Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Simhavaktra]

ordinarily, i'd say it couldn't happen since officers must serve time in grade before they're even eligible for promotion

but given that the show is handing out CMOH's like they're candy and allowing neoptism with father and daughter in a direct line of command (she may not be military but the cmo still answers to teh base commander) and the co-leaders.....well i'd say anything is possible

ain't holding my breath cause i don't think scifi will allow a woman to be in charge and take away from the hero, but it would be nice and given how they're tending to ignore those pesky regs, its' at least possible

Really, Cammie could do the 'Hunter Ellis, boy fighter-pilot hero' routine regardless of whom is supposedly in charge - all it takes is a

Spoiler:

medal

to designate him a hero, camp and cliches in the writing, and voila! Cammie already has that whole package going, so he's all set.

If I remember correctly, required minimum time in grade from Lieutenant Colonel to the the Full Bird is two years. With that comment from Harriman that Mitchell was

Spoiler:

in / injured in the battle over Antarctic "two years ago" in Avalon 1,

and, now the second elapsed 'seasonal' year, Sam could be promoted to full bird colonel at the end of season 9/begining of season 10 and have it be true, right, and by the book.

I have to admit, though, that the only way I see that kind of promotion for Sam happening on the show is as an... excuse... to do with her character [at the end of season 10

Spoiler:

what was done with Jack's at the begining of season 9 - Adios muchacha, watch your six with that door there on the way out: we're not interested in you any more, but, we're interested in the possibility of using your name in a later plot point, so we're not saying anything that could mess that up, including any sentences containing the words 'why' or 'goodbye.' Carter? Carter who? Isn't that somebody who... drives a cart? Drives a bus? Truck or something? Delivers furniture? Metal? Medals? Something like that? We don't have any bus furniture deliveries on our show. End of subject.

(I, in fact, am of the opinion that the PTB-Continuum would have rather had a "Major" Carter to deal with than a Lieutenant Colonel, and so decided to just treat her as one, regardless - but, that's just me talking.)

And yeah, having a family member

Spoiler:

who can relieve you of command, serving in your unit, where you write their performance reviews,

is, perhaps, most politely described as a multifaceted conflict of interest issue.

/me misses Jake Carter, who had no problems ordering his daughter around as a prerogative of parenthood, not rank, nor command

[sg-1fanintn]

yeah, but now, last i heard anyway, her time on atlantis will be minimal. whichi s a good/bad thing

I guess until we see what the scenario is to propel her back and forth between galazies, it'll be hard to know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. With Brad working on SG-1, I have a little more hope that the idea will be palatable.

I didn't know they had backed off the Atlantis thing for her.....darn work! It's keeping me from what's really important.....Gateworld!

[Skydiver]

well, i could certainly be wrong, but it's my understanding that sam's in all the first half episodes and it's been suggested that her crossover will be something in the latter half of the season and, personally, i'm thinking 2-4 episodes, probably even less

what kind of has me concerned is that ms is taking time off for family, so he's only in 16 of 20, and if AT is passed over to atlantis THEORETICALLY this could leave a few episodes where sam and daniel are gone, thus leaving the stage free adn clear for the Cam/Vala show

i say THEORETICALLY cause it just might not happen,but the potential is there

[sg-1fanintn]

I feel the same about being so disappointed about the leadership thing.

I seriously never thought it was going to be an issue. I looked forward to seeing her take the reigns and whip the new guy in shape under her command. It never once occurred to me they'd disrespect her this way.

And ask poor tsaxlady...I drove her nuts begging her to reassure me that they'd get it right and Carter would be leading the team.

As for Atlantis, I'm all for the occasional drop by...but I don't want her to be put into the position of squeezing someone out over there either nor do I want her position on SG-1 threatened anymore in any way.

BTW...do you all realize we are over 30,000 posts long and still goin' strong?

GO SAMANDA! All hail her majesty!!!

You know, we really have been through a lot together in the past year...Jack's departure, those terrible leadership issues, our discord over Vala, the bad plots, the death of a thread member...the worry on what's next for our Queen. But I echo Über:

GO SAMANDA! All hail her majesty!!!

[minigeek]

well, i could certainly be wrong, but it's my understanding that sam's in all the first half episodes and it's been suggested that her crossover will be something in the latter half of the season and, personally, i'm thinking 2-4 episodes, probably even less

what kind of has me concerned is that ms is taking time off for family, so he's only in 16 of 20, and if AT is passed over to atlantis THEORETICALLY this could leave a few episodes where sam and daniel are gone, thus leaving the stage free adn clear for the Cam/Vala show

i say THEORETICALLY cause it just might not happen,but the potential is there

There's also the possibility that Amanda's contract may be altered to support more than 20 episodes, given Michael's absence(s), and she'll end up spending more time on SG-1, or they'll just stagger them. Personally, if she's going to cross over, what I'd love to see is a story arc that follows her, so the story might begin in SG-1-land and spill over into Atlantis, with Carter acting as a bridge - similar to the way they've sometimes handled other series with siblings. It also does a neat number on the ratings because they can publicise it as a big deal "cross-over" event. Wouldn't surprise me if they tried that tactic out.

[Skydiver]

There's also the possibility that Amanda's contract may be altered to support more than 20 episodes, given Michael's absence(s), and she'll end up spending more time on SG-1, or they'll just stagger them. Personally, if she's going to cross over, what I'd love to see is a story arc that follows her, so the story might begin in SG-1-land and spill over into Atlantis, with Carter acting as a bridge - similar to the way they've sometimes handled other series with siblings. It also does a neat number on the ratings because they can publicise it as a big deal "cross-over" event. Wouldn't surprise me if they tried that tactic out.

yeah, especially if they rig it so that part 1 is on sg1, part 2 on atlantis and they both air the same night

[minigeek]

yeah, especially if they rig it so that part 1 is on sg1, part 2 on atlantis and they both air the same night

That's exactly what I mean, yes.

[sg-1fanintn]

Really, Cammie could do the 'Hunter Ellis, boy fighter-pilot hero' routine regardless of whom is supposedly in charge - all it takes is a

Spoiler:

medal

to designate him a hero, camp and cliches in the writing, and voila! Cammie already has that whole package going, so he's all set.

I have to admit, though, that the only way I see that kind of promotion for Sam happening on the show is as an... excuse... to do with her character [at the end of season 10

Spoiler:

what was done with Jack's at the begining of season 9 - Adios muchacha, watch your six with that door there on the way out: we're not interested in you any more, but, we're interested in the possibility of using your name in a later plot point, so we're not saying anything that could mess that up, including any sentences containing the words 'why' or 'goodbye.' Carter? Carter who? Isn't that somebody who... drives a cart? Drives a bus? Truck or something? Delivers furniture? Metal? Medals? Something like that? We don't have any bus furniture deliveries on our show. End of subject.

(I, in fact, am of the opinion that the PTB-Continuum would have rather had a "Major" Carter to deal with than a Lieutenant Colonel, and so decided to just treat her as one, regardless - but, that's just me talking.)

And yeah, having a family member

Spoiler:

who can relieve you of command, serving in your unit, where you write their performance reviews,

is, perhaps, most politely described as a multifaceted conflict of interest issue.

/me misses Jake Carter, who had no problems ordering his daughter around as a prerogative of parenthood, not rank, nor command

Don't hold back, Simhavaktra. Tell us how you really feel.

Seriously, excellent observations/post!

[sg-1fanintn]

There's also the possibility that Amanda's contract may be altered to support more than 20 episodes, given Michael's absence(s), and she'll end up spending more time on SG-1, or they'll just stagger them. Personally, if she's going to cross over, what I'd love to see is a story arc that follows her, so the story might begin in SG-1-land and spill over into Atlantis, with Carter acting as a bridge - similar to the way they've sometimes handled other series with siblings. It also does a neat number on the ratings because they can publicise it as a big deal "cross-over" event. Wouldn't surprise me if they tried that tactic out.

yeah, especially if they rig it so that part 1 is on sg1, part 2 on atlantis and they both air the same night

If that comes to pass, I certainly won't be complaining!

[golfbooy]

There's also the possibility that Amanda's contract may be altered to support more than 20 episodes, given Michael's absence(s), and she'll end up spending more time on SG-1, or they'll just stagger them.

Yes, prior to this season I would have said that Amanda Tapping's proposed crossovers would either be scrapped or her appearances in SG-1 increased in order to accomodate Michael Shanks' time off. That would only seem logical, wouldn't it? So, yes, I'm sure that's what they'll do. Sure. No doubt about it. Heh, heh.....

For the record, it's my understanding that Joe Mallozzi was sort of backing off of the crossover thing before he left. Nothing is certain, but he did try and limit the number of crossovers to one or two, calling the previously reported 10 or 5 episodes "unlikely".

Personally, if she's going to cross over, what I'd love to see is a story arc that follows her, so the story might begin in SG-1-land and spill over into Atlantis, with Carter acting as a bridge - similar to the way they've sometimes handled other series with siblings. It also does a neat number on the ratings because they can publicise it as a big deal "cross-over" event. Wouldn't surprise me if they tried that tactic out.

And even I'd enjoy that sort of SG-1 to Atlantis in the same night crossover.

Edit To Add:
Although, that annoyingly cynical part of my noggin says that kind of one-two crossover from SG-1 to Atlatnis will never happen due to the fact that the shows are heavily syndicated. But who knows?

[majorsal]

OK. I posted this in the "Who Should Lead SG-1" thread, where inevitably there's a battlefront from time to time, however I thought it'd be neat to discus some of the more Sam-centric implications as well. Without the potential for a warzone. Being too lazy to reword again, I thought I'd repost some of the thoughts I'd been having as-is, just here, and see if perhaps we might want to discuss some of the ways in which Sam has been shown to be "In Charge" over the course of Season Nine (despite the apparent ambiguity of command).

In the spirit of that...

--- Cross Post ---



Now, if we strip away the argument of Sam over Mitchell, or vice versa, I actually really do think the writers are leaning in the direction of Carter as a command figure this season, given she's been making all the difficult calls. Coordinating the troops, formulating strategy. While Mitchell learns the ropes. Why they're "sharing" command, I still cannot (logically) fathom, but it certainly does appear that almost despite themselves, the writing team has ended up portraying Carter as the more efficient, more competant officer in an SG field team capacity.

Having said that, I can't see how they'll continue down this route and still insist that Mitchell is an SG-1 leader. I think they're going to have to choose - and sooner than later.

To most of us, of course, the choice is rather obvious. But beyond even that boolean indicator, Carter's character is at a point now where I think she couldn't be second to Mitchell.

And that's not an ego issue, imho, it's simply a matter of truth and experience. I know we've all thought about this a great deal here and discussed it from time to time. But the longer it plays out in canon on the series, the more I see them having to make a call.

I wonder what will happen with that. Because I wouldn't put it past them to promote Mitchell to full bird before they think of giving Carter that due. And then...

minigeek

my views on this are getting more and more muddied as the season goes on. i *see* co-command (and appreciate it), but *why* are they doing this?

this goes to the scene i mentioned in a previous post from 'the scourge'. it's 'obvious' that they're making overtures to show both sam and mitchell in charge, but why? it comes off almost like the writers didn't really 'want' to make mitchell leader... that's a hot topic and can be very dangerous to discuss, but if someone(s) made bridge make mitchell the leader, and the co-commander stuff is bridges way of keeping as much of sam in the commander issue as possible...

i believe, too, that the show's going to have to address it. and i fear that sam will be the loser. so i'll hope that however they address it, sam will come out well. and boy, is that an understatement.




sally

[NearlyCircular]

As much as I'd like to see it, I'm sorry to rain on your parade about a Sam SG-1/Atlantis two parter. I'm afraid that the syndication airings may make that hard to pull off. In syndication, some channels air only one or the other of the 2 shows, and if they do offer both, maybe not in the same order as originally presented on SciFi. I've read some of TPTB remarking on these types of problems associated with too much interaction between the 2 shows. It's one of the reasons why they want to keep the shows separate as much as possible.

NC

[majorsal]

I wonder if AT deals with this command issue by saying to herself "how would Sam react to not being the clear CO of SG1?" Not by pitching a fit, but by continuing to quietly lead anyway, for the good of the team (& the planet).

*nods*



sally

[Agent_Dark]

As much as I'd like to see it, I'm sorry to rain on your parade about a Sam SG-1/Atlantis two parter. I'm afraid that the syndication airings may make that hard to pull off. In syndication, some channels air only one or the other of the 2 shows, and if they do offer both, maybe not in the same order as originally presented on SciFi. I've read some of TPTB remarking on these types of problems associated with too much interaction between the 2 shows. It's one of the reasons why they want to keep the shows separate as much as possible.

NC

With some creative and fancy writing you could pull it off pretty easy imo.... oh wait... yeah...

[minigeek]

As much as I'd like to see it, I'm sorry to rain on your parade about a Sam SG-1/Atlantis two parter. I'm afraid that the syndication airings may make that hard to pull off. In syndication, some channels air only one or the other of the 2 shows, and if they do offer both, maybe not in the same order as originally presented on SciFi. I've read some of TPTB remarking on these types of problems associated with too much interaction between the 2 shows. It's one of the reasons why they want to keep the shows separate as much as possible.

NC

Well, they could also handle it the way Buffy and Angel did it. By having the plot require one character to travel into the next show in order to do (something). The next series (ie Atlantis) then has a standalone episode which deals with that character as a cross over guest star, she gets what she needs (whatever that may be); she does what she needs to do, and she returns, so that the next episode in her series (ie SG-1) deals with her now "having" whatever it was she needed to go away to get, and they move forward from there with the plot arc. That way the cross over was vital, but if anyone misses the cross-over episode, there's very little actual episodic continuity lost. When seen together, however, all three episodes act like a really neat little bridge, and can still be publicised up the wazoo as a special event for their first time airing.