Samantha Carter, Did Atlantis destroy her character?
- Thread starter RaymondJames
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I don't think Atlantis was any better or worse to her character than SG-1 was. Really, the Stargate's have a lot of flaws and this is not one that is worth complaining about. So, she's in command and not hanging in the lab with Rodney---her job in Atlantis is not supposed to be in the lab. It might have been nice to have an episode illustrating that with her trying to work with Rodney to come up with a solution to a problem and then have Teyla explain to Carter that her place is elsewhere.
My biggest problem with the last season of Atlantis is what they did to Weir. I really miss her presence on the program.
My biggest problem with the last season of Atlantis is what they did to Weir. I really miss her presence on the program.
I don't think anyone's saying she should've been chained to a desk in a lab, but that we didn't get to see her excerting a stronger command authority or presence, equaling that of Weir. She was leader of the Expedition, yet at times it felt that Shep and Rodney were running things more than she was. Thanks to her not being in every episode, command fell to Sheppard whenever she was absent. When he was off world, Rodney was left in charge.
I miss her too. She was the leader, and even in eps where she wasn't a central figure, her presence added so much to the show that in comparison, makes Sam's reign come off as sorely lacking.
There was a line in The Seed where they're wondering why Sam was replaced-"She's a victim of her own success.." and Teyla chimes in how the Replicators were defeated, Wraith falling in factional infighting, and Micheal's organization dismantled, all while Carter was leader...And I can't tell you how hollow listening to that was. Cause we all know how weakly the writers had her actually involved in anything (combined with the lower episode appearances).
Oh, oh you are talking about Carter not Weir. 
I finished Season 4 and I must say that I started liking Carter on the show a lot more in the 2nd half of the season. "Trio" is one of my favorite eps of the entire year. It makes me wonder if perhaps part of the problem with Carter at the beginning of Season 4 was that Amanda Tapping was having to split her time between Atlantis and the 2 SG-1 movies. That's why she wasn't there very much.
Overall, nothing & no one was ruined. It's just kind of a bummer that they didn't really do anything with her character while she was there. It could have been anyone brought in to replace Weir. I accept Carter as a placeholder for Weir but I feel like Weir was just too integral to the show for her to not come back.
Overall, nothing & no one was ruined. It's just kind of a bummer that they didn't really do anything with her character while she was there. It could have been anyone brought in to replace Weir. I accept Carter as a placeholder for Weir but I feel like Weir was just too integral to the show for her to not come back.
Yes they were Martin Wood talked about it in one of the commentaries, but I don't remember which one. Even Wood had to leave and Andy Mikita had to do some his directing chores.
Wow. That's dumb. Just plain dumb. You only contract an actor playing a character who in anyone’s right mind should be prominently featured (being the base commander and all) for only 14 episodes, and then you further complicate the scheduling rubric by having her be off for two months shooting other Stargate adventures?
I’ve only seen the first nine episodes of season four, but no wonder her presence has been pretty minimal (with a few exceptions).
I’ve only seen the first nine episodes of season four, but no wonder her presence has been pretty minimal (with a few exceptions).
Had Heroes second season ran it's full length the would've had a similar problem with Zach Quinto, so these kind things happen when an actor has more than one commitment.
Erm...Sheppard is the "Military Expedition Leader."
I wouldn't say destroyed her character but I don't think going to Atlantis did anything for her character. I also missed Elizabeth Weir and wish the PTB would've kept her.
......Errr... Yes, yes it was. Even sadder, that somebody was me. So I just feel like I lost out big time. Damn.
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I agree Carter's character was underused on Atlantis, but it wasn't an unrealistic assignment for as accomplished an officer and scientist as Colonel Carter. Years of experience with the SGC gave her a breadth of knowledge not only about the stargate system itself, but of diplomacy, off-world operations, and facing down seemingly unstoppable threats like the Wraith.
Now, a good middle step here would have been for Carter to have been given leadership of SG-1 after O'Neil's promotion. The fact that Cam Mitchell went from being a career pilot to a special operations team leader of the most elite SGC team overnight always stuck in my craw. I wouldn't have minded Mitchell joining SG-1 as a member of the team, but Carter had earned the right to lead that unit, and shouldn't have been forced to play second fiddle to the Johnny-come-lately Mitchell. [Note: I say this as both a fan of the show as well as a big fan of Ben Browder, I'm a total Farscape junkie.]
But what Carter experienced as the leader of the Atlantis expedition isn't unusual. Yes, the tradeoff for gaining greater rank is that you get to do less and less of the actual hands-on work. Your job becomes one of oversight, report-review, debriefing, etc. You get to make the big calls, true, but the nuts and bolts of how those orders are carried out are the business of your subordinates.
That's what persons in senior leadership positions do. The reality is that once you've spent enough time behind a desk, you get rusty at the day-to-day job tasks that you once performed automatically at your old rank/position. So, even if you'd like to rush out with the junior officers and get your hands dirty on the other side of the stargate, you'll likely only be getting in people's way. That's simply how things work in the real world.
And yes, neither SG-1 or Atlantis is the real world, but the show's gone to pretty great lengths to try and recreate that military mindset and culture among it's service-member characters.
Now, a good middle step here would have been for Carter to have been given leadership of SG-1 after O'Neil's promotion. The fact that Cam Mitchell went from being a career pilot to a special operations team leader of the most elite SGC team overnight always stuck in my craw. I wouldn't have minded Mitchell joining SG-1 as a member of the team, but Carter had earned the right to lead that unit, and shouldn't have been forced to play second fiddle to the Johnny-come-lately Mitchell. [Note: I say this as both a fan of the show as well as a big fan of Ben Browder, I'm a total Farscape junkie.]
But what Carter experienced as the leader of the Atlantis expedition isn't unusual. Yes, the tradeoff for gaining greater rank is that you get to do less and less of the actual hands-on work. Your job becomes one of oversight, report-review, debriefing, etc. You get to make the big calls, true, but the nuts and bolts of how those orders are carried out are the business of your subordinates.
That's what persons in senior leadership positions do. The reality is that once you've spent enough time behind a desk, you get rusty at the day-to-day job tasks that you once performed automatically at your old rank/position. So, even if you'd like to rush out with the junior officers and get your hands dirty on the other side of the stargate, you'll likely only be getting in people's way. That's simply how things work in the real world.
And yes, neither SG-1 or Atlantis is the real world, but the show's gone to pretty great lengths to try and recreate that military mindset and culture among it's service-member characters.
Carter absolutely should've been made the leader of SG1 logical wise but entertainment wise she is way too boring.
But remember that Carter had actually left the SGC when Mitchell came aboard and he put that team back together, and she joined back up by choice. Beyond that, there's at least one reference to Mitchell feeling a little uncomfortable with a lack of a clear chain of command between him and Carter.
As for Mitchell being a pilot and then being a special forces team leader, we know that Carter also used to be a pilot - she mentions so in the SG-1 pilot, delivering that bizarre "just because my reproductive organs are on the inside" line that the writers eventually lampooned themselves.
As for Mitchell being a pilot and then being a special forces team leader, we know that Carter also used to be a pilot - she mentions so in the SG-1 pilot, delivering that bizarre "just because my reproductive organs are on the inside" line that the writers eventually lampooned themselves.
Niether of which is true she left the base to do work for the SGC at Area 51 and it was O'Neill she reassigned her to the SG1.
http://www.moon-catchin.net/gatenoise/sg1transcripts/s9/901avalonpt1.htm
http://www.moon-catchin.net/gatenoise/sg1transcripts/s9/906beachhead.htm
Carter, Jaskson and Teal'c were all gone before Mitchell got to the SGC.
Yes, the two programs are closely related. But she'd left the SGC for Area 51. And you've presented nothing that says she was ordered to rejoin SG-1 on any kind of permanent basis.Similar threads
