Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[binkpmmc]

snip, snip this to me was the first real sign of the writers (or maybe one writer) making sam into what they want her to be. it seems to me that certain writers feel that its ok to treat women this way, to demean and weaken them and that its ok and its how women either are or should be. and i never had this kind of problem with stargate until season 7. and even then it was just occasional until season 9.

I blame cooper - IMO, based on his interviews, he is weak-kneed, arrogant and doesn't get it (between the crap that went on in chimera and the end of affinity, which AT was against but cooper said should stay in as it was, IMO, he, in 1/2 a season, almost ruined the Carter character, a character that had been built up for 6 1/2 years as an intelligent, individual with self-respect and dignity).

IMO the majority of the immaturity, dumbing down, cliches, caricatures and so-called "fun" is cooper's hand coming through as showrunner (more like run it into the ground). I still find it curious that I really started to see the Carter character falling off and acting hugely out of character (and a general lack in quality for the show as a whole) starting in mid-season 7 after cooper became sole showrunner - if this show dies as a pale shadow of its former self (which I think it will with S10) I will lay the blame at the feet of cooper where it belongs, IMO.

[majorsal]

I felt the same way, SB. That scene really bothered me (for all the reasons you just outlined). I found it OOC for Sam and I didn't think the Pete character was a strong enough or endearing enough character to get away with that kind of attitude. What it seemed to indicate was that Sam was so desperate for a relationship that worked, she sacrificed her pride and her integrity on the alter of hope for 'normalcy'. I didn't hate every scene with Pete, but that one probably 'broke' him (for me) in terms of his viability and believability as a real love interest for Sam Carter.

i've ranted on this subject sooooo much that i'm sure some of you guys are dreading it coming up out of fear of ME replying.

on the same topic, but a different note... what was the purpose of him acting like this, if nothing was going to come of it? if all the writers wanted was a way of pete knowing about this side of sam's life, then they could have found a much *better* and more respectful-to-both-characters way.

i also found it kind of odd that some ppl (behind the scenes) didn't see a prob with his behavior. if pete walked around in 'chimera' with a bird on his shoulder, i would have asked why it's there. i felt the answer would be, 'what bird? oh, that. he just likes birds. it's no big deal. don't overreact to that red herring character trait.'

it really goes hand in hand with foreshadowing. if you -the writer- put something in your story that stands out, even if it's for a moment in time, there's a good chance it'll be used somewhere else down the line. pete's and sam's behaviors in that ep were never addressed.

(i've also seen a bunch of foreshadowing traits in season 9, ALL with the new characters)







sally

[Dawn11]

I'm a fairly new fan to Stargate and was wondering if there was any word on whether or not Sam would actively be on the SG-1 team i.e. going through the gate with team on missions and such. I was also wondering if there was any news on how many episodes Amanda would be in next season. I think she is a great actress and that Sam is one of the strongest parts of the show and I'm a little scared her role will be minimized in favor Vala. I'm fond of Vala too, but I don't want her taking a more prominent role at the sake of Sam! Thanks

[THE BIG UNIT]

Although i believe Brad Wright is definately the better show runner, - and Coopers strength is not that, i thought the first half of season 7 was a bit weak, and was really glad that she got alot of good stories in season 7 and 8.

Season 8 is actually my favourite season, although its because you get the payoff of the storyarcs and what happens to the characters. I really loved how they did season 7 and 8 because Sam, Teal'c and Daniel got so much character work in my opinion, which for sam was needed.

I loved Season 6 like i do all seasons of stargate, its overall storyarc, with the exception of full circle, was done beautifully. They should have paid more attention to how Jonas was integrated into the team for season 9 (hence Wright the better showrunner). But Season 6, like 9 lacked a true SAM episode for me. She did get alot of character work in season 6, she lightened up, became more of a leader and she got close to jonas and much closer to Teal'c but still did not get one episode that i could call a true sam epside. Which is why i love season 7 and 8 so much. although not everything they did was perfect, i personally didn't hate pete, i actually liked him (i must have i soft spot for the Deluise family). He could have been written better. The other thing i thought they missed out on was not dealing with the fact that Daniel did not see sam while he was ascended, That has always really annoyed me.

The great work in my opinion the did for sam in season 7 and 8 they went back to how they did her in season 6 but nowhere near as good. In season 6 sam almost always had a good role, and she did have alot of great moments, unlike 9, they could have made up for the lack of good sam moments by giving her an episode. I was really really disappionted with how she was written back in, she had her command taken away from her without it even being dealt with. The losing of her command is something i will never ever get over. But honestly, it was obvious after watching season 9 that no matter who ran the show, sam was not going to be in command. It's something that i keep thinking about in my head is the fact that the only reason the gave sam command in season 8 is because they thought it was the last, with the stories that were going on at the time, only someone we knew and loved could command it because jack/rda could not be there enough for it (though for a great reason, putting kids first, something i wish more celebrities would do). Hence when the show is pehaps to there surprise (as i belive was evident with how S8 ended) they hired a new male lead to command SG1, even though it makes no sense.
I guess this is the state of tv shows these days, being pushed around by the networks and having to bow down from what i think they wanted to do, since i keep hearing something about a Major Mitchell.

I hope they can recover in season 10 for me like they did in season 7 and 8. because they really need to.

[Agent_Dark]

my first problem with him was the way he treated her the morning after they slept together. first he tried demeaning her about the importance of her job versus the importance of his, then he just stormed off like a spoiled child who didn't get his own way. and to top it all off he won't take or return her calls, follows her, and she just takes him back no questions asked. its the worst writing i've seen in the first eight years of stargate. i know that sam has some personal issues and isn't all that great in dealing with her personal life and all that, but do the writers really want us to believe that she has so many issues and is so insecure that she would just accept this from a guy? nope, they actually didn't see anything wrong with what pete did. huh, turns out is still makes me a little angry today. and i haven't even watched the episode in full for probably a couple of years.

gggrrrr.

You know, as strange as this seems, I believe the writers were able to do a rare bit of consistency there. Completely by accident of course, but still consistent. Sam has never been good in relationships. And as far back as season 1 it was said that she had a habit of getting into relationships that were not good for her (lunatic fringe or the 'needing to fix'). Add in the wierd vibes she had from Martouf and the emotions she had from Jolinar and the whole Jack thing (which I'm not going to go into), Sam fails at the personal life thing. I think it was completely in character for Sam to act the way she did with Pete. And though I really shouldn't have the need to say this, but this is a good thing for us as the viewers because the flaws make the characters more interesting. It's those flaws that make Teal'c and Sam my two favourite characters, because its my opinion that they are the only two characters that are actually presented as having flaws on the show (but like I said, completely by accident. I'm not sure I can give the writers that much credit...)
I also can't pick a least favourite Sam moment, because there are none. Are there things I thought she could have done better? Sure - but thats applying my own biases and opinions. I'm not Sam and Sam is not me, so why should she be doing what I would do?

[Agent_Dark]

I'm a fairly new fan to Stargate and was wondering if there was any word on whether or not Sam would actively be on the SG-1 team i.e. going through the gate with team on missions and such. I was also wondering if there was any news on how many episodes Amanda would be in next season. I think she is a great actress and that Sam is one of the strongest parts of the show and I'm a little scared her role will be minimized in favor Vala. I'm fond of Vala too, but I don't want her taking a more prominent role at the sake of Sam! Thanks

She's definitely part of the team in s10. I don't know if you've been keeping up with spoilers, but there are some interesting ones for Sam

[Dawn11]

thanks Agent Dark. Have the spoilers said anything about whether she'll be in all 20 eps next year?

[Skydiver]

yep, i got the greatest mail

Carmargue Ltd and Gabit Events Ltd are delighted to inform you that
your
application for tickets to the event:: AVALON 2006: in conversation
with
Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping has been successful.

so....whee, we're going!!!!!!!!!!

[LaCroix]

yep, i got the greatest mail

Carmargue Ltd and Gabit Events Ltd are delighted to inform you that
your
application for tickets to the event:: AVALON 2006: in conversation
with
Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping has been successful.

so....whee, we're going!!!!!!!!!!

Very not bad Sky. Will there be reporting afterwards?

Good luck to all others who are hoping to go.

[Skydiver]

IMO the majority of the immaturity, dumbing down, cliches, caricatures and so-called "fun" is cooper's hand coming through as showrunner (more like run it into the ground). I still find it curious that I really started to see the Carter character falling off and acting hugely out of character (and a general lack in quality for the show as a whole) starting in mid-season 7 after cooper became sole showrunner - if this show dies as a pale shadow of its former self (which I think it will with S10) I will lay the blame at the feet of cooper where it belongs, IMO.

i call it 'funning it into the ground'

coop has a bad habit of sacrificing the character for the moment. to hades with the fact that sam carter would never kiss her beau on duty, it was a cool shot to pull out on.

a think a good portion of cam's unevenness is coop's doing. he's letting the writers just do whatever the heck they want with little to no quality control. No one seems to sit down, read each script and go 'dude, you know that cameron is acting like a 15 year old three times in four episodes?' or 'where DID vala get that gun???' or anything else

theyre just cranking it out and not worrying about the pesky details

thing is....we know they can do so much better. thus we know just how poor they ARE doing.

he had an inenviable task to take over a long standing show,b ut instead of respecting it, its actors/characters and fans, he's just on a power trip and indulging himself and his ever shrinking pool of writers/producers

what they really need are producers that are not writers. someone to question and has to be listened to

[chocdoc]

thanks Agent Dark. Have the spoilers said anything about whether she'll be in all 20 eps next year?

Hi Dawn11,

It isn't clear yet. What we know so far is that Sam is in the first 14 episodes of SG-1--as revealed by the spoilers so far, and she definitely continues to be part of the team. So, Vala in no way replaces her on the team.

Also, AT will be in 20 episodes, but some of these episodes may be Atlantis episodes---no info about this has been devulged at this point. Some speculate that she may be on several Atlantis episodes in the second half of season.

[Skydiver]

Very not bad Sky. Will there be reporting afterwards?

Good luck to all others who are hoping to go.

there sure will be

due to limited net access, i doubt there'll be much in england, but there will be reporting after the con

[chocdoc]

yep, i got the greatest mail

Carmargue Ltd and Gabit Events Ltd are delighted to inform you that
your
application for tickets to the event:: AVALON 2006: in conversation
with
Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping has been successful.

so....whee, we're going!!!!!!!!!!

great news, Skydiver! And great news for minigeek too!

[LaCroix]

there sure will be

due to limited net access, i doubt there'll be much in england, but there will be reporting after the con

Thank you.

[Skydiver]

Although i believe Brad Wright is definately the better show runner, - and Coopers strength is not that, i thought the first half of season 7 was a bit weak, and was really glad that she got alot of good stories in season 7 and 8.

coop can be a damn good writer. but a show runner needs to be able to say no. he needs to stand up to the network, to his writers. he needs to be able to get in the head of each character and understand them. he needs to treat each character like they were his favorite.

he needs to know when to take a risk and when to keep things even

coop is a great writer...but, imho, as a show runner he caves too much. he indulges too much, and the characters have suffered for it, especially sam