Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Uber]

See, now coming from a Farscape fan this says a lot to me.

Well that's because John Crichton was a compelling character who oozed leadership ability. Even when he didn't have a clue, which was...you know, all the time...you NEVER got the sense that he wasn't in command.

Oooh...brand new poster on that thread...and in fact, brand new to GW! His first post on the forum was to agree with me!!!

We must encourage these newbies as to continue in the wisdom of the Samandan elders which scream..."Sam's more qualified! Give her her command back!!!"

[ForeverSg1]

Overall, I really enjoyed Prototype and I don't have too much to complain about it. I thought it was very well written and the acting was wonderful by everyone involved. It had a few issues in the beginning involving Mitchell, but that's something that seems to be an issue in every episode. In the end, I loved Daniel in this episode. It's been a really long time since I've truly loved Daniel in an episode, but I think this was another major turning point in Daniel's life. I know a lot of people see Daniel as harder now and many do not like this change in Daniel, but I look at the things he and the other members of SG-1 have been through and I can't imagine anyone not evolving and changing after dealing with what these people have lived through. I can't say I was surprised by the ending. I knew it was coming; however, I still felt an emotional stirring deep inside when I saw the look on Daniel's face and I realized how much he had changed from the young and compassionate young man we met nine years ago.


TOP 3 THINGS I DISLIKED ABOUT FOURTH HORSEMEN:

Spoiler:

1.
I did not like, for the second time, that Sam's personal life has been brought up in a episode that has left Sam looking extremely uncomfortable. Hasn't Sam had to deal with enough of this crap in the last two years? Barrett's personal questioning in EDM I could almost deal with, but the little comments by Landry/Lam in FH1 was completely uncalled for and in my opinion extremely unprofessional of Landry to discuss the way he did. I also didn't like the cafeteria scene with Orlin. I know the writers felt compelled to bring up Sam and Orlin's past together and Orlin's feelings for Sam, but it was obvious Sam felt very uncomfortable talking about and I think the fact that she had to discuss it with someone who now looked like a child made it only worse for her. If the writer's insist upon ignoring everything that did or did not happen between Sam and Jack in season 8 that's fine, but why must Sam now endure all this persistent delving into her past relationships( if you can even call them that). I can only hope this is the last we'll have to deal with this sort of thing this season. Hopefully they can just get back to showing Sam as a great soldier and scientist and get off the little kick they've got onto of showing men( alien or otherwise ) fall all over Sam. Sam's gorgeous, everyone wants her... we all get it. Now can we just let the poor woman do her damn job!

2.
I know some of you are still upset with the leadership issues because many people really want to see Sam as leader as do I; however, I could truly live with the idea of Sam not being leader of SG-1 again if I felt Mitchell was truly capable of taking command and we could hear from Sam her reasons for not wanting the position any longer. However, I have to admit I'm truly disappointed in the way the writers have portrayed Mitchell thus far. Every week, I keep hoping to see something that will explain why he's in charge of SG-1 and each week I'm left hanging. Mitchell and Sam both deserve better than this. Mitchell deserves to be shown as a competent leader and Sam deserves to not be seen as someone who just abadoned everything in order to take a serious step backwards in her career to a 2IC position again.

3. I did not like the way Cameron and Landry behaved towards Sam in the briefing room scene. They both came across as very condesending and I don't recall either of them offering any better suggestions on dealing with the Priors. This scene probably wouldn't have bothered me so much if I didn't have to then later watch the scene with Sam and Dr. Lee where he is complaining about the time frame Sam gave the General. I really felt his comment about Sam coming back from area 51 and trying to make herself look good was just as condesending and rude towards Sam. Luckily this time, she had her earphones on and didn't actually hear him. I understand Sam is a very smart and much of the time what she tries to say goes over the heads of most of her counterparts, but I do not like the road they seem to be going down in making Sam look as if she is not respected by her peers. It also doesn't look good to me to see Landry gush about how great Sam is and how he needs her back at the SGC and the moment she returns he behaves as if he's not really interested in what she's saying.

I'm sure I could come up with more but it's late and I figured three was plenty. Hopefully if I get enough free time, I'll post the three top things I liked about the Fourth Horseman.

[the dancer of spaz]

Also, after Prototype/TFH, I can kinda understand what AT meant by not wanting to be Exposition Girl. While the title is cute and all, seeing Sam with her "Carter Special" is cooler. I enjoyed seeing Scientist!Sam, but I'd imagine that being Exposition Girl, while the guys are off somewhere else, might be annoying.

Also, when it comes to the command issue NEVER being addressed... Do you think the order might have come down from as high as SciFi? Maybe they realized how crazy it can get around here and silenced everyone (I know that sounds creepy, but...). I ask because the execs were there during the con on the 15th of July. Looking back, while it's nice that they came so they could see hardcore fans' reactions first hand, I wonder what their OTHER motives for being there were.

They're not stupid, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were PAID positions (for poor college students, of course) that involved traversing this forum and others on a regular basis for analysis. If there is such a position out there, I'm DEFINITELY in the wrong line of work.

Anyway, I'm wondering how much we can blame TPTB for this. SciFi have shown that they can be kinda... wacko... when it comes to dealing with fans.

[Uber]

I hope any Samandan going to GABIT will take the chance during the Q & A session to ask Amanda what's going on...specifically, were the quotes from the last six months from TPTB deliberately misleading or is there something coming up we don't know about?

See what she says then report back...

[the dancer of spaz]

I hope any Samandan going to GABIT will take the chance during the Q & A session to ask Amanda what's going on...specifically, were the quotes from the last six months from TPTB deliberately misleading or is there something coming up we don't know about?

See what she says then report back...

Oooh. This could be my one reason for being glad that I'm not going to GABIT, because if I were I'd probably totally take you up on that suggestion. She'd basically have to choose between (1) feeding us some obvious BS and ticking us off even more later on down the road; (2) successfully pulling off a well-rehearsed lie, the creative spawn of a SciFi Exec that was tweaked by JM; and (3) telling us the truth, no matter what the consequences.

I would HATE to put an actor on the spot like that - especially her.

However, the journalist within me would be unable to resist.

[SamFan31]

CAPTIONS??



Headaches? Anti-Prior Guns? Where’s a button I can push?

[Traveler Enroute1]

Ok.....since I'm the only one here.....I think I'll try to fulfill ForeverSG1's request from the other day, and share some of my fave Sam pix for whatever project she's preparing.

Action Sam:

<<my snips>>

There oughta be a Carter action figure! Pictures 2 and 4 would definitely be on my...I mean my daughter/niece/lucky little girl neighbor's dresser.

Wow pics, sg-1fanintn.

Just sayin'.

[Traveler Enroute1]

Scientist Sam:

<<my snips>>

And Action Carter only needs energy crystal, ZPM and notebook props to switch to Scientist Sam! Oh, and a labcoat.

(I think I read somewhere around here that we shouldn't re-post pictures in quotes or something to save space. How do I not re-post pictures when I quote? I see many on the threads have just the linkage; is there something else I do to get that? Although I do love the pictures over and over, but just asking.)

Just askin', just sayin'.

[Agent_Dark]

<<my snips>>

And Action Carter only needs energy crystal, ZPM and notebook props to switch to Scientist Sam! Oh, and a labcoat.

(I think I read somewhere around here that we shouldn't re-post pictures in quotes or something to save space. How do I not re-post pictures when I quote? I see many on the threads have just the linkage; is there something else I do to get that? Although I do love the pictures over and over, but just asking.)

Just askin', just sayin'.

Change the IMG tags to URL

[Qasim]

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

That is class

Prototype was a decent ep

But the 4th horsemans storyline was hijacked by the sam/orlin stuff which was badly done in my opinion

Damn cliffhanger - Damn 3 month wait

Will be back later once I have made some screencaps

[Traveler Enroute1]

Change the IMG tags to URL

Much thanks, Agent Dark!

Just sayin'.

[Traveler Enroute1]

Damn cliffhanger - Damn 3 month wait

<<my snips>>

Double ditto to that. To add fuel to our misery, the networks will be flooding the tube with all manner of pseudo-scifi series, few if any to be seen after December. !

But my coworkers who are Stargaters say it works well with the break so they can catch their fave off Sci-Fi shows in their new seasons. So not cool, the wait; but maybe the counterprogramming helps SG ratings. Maybe.

Meanwhile: positive thoughts on Sam for S9 pt II; positive thoughts, only positive thoughts...

Just sayin'.

[Qasim]

Meanwhile: positive thoughts on Sam for S9 pt II; positive thoughts, only positive thoughts...

Spoiler:

I would say it would be a safe bet that Sam saves the world again - the spoilers say "Daniel and Mitchell will be heading off-world on a mission to retrieve a key element of a potential cure." - I wonder who will be the only person who knows what to do with the key element?

The spoilers also say "'Fourth Horseman' offers yet another reunion of sorts while Carter teams with Dr. Lee in an attempt to help capture 'the missing piece of a puzzle.' ... Amanda does a wonderful job in 'The Fourth Horseman' as Sam struggles to help save the world under an incredible emotional strain."
(Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a message at GateWorld Forum)

[Agent_Dark]

oooooo, Dark Sam!Fic :O :O

Encroaching Darkness, by nakedtoes. But it is Dark, and Depressing and Disturbing and probably a few other negative D words, so be warned R-18 rating.

Edit - A couple more by the same author that I liked:
Late Night Conversations, Sam/Pete

Salt Whispers, Sam/Teal'c friendship.

Touching Numbness, More Sam/Teal'c friendship with a touch of Sam/Jack. OMGWTFBBQ?!?!? you might say. Well, I was sleep deprived for that rec

Little Miss Fix-It. Gen Sam fic

[ShimmeringStar]

Professional, master-class, practicing cynic that I am I think that Mitchell brings something to the show that TPTB apparently find it necessary for Stargate to have. <snip>

And we muchly appreciate those posts! Even if the old rep machine won’t let us share some green jello with you again yet!

Mitchell is a plot device more than he’s a character. He’s a talking, portable, self propelled complication/resolution, ready to say, do, think of, not know, imagine, destroy, screw up, or rectify – literally… anything. Generally speaking he acts not as a character/person, from his self, the needs, intelligence, knowledge, skills, experiences, goals, desires that make up his self and make him that person, but, instead, from the exigencies of the plot du jour.

LOL at the bolded statement! And oh so true. And as the *cough!* alledged leader *cough!* of SG1 what in the world are TPTB thinking? The lead SG1 team given its history at and position in the SG needs strong leadership. Not goofball leadership. (Again, lest anyone think I dislike BB or his character - my disclaimer – I like the actor and Ben is excellent eyecandy, BUT his character is not making an impression on me as a strong leader whether he’s officially ‘it’ or not. And I don’t think it’s necessarily the actor’s fault – he’s reading and delivering the lines he’s given the best he can…)

*grins* But I just noticed something… SG trivia I guess…. That TPTB, just like they did with Jack, have managed to get Cam shirtless by episode 8. It was ep 108 ‘Brief Candle’ for Jack and ep 908 ‘Babylon’ for Cam. ‘Cept poor Cam didn’t have an *ahem* situation to lose his shirt for… Thank goodness except Chimera which dealt with Sam’s personal life, they never had Sam lose her shirt on the job. (At least where we got to view it!)

When the plot needs explanation, Mitchell’s there to instigate the explanation and listen to it. When a story needs something to connect all its bits and pieces together, Mitchell’s there to be the virtual silicone adhesive, stretching in all sorts of directions simultaneously, no matter how ludicrous or illogical that stretching might look, to be the relationship between the disparate components of the plot. <snip>

I wonder if this is because TPTB must think that they have so many brand-new first-time viewers of S9 that they have to present the story to the viewers this way? It’s like they’re saying ‘Here… Let’s make it the most obvious referral that we can back to the older eps by saying “I read the report” or “But you said in the report.” Most of us know that Cam, Lam, and Lan were all *not* there. I don’t know… I think, the more that I do think about it, that TPTB (and that definitely includes SciFi) really have discounted the intelligence of their fans. Like I believe Osiris-RA said – show me, don’t tell me. And if you got to TELL me, don’t patronize me. Make an oblique reference or a statement that would indicate you knew about it. Not I read the report yaddayaddayadda….. More like Cam: “Didn’t you try something like that before?” Sam: “Yeah, back on PX9-234, but it didn’t work. The locals ran us out.”

<snip> I can’t imagine a close knit SG team cleaving to Mitchell with his scattershot behavior and performance, much less trusting him with their lives in the field.

And that’s what’s been pushing the point of believability for me with the introduction of this character. The original team was fine-tuned to the point they didn’t even need to talk to anticipate the others’ actions. They trusted each other implicitly and a look was all it took. That’s why I did have to laugh at Daniel saying “NEW GUY??!!!” after Cam insisted on pushing the button. It pretty much summed it up for me. A character like his creates more work for a character like Sam’s. She’s got to do her usual job and try to anticipate what Cam may {unintentionally} do to thwart their missions since she probably is thinking ‘like hell if I’m going to let this pipsqueak get me killed.’

I think Mitchell, acting exactly as he does, with his backstory, would have worked much better as a younger actor playing a first lieutenant. Then his erratic comprehension of and performance of his duties wouldn’t grate so much, because I could chalk it up to inexperience and immaturity. Or, if it had to be Ben Browder or bust, he needed to be a major - who hadn't made Lieutenant Colonel because of his erratic performance.

Definitely in some other position. Maybe slid into a position on a different team where he was shown in a couple eps to be making it very known his desperation to get on the premiere SG unit. Oh. But yeah. I forgot. There was a goal in mind. Cam as Jack. And things had to be written to get him there no matter how unbelievable they are.

Actually, I’m wondering if Mitchell isn’t being groomed as the handsome and photogenic face of the Stargate program if and when it goes public. Bleh. And why wouldn't a tall, slim, blue-eyed, blonde, beautiful genius be a good public face for the program, says I? But then, who listens to me?

Probably. But he could only be eyecandy. At the rate he’s been putting his foot in his mouth privately, I doubt they’d want him doing any PR where he actually had to say anything to the public!

Give me Sam any day. Flawed and imperfect she may be, and, I'm sure she'd agree she is, but she's also brilliant, competent, professional, knowledgable, compassionate, steady, intense, trustworthy, dedicated, connected and a delight to watch.