Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[sg-1fanintn]

Uh, oh! Sounds like tonight's ep was a big disappointment. I have it on tape (Darn, my family wants to go out to dinner and we never get back til after the show starts---weirdos! They should get their priorities straight---ha!) and plan to watch the 10pm feed. But now, I'm not looking forward to it. I guess that's what JM meant when he said,

Spoiler:

"That's it for now."

Never mind.

I'd be personally willing to drive down to LA, pick RDA and his daughter up and drive them up to Vancouver for his filming. Hell I'd even babysit his daughter and take them both to Disneyland when he was done if he would just show up for the last episode. I miss RDA but more importantly, I really miss Jack.

Is there room for me? Please! Please!

i'll come with you!!

I'll stop and pick you up on my way through Kansas! We'll carpool and save on gas!

you know, things are getting so incredibly over the top silly, i have to wonder if the s10 premiere will be 'jack's in the shower and it's all been a dream' (a really, really bad one BTW)

If it meant RDA coming back and things returning to "normal".....I could live with that. Yes, I could!

Oh, and forgive the off-topic comment here.....but as I watched SGA tonight, something about it seemed familiar. And suddenly, it hit me. It was like a rework of Broca Divide. Anyone agree with me?

[Uber]

Uh, oh! Sounds like tonight's ep was a big disappointment. I have it on tape (Darn, my family wants to go out to dinner and we never get back til after the show starts---weirdos! They should get their priorities straight---ha!) and plan to watch the 10pm feed. But now, I'm not looking forward to it. I guess that's what JM meant when he said,

Spoiler:

"That's it for now."

Never mind.


Is there room for me? Please! Please!

I'll stop and pick you up on my way through Kansas! We'll carpool and save on gas!

If it meant RDA coming back and things returning to "normal".....I could live with that. Yes, I could!

Oh, and forgive the off-topic comment here.....but as I watched SGA tonight, something about it seemed familiar. And suddenly, it hit me. It was like a rework of Broca Divide. Anyone agree with me?

More like Broca Divide + Bane.

[sg-1fanintn]

More like Broca Divide + Bane.

I guess you work with the ideas you have. A General Hospital writer one said that there are only 36 basic "soap" plots. Wonder how many "basic" sci-fi plots there are?

[cafine_us]

Babylon

Spoiler:

Even though Sam had a small role, it was good to see her as the clear undisputed leader of SG1 with Mitchell gone.

[AGateFan]

Babylon

Spoiler:

Even though Sam had a small role, it was good to see her as the clear undisputed leader of SG1 with Mitchell gone.

Spoiler:

Again, to me, she seemed pretty much in charge when he was there. Plus she just seems more military, carries herself more military and makes better decisions. There really was no reason for him to stay behind and not call for backup... Carter had to do that.

[parsifal]

More like Broca Divide + Bane.

Fortunately it was at least 10³ times better than "Bane".

[Skydiver]

sga was bane + broca with a smidgen of Meta and i had the solution worked out at about 30 into the show...but it was still enjoyable

babylon...babylon was set up.

Spoiler:

imho it sets up that dude cam fought as a replacement for gerak when tehy find out that he's a murdering bastitch and we get to see william davis as a prior and he's showing up later too

other than that, if you're busy, just read the transcripts... course there is finally some nice cam development, which is nice

[ForeverSg1]

Umm, can anyone explain to me what the title 'Babylon' had to do with this episode? I'm lost.

[Skydiver]

there's a good explanation in the Babylon thread

it refers to the city of babylon and the hammarabi laws/code which was 'eye for an eye'

[ChopinGal]

The Men in Sam’s Life

Sam Carter’s history with the opposite sex
At first seemed odd, much like a hex
Who dared to think that Sam so sweet
Would have men dropping at her feet

It’s true, you know,
Throughout the show
Just one look from Sam
And guys were in a sticky jam

Why did this happen to our fair beauty
Just trying hard to do her duty
Out to save the universe
Not coin the phrase “Carter’s curse”

Jonas Hansen was the first, not last,
A real bad apple from her past
Even though he caught her spying
He couldn’t sway her and he died trying

Perhaps Sam felt a remorseful twinge
She did have a thing for the lunatic fringe
After all the smoke had cleared
Two far better men soon appeared

Sam hit it off with Tok’ra Martouf
But Tollan Narim was more aloof
Each did love her in their own way
However, loving Sam could cause dismay

For any kind of love in bloom
Often led to doom and gloom
Martouf took the risk and forged ahead
He sure did; Sam shot him dead

Narim was so infatuated
He made her voice become automated
Perhaps Narim loved Sam the most
We’ll never know; the goa’uld came and he was toast

Amidst the blare of the Gateroom klaxon
Let’s recall Ambassador Faxon
Joe played a big part in Sam’s future and past
But, alas, true married love was not to last

A matter of trust that was broken
And Aschen secrets left unspoken
Joe might have been Sam’s best hope
If she had not reached the end of her rope

What about Agent Barrett and Alex Colson
Old connections, some emotion …
Nothing much to light a spark
Sam would rather study quarks

Then there was cosmic disarray
The day Sam met Rodney McKay
Two brilliant minds soon at wits’ end
Those two scientists could never blend

Along came Orlin to investigate her
And don’t forget Fifth, the smitten Replicator
Orlin loved Sam oh so much
He de-ascended so they could touch

Sam didn’t quite know what to make of this
Sharing Orlin’s essence without a kiss
They both ended up in her cramped basement
Mini-Stargate aglow to Sam’s utter amazement

She followed Orlin through the Gate
But pledging herself came too little, too late
Orlin knew what he had to do
And up into the sky he flew

Sam was left alone after that big “save”
No Orlin, no toaster, no microwave
Fifth, of course, took her hostage
And replaced her old kitchen with a new cottage

Sam wanted no part of domestic living
And rejected Fifth’s constant giving
Fifth grew tired of being the martyr
He let Sam go and made Replicarter

Be very careful of what you choose
(Some men and machines are destined to lose)
Even Sam’s Replicarter carried her curse
So, for Fifth, being “human” went from bad to worse

As Fifth disappeared in a flash of blue light
Sam was back home on Earth, remembering her plight
Now she could keep dating her cop
Even though thoughts of Jack just would not stop

Funny how she and her CO were quite the pair
In alternate universes, not “here” always “there”
Maybe Jack was really the man of her heart
And maybe she and a certain Pete Shanahan would have to part

At last Sam realized that her looks didn’t kill
Ditched her boyfriend, and by sheer strength of will
Announced to Jack what she was wishing
And he promptly took her fishing

Now Jack’s gone, and so is Daddy
Hammond, too, replaced by Landry
Sam is left without her trio
Time to kick some butt and be a hero

The future seasons may bring others
But she’ll always have her band of brothers
Danny, Teal’c, and new guy, Cam
Are the safest bets for Sam!

[cafine_us]

Whew! That was amazing! How do you do it?

[ChopinGal]

Right, a little late for this response but here goes:-

I for one think Sam was taken in a different direction after seasons 1 to 6. Seasons 1 to 6 we got lots of scientist/soldier Sam. From the brief glimpses into her off base life I saw her as quite shy, reserved, but with the possibility of a wicked sense of humour. By the end of season 6 Sam to me was probably a bit too perfect to be true, but she was a great role model.

Seasons 1 to 6 I see her as courageous compassionate, intelligent, with a kind heart and gentle soul. She is evidently competent in many fields of science. Capable at times of wanton manipulation – especially of Hammond – a slightly dark side of Sam. She showed very strong leadership abilities in many episodes when taking over situations at the base, calm, collected, direct and assuring. Her tenacity on many occasions led to her saving the day –and the world. She has a strong inner child and I loved to see her times with Jacob develop into a loving father/daughter relationship.

Come season 7 suddenly there was a change of emphasis. The emphasis was on the male interpretation of woman. The clothing was evidently more stylish and sexy from the hipster BDU pants and sleeveless tops to the low cut dress in the coffee shop in Chimera into the leathers in season 8 episodes. Now nothing wrong with this per say. But for me it just wasn’t Sam, and whilst people do change over time, I don’t think they change so quickly.

Chimera saw Sam in the coffee shop as the confident flirty type reeling Pete in “hook, line and sinker” This is whilst she still holds a very strong torch for O’Neill – the halo slips – I was disappointed at this as I would have hoped Sam would have more regard for other people’s hearts!!

She is now a little gung Ho as we saw in space race. I never saw Sam as Gung Ho previously.

We also got quite a lot of fallible Sam in season 7 and 8 where mistakes were made.

Whilst she was put in command of SG1 she was never given the opportunity to lead, which meant little or no professional development in seasons 7 and 8 – which in my mind was a huge error as this could have been the balancing development to the personal stuff which was being acted out before my narrowed eyes and furrowed brow.

Now back to the question do I now see her in a different light – weaker, less successful.

Well yes she is a different light, but not necessarily weaker and no less successful, but certainly less perfect. I didn’t mind her making mistakes – we all make mistakes – the question is whether we learn from them or not. Sometimes you can learn so much more from making a mistake than you ever can from countless successes. That aspect of Sam I didn’t mind and Avenger and Gemini are fave episodes of mine. Her head has never gone down, her confidence may be dented, but it hasn’t waned – she’s still in there offering up the theories and solutions. Plus we see her accept her mistakes with pure grace!!


In terms of personal Sam –

I don’t like the overt sexy portrayal as much as the casual don’t need to put myself on parade Carter. That is just me. Sexiness is so much more than clothing. My own opinion is that AT looks far sexier in BDU’s than she does in any low cut top or tight leathers, but I assume Sci Fi doesn’t think its male audience is capable of imagination and looking beyond what one can see - and prefers a blatant display of sexuality. IMO Sam’s shy smile has got to be sexier than a low cut dress????

I would have preferred development of all the team on the lines of get togethers off base – in a relaxed environment. I think we could have learnt more about them all in a few off base scenes than we have in 8 seasons of lets concentrate on 1 team member episodes. We could have seen Carter’s developing sense of humour and her interaction with both Teal'c and Daniel – rather than the focus of her attentions being on O’Neill.

In terms of Pete. I didn’t mind him per se – but was rather shocked to see Sam playing with someone’s heart when she still had such strong feelings for O’Neill. I was a bit peeved at the morning after scene in the bedroom. I don’t think I would be at all happy about a chap fleeing the bed and house just because I couldn’t tell him what I did for a living. I would have hoped Sam would be attracted to someone with a more maturity than that. So this is one area where I think the role model slipped a little.

In my opinion the writers failed to develop “Samantha” - they changed her (off base persona) which proves to me that the regular writers really should stick to the Sci Fi stuff and bring in other writers for back story development. I think they have failed to acknowledge their limitations. They have done an awesome, superb job in seasons 1 to 6. I don’t think we could have asked for better writing for a female Sci Fi lead.

I know she is still kick a$$ Carter. A hero, a leader, a scientist. It is just that we saw too little of this in seasons 7 and 8.

In terms of season 9 I think the writers are possibly between a rock and a hard place, especially when I’m sure they are planning for the show to be around a few more seasons and may not know for sure if AT will want to stay. I also agree with Lida’s recent post that they are working around Amanda having other demands on her time and energy and this must limit what they can and can not write for Carter.

The final word Carter is a Woman always has been. Roll over the men of this world!!

First of all ... welcome back, dear Royal Accountant and what a great post! You've made some strong points and it's never too late to add these kinds of comments.

I would agree with most of what you've written ... some of the personal backstory could have been handled better but it did add more depth to Sam and bring her to a point in her life where she has dealt with disappointment and loss and hard personal decisions. She should be ready now to return to her former position at SGC with new vigor and purpose.

After tonight's Babylon and the former S9 episodes, though, I do believe that we really won't see Sam in a pivotal role until S10. The maternity leave and the easing back into the show have left us with Sam light and I hope she gets at least a bit more onscreen time in the second half of season but not so sure it will happen. So, I'll have to be content with whatever.

Is patience really a virtue?

[sg-1fanintn]

Fortunately it was at least 10³ times better than "Bane".

Well, sure! TPTB have learned a few things since S2! And I'm not saying it was a bad ep. Almost every week this season, I've found SGA more entertaining (at least, to me) me than SG-1 (Can you say influence of Martin Gero?). I just found it.....familiar.

And to stay on-topic....I really just think AT is easing back in to work during the first half of the season (which was shot right after she returned from maternity leave). I'm certain she'll be more prominent in the second half.

[SamFan31]

The Men in Sam’s Life

Wow, CG! What a great poem. Super encapsulation from S1 through what we have of S9. There was only one problem. I got the swing of the tempo in my mind and then unconsciously kept trying to rhyme the next few posts and I got all confused! Thanks for your creativity and humor.

[Dani76]

Wow, CG! What a great poem. Super encapsulation from S1 through what we have of S9.

I agree, wonderfully done CG! What an awesome poem and so true. Bravo!!