Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Agent_Dark]

The one area for genuine concern is TR got dumped as she was nearing the big 4-0 ... and AT is getting there, too. Hence, I get a black mood whenever I see something that looks like a kiss-up to the Maxim demographic. (TeyLo on SG:A, I'm looking at you.)

Hmmm, I don't think age had anything to do with the decision to write out TR. It's been said that at the time they wrote that episode, they were fairly certain it would be the last season of SG-1, and they wanted a fairly dramatic way for her to go out.
Besides, I personally think TR and AT are still some of the best looking woman on TV no matter what their ages I'll take AT's Femme Fatale shoot over a Maxim cover anyday

The real threat seems to be creeping influence of Andromeda. Look at those bimbos RDA was posing with at E3: that tableau has Andromeda written all over it. If the SGC is suddenly pustulent with busty babes & teenage computers nerds, it'll be time to pull the plug.

Meh, I wouldn't read too much into how the Stargate Game was being presented at E3. It had absolutely nothing to do with PTB that run the TV show, and you'll find that busty bimbos is pretty much how *all* games are advertised like that at E3.

Had Janet died a heroic death saving one of the main characters or had a martyrdom similar to Daniel's in Meridian, perhaps we'd feel differently. Yes, people die randomly in real life, but Stargate is not a show people look to for gritty neo-realist drama, if you follow my drift. And, if they TPTB do want realism, a little behavioral veracity wouldn't be unwelcome. Martouf, Jacob & Janet were all here & beloved one day, utterly forgotten the next. It makes the characters on the show look heartless or out of touch, which is probably not the intended effect

Yeah, I agree there. But JM has said that Cassie is going to be mentioned at the start of Season9, so maybe Janet will, finally, be remembered.

[Carterslave]

I am going to the Burbank Con but mainly for 2 reasons - 1 I want to se Torri Higginson (meet her briefly last year at Comic Con and she was really great to talk to - very warm and friendly) 2 Joel Goldsmith - want to hear about the man behind the music

Ha! I'm working on getting my butt to Burbank—for the same two reasons as you—but most of all for Teryl. Torri, Teryl & Joel Goldsmith ... sounds like a good time to me!
There have been some pretty tactless remarks coming out of Vancouver (though not from Black or Browder, who could give lessons in diplomacy). I guess the passive resentment of RDA is coming to the surface; reading about the show or hearing the DVD commentaries, one gets the sense that nobody got too close to him. (AT had given some interviews during the filming of S8 where she sounded pretty frosted about the incredibly disjointed shooting schedule—and about not getting another director slot.) Is all this "I'm happier than ever" talk just the inevitable PR mouthwash or the venting of accumulated grumbles? You make the call.
As for the S9 sneak peaks, I sympathize with TPTB. It's a game they can't win. Early in the hiatus, all of the pre-S9 promotion seemed aimed at slurping the Farscape fanbase, while the SG-1 fans were sounding mighty ticked off & taken for granted. (Not w/o justification, either, especially when we saw how pinch-penny SG-1 was looking compared to the lavish SG:A.)
So Stargate launches this "sneak peek" campaign aimed at mollifying the restive SG-1 viewers & they still get slammed. I feel their pain.
I'm also not comfortable with the idea of using Carter as a stick to beat the rest of the show with. She's the character who got me into watching it, but I enjoy the rest of the gan just as much. It's not Stargate: Sam Carter-1, after all, and I'll be happy if they can get back to the well-matched-foursome dynamic of the early years.
The frequent invocation of S1-3 in connection with the upcoming season shows a welcome acknowledgement that the series has gone astray from the formula that put it firmly on the map to begin with. Hey, I'd probably stop watching a Carter-less SG-1 too, but in the absence of pithy, emotionally involving, team-based action stories it's all pretty beside the point.
And let's not whump Mr. Bam Bam b/c he didn't know AT had done hand-to-hand combat. He's new to the show. What about the writers who screwed up the Jacob/Selmac timeline in Threads? ("Four years"? Try "six," guys.) They don't have Mr. Bam Bam's excuse.

[the dancer of spaz]

In regards to the "four years" remark, I just took it as them being canonly correct when it comes to time. While in real life it's been six years since Jacob accepted Selmak, the break between S1 and S2; S2 and S3; S3 and S4; S4 and S5; S5 and S6; and S7 and S8 was pretty much non-existent when it comes to time. Each season premiere took place almost literally right where the season finale left off.

Even if each episode chronologically took place every two weeks for the characters, that wouldn't even out to a full year for them - especially when you take into account the two-part episodes. I think it was really weird for them to have him say that, but I'm assuming they had a good reason for it.

[Carterslave]

SG1 is off-world, exploring an alien ship ...
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y11...CarterShip.jpg

Carter: You know, sir, if you've seen one Goa'uld mothership you really have seen them all.
O'Neill: What?
Daniel: What?
Teal'c: Indeed ... You were expecting me to say something else, O'Neill?

BTW, it seems awfully harsh to call fans "a necessary evil" (especially since that might embrace all of us). Without fans what you have is a cancelled show—and sci-fi fans appear to be the most loyal of them all. If you acted on a Star Trek episode four decades ago they'll still remember & love you.
I prefer the viewpoint of Ben Browder, who calls the audience the most important component of any story. (BB & Black are exceptionally fan-friendly, it would seem.) Actually, I like the idea of having Claudia Black on SG-1 ... it's Vala who makes me want to crawl under my chair.

[1speed4Sam]

No, it's the S6-8 scriptwriters she should shoot. They're the ones who gave us the Mary Sue-ing of Jonas, DeadJanet, DeadJacob, the Dumbassification of Sam and—let us not forget (as much as we'd like to)—Pete. Heck, she should shoot them for that alone.
As for the upcoming Free Jaffa storyline, it's worth remembering that Apophis & his pals didn't keep all those Jaffa around for their sparkling personalities & scintillating conversation. (Though they do speak English better than the average American, I regret to say.)

Original post edited as suggested, my esteemed fellow Royal Guard. Remember, I'm just a simple guy who's only seen COTG (though this situation should be rectified soon ).

1s4S

[ForeverSg1]

This may put me in the dog house, but I just had to say it. Is it just me or has Amanda simply been plagued by getting involved with photoshoots where they go way over the top with the make-up or have really crappy lighting and backdrops? Amanda is one of the most naturally beautiful women I have ever seen, but man I have seen some really unbecoming pictures of her. I do not like the photos above...she looks much too pale against that backdrop. It really reminds me of old twiggy pictures. I honestly don't care for many of the promo and glam shots that she's been involved in. I just don't see how the photographers can mess up with someone so photogenic. Maybe it's just me, but I really think the stills from the Stargate DVD where she is just walking around in the woods with her dog and some of the convention pictures I've seen do her much better justice.

Personally, I think the best photoshoot I have seen with Amanda thus far has to be the Fem-Fatale layout. It was a bit sexier than I had expected from Amanda, but she was absolutely stunning in each and every photo.

Kat

[Skydiver]

First of all, let's not even JOKE about shooting someone. That starts us down a path i do NOT want to go.
whack them with a wet noodle, tie them to a pole and make them listen to JLo sing, anything harmless is fine, joking about shooting is not.

Second of all, i do see us fans as a necessary evil. Most of us are fine. We know the boundaries. We'd never find Colin's apartment and ring him up out of the blue to talk. We'd never follow Peter Williams into the bathroom. We'd never slip an actor our room number. We'd never drive around vancouver to suss out exactly which house is Amanda's real residence.

Most of us are fine and know how to behave.

But a few aren't. And those few are why actors have security escorts at conventions (at gatecon 2003, the organizers were so concerned about Corin's safety after the passionate fan response to him that MGM provided professional security officers for each of the attendees) They were literally afraid that the actor would come to harm and that some fans would not be able to separate actor and character

I know that most fans are fine. they're respectful and polite and accept the boundaries, but some aren't...and it's those few that paint all of us as potential whackos

Yes, we are why they have jobs...but the behavior of some of us is also why actors have to live with one eye open and, depending on thier level of popularity, have to fight to have a personal and private life

[Agent_Dark]

This may put me in the dog house, but I just had to say it. Is it just me or has Amanda simply been plagued by getting involved with photoshoots where they go way over the top with the make-up or have really crappy lighting and backdrops? Amanda is one of the most naturally beautiful women I have ever seen, but man I have seen some really unbecoming pictures of her. I do not like the photos above...she looks much too pale against that backdrop. It really reminds me of old twiggy pictures. I honestly don't care for many of the promo and glam shots that she's been involved in. I just don't see how the photographers can mess up with someone so photogenic. Maybe it's just me, but I really think the stills from the Stargate DVD where she is just walking around in the woods with her dog and some of the convention pictures I've seen do her much better justice.

Personally, I think the best photoshoot I have seen with Amanda thus far has to be the Fem-Fatale layout. It was a bit sexier than I had expected from Amanda, but she was absolutely stunning in each and every photo.

Kat

Actually, I only quickly glanced at them before (shock horror, I know ) but now you bring it up I agree. They're not the best photos I've seen of her by far.
Can they be saved by Photoshop perhaps?

[Myrth]

Agreed... and may I say your sig is drop dead gorgeous!

The woman barely needs makeup....

This may put me in the dog house, but I just had to say it. Is it just me or has Amanda simply been plagued by getting involved with photoshoots where they go way over the top with the make-up or have really crappy lighting and backdrops? Amanda is one of the most naturally beautiful women I have ever seen, but man I have seen some really unbecoming pictures of her. I do not like the photos above...she looks much too pale against that backdrop. It really reminds me of old twiggy pictures. I honestly don't care for many of the promo and glam shots that she's been involved in. I just don't see how the photographers can mess up with someone so photogenic. Maybe it's just me, but I really think the stills from the Stargate DVD where she is just walking around in the woods with her dog and some of the convention pictures I've seen do her much better justice.

Personally, I think the best photoshoot I have seen with Amanda thus far has to be the Fem-Fatale layout. It was a bit sexier than I had expected from Amanda, but she was absolutely stunning in each and every photo.

Kat

[Agent_Dark]

Saw a link to this in another thread. A little article on Beau Bridges joining the cast of SG-1. I noticed this rather amusing typo:

Bridges and Browder take over for Richard Dean Anderson, who left as a regular last season but will reappear. Actors Samantha Carter, Michael Shanks and Christopher Judge return. Louis Gossett Jr. joins the cast as an alien leader who competes with Teal'c (Judge) to control a new Jaffa nation.

[Lida]

This may put me in the dog house, but I just had to say it. Is it just me or has Amanda simply been plagued by getting involved with photoshoots where they go way over the top with the make-up or have really crappy lighting and backdrops? Amanda is one of the most naturally beautiful women I have ever seen, but man I have seen some really unbecoming pictures of her. I do not like the photos above...she looks much too pale against that backdrop. It really reminds me of old twiggy pictures. I honestly don't care for many of the promo and glam shots that she's been involved in. I just don't see how the photographers can mess up with someone so photogenic. Maybe it's just me, but I really think the stills from the Stargate DVD where she is just walking around in the woods with her dog and some of the convention pictures I've seen do her much better justice.

Personally, I think the best photoshoot I have seen with Amanda thus far has to be the Fem-Fatale layout. It was a bit sexier than I had expected from Amanda, but she was absolutely stunning in each and every photo.

Kat

Blame the photographer...the lighting IS terrible. AT is still beautiful, the idiot photographer just didn't use the natural beauty he had there, right in front of him. I say we chip in and get him a new light meter, or maybe a few refresher courses?????

[Myrth]

Had a crack at removing the issues created by the lighting/red in these pics...

[1speed4Sam]

This may put me in the dog house, but I just had to say it. Is it just me or has Amanda simply been plagued by getting involved with photoshoots where they go way over the top with the make-up or have really crappy lighting and backdrops? Amanda is one of the most naturally beautiful women I have ever seen, but man I have seen some really unbecoming pictures of her. I do not like the photos above...she looks much too pale against that backdrop. It really reminds me of old twiggy pictures. I honestly don't care for many of the promo and glam shots that she's been involved in. I just don't see how the photographers can mess up with someone so photogenic. Maybe it's just me, but I really think the stills from the Stargate DVD where she is just walking around in the woods with her dog and some of the convention pictures I've seen do her much better justice.

Personally, I think the best photoshoot I have seen with Amanda thus far has to be the Fem-Fatale layout. It was a bit sexier than I had expected from Amanda, but she was absolutely stunning in each and every photo.

Kat

Well said, Forever.

After my earlier stereotypical male outburst (for which I humbly apologise ), can I just say that the most appealing pictures of AT I've seen since arriving in Samanda have been the unposed, candid shots, taken at conventions etc, where she is simply being herself - her personality just shines through her facial expressions, and *those* eyes.

And as I've said before, I personally find an expressive face far more attractive than all the *glamour* in the world (or out of it, for that matter).

1s4S

[ChopinGal]

Who's up for petitioning the ptb to give sam/amanda her own show?!?

if sam had her own show, should it take place on earth? should she command the alpha site? if she stays on earth, should she have her own sg team (not sg1, because this would be *sam's* show). how about her being on the prometheus or daedalus? ideas, samandans?


sally

From your lips to TPTB's ears!

Wow ... if we had her command the P or D that may be too much like Star Trek getting a woman commander. I don't know though, I could see her as lead undercover agent for Homeworld Security (cough, sorry Sal, but no fraternizing with her boss I guess) ... she looks so good in black that she'd get to do some kind of an investigation of the paranormal for the gov't. (ha, Proof Positive?). She'd drive the red mustang or, better yet, a silver Jaguar (they're paying her quite well) and tool around the country each week on a new case ... a bit like Scully and Muldaur? But she'd be looking primarily for Goa'uld who are hiding on earth. She'd find them and dispatch easily with her hand device. Of course, being so brilliant, her cover would be a job for a Wash DC think tank and part-time professor of physics at Georgetown. And she'd have a cat and a really sleek, contemporary looking condo ... minimalist is the word, not all the frills and curtains of the house in Colorado Springs. She'd lead a much more sophisticated life in Wash DC and we'd get to see her hanging out at cocktail parties and museum openings ... looking absolutely stunning as "the lady in red".

Okay ... it's time for breakfast ...

Am I rambling ... yep ... it's the beginning of a holiday weekend and I'm rambling ...

A great idea though ... we can always dream ... The Sam Carter Show.

[ChopinGal]

Well said, Forever.

After my earlier stereotypical male outburst (for which I humbly apologise ), can I just say that the most appealing pictures of AT I've seen since arriving in Samanda have been the unposed, candid shots, taken at conventions etc, where she is simply being herself - her personality just shines through her facial expressions, and *those* eyes.

And as I've said before, I personally find an expressive face far more attractive than all the *glamour* in the world (or out of it, for that matter).

1s4S

You're all right ... Amanda is a natural beauty and requires very little enhancement when being photographed or filmed. In fact, I think she doesn't like the overuse of cosmetics and has said so on occasion. She'd rather have mud and dirt on her face than makeup!

Here's what Jan Newman, Make-Up Supervisor, had to say about working with Amanda (The Illustrated Companion, Seasons 5 & 6):

... on a gentler note, I personally loved Ascension because we got to change Amanda Tapping's look. She was only in uniform for half a day shooting that episode. The rest of the time she was in civvies, so we got to glam her up quite a bit! Instead of having to stick with the regular SG-1 look, we could show how gorgeous she actually is. It was her show, and she did a fantastic job. I loved having the opportunity to show off her natural beauty. It only takes the tiniest bit of powder, and the odd touch of blusher and lip gloss, to make her look even more stunning!

And, in same article, this from hairdresser, Patrick O'Brien, Amanda Tapping ... has wonderful bone structure and lovely big eyes, which ... shorter hair shows off to a decidedly flattering advantage.

A professional photographer should be able to use such beauty well and, I agree, the guy who did the Femme Fatale shots was at the top of his game. I believe he is quite famous in LA for shooting many of the high-profile stars. So AT went for the gusto and he delivered.

I was stunned at first when I did see the Femme Fatale layout, but then thought that this was an actor who has almost frozen her career for the past eight years by her commitment to Stargate. Her publicist probably was the one to suggest that it was time for AT to be seen differently and the results were both startling and provocative. I love that, at the end of all the glam and sex appeal, this pro photographer also shot "the girl next door" image of Amanda, looking almost as innocent and radiant as she did when turning her face up to Seth in that early episode. So amazing that he was able to capture so many facets of this beautiful woman.