Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[jckfan55]

i'm not a screencapper (but i enjoy the results ), but i've noticed no wonderful close ups too. i think amanda's one of the most beautiful women i've ever seen. she doesn't even need makeup, that's how naturally gorgeous she is
sally

This picture really illustrates that natural beauty to me.

[SG1Poz]

I was looking for season 9 pictures to use for live journal icons, and I noticed something that might be quite interesting (to me, at least). I couldn't find a single pic of Sam's mega-watt smile in season 9. Was I simply looking in the wrong places? Or are we almost through an entire season without one blindingly brilliant Sam smile? And if so, why do you think that is?

She saves her mega watt for one person only, and he's not there, but how about her Mega Watt grin in Beachhead. She looked so adorable here!
Warning! Beachhead spoiler!



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/bb174962.jpg

[Mandysg1]

She saves her mega watt for one person only, and he's not there, but how about her Mega Watt grin in Beachhead. She looked so adorable here!
Warning! Beachhead spoiler!



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/bb174962.jpg

That kinda goes with your first hypothosis, remember who was on the phone

[Mandysg1]

Here Majorsal I hope this makes you feel better

[Mandysg1]

We'll both protect Ooooober! Nobody messes with my OOOOooober!!

SunKrux will only protect you because you're not going after Teal'c. (Don't let your hands wonder )

[majorsal]

Here Majorsal I hope this makes you feel better

hehe, thanks!

really, just a good juicy conversation, OR BETTER yet, a good and juicy sam ep/performance!





sally

[Mandysg1]

Hmm? for the Saturn nominations, I wonder who BB and CB are up against for them to be nominated

[NearlyCircular]

I got the newest edition of the official Stargate magazine today, and it has interviews with all the main cast of both shows. Here's part one of some excerpts from AT's interview, and pictures from the article. Part 2 will be in the next post. The highlighted parts were my choices, not from the magazine, and are parts I thought you might find especially interesting.



“I wasn’t part of that gelling process that happens very early on in the season. The team had gelled, and I didn’t feel a part of it. I really had to break through the crust and find my place on the team. I had a hard time at first, going, ‘Do I still fit in on the show? Can I still hang with the guys? Here I am bringing my baby to work and is this still going to work?’ So it took a while. But it’s good now, and we revel in that, and honestly, I think that’s why we’re still on. Here we are shooting our last episode of nine seasons. Whatever the formula is, it’s working!

What we’ve gone back to with Carter this year is that very driven, very focused professional and analytical woman that I really like. The beauty of what’s happened to Carter over the course of nine years is that as a human being she’s warmed up. She’s come into her own. She’s got a better sense of humor, and I think this year even more so, simply by virtue of the fact that that’s how I’ve chosen to play her. We’ve explored her depths – we’ve dived into her soul and explored what she’s capable of in terms of her emotions [in past seasons] and now she brings that depth of soul into what she’s doing. So she’s gone back to being analytical Carter, but I think there’s more to her than that now.

What I’ve always loved about this character is her focus and her loyalty, and we’re right back on that, which is great. And the team has a whole new vigor to it. There’s a whole new sense of purpose to this show and to this new team, there’s a whole new cohesion that they’re trying to find with each other. Carter sits very solid where she is now.

<snip>

I think it’s keeping pace with what’s going on – we’re living, without sounding too didactic, in a darker world than we were when we started the series. Between 1997 and 2005, a lot has changed on this planet. We are reflecting that, in a way, on the show. SG-1 is dealing with what is, for all intents and purposes, a fundamentalist state that leads with fear and terror. And you and I are dealing with that politically in our society. I don’t think that that’s lost on anyone, and I think that the writers have handled it well. It makes sense that the show is a bit darker. It’s a sad fact, but we’re mirroring our present society. There is escapism on Stargate SG-1 and I think that there is still a sense of fun on the show. I don’t think we have mired ourselves down in the mythology and the religious aspect of it all too much. We still have a sense of humor and irreverence that we’ve always had, that I think carries the show. But the stories have got a little darker."






NC

[NearlyCircular]

Part 2 of excerpts from AT's interview

"Because of the nature of Ripple Effect, it wasn’t our Dr. Fraiser and Martouf. There is a clear recognition, but somewhere the lines of communication are not the same. It’s not the same perspective, and we don’t speak in the same vernacular because we’re dealing with different experiences. So it was weird. It was like, ‘But Janet, come on, it’s me!’ The one thing that I wished for in Ripple Effect was a scene between Carter and Janet. I think it was a matter of telling as good a story as we could in the short period of time as we had. We had a big story to tell in 44 minutes. There wasn’t time to show all the interpersonal relationships. Carter had to deal with Martouf. So if we had had a Carter and Fraiser scene, then we wouldn’t have dealt with the story as well. But that’s the one thing with Ripple Effect that I missed. That was a scary one. I looked at that [script] and went, ‘Oh crap. No sleep for the next seven days.’ Up at 4 o’clock in the morning, sitting with a breast pump trying to learn my lines…

We have introduced a whole new dynamic to the show, not only in terms of new characters like Beau [Bridges], Ben [Browder], Claudia [Black], and Lexa [Doig], but also with a whole new mythology. The Goa’uld are gone, and now we are faced with this new enemy. For the writers, it’s like writing a first season show, so you don’t have as much time to focus on the interpersonal relationships of your individual characters. You’re still introducing the concept of the show and elements of that. As a result, what I lost out on was personal scenes with Teal’c, with Mitchell, with Beau’s character. We haven’t had much exploration of that this year.

I would liked to have had more time with Beau, and with Lexa. Beau and I had a big conversation at the beginning of the year about what sort of interaction we wanted the two characters to have. Carter had such a wonderful relationship with Hammond, so I said to Beau, ‘What do you think we can do with this?’ We came up with a whole relationship for them, but there hasn’t been any opportunity to explore that at all. And I understand why – this season has been about establishing the Ori and pushing the story forward. It was the same with Lexa. I wanted to show a friendship building between her and Dr. Lam – not that it could in any way replace the friendship that she had with Janet, but so that she had some interaction with other women on the base. Lam isn’t even Air Force.

Grace Under Pressure was the most interpersonal stuff Carter got this year, and I love that Carter. I would like to see that Carter more. There was this great sexual tension, and I love working with David Hewlett. Both characters are on the same level, so there’s this great, very quick banter.

I don’t know what the line up is going to be next year – who will be here and who won’t be here. But we’re looking at going to 200 episodes, and I want to be here for that! It’s worked this year with Olivia, and it’ll be easier next year because I won’t be breastfeeding.”

NC

[majorsal]

Part 2 of excerpts from AT's interview

thanks, nc, for c/ping the interview.

so what did i think of it? that i'm out of touch with this show and what amanda is thinking/feeling about it. i'm super glad she's enjoying this show, but i'm not. it's empty to me.

this quote below, though, worries me:

Grace Under Pressure was the most interpersonal stuff Carter got this year, and I love that Carter. I would like to see that Carter more. There was this great sexual tension, and I love working with David Hewlett. Both characters are on the same level, so there’s this great, very quick banter.

'grace under pressure' wasn't even REAL sam!

and... sam's going to atlantis next season, right? how much you want to bet we're going to get sam/mckay ship next season?

i'm thinking i need to step away from the computer a bit and read some fics or something. anything other than be here right now.










sally

[Mandysg1]

Originally Posted by NearlyCircular
“I wasn’t part of that gelling process that happens very early on in the season. The team had gelled, and I didn’t feel a part of it. I really had to break through the crust and find my place on the team. I had a hard time at first, going, ‘Do I still fit in on the show? Can I still hang with the guys?

That really breaks my heart , she's been with MS and CJ since the beginning of the show, working together for 9 years, and she didn't know if she belonged

[Uber]

Thanks NC for that transcript. I agree with MajorSal...funny how the only interpersonal bit for her this entire past year was when she was playing

Spoiler:

a figment of someone else's imagination and not Carter.

That's...sad. She deserves more than that. She can handle the meaty content fcol.

And whereas I'm thrilled to get analytical Sam back, I strongly have to wonder why this is an issue. People can are are more than one thing at a time. Sam can be a scientist, and a soldier, and a friend, and a mother and have a personal life all at the same time. The idea that they're focusing almost solely on the "analytical" side of Sam is disturbing. This foists her exactly in the position her dad didn't want her in. "You can still have everything you want," he encouraged...and while I'm confident he meant that she could have Jack and a career, I think it extended beyond the personal life thing. I think it meant that she deserved more for herself and her life than to be all about work all the time.

Do you get that PTB? It's called being multi-faceted. It's called character development. Something they've pretty much ignored this year for pretty much everyone, much to the show's detriment.

[binkpmmc]

thanks, nc, for c/ping the interview.

so what did i think of it? that i'm out of touch with this show and what amanda is thinking/feeling about it. i'm super glad she's enjoying this show, but i'm not. it's empty to me.

this quote below, though, worries me:





'grace under pressure' wasn't even REAL sam!

and... sam's going to atlantis next season, right? how much you want to bet we're going to get sam/mckay ship next season?

i'm thinking i need to step away from the computer a bit and read some fics or something. anything other than be here right now.
sally

I have to agree - I am not sure what show AT is talking about. It seems like party line stuff to me, no offense to AT, she has a job and is probably told much of what to say and certainly does not want to rock the boat since it IS a paycheck but this is, for the first time I can recall, an interview that I do not get and do not understand (regarding the show(s)) and the Carter character - it sounds like party-line ____ to me and that is the first time I have EVER said that about one of ATs interviews. I too am glad she is enjoying herself and that she can work with the baby, good for her - this show she's talking about - I don't know it.

What was the tone of Michael Shanks' interview?

Thanks very much for taking the time to post this NC.

[minigeek]

Guys, you have to also figure in that she's got a role to play as an ambassador to both the series and whatever direction her character is going in, too. Lets say (for the sake of argument) that she had issues with some of the stories and/or that she wasn't as thrilled with this season's arc or character development than in previous seasons - there's no way she could or would ever use a mainstream magazine interview as a platform for that, it would be unprofessional of her. Amanda can be honest in these interviews in so far as she talks about the things she does see as potentially (or practically) positive, and that she doesn't talk about the things she isn't as thrilled about. In that way, she can express herself without purjoring herself or compromising her integrity, while still fulfilling her role as an ambassador for SG-1 (the series). That's what these interviews are about. PR.

Having said that, I think Amanda always tries to look at what can be positive, from what I've seen and read of everything she's ever said. She seems to want to help be a part of whatever good can come from whatever situation arises, so she'll try and affect that optimisim forward, and that's both a healthy and an admirable quality to have. If she dislikes her role or the series itself, one would have to ask why she'd continue, after so many years. These folks are her family, and she wants them to succeed, she wants things to work out - for everyone - and so she's going to give them all the support she can to help make that happen. Again, a really admirable quality to have, if you ask me.

As to the tone of the article, when I read it, it seemed to me almost as though she felt she needed to defend some of the decisions that were made; as though the inference went without saying that "it wasn't as good as" or "it wasn't as deep as" - hence she made a point to say, "Well, we're going in a new direction so..." or "We're developing a new dynamic, which is why...", or "We couldn't do things (this way) so we had to do them (that way)..." - read between the lines and know that they're all struggling with how best to keep the show fresh and maintain its impact and its enjoyability. But they all also seem to get the fact that it isn't "what it was" (in any respect, really). So maybe there's hope for season ten after all.

The optimist in me would love to think so, anyhow.

minigeek

[binkpmmc]

Guys, you have to also figure in that she's got a role to play as an ambassador to both the series and whatever direction her character is going in, too. Lets say (for the sake of argument) that she had issues with some of the stories and/or that she wasn't as thrilled with this season's arc or character development than in previous seasons - there's no way she could or would ever use a mainstream magazine interview as a platform for that, it would be unprofessional of her. Amanda can be honest in these interviews in so far as she talks about the things she does see as potentially (or practically) positive, and that she doesn't talk about the things she isn't as thrilled about. In that way, she can express herself without purjoring herself or compromising her integrity, while still fulfilling her role as an ambassador for SG-1 (the series). That's what these interviews are about. PR.

Having said that, I think Amanda always tries to look at what can be positive, from what I've seen and read of everything she's ever said. She seems to want to help be a part of whatever good can come from whatever situation arises, so she'll try and affect that optimisim forward, and that's both a healthy and an admirable quality to have. If she dislikes her role or the series itself, one would have to ask why she'd continue, after so many years. These folks are her family, and she wants them to succeed, she wants things to work out - for everyone - and so she's going to give them all the support she can to help make that happen. Again, a really admirable quality to have, if you ask me.

As to the tone of the article, when I read it, it seemed to me almost as though she felt she needed to defend some of the decisions that were made; as though the inference went without saying that "it wasn't as good as" or "it wasn't as deep as" - hence she made a point to say, "Well, we're going in a new direction so..." or "We're developing a new dynamic, which is why...", or "We couldn't do things (this way) so we had to do them (that way)..." - read between the lines and know that they're all struggling with how best to keep the show fresh and maintain its impact and its enjoyability. But they all also seem to get the fact that it isn't "what it was" (in any respect, really). So maybe there's hope for season ten after all.

The optimist in me would love to think so, anyhow.

minigeek

Thanks NC - have you read MS' or CJ's yet - how was the tone of their interviews (BTW - I wish I had your optimism . . . you should bottle it -I for one would buy some).