Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Skydiver]

as much as i am not a fan of coop and his view on females - as evidenced by the images of the ones he's in chrge of - i do have to wonder if s9 started out with them trying to help a friend.

they knew that AT was gonna have a hard time balancing baby and job and tried to balance the two full time jobs by taking her from the center stage and putting her in a less demanding area

but, with typical male clumsiness and their own - to me - total lack of empathy and foresight, what may have started out as a nice thing turned into 'damn, it's sooo much easier to only juggle 4 actors, and look, vala's so much fun, and let's not forget our newest and bestest white male action hewo (and i fully have the opinion that the writers were soooo living out thier own fantasies through cameron.) and so instead of treating AT and Sam with respect, what they ended up doing was taking the easy way out and keeping her in the background...until they needed someone to crank out all that necessary exposition that none of htier new and sniny actors could do. then, when the deadline was nigh, the same character that was no fun to play with is vitally important because she could bail the new ones (and thier lack fo abilitiy) out.

basically, i think what started out as a nice thing (and i do think that there was the hope that AT wouldn't come back, thus making their lives easier) ended up being a total slap in the face when the typical male arrogance and self-centered ness that runs rife at bridge studios came to the fore

[JenniferJF]

as much as i am not a fan of coop and his view on females - as evidenced by the images of the ones he's in chrge of - i do have to wonder if s9 started out with them trying to help a friend.

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(and i fully have the opinion that the writers were soooo living out thier own fantasies through cameron.)

<cut>

basically, i think what started out as a nice thing (and i do think that there was the hope that AT wouldn't come back, thus making their lives easier) ended up being a total slap in the face when the typical male arrogance and self-centered ness that runs rife at bridge studios came to the fore

I can't help remembering my theory of Pete and that whole thread as a "Mary Jane" when I read your post. Which is to say, if they'd done it before, maybe they've done it again, and that would explain a LOT.

Definitely food for thought,

[Melora]

as much as i am not a fan of coop and his view on females - as evidenced by the images of the ones he's in chrge of - i do have to wonder if s9 started out with them trying to help a friend.

they knew that AT was gonna have a hard time balancing baby and job and tried to balance the two full time jobs by taking her from the center stage and putting her in a less demanding area

but, with typical male clumsiness and their own - to me - total lack of empathy and foresight, what may have started out as a nice thing turned into 'damn, it's sooo much easier to only juggle 4 actors, and look, vala's so much fun, and let's not forget our newest and bestest white male action hewo (and i fully have the opinion that the writers were soooo living out thier own fantasies through cameron.) and so instead of treating AT and Sam with respect, what they ended up doing was taking the easy way out and keeping her in the background...until they needed someone to crank out all that necessary exposition that none of htier new and sniny actors could do. then, when the deadline was nigh, the same character that was no fun to play with is vitally important because she could bail the new ones (and thier lack fo abilitiy) out.

basically, i think what started out as a nice thing (and i do think that there was the hope that AT wouldn't come back, thus making their lives easier) ended up being a total slap in the face when the typical male arrogance and self-centered ness that runs rife at bridge studios came to the fore

I completely agree with this. I truly think TPTB were trying to give AT a lighter load because she was coming back to work so soon after having a baby. I think they knew how difficult it would be for her and wanted to help out. In fact, I read an interview somewhere that said AT was only working about four days a week when she first came back. It is understandable that they would not want to give her a lot of dialogue/storylines at first.

My problem is that they went about it poorly (and as you stated with a “total lack of empathy and foresight”). RDA cut back his schedule some in season 6. When he was not around, they always had a good explanation for why he was not on screen - sometimes writing complete story arcs around his character to do so. In season 7, he cut back his schedule even more and they still found interesting ways to explain why he was not on screen as much. This season, MS is not going to be in two episodes in the second half where his absence seems to warrant a whole new character arc.

Having said that, there were times when TPTB didn’t work too hard to explain actor’s absences through the years (MS’s earlier absences this season come to mind). But when one of your lead actors is gone for five episodes, you would think they would come up with something better than they did for Sam.

They knew AT was coming back and they knew she was going to have a reduced schedule for a while. Yet, they chose to explain Sam’s absence in a rather boring way and then proceeded to ignore her character and transform her back into “exposition girl.”

In other words, when RDA reduced his schedule TPTB often molded the show around his absence (Frozen/Nightwalkers, Smoke & Mirrors, Fragile Balance) and gave good reasons for his being gone. It seems they are doing the same for MS in the back half of season 10. It irritates me that they didn’t do the same for Carter and it irritates me even more that they continued to push her character into the background after AT was back full time.

I really applaud AT for making the most of the situation and trying to do the best with what she has been given for the past two seasons. I also really admire her for being so gracious about it. A lot of actors might have whined and complained about having their role reduced so drastically. Although she seems to be less than pleased about it, she still has made the best with what she has been given and tried to focus on the positives.

[Skydiver]

good point, and yes, when rda took time off, they explained it. (heck, it even became part of the jack storyline - frozen/kanan issues)

ms took time off and they explained him being gone. and that was for just 2 eps this season, 2 more to come

they KNEW at the end of s8 that AT was going to miss the beginning of s9. heck, she was visibly preggers at the end of the season, so they had ample time to think up a good reason for her to be gone.

but they didn't do that. they didn't even TRY to come up wiht a rational explanation. they just pushed her to the side and turned the whole of thier attention towards vala and cam and their bright shiny 'it'ssoooo cool' storyline

I look at other actresses/actors and thier life issues and the show. Look at how CB's pregnancy changed the show, or how gillian anderson's pregnancy changed the whole show. Nana visitor's pregnancy fired off a whole are for her character and Keiko and O'Brian

AT's pregnancy absence is another tick in the 'wasted opportunities' column for coop and the boys. They had the opportunity to make some lemonade from the 'lemon' of at's/sam's absence...but instead of taking advantage of it - and doing a little creative thinking/plotting - they instead took the easy way out and likely said 'eh, everyone will be so inlove with vala that they'll never even notice that she's gone' and didn't bother to take advantage of the golden opportunity they had.

the cynic in me has to wonder how much of a coincidence it is that when the BOYS take time off, coop comes up with an explanation, but when it's the girls they don't even bother

[scarimor]

I am glad they didn't write a baby-arc for Sam to account for AT's pregnancy. Other than that, I do wish some kind of story had evolved from her maternity leave. Perhaps we got the lesser of two evils.

[ForeverSg1]

as much as i am not a fan of coop and his view on females - as evidenced by the images of the ones he's in chrge of - i do have to wonder if s9 started out with them trying to help a friend.

they knew that AT was gonna have a hard time balancing baby and job and tried to balance the two full time jobs by taking her from the center stage and putting her in a less demanding area

but, with typical male clumsiness and their own - to me - total lack of empathy and foresight, what may have started out as a nice thing turned into 'damn, it's sooo much easier to only juggle 4 actors, and look, vala's so much fun, and let's not forget our newest and bestest white male action hewo (and i fully have the opinion that the writers were soooo living out thier own fantasies through cameron.) and so instead of treating AT and Sam with respect, what they ended up doing was taking the easy way out and keeping her in the background...until they needed someone to crank out all that necessary exposition that none of htier new and sniny actors could do. then, when the deadline was nigh, the same character that was no fun to play with is vitally important because she could bail the new ones (and thier lack fo abilitiy) out.

basically, i think what started out as a nice thing (and i do think that there was the hope that AT wouldn't come back, thus making their lives easier) ended up being a total slap in the face when the typical male arrogance and self-centered ness that runs rife at bridge studios came to the fore

I'm sorry I may have misunderstood your comments, but they seemed a bit harsh to me. I understand we all love Sam/Amanda and many of us feel that she may have been treated quite poorly when she returned in season nine, but we really don't know if any of the actors were even given a chance to try to do exposition so therefore its complete conjecture that none of the shiny new actors could do it. I think this statement belittles the acting abilities of the other actors and that's really not fair. Like Amanda, they are all doing the best they can with the scripts they have been given. I'm sure they would all be quite capable of wowing us if given the right script.

I understand everyone has been on edge since the beginning of season nine. Some of are disappointed with the direction the show has taken the past two seasons. Others are angry that the writers wrote Sam's return so poorly. Many of us are frustrated that the writers have chosen to simply ignore major character story arcs in order to allow their their new show to progress as well as sidelined several long term characters in order to highlight the new ones, but let's try to not suggest that the actors themselves are not capable of doing as good of a job as Amanda. I really do not want this thread to become like other forums where the actors are belittled in order to make the majority favorite look good. All of the actors have done an amazing job with what they have been given the past few seasons and hopefully if they do make a few more movies, the writers will finally have time to sit back and think about the story arc and dialogue and create a fantastic movie that utilizes all of the characters well.

As disappointed as I am with the past two seasons, I know that most of the Stargate writers are extremely talented and quite capable of writing wonderful detailed storylines when they aren't being forced to produce forty hours of television within a twelve months time period. My hope is that with SG-1 cancelled, Brad and Rob will finally have the breathing room necessary to really sit down and flesh out several amazing movie scripts that allow all of the actors/characters to shine, because I really don't want SG-1 to end on a negative note.

Once again if I completely misunderstood what you were trying to imply, Sky, then I truly apologize, but it did come across as rather harsh to me.

[Melora]

I am glad they didn't write a baby-arc for Sam to account for AT's pregnancy. Other than that, I do wish some kind of story had evolved from her maternity leave. Perhaps we got the lesser of two evils.

I agree. I was relieved when they didn't write AT's pregnancy into the show b/c it has been done so often on other shows and usually not very well. But it was an opportunity to come up with an interesting story arc for Sam that could have continued into seasons 9 and 10. I guess my point is that even if the actor is unavailable, the writers can still tell interesting stories about his or her character and keep the character included in the overall story arc in some way. That way, when the actor comes back, the character can slide back into the story seamlessly.

In the first half of season 9 it was like -

Spoiler:

The writers went, 'Sam's back... we have to figure out what to do with her and explain where she's been.'
'Where has she been again?'
'At Area 51.'
'Oh, right. Why do we need her now?'
'Hell if I know, but we have to write her back into the story b/c AT's back and Sam has a lot of fans who will be upset if we don't.'

I think one of the reasons AT had a difficult time adjusting in season 9 was b/c the writers were not interested in making her character an active part of the story. They provided uninteresting and irrational reasons for her character to be absent and also for wanting to return to the SGC. When they did try to tie her into the story (TFH and Orlin), it was done by making her a passive character instead of one of the protagonists. They did show some improvement in this regard in the last half of season 9 and in season 10, but they still have not completely remedied it.

And I think that is one of my greatest complaints about season 9 (besides the Ori). Sam has always been an active participant in the story and in the team, whether the story focused on her character or not. In season 9, they got into the habit of making Sam either: 1) the one who watches and lends support to the protagonist or 2) exposition girl.

The sad part is that TPTB could have easily avoided this if they had thought things through a little better and had the will to do it. Apparently, they didn't.

End rant.

[ReganX]

The sad part is that TPTB could have easily avoided this if they had thought things through a little better and had the will to do it. Apparently, they didn't.

And now the show's been cancelled.

I don't think that lack of Sam was the sole factor in this any more than the presence of Mitchell and Vala was, but I doubt that it helped.

If TPTB had had the sense to take advantage of (a) the fantastic character they had, (b) the amazing actress playing her and (c) the sizeable fanbase that Sam and AT have gathered, and given both character and actress a real part to play in the show, they could well have been planning Season Eleven now.

[Skydiver]

one reason they didn't write AT's pregnancy into the show and make sam preggers is because at wouldn't let them.

many years ago when asked about starting a family, AT said that it'd wait until she was off the show because she was not only afriad how the writers would handle it she also wasn't sure about balancing two full time jobs - being on the show, being a mommy and not wanting to do either only half way

as to the other charaters, i'm not disparaging the other actors' abilities, but the CHARACTERS.

can you see DAniel technobabbling? Is it believable that, even with all his phd's, he can also be a tech expert? Or vala, the person that can't even get a hang on earth slang, or cameron, who is typecast as the 'smart but cocky WMAH' spouting technical jargon? and teal'c????can you honestly see Teal'c delivering the plot necessary exposition???? heck, it's a red letter day when they give teal'c more than two lines per episode

basically, sam isn't good enough to have a storyline of her own (unless she's someone's girlfriend) but she is surely the go-to girl when they need some technobabble to further the plot and explain things.

None of the existing characters are able to do that, so sam gets used to cover it.

[Skydiver]

i don't know if i would go so far as to say 'had sam had a storyline, we'd have a s11'

but i do think that oen thing so many fans miss is interactions between teh characters. Vala and Sam exchanging an 'we're both ex-host' looks. or sam and teal'c setting cameron up for a joke, or daniel and sam taking vala out to dinner or any of them seeming to give a fig about the others.

it seems like, in the drive tomake the show generic and less actor dependant, they removed a chunk of the appeal - which was those very same characters and character interactions, and turned the show into template tv. and turned the roles and characters into generic stereotypes.

generic is boring.

I will admit, had sam had more than a background role, there was probably more of s9 that i'd have enjoyed. but the whole fate of the show doesnt' rest on her shoulders. it's a combo of weak stories, weak characters and weak storytelling, all of which have combined to make a weak show

[Gate gal]

good point, and yes, when rda took time off, they explained it. (heck, it even became part of the jack storyline - frozen/kanan issues)

ms took time off and they explained him being gone. and that was for just 2 eps this season, 2 more to come

they KNEW at the end of s8 that AT was going to miss the beginning of s9. heck, she was visibly preggers at the end of the season, so they had ample time to think up a good reason for her to be gone.

I'm glad she didn't get stuck with the story line that CB got stuck with (Adria), but they could have done something. I'd have loved it if they hadn't killed Replicarter.

Spoiler:

Replicarter could have taken Sam and Jack at the end of season 9. (They could have cut Citizen Joe, and bumped up Threads and Moebius.) That would have accounted for the lack of both characters at the beginning of 9 then RDA's brief appearances could have been postponed until Amanda's maternity leave was over. It wouldn't even have to be shippy. They could have done it in a friendship only way if that is what TPTB wanted. It would have even made Major Cam a more acceptable hero if he had rescued Sam. Plus, we would have gotten some nice Replicarter moments from Amanda in season 9.

[ReganX]

I'm glad she didn't get stuck with the story line that CB got stuck with (Adria), but they could have done something. I'd have loved it if they hadn't killed Replicarter.

Spoiler:

Replicarter could have taken Sam and Jack at the end of season 9. (They could have cut Citizen Joe, and bumped up Threads and Moebius.) That would have accounted for the lack of both characters at the beginning of 9 then RDA's brief appearances could have been postponed until Amanda's maternity leave was over. It wouldn't even have to be shippy. They could have done it in a friendship only way if that is what TPTB wanted. It would have even made Major Cam a more acceptable hero if he had rescued Sam. Plus, we would have gotten some nice Replicarter moments from Amanda in season 9.

Spoiler:

I think I would have preferred if Major Mitchell was part of a rescue mission along with Daniel, Teal'c and possibly Vala rather than the sole rescuer.

Actually, I'd prefer it if Sam and Jack did a lot of the work of rescuing themselves.

[Skydiver]

i'm still fond of the

sam got injured and was off duty storyline

or what if, after threads, the tok'ra needed help and sam went off to help them - bonus points if it was an undercover mission, and then have the boys run into her in beach head (kinda like they've done with Olivia in L&O SVU)

writing her out is fine, just write her out for a reason

[ReganX]

i'm still fond of the

sam got injured and was off duty storyline

or what if, after threads, the tok'ra needed help and sam went off to help them - bonus points if it was an undercover mission, and then have the boys run into her in beach head (kinda like they've done with Olivia in L&O SVU)

writing her out is fine, just write her out for a reason

There are a lot of things they could have done. Sam could have been injured, she could have had the flu, she could have been captured or missing, she could have been off helping the Tok'ra or the Asgard, she might have had to join the crew of the Daedalus on one of their missions - even the transferred to Area 51 storyline could have worked if it had been made clear that it was a temporary assignment and that she would be back on SG-1 as soon as her project was finished.

The events of the first five episodes could have taken place over a very short period of time - a few days for the first three eps, then another week or two for eps four and five.

Of course, those scenarios wouldn't have allowed them to demote her in favour of the shiny new male hewo.

[Gate gal]

Spoiler:

I think I would have preferred if Major Mitchell was part of a rescue mission along with Daniel, Teal'c and possibly Vala rather than the sole rescuer.

Actually, I'd prefer it if Sam and Jack did a lot of the work of rescuing themselves.

I'm with you. I was just going with TPTB's insanity for a moment. Your way is much better. I really wish he were a major. That would have solved so many of my problems with the character.