Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Tracy Jane]

this is such a coincidence

i was killing time wed i think, and history channel was boring so i flipped over to spike and they were aiing ds9 and what eps was it??? trials and tribbleations

OMG what a great episode!

it was funny and wry and so well done that i just enjoyed it. i found myself giggling at this and that and..well T&T is what homages are supposed to be.

fun without gettin too wrapped up in ones self

I know! I wrote a fic where they went through time Quantum Leap style, revisiting moments from the past. Could work out hilariously. The "Not Like This" moment from Broca Divide, The looping from Window, you know? Would be a great homage to all those great shows.

I loved T&T, as I said elsewhere, it's my second favourite TV show of all time (that's what spraked off the convo, I think. My love of Trek).

[binkpmmc]

ds, I do believe that Amanda has been coming to terms with the writing of her character in latter part of S9 and that it's starting to reveal itself more and more, just as golfbooy and others have said. After reading those posts, I started to think back on the last few weeks and realized that Sam does have a new confidence, a relaxed but sure attitude, that makes her even more steady and mature in handling whatever is being thrown her way. She brings balance and stability.

I wouldn't be surprised that some part of Amanda is feeding into the nuances of Sam. After all, Olivia is almost a year old and the challenge of new motherhood is already one battle she's endured and won. Now she's turning her energies back into the role of Sam. I can't speak for the very end of the season, but what we are seeing here these past few weeks seems to be bringing out the best in Sam. She's not afraid to speak up and confront, but also stands her ground and gets the job done, even under tremendous pressure. I think her being so unflappable helps to overcome the nervous energy of Mitchell. I don't know how much of this is deliberate and coming from intentional writing and good direction, or more intuitive and coming from a savvy actor who knows where she wants to take Sam to compensate for some of the less-than-sterling scripts. Yes, Carter has learned a thing or two from Jack O'Neill and for that we should all be grateful.

Let's see how Amanda rides out S9 and what she does with S10. She knows, even more so now, that the fans are certainly in her corner and rooting for her! (All she has to do is take a look at the "who should be leader" poll!)

Staying in the mode of the confidence and leadership that Carter is showing I rewatched (well really didn't rewatch I just fast forwarded through the Mitchell stuff and watched the stuff without him) and I noticed that when Carter left the research tent after she got the communications going and joined the rest of them for the "last stand" so to speak, she went right out front as if she were in fact the leader. She stood with an air and a confidence that gave every impression she was indeed in charge of the team and the situation. Just the way AT plays it with Carter and the way she, Carter, carries herself and behaves under pressure makes Mitchell look like a hot-shot-fly-boy with a "look at me attitude". Anyone else see that scene and think the same thing? I did not really notice in the first run through but after reading some of the great posts here, and on the Scourge thread, about Carter's demeanor, air, leadership, confidence, etc., I had to rewatch certain parts and that is when I really noticed it. It is almost as if the writers and director want her to be perceived as the leader even if some knuckleheads say it's co-leadership or Mitchell leadership or maybe that's just me reading too much into it, but whatever it is I do like what AT is doing with it - I swear she, Carter, is more of a leader than Mitchell ever could be.

[LaCroix]

i'm thinking it's AT. if you watch older eps, she's always reacting to jack's quips - which are really rda's ad libs. and there are times when i'd swear that he's doing his best to crack her up

we used to do that with one of our anchors. come up with bad jokes and quips during commercials to see if we could crack him up on air, and i get the idea that rda does that to AT

i'm thinking ben is doing the same thing and it's amanda reactinig to him

now in scourge....it was perfect. both of them and that whole exchange was just perfect

I thought it odd, so I thought I'd ask. Or it's me reading something that's not
there. Thanks!

[Skydiver]

i really liked that part. she seemed to have her 'ok, i gotta be the tech' hten once that was done, her need was to make the last stand with the boys, so that's where she went

Spoiler:

i do like how the boys were toned down a bit. cam's wise cracks were mellow and fit in with the show and the quips here and there just fit without being too ott

and sam seemed to be a nice little area of calm and rationality in the midst of it all

[majorsal]

Sadly no. The Stars of stargate have been relegated to background characters and the new characters that should have been background have been propped up as the 'new stars'. And by propped I mean literally forcibly held up because they cannot keep themselves up by the level of characterization they have been given.

Stargate SG-1 was about SG-1. After RDA left they should have focused on Carter, Daniel and Teal'c slowly bringing the new guy in, learning about him and accepting him and such. It should have been from their point of view. Instead we get new guy and the world that revolves around him. I much rather see the world that revolves around Carter, Daniel and Teal'c as those characters have earned my love over a long period of time. I really could give 2cents about the new guys.

BINGO!!



sally

[minigeek]

Spoiler:

i do like how the boys were toned down a bit. cam's wise cracks were mellow and fit in with the show and the quips here and there just fit without being too ott

and sam seemed to be a nice little area of calm and rationality in the midst of it all

Yes, those are elements I enjoyed as well. And you're right Sky - it was a team episode for perhaps the first time in a long while. I liked that. I thought

Spoiler:

Teal'c and Cameron were crazy to be sauntering jovially through the forest like they were on vacation during their long dialogue, though, that was bad writing imho, there were killer bugs that could come up at any moment and they knew that, they also knew that noise was a factor, so those scenes made me really cringe, but ah well

- I *loved* the way

Spoiler:

Sam handled the french delegate,

that was beautiful. And she handled it so well, too. Played the scenes just perfectly. Oy, I'm turning into such an Amanda Tapping fangurl, yeesh... *grin*

[SG1Poz]

Thanks for repeating what many of us have expressed also.

To build or remodel a home, there should be a strong foundation laid. The firm foundation of Stargate SG-1 is the team itself as portrayed by the veterans of eight previous seasons: Sam, Daniel and Teal'c. These guys have done a heckuva job and deserve to be in the forefront.

Then, bring on the new characters and situations and set them within the context of the original team. Loyal fans will watch as the original team reacts to the changes going on around them. We care because the focus is on our stars and we have history with them. We are curious and interested in seeing how Sam, Daniel and Teal'c respond to all the changes in their lives and at the base. As we watch the new characters absorbed into the Stargate mythology/arcs, we start to care about them too because Sam, Daniel and Teal'c are involved with them. Bingo! Synergy and sympathy start to develop.

This was the direction needed when Jack was written out and S9 began. Instead (and I know some take offense at my metaphor) the baby (concept of original team as still consisting of Sam, D and T with Sam as leader) was thrown out with the bathwater (Jack gone). The writers disbanded the group and sent them off in other directions so they could bring in a quasi-leader. Change is hard; it's a fact of life. Fans did not need the double whammy of Jack leaving and team gone too in the first episode back. We were looking for a constant, not a confounding variable!

Rather than Sam giving up her leadership status for R&D at Area 51, how much more intriguing it would have been if they had Sam somehow captured or injured off-world the first five episodes, maybe declared MIA. This arc would have understandably added an extra member to their team (Mitchell as interim leader) and then provided a reason for off-world adventures the first five episodes: the search for the missing leader, Sam. These adventures sans Sam would have introduced them to Vala, other aliens and the Priors ... finally, finding Sam and bringing her back, perhaps injured at first and not so active (so that AT had some initial time to get back on camera after her maternity leave and get in shape and stronger towards end of S9). Point is: Sam would have been welcomed back as the respected leader of her team and promptly reinstated after her recuperation. By now, we would be feeling good about Mitchell too because he held the team together and helped in finding Sam.

How I would have loved to have seen this kind of plot development at beginning of S9. Yes, you could make the argument that maybe AT would change her mind and not fully commit to the new season. Who knows? Just sayin' ... in the best of all worlds, Sam Carter would have been written as the fallen, missing hero lost somewhere in another galaxy. The stuff of myth, eh?! And don't tell me that would not have kept the fans tuning in, riding out the suspense each week. I am getting carried away but I so hoped for "the quest for Carter". Instead, I'll have to read some Samfic and hope that Amanda is given due respect and adequate screen time in S10.

I just feel so bad for Amanda that it went down the way it did. She is a trooper and one classy lady and is riding it all out with style and grace. And I enjoy every scene with her in it just because she's still hanging in. Amanda lights up the screen and adds so much because she is not a prima donna and carefully stays in character even when the focus is not on her. She works so well within an ensemble cast; yet she can stand alone on her acting merits. I think some of TPTB don't know what a gem they have.

This is the part that bothers me the most: Sam Carter was seen as a role model for what women could become, rising to the top of their professions. Taking command away from Carter was a slap in the face for all the Sam Carters who have felt the sting of injustice in their own lives.

Amen.

Wow! They really need to hire you in their writing department!!!
Excellent and most agreeable post. I'm unfortunately out of green

[Tracy Jane]

"Who you callin' Mary Poppins?"

OR

Sam takes a page out of Liz Weir's Book

[minigeek]

Sam takes a page out of Liz Weir's Book

Sam could kick Weir's keister, baby!

[Agent_Dark]

Sam could kick Weir's keister, baby!

Hehe, I think Weir would enjoy that ;P

Sam/Liz!

[minigeek]

Hehe, I think Weir would enjoy that ;P

Sam/Liz!

LOL! Actually, I was originally going to add to that post - I think AD would pay to SEE that! But I didn't - and now look! I so shoulda done it! D'oh!

[Skydiver]

I'll give you a spoon full of sugar.

I'll super cal my fragilistic on your ass.

[minigeek]

You wanna see my umbrella? What ... this umbrella?

[minigeek]

I'll give you a spoon full of sugar.

I'll super cal my fragilistic on your ass.

LOL! That's awesome!! ROTF

[stargate barbie]

"lets see what i have in my hand bag cam! oh look, its a lamp... and an MP7!"

(are ya happy now AD?)