Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[LadyJeep]

A change in the Force there is
Sam Carter will soon resume her duties
Among the interstellar scifi stars
Carter definitely tops the cuties

She doesn't need to flirt and play
Her natural beauty shines the way
Sam Carter's military and scientific skill
Far outweigh an enemy's will

So let the Orii be on guard
They may seem clever thus so far
That's because they've naught met Sam
She's just what's needed in a jam

For Carter can hold SGC steady
Her quick mind is always ready
To take on any alien race
Sam's not just another pretty face

Yes, a new team will go through the Gate
And that may make us hesitate
It's not the SG1 we knew so well
Jack is gone and I won't dwell ...

But, in any Galaxy and through any Gate,
Our Sam Carter is first-rate!!

Another spectacular poem! I love it, love it, love it!!

[astrogeologist]

WELCOME BACK ASTROGEOLOGIST/KEEPER OF THE FLAME!

The Good Sisters of Samanda have been guarding the Gate waiting for your return ...

"Vigilate et Orate" (Watch and Pray)

LOL! Chopingal, you are wonderful! Thanks so much for all of your efforts - you are one of the folks that make this thread so wonderful.

Welcome back, Astro!

Hope you get caught up with those “return from vacation” tasks and can join us soon.

You may not have seen them when you landed, but there were a bunch of folks anxiously anticipating your arrival. ChopinGal, Majorsal and Strix happened to be in the area when you swooped out of the sky and they look pretty happy to be able to join in the festivities.

LOL! This is hilarious Samfan! *Great* poses for everyone! Your photoshopping is looking pretty seamless to me - wow!
Thanks so much for the great smile that you just put on my face!


Wow! Thanks so much for the warm welcome back from everyone! When I got back earlier this week, I was overwhelmed by the more than 1400 posts that were posted while I was gone! EEEEK! Yikes! Up until the time that I'd left for my trip in July, I'd read every single post on this thread... but now I was more than 1400 posts behind... ack! I didn't know where to start! Chopingal sent me direct links to the two posts above so I could get started

On other fronts, I had to go to the Post Office and pick up three weeks of mail and bills and such... and what was waiting for me in amongst this bucket of paraphenalia? The package with the SaGC Collection in it... the package was unopened and had simply not been accepted at Bridge Studios. OK, now that was pretty sad and discouraging... but the clerk at the UPS office had warned me that there might be problems because of Canadian Customs Tax - and that they'd demand payment from the recipient, sigh. I offered to pay for the tax 'up front' but was told that such arrangements usually don't work and generally just cause problems... basically, the US Postal Service (and UPS) don't want to be responsible for what another country does with things like Customs Taxes and such. The UPS clerk recommended that I declare the value of the gift as less than $40 to avoid any problems... but I wanted it insured for at least the value of the materials and binding... Ultimately UPS sent me to the USPS where the Canadian Customs Tax limit was supposed to be higher than $40 but the clerk there couldn't guarrantee anything and just shrugged and said that hopefully the gift would go through without any problems.

So, I guess I wasn't surprised when it came back - disappointed, yes, but surprised, not so much. Bridge Studios certainly can't be expected to pay Customs Taxes on all of the unknown stuff that is sent to actors by their fans. It's just too bad that I couldn't pay for it ahead of time and have it be a non-issue.

Next, I spent a couple of days thinking about the options of how to get the Collection safely to AT... I could just mail it 'regular mail' and declare it's value as less than $40... I could sent it to Chopingal who could then take it with her to GABIT and personally hand the book to her in England... or I could mail the book to a member of the thread who lives in Canada and then have them mail it (or deliver it) to Bridge Studios (Chopingal recommended MajorSam)... I mulled it over for the first few days that I was back... while paying bills and getting all sorts of laundry done and such... and I finally decided to give the old uninsured UPS route a try. So Friday I took the bound Collection to UPS, had it reboxed (the original box was a little worn from its travels) and sent it to Canada... uninsured and with a declared value of only $15. Someone at Bridge Studios' receiving department will still have to sign for it (and I asked if that was even necessary as I wanted to remove all possible obstacles), but hopefully that won't cause it to be sent back

The clerk at UPS was cheerful and very helpful... but she was also having a terrible time typing the address correctly - the first time she generated the shipping labels, the street name came out as 'roundary road' instead of Boundary Road - good thing that I checked! In order to correct the typo, she had to regenerate new shipping labels and other such paperwork... and I scanned the new address label to discover that she now had 'Boundry Road' - with no 'A' in BoundAry... sigh... I had to point it out and then she had to regenerate another entire set of labels and other paperwork... When I left there were labels and paperwork on several different counters... I sure hope that she got the right label onto the package!

At least the clerk was nice about it all... and she even muttered that she'd drive the package up to Vancouver herself if it came back again ... now I know that she was being fascetious, but it still put a smile on my face - a friend of mine had said the same thing the day before when she'd seen the package on my table and I'd explained what had happened. My friend had just rolled her eyes and said 'we could just drive it up there!' And we could... it's a two-day drive to Vancouver and another two days to drive back from where I live (I've basically done it before to visit family who live in Washington)... so while it's conceivable, it's not practical (especially after I *just* returned from a three-week absence!

So... lots of folks have sent me emails and PMs asking about whether or not I'd heard anything about AT receiving the SaGC Collection... and the answer is... not yet. The package is hopefully on its way to her right now. I'm also not expecting to hear anything - she's so busy with the new baby and the series filming, that I'm sure that her fan mail and such has to take a pretty low priority. However, if all does go well, and the package is actually delivered correctly, then hopefully, Chopingal, and/or a few others from the thread who are going to GABIT, will get a chance to ask AT about it in England.

[Skydiver]

i agree. personally, i see threads, reckoning and moebius as a 5 hour pay off for 8 years. a good place for the show to end but also enough of a place for it to keep going.

Personally? i see brad's hands on those 5 eps. he has a mastery with the characters and thier feelings and i think he did a stellar job.

those 5 eps really do just go together so well and are the hilight of s8 for me

[Uber]

I think that the thing that makes Stargate SG-1 is that it usually does a good job of showing a variety of topics to keep the fanbase happy based on their specific likes.

So a few NID eps here, a few Jaffa freedom stories there...neither of which I enjoy in big doses but small bites...all woven together to form the brilliant tapestry of a well told story.

The problems arise when a specific arc takes over for too many episodes in a row...for instance, the Daniel ascenscion story isn't my fave but it's part of the SG universe...but I wouldn't want 7 Daniel ascension stories in a row.

So last season we had such a huge microscope on Sam's personal life...and whereas I didn't mind it, I didn't want it to go on for too long because that's only one aspect of her personality. Granted, TPTB were dealing with money/RDA issues and had to have more earth-based/character-based stuff to compensate. I'm glad they've dealt with the topic though so now we can see a more self-assured Sam back on campus.

And now this season, we have such a huge focus on Vala...and like all things, too much is too much. I now like Vala (especially after The Powers that Be) but I don't want a focus on her and what she does/who she's with for too long either. Right now, SG-1 (that would be Mitchell, you know "SG-ME"), Daniel and Teal'c are all reactionaries to Vala's antics and for me it's TOO MUCH.

To really get back to the roots of SG-1, you have to go back to the idea of that grand tapestry...mixing it up with a wide range of storylines and no huge focus on any one story for too many eps in a row. Plus going offworld helps a lot too...you know, actually going through that big round thing that flushes sideways? Yeah that.

Plus it wouldn't hurt to get our wormhole back.

Or our opening credits.

I'm just sayin'...

[LadyJeep]

Ok, I know this is probably not how it's going to happen, but this is how I envisioned Vala and Sam's first meeting to be.

Teal'c has just stepped through the Stargate with Mitchell standing at the bottom of the ramp awaiting his arrival. Sam is standing in the briefing room gazing down at the scene below as Daniel and Vala enter the room.

Daniel: Sam!!

Daniel walks over to Sam and gives her a hug while Vala stands back at the door trying to look inconspicuous.

Sam: (warm smile) Hey Daniel.

Daniel: (looks questioningly at Sam) They decided it was worth taking the risk?

Sam nods her head.

Daniel: I'm sorry Sam.

Sam: Yeah. Well. You know. Sam shrugs.

Daniel: We've really missed you. Mitchell hasn't stopped yammering about getting the team back together.

Sam: Really?

Daniel: You have no idea what we've been through the past few weeks.

Sam: (glancing over towards Vala) Oh, I think I have some idea.

Daniel: (lowers his voice to a low growl) I don't think I've ever met a woman so...so...manipulative, intrusive, and infuriating. Not to mention...

Sam: beautiful, intelligent and highly intriguing.

Daniel stands silently with his mouth a gape.

Sam: She really is quite smart, Daniel. Daniel looks inquisitively at Sam. I've read the reports regarding the Prometheus incident. Regardless of how annoying you may find her to be, you have to admit she's extremely resourceful.

Daniel: You're only saying that because you haven't had to work with her yet.

Sam: (grinning) Well you don't get to be a Lt. Colonel in the United States Air Force without dealing with people like Vala on occassion. I seriously doubt there is anything Vala could do or say that would get under my skin.

Vala: A trait Daniel here has yet to acquire. (smiling) Vala. Vala Malduran.

Sam: Lt. Colonel Sam Carter.

Vala: So... (looking Sam up and down) you're the brilliant astrophysicist the boys here at the SGC have been going on about.

Sam looks over towards Daniel who just shrugs.

Vala: Odd. I had pictured you to be a little more...I don't know...

Sam: ...what?

Vala: Well to be quite frank...male. Daniel never mentioned that you were a woman.

Daniel: She never asked. *looking extremely frustrated as he looks at Vala* You never asked.

Grinning, Sam steps back and watches Vala and Daniel begin to banter with one another, obviously forgetting that she is even there.

Couldn't give you green, so I had to post and let you know I just loved this!

[astrogeologist]

There's a Stargate SG-1 Viewer's Choice Poll at Scifi.com

"Cast your votes now for your ten favorite episodes of Stargate SG-1. The six episodes that receive the most votes from our users will be aired in our Stargate SG-1 Viewer's Choice Marathon, Friday, Sept. 2, starting at 8/7C!

Select your top ten (or fewer) episodes from the list below by checking the box next to the title. To read a synopsis of an episode, click its title. When you've selected your episodes, click the submit button at the bottom of the page.

The poll opens Wednesday, Aug. 10, and runs through Thursday, Aug. 25 at midnight. Vote now, and tune in Sept. 2 at 8/7C to see if any of your favorites made the top six! "

It sure would be great to see some of the great episodes that were chosen as the top episodes from our Best Carter Episode Polls! (click here to review the results of our thread polls)

SciFi Viewer's Choice Poll (click here to go to the SciFi Channel poll - and vote!)

Note: I apologize if this has already been posted (in amongst those 1400 that I have yet to catch up on)

[sueKay]

OT - Astrogeologist- A few folk on this forum said that you're also fic writer SG1-Fanfic...is that right??

[AGateFan]

Proof Stargate is one of the most awesome shows of all time.... I find it really, really hard to pick just 10 eps. There are sooo many good ones.

[SamFan31]

Oh, Astro. What a sad tale about the trials and tribulations of trying to send the SaGC Collection to Bridge Studios. You’re a trooper to continue to battle the complexities of the North American Customs rules and regs. Hopefully, this time there won’t be any problems.

By the way, it’s *great* to see your sig again on the pages of the SaGC forum!

[Lys]

Astro, I'm sorry to hear that you had all this trouble with the SaGC Collection. Let's hope it's going to reach its target, erm Amanda , this time.
On the bright side it's really great to have you back for good.

[Strix varia]

Hey Astro, it's great to have you back! Hope you had a great trip. I was only six when I lived in Hawaii for a year, but I clearly remember hiking around the rim of Mt. Haleakala and looking at Haleakala silverswords. Spectacular! Thanks for your persistence with the SaGC Collection, and congratulations on your nomination for overall best author in the Stargate Fanfic Awards!

[astrogeologist]

OT - Astrogeologist- A few folk on this forum said that you're also fic writer SG1-Fanfic...is that right??

Yes, that's me.

OK, this is a test post... I've tried posting something much longer three times, but my browser is just hanging up...

Edited to add: Hmmm....
.

[sueKay]

I'm not having any GW problems at all...

...touch wood!

Astro - THANKYOU for the reviews!!!

I love your fics!!!!!!!!!!!

[jckfan55]

Maybe JM implied that Sam's story arcs had the longest run of the last seasons. I can't find anything to add to your list but

Spoiler:

the Pete story arc lasted for both seasons and the Replicarter one for almost the entire season 8

.

I'd for once would have loved to add to the list a Sam commanding officer of SG1 story arc. Why didn't we get an episode dealing with that ? We had one focusing on Jack's new position in the SGC, why not one about Sam ?
I know the shippers aren't going to be pleased with me but I'd rather have a strong adventure type episode with Sam, as SG1's leader, dealing with Baal or whatever Goa'uld you want, than Threads.
Now I'm cowering in a corner waiting for some angry shippers to throw penguin missiles at me and rotten tomatoes.
Agent Dark ! Help me !

Don't cower--I'll stand with you too on Sam SG-1 leader. I'm an anti-shipper. I watched my tape of Friday's ep today--was so jazzed to see AT in the preview I rewound it and watched it again. I agree with the poster who said now it feels like the season is starting. I'd say ep 1 & then this one (the last few were more like filler).

[ChopinGal]

Hey Astro, it's great to have you back! Hope you had a great trip. I was only six when I lived in Hawaii for a year, but I clearly remember hiking around the rim of Mt. Haleakala and looking at Haleakala silverswords. Spectacular! Thanks for your persistence with the SaGC Collection, and congratulations on your nomination for overall best author in the Stargate Fanfic Awards!

THIS IS TERRIFIC NEWS!! I HAVEN'T EVEN VOTED YET AND BETTER GET MY BUTT OVER THERE AND READ THROUGH ALL CATEGORIES, ETC. !!