Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Simhavaktra]

Wow, that Pendant is AMAZING. Seriously, do you think you're friend will take orders. I would sooo love one of those. Could you please ask her, please!!!!

BTW - Did anybody catch the name of the band Dr. Lee was "listening to" when Sam came in and wasn't too happy about it. Something like dark paranoia??? Thanks guys.

Dark Pariah.

Now I know what all those backward masked messages that purportedly appeared in all sorts of hard rock and heavy metal albums in years past were actually for! Rock stars have long since invented Prior protection. Sort of - ante Prior anti Prior technology! I mean, can you imagine being rock stars, of the ilk and kind of Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple and your society is converted totally to Orii worship???

Hmm... It's all becoming clear now... Season 9, Arthurian mystique, Robert Plant reading Louis Spence's "Magic Arts in Celtic Britain" and finding inspiration for lyrics, Jimmy Page's 'Merlin' costume on stage in _The Song Remains The Same_, a song named "Cartouche" on a recent album from Richie Blackmore - the Earth will be saved from the Priors and the Doci and the Orii by early 70's rock stars, brought to the future for the express purpose by SG-1, in a sequel to 1969, called 1971! Daniel will decipher the backward lyrics on Led Zeppelin IV, and determine that SG-1 has already gone to the past and inspired those backward lyrics, therefore allowing Sam to endorse the mission. Daniel will go to India and meditate with the Maharishi to restore his Ascended memories of exactly what mystic sounds to play and magic words to say to burn out the evil Orii derived powers. Teal'c will protect Sam from legions of jealous groupies and amorous rock stars while she struggles to properly engineer the secret, Prior-deadly recordings on antique sound equipment. Mitchell will forget where they left the tour bus, and wonder if the Stairway to Heaven is supposed to be the Gate ramp. Vala will turn out to have the Ancient gene, and fly them all to the past in the Puddlejumper Gateship, and then jump ship to become a highly successful recording executive and concert promoter with a habit of making gold records appear - and then mysteriously disappear. And meanwhile, back in the future, a group of aging rockers will show up at the gates of Cheyenne Mountain with the all important master tapes they've been carefully keeping all these years - marvel at the stage costume of a System Lord who happens by, meet themselves going and coming, and get sent back to their respective timelines swearing that they'd swear off their favorite vices if those vices hadn't inspired them to help the really hot blonde and her weird friends save the world. Loud music will be played loudly. The Priors and Orii will be annihilated by power chords and an irresistable urge to drive Cadillacs unsafely for normal traffic and road conditions.

And, to bring it all back to some semblance of subject, everybody who graduated with a physics degree in my class owned at least one Led Zeppelin album. (I had eight. ) It's a 'you never get to bed at a sane hour because you have to stay up and do your homework so you have to stay awake somehow' thing. So I bet Sam is harbouring a Zeppelin album or three...

[Dani76]

Thanks for your help, Simhavaktra, appreciate it. Apparently, I need to spread some before I can green you again. BTW - that's exactly why I listen to "that kind" of music, staying up late to study.
Anyways, great post, LOL, can you imagine. That'd be something.

[binkpmmc]

Alright it's time for someone else to take post on "THAT" thread. I'm a little too tired right now.

Spaz? Bink? MG???

Tag...you're it...

Well Über you have been doing a fabulous job and I've got something rather long drafted for THAT thread - it came spilling out with tonight's 2 eps of complete and utter incompetence on Mitchell's part. I am not posting it until tomorrow as it's late here and I want to double check some of the facts - yes facts that I am using from the 2 eps so I want to watch some of the scenes again. I think, Über, it will make you proud, as well as all other Carter fans. Until tomorrow . . . .

I am also preparing another question for the AJM thread but that will wait a few days since I do not want to post there too often about Mitchell's incompetence.

[Lys]

here's the pendant...i'm still watching the eps for the first times, so more bout that sometime tomorrow

Me wants one. ( Why don't we have drooling smileys on GW ? )

[the dancer of spaz]

Cam once again proves he has no business leading SG-1.

Spoiler:

I cringed in Prototype when he contacted the SGC and referred to himself as SG-1 Leader...and then he turned around and proved he had no business leading the team by touching things he had no business touching.

Did anyone else get that feeling too?????

Sweet, merciful... I seriously almost went through the roof.

[Agent_Dark]

( Why don't we have drooling smileys on GW ? )

I know! How are you supposed to properley thunk Amanda without one?!?!

[the dancer of spaz]

Before I post a copy of my Prototype Thread post, I have to admit that I liked what was brought to the table with Sam - and Daniel and Teal'c. There wasn't a WHOLE lot of team, but there was a whole lot more than there has been, which is nice.

Anyway, Prototype/TFH moments were funny, I'll admit... There are moments where I was a bit stressed, but I'm sure it was probably just the pent-up excitement of the day...

Anywho, I find that

Spoiler:

my most enjoyable moments were the "I'm sorry, sir. How are you?," "Me being 5 (percent), you being 10," and the scenes between Sam/Dr. Lee and Sam/Carolyn.

Remember when I made that three-tier request yesterday? Well, none of them were fulfilled, but I did have some LOL moments. I really did enjoy myself tonight, despite the agitated voice of my post...

********
Prototype...

Spoiler:

First order of business: I guess the "Who's The Boss?" War between Sam and Cam fans is (somewhat) over. Cameron identified himself as SG-1 leader, and Sam did her 2IC deal. Business as usual. Except she ordered people around, and Cam's "orders" were more like suggestions when addressing her.

Second order: Still, my feelings on the subject were neatly summed up in two words by the lovely Daniel Jackson: "New guy?!"

Why, oh why, oh why would Cameron think that he could just go hitting buttons on a panel that he couldn't hope to decipher? Looking for a dang light switch? Wha?!?! Yes, Daniel hit stuff too, but he could actually READ it. Again, this could be categorized as an "honest mistake" on Cam's part, but I'm not so sure I buy that. What happened to the "no touchy-touchy rule?" If they had just waited a bit, Daniel would have figured out WHO and WHAT they were dealing with, and they would have been able to move on accordingly.

Then again, the episode would have panned out differently, wouldn't it have? Oh, how it's soooo interesting when the characters' behavior is used as a plot device.

I liked the actor who played Nuby Jr. Not only was he Jude Law-esque, but he was also just so incredibly sinister. It's a shame he died so soon. Dang. Hey, maybe HE found some cloning technology!

I'm beginning to like Lam more and more. LD did a great job of showing how unnerved Carolyn was at the thought of killing a patient (Nuby 2) who was in her care. Still, she was dedicated and steadfast in finding out what was going on. Lam's got a very rough edge to her, but her soft side is definitely reminiscent of Janet. She wasn't nearly as ticked off at Daddy as she was in previous eps. I'm looking forward to seeing more of that soft side come out as the season progresses.

As much as I liked the Daniel/Cameron shot of them walking up the ramp, I thought the Billions of Bullets was unnecessarily violent - even for this show. Meh. I'll live.

Bridges stood out to me as well. It was great to see Landry under stress. He's got a lot on his plate, he's really overwhelmed, and he's got 3/4 of his frontline team acting as if this is normal. Landry earned many more points in my book this episode.

Robert Picardo and Michael Shanks also did well in this episode. From start to finish, "Dick" provided the perfect opportunity for us to see how idiotic the government was being - like Sam said, he honestly believed his own spin. By the end of the episode, he was once again questioning his position and his beliefs. The ending scene was very well done, and it's good to see the confliction in Daniel again. He really ISN'T a murderer, but he knows what needs to be done from here on out.

Overall, it was a good episode, and a surprisingly good tie-in to "The Fourth Horseman Part I."

[the dancer of spaz]

My "TFH1" Rant.

Spoiler:

The episode started off really well - and then had moments where all I could do was raise an eyebrow a la Teal'c.

The shallow side of me liked to see Daniel and Cameron walk down the hall in gym gear, chatting it up. Cam's smelling of the armpit was disgusting and yet hilarious. I smiled at his complete lack of couth there.

Then there were the scenes with Dr. Lee and Carter. I thought those were funny and telling of their relationship - especially the "Good analogy" scene. It was great, because I was really beginning to wonder if they even liked each other. Good stuff.

Everything was going great. They had Gerak doing his thing with Crazy Prior #1, and you could see that he was kinda wimping out. He almost completely redeemed himself until that final act did him in. Lou Gossett actually sold me on his performance this episode. I'm not a hard sell or anything, but I think I was liking Gerak a lot more this time around than EVERY other time combined.

And then they did it.

Strike 1: They reinforced the Cam/Lam ship concept. With an inappropriate, unprofessional and unnecessary joke. Oy...

Still I was prepared to get over it. They redeemed it by having good ol' Hammond show up for a ceremony. I was close to forgetting all about it.

But that wasn't enough.

Strike 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6: Someone - everyone - brought up Sam and Orlin's "intimate relationship." Twice. Three times.

I gotta tell ya, my blood pressure was so high after that scene with Sam, Lam and Landry in the observation room, that I literally had to rewind the following scenes a couple of times to fully get over it. You may think I'm kidding, but know that I'm not.

The cafeteria scene - though mildly humorous - would have been my undoing, if it wasn't for the fact that the SURROUNDING scenes weren't offensive.

I'm sorry. I watched Birth several months ago. And I'm still scarred.

Anyway, the premise of having the entire country under quarantine is pretty neat. Others may disagree, but I think that this sort of issue is so large-scale and rather plausible, that it's hard to deny the chaos that this would be creating for the US. The cover story won't be good enough for civilians, and the other nations are gonna be REALLY ticked that this happened. The SGC (and subsequently Landry) is gonna get its butt thoroughly kicked when this thing finally blows over.

AT mentioned in a recent interview that she and BBridges were still working out their characters' relationship, and that's becoming more and more apparent. Between "Prototype" and "TFH1," I see Landry as being the least patient of the three - most likely due to their lack of a pre-existing relationship. Whatever the reasons, the awkwardness between them, if it's intentional, is so annoying that it's actually good.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm kinda wishing Orlin had never showed up again. However, with his health issues, it'll be interesting to see how the second part pans out.

To me, Lam and Landry won points in "Prototype," but this episode further cemented my appreciation for them now. Lam's completely sold me, and Landry only has a bit left to go. "TFH2" should do the trick.

More Teal'c please! Yay for Bra'tac coming back! Hammond and Bra'tac back in one episode (a two-parter, no less) can only mean good things.

It was a decent cliffhanger, and I'll definitely be tuning in for the conclusion in January. However, in the future, if they could stop bringing in Sam's past suitors and let her run around a bit more with her P90, that would be FANTASTIC.

[the dancer of spaz]

*Mary Beth elbows Osiris-RA in the face (still in slo-mo of course) sending her CRASHING to the ground...propelling MB far into the lead of the other suckers, I mean, friends, in line...*

*Oh and Mary Beth grabs her P90, takes aim and blows away the loudspeakers blaring the Chariots of Fire music...*

Muahahaaaahaaaa!!!!!!

Hahahaha! I can't give ya green, but it's posts like these that REALLY put me in a good mood.

You know, for all my griping, whining and...well, you know... I really am happy with the eps tonight.

[deepspace]

Why am I getting the distinct impression from people's posts that season 9 is coming to an end? I thought it only just started for you all?

I'm also getting the impression that people aren't 100% happy with the new characters or the series, even if they've gotten used to it.

[the dancer of spaz]

Why am I getting the distinct impression from people's posts that season 9 is coming to an end? I thought it only just started for you all?

I'm also getting the impression that people aren't 100% happy with the new characters or the series, even if they've gotten used to it.

SciFi is calling it the "season finale" for those lay fans, who might not come back in January unless the network makes it seem extra special.

I like this season actually. You WILL see me in front of the TV on Frida for 2-hours blocks, and if I'm not - by some act of the Almighty - then it'll be Tivoed.

I think there's just a lot strife going on in regards to Mitchell vs. Carter. I wish it didn't have to be that way, but it really is.

Besides that, I think everything's OK.

[deepspace]

here's the pendant...i'm still watching the eps for the first times, so more bout that sometime tomorrow

Wow, your friend is really amazing to have made that. Lucky you sky! And you really deserve it if it was payment for your wonderful fanfics .

[Lys]

SciFi is calling it the "season finale" for those lay fans, who might not come back in January unless the network makes it seem extra special.

I like this season actually. You WILL see me in front of the TV on Frida for 2-hours blocks, and if I'm not - by some act of the Almighty - then it'll be Tivoed.

I think there's just a lot strife going on in regards to Mitchell vs. Carter. I wish it didn't have to be that way, but it really is.

Besides that, I think everything's OK.

The more I think about it, the more I think TPTB used Cam as the leader because they didn't think of anything special with him. See, Sam had all the Jolinar arc, she's got naquadah in her blood, Jack has the Ancient gene, Daniel has the whole ascension storyline, Teal'c, because he's a Jaffa knows almost everything about the Goa'uld and even Jonas had this photographic memory. They all have something special and that's what Cam lacks so far. His character is good, but he would work better as a team leader in a season 2 context, in season 9, it doesn't work so nicely. I guess they didn't know what to do with him apart from being the "hero". I'd really like to see what he can bring to the team. So far, I like him but I'm wondering sometimes what is he doing on SG1 ?

[ShimmeringStar]

Ditto right there. I shouted at the TV

Spoiler:

"FOOL! DON'T TOUCH THAT!!" Amoung other things. That's right, "SG-1 saviour", press the Big Blue Button, maybe the mechanical claw will go for the orange one. Jack - even though he could be a ninny at times - doesn't go touching things! My god, it could be a nuke button! They could all get blown to Valhalla! Does this guy have any training at ALL???

I didn't shout at the TV myself, but... I did frown and shake my head. What more obvious plot device is there than what he did???! "Leaders" like CM who are brash and bumbling while proporting to have all the knowledge of SG1 mission reports and *all* that military training, and they're not applying it wisely... that person isn't going to survive long in that kind of environment. Or shouldn't. And the excuse of his character providing comic relief or a plot device (if TPTB should want to use it) just doesn't fly IMO. Not on a show like this that use to have higher standards for itself. (I know... I know... it's a new season, new characters, new goals, new stories, new direction... and from the POV of the TPTB (and some fans...) if I don't like it I should just stuff it and leave. Ah well, let me slide back over into the corner... )

Spoiler:

Mom mentioned she's noticed At doesn't seem to smile as much as she did in the previous seasons. I gotta say, I think she's right. She doesn't seem as comfy or I dunno, energetic? I think she's done a stellar job though, holding it together this season. At least there's still familiar faces there, eh? I don't mean to sound to Anti-S9, I just noticed...

And then there were Three...

I agree with your mother. And IMOHO it has nothing to do with the changes in AT's personal life or how little we've seen the character and everything to do with how she's approaching and playing the character this season. I still get glimmers of feeling that Sam would rather be back in R&D focusing on new path in her career and personal life and that it's more like she's just tolerating being there because the Ori is allegedly such a "dire" threat and being the honor and duty bound soul that she is... she will be there in a heartbeat to pitch in, regardless of where she'd rather be. (maybe 'tolerating' isn't the right word, but I can't think of a better one at the moment)

[chocdoc]

Popping in to say that I really really enjoyed both episodes last night!! And I have to say I was relieved. These were my favorite episodes so far because I was finally actually interested in the stories---the time flew by for me when watching them. I liked all the characters much more and it feels like things are starting to gel between everyone.

And most important Sam was great! As others said, she was soldier Sam, scientist Sam, compassionate Sam---the Sam I love. Amanda did a great job---she is a fabulous actress and I felt like you can see her becoming more and more comfortable as time goes on, and the longer Sam is back at the SGC. I thought she looked relaxed and comfortable, and great! Most important, she was doing what Sam does best---figuring out solutions, being a competent soldier and a compassionate person, and working with the team, and taking command at different times.

More to say with spoiler space, but for now just wanted to say---these last two episodes have restored my faith in SG1 and I look forward to the second half much more than I thought I would!!!

And yes the leadership issue---I'm still seeing a shared leadership and a peer relationship between Mitchell and Sam. Mitchell is the official leader but he never commanded Sam, she never has to say sir thank goodness and she actually did alot of the commanding. More to say on this.