episodes. I noticed that a few of the shows were written by different women and the producer is a woman.

This show has everything: it's gritty and edgy and the heroine is quirky, tough, vulnerable and smart. As a leader, she knows what she has to do for herself and how to delegate the rest. I love her sizing up a situation/crime scene and then delivering her orders rapid fire. It's rough going at first but she lets her actions speak for themselves (like Sam) and she does get results in the interrogation room (hence the title of the show).

I just thought to myself: what a premier first season! Every character draws you in! I found myself caring about each one of the cops, even the ones whom I would not want on my team. Why do I care? Because they are so well written and are so believable! Solid characterization is everything.

The women writers hold their own with the male writers. The bottom line is a quality product. I'm coming back for S2. No one is written as a caricature or "over the top for a laugh". It's all clever, fast, witty and the heroine tries to hide the chinks in her armor (love of junk food, her past indiscretions, her sometime troublesome need to go it alone). Yet, you see her emotions rise to the surface - she's not afraid to show her anger or compassion.

Seeing a quality product again just made me even more sad about the downhill slide of quality and care in Stargate.

Great post, Chopingal! I agree about The Closer - I've been watching it with either my mom or a friend of mine. (Rooting for the strong female leads).

[astrogeologist]

Love the Sam doing circles in the 302!
I went to the smilies thread, but didn't find it.
Could you share the link?

The animated gif came from one of Forever's posts



http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...gs/SamX302.gif

[sg-1fanintn]

The animated gif came from one of Forever's posts



http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...gs/SamX302.gif

Oh, Astrog, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I went positively wild when I saw this one!

And thanks to you, Kat, for creating it!!!

[ReganX]

And that's amazing to me... how in the world could they do what they did?

A little under a year ago, I would have sworn that TPTB would never have demoted an extremely competent, intelligent, experienced female character in favour of an inexperienced male, regardless of action hero stereotypes.

I honestly don't know if I'm more angry or sad that I was proven wrong.

[stargate barbie]

Based on "Prodigy", there might not be enough space in her lab for them.

I'd be interested in seeing how Sam is viewed in the scientific community outside the Air Force, if she ever published anything - like the book on wormhole physics in "Upgrades".

regarding how sam is viewed in the scientific community;

Felger: "What are you talking about? There's something going on out there."

Coombs: "Oh, please...huh? They're just tired of your butt-snorkeling." (mockingly) "So tell me how you finally defeated Apophis, Colonel O'Neill...Oh, Major Carter, I based my doctoral thesis on your amazing wormhole stability theories..."

now presumably felger would have done his doctoral thesis before getting a job with the SGC, so based on this, i would say she's viewed pretty well and is respected (at least by some) by the scientific community outside of the air force/stargate programme.

[Skydiver]

, but they genuinely don't seem to see anything wrong with the sexist message their choice to remove Sam from command is sending.

that's because they're men. they've never experienced the glass ceiling. never gotten the hand on the knee, the wink-wink-nudge-nudge, never been frozen out of the 'business meeting at hooters' or any other sort of gender based discrimination

they have no idea - nor do they seem to care - that they have writteen/produced/directed a prime example of gender based discrimination and, in thier own way, contributed to thier daughters - any that they have - fighting the same battles that thier wifes are fighting, and women before them

that's why gender based discrimination is so pervasive. folks are insensitive to it.

i still say if sam was a woman of color, or a man of color, cam would never have been her boss because the writers would be sensitive to 'inexperienced white guy being promoted over the man/woman of color' issue.

but since sam is a white female, it's easy to discriminate against her...and not even realize that they're doing it

[ReganX]

that's because they're men. they've never experienced the glass ceiling. never gotten the hand on the knee, the wink-wink-nudge-nudge, never been frozen out of the 'business meeting at hooters' or any other sort of gender based discrimination

they have no idea - nor do they seem to care - that they have writteen/produced/directed a prime example of gender based discrimination and, in thier own way, contributed to thier daughters - any that they have - fighting the same battles that thier wifes are fighting, and women before them

that's why gender based discrimination is so pervasive. folks are insensitive to it.

i still say if sam was a woman of color, or a man of color, cam would never have been her boss because the writers would be sensitive to 'inexperienced white guy being promoted over the man/woman of color' issue.

but since sam is a white female, it's easy to discriminate against her...and not even realize that they're doing it

What I'd like to know is if they would ever do anything about it if it was pointed out to them.

It's a dangerous, irresponsible message to be sending out.

Had Sam (as a female or as a male) been coloured and demoted in favour of a white officer (again, male or female) there would have been an outcry and rightly so.

Even factoring in Amanda Tapping's absence in the first five episodes, they didn't need to demote Sam and Mitchell could have played a valuable role on the team and in the story as a major and as second in command.

They made a conscious choice to demote Sam and to replace her with an inexperienced male hewo and they should be ashamed of themselves.

[Skydiver]

it COULD Have played out so differently, had SOMEONE not been hung up on

male lead must be the boss

that is the crux of the issue. they wanted ben to be ont he show, made a hole for him, forced cameron into the show and ignored that ben was too young to be sam's boss. but wanted cam to be sam's boss, thus forced him into the role.

even ignoreing any other issues folks have with cam, MAJOR MITCHELL would have worked a ton better than lt colonel cambo.

MM could have had that youthful enthusiasm. that 'isn't this cool' attitude.

mitch could have been the boss while sam was gone, then stepped down when she came back. it could have been some great tension between them. who knows best, whose idea is best, mitch having to take a step back. it would have been a fantastic set up for some interpersnal tension...kinda like we had between jack and jonas for parts of s6

but they couldn't/wouldn't do that

instead they shoehorn the HEWO into with little to no concern with how it effects the other characters.

IMHO, the show is worse for it but YMMV

[ReganX]

it COULD Have played out so differently, had SOMEONE not been hung up on

male lead must be the boss

that is the crux of the issue. they wanted ben to be ont he show, made a hole for him, forced cameron into the show and ignored that ben was too young to be sam's boss. but wanted cam to be sam's boss, thus forced him into the role.

even ignoreing any other issues folks have with cam, MAJOR MITCHELL would have worked a ton better than lt colonel cambo.

MM could have had that youthful enthusiasm. that 'isn't this cool' attitude.

mitch could have been the boss while sam was gone, then stepped down when she came back. it could have been some great tension between them. who knows best, whose idea is best, mitch having to take a step back. it would have been a fantastic set up for some interpersnal tension...kinda like we had between jack and jonas for parts of s6

but they couldn't/wouldn't do that

instead they shoehorn the HEWO into with little to no concern with how it effects the other characters.

IMHO, the show is worse for it but YMMV

I agree that the show is worse for it, so much so that I think that no Season Nine would have been better than Season Nine starring Perfect Hewo Mitchell.

I wonder who it was pushed for Mitchell as leader and as star (he was planned as a major at one point, right? Even after Ben Browder was supposed to be joining) Was it the writers, the producers, the execs at the Sci-Fi channel, Ben Browder and/or his agent or a combination of the above?

Technically, Ben Browder is old enough to be a full colonel if they had wanted to introduce Colonel Mitchell of SG-Pick-A-Number who took over leadership of SG-1 and who outranks Sam and has more command experience.

Why the writers insisted on making the character the youngest when the actor is the oldest by a few years is beyond me, but being very qualified at an unusually young age does not seem to be uncommon among Mary Sues and Marty Stus.

[jckfan55]

I don't know how it is in the U.S. but in Canada we just recently lost our first woman soldier in combat, she was a Captain in Afghanastan.

Combat is hard to define these days, what with IEDs blowing up transports. You can be a truck driver and get shot at as one of my former female students has. (edit: or gramatically that should be female former students--she's always been a girl. ) (Luckily she's ok.)

[ann_sgcfan]

The animated gif came from one of Forever's posts



http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...gs/SamX302.gif

Thanks Astro and Forever!!! It's awsome.

[Mandysg1]

Combat is hard to define these days, what with IEDs blowing up transports. You can be a truck driver and get shot at as one of my former female students has. (edit: or gramatically that should be female former students--she's always been a girl. ) (Luckily she's ok.)

Actually this was an actual combat situation a firefight between both sides and she wasn't the only woman fighting at the time.

[jckfan55]

Hmmmmmmmm,



=> by Jeff Hidek from http://www.wilmingtonstar.com

God!! That's just so wrong. They don't know the actual show at all!

I think that's called writing your "story" directly from the press release. (blech)

[Skydiver]

so...since we've all been having fun lamenting any perceived lack of sam in s9 and the potential in s10...what has been y our favorite sam bit from s1-9?

the one moment that, when you think of sam carter, you think of her?