Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Uber]

Plus, she had no way of checking out another planet. What if she had dialed a planet that was dangerous? It was really early in the series, and they hadn't been many places yet. She could end up putting them in even more danger if she dialed a gou'ald infested planet. Do we even know if they had a GDO with them? Or was it with Teal'c or Daniel? I think this episode played out perfectly just the way it was.

Well storyline wise, it had to play out that way or they wouldn't have found the second gate.

But while she couldn't just randomly pick a planet, they had by then already made some friends. She could have dialed the land of light, she could have dialed Cimmeria or Argos...or even Cartago. Had she dialed any of these friendly worlds, they would have connected and Sam would have known that the problem wasn't on her end...or at least that the problem wasn't something mechanical that needed to be repaired.

[ann_sgcfan]

To determine if the problem was on her end or theirs. She simply assumed that the problem MUST have been on her end and never consider the possibility that it wasn't.

Had she tried another gate it would have connected, thus disproving her initial assumption.

ah true words my friend! but you and I knew she was on earth. She however, knew that the problem wasn't on Earth's (SGC) because the gate was perfectly okay when she left; teams were coming and going before she and SG-1 left. They weren't returning home they were leaving to go to another planet THe frozen jaffa proved that the gate on thier end was malfunctioning.... I'm truely not picking on your Ooober. I'm laughing as I type. I've heard many that believe the same way as you and they have yet to change my thinking, so good luck with that...

[Gate gal]

Well storyline wise, it had to play out that way or they wouldn't have found the second gate.

But while she couldn't just randomly pick a planet, they had by then already made some friends. She could have dialed the land of light, she could have dialed Cimmeria or Argos...or even Cartago. Had she dialed any of these friendly worlds, they would have connected and Sam would have known that the problem wasn't on her end...or at least that the problem wasn't something mechanical that needed to be repaired.

Can't really argue with that. You win!

[JenniferJF]

Just before I go to bed here's my favourite S1 Sam moment. When she stays with Cassie even when she was ordered to leave Cassie there alone, it showed Sam wasn't just someone who would follow orders blindly and when she struggled between what her training told her to do and what Sam's own nature and feeling told her to do, that ep still makes me cry lol

My favorite Sam moment from S1 is probably from that same episode, when Daniel and Sam are talking about her, and Sam says something about "I know I'm supposed to be unemotional" and Daniel looks at her in surprise and says, "Who says so?" to paraphrase. For the first significant and obvious time right there, I think Sam faces the conflict between military "professionalism" and her emotions.

Yeah, I'm a S/J shipper who picked a S/D scene. Go figure. (But we shippers know where that sort of emotional awakening led )

I actually wonder at times if it is really possible to be both an Amanda/Sam fan and a Sam/Jack shipper. I believe it is (there are so many of us), because well I love both my ship and my Sam but if I ever had to make a choice it would be Sam hands down.

IMHO, if you believe the ship is a part of who Sam is (and I believe a woman's personal relationships shape and mold her as much as they do a man's), then I think it's perfectly natural to be a Sam fan and a shipper. One of the things I love about the character is that she's not perfect in her personal life, and she struggles with many of the same fears and insecurities as the rest of us, and yet somehow (again, my shippy opinion) manages to eventually muddle through to find some degree of personal and professional happiness, but not without compromise. They didn't make her (and from what I've read AT had a lot to do with this) the less dimensional "mandatory girl" they might have, or the equally stereotypical geeky scientist never even interested in having a life. Because I'd like my daughter to grow up believing that while she may b able to blow up suns if she wants to, that ability will never be the only, or even most important part, of who she is.

And its really nice for once to see a female character so strong and capable that it's the male hero who has to do most of the pining

[Gate gal]

Wow, I've been here all day and that is after being here nearly all night. Catching up after a few days away isn't easy, and I must admit I was having GW withdrawls. I'm off to fix supper and watch a little Stargate with hubby and the kids (if I can get the kids away from the video games long enough). Time to watch BtS, I think. Amanda does such a great job with that episode (well with all of them actually). I love the part near the end where she suddenly remembers that Jack is Sir.

((((Samanda))))

[Gate gal]

My favorite Sam moment from S1 is probably from that same episode, when Daniel and Sam are talking about her, and Sam says something about "I know I'm supposed to be unemotional" and Daniel looks at her in surprise and says, "Who says so?" to paraphrase. For the first significant and obvious time right there, I think Sam faces the conflict between military "professionalism" and her emotions.

Yeah, I'm a S/J shipper who picked a S/D scene. Go figure. (But we shippers know where that sort of emotional awakening led )
IMHO, if you believe the ship is a part of who Sam is (and I believe a woman's personal relationships shape and mold her as much as they do a man's), then I think it's perfectly natural to be a Sam fan and a shipper. One of the things I love about the character is that she's not perfect in her personal life, and she struggles with many of the same fears and insecurities as the rest of us, and yet somehow (again, my shippy opinion) manages to eventually muddle through to find some degree of personal and professional happiness, but not without compromise. They didn't make her (and from what I've read AT had a lot to do with this) the less dimensional "mandatory girl" they might have, or the equally stereotypical geeky scientist never even interested in having a life. Because I'd like my daughter to grow up believing that while she may b able to blow up suns if she wants to, that ability will never be the only, or even most important part, of who she is.

And its really nice for once to see a female character so strong and capable that it's the male hero who has to do most of the pining

I really wish I wasn't out of green, cause you deserve it. So, GREEN, GREEN, and a little more GREEN!

[Uber]

ah true words my friend! but you and I knew she was on earth. She however, knew that the problem wasn't on Earth's (SGC) because the gate was perfectly okay when she left; teams were coming and going before she and SG-1 left. They weren't returning home they were leaving to go to another planet THe frozen jaffa proved that the gate on thier end was malfunctioning.... I'm truely not picking on your Ooober. I'm laughing as I type. I've heard many that believe the same way as you and they have yet to change my thinking, so good luck with that...

You are too picking on me. MOMMY!!!

Sam assumed the problem was with her gate because they just went through the other one without a problem. Was that a logical assumption to make? Sure it was. It didn't mean that there weren't other possibilities. Of course she couldn't and didn't know they were in Antarctica and never would have considered it as a possibility.

But we do know there was nothing mechanically wrong with the gate on her end because she made sure it was fixed. That's why she was so frustrated...because mechanically everything was in perfect order, and yet it still wouldn't connect to earth. Had she attempted another gate, she would have realized that there was a completely different reason for the gates not connecting. She wouldn't have known what it was of course.

As for the frozen Jaffa, the only thing proven was that they died near the DHD.

[Frostfox]

Well storyline wise, it had to play out that way or they wouldn't have found the second gate.

But while she couldn't just randomly pick a planet, they had by then already made some friends. She could have dialed the land of light, she could have dialed Cimmeria or Argos...or even Cartago. Had she dialed any of these friendly worlds, they would have connected and Sam would have known that the problem wasn't on her end...or at least that the problem wasn't something mechanical that needed to be repaired.

Which segues nicely into what I like about Sam; she's not perfect.
None of the team (I'm thinking here) are; and still they complement each other, mesh together to make a whole stronger than the sum of the parts.
I think my favourite single Sam scene, in season one or any season, was her going back to be in the bunker with Cassie in Singularity.

My favourite thing about Amanda is the depth and generosity of spirit she shows.

FF

[majorsal]

Caption:

thoughts of the team...

mitchell: i'm hot, i know it. and i know you're trying not to peek, sam.

sam: i wonder if jack would like underwear like that? or commando?... yeah...

daniel: i love you, teal'c.

teal'c: please, colonelcarter, i plead with you to notice my discomfort. danieljackson is giving me 'that' look again.





sally

[Uber]

Which segues nicely into what I like about Sam; she's not perfect.
None of the team (I'm thinking here) are; and still they complement each other, mesh together to make a whole stronger than the sum of the parts.
I think my favourite single Sam scene, in season one or any season, was her going back to be in the bunker with Cassie in Singularity.

My favourite thing about Amanda is the depth and generosity of spirit she shows.

FF

Sam's not perfect. She knows she's not perfect and I think it irritates her that people see her that way. Like in Avenger. I think her exasperation with Felger commenting on her "perfection" is simply her finally expressing that frustration.

She's not perfect...never claimed to be...yet everyone seems to think she'll always have just the right answer to save the day. She bears that burden well and comes through 99.9% of the time...until someone or something highlights how much some people put her on a pedastal she doesn't want and never asked for.

Like Redemption. She retreated to her lab because everyone was looking at her for the solution. All that pressure to be right all the time has to wear on her nerves.

[Skydiver]

i think, had solitudes happened later in the show, sam's response woulda been different.

look at her. t his is her, oh less than 2-3 dozen trip through the gate. she only knew a bare handful of addresses they coulda have dialed - and with jack's injuries, none of the planets theyu'd met thus far coulda helped him. they were all too primitive for thoracic surgery, he'd have just died in a warmer place is all

to this point, they had NEVER seen or heard of a planet with two gates. one planet, one gate. heck, they hadn't even learned that ships could have gates on them yet.

she had one focus, get jack to earth. earth had the meds to save him. and that was her goal. Get jack home.

which is most likely why she never tried to dial another planet. none of them coulda helped him anyway and even considering that she was on earth was simply beyond her logic.

also, ya gotta remember that sam herself was injured. she likely had a concussion from getting tossed out of the gate. she was hungry, cold, hypothermic and scared to death

[L.A. Doyle]

Samandans, have you come out of the wormhole closet?! Do your friends and family know about your (choose one):

a) strong interest in
b) obsession with
c) devotion to
d) willingness to travel great distances for
e) all of the above

Stargate SG1 and all things Amanda

How did you break the news to the outer world? Or, are you still hiding your Stargate magazines under your bed? Stashing your boxed sets of DVDs in back of your husband's video library?

Come out, come out wherever you are ... fellow Samandans, how did you first get hooked on the show and especially Sam Carter? How long have you been watching? Have you ever attended a con? Whose autographs have you managed to get? What do you plan to do once Season 10 comes to an end?

My immediate family and closest friends know about my obsession. Oh, they know. I babble about 'Stargate' to them all them time. I think it gets on my poor mother's nerves, though she has, on occasion, watched an ep or two.

I've managed to addict my brother and get my best friend back into it. My roommate at school is really the reason I watch. And Hurricane Katrina. When Katrina came in, I was in Louisiana, so it hit pretty close to home. I had the news on and was watching continuously. Finally, it just got too depressing for even me. I turned off my TV and began to watch what my roommate had been watching all that Monday evening. It was a show called 'Stargate'. I knew a bit about it. My best friend had watched back in high school and shown me an episode. So I watched the last episode of the night. It was "Emancipation". I was hooked by the end. What stuck out to me most in that episode was the blonde girl could kick butt and the leader guy was quite humorous. So I watched the next day, and the next, and so on and so forth. Luckily, my roommie did too, and I had a 'gating buddy.

So I've been watching since August 2005 and was a Carter/AT fan right off the bat. I was a shipper VERY soon after.

I am going to my first con in March with my old roommate from college(I'm a grad now. ) I am so excited! I don't know who all will be there yet, but I'm hoping Amanda will be. Even if she isn't, I know it will be a blast. This trip is full of firsts for me. First plane ride, first time out of the country, first con, etc., etc. I don't have any autographs yet, but I will! Is it March yet?

After Season 10, I will watch the movies as they are released and keep up with SGA. Of course I'll rewatch my DVDs a gazillion times. This show is great. My only regret is I got into the game so late!

[L.A. Doyle]

Now that I'm a woman, I want to be a Sam Carter....or maybe an Amanda Tapping.

I like that.

Hey...is it just me...or has anyone else noticed how much Amanda and Sam look alike?

Anyone? Anyone???

And here I was thinking I was the only one!

Spoilers for space...

Spoiler:

I agree with what Poz is saying.

I think it all boils down to balance.

While we don't want Samanda turned into a kingdom of the morose, I think it is extremely important, nay necessary, to express our feelings of love and support for Amanda and her family.

Like Poz said, she did announce it publically. Granted, she didn't have much choice as the story was leaked by someone else...but she did publically confirm the story, knowing that we would want to support her.

We'd want to express our love and our condolences...and she'd need to read them. I hope that doesn't sound too presumptuous to suggest, but it's how I feel. Now if Amanda had said in her correspondence to please not say anything, this would not even be a topic for discussion. But we know because she's said it many, many times that she reads what her fans post, both here and elsewhere, and garners support and encouragement and strength from them.

So why would this situation be any different? Would she not continue to be strengthened and comforted by our thoughts and feelings?

Now I hope people don't read this as suggesting that we are her sole lifeline during this time. She's blessed with a loving family and has an incredible support system in her very tightly close knit Tapping clan.

At the same time, however, she has us. Just as we are encouraged and energized by her presence...by her simply being her, I believe strongly that she feels the same way about us.

As for her privacy...we all respect it. More than that...we all protect it viciously. But I don't think privacy is the issue here because she knows that at our core, we have her best interests at heart and would never betray the relationship by exposing inappropriate personal content. We'd never cross that line and I'm confident we never would. I'm just as confident that Amanda knows this about us.

She knows she can come here and be safe among friends who love and support her. And like Poz said, how would she feel if she came here and didn't see any support? If we stop sharing our feelings and condolences because of a well-meaning but I believe in my heart misplaced desire to protect Amanda, it could do her and us more harm than good.

But like I said at the beginning of this long and rambling post, I think the core issue is balance. I think it's appropriate to express ourselves in a dignified and respectful manner...but not to convert the thread to only discuss this one issue.

We still need to continue on talking about other things. We still need to play and share with each other. I need to know how Poz is doing. I need to see the "caption me" pictures. I need scarimor to tell me what the heck she saw in the white witch of Narnia to make her stand out as a hero and bring it out as one of her secrets.

So...my humble suggestion is that we continue to be Samanda and do our silly Samanda things while still letting people give Amanda their love and support. That way, Samanda is neither mired in sadness nor ignoring it, giving us a means to share our love and support for Amanda and giving her a chance to be strengthened and encouraged by our sincere and respectful feelings, and buoyed by our love.


*re-reads the above for clarity*

"Buoyed by our love." Dude...I'm waxing poetic today.

Excellent post. You really have a way with words.

Now, since we are going for balance here. Let's all share our favorite Sam moment for Season 1 (then we can do 2, 3, 4, so on). Yes, I know we've done this before, but let's do it again.

Mine was at the end of Emancipation where she kicked her captor's butt! I think it set the stage for Soldier Sam better than anything else (even better than the "just because my sexual organs are on the inside" comment from the pilot).

Oh, my first ep! Woot!

My fav S1 moment...too many to list. I can't have just one favorite!

To me this makes perfect sense, because that is where I am as well. I delurked on GW solely because of the Ship family (thanks L.A. for pushing the delurk campaign along), and I visited Samanda because Sam was my favorite character. As the months have gone by, I've found myself more interested in Sam than the ship (please don't throw stones ship family I STILL WANT MY SHIP RESOLUTION DESPERATELY). I think it is primarily because RDA is gone, but it is also because the more I learn about Amanda and the more my daughter looks up to Sam the more important Samanda becomes to me. I actually wonder at times if it is really possible to be both an Amanda/Sam fan and a Sam/Jack shipper. I believe it is (there are so many of us), because well I love both my ship and my Sam but if I ever had to make a choice it would be Sam hands down.

That next to the last sentence is going to get me in so much trouble. Please read the context not my feeble words.

And I'm so glad you delurked! Hey lurkers, delurk! Look here! A happy delurker. You can be happy too!

And you are in SO much trouble. Run fast and run far.

Because I'd like my daughter to grow up believing that while she may b able to blow up suns if she wants to, that ability will never be the only, or even most important part, of who she is.

And its really nice for once to see a female character so strong and capable that it's the male hero who has to do most of the pining

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I love the part near the end where she suddenly remembers that Jack is Sir.

Oh, the angst!

[JenniferJF]

Sam's not perfect. She knows she's not perfect and I think it irritates her that people see her that way. Like in Avenger. I think her exasperation with Felger commenting on her "perfection" is simply her finally expressing that frustration.

She's not perfect...never claimed to be...yet everyone seems to think she'll always have just the right answer to save the day. She bears that burden well and comes through 99.9% of the time...until someone or something highlights how much some people put her on a pedastal she doesn't want and never asked for.

Like Redemption. She retreated to her lab because everyone was looking at her for the solution. All that pressure to be right all the time has to wear on her nerves.

One of what I think is the most subtle examples of this is during Threads when she's breaking up with Pete. She admits she didn't expect him to react the way he's reacting, and he asks her if she expected him to beg.

Now, I've seen that episode alot (you in the corner, stop laughing!) and tried to figure out what reaction she DID expect. I've concluded she actually wanted him to get really angry and upset at her. I think she knows she screwed up royally (how could she not?) and deserves Pete's anger. While he's upset, his basic reaction can be summarized as, "Oh well, I always knew you were too good for me."

What?!? How unsatisfying. I think the woman needed to do some kind of pennance. Even when she messes up, she's still finds herself stuck up on that pedestal, not treated like a real person who really screwed up. (And can you imagine if she'd married a man with that sort of opinion of her? <<shudder>>)

[majorsal]

My immediate family and closest friends know about my obsession. Oh, they know.

same for me, with only fam and friends knowing my sam/amanda, jack/rda, and ship obsession. ~it used to be 'show' obsession, but that changed in season 9~ (a fam member made me a shirt for christmas that said, 'i'm mrs richard dean anderson', with a hunky picture of rda/jack on the front )

So I've been watching since August 2005 and was a Carter/AT fan right off the bat. I was a shipper VERY soon after.

i've been watching since the first ep of the first season, and was a sam from right off too. and officially became a shipper in ep four (the broca divide).




sally