Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Chelle DB]

Ok, I am wrong.
Was she back "full time"?

Yes.
What I don't understand is why you think a woman who goes on maternity leave shouldn't return to work in the capacity as before she left.
I don't know how it works where you live but here, women don't get demoted or lose their position if they have a baby. They take time off - as do fathers now - and return to normal duties when their leave is up.
So why wouldn't Amanda be entitled to the same? And why not have Sam resume her leadership?

[Gatefan1976]

Sigh
*withdraws from thread*

[samcarterrules]

Hey everyone,

Here is my two cents worth (we have stopped using pennies in Canada so I have to use them somewhere ).

I think the writers did know how to write a strong female character, isn't that one of the reasons why Sam was such a great character and we all loved her? Granted, they had some help. Let's not forget the "my reproductive organs speech", it was
Amanda who told TPTB women don't talk like that and not to write Sam like "the girl" but rather like any other character and she would add the necessary touches to make Sam a woman.

I think the writers got bored with SG1 as it was. They wanted a "new" show called Stargate Command and they made changes even though the SC idea was rejected. I think they loved Amanda but got bored with or ran out of ideas for Sam. I think they enjoyed writing funny lines for Vala. As a result, we got more Vala and less Sam.

I also think they felt they had a "name" with RDA and for some unknown reason they felt they had to fill his shoes with another "name", hence BB. I don't think they realised how much the fans loved Sam, Daniel and Teal'c and how we would have continued on watching the show with just them.

I do also think there is a gender bias in the industry, that is obvious. I can't believe anyone would think otherwise. If you do, please show me the stats on the majority of movies and TV shows with female leads. I do think TPTB did not believe Amanda should be the lead, not because of Amanda but because of her gender. Whether that was MGM or the executive producers of SG1, I don't know.

I have heard Amanda speak many times and I have never once heard her say she wanted a reduced role because she had a baby. I have heard her say that the fact Cam was referred to as the "leader" of SG1 came as a surprise to her. I came to like the character of Cam and loved the easy friendship with Sam but he should have been her 2IC period.

I agree they could have come up with a much better way of explaning Sam's absence due to Amanda's mat leave. They had to come up with a number of ways to explain RDA's absences when he reduced his time. Sam should have come back the way she left, as leader of SG1, only as a real leader, not just the glimpes we saw in season 8.

Spent my penny and I'm off.

one thing, purely my opinion of course, the strong female characters on the show, they came pre season five. The more coop and company ran the show, the more input skiffy had (starting in season six) the more we got boobs and tank tops and females that were only
Indulgent maternal
girl friend of hero
sex object
hopelessly inept

Look at how John openly defied Elizabeth more than once, he was in charge, she enabled him and smiled indulgently when he defied her. Keller who was the ultimate geek fantasy in being rod's girl friend, vala with her past largely ignored but bustier on full display (her costumes were also tailored, tight shirts, tight pants, etc instead of regulation wear)

IMHO, coop and company were incapable of making and promoting strong females. They fell for and wrote cliches, ladies that they could handle or control or were little more than the catalyst for the 'white male action hero and his geek sidekick' to save the day.

Teal'c didn't fare much better, he was largely ignored for episodes at a time. He didn't fit what they wanted, which was Daniel, cam and Vala.

TPTB are sexist. So is the scifi channel.(as it pertains to how they wanted the show to be)

Ben was hired at the request of skiffy. Coop wanted MS to lead the show, skiffy wanted a name - and were hoping to capture the ticked off farscape fans - so ben was hired. (Ben bears no blame, dude was just hired and he was a professional about it...claudia really bears no blame either. In fact, they double dealt her a couple of times, all but forcing her to appear when she was pregnant when she didn't want to (adria came about because coop and company just HAD to have vala back and didn't care that claudia was pregnant)

Coop and CO didn't want to make stargate, they wanted to make their own show, weren't allowed to (skiffy denied their request to name the show stargate command) so they carried on doing they could to sneak their new show in using the old name...then certainly didn't handle it well when fans in general weren't receptive to their 'new and improved' show.

If I recall correctly, it was all the fans fault that they didn't like the new show.

Well said! Couldn't agree more!

I agree. She's moved to the point where she's not as dependent upon 'oh, don't hire her, she's trouble'. ALso with her doing more directing than acting....well they don't care if you've put on a pound or two if you're behind the camera.
She's paid her dues and put up with the 'boys'. now she can move past them and maybe work towards an industry that's not as sexist and discriminatory.

*Nods* we can hope.


Julia(samcarterrules)

[AmberLM]

Yes.
What I don't understand is why you think a woman who goes on maternity leave shouldn't return to work in the capacity as before she left.
I don't know how it works where you live but here, women don't get demoted or lose their position if they have a baby. They take time off - as do fathers now - and return to normal duties when their leave is up.
So why wouldn't Amanda be entitled to the same? And why not have Sam resume her leadership?

In theory it's supposed to. In practice, it doesn't always work that way. I know of many business owners who will stealthily not hire women of child-bearing age because of the prospect of having to pay for and cover mat leave. They're not allowed to admit it but they just make up with another excuse and it's hard to prove.

[Skydiver]

just like how they won't promote women that may get pregnant, or decide that older workers just aren't suitable.

[AmberLM]

just like how they won't promote women that may get pregnant, or decide that older workers just aren't suitable.

Yup! My mum's former employer (a well-known global bank) used a round of involuntary redundancies to get rid of my mum, who has a long-term incurable illness and had recently returned full-time after a year in intensive care, a recent cancer survivor, a woman just returned from mat leave and two over-50s. They were the only ones. Shocking yet legal.


I miss Amanda on-screen!

[EH-T]

one thing, purely my opinion of course, the strong female characters on the show, they came pre season five. The more coop and company ran the show, the more input skiffy had (starting in season six) the more we got boobs and tank tops and females that were only
Indulgent maternal
girl friend of hero
sex object
hopelessly inept

Look at how John openly defied Elizabeth more than once, he was in charge, she enabled him and smiled indulgently when he defied her. Keller who was the ultimate geek fantasy in being rod's girl friend, vala with her past largely ignored but bustier on full display (her costumes were also tailored, tight shirts, tight pants, etc instead of regulation wear)

IMHO, coop and company were incapable of making and promoting strong females. They fell for and wrote cliches, ladies that they could handle or control or were little more than the catalyst for the 'white male action hero and his geek sidekick' to save the day.

Teal'c didn't fare much better, he was largely ignored for episodes at a time. He didn't fit what they wanted, which was Daniel, cam and Vala.

TPTB are sexist. So is the scifi channel.(as it pertains to how they wanted the show to be)

Ben was hired at the request of skiffy. Coop wanted MS to lead the show, skiffy wanted a name - and were hoping to capture the ticked off farscape fans - so ben was hired. (Ben bears no blame, dude was just hired and he was a professional about it...claudia really bears no blame either. In fact, they double dealt her a couple of times, all but forcing her to appear when she was pregnant when she didn't want to (adria came about because coop and company just HAD to have vala back and didn't care that claudia was pregnant)

Coop and CO didn't want to make stargate, they wanted to make their own show, weren't allowed to (skiffy denied their request to name the show stargate command) so they carried on doing they could to sneak their new show in using the old name...then certainly didn't handle it well when fans in general weren't receptive to their 'new and improved' show.

If I recall correctly, it was all the fans fault that they didn't like the new show.

I definitely agree that the writing of the female characters got worse over time.

Do you mean the Captains Summit series?

It was a one-off documentary where WS spoke with all the Star Trek Captains.

You comments are always worth something, Eh-T. (Even if just a laugh...;-) though I find that worth way more than a nickel)
I believe Claudia was behind some of her costuming. She wanted to look girly. I'll bet - for her - the role was a fun change (at least until she was dealing with a sick baby and husband and 16+ hour days). It's just too bad it didn't really fit what SG-1 was before. There is grow and change; then there is... what we got.

Thanks.

Sigh
*withdraws from thread*

No need to withdraw from the thread. Differences of opinion are welcome as long as all parties respect one another.

[Gatefan1976]

As I have been asked not to give up.

Yes.
What I don't understand is why you think a woman who goes on maternity leave shouldn't return to work in the capacity as before she left.

I don't know why you would say that to a person (read -MALE )who has stayed home during the day to take care of their kids because their wife made more money.
Drop your prejudice, M'kay, cause it ain't gonna fly with me.

I don't know how it works where you live but here,

You mean Australia, where we both live?

women don't get demoted or lose their position if they have a baby. They take time off - as do fathers now - and return to normal duties when their leave is up.

Ok, let me make something REAL clear to you.
Amanda went back to work as an ACTOR, she was not punished for being a female, she did not "loose" her "normal duties" as an ACTOR, and she STILL got paid the same to do the SAME JOB.
Stop confusing Amanda with Sam

So why wouldn't Amanda be entitled to the same?

She got the same.

And why not have Sam resume her leadership?

Because, as I said before the show must go on. Amanda was not as available for those 6 weeks, and nor should she have been required to be, but the show is a separate entity. SG-1 cannot go on without a leader, and they made Cam that leader. Complain all you want about it being sexist, or stupid, or whatever. Hell, I would burn a bra and say it was unfair as well because *SAM* deserved the spot, but don't try to compare *SAM* loosing a spot to *AMANDA* losing her JOB, because it's total bull.
The industry is sexist, we all agree on that point, don't try to bring crap from a screen into real life.

If you want to continue this, take it to PM and we can BOTH cut loose, and let the rest of these good people just enjoy their thread.

[majorsal]

Because, as I said before the show must go on. Amanda was not as available for those 6 weeks, and nor should she have been required to be, but the show is a separate entity. SG-1 cannot go on without a leader, and they made Cam that leader. (snipped)

but the writers knew, gatefan, that amanda was going to come back, so they could have written mitchell as just a temp leader until sam arrived. the writers could have written an entirely different reason for sam being gone (i would have had it that she was on her honeymoon with jack ), but they wanted their new stargate series and sam continuing to be leader didn't fit with that.

to me, the problems that hurt sg1 started in season 7, when rob cooper took over... and it just kept chipping away until the entire franchise was hurt by their golden child sgu.

[neverendingimagination]

No need to withdraw from the thread. Differences of opinion are welcome as long as all parties respect one another.

Gatefan 1976, I respectfuly direct your attention to the second sentence, your response was rude, derogatory and disrespectful.

The facts are;

Amanda was last to get her contract for S9 due to sexism.

Her pregnancy and the subsequent sexism, gave RC the opportunity to sideline her character.

Sam was written out as team leader, even though she was the more senior officer upon her return.

The comparison was made between sexism in industries, not between screen and real life.


I suggest this topic is dropped before the mods come in.

[Chelle DB]

As I have been asked not to give up.
I don't know why you would say that to a person (read -MALE )who has stayed home during the day to take care of their kids because their wife made more money.
Drop your prejudice, M'kay, cause it ain't gonna fly with

Ok, let me make something REAL clear to you.
Amanda went back to work as an ACTOR, she was not punished for being a female, she did not "loose" her "normal duties" as an ACTOR, and she STILL got paid the same to do the SAME JOB.

If you want to continue this, take it to PM and we can BOTH cut loose, and let the rest of these good people just enjoy their thread.

You know you don't need to be so rude. I never once used the word sexist or stupid so don't put words in my mouth. And don't tell me "it ain't gonna fly" - I don't need your arrogance because you think I was having some kinda go at you when I wasn't. I don't think you know the meaning of prejudice.
You huffed about Amanda being on leave for 6 months when she wasn't. You don't like being corrected? Fine. But don't sass me. I don't care what gender you are or where you live.
So I'll make this real clear to you - no one suggested you leave coz no one here does that. You being asked to stick around wasn't so you could come back and attack me like you just did.
I'm not taking anything up with you from here out. You don't like it, then ignore it.
Leave me alone.

[Mandysg1]

From what I recall, Coop wanted Sam to command a ship that went back and forth from SG1 and SGA and not be on SG1 at all. I'm not sure who nixed the idea, probably skiffy, but the plan didn't go through and they we heard "we don't know what to do with Sam."

[majorsal]

From what I recall, Coop wanted Sam to command a ship that went back and forth from SG1 and SGA and not be on SG1 at all. I'm not sure who nixed the idea, probably skiffy, but the plan didn't go through and they we heard "we don't know what to do with Sam."

i wonder if cooper ever watched sanctuary? i wonder what he thought of not only a woman leading a team, but being the star of the show?

stargate season 9 didn't need to be the sam carter show... it needed to be the sam, daniel, and teal'c show. they earned it.

[Gatefan1976]

but the writers knew, gatefan, that amanda was going to come back, so they could have written mitchell as just a temp leader until sam arrived.

Sal, look at when Cam came in, it wasn't "played out" as WIN for him, he spend 3 eps just trying to get "the band back togeather", and Cam NEVER just told Sam to shut up because her "reproductive organs were on the inside". Science, tech, he differed to her ALL THE TIME. I feel sorry for BEN in this situation, because despite his "standing aside" and Because he "took a job" as an actor, he is seen as the "interloper"

the writers could have written an entirely different reason for sam being gone (i would have had it that she was on her honeymoon with jack ), but they wanted their new stargate series and sam continuing to be leader didn't fit with that.

Sure, I agree Sal,they could have done ANYTHING, and if Sam Carter was placed permanently in charge of sg-1, and there was no Cam, it would have made no difference to me, I would have liked to see that happen.

to me, the problems that hurt sg1 started in season 7, when rob cooper took over... and it just kept chipping away until the entire franchise was hurt by their golden child sgu.

I could speak volumes on that, but to stay on point, I think RCC would be scared of a woman opening her own door, and it's pathetic.

[Chelle DB]

From what I recall, Coop wanted Sam to command a ship that went back and forth from SG1 and SGA and not be on SG1 at all. I'm not sure who nixed the idea, probably skiffy, but the plan didn't go through and they we heard "we don't know what to do with Sam."

Yeah - Amanda herself said they didn't know what to do with her.
Either way, I'm glad she went on to Atlantis then made that decision to move to Sanctuary and not take another year with Atlantis - it turned out to be the right choice given Atlantis' demise the following year.
I'd live to see her in more roles like on Supernatural or Motive.
Can't wait to see Kid Cannabis.