Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[minigeek]

i do think we have a game of network vs producers going on.

now i have nothing but my personal impressions, but when you look back at all the changes that started in s7 and realize that the only thing that really changed was the folks writing the paychecks, it seems to be rather obvious that there is interferance

the bad thing about this is.....producers -usually - know how to make a tv show. network execs barely know how to find their offices.

they get tied up with poll numbers and ratings and focus groups...none of which are a real and accurate representation of the viewing public

it's kinda likethe analogy of the insurance companies telling doctors how to treat a patient. yeah, sure the insurance companies may have a ton of research...but they don't have the knowledge or experience necessary

I think the primary problem is the age old square peg, round hole. They producers are trying to write their "spinoff" while adhering to the network's stipulation that it not be a show of its own, rather take place within the current SG-1 framework. So they changed the formula for SG-1, and it's erroding the integrity of what made SG-1 great.

Had they been given the green light for a spinoff, there'd be no more SG-1, but at least the spinoff could have a life of its own; characters of its own. Attempting to merge two disperate show ideas gives them something akin to an "All-In-One Printer/Copier/Fax/Scanner/Toaster". It fills a lot of holes at once (to a mediochre degree) but fills no single hole particularily brilliantly.

Eventually, the show will either completely transform (away from the SG-1 formula) and continue on its merry way (which is what I think the powers that be are hoping for at this point), or it'll crash and burn. Either way, the integrity of the longstanding SG-1 characters cannot possibly emerge unscathed.

[ShimmeringStar]

i do think we have a game of network vs producers going on.

now i have nothing but my personal impressions, but when you look back at all the changes that started in s7 and realize that the only thing that really changed was the folks writing the paychecks, it seems to be rather obvious that there is interferance

the bad thing about this is.....producers -usually - know how to make a tv show. network execs barely know how to find their offices.

they get tied up with poll numbers and ratings and focus groups...none of which are a real and accurate representation of the viewing public

it's kinda likethe analogy of the insurance companies telling doctors how to treat a patient. yeah, sure the insurance companies may have a ton of research...but they don't have the knowledge or experience necessary

Nor do the insurance companies have the compassion for the people they serve. No matter how many PR reps and ad companies they hire to put a positive spin on things... Same could be said with SG...

'Cept it's the network that doesn't have the passion for the fine art of storytelling...

[Dani76]

*eek*, we were on page 2...

[Skydiver]

story telling IS an art.

and on that topic, what is your favorite sam story? and i'm not talking fanfic, i'm talking episode. which episode(s) do you think advanced SAm as a character and why?

[the dancer of spaz]

story telling IS an art.

and on that topic, what is your favorite sam story? and i'm not talking fanfic, i'm talking episode. which episode(s) do you think advanced SAm as a character and why?

Sorry... I'm not gonna pick just one, OK?

ITLOD - Heh heh. Duh. Enough said there.

Jolinar's Memories/The Devil You Know/Seth - All three had mondo opportunities to expound on the effects of Jolinar's blending with Sam, but alas, it was not to be. Had they taken that opportunity, we would've seen Sam dig deeper, trying to decide which characteristics were solely hers, and which ones she shared. And I don't just mean her affection for Martouf, either.

Foothold - Sam held her own in a crazy situation. Like Hathor, this was an ep that showed a relatively green Sam handle a situation quite well, and without hesitation. In between the Commando!Sam eps and the gun-toting Sam eps, we're always given quite a bit of Scientist Sam, so eps like these are great in reinforcing the military half of her character.

Divide and Conquer - As a shipper, I find this episode to be very telling. Whether you like ship or not, it was the canon first step to bringing in this new complicated story arc. For me, both Scientist Sam (Dr. Carter) and Soldier Sam (Major Carter) took a back seat to Samantha Carter.

Ascension - All "intimacy" aside, this opened Sam up to possibilities that were/are outside of her realm of understanding. I guess we'll never know what Orlin did to Sam, but perhaps it allowed her to accept the concept of ascension and the Ancients a little better - whatever it was. It also allowed for some potential conflict between the team - again, something that was never explored. Ho hum.

Death Knell - Survivor Sam reared her head in this episode, and gave us insight into how resourceful Sam can be without the comfort of her team and the confidence that comes with being in top physical form. And, while it's perfectly human for her to have given up right there at the end, I wish that they would've stopped writing JACK as the one to "save" her (i.e. Desperate Measures)... As shippy as it is, it still kinda irks me.

Grace - This has Survivor Sam save herself, so that's nice. Besides the intensely personal aspect of Sam, we saw Sam function for days with a concussion. And she managed to save the Prometheus Crew when it was all said and done, which was a bonus. I'll just forget that the emergence of Chimera (and subsequently Affinity) can be blamed on this episode...

I'm sure there are more that I missed, but these are the ones that I've come up.

ON EDIT: I just realized that some of this was a bit negative. Sorry!

[jckfan55]

Forgive me dancer, for latching onto your coat tails, but you've pretty much picked the episodes that come to mind for me.

ITLOD - Heh heh. Duh. Enough said there.

I liked that they addressed a bit the consequences of that experience *in* the episode as well as the fact that it had ramifications for Sam down the road.

Jolinar's Memories/The Devil You Know/Seth - All three had mondo opportunities to expound on the effects of Jolinar's blending with Sam, but alas, it was not to be. Had they taken that opportunity, we would've seen Sam dig deeper, trying to decide which characteristics were solely hers, and which ones she shared. And I don't just mean her affection for Martouf, either.

Martouf was the least of things for me. I may be alone in this, but I never particularly liked him. Though he was ok for a Tokra.

Foothold - Sam held her own in a crazy situation. Like Hathor, this was an ep that showed a relatively green Sam handle a situation quite well, and without hesitation. In between the Commando!Sam eps and the gun-toting Sam eps, we're always given quite a bit of Scientist Sam, so eps like these are great in reinforcing the military half of her character.

One of my all time favs.

Ascension - All "intimacy" aside, this opened Sam up to possibilities that were/are outside of her realm of understanding. I guess we'll never know what Orlin did to Sam, but perhaps it allowed her to accept the concept of ascension and the Ancients a little better - whatever it was. It also allowed for some potential conflict between the team - again, something that was never explored. Ho hum.

I think we get a bit more insight into Sam the person in that episode. In the commentary the director said he wanted to do a long crane shot of Sam sitting with the clothes at the end of the ep, but they were out of time. I think you get the sense of loss, but it would have been even more touching the director's way.

Death Knell - Survivor Sam reared her head in this episode, and gave us insight into how resourceful Sam can be without the comfort of her team and the confidence that comes with being in top physical form. And, while it's perfectly human for her to have given up right there at the end, I wish that they would've stopped writing JACK as the one to "save" her (i.e. Desperate Measures)... As shippy as it is, it still kinda irks me.

I remember in the commentary AT said she didn't want it to be shippy. (Yay from the anti shipper. )I wish we had more time with Sam in that episode instead of the Tokra/ Jaffa stuff (as much as they needed to deal with it at some point).

Grace - This has Survivor Sam save herself, so that's nice. Besides the intensely personal aspect of Sam, we saw Sam function for days with a concussion. And she managed to save the Prometheus Crew when it was all said and done, which was a bonus. I'll just forget that the emergence of Chimera (and subsequently Affinity) can be blamed on this episode...

Yay Sam saving the day all by herself, and with a massive concussion, no less! The idea of Chimera--Sam finds a guy she likes (not Jack)-- ok--the execution not so good.

[ChevronSeven]

Death Knell - Survivor Sam reared her head in this episode, and gave us insight into how resourceful Sam can be without the comfort of her team and the confidence that comes with being in top physical form. And, while it's perfectly human for her to have given up right there at the end, I wish that they would've stopped writing JACK as the one to "save" her (i.e. Desperate Measures)... As shippy as it is, it still kinda irks me.

I see that differently. I see it first as Jack rescuing a teammate. Never leave anyone behind. And, seeing as how he is her CO, Jack felt it was his responsibility to lead the search and rescue. And to him it was always RESCUE, never Recovery. He would have done it - and has done it - for anyone on SG-1 (48 Hours, Fire & Water).

[SunKrux]

hey, maybe in the first episode of season 10, bobby, i mean jack, will step out of the shower, and season 9 will have been nothing but a bad dream!

I know in a way you're joking, but I certainly hope that doesn't happen. I would be insulted, worse than if they just didn't try to come up with explainations now.

[UhSir]

I beg to defer responding to Skydiver's question until I can make time to properly address it.

I would like to make a quick comment about the following while the idea is fresh in my brain. Thanks.

{snipped}

Death Knell - Survivor Sam reared her head in this episode, and gave us insight into how resourceful Sam can be without the comfort of her team and the confidence that comes with being in top physical form. And, while it's perfectly human for her to have given up right there at the end, I wish that they would've stopped writing JACK as the one to "save" her (i.e. Desperate Measures)... As shippy as it is, it still kinda irks me.

{snipped}

I don't see it as Jack "saving" her. Sam was going one-on-one with a super-soldier and still alive after how many days?!? I don’t remember if a time-frame was declared but it felt like days to me. How long did she go without food and/or water? How much blood did she lose? She didn't quit even after she'd been pushed beyond the limits of all human capabilities for the last time when the super-soldier got back up AGAIN! She didn't have the weapon to defeat him in the first place (or else there wouldn't have been a story here) so what were the options? Sam dies, Sam miraculously finds a weapon in the UAV rubble, the super-soldier's battery runs out of juice, the super-soldier trips and falls and breaks it’s neck, OR somebody comes along with a weapon. Since Jack and Teal’c are the only ones that really believed Sam would still be alive (and even if she weren’t neither would have stopped looking until they found her), it’s only fitting that they are the ones to come along. Nope, I don’t see it as Jack saving Sam. I see it as the team working together and saving the world! Are my glasses too rosey?

[SunKrux]

i do think we have a game of network vs producers going on.

now i have nothing but my personal impressions, but when you look back at all the changes that started in s7 and realize that the only thing that really changed was the folks writing the paychecks, it seems to be rather obvious that there is interferance

the bad thing about this is.....producers -usually - know how to make a tv show. network execs barely know how to find their offices.

they get tied up with poll numbers and ratings and focus groups...none of which are a real and accurate representation of the viewing public

it's kinda likethe analogy of the insurance companies telling doctors how to treat a patient. yeah, sure the insurance companies may have a ton of research...but they don't have the knowledge or experience necessary

BAM! You hit the nail on the head. The "suits" don't know/care diddly about anything but the "numbers" (ratings and/or $$$$).

Truth be told, when I heard that Skiffy had the rights to SG1, I was not a happy camper...not because of it possibly eating into FS's space at Skiffy, but because of the things Skiffy had done to FS, ie, promising S4 & 5 and then pulling the plug on 5 with literally no warning or time for the FSPTB to rework S4's ending to wrap up the series.

I worry that the same thing will happen to SG1 now that Skiffy has promised to pick up S10. I don't trust Skiffy as far as I could throw them left handed.

[1speed4Sam]

CAPTIONARY

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y11...revisions4.jpg

Daniel: Did we really agree to work for Ghostbusters in our spare time?

Teal'c: Indeed we did, Daniel Jackson.

Daniel: Dang, I didn't think I was that drunk...

[SunKrux]

Nor do the insurance companies have the compassion for the people they serve. No matter how many PR reps and ad companies they hire to put a positive spin on things... Same could be said with SG...

'Cept it's the network that doesn't have the passion for the fine art of storytelling...

*claps & high 5s

As so disgustingly represented by the "reality" shows Skiffy came up with and the really, really bad imitations of shows (ex - Black Scorpian {sorry to any fans} ). They had a fabulous show in FS (considering that until it got FS Skiffy was barely keeping above water. Then they got noticed because of FS and then after a few years of FS, they (Skiffy) decided that (I'm guessing here) they wanted to play the same game as a lot of the main stream US networks (ABC, NBC, CBS)...The Dumbing down of America game is what I'm talking about. So many shows in the past few years basically spoon fed the audience and no one had to think. I enjoy thinking while watching telly most days. I can not stand weak plots or even worse, weak acting/directing. That's what we get now. We get crap shows with crap plots, actors yet some Americans are content with crap shows. I'm not one of them. I want to like/love or hate/dislike characters. I don't like having shows where I don't care one way or the other about any characters or the story. Sadly, imho, it seems we're getting more and more of those kinds of shows and far less of quality shows (SG1, FS, Gilmore Girls, Medium, Lost, House to name a few).

*realizes that she magically transported her soapbox out
Sorry about that. LOL

*steps down from soapbox and puts it way

Carry on...nothing to see here.

[Lida]

Just wanted to say hi to everyone in Samanda. I've been away for quite awhile and I'm still not really ready to return full time, but I did want to say how much I've missed you all and Amanda. Glad to see the "love" is still here.

HIC COMITAS REGIT

[LaCroix]

And to add more fuel to the fire: from The Stargate Sg1-Soultions site:


admin said,

October 24, 2005 at 7:41 am

And Solutions’ money is on Claudia Black joining the permanent, regular cast as Vala Mal Doran.

Here’s hoping we soon have confirmation from an official source (they *always* lag behind the rest of the web on these ‘exclusives’) on not just the renewal for Season 10 but the wonderfully welcome and much hoped for addition of Claudia Black to the cast!

----------


I'd hate to see if Ms. Black decides to be a recurring actor, instead of a regular. Why? Because this group will turn against her in a minute. And I like Ms. Black, yes I've seen Pitch Black, Queen of the Damned, and a few FS episodes. So sue me.

[ChevronSeven]

Just wanted to say hi to everyone in Samanda. I've been away for quite awhile and I'm still not really ready to return full time, but I did want to say how much I've missed you all and Amanda. Glad to see the "love" is still here.

HIC COMITAS REGIT

((((((Lida))))))

Stop back by when you can. We miss you!!!