Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[binkpmmc]

Yes, and I can appreciate your reasoning; however, in terms of TEAMiness and MULTIPLE strong protagonists,

Spoiler:

the scene would have been much better like so:

CARTER: Uh, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, it's gonna be tricky.
MITCHELL: Hang on, Sam, we're coming to get you.
CARTER: (nervous) Oh boy. (sobers) Okay, listen. Col Emerson, the sublight engines don't have much control. If you hit me, even at minimum velocity --
MITCHELL: I am not going to hit you. (quietly) Not on purpose.
CARTER: Once you get me in past the shield, the artificial gravity will kick in. You're going to have to employ reverse thrusters and such-and-so to maintain a stable positioning.
MITCHELL: Understood, Sam; Kvasir's riding the controls manually.

Do you feel the difference there?

You see, even in Tangent, Teal'c ultimately had to do something to rescue himself. He wasn't a passive victim. Likewise, in all those other Carter's Crazy Idea episodes, Carter herself was also one of the people who was Going To Die! yet, in keeping with her character, she figured out what needed to be done despite her acknowledgement of and/or worry about the risks.

God - how I wish you, and many of the other posters here, were writing this show. Such a small change that with, a little bit of thought on the part of TPKTS would have made a huge difference for how this trash played out for Carter's character (another example of lazy writing Mr. Wright - or perhaps it is your intent to dismantle Carter's character - either way you should be embarrased about yourself, your show and what you are doing to this, and the other 2 characters, of what once was a great show).

If you, DEM, and others, were writing the show I am confindent it would NOT be the crapola that it is now.

[Kazan]

Hi All
Just a quick fly by post.
If anyone has some time, can they come over and support the vote for Amanda here link

Also wanted to give a huge thanks to RoX whose done a fantastic job keeping things ticking over the last few days as we've been popping in and out to vote. Way to go RoX !!

And just to add a quick photo - dont look if you dont want to be spoiled!

Spoiler:

[Skydiver]

i can see the point. it would have been nice had sam been something other than the 'damsel in distress'

time will tell if she takes a more active role or if she's nothing more than the exposition girl kept in the background to facilitate TWTIV (teh wonder that is vala) and lt colonel Hewo

I don't think it's anything malicious done by the writers. they're not sitting down 'how can we frak up sam today'...i think they're just so preoccupied by their two shiny and new toys that they keep forgetting that there are others and they k eep leaving htem lying carelessly around.

cam and vala are carefully tucked away atnight while sam, daniel and teal'c get left out in the yard or lying on the floor and oops, i hope no one steps on them

[jckfan55]

You speak as if Sam was a real person. Its a tv character.

What?! Of course Sam is real. Blasphemer! Seriously, we do talk about her as if she's real b/c Sam's such a great character and we love the way AT plays her. If we didn't feel that way, why would we be on this thread?

Thinking of the AT acting poll & our discussion of cool Sam of old: I loved in 2001 when Sam goes over the side of that Harvester and has to dangle there over the gate & cut the rope and go in. The Ambassador is totally trusting of her. Not a big challenge on an emotional level for AT perhaps (being in the harness); but boy does it show what a trouper she is. They said she was really hanging there for a good part of the day (though not high up, of course).

[ReganX]

I don't think it's anything malicious done by the writers. they're not sitting down 'how can we frak up sam today'...i think they're just so preoccupied by their two shiny and new toys that they keep forgetting that there are others and they k eep leaving htem lying carelessly around.

cam and vala are carefully tucked away atnight while sam, daniel and teal'c get left out in the yard or lying on the floor and oops, i hope no one steps on them

And when the toy that was left out in the yard is stolen or destroyed or, heaven forbid, somebody else starts playing with it, it suddenly becomes the child's favourite toy ever, the one that they play with all the time and can't possibly live without.

And I'm sure we all remember from our younger days how long the shiny new toys held our interest.

[DEM]

I don't think it's anything malicious done by the writers.

I don't think it's malicious either; I think it's just lack of polish. However, this could become a big problem now that they're juggling so many people. RCC really, really needs to read these scripts from the POV of all of the characters, not just Mitchell and Vala. F&B could be cleaned up with minor edits so that Emerson, Carter, Teal'c, Daniel, and Bra'tac are all much stronger/in character... while Mitchell and Vala are also strong.

(One of the first things I'd do is correct all those first names flying around. What is this, the scouts?!)

[Skydiver]

and the biggest obstacle? RCC is likely gonna have a natural affinity for cam and vala since they are his creation,not someone else's.

they're HIS toys, so he seems to prefer them more. which is only natural. but he's not jsut some 'lowly' writer, he's the show runner, and as the show runner, he needs to look at the big picture. he needs to step back, lose any propriatory feelings and take care of ALL the characters, not jsut his favorites.

[jckfan55]

i can see the point. it would have been nice had sam been something other than the 'damsel in distress'

time will tell if she takes a more active role or if she's nothing more than the exposition girl kept in the background to facilitate TWTIV (teh wonder that is vala) and lt colonel Hewo

I don't think it's anything malicious done by the writers. they're not sitting down 'how can we frak up sam today'...i think they're just so preoccupied by their two shiny and new toys that they keep forgetting that there are others and they k eep leaving htem lying carelessly around.

cam and vala are carefully tucked away atnight while sam, daniel and teal'c get left out in the yard or lying on the floor and oops, i hope no one steps on them

Great (if depressing) analogy. Maybe they need to go back and look at some of their old episodes to see how cool the Big 3 have been. They've got great raw material to work with in those characters but they seem to have forgotten that.
It's not a matter of making Sam the center of attention, for me it's giving fair time to everyone (including those that gave 8 years to the show before the shiny new toys arrived) and having those characters act in line with how we know they should. They're so hot to push Cam that they've got him being able to do everything and pushing his way in.

Spoiler:

As far as the pushiness, did anyone else notice the look Bra'tac gave him? he seemed annoyed. Anyway, Jack flew F302s but you wouldn't have seen him trying to do a move like we saw in Flesh and Blood.

As much as I hated it when they overdid the "jack is dumb" thing, at least he was never written as a one man band. And no, PTB, this isn't about "I can't handle Jack being gone."

[L.A. Doyle]

I don't want to see Sam sacrificed for the 'new and shiny' characters. I'd rather not have newbies at all if it's just going to make the original stars look bad. If you've got a weak character, please don't downplay everyone else's abilities to make yours look good. Don't make wallpaper either.

Even if Sam got all the screen time in the world, I would still be mad if her character wasn't done justice. Then there would be no hope for Mitchell in my book. He's already skating on very, very thin ice.

I think the writers' have too much on their plates. They are trying to juggle so many characters at once and focus on the newbies, that they are hurting our big three.

And darn it all, I'd better see a Sam Saves the World episode soon. Or at least Sam Saves SG-1. Please. Mitchell cannot be the hewo every time. That's just . Even Jack wasn't the hero all the time. Everyone got to shine.

[ReganX]

and the biggest obstacle? RCC is likely gonna have a natural affinity for cam and vala since they are his creation,not someone else's.

they're HIS toys, so he seems to prefer them more. which is only natural. but he's not jsut some 'lowly' writer, he's the show runner, and as the show runner, he needs to look at the big picture. he needs to step back, lose any propriatory feelings and take care of ALL the characters, not jsut his favorites.

As showrunner, it is vital that RCC be able to look at the big picture.

I know that if I was in charge, I would want to show plenty of Sam because she's my favourite character, but I hope that I would be sensible and realistic enough to know that I shouldn't make the whole show revolve around her.

Even if every Sam fan was thrilled to have all Sam, all the time - which I doubt - I would still need the show to appeal to the Daniel fans, the Teal'c fans, the Vala fans, the Mitchell fans, etc, if I wanted the show to have a snowball's chance of surviving.

[LaCroix]

And when the toy that was left out in the yard is stolen or destroyed or, heaven forbid, somebody else starts playing with it, it suddenly becomes the child's favourite toy ever, the one that they play with all the time and can't possibly live without.

And I'm sure we all remember from our younger days how long the shiny new toys held our interest.

I remember taking out the toys, playing with them for a couple hours. Then started to think of ways to build, something out of the box they came in.

[parsifal]

A few more photos from Thursday's party.

[L.A. Doyle]

I remember taking out the toys, playing with them for a couple hours. Then started to think of ways to build, something out of the box they came in.

I'd play with my new toys for a while, but then I'd find my favorite toys, ones I'd had for years. Like my favorite doll. No matter how many new dolls I got, Ginger was always my favorite. Oh, and my new toys always broke. They were usually poorly made.

Seriously, is it just me, or does everything break these days? My hard drive died, my monitor blew up, my VCR croaked. I long for quality!

[ReganX]

I remember taking out the toys, playing with them for a couple hours. Then started to think of ways to build, something out of the box they came in.

I used to make dolls houses out of the boxes - more often than not, for my old doll rather than the new one and sometimes collages out of wrapping paper.

[kes]

Anyone remember this?

4.12 Tangent

JACOB: Beam them out? What am I, Scotty?
CARTER: I have an idea, Dad. But Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c are going to have to take a leap of faith.

CARTER: Sir, we're over here ready to bring you home. But you're going to have to trust me. He's suffering from anoxia, oxygen deprivation. Do you trust me, Sir? [...] We copy that. So we want you do exactly what we say. First, remove your restraints. Then on my mark, blow the canopy of the glider and push off.

TEAL'C: We will die!

CARTER: Negative! It'll be all right if it's only for a few seconds. [..] Make sure your helmets are secure and set your oxygen at 100%. You'll need to pre-breath the last of it in breaths in deep breaths holding each one in. You'll need to power the system before you blow the canopy. Then disconnect the umbilical and exhale as much as possible. Stand by!

DAVIS: Yeah! Well done, Digger Two, well done! Congratulations! Now come on home!

10.01 Flesh and Blood

Spoiler:

CARTER: Uh, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, it won't work.
MITCHELL: Hang on, Sam, we're coming to get you.
CARTER: (nervous) Oh boy. The sublight engines don't have that much control! If you hit me, even at minimum velocity --
MITCHELL: I am not going to hit you. (quietly) Not on purpose.
CARTER: (nervously) Ee-ee-even if you get me in past the shield, the artificial gravity will kick in: A fall from even 30 feet in this suit--
MITCHELL: Sam, stop worrying; Kvasir's riding the controls manually. [...] Got her.... Kvasir, take her down lightly. [...] Yeah, some days you get lucky.

I miss Tangent!Carter.

... and Small Victories Carter, and Redemption Carter, and Fail Safe Carter, and 48 Hours Carter....

I'm not sure what you mean by this. A small cargo ship over a 301 or whatever it was is a bit different then being floting in space and having a huge,damage, ship coming towards you.
If you mean why didnt they used the ring, when as I remember they'd have to be directly above her and not moving.
She was scared, thats good. Its a very common human emotion.