Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[ChevronSeven]

They seem to be trying all the old cliches in the book:

Squeezing blood out of a turnip
Beating a dead horse
Turning a silk purse out of a sow's ear

I could possibly go on...

[Myrth]

That's the word from my friend who works there... sad ain't it? I wonder if someone did a survey.. how many TV execs actually watch tv?!

what they care about is cutting the costs for s10 so that they can make as much money as possible while the show lasts

[Strix varia]

Again, If ANY of the main characters go, I am also gone. I know that some of you arent the best of Danny fans but I love them ALL.

I've always liked Daniel (it's some of his fans that I have issues with ). However, if they lose Daniel, Teal'c or Sam, I think they'll lose a huge portion of the audience. It just wouldn't be the same show, and I don't think they'll be able to suitably replace what they'll have lost. Yes, it survived losing RDA, but fans have seen that coming for a long time, and I think many were willing to give BB a shot at it. However, if AT hadn't come back this year, I wouldn't be watching. Same would hold true, I'm sure, for uber fans of Daniel and Teal'c, too, if those characters had not returned.

Sony may believe otherwise, but I think the team dynamic is what keeps people watching the show. The concept of the gate isn't novel anymore, and I don't think folks are really fired up about the Ori as the new villians. If they lose the team dynamic (which they've already screwed up with the Mitchel leadership debacle), the show is, IMO, toast. Honestly, I think they're really lucky it was renewed for a 10th season. If they lose another major character, I really can't see it surviving for much past that. What astounds me is that Sony doesn't seem to see that with the same clarity that I do. But maybe that's why I'm not working as a network executive.

[Uber]

They seem to be trying all the old cliches in the book:

Squeezing blood out of a turnip
Beating a dead horse
Turning a silk purse out of a sow's ear

I could possibly go on...

And you know how I feel about cliches...

[minigeek]

I've always liked Daniel (it's some of his fans that I have issues with ). However, if they lose Daniel, Teal'c or Sam, I think they'll lose a huge portion of the audience. It just wouldn't be the same show, and I don't think they'll be able to suitably replace what they'll have lost. Yes, it survived losing RDA, but fans have seen that coming for a long time, and I think many were willing to give BB a shot at it.

I think even more than that, they didn't advertise that RDA was leaving. Then they had him appear mysteriously in a couple of the first season episodes and I think they did that deliberately so that a lot of casual viewers wouldn't really know what happened and might think he was just in fewer episodes again this season. I don't think most casual viewers even realize RDA technically 'left' the show, yet. And I think that's been part of the plan all along. Much like the rest of the loose innuendo we've seen gushing forth in season nine, they're being deliberatly vague.

"Oh no, he's not gone. He's not here, but he's not gone. What does that mean? Well it means whatever you want it to mean. Huh? Oh look, over there. An Ori! Quick, or you'll miss it!"

mini

[ChevronSeven]

And you know how I feel about cliches...

No, actually you know how I feel about cliches, and...

[ann_sgcfan]

To me, if the fan reported MS's words correctly, it shows that Sony indeed has no interest in the actual history and characters of the SG-1!!! It is the TEAM that made the show!! Now the team is Sam, Daniel, Teal'c and Mitchell. The dynamics -- the caring for each other-- has to be there. If Sony thinks that no character is crucial---gee whiz!! They have no idea what made this show work! Of course Daniel, Teal'c and Sam are crucial to the show -- all of them.

And yes, Vala would be dropped like a hot potato if MS didn't sign on by some (and actually I wouldn't blame them). I understand watching for a character--some fans do and that could be for Sam, Daniel, or Jack (honestly it seems less so for Teal'c). Fans who just watched for Jack are gone. I wouldn't blame the fans who watch just for MS to stop watching.

I think the success of the show had been based on the fact that there was something for lots of people (such as Jack/Daniel interaction, Sam/Jack interaction or Sam/Daniel Interaction, and of course Team interaction, and then just watching because of a love for a character within the team dynamic). What would be left if the originals don't come back?

Sony doesn't realize that the success of the show is because of the actors who made these characters come alive, so much so, that we care about them.

Great post Chocdoc! If Sony wants to play with the dynamics of the team then they will get burned by their obvious misunderstanding, like you said, on why the show has been successful for so many years. I know they are all about money and ratings. Suits could care less about actors, stories or fans, but what they seem to forget ... actors, stories and fans are the ones that bring in/create the ratings and money. It truly is sad that Sony doesn't get what made the show great.

[ChevronSeven]

I think even more than that, they didn't advertise that RDA was leaving. Then they had him appear mysteriously in a couple of the first season episodes and I think they did that deliberately so that a lot of casual viewers wouldn't really know what happened and might think he was just in fewer episodes again this season. I don't think most casual viewers even realize RDA technically 'left' the show, yet. And I think that's been part of the plan all along. Much like the rest of the loose innuendo we've seen gushing forth in season nine, they're being deliberatly vague.

"Oh no, he's not gone. He's not here, but he's not gone. What does that mean? Well it means whatever you want it to mean. Huh? Oh look, over there. An Ori! Quick, or you'll miss it!"

mini

That's a good point. If you don't get on the internet and read the spoilers, you won't know what happened to Jack. And the writers, producers, et al are assuming that we all know what happened to him. That's awfully arrogant of them to assume. And we all know what happens when we assume...

[LaCroix]

I've always liked Daniel (it's some of his fans that I have issues with ). However, if they lose Daniel, Teal'c or Sam, I think they'll lose a huge portion of the audience. It just wouldn't be the same show, and I don't think they'll be able to suitably replace what they'll have lost. Yes, it survived losing RDA, but fans have seen that coming for a long time, and I think many were willing to give BB a shot at it. However, if AT hadn't come back this year, I wouldn't be watching. Same would hold true, I'm sure, for uber fans of Daniel and Teal'c, too, if those characters had not returned.

Sony may believe otherwise, but I think the team dynamic is what keeps people watching the show. The concept of the gate isn't novel anymore, and I don't think folks are really fired up about the Ori as the new villians. If they lose the team dynamic (which they've already screwed up with the Mitchel leadership debacle), the show is, IMO, toast. Honestly, I think they're really lucky it was renewed for a 10th season. If they lose another major character, I really can't see it surviving for much past that. What astounds me is that Sony doesn't seem to see that with the same clarity that I do. But maybe that's why I'm not working as a network executive.

If you look at it from Sony's point of view. Sony doesn't need SG-1 in order to make a profit. They can release a movie with SG-1 budget, (with box-office draw stars) and they'll more than likely double their money in two weeks.

But with Skiffy, since it's a sub-sid of NBC/Uni, they have to justify the fees to the parent company. So in effect, Skiffy could in all likely hood
pull a Firefly and cancel mid-season 10 citing ratings.

Believe me, I'm a Sam fan, but I'm also a fan of the show and the team. I would hate it if AT/MS/CJ were to leave. But, I'd hope it would be for something better.

[binkpmmc]

Here is something JM just put on his blog in response to a question about Carter stories for S10:

"As pitched, both Suffer the Children and Orpheus are Carter stories. Extreme Measures is an sG-1 team episode. The Darkest Recesses a "Daniel in peril" episode."

Perhaps, and that is a big perhaps, the suits, and others, are listening and Carter will be back for SG1 full time and will play a major role if 2 of the very preliminary stories are already termed as supposedly "Carter stories", unless of course they have to have the early stories Carter stories to explain why she isn't on SG1 full-time anymore . . . . Sigh - sometimes I think too much.

[golfbooy]

I've always liked Daniel (it's some of his fans that I have issues with ). However, if they lose Daniel, Teal'c or Sam, I think they'll lose a huge portion of the audience. It just wouldn't be the same show, and I don't think they'll be able to suitably replace what they'll have lost. Yes, it survived losing RDA, but fans have seen that coming for a long time, and I think many were willing to give BB a shot at it. However, if AT hadn't come back this year, I wouldn't be watching. Same would hold true, I'm sure, for uber fans of Daniel and Teal'c, too, if those characters had not returned.

Sony may believe otherwise, but I think the team dynamic is what keeps people watching the show. The concept of the gate isn't novel anymore, and I don't think folks are really fired up about the Ori as the new villians. If they lose the team dynamic (which they've already screwed up with the Mitchel leadership debacle), the show is, IMO, toast. Honestly, I think they're really lucky it was renewed for a 10th season. If they lose another major character, I really can't see it surviving for much past that. What astounds me is that Sony doesn't seem to see that with the same clarity that I do. But maybe that's why I'm not working as a network executive.

I agree. I've always been a team fan first and foremost. It is the way that O'neill, Carter, Teal'c, and Daniel interact that has made me such a fan of the show. I don't think that SG-1 can survive losing any of the original three characters.

From what I've seen out and about, and that is by no means a comprhensive or authoritative opinion, there is very little emotional connection with any of the new characters. Sure, there are Ben Browder fans who like Mitchell because Ben Browder plays him. And there are Claudia Black fans who like Vala because Claudia Black plays her. And there are Farscape fans who like both characters because actors from their once-favorite show are playing them. But I've seen very few people who say they connect with Mitchell or Vala because of the way those characters are being written.

Just using myself as an example, I had no clue about anyone involved in SG-1 prior to watching the series, save Richard Dean Anderson. He was Macgyver, and I used to watch Macgyver when I was a young kid. The only other person I even recognized was, believe it or not, Don Davis, whose face I recognized from some movies and shows, but I had no clue who he was. Chris Judge, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks? Sorry, all strangers to me. But watching season one, I became uncharacteristically vested in the SG-1 team rather quickly. There was just something about the chemistry among all the characters that made the show work for me and, apparently, for a lot of fans. I think it was lightening in a bottle then, and I still think so today. I think that's the one seminal difference between SG-1 and Atlantis for me. The cast on SG-1 has "it", whatever "it" is.

It was only after I made that initial investment into the show that I became interested in the people who made it happen. I figured out later that Brad Wright was, actually, Outer Limits Guy. I had liked the Outer Limits a lot when it was airing regularly. The fact that the same guy was now making SG-1 made sense to me, as did some of the interesting scifi twists and moral dilemmas that made their way into most SG-1 episodes. But I'm beginning to digress. What I'm trying to get at is that I believe that most long time SG-1 fans are fans of what the show was for eight years, a show about four fairly average (average for tv at least), realistically portrayed characters who when together make each other better people, and who can together accomplish extraordinary things. While any concerns about fanbases, demographics, or studio politics maybe worth considering, they should always be a secondary concern behind maintaining that core, hugely successful concept. The new characters don't seem to be constructed to fit that concept. And I think that's why they are, for many fans, failing.

[AGateFan]

Here is something JM just oput on his blog in resposne to a question abiout Carter stories for S10:

"As pitched, both Suffer the Children and Orpheus are Carter stories. Extreme Measures is an sG-1 team episode. The Darkest Recesses a "Daniel in peril" episode."

Perhaps, and that is a big perhaps, the suits, and others, are listening and Carter will be back for SG1 full time and will play a major role if 2 of the very preliminary stories are already termed as supposedly "Carter stories", unless of course they have to have the early stories Carter stories to explain why she isn't on SG1 full-time anymore . . . . Sigh - sometimes I think too much.

Those are "pitched" stories not accepted stories so he could be denied. And like you said if they are early season eps it could be just the setup to get carter off the show.

[Agent_Dark]

Here is something JM just oput on his blog in resposne to a question abiout Carter stories for S10:

"As pitched, both Suffer the Children and Orpheus are Carter stories. Extreme Measures is an sG-1 team episode. The Darkest Recesses a "Daniel in peril" episode."

Perhaps, and that is a big perhaps, the suits, and others, are listening and Carter will be back for SG1 full time and will play a major role if 2 of the very preliminary stories are already termed as supposedly "Carter stories", unless of course they have to have the early stories Carter stories to explain why she isn't on SG1 full-time anymore . . . . Sigh - sometimes I think too much.

I take it he was referring to 'Morpheus' not 'Orpheus' (we've already had an episode by that title )

'Morpheus' could be interesting, especially as Brad Wright apparently is keen on it. I know its probably only a tentative episode title, but Morpheus was the Greek God of Dreams.

Morpheus sends images of humans in dreams or visions, and is responsible for shaping dreams, or giving shape to the beings which inhabit dreams.

Morpheus also had special responsiblity for the dreams of kings and heroes.

http://www.answers.com/topic/morpheus-god?method=6
Intriuging no?

'Suffer the Children'... I could always hope that it refers to Jolinar in some way

[AGateFan]

I take it he was referring to 'Morpheus' not 'Orpheus' (we've already had an episode by that title )

'Morpheus' could be interesting, especially as Brad Wright apparently is keen on it. I know its probably only a tentative episode title, but Morpheus was the Greek God of Dreams.

http://www.answers.com/topic/morpheus-god?method=6
Intriuging no?

'Suffer the Children'... I could always hope that it refers to Jolinar in some way

hahaha, just as long as no actual childern are involved.

[chocdoc]

I take it he was referring to 'Morpheus' not 'Orpheus' (we've already had an episode by that title )

'Morpheus' could be interesting, especially as Brad Wright apparently is keen on it. I know its probably only a tentative episode title, but Morpheus was the Greek God of Dreams.

http://www.answers.com/topic/morpheus-god?method=6
Intriuging no?

'Suffer the Children'... I could always hope that it refers to Jolinar in some way

Thanks for digging this up about Morpheus, Agent Dark! Really interesting!!

And yes, I wish the writers would go for a Jolinar story for Carter -- I think alot of fans would really appreciate it.