Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Agent_Dark]

I mean, chess!?!

But, oh man, that ep - when Sam did her DAD thing with Dominic on the doorstep:

"You KISSED HER?!!?"

*swoon*

Oh I know Sam was probably regretting the fact she'd left her shotgun upstairs

[Skydiver]

I also like this quote by Roosevelt...

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.~ Theodore Roosevelt

do you have ANY idea how incredibly rare that is??? the world is over populated with self-important people that micromanage, to a point, then get so busy sticking thier noses in everyone else's job that they can't get thier own done and then do a halfass job of meddling because they're trying to control too much

and it's not just men, it's women too

not to mention the jerks that get thier rocks off picking on and nitpicking thier underlings...treat tehm like crud then wonder why morale is so low. well dude, if you'd just back off and let these peopel do their jobs instead of nitpickign them to death then not only might those very same employees be more efficient, they'll be a darn sight happier too

[Skydiver]

Oh I know Sam was probably regretting the fact she'd left her shotgun upstairs

sam's got level 3 hand to hand, she don't need no stinkin shotgun

[ForeverSg1]

I think there is a difference between taking what you want from an episode in terms of what you want to see happen with the characters and whether you consider this an actual resolution or not.

I'm sure if you polled the shippers on Threads, you'd get an overwhelming majority who think Threads inferred Sam and Jack got together. If you polled them on whether they consider Threads offered an unambiguous resolution to the Grace/Affinity/Threads arc, the majority would probably say no.

IMO, Threads provided an ambiguous resolution of whether Sam and Jack got together, and of Sam's emotional struggle with her personal life and decisions. It failed to provide an answer to the questions: did Sam and Jack get together? Did Sam simply choose to end things with Pete and opt for a single life? The viewer can infer from Threads their own answers to these questions. Some viewers will consider an ambiguous resolution, enough of a resolution; some will not. I think it depends on how heavily invested the individual is in the arc. It's not unsurprising for the shippers who are heavily invested in the arc above and beyond most of the rest of the audience, that they are no longer satisfied with the ambiguous resolution (and admittedly some never were) and are pressing for a more definitive one.

For me, it all comes down to the quality of the story-telling. Even if I were not a shipper I would still not consider the ambiguous resolution enough.

That particular arc was an important part of Sam's development for over a year (arguably longer but certainly from Grace onwards); regardless of the right or wrongs of whether the arc should ever have been done, how well it was written/directed, the arc provided Sam with an emotional struggle that impacted the character's decisions, thoughts, emotions over the the course of a year and prompted her to come to some kind of decision in Threads with one of the consequences of that decision being the end of her engagement to Pete.

By not providing clarity on the decision she came to because they left the ending ambiguous, the audience is not only left guessing about whether she and Jack are together (which is obviously the question the shippers are most interested in) but it also leaves the character is a state of developmental limbo. It would seem she went through that struggle for nothing; without it having any impact on her one way or another. That's unbelievable and incredibly poor story-telling IMO. Whichever way Sam did choose would inform her decisions and her character now; she would make reference to it now.

I think Sam deserves an actual resolution to that story arc because to provide an actual, unambiguous ending is good story-telling. And yes as a shipper I'd like to see Sam and Jack end up together on-screen. That doesn't mean that I don't take what I want to see from Threads (that Sam and Jack did get together) and should the show end with ambiguity still in place that I wouldn't grudgingly consider it the resolution.

I'm sure I'm one of the few fans out there who really didn't enjoy Threads at all. I know, I'm probably nuts, but I didn't really care for the storyline with Daniel and Oma, nor did I particularly enjoy the storyline with Sam/Pete and Jack/Kerry. I didn't like seeing Sam so utterly out of her element and unsure of herself. The episode just made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

As for the scene between Sam in Jack in the infirmary, I'm not sure if I saw it as Sam & Jack finally getting together as much as I saw it as Sam and Jack finally deciding they would never allow their unresolved feelings for each one another to come between their friendship.

I think for a very long time that friendship had become strained as they tried to distance themselves from the attraction they shared. In Threads, I saw Jack finally allow himself to really be Sam's friend and not just her CO or someone who was attracted to her by being there for her just as he would have been there for Teal'c or Daniel in the same situation. And allowing Sam to finally agree to go fishing with Jack up at his cabin. Some may disagree and say that there was much more between them, but my feeling is that the strongest relationships need to be built on a solid foundation or else they are at risk of crumbling and even if they were to decide to be together in the future, they reallly needed to solidify their friendship first.

Which explains to me the change in Sam's personality in S9 and S10. Some may speculate that the change was due to her being in a relationship with Jack, but for me, I saw it more as Sam having spent four or five years walking on edge shells around Jack and with him finally out of the picture, Sam was allowed to let her hair down so to speak and be herself again. I've enjoyed that aspect of Sam in S9 & S10. It like seeing a more relax and humorous Sam, who seems to be more comfortable in her own skin.

Which is why I hope they keep ship out of the storyline. I don't want to see her hooked up with Daniel, or Cameron or Vala or anyone else for that matter because I enjoy this new easy going Sam who isn't riddled with doubt and uncertainty.

And personally I don't see Sam & Jack ever getting married or being seen as together, not because I don't believe they belong together, but because I just don't give the writers credit for allowing any of the characters to be truly happy. So in my opinion, the only way Sam and Jack would ever be allowed to be in a relationship is if it was a very volatile and unstable one which is why if I ever find myself in the mood for Sam/Jack I read fan fic.

[scarimor]

... Which is why I hope they keep ship out of the storyline. I don't want to see her hooked up with Daniel, or Cameron or Vala or anyone else for that matter because I enjoy this new easy going Sam...

Wot you said!

(and Sam is shackin up with Vala, but it's mad passionate easy going sex, so don't worry )

[Mandysg1]

Hi
don't think I've ever checked in here with you fine folks! I don't have time tonight...but I'd like to come back...after all...Samantha Carter is the absolute best character ever in the history of TV!!! Well, that's just how I feel about it!

Hi and welcome

Feel free to wade right in, oh and you are correct, Sam is the best character

[minigeek]

(and Sam is shackin up with Vala, but it's mad passionate easy going sex, so don't worry )

Wow. I'm the one who's on antibiotics and doped up on cold medication and yet Scari's the one having all the delusions ... coooool.

[ForeverSg1]

Wot you said!

(and Sam is shackin up with Vala, but it's mad passionate easy going sex, so don't worry )

Laf, the thing that's so amusing to me is that in my mind, you, AD and Dem are just as much a shipper as Ooober, Mini, Sal and the others.

I suppose part of what makes Amanda such a likeable person is the fact that she has such wonderful chemistry with just about everyone she works with so it's easy for different fan groups to see Sam hooked up with people they enjoy.

You have your Sam/Jack shippers, Sam/Daniel, Sam/Cameron, Sam/Vala, Sam/Janet, Sam/Pete, Sam/Teal'c, Sam/Thor, Sam/McKay, Sam/Ba'al, and the list goes on. For a character who has only voluntarily kissed two men in ten years, she sure does get paired up a lot.

[scarimor]

Laf, the thing that's so amusing to me is that in my mind, you, AD and Dem are just as much a shipper as Ooober, Mini, Sal and the others.

Nah. Love it in fanfic, don't like ship between main characters on screen - it screws up the character dynamics and gets in the way of the main story-telling, imo. And that main story-telling is not romance fiction, thank you very much - I watch SG-1 for a different genre entirely.

DEM, AD and I aren't asking to see ship in the show. We're not craving that "resolution"

Spoiler:

But if by some freak of a miracle they showed us a scene of mad passionate easy-going sex between Sam and Vala, I'd not complain (after I'd picked myself up off the floor, downed a quadruple whisky and pushed my eyeballs back in their sockets, of course )

[suse]

do you have ANY idea how incredibly rare that is??? the world is over populated with self-important people that micromanage, to a point, then get so busy sticking thier noses in everyone else's job that they can't get thier own done and then do a halfass job of meddling because they're trying to control too much

and it's not just men, it's women too

not to mention the jerks that get thier rocks off picking on and nitpicking thier underlings...treat tehm like crud then wonder why morale is so low. well dude, if you'd just back off and let these peopel do their jobs instead of nitpickign them to death then not only might those very same employees be more efficient, they'll be a darn sight happier too

Sounds like my job. With an added dose of blaming said underling (me, but behind my back of course) for my failure to file things that are supposed to be locked up when Sir Bossy has the only key.

On a happier note: I hope that AT is either spending quality time with the family after a long season filming or is filming her secret project and having a grand time there.

Suse

[scarimor]

Wow. I'm the one who's on antibiotics and doped up on cold medication and yet Scari's the one having all the delusions ... coooool.

manip by newbie_2u below:

Spoiler:

[DEM]

I was waiting for scari to reply so I wouldn't have to think too hard. Yup, that's about right.

D E M

DEM

[suse]

manip by newbie_2u below:

Spoiler:

X marks the spot Scari. Do you see a pic?

ETA Weird. It showes up in my quote. <shrug>


Suse
squicked
I shoulda known

[scarimor]

On a happier note: I hope that AT is either spending quality time with the family after a long season filming or is filming her secret project and having a grand time there.

Indeed And I'm so looking forward to see what she's working on!

[scarimor]

X marks the spot Scari. Do you see a pic?

ETA Weird. It showes up in my quote. <shrug>

That's happened elsewhere on the forum today to someone else. Funny goings on.

Suse
squicked
I shoulda known