Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[ChopinGal]

i just have a funny feeling that AT's project is away from Stargate. Just a feeling that i have.

I think that, while she's very grateful for 10 years of steady work, the friendships that she's made, the awards that she's won and the like, she's also aware that, as long as the franchise is run the way it has been lately, she'll never be more than an actor in it.

directing, writing, producing, the boys keep all this for themselves. Yet those skills are where not only the money is but longevity as well. Actors have a finite 'life span' and AT seems to know this. Especially with this sudden fascination with all things youthful, skinny and pretty.

Actors are, in many ways, the lowest peopel on the totem pole. They're eminently replacable, there's no shortage of up adn coming folks to fill in if an actor is a bit too much of a pain. They're subject to the whims of the writers, producers, directors. They can be pressured into doing things they don't want to. (come on honey, just take off your shirt. we have all these people here and you don't want to make thier day any longer now do you???)

Writers, producers, directors, on the other hand, have more of the power. No one cares if you put on 10 pounds, or if you're pregnant (and i doubt there's a 'no pregnancy clause' in a writers' contract)

If you want a future in the entertainment industry, you get out from in front of the camera and get behind it.

I think AT knows this, and i think, as much as she loves Stargate and what it's given her, i think she knows that, if she ever wants to be in a position of control and power, that she gets away from Stargate, because they will never allow her into thier little circle of power. Coop, Brad and the boys have things the way they like it and they dont' seem to really want to help folks under them grow and develop.

thus, staying with Stargate, is a bit of a dead end. And if she wants more, she'll need to step out from that sphere of influence and go elsewhere

Just my feelings and impressions. but i think she's ready to let stargate go and move out and onto bigger and better things

Amen, sistah! Great post!

[abydosorphan]

I do nothing but wish her the best. I look forward to whatever her new project is. Her tastes are close enough to mine that if she's excited about it, i think there's a good chance that i'll enjoy it as well.

I know that, whatever her project is, i'll check it out simply because she's involved in it.

which is, you know, how a lot of macgyver fans got into stargate

I couldn't agree with you more.

[Strix varia]

I don't know...February I think?

Who came up with the Quantum Leap idea? I love that one.

What other ideas were there?

I was the one who posted the info about Sci-fi channel looking at reviving Quantum Leap. Someone else mentioned it before me, though, which jogged my memory about the article.

I do have to wonder about the third series and Amanda, though, for a couple of reasons. Sky made some excellent points that I do agree with, but when Amanda was talking about the meeting she had in which she was asked to be EP of the show, I got the impression (perhaps incorrectly) that:

A) It was after a long day of filming, because she mentioned that she was really tired and just wanted to go home. That suggested to me that the meeting may actually have been at Bridge Studios.

B) She was tired and she rather pointedly told the people at the meeting to get to the point about what they wanted her there for. That suggests to me that she personally knew the folks she was meeting with, perhaps with a degree of familiarity that enabled her to be comfortable telling them to get on with it.

Now, I am well aware that there are a lot of different shows being produced in Vancouver these days... there's a series based on Tonya Huff's books (Blood Ties, I think it's called) that's filming up there right now. I'm sure Amanda knows a lot, if not most, of the folks in the industry there. So, maybe my impressions mean nothing. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Amanda's project involved Bridge Studios, and I wouldn't be surprised if it involved some of the people who are working on projects there now (including BSG and Stargate).

Just some random thoughts first thing this morning.

[ccdsah]

You are SO on the money with this! Let's face it, she had to wait SEVEN YEARS to get to direct! Yet, she came to Stargate as a theatre professional and had already been involved in the art of directing. She's a quick study and bright woman. She could have easily made the transition from theatrical directing to film if "the boys" let her in the door. 'Nuff said.

Becoming an EP is another feather in her cap. I think that this could lead to starting her own production company in the future if all goes well, another goal she has mentioned on occasion.

Amanda is a winner. She doesn't need the male establishment to validate her credentials. Unfortunate that she's had to play that game for so long. I am so hoping that she now has more freedom and power to follow her own professional star. Star without stargate. It's a tough business though.

You're right she got to direct only after she put it in her contracvt for that season (Although I don't like "Ressurection" (No ) I think she got a nomination for that)!!!

[KatG]

just a random...

i wish amanda had a blog. either at gateworld or her website. i'd love to hear her random thoughts/feelings on things; like what she made for dinner for olivia or how hard is it to shop when you're recognizable.

it would need to be moderated so it wouldn't become what joe mallozzi's did , but i think it would be FAB to read the weekly 'amanda's coffee corner' blog.




sally

That would be awesome and interesting to read. Definitely would need to be moderated, or it would turn into a royal snit fest from some people.


On the subject of jobs affecting other aspects of your life, because I've almost always done customer service, I used to answer the phone at home with "Thanks for calling (insert which ever company I was working for at the time). This is Kathi, how may I help you?" I'd get various pauses, umms and huh and such, or if it was someone who knew me well they'd bust out laughing and then I'd realize what I'd done.

I also used to wait tables at a pizza parlor and would find myself dreaming about serving people at night when I slept.

The worst thing I ever did though was when training for a new customer service position, I answered the phone inserting my last company in there, while my trainer was sitting next to me. Thankfully she had a good sense of humor and we were both able to laugh about it.

[Anakin]

i just have a funny feeling that AT's project is away from Stargate. Just a feeling that i have.

I think that, while she's very grateful for 10 years of steady work, the friendships that she's made, the awards that she's won and the like, she's also aware that, as long as the franchise is run the way it has been lately, she'll never be more than an actor in it.

directing, writing, producing, the boys keep all this for themselves. Yet those skills are where not only the money is but longevity as well. Actors have a finite 'life span' and AT seems to know this. Especially with this sudden fascination with all things youthful, skinny and pretty.

Actors are, in many ways, the lowest peopel on the totem pole. They're eminently replacable, there's no shortage of up adn coming folks to fill in if an actor is a bit too much of a pain. They're subject to the whims of the writers, producers, directors. They can be pressured into doing things they don't want to. (come on honey, just take off your shirt. we have all these people here and you don't want to make thier day any longer now do you???)

Writers, producers, directors, on the other hand, have more of the power. No one cares if you put on 10 pounds, or if you're pregnant (and i doubt there's a 'no pregnancy clause' in a writers' contract)

If you want a future in the entertainment industry, you get out from in front of the camera and get behind it.

I think AT knows this, and i think, as much as she loves Stargate and what it's given her, i think she knows that, if she ever wants to be in a position of control and power, that she gets away from Stargate, because they will never allow her into thier little circle of power. Coop, Brad and the boys have things the way they like it and they dont' seem to really want to help folks under them grow and develop.

thus, staying with Stargate, is a bit of a dead end. And if she wants more, she'll need to step out from that sphere of influence and go elsewhere

Just my feelings and impressions. but i think she's ready to let stargate go and move out and onto bigger and better things

Agreed wholeheartedly!!!

[Skydiver]

B) She was tired and she rather pointedly told the people at the meeting to get to the point about what they wanted her there for. That suggests to me that she personally knew the folks she was meeting with, perhaps with a degree of familiarity that enabled her to be comfortable telling them to get on with it.

i heard that story too. but how i heard it was that she was in this meeting, they were chit chatting and wasting time. she was tired and really wanted to get home. she snarked off, said something like 'dudes, can we get to teh point here, i have a baby to get home to' and then they got down to business

then she drove home, sure that she'd burned a bridge and ticked people off, then was pleasantly surprised when her irritation wasn't perceived poorly but welcomingly by someone who agreed with her that someone needed to prod these folks and keep them in line and spoke to her about exec producing

If i heard it correctly, i don't think she'd be too concerned about burning a bridge with folks that she knew. thus my interpretation that the group she was meeting with wasn't a group she was familar with, but strangers

Guess we'll find out whenever details can be made public and we find out what the project it

However, i do agree with folks that there's no way Coop and the boys would allow her to exec produce. They have their close knit little fraternity and they don't want to welcome others in, especially females that might ruin thier fun.

amanda seems to share rick's tastes and talent and feel for the more mature fun and less slap stick and tawdry, so she really wouldn't fit in with teh frat boys. IMHO, the only females they are really interested in are the ones in front of the camera....and teh less costuming the better

[Strix varia]

i heard that story too. but how i heard it was that she was in this meeting, they were chit chatting and wasting time. she was tired and really wanted to get home. she snarked off, said something like 'dudes, can we get to teh point here, i have a baby to get home to' and then they got down to business

then she drove home, sure that she'd burned a bridge and ticked people off, then was pleasantly surprised when her irritation wasn't perceived poorly but welcomingly by someone who agreed with her that someone needed to prod these folks and keep them in line and spoke to her about exec producing

If i heard it correctly, i don't think she'd be too concerned about burning a bridge with folks that she knew. thus my interpretation that the group she was meeting with wasn't a group she was familar with, but strangers

Yeah, that's certainly another way to interpret it.

However, i do agree with folks that there's no way Coop and the boys would allow her to exec produce. They have their close knit little fraternity and they don't want to welcome others in, especially females that might ruin thier fun.

amanda seems to share rick's tastes and talent and feel for the more mature fun and less slap stick and tawdry, so she really wouldn't fit in with teh frat boys. IMHO, the only females they are really interested in are the ones in front of the camera....and teh less costuming the better

You know, I don't want to believe this is true because I'd rather think better of them, but after season 9 and 10, I sadly have to admit you're probably right.

[the dancer of spaz]

Hey guys! Happy Holidays!

I was just trying to catch up with the pages and pages of convo here...

In regards to The Meeting, I think I interpreted it in a way that's somewhere between Strix's and Sky's, because I thought that for AT (someone who's never really been known for being overly snarky to people - not seriously anyway) to kinda "tell them like it is", so to speak, it had to have been someone she knew. She might not have been long-time friends with them, but I figured she couldn't have been meeting them for the first time that evening. So, somewhere between colleagues and acquaintances maybe?

And as for Bridge Studios, there seemed to be a couple of clues that suggested the project would be filmed there. I'm sure others have mentioned it already, but I believe the most notable clue was when Thomasina said that AT was there to discuss the upcoming project... Am I remembering that accurately?

At any rate, I thought that, just because the project would be filmed at Bridge, that didn't mean that the Stargate fellas would be involved with it. I know Stargate is like THE project that's filmed there these days, but aren't there other projects at Bridge, too?

Still... It seems that the place should be receiving a LOT of traffic over the next year or so, with Atlantis, the movies, and a third series. And if M&M are covering Atlantis, will BW and RCC head the third series next year?

[Skydiver]

You know, I don't want to believe this is true because I'd rather think better of them, but after season 9 and 10, I sadly have to admit you're probably right.

i'd like to think that i'm wrong. but i look at how rich and vibrant Sam and Janet were in seasons 1-6, then how things changed and now how Weir and Teyla and Vala are treated and I draw the conclusion that the Frat Boys don't know how to write a REAL woman. and don't seem to want to try. They just crank out cliche after cliche.

Weir is the indulgent maternal figure
Teyla is the sexy alien TM
Vala is the sexy alien TM along with being half a ship
and Sam, now that they don't have Jack to ship her with, is just used to technobabble and then ignored.

Since Gecko left, the Frat Boys haven't made a strong female character, they just perpetrate the cliches. And couple with that the arrogant and dismissive attitude to anyone that does anything but squee with joy at what they're producing (saying that we just have issues or that we're just too stupid) and i have the impression of a group of men who are supremely confident in their own abilties...which can be good. As long as that confidence doesn't turn into blind arrogance.

And i think it has.

That's one reason i'm perfectly happy to see AT move onto something else. I know that she'll give Atlantis 159% and do her job to the best of her abilties. But after that, i'd love to see her move to something that just might have a more nurturing and positive growth environment.

Her abilties have no bounds, same with her skill and talents. And i don't think Bridge is the best environment. I think it's too limiting and for her to reach her full potential, she needs to go places where the sky's the limit

[abydosorphan]

The worst thing I ever did though was when training for a new customer service position, I answered the phone inserting my last company in there, while my trainer was sitting next to me. Thankfully she had a good sense of humor and we were both able to laugh about it.

I actually did this once too. It was rather amusing as I had previously worked in Pharmacy, and now worked for a Doctor's office, and it was the Pharmacy calling when I picked up the phone.

Also, I would LOVE to read Amanda's blog, if she had one. She's just so funny and 'typical' in person and I'm sure it would be great to read her little excerpts.

[jckfan55]

On the subject of jobs making you do or say wierd things, ever since I got my phlebotomy certificate for my nursing degree I find myself checking peoples arm veins when I shake their hands and thinking either "great veins" or "yikes those are crummy". I feel like a vampire.

LOL! Do you think the Jaffa are actually phlebotomists--you know with those "arm" handshakes?

[ccdsah]

i'd like to think that i'm wrong. but i look at how rich and vibrant Sam and Janet were in seasons 1-6, then how things changed and now how Weir and Teyla and Vala are treated and I draw the conclusion that the Frat Boys don't know how to write a REAL woman. and don't seem to want to try. They just crank out cliche after cliche.

Weir is the indulgent maternal figure
Teyla is the sexy alien TM
Vala is the sexy alien TM along with being half a ship
and Sam, now that they don't have Jack to ship her with, is just used to technobabble and then ignored.

Since Gecko left, the Frat Boys haven't made a strong female character, they just perpetrate the cliches. And couple with that the arrogant and dismissive attitude to anyone that does anything but squee with joy at what they're producing (saying that we just have issues or that we're just too stupid) and i have the impression of a group of men who are supremely confident in their own abilties...which can be good. As long as that confidence doesn't turn into blind arrogance.

And i think it has.

That's one reason i'm perfectly happy to see AT move onto something else. I know that she'll give Atlantis 159% and do her job to the best of her abilties. But after that, i'd love to see her move to something that just might have a more nurturing and positive growth environment.

Her abilties have no bounds, same with her skill and talents. And i don't think Bridge is the best environment. I think it's too limiting and for her to reach her full potential, she needs to go places where the sky's the limit

Don't fret ! They might ship her with in the movies or with in SGA S4 !!!

[Deejay435]

amanda seems to share rick's tastes and talent and feel for the more mature fun and less slap stick and tawdry, so she really wouldn't fit in with teh frat boys. IMHO, the only females they are really interested in are the ones in front of the camera....and teh less costuming the better

For me this is the biggest reason that it doesn't jive that the B@B would be inclined to have Amanda be an exec on one of their projects. I don't know that it's necessarily mysoginy at work here, they made it pretty clear that they resented Rick's EPing often enough with all their comments about how much more "fun" things are now that he's no longer on board. So I don't know that it has as much to do with her being a woman, as it does with her being bit more mature than their sophomoric senses of fun can handle.

Of course, if the money people demanded her-which is how I understand Rick coming aboard happened-well then...

[jckfan55]

Quick Question: You know how Kamil mentioned the Christmas greetings for Amanda here? Do those get posted on the AT site or do they go directly to her? I'd just as soon not have my name and email address out there for the world to see, but I wouldn't mind AT seeing it. Anyone know how this works?

On the answering the phone thing--do you think after a long day AT has ever answered her own phone "Carter" ?

Re: AT's new show. I really hope it's not connected to Stargate. I want to see her in something different & like many of you I don't trust RCC & the gang to do well by her. I never particularly liked Quantum Leap, so I hope it's not that. But, of course, if AT's in it, I'll watch it anyway.