Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[majorsal]

I LOVE that he didn't die and I LOVE that Sam didn't tear into him for tailing her. It showed that she was at a point in her life where she was willing to overlook some pretty big mistakes. I can relate to that. I had a list when I was younger of what I wanted/expected from a future husband and it was quite long and detailed. Well after dating some men, being engaged to one of them, I've whittled my list of expectations down quite a bit. I'm now down to the following expectations..."human, male, sense of humor, respectful/considerate of others, shares beliefs."

while i understand what you're getting at, ooober, i don't find doing a background check on her and following her around to be things 'easily' put aside. pete wasn't worried about sam's safety, worried about his own, or wondered if she was doing something illegal (possible reasons for his behavior); he found things out about her because he wanted to know about what she wouldn't/couldn't tell him. he went behind her back for selfish reasons. i can't put his deeds in a list of 'leaves toilet seat up, must dump the guy'.

while what he did wasn't evil by a long shot, it also wasn't very 'nice'. and sam gleefully accepting it made an already unbearable episode ten times worse.


on a more cheerful note; will someone ask amanda at the shoreleave con thinger if she and her twin brother look much alike? AND, do they still have any of that 'twin language' thing going?





sally

[L.A. Doyle]

on a more cheerful note; will someone ask amanda at the shoreleave con thinger if she and her twin brother look much alike? AND, do they still have any of that 'twin language' thing going?

sally

Oh, yeah! She does have a twin. That's SO cool. I really wonder what he looks like...

[Chelle DB]

Great posts people! You really get me thinking. I have my thoughts and opinions, then someone posts something that isn't what I originally I thought or even considered. Instead of disagreeing, most of the time I think 'huh, I see where they're coming from.' I love this thread!

So do I...you know...all the people I've met here in GW have been absolutley brilliant..it's like having an extended family! And it's nice meeting people who share the same interests. I'm feeling all mushy and sentimental today...hubby has gone away for the week..I miss him already!
Yeah so...I love coming to GW everyday just to say hi and wish everyone well and to catch up on what's new/s!!


OT here for a bit...the song "Everybody Hurts" has just come on the radio and I find myself thinking of that vid with Sam and Jack...I cry all the time...man..I'm already teary...DoH!!

[Gate gal]

I know I've said this before, but this is why out of all the stuff SG1 has put forth over the last nine years, I have the hardest time seperating Pete as a character and as a story arc from the production concerns that lead to his existence. Given the general flow and progression of season seven, given the giant lengths that TPTB went to in order to make Sam's and Jack's relationship a major part the last ten episodes of that season, I can't help but view Pete primarily as a functional tool in the story. Whether fans are for or against a Sam/Jack relationship, there is no questioning that the writers made a concerted effort to move the two characters closer emotionally in a very short space of time. These scenes exist in Evolution 2, surely in Grace, even in Chimera, Heroes 1, Heroes 2, Death Knell, Lost City 1, and Lost City 2. That's eight out of ten episodes. All of this comes at a time when the producers are yet again 99% certain that Lost City will end the series and everyone will move on to a SG1 movie that will segue into Atlantis. Alas, even Apophis is easier to kill than Stargate SG-1.

What I'm trying to get at here is that I believe that Chimera was supposed to end just as many fans expected it to. Sam was supposed to have this great relationship. Her job was supposed to get in the way and cause trouble. She was supposed to get to a place where she realized that keeping something like the SGC a secret from her would-be partner was an impossible burden to overcome. And she was supposed to cut Pete loose at the end of Chimera. Ultimately, I think all of this was supposed to highlight the inevitable compatibility of Sam and Jack. Otherwise, Chimera remains this niggling abberation in what is undoubtably a consistently drawn side-arc for Sam's character in season seven.

It was only the season eight pick up that led to Sam's continuing relationship with Pete. All of a sudden the writers needed a way to drag out the sexual tension for another year. Pete was the easy answer to that problem. He's purely a production concern, no different from replacing Martouf with Elliot in Last Stand, adding Mckay to Redemption to cover RDA's absence, or substituting Cameron Bright for Sean Patrick Flannery. It was one of those instances that I wish didn't happen so often where production concerns outweighed any desire for story or character consistency. I don't buy into the theory that Pete stuck around because he was played by Peter DeLuise's brother, mostly because I think David DeLuise was a last resort for casting Pete. He was actually helping them out when he took the role. I do, however, think that some of the writers *cough*Damien Kindler*cough* took exception to the fact that Pete was percieved by many fans (not just shippers) as an intruding, untrustworthy sort of fellow following Chimera. That perception of the character took the writers by surprise, and it can only be seen as an error in characterization that has its roots in the script. As such, it's hard to view that particular bit of writing as anything but shoddy. Certainly no one wanted Pete to be an unlikable character. But he was, and he was part of a storyline that most fans, whatever their fannish inclinations, wanted to end as soon as possible.

Anyway, that's why Pete exists. Sam and Jack couldn't wrap it up when it was orginally planned. Hence, an obstacle was needed. Don't try to read anymore into it. Further attempts to assign meaning or importance to anything about Pete always seem unsatistfying because they don't exist. When Amanda Tapping finds herself questioning why any of this is included in the show, it's time to throw in the towel, take it as a necessary evil, and move on.

And just to tack something else on here, I really like the dialogue and performances in the breakup scene in Threads. The "that's it?" line is entirely apt. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, knew that nothing about Pete's and Sam's relationship was going to end well. It's an uncomfortable scene; the characters are uncomfortable and wish it didn't have to happen, and the same holds true for viewers. To end things any happier or easier would have been too easy. It would have been a cop out from the writers and it would have been too easy an out for Sam. Such a scene wouldn't even pretend to be realistic; it would have been a pitiful tableau. The scene as it plays out also allows you to see Carter at a slightly askew angle, one that none of the characters usually gets to be seen from. You learn a little more about Carter in that scene. How can that not be worth it?

You had some really good points in your post. I do believe that TPTB expected s7 to be the end. (That's why they killed off our dear doctor.) Pete would have been a good catalyst for J/S to finally get together, but s8 happened. Again, maybe TPTB were expecting the series to end, so they kept him around a little longer, or was their something more? AT said on her web site that she and her husband had been wanting a child for awhile. Did the PTB know that AT was trying to have a baby? Maybe they wanted to make sure that Sam was in a relationship in case the pregancy became obvious at a time when they couldn't hide it. Now, I am a shipper (no stones from the nonshippers please) and would have wanted the baby to be Jack's, but if the series was going to continue then they probably wouldn't want to resolve the ship just yet. Of course, this is just a theory that came to mind as I read your post.

[Agent_Dark]

This debate over Pete is moot, since Sam is in love with Janet.

[Chelle DB]

It means thanks to us(her fans) voting and promoting her, many more people know about Amanda. Just tonight, we've had two people come to our board at celeeb and ask who Amanda was. See, it's working!

Oh ok...me bad...me misunderstood!! Thanks for that LA. Well I'm off to vote again!!

[Gate gal]

Oh, yeah! She does have a twin. That's SO cool. I really wonder what he looks like...

My children are boy/girl twins, and my daughter is a big AT fan. She was so excited when she discovered that she and AT have that in common.

[Uber]

For what it’s worth, here are my feelings on the Sam/Pete breakup in Threads. I didn’t think that she was leading him on; I think that she accepted his proposal, fully intending to marry the guy. He was fun, he treated her well, with the exception of that one morning-after hissy fit, and he wasn’t in the SGC. She could be a “girl” with him, and not have to worry about losing face in front of her military friends and colleagues. She could show her vulnerable side to him, and once he knew what she really did for a living, she could confide in him.

I think the problems began when Pete actually began planning the wedding, making a down payment on a house, etc., all the things a couple should do when they’re getting married. (I did think that the house thing was out of line. Why do some guys think that surprising a woman with a hugely personal item like a house or ring is a good idea? ) Sam was typically too busy to be as involved in those activities as she should have been, or may have been using work as an excuse to duck out of them. At this point, she was probably having some doubts about the wedding, but she’s so analytical that she might have blamed those doubts on normal second thoughts felt by many prospective brides and grooms. And she didn’t have anyone like Janet to confide in at this point.

Pete, most likely getting impatient, started up the whole process, and Sam must have felt it was spiraling out of control. Now it was getting real, and she finally realized that this wasn’t what she wanted right now. Who knows, maybe if there had been a longer engagement, it might have worked. Her experience with Jonas might have made her leery of controlling men. Not that I think Pete was controlling, just impatient and clueless about some things. But to Sam, it might have seemed that he was trying to run her life.

So when she broke it off, and said “Is that it?” I took it to mean that she thought he’d be more upset. What I didn’t like was the way that Pete’s answer to that question was allowed to shape the scene. His response, “What do you want? You want me to get down on my knees and beg?” left us with the impression that Sam was being egotistical and expected him to grovel at her feet. If he had answered differently, maybe people wouldn't have seen her question as callous.

NC

I further love how Amanda played it. She CHOSE to play it abrupt and awkward. Why? Because she knew Sam would handle the situation poorly. The character's awkwardness translated brilliantly onscreen I think...showing how Sam was disappointed on some level, but clearly relieved that she ended that mistake before she went too far.

[tsaxlady]

Hey all I was cleaning up my ImageShack account tonight when I ran accross these behind the scene pictures. I have not seen them in a while

[Uber]

Hey all I was cleaning up my ImageShack account tonight when I ran accross these behind the scene pictures. I have not seen them in a while


http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/6822/at47ma.jpg

Hey, I'd freak too if someone was using a power drill right next to my head.

[Agent_Dark]

I thought it was an apple at first... But I'm thinking its a hot-glue gun

[Gate gal]

I further love how Amanda played it. She CHOSE to play it abrupt and awkward. Why? Because she knew Sam would handle the situation poorly. The character's awkwardness translated brilliantly onscreen I think...showing how Sam was disappointed on some level, but clearly relieved that she ended that mistake before she went too far.

Great point! Let's give AT some credit for making the scene awkward. Breaking up with your fiance is an awkward thing to do.

[majorsal]

I thought it was an apple at first... But I'm thinking its a hot-glue gun

i thought it was an apple too.

and on closer inspection; it looks like it's got a face!





sally

[Uber]

You all know I'm staunchly Sam/Jack, but I was looking for and through some Sam vids and came across what I think is a well-produced Sam/Janet video. I hope you enjoy it too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC_PG_b1-7A

[Agent_Dark]

You all know I'm staunchly Sam/Jack, but I was looking for and through some Sam vids and came across what I think is a well-produced Sam/Janet video. I hope you enjoy it too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC_PG_b1-7A

:O :O :O Irrefutable Sam/Janet evidence!

/me sniffles.