Samantha Carter, Did Atlantis destroy her character?

[RaymondJames]

I think the fact they dumbed Sam down in season seven and eight of SG-1 destroyed the character. She had that lame boyfriend, and let RepiSam onto a base, she was just stupid.

On Atlantis she was just useless.

Exactly.

And the same is true of Jack, who became sarcastic and dumb to CRINGE-WORTHY levels in the last few seasons of SG-1. Seasons 1-6 he was always goofy, but knew when to be serious, they threw that out the window i the later seasons.

The same is also true of Daniel, who they made Jack-Lite. Dumbed down, sarcastic, once again completely ruining his character.

One of many reasons why the quality of SG went down from those years on.

it did go down, but oddly enough (I doubt anyone will agree with me though) Vala was a real saving grace. Her character was just so well developed, funny and dare I say good looking. I wans't to into the daughter thing but I did like trhe Ori. The Goua'ld were just getting too weak as we became more advanced and had great allies, the ori were pretty sweet enemies. The characters from the original season were kind of suffering. I did like the character of Hank but he was no George Hammond. Cam was a lacking character, he just didn't wotk though at some points he was fair, Carter could of took Sg-1 and we wouldn't of needed Cam.

 

[Broccoli]

I understand that contractual obligations that brought Carter onto Atlantis, but I honestly don't think she needed to be the leader of the expedition.

She didn't need to, nor did she want to, be on the show. Her contract stated that if SG-1 was canceled that they could pick her contract up and use it on Atlantis. There was nothing in the contract that said she had to be on a show. She even did an interview that she went "It's in my contract, it's fine" and she didn't seem happy to be going to Atlantis.

Emphasis mine.

You are making an assumption based on something she said that has been taken wildly out of context by the fanbase to the point that in a later interview, she amended her statement.

That being said, from a in-universe standpoint, it made little sense for Carter to be the leader of Atlantis. I would figure someone like Daniel would be better given his background (although, more I think about it, given his character, it probably would be a poor choice). Carter wasn't utilized well in Atlantis. Her character simply isn't a base-commander-type. I guess the same could be said about Jack, but, for me at least, that worked (probably because it was on the same show, so it seemed more natural).

Woosley, I like the idea of him as the base commander. From an in-universe perspective, he's not military, he's very much concerned with "order" and quickest-way-to-success, and it, in a way, puts the IOA directly in charge of the Atlantis mission. Even though Weir was not cut in the fashion of the IOA in the slightest, the thinking that placed Weir in charge, i think, is the same thinking that placed Woosley in charge.

 

[RaymondJames]

Woolsey will sure find out quickly that you can't really fallow the rules when your in Command.

 

[Hyperspace05]

Woolsey will sure find out quickly that you can't really fallow the rules when your in Command.

HA! Only in the Stargate universe...
You do realize how silly that sounds, I hope.

 

[Broccoli]

Woolsey will sure find out quickly that you can't really fallow the rules when your in Command.

You really can't plow land with the rules? Seriously man, I know we all make typos, but do a once over with your posts.

Anyway, I'm sure that'll be part of his character arc/growth.

 

[Skywalker]

Hard to destroy something that doesn't exist.

 

[USS Kongo]

I agree with the idea put forward before: if Sam HAD to be on Atlantis, then she shouldn't have been put in charge. Sam should have had her own mission; either working with Sheppard, or on her own...whatever.

They should have kept Weir right where she was as commander of Atlantis. But it was not meant to be. I don't think the show destroyed the character of Sam Carter. But I'm glad Sam's off the show, because I take this to mean she's probably back with SG-1, where she really belongs.

Sean

 

[sidious618]

Hard to destroy something that doesn't exist.

I agree. Sam was always the least developed character on SG-1 and Atlantis did little for her.

 

[RaymondJames]

I agree with the idea put forward before: if Sam HAD to be on Atlantis, then she shouldn't have been put in charge. Sam should have had her own mission; either working with Sheppard, or on her own...whatever.

They should have kept Weir right where she was as commander of Atlantis. But it was not meant to be. I don't think the show destroyed the character of Sam Carter. But I'm glad Sam's off the show, because I take this to mean she's probably back with SG-1, where she really belongs.

Sean

and what did lowering TH's role do? Ensure that she will not return. This is not the first time they have made this mistake. They killed Carson only to feel the wrath of Beckett fans, and so look who got put back on Atlantis (not as a main however).

 

[sidious618]

I've no problem with them axing characters they just do it so terribly.

 

[Harvey]

I've no problem with them axing characters they just do it so terribly.

I'd say it's more of a problem with them following through with the swing than the actual axing itself. Sunday was a great episode, The Siege III and Runner did great things for Ford, and even the season four opener put Wier in an interesting place.

The problem? No matter how sad the characters are at the end of those episodes, or how determined they are to (insert action here) in the name of that person whose died/other, they always go back to the same old goofy shit the week after.

 

[sidious618]

I've no problem with them axing characters they just do it so terribly.

I'd say it's more of a problem with them following through with the swing than the actual axing itself. Sunday was a great episode, The Siege III and Runner did great things for Ford, and even the season four opener put Wier in an interesting place.

The problem? No matter how sad the characters are at the end of those episodes, or how determined they are to (insert action here) in the name of that person whose died/other, they always go back to the same old goofy shit the week after.

Actually, you're right. That's a much better way of putting it. There's no after effect at all. Although, Weir's death, I felt, was badly handled because we never knew if she was dead until "This Mortal Coil" where they just go, "She's dead."

 

[David cgc]

To be fair, I'm pretty sure that was intended to be misdirection, given how that line was delivered and considering the twist ending of "Be All My Sins Remember'd."

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

That being said, from a in-universe standpoint, it made little sense for Carter to be the leader of Atlantis. I would figure someone like Daniel would be better given his background (although, more I think about it, given his character, it probably would be a poor choice). Carter wasn't utilized well in Atlantis. Her character simply isn't a base-commander-type. I guess the same could be said about Jack, but, for me at least, that worked (probably because it was on the same show, so it seemed more natural).

I was surprised at the level of command competence that Jack displayed once he was promoted to general.

I agree that Daniel would be a more logical choice to put in charge of Atlantis. Even if he wasn't put in command, I think they need to come up with some kind of explanation for why he didn't take the first wormhole to the Pegasus galaxy after the Orii threat was neutralized.

I wouldn't say that putting Carter on Atlantis really hurts her. But I do find it odd that they don't seem to really be using her at all. (I've only seen up through "Be All My Sins Remembr'd.") I realize that there's often not a lot of stuff for the base commander to do since the focus tends to be on Sheppard & his team. Still, I remember Dr. Weir getting a lot more screentime than Carter has been getting. It seems like Dr. Weir has gotten more to do in her 4 guest appearances than Carter has in all of her appearances combined.

But then, the show just seems to kinda do this. Really, how many good Ronon Dex episodes have we gotten in the 3 years since he joined the show? I count 3-- "Runner," "Sateda," & "Reunion." You'd think they would have put a little more effort into developing him since they supposedly added him because they thought that Lt. Ford was insufficiently interesting.

BTW, I saw a photo of Woolsey in the Atlantis uniform. It does not suit him at all.

 

[DarKush]

I thought Weir was doing fine and I wish they hadn't replaced her. But if they had to, I don't think Carter was the best choice.

Rodney and Zelenka (sp) were the science brains on Atlantis, so where could she fit in or make an impact? Sheppard was the mission leader, so that closed another avenue to her. She was pretty much a cipher on the show and they did nothing to grow her character.

It sort of reminds me of the shot in the arm TPTB did on DS9 when they brought in Worf. After the initial two parter I was skeptical about it, however looking back they grew his character. He got a wife and command seasoning and of course he was a subject expert during the Fed-Klingon war. In comparison, Carter just seemed to appear in a few episodes.

I think it might've been better to have Carter as commander of the Apollo and Colonel Ellis as Atlantis head. If nothing else it might've added some nice butting heads moments and provided a fresh character with room to grow and expand as he eventually learned that those Atlantis guys aren't that bad. And TPTB would've gotten the SG-1 crossover character they seemed to covet. And Carter would've at least been more involved in action.

I'm not sure where they really could've gone with Carter's character, and it's apparent that the writers didn't either.

 

[drasche]

Talking about character development, something has been bugging me when I noticed it but I didn't care to watch the entire series a second time to analyze that aspect (among other things). In the background, we see Michael Jackson working up with the others at the SGC, there are multiple occurrences of that event, I think.

And before you know it, he's in the field, P90 in hands, and seem to use it as competently as the others (as it was the first time, but I can't be sure). Unfortunately I can't remember the specific episode.

Am I the only one to find that intriguing?

 

[cylkoth]

In the background, we see Michael Jackson working up with the others at the SGC, there are multiple occurrences of that event, I think.

And before you know it, he's in the field, P90 in hands, and seem to use it as competently as the others (as it was the first time, but I can't be sure). Unfortunately I can't remember the specific episode.

Am I the only one to find that intriguing?

Wow, didn't know the gloved one could shoot a P90. Tito had better watch out.

 

[DWF]

^^^LOL!!!!

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Typos aside, that does seem to happen on the show. It doesn't take too long before the brainy guy also gets proficient with a P90. Heck, Dr. McKay seemed to take to it faster than Daniel Jackson did.

It sort of reminds me of the shot in the arm TPTB did on DS9 when they brought in Worf. After the initial two parter I was skeptical about it, however looking back they grew his character. He got a wife and command seasoning and of course he was a subject expert during the Fed-Klingon war.

Worf on DS9 is a textbook example of how to effectively add a character to an existing acting ensemble and make it work seamlessly. OTOH, Carter has been completely underused and seems to suit no real purpose on Stargate Atlantis. And when they added Spike in the final season of Angel, the episodes tended to shift wildly between extremely Spike-centric episodes and episodes where he was hardly in them at all.

I think it might've been better to have Carter as commander of the Apollo and Colonel Ellis as Atlantis head. If nothing else it might've added some nice butting heads moments and provided a fresh character with room to grow and expand as he eventually learned that those Atlantis guys aren't that bad.

I've always had a strong respect for Col. Caldwell. He seems to always be very intelligent & thoughtful. He is aware of the limitations & possible outcomes that he faces. Even when he doesn't make the right choice, he still makes the most reasonable choice. (I simply cannot imagine him going along with all of the idiocy that occurred during the Michael debacle.)

That said, Col. Ellis would have been a decent choice too. Heck, I was on his side in "Be All My Sins Remembr'd" when he told McKay to stop bullshitting them and just admit that he didn't have a real, workable plan. People need to tell him that more often. You'd think Carter of all people would realize that. (Maybe she did and she was just pissed off that she didn't get to do it instead.)

 

[drasche]

Typos aside, that does seem to happen on the show. It doesn't take too long before the brainy guy also gets proficient with a P90. Heck, Dr. McKay seemed to take to it faster than Daniel Jackson did.

You're right, and I completely missed that