Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[tagger]

Happy for Amanda that she will not have to move, she continues to have a steady "gig", and she gets to work with people she likes.

Worried for Amanda and Sam re: fandom reaction.

Going way out on a limb here, but I have decided I will trust TPTB to write her well again. If they are giving her that many episodes, I think it is an indication they will want more of Sam in the franchise as a whole - YAY. I hope they give Amanda some meaty episodes so she doesn't get bored, so she stays challenged.

Somehow, I don't want Sam's development to be at expense of any character....

Agree with the concerns regarding limits of time - a ton on her plate.

[dipsofjazz]

S4 Atlantis

Spoiler:

My first reaction is that 14 episodes is too much. How are they going to do a good job of integrating her into that many? If some of them are just minor appearances, then why bother doing so many?

I can't get excited about the Amanda news with the announcement of what they're doing to Torri. She's a large part of what I enjoy about Atlantis.

I agree with what you've said. I'm also a bit wary of the backlash against the actors. Already there are polls, and in other threads you see things written like...

Spoiler:

"We don't need Amanda and Jewel." I think they'll both be disliked since it seems they'll be taking over Torri's and Paul's screen time.

It looks like there are the same problems for Atlantis as happened on SG-1 - too many changes at the same time.

[Skydiver]

Can y'all do me a favor please.

Ok, from the pov of a sam fan, these spoilers aren't all that horrible. Yes, i know that many of us have reservations about just how the writers will handle sam.

However, i'm sure you can understand, fans of other characters aren't quite in the same position as us. They are facing losing their favorite actor/character. so please, use discretion. I am sure that some discussion threads will get very heated, but please be understanding when you post in them. Remember how we felt a year ago with the 'we don't know what to do with you'? That's a feeling that other fans are having right now.

What's done is done and no amount of discussion will change it. So when you run across fans of other characters that aren't happy with sam, just let them be. Just remember what it feels like to face the potential to lose your favorite character and have a little empathy for them.


ETA: What happens in other threads stays in other threads. We don't need to talk about other fans, Amanda/Sam is enough of a topic for us

[parsifal]

I agree with what you've said. I'm also a bit wary of the backlash against the actors. Already there are polls, and in other threads you see things written like...

Spoiler:

"We don't need Amanda and Jewel." I think they'll both be disliked since it seems they'll be taking over Torri's and Paul's screen time.

It looks like there are the same problems for Atlantis as happened on SG-1 - too many changes at the same time.

The situation TPTB are creating, it's like they're setting up Amanda to get blamed.

Have they learned nothing from the debacle a scant 2 years ago?

[Coley]

The situation TPTB are creating, it's like they're setting up Amanda to get blamed.

Have they learned nothing from the debacle a scant 2 years ago?

It appears that haven't learnt!!

I too think 14 eps it just way way too much.

I love Sam Carter - think she is the best character ever. But to me she belongs to SG1. TPTB had their chance of moving SG1 forward when RDA left - but they just changed the show totally and took away the things that made the show special. SG1's time has past.

I do not think Sam should move to Atlantis in this manner. A couple of eps maybe - but 14 - a bad move IMO. From what little I have seen of Atlantis I think TH is a great actress and has a great character I can't see why they would want her as a recurring role.

Maybe TPTB have realised what a great fan base Sam has and think they can utilise this the SGA's advantage. I think all that SGA needs is some great writing - it already has the good characters - some may say possibly too many characters already - so why add new ones into the mix?

I fear for the backlash - don't think this will do anyone any good.

I just want Amanda's new venture to get funding and for her to move on sucessfully

[tsaxlady]

Here is a transcription of RC interview - dealing only with the parts talking about SG1 movie casting and AT on SGA

Spoiler:

Interviewer: People are very interested to know who is going to be in the movies. So casting Richard Dean Anerderson the whole SG1 cast any Atlantis people. Who is going to be in the movies.

RC: Well right now we know for sure that the main cast of S10 will be returning, BB, MS, CJ, CB, AT, beyond that we are still working on it. I know that Brad has put a call into Richard Dean Anderson, Rick as we call him. You know he came up and did five episodes two SG1 and three Atlantis last year had a great time and talked a lot about wanting to come back so we are hopeful he will make an appearance whether he is in just one or both we are not sure yet. We have some surprises we are hoping to pull out of hat for returning villains and allies that we don’t have confirmation on yet.

Interviewer: Any Atlantis people coming on?

RC: Not planned at the moment.

Interviewer: Yet there is someone going the other way I hear.

RC: Yes, Amanda Tapping will be joining the cast of SGA for 14 episodes in S4.

Interviewer: That is exciting news she is a popular person.

RC: Yeah I mean you know, there is going to be fans of Atlantis that feel like they don’t want to see SG1 people coming over, they kind of feel like Atlantis is it’s own thing now. They have embraced that thing and somehow combining the two will feel like a weaker version of both. Rather than what they have come to really like in Atlantis but you know, Amanda and Carter are is such a likable character she is such a good actress I don’t see how anybody will have a problem once they see it. It is a natural fit for the show and for the franchise to keep a little bit of SG1 going in Atlantis. Hopefully for us we will get people who love Carter and love SG1 watching Atlantis were they might not have before. I think the people who really love Atlantis for what it is are not going to see that spoiled or tarnished in any way.

Interviewer: Do you think that Atlantis will benefit or how will it be different without having it’s weekly SG1 partner?

RC: It will be interesting. In some respects all we can do is make a good show or make a show we think is good. How it does in terms of ratings or how it performs is really up to the network. I think having both shows together has been a good thing and has created a bit of a night/ an event. I think SciFi is going to have to um, do something different in order to make sure that people still now that Atlantis is still on and that they come to the network to watch.

I'm going to finish watching them all before I weigh in on how I feel about the interviews. They are all long and have a lot in them.

[Deejay435]

from Cooper's interview-

Hopefully for us we will get people who love Carter and love SG1 watching Atlantis were they might not have before.

Well, it worked with this fan. I hadn't intended to watch SGA after SG1 is cancelled. I won't have the tv on that station already-which was the only reason I ever watched it before.

But now? Yeah, it may be a casting stunt. But it worked for me.

[Rachel500]

On the AT news...

Spoiler:

I'm surprised that its so many episodes but I can't say I'm surprised they want her around. Having met her at Avalon who wouldn't want AT around?
AT is going to be one busy lady with SGA, the movies, her other projects...

As a Sam fan, I'm happy the character will still be around but I'll reserve judgement on whether its a good thing for SGA and the character to be in so many episodes until I see what TPTB have in mind and how they integrate her into Atlantis. I hope for both AT and Sam that they do it well.

One thing is for certain, with 14 episodes we should at least see Sam interacting with someone other than McKay...

[tsaxlady]

Here is a transcrip-tion of Brad Wrights interview - focusing in on the parts about AT both Atlantis and Movies

One point of reference for all these interviews - it is during BW that they say they were done in Dec 2006.

Spoiler:

Interviewer: So everyone wants to know, these rabid fans the story cast, Richard Dean Anderson, what can you tell us about the movies.

BW: I will say that we have almost everyone for the movies coming back. I say almost because um, first of all I want Richard Dean Anderson to be in the second movie. I don’t know whether his schedule is going to allow it, I don’t know whether the deal has been made or can be made, but I would sure love him to be in it is very hard for me to see Stargate without Rick in it. I think he belongs in it, he does not necessarily have to be at the center of it anymore but without that distinct voice it is missing something. You know he always wants to come and play with us so there is a very good chance. But ultimately it’s a business and I can’t, I wish I could say it is going to happen but I can’t yet. But Amanda Tapping will be returning, Ben Browder will be returning, Christopher Judge will be returning, Michael Shanks will be returning, I’m going in terms of how the deals got made everybody is coming back Claudia is coming back. I’m not sure if we have a deal with Beau Bridges yet. But in my story hopefully we’ll see a lot of old faces it is the nature of the story that will allow me to revisit many many people from the Stargate Sg1 universe. Going back many years, even people who are no longer alive in the cannon of the story because it is a time travel story. So we may be seeing some familiar faces from the past. Which is fun that’s the reason to do a movie like this, the fun of the story allows you to open up and visit some old familiar faces.

Interviewer: Could it be Atlantis’s last year?

BW: It’s not up to us it is up to the fans, people tuning in and watching the show, you can’t keep a show on the air if nobody is watching it. In S10 are numbers did go down a little bit, had they continued to go up SciFi would have kept it on the air.

Interviewer: Atlantis, is the whole cast coming back any changes any new people.

BW: Well I can say that Amanda Tapping is coming to rejoin, not rejoin, Amanda Tapping is coming to join the Atlantis cast.

At this point the interviewer says something about this being important news lets start again and do this right - I think they meant to edit out the first time he starts talking about casting but ended up leaving it in instead

Interviewer: Any cast news, the cast coming back anybody new

BW: Amanda Tapping is coming to join the Atlantis team. She will be coming in her own spaceship and joining the crew over at Atlantis and we are delighted by that we think it’s uh something we have been thinking about for a long time. But Sg1 just keep going and she is a good fight she is a natural for Atlantis she has got the military and the science and that is the balance of Sg1 and the balance of Stargate and she has a foot very firmly in both those worlds, so she is going to be a welcome addition. Torri Higginson is also coming back for some period of time she is going to be a recurring character. I don’t want to give to much more away.

Interviewer: Any cast not coming back.

BW: I’m not going to tell you. I don’t want to revel that uh, I mean there are there is a story in the back half of the season that is very dramatic and signals a change. But having said that nobody goes away in Stargate people come back. Like I just told you for the movies there is going to be faces that you haven’t seen in a long time and they’ll be back.

Interviewer: Any other Sg1 people that might appear for an episode here or there.

BW: I would love of course to bring some SG1 people over but A) we are doing the movies and B) who knows what is going to happen to their careers. I mean for some of these folks they have been tied up for a long time. They are all very talented people, they might end up going off on their own television series or films. I’m sure Paul or Joe will find a way to incorporate somebody from the SG1 universe.

Interviewer: How are you going to juggle Amanda’s day that will be busy between the films and Atlantis.

BW: Well that is funny because scheduling when you are doing two television shows at the same time has become an art form around here. John Smith who is one of our executive producers has become a scheduling genius when it comes to managing to get the most time on screen and moving actors between stages and shows. Because this is not the first time we have done crossovers and as difficult as it is we have pulled it off every time. So it will happen.

Interviewer: Any idea if there might one day be an Atlantis movie.

BW: I would not be surprised if there is an Atlantis movie. In fact I would argue that there could be elements of Atlantis in a movie before Atlantis is finished as a television series. Because the Atlantis and SG1 worlds are very much connected. I think a crossover movie project might be a great idea down the road and that would be of course my next one. If we get to do it.

Interviewer: Atlantis S4 are you excited about it?

BW: I am. First of all, it’s S4 that’s cool. I don’t know were the time went. But it is cool to be in S4. In SG1 we started to be able to tell stories based on the mythology we had created in the first few seasons and that is what is happening in Atlantis now. We have achieved a sort of critical mass of characters and worlds of story that is now a ripe sort of season for story telling, that is one of the reasons I think it can go on for years.

[Agent_Dark]

Well just to offer something a little different from the big news lately, a fic rec:
Five days that make Sam wish she'd stayed in bed, by splash-the-cat.

ETA: And another by the same author: Five resolutions that Sam Carter broke

[tsaxlady]

I just finished listening to Martin Woods interview - I must say having listened to all but Andy Mikitas now it is hard to believe they released these without editing out some of the content that is included until after the back half of the seasons has finished airing. Martin talks at the end of his about the season finially for SGA - he says it is a huge episode and one that starts a major new arc for the series. I did not transcribe it but after hearing his spoilers I can see a little better were cast changes are going to fall and why.

One interesting point of his interview he was asked what he had been doing during the break in filming and he said he was working on a new project that is going to be hitting the internet soon. But he would not say anymore than that until it is ready for release.

[tsaxlady]

New Road Not Taken spoilers from SkyOne description

Spoiler:

An experiment goes wrong, leaving Carter trapped in a parallel reality where martial law has been enforced and the Earth is under attack from the Ori. But the impending threat from the Ori is the least of her concerns when it becomes clear that President Landry may not allow her to return home.

[RepliCartertje]

evenin' Samandans.

Can I second the call to hear anything about what's in the interviews? I can never get anything on that site to work.

Although, I have heard about

Spoiler:

Amanda being in 14 episodes!!! 14!! OMG! Tomorrow morning I will probably start worrying about how they are going to user her, and whether it will be problematic etc., but in the meantime I am going to jump up and down like a loon and say Yay! Woohoo! We may have no more SG-1, but we are still going to have Sam!!!

And in my humble opinion, the more Sam the better!

*parties*

Also. I don't know if this is the right place for this, so tell me to get rid of it if you like, and I won't be offended.

I wrote a little ficlet, called Always, which can be found here on LJ. It's only 745 words, and it's my first every stargate fanfic. I'd love some feedback, good and bad....
[/pimpage]

I really liked your fic... You really could so believe it...for your first fic...AMAZING!!!! Keep writing I would say

Spoilers season 4 of SGA

Spoiler:

I am glad to know that I will see Amanda back next year in SGA but I do have mixed feeling about the amount she is in...I would have loved to see her a few times but 14 is a lot and that Weir has to go for it, I really don't like...I am afraid everyone will blame Amanda for it...But I do love the part that says she is going there by ship
I just hope the writers do good to Sam her character in SGA...I hope she will not change and still be the strong women...
I hope for some good interactions...I know Amanda will act amazingly whatever script she gets so I will follow it...

Just thought I'd pimp the Women of the Gates ficathon
(Hmmm, maybe pimp is the wrong word to use here )

Once again I have to thank Deejay for bringing these characters together in the ficathon

http://community.livejournal.com/gate_women/

thank you for the link...bookmarked it and if I have ever time I will read it...although time is an issue at the moment for me lol

[tsaxlady]

A little bit of a transcription from Andy Mikita's interview

Spoiler:

Interviewer: There is a character from SG1 that is going over to Atlantis, one of our favorite characters.

AM: Really! Oh I didn’t know that. Yeah I did know that, Amanda Tapping going over to Atlantis I think is a wonderful thing. It’s great I support that totally. I think not only is she going to bring a significant amount of the SG1 fan base over. I just think she is going to be great for the show. She is such a great actor and a great person I think she is going to fit in really well. I think it was a really wise wise decision.

I will do David Hewlett's later - I have watched it already and he really gushed on and on about how much he is looking forward to Amanda coming to SGA

[JanSam]

I just finished listening to Martin Woods interview - I must say having listened to all but Andy Mikitas now it is hard to believe they released these without editing out some of the content that is included until after the back half of the seasons has finished airing. Martin talks at the end of his about the season finially for SGA - he says it is a huge episode and one that starts a major new arc for the series. I did not transcribe it but after hearing his spoilers I can see a little better were cast changes are going to fall and why.

One interesting point of his interview he was asked what he had been doing during the break in filming and he said he was working on a new project that is going to be hitting the internet soon. But he would not say anymore than that until it is ready for release.

Nora thank you for spending your day with your busy schedule transcribing those for us...it won't let me green ya but I wanted you to know we really appreciate your efforts!