Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[suse]

the ONLY way that scene woulda worked was if

Spoiler:

baal had vala, daniel, teal'c or cam on thier knees in front of sam with a gun to their head

as it was, dude barrett is just an acquaintance and sam would NOT cave that quickly.

sacrifice sam to facilitate the plot

on the upside, sateda ROCKED!

very good eps

Well, I didn't hate Sateda. Never mind, I'll take this to the ep thread...

I'm still ticked about Insiders. And here I thought they might have a handle on the characters. Gag!!! LOL. Fruedian slip. Meant GaH!

ETA Well Vala wasn't bad. But what they did with Sam...
I can't believe I typed that.

Big fracking plot holes.

Suse
RAGE!

[suse]

There is not enough alcohol in the world to make me enjoy tonight's episode.

I don't know that I will ever watch another Alan McCullough scripted ep because I keep hating them with a violent passion.

Oh geez. Thank GOD it's not just me.

Green Strix, Green!!

Suse

[Lord_Minister]

i do agree with you

vala was very tolerable. little quirky, little annoying, but compared to the plot holes the size of alkash ships, she was ok.

you know, i think that vala is BETTER when daniel is gone.

when he's there she's too nympho and stupid. but when he's gone and she's not playing to him, she's a quirky and tolerable character

thanks for agreeing with me Sky.

[ShimmeringStar]

I know this. I hate mitchell and I pretend he dont even exist. How old is mitchel anyway? like 34?

Going by the S10 ep coming up

Spoiler:

(his 20-year high school class reunion)

that'd put him at 37 now and 38 in '07. *looks around thread* Have we seen/heard anything else canon-wise about his age?

[Gate gal]

S10 Insiders

Spoiler:

*coughs* Though Barrett was an okay character, I did say out loud when that came on "Let Barrett die!" I mean c'mon... she's going to give up the actual codes for Barrett? Where's the suspense? And what made him so special when she just had an intensely indignant scene with him where she proclaimed they were just friends????! (And now that I muse on it... is that another revisionist arc on Sam's romantic history getting ready to come out of the SGC closet??? ) While I understand Sam's compassionate nature and that she couldn't bear the thought of him getting killed, it irks me how can they write her staunchly saying you can kill me one minute, but then breaking down not more than two seconds later when they threaten to kill Barrett. Damn. Kill the characterizations just to move the arcs along so that Ba'al can run off to find the weapon for SG-1 and come back in a later ep.

And the apology to Landry at the end.... Oh hell! Stop making Sam aplogize for her actions!

Sorry. I really looked forward to this one. Had my anticipation level up there. But.... I held my breath for nothing but a few good parts.

RE: "200" promo clip:

Spoiler:

Now I did LOL at the end of the one promo clip where Teal'c is looking down with brow arched at his bare chest in the skimpy outfit!

Tonight's episode:

Spoiler:

I would have prefered Sam downloading the wrong thing as well or just refusing to do anything. For all intensive purposes, she was a prisoner of war. I thought this scene was out of character for Sam. This was my biggest problem with tonight's episode. Other than that scene and Vala leading the marines, there were some good moments. I liked the Sam and Vala interaction. It certainly looks like they are friends, and I think Vala trusts Sam. She did go with her verses staying with the men during their search for Ba'al. I want to see more of that!

I liked tonight's episode, but it wasn't as good as last week (IMO).

Spoiler:

On the leadership issue, I am relieved. I expected it to be a lot worse. No team leader is better than a Cam leader, Sam 2IC combo. I still wish Sam had stayed the undisputed leader, but, again, it could have been worse.

[nell]

Sacrifice is the right word Sky, yes.

Spoiler:

They softened her, which just seemed so... blah... I just didn't buy that she would do that so quickly. Then again, honestly, it is in Sam's character to not want to risk lives. And, based on the way the Ba'als were acting, they were serious. It is her job to protect SGC personnel, and if Anubis couldn't find the planets (though I can't remember why he would have been looking for the planets in question), it is unlikely that, out of all of those thousands of planets, Ba'al will find it very quickly. He claims to have information, but we don't know that for sure...

I just think it WAS in Sam's character to minimize the casualties as best as she could and buy time, though I DEFINITELY wish she'd given them bogus data.

Oh well...

So help me, if next week in "Uninvited"...

Spoiler:

They write Sam as unable to handle the situation at the SGC without calling Landry and Cameron, who will already be bogged down by crises of their own...

... Grr. That's all I have to say.


Again, on a positive note about tonight's episode...

Spoiler:

I know Sky will vehemently disagree with me , but Vala is growing on me. When she's not talking about sex or obsessing about Daniel, I find her very endearing. There's a moment when Vala is trying (and failing) to arm wrestle Teal'c which is pretty hilarious.

And I thought it was kinda funny when Vala came prancing into the Gateroom with Sam trailing behind - makes you wonder if Sam helped her get dressed picked out her clothes for her. <--- that was for you, AD and Myrth.

All in all, I've gotta say that Vala is showing that she's a team player.

I agree that Vala

Spoiler:

is growing a little bit on me, too. She is really trying to be a team member. My problem is that she is getting alot of responsibility for a newcomer compared to our Sam throughout her years on SG-1. And how about compared to Jonas even....Remember how hard Jonas had to work to be accepted on SG-1? He was truly heroic at times but he was always a subordinate.

[the dancer of spaz]

About the...

Spoiler:

Sam being incapacitated too early thing...

I'm watching the ep again right now, and I'm wondering why Sam - you know, the one with ten years of experience with foothold sits, etc. - wouldn't take one of the SF's sidearms when she met them in the hall.

The whole first airing, I was wondering why the HECK Sam wasn't armed. And, after watching it again, you can see that she had the perfect opportunity to get SOME kind of weapon.

Alas, this was just one of those ridiculous plot devices where they needed Sam unarmed so they could sneak up on her (what the BIG F was that SF doing when he was following her??!) and move the plot along, blah blah...

And she didn't break herself out of her lab. She broke out of a contained room in the Prometheus, and she can kick butt with her hands tied behind her back, but she can't break herself out of her lab or come up with a way to stop the Ba'als from breaking free?

I'm becoming complacent, because all I can say after all of this is, "Oh well..." And I'm even more worried about next week now.

[suse]

Going by the S10 ep coming up

Spoiler:

(his 20-year high school class reunion)

that'd put him at 37 now and 38 in '07. *looks around thread* Have we seen/heard anything else canon-wise about his age?

Well, he might be older. Like if he failed a few years. Not likely though. And that wouldn't help the TIS issure.

Suse

[Uber]

There is not enough alcohol in the world to make me enjoy tonight's episode.

I don't know that I will ever watch another Alan McCullough scripted ep because I keep hating them with a violent passion.

Okay...but how did you feel about it?

LOL

[suse]

About the...

Spoiler:

Sam being incapacitated too early thing...

I'm watching the ep again right now, and I'm wondering why Sam - you know, the one with ten years of experience with foothold sits, etc. - wouldn't take one of the SF's sidearms when she met them in the hall.

The whole first airing, I was wondering why the HECK Sam wasn't armed. And, after watching it again, you can see that she had the perfect opportunity to get SOME kind of weapon.

Alas, this was just one of those ridiculous plot devices where they needed Sam unarmed so they could sneak up on her (what the BIG F was that SF doing when he was following her??!) and move the plot along, blah blah...

And she didn't break herself out of her lab. She broke out of a contained room in the Prometheus, and she can kick butt with her hands tied behind her back, but she can't break herself out of her lab or come up with a way to stop the Ba'als from breaking free?

I'm becoming complacent, because all I can say after all of this is, "Oh well..." And I'm even more worried about next week now.

Spaz! PLease rage! I cannot believe....

Spoiler:

Sam
1. Would never give Baal that info. It's more important thatn one person, even the base.

2. Learned her lesson about giving the
enemywhocouldnotgetaway" information that compromises security in Gemini.

3. Would be able to use the computer (souldn't it be linked?) to communicate.
4. Should be able to jury-rig the door with all those things to scavenge in that room.

Suse

[the dancer of spaz]

Spaz! PLease rage! I cannot believe....

Spoiler:

Sam
1. Would never give Baal that info. It's more important thatn one person, even the base.

2. Learned her lesson about giving the
enemywhocouldnotgetaway" information that compromises security in Gemini.

3. Would be able to use the computer (souldn't it be linked?) to communicate.
4. Should be able to jury-rig the door with all those things to scavenge in that room.

Suse

::nods::

I know suse. I should be raging. I keep thinking of more and more things to be raging about, but I just can't bring myself to do it...

Perhaps I need an intervention...

Oh, and...

Spoiler:

It wasn't her lab that she was locked in - it was a supply closet of some kind.

And Ba'al's supposedly back in a few weeks. I totally forgot about that.

[L.A. Doyle]

I have said this before but I believe that it was RDA's intention to have Amanda take over that role as the emotional core. It would have made sense because of her strong ties to both of the others and she could have served to help better integrate the new characters.

It makes sense to have Amanda as the emotional core. I mean everyone, down to the crew, has wonderful things to say about her. That translates onto the screen. That is one of the reasons SG is enjoyable to watch-the connection you feel with the characters. Sam does already have ties to all of them. When you bring in someone new and try(too hard) to make them the emotional center, there is no cohension among the cast, and that translates on screen as well. That's why S9 was so hard to watch. Things just weren't 'together'.

[Lida]

Aw, give the guy a break. I liked the way Sam is interacting with Vala and it was made very clear that Cam isn't really the leader, sorta. Come on guys.......I'm doing my walk on in a few weeks, ya gotta keep watching!!!!! Don't ya wanta see me make a total fool of myself on TV????? That alone will be worth it, right???

Ok, so Alan isn't my favorite writer.....I still need my weekly dose of Sam. Shoot me.

[L.A. Doyle]

I always found it funny when people commented on the fact that their was no lead character. No matter what your personal preference was it was evident that RDA was the lead.

I don't know. Sure his name was on the box, but I always felt it was a 'team' show. Everyone got to shine in the limelight. Not like the 'Cam Mitchell Show' which is what I felt like S9 was.

[Uber]

Okay I see what people are saying. Here's my perspective:

Spoiler:

My sense was that Ba'al already dug up the information and all he (they) needed was the password, so to speak. Sam wasn't willing to give it up to save her own life but did do it for the sake of others.

I didn't have a problem with that. One of the Ba'als was leaving to go kill one of the hostages right then and there. She knew that her team was trying to rescue her and contain the situation and needed to stall for time.

Here's my problem. I had hoped that perhaps she had piggybacked something to render the disk unusable since it's clear she had done something to slow down the download rate. But...oh well.

I think from her perspective, she was stalling for time so the others could get to her and contain all the clones. They then could retrieve the disk...so no harm no foul. I still would have loved it if she had sabotaged the disk though.

The writers like putting them in this situation, don't they? Where they're forced to cooperate with an untrustworthy being or beings and then get suckerpunched in the end. I think, when cleverly done, it's thoroughly entertaining. SGA's Coup d' Etat was a great example. Insiders...sadly...was not. There were just way too many plot holes in this one.

And don't get me started on Vala taking point for a team of well-trained SFs...especially when they don't even trust her with a P-90.

The leadership thing...well, that certainly didn't look like Landry's cabin unless he's done a heck of a renovation job. As for the beat itself...again. It's just way to freakin' little way too freakin' late. It was Sam's command and the show would have done JUST FINE adding a Major Mitchell to the mix. If this is how they deal with what is clearly a volatile fandom issue, I shudder to think of how they will massacre any ship resolution.

Something to consider...Sam did say that Anubis also had had the knowledge of all these worlds and didn't know where this weapon was. Moderately consoling but...I still would have loved it if she had rigged the disk unusable. But then I've said that three times now so I guess you've figured out that I mean it.

Most of Sam's character beats worked great. The ones with Vala were particularly good. Same with Barrett. Great energy running there. The ones with Mitchell? Not so much. They felt forced...but then they always do with him.

I would have liked it if Barrett had turned out to be the Alpha Ba'al, not another brainwashing story...but that kind of requires depth and creativity...so...not holding my breath there.

And I understand those who said they thought it was odd that Sam didn't say anything regarding Malcolm's eruption. My perception was that she probably saw it as extremely out of character and chalked it up to him being under a lot of pressure. Later on when she puts the pieces together about what happened though, I think she factored that in as part of the side affects of his programming.

And please...make Mitchell stop trying to be funny. It makes me want to shoot him. More.