Amanda Tapping talks about joining Stargate Atlantis

[wraithfodder]

Got an email notice that Amanda Tapping has updated her site at http://www.amandatapping.com. It's got both good and sad news (family-wise) but also snippets on her joining the cast, which I've snipped out...

Amanda said "I am also joining the cast of Atlantis next year for 14 episodes!! I am delighted. I have been quoted as saying that "I am contractually obligated to the franchise for another year." This sounds incredibly cold. It's strange sometimes to see your words in print. I want to be on the record as saying that I am very excited about the move to Atlantis. I think it's a wonderful opportunity for the character of Carter and for me personally. I am also aware that some people are not thrilled with the idea. I can only say that I think it will be a nice fit. I know Atlantis is not my show and I intend to tread lightly on their boards. I have a huge amount of respect for the cast and crew and hope that I will add to the show and not take away from anyone. I have talked at great length with Joe and Paul. When they first pitched the idea to me, I was a little nervous. After talking to them I am convinced that this is a good move. They are very excited about show running Atlantis and I am sure their enthusiasm will be felt on screen. I will also be in the two SG-1 TV movies which are shooting in April and June. I am looking at a very busy and fulfilling year. Surprisingly, I will have a bit more time off this year to spend with my family as I am only scheduled for four days per episode on Atlantis. This is perfect for me. Olivia is an absolute wonder and Alan and I are enjoying this time immensely."
 
I dare say that most fans realize that Amanda is just taking a job offered her (and to which she's contractually obligated) ;) Anyway, most fans have trepidation over what the WRITERS will do. Seeing as how this was Joe Mallozzi's and Paul Mullie's idea, and how JM is currently er, well, baiting parts of fandom on his blog, one wonders just how Carter will be integrated into SGA. While she's enthused, I'm not terribly excited. I like Carter, but I fear we'll see Carter reducing McKay's IQ - as face it, whenever she's around, his IQ tends to go down and he acts stupid. Plus, what is Carter doing on Atlantis? For SG1 fans, this means that the SG1 team might bsaically be broken up again if she's going to spend that much time (14 episodes is a lot unless they're smart and keep her on Earth and we see her via video transmisisons).

Anyway, food for thought and discussion.

Comments

[alyssa22.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she'll reduce McKay's IQ and reduce Weir's time on screen. Not happy about this at all. It's their way of making sure she earns the money they're obliged to pay her under their deal.

[alaxes.livejournal.com]

I am not happy about this!
What shall McKay do when she's in Atlantis? Go straight to the labour officee? ^^

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Beats me!

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

If Carter ends up in McKay's lab...I'll not be happy. Because I totally agree on the "she drops McKay's IQ" front, and he comes off as a buffoon.

HOWEVER (and this is a HUGE however related to a slim hope I have), if she does, in fact, "come with her own ship" (as has been noted in a couple of places), and she ends up staying up there...I'm actually pretty happy with the idea. Weir and Caldwell butted heads pretty nicely that way, without either ever really coming off poorly, and Caldwell eventually ended up in a very respectful role. If Carter comes in her own ship, say...the Odyssey?...as it's captain, she'll be butting heads with McKay the same way, I would imagine. I can see him, on the ground, needing to be rescued (and maybe not wanting to be?), or arguing about whether she's right about something she sees up there but he's looking at down below, or arguing about whether to risk the ship to help Atlantis, and so on. I think, so long as they stay ostensibly "apart" that it could work out really, really well. I like the idea of Carter in a Caldwell like role, and I think there's a lot of potential there...

But, and here's the kicker, we don't know if that will be the case. Carter can't and won't be as easily pushed to the back as Caldwell was, and there's no clear answer on the part of the writers about who is "in charge" or "the lead", so...it's a real curiosity. And Carter's heavy Mary Sue-ism has reached scary levels.

So, I'm not going to pass judgment yet, just because I *think* there is a way to do this which would be awesome. But, there's also a way to do this which would be terrible.

Fingers crossed, eh?

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

WEll, hope you're right on the possible 'awesome' part....

[tringasolitaria.livejournal.com]

I agree with Tipper, in spite of my recent and mortifying freakout. Out of the whole "series of unfortunate events," what pushed me over the edge was the thought of Carter ending up not only in McKay's lab but also in Weir's office (not that anyone official has said that's going to happen-just my own panic talking). I've since stepped back, regained some perspective (hopefully), and decided to wait and see how the writers play it. "Only four days per episode" might mean a more supporting role, rather than lead? I don't know what a normal schedule is. But I could be happy with Carter in Atlantis in some sort of support role, such as Caldwell has been playing the last couple of seasons.

I do agree that Carter being around tends to reduce McKay's IQ, but maybe the writers will realize it's not a good idea to make your heroes look like idiots too many times. And maybe if McKay could start to see Carter as just another person, a human being, rather than his chief competitor and fantasy object? Then there might be hope. Maybe? Just a little?

Here's crossing my fingers as well.

[tringasolitaria.livejournal.com]

I hope I don't insult anyone here by what I said about perspective -I was speaking about myself. I wouldn't want anyone to think that comment was intended for them-it definitely was not. Oh dear. This is the problem with being a newbie poster-I'm always second guessing everything! Hope it's ok...(going away to hide now).

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

how JM is currently er, well, baiting parts of fandom on his blog

Would you mind letting me know which parts? I'm so tired of looking at that man's blog that I've been avoiding it for some time, but I'd still like to know what's on the horizon. :)

[pavaneofstars.livejournal.com]

You nailed it about being worried what the *writers* will do. Having Carter on Atlantis may not actually be bad. I'm desperately hoping that having Carter around McKay will not make McKay "stupid" around her. Dare I say it: Could there be potential character growth for McKay by having a Carter around?

I dunno. :S Shall wait and see.

hope is good

[stclare.livejournal.com]

if only I could believe that they would alow McKay to grow and not have him pratting around like a..well..pratt! From what Amanda has said though TPTB obviously realise that SGA fans are concerned. hopefully they wont blow it, and cost us our show.

[nonniemous.livejournal.com]

Concerned? I'd say there's a good portion of the fandom in a near riot over the fact that Carter's coming over and Weir's being reduced and... gah. She's their golden girl, and McKay's their Marty Stu and I can't see that being positive for any characters who aren't named "Carter" on SGA. Not even McKay, since he's both reduced to a dithering idiot and made redundant by her character. And Zelenka will most likely be a non-entity next year, too--kind of like he was in M&MM.

Okay, not going to go there, just not. I guess we'll have to wait and see, but I'm not holding out much hope, at all.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I am concerned that Zelenka could see less time if Sam actually comes to Atlantis, the city, that is, and doesn't remain on Earth. It's the writers who I have a problem with, not the actress...

[volaremn.livejournal.com]

I think less Zelenka is the most likely consequence of Carter's presence considering his function in the show; Mallozzi said in his most recent blog post that one of her uses will be to expand the tech-focused banter that was "previously the exclusive domain of McKay-Zelenka" or something like that. The guy seems to have a hard time understanding the perspective of someone who may be foremost an SGA fan rather than a franchise fan.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I tend to think - judging from everything I've seen over the years, that no, JM has a hard time understanding fans.

[iamrighthere.livejournal.com]

I am also aware that some people are not thrilled with the idea. I can only say that I think it will be a nice fit. I know Atlantis is not my show and I intend to tread lightly on their boards.

Nice that Amanda realizes this. But "some people" are actually the majority of fans of the show who love it the way it is (or was, before they killed off Carson) and are concerned about what the producers and writers might do to it.

Amanda may intend to "tread lightly," but she really has very little control over that. There is also the "McKay IQ Reduction" thing, her general Girl-Scoutedness (not to insult Girl Scouts, just...you know what I mean), the fact that Carter will push out another character that we like better, such as Zelenka or Weir.

I've looked at Carter for 10 years. I would now like to look at Teyla and Ronon and a lot of other people. Why are they making me look at Carter somemore?

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I think the producers just can't let go of Carter. They're enamored of the character, and probably the actress and since they have control, and since importing Carter over to SGA *may* bring over some SG1 fans.... we fans are at the producers' mercy. Sigh...

[alyssa22.livejournal.com]

Who the hell knows why they're making us look at Carter more? I think it might have something to do with her getting a better deal than the others becauseof her making a big deal at a con in the UK about how the boys had contracts but she didn't. The fan outrage over that was incredible. Amanda's been on that end of the fan frenzy. She knows how powerful it can be when someone supports you. She's now seeing that same support for Torri.

[dameparis.livejournal.com]

Not to mention this oh so lovely info from Joe's blog

http://josephmallozzi.blogspot.com/
"Stillhere writes: “In an update to her website, www.amandatapping.com, Amanda Tapping has revealed that it was you and Paul who came up with the idea of Sam Carter going to Alantis and approached her about it. Would you mind elaborating on how this concept came to be something you wanted to pursue as showrunners? Maybe a bit of insight into envisioning Carter in the Atlantis series?

Answer: To be fair, having Carter cross over to Atlantis was something we’ve wanted to do for a while but, for various reasons, were never able to achieve. It was an idea that had been floating around for a while because the character would make a great addition to Atlantis. She has a pre-established relationship (not to mention chemistry) with her old buddy McKay, a military background that will allow her to support Sheppard and the team if the need ever arises, a science background that will allow her to add her expertise to what has hitherto been a strictly McKay/Zelenka domain, and knowledge of, not to mention personal experiencing dealing with, both the replicators and the Ancients."

[unspokenlonging.livejournal.com]

Argh, I'm a little sick of everyone saying "I hate this" give it a chance! Your all entitled to your own opinion and all but who knows, this could end up not being as bad as it seems. Yeah she does make McKay look like a joke sometimes and thats the only thing that worries me really. Shes a wonderful character that did really well on sg-1 so maybe she'll just as good on Atlantis. I think we should just wait and see how this works out before we start panicking and throwing riots in the streets :P *stays positive*

[smalldiver.livejournal.com]

*Trots in from the newsletter*

To be fair, McKay's been portrayed as the 'idiot' next to Carter on SG-1 rather than Atlantis episodes. SG-1 has been following Carter rather than Mckay, and the first glimpse the fans saw of him on SG-1 was writing off Teal'c, a beloved character, as a loss; so of course all subsequent episodes of SG-1 are going to continue on that theme, because the SG-1 fans that don't watch Atlantis haven't seen McKay change.

Does that make sense? What I'm trying to say is that on Atlantis, the fans have been following McKay's journey from jackass to a complex character, brusque but still heroic and caring in his own way. On Atlantis episodes, Carter has been seen as someone McKay can bounce ideas off, rather than someone who steamrollers in and takes away all his ideas. So maybe Carter on Atlantis will be more like this than all the 'McKay in SG-1' episodes.

And as for Zelenka's role beng diminished, I don't think that's necessarily true. The writers are aware of Zelenka's popularity, and I'm imagining more scenes of Zelenka, Carter and McKay working together than Zelenka being pushed to the sidelines.

OK, now I've rambled I'll just... leave.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Well, there was how McKay hallucinated Sam in "Grace Under Pressure".... ;)

As for Zelenka, I'm sure the writers are aware of his popularity, but then, they were aware of Beckett's too ... We'll find out, well, by summer?

[smalldiver.livejournal.com]

Well, there was how McKay hallucinated Sam in "Grace Under Pressure".... ;)

Okay, you got me there. If we're going by that episode, then according to my theory Carter's going to be walking around Atlantis in her underwear :p

they were aware of Beckett's too

Going off on a tangent here, but I think that the writers were also aware of fans' growing resentment at Beckett's seemingly pointless inclusion on missions that didn't actually need him (well, not right away :D), so they dialed back his involvement (I can only assume some sort of collective brain seizure made them decide to kill him off at the last minute).

Same with Weir - I'm actually glad that she's going back to a recurring character, because it means that she won't be doing pointless and un-diplomat-like things just to fulfil her contract requirements.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Sure glad I wasn't drinking coffee when I read part of your comments ;)

I don't know if recurring is going to help Weir. The writers can't write decently when she's full time, so don't know how chopping back her dialogue is going to help. Sigh.

As for Beckett, well, sign on as a doctor in the SG universe and DIE. First Janet, now Carson. Talk about no job security......

[fanfic-reader.livejournal.com]

I'm finding it very difficult to remain objective about these changes. I only got involved in the "Stargate Universe" with the advent of Atlantis... a friend introduced me to it by giving me a disk with Rising on it. To be honest I fell in love with Sheppard's character, and have very much enjoyed his interactions with MacKay. The little I've seen of SG-1 I've not enjoyed. To a non-SG1 fan, Colonel Carter seemed smug and supercilious in her dealings with the Atlantis characters, and I'm not looking forward to having to watch any more of this character.

I guess I can only hope, and pray, that they don't spoil the only show on TV I enjoy watching.