Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[minigeek]

I found the Pete character mawkish, stereotypical and fairly useless - and believe it or not that is not my 'shipper' point of view. I'm not the kind of viewer who'd "hate" anyone paired off with Sam or Jack because I like the two of them together in terms of chemistry. I look at each character individually, as a character in a story, and Pete was a major waste of space, if you ask me. Even recognizing the fact that he was invented to be canon fodder, he was written so insipidly, it didn't even matter.

Kerry Johnson, on the other hand, is a character I think has (had?) amazing potential and I would have liked to have seen a lot more of her. Of course, that's assuming the writing for her wouldn't have descended into CIA-Barbie, vis-a-vis her relationship with Jack and the fact that the writers can't seem to write any female character on that show in a position to retain her professional and personal integrity as soon as she's "hooked up" with a romantic interest in her life. but yeah.... assuming some alternate reality here..... Kerry'd have been really cool to see more of (written well). And especially because I think she was a strong enough character to have great interaction with Carter, professionally. IMHO, bringing her on as a regular would have been a better story decision than the Vala arc (no offence to Vala/CB fans, because I think CB is a great actress), I'm just talking characters here, and intelligent story potential.

mg

[ReganX]

setting him up as sam's boyfriend did make him vulnerable. and then that vulnerability was accentuated by the plot hole of how he found hte stake out and his 'morning after' tantrum

had they considered - and they should have known better, they've had enough experience with fans to know ANYONE paired with sam or jack well be open to much crit - pete's vulnerability and iron clad the character a bit, perhaps he could have fared better

I think that one problem TPTB can have is that they take a short term view too often without looking ahead and they will sacrifice the characters to accomodate the plot if needs be.

Using "Heroes" as an example, killing Janet definitely had an impact and I understand that they probably wanted to show the grim realities of war but on the other hand, I would say that the show has definitely suffered since losing Janet's character.

Mitchell was not introduced as a character who was sustainable long term. Maybe they could have gotten away with it if he was to be around for the five episodes Sam was absent for before moving on/being killed/fading into the background, but I don't think that he was given the depth a permanent addition to the cast needed.

With Pete, the character could have been introduced slowly, shown to be dating Sam in his first episode before he found out about the SGC further down the line, by accident or through curiousity born out of concern for Sam. Instead, they went from what looked like the early stages of dating, to sleeping together, to Pete's tantrum and then investigating Sam within one episode.

[suse]

I think that TPTB wanted to have the dramatic impact of the death of a beloved character but at the same time, I'm not sure that they thought about how it would affect the show further down the line. Although I quite liked what little I saw of Dr Brightman and can tolerate Lam, neither of them come anywhere close to matching Janet, either in terms of her character or her bond with SG-1.

Then again, didn't they intend for Season Seven to be the last? Maybe they thought that they wouldn't need her.

That's exactly what it was. Because they filmed Heroes over a 4 month period they had already filmed her death scene by the time renewal came about. Ooops. Sorry, Teryl. If we'd known we'd never have killed Janet off. Amazing the ep was so well put together to be done piece-meal like that. Yes, I know, I'm probably one of the few who liked the ep. And didn't really mind Janet dying,They thought it was over, these things happen though I with I hadn't been spoiled.


Suse

[minigeek]

CAPTIONARY !

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[majorsal]

If it's AU, Pete need not have been involved with Sam at any point.

i appreciate the alternate ideas floating around (which are making me feel better) , but we're talking about rob cooper here, who has issues with fans having issues. and david is the bro of one of the ptb, so he must be given work, right? *swallows convulsively*

i'd like to find out whether he's in the ep or not, but i'm still expecting the worst. rob's done this to me.



sally

[majorsal]

And Pete himself wasn't unlikeable as a character. I think that having him as Sam's boyfriend set the character at a disadvantage from Moment One.

*nods* yep.

i'm a fan of smallville and i'm a clark/lana shipper. but a season or two ago, lana had a fling with some dude and... to this day, i don't care for the actor. childish or not, i've associated him with playing 'the other'. he's one of the stars of some scifi-ish show about two brothers who deal with the super natural. and i don't want to watch it because he's in it. and i was a casual clark/lana shipper!

but for a actor that plays an unlikeable or 'unwanted' character, it can kind of haunt him/her. that is, until they play someone new and better. (but i still don't want to give that smallville actor a chance).



sally

[suse]

Happy Birthday A-D!

Suse
squeezing in under the wire,
East Coast USA time anyway.

[majorsal]

I found the Pete character mawkish, stereotypical and fairly useless - and believe it or not that is not my 'shipper' point of view. I'm not the kind of viewer who'd "hate" anyone paired off with Sam or Jack because I like the two of them together in terms of chemistry. I look at each character individually, as a character in a story, and Pete was a major waste of space, if you ask me. Even recognizing the fact that he was invented to be canon fodder, he was written so insipidly, it didn't even matter.

ben browder would have made a great pete. the writing still would have been sucky, but ben's a hunk so at least sam's 'appetite' would have been relatable.




sally

[Gate gal]

regarding your ddl idea... well, gee, why not? since mr cooper took over running the show into the ground, every season has had at least one major sufferage ep.

it had occurred to me, too, that he might be in something coming up. after all, he's (pete) a huge fan favorite and loved by everyone. right? i mean, aren't we all just chomping at the bit to see him again? (must stop now, sarcasm muscles are twitching)

so, hope you're wrong, golfbooy, but if you're not and find something out for sure, PLEASE pass it along (so i can warn my shipper friends).

I think that might be the worst news I've heard since the cancellation. Why, oh why, would TPTB do that to us? Do they hate Sam fans that much? Do they hate shippers that much? Rhetorical question, don't bother answering.

It may be less about whether the viewers want to see Pete than about whether TPTB want to work with David DeLuise again.

Well, I like David DeLuise in every thing I've seen him in except Stargate. I laughed at him in Home Improvement just yesterday. He's probably a great guy and obviously fun to work with. Amanda likes him. I just hope that he's playing a totally different kind of Pete (not a stalker) if we have to deal with him again. I'm willing to concede that there may be one or two ARs where Sam actually married Pete, but I bet he was a better person in those realities.

On that subject, do any Samandans like Pete? If so, are you brave enough to admit it? I'm really curious. If you don't want to post it on the forum, please PM me. I would really like to hear a positive view on Pete. I didn't like him, but surely someone did, right?

[Traveler Enroute1]

CAPTIONARY !

.

Janet: You know where that shipment of needles went, don't you?
Sam: Nope.
Janet: Do.
Sam: Don't.
Janet: Do.
Sam: Don't.
Janet: Blue jello might become a dietary restriction...
Sam: Jack's office. Left bottom draw. Paper bag.

Just playin', just sayin'! Loved that scene. Nice capture, too.

[golfbooy]

I think that might be the worst news I've heard since the cancellation. Why, oh why, would TPTB do that to us? Do they hate Sam fans that much? Do they hate shippers that much? Rhetorical question, don't bother answering.

Spoiler:

Before this spins out of control, please note that any possibility of Pete being in The Road Not Taken is pure speculation on my part. There has been no indication that he's a part of the story, at least as far as I know. It's just one of the possibilities given the title of the episode.

Personally, I'm hoping that Jacob is the unexpected guest, or Sam's mom, or Cassandra, or Henry Hayes even. All of those make for a way more interesting episode in my book.

[Gate gal]

I could totally live with

Spoiler:

Jacob or Sam's mom (really like that idea a lot). I doubt we'll get a Cassandra. Henry Hayes would be fun, but I think it would be cool if Hammond were president. Really, anybody but Pete would be fine with me.

[Agent_Dark]

Spoiler:

Before this spins out of control, please note that any possibility of Pete being in The Road Not Taken is pure speculation on my part. There has been no indication that he's a part of the story, at least as far as I know. It's just one of the possibilities given the title of the episode.

Personally, I'm hoping that Jacob is the unexpected guest, or Sam's mom, or Cassandra, or Henry Hayes even. All of those make for a way more interesting episode in my book.

Spoiler:

I was under the impression that David Hewlett was going to be the main guest star in The Road Not Taken. At least I remember that was the impression I got after reading an interview with him (in retrospect that may have possibly been in regards to 'Rod' from McKay and Mrs Miller... Though it did sound like he was saying he was actually interacting with Carter in the AU)

[scarimor]

i guess all those sam/janet and sam/vala smileys gave me the wrong impression.

Do you see those smilies on the show? Yes, you got the wrong impression, even in the face of all assertions to the contrary. Liking Jack/Sam ship isn't the problem. Over-defensiveness of it to the point of saying that those who don't share it must have an agenda (e.g. another pairing agenda ) is annoying.

edit: btw, a few pages back I was countering the suggestion that Jack/Sam shippers didn't like Laira just because she threatened their preference for on-screen J/S. I pointed out that I didn't like her either, and so did DEM.

It's like Sky said, generalizations are fatally flawed. And when your opinions on one thing are dismissed as another agenda it's damned annoying.

[scarimor]

I got to see Serpent's Lair today. Is it just me or can AT say more with just a *blink* than most actors? Even when she had no lines she was reacting. Not mugging, but you could sense Sam thinking.

She is always working it , even when she's not the focus of the scene or the blocking. Not all actors do that. It's one of the reasons why I think she's such a good actor.

I was thinking this as I logged on and then I read your story, Scari and Teal'c said

Spoiler:

A beautiful face. So open, so full of expression.

Perfect.
And a *wonderful* story, by the way.

Thank you very much *blushes*