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Carter and Tapping and SciFi, Oh My! (long)
Interesting all the articles and rumors and combination squeeing and groaning happening on the web.
How are all these emotions possible at the same time? If you're an Atlantis devotee, you're all thrilled and happy that the news Amanda Tapping will be scarcer than scarce on your show. If you're a Tapping/Carter devotee, you're all thrilled that your favorite actress of all time has finally gotten the headlining credit she always deserved on a show she developed with her own money! (it's not unusual in the film industry for an actor to put some captial into a project they're heading, but I can see Tapping-haters saying it's the only way she could ever *get* a starring role in any production)
Tapping herself pointed out how odd it was for her to enter the world of Atlantis with such fanfare, only to leave it with minimal impact a season later.
I've been pleasantly surprised this season of Atlantis, by how little she's actually been IN the show, and how little impact her character, Capt/Major/Lt Col/Col Dr. Samantha Carter has had on the storyline of that show. It's as the writers were loathe to feature her in any depth partly because of the fan/behind the scenes politics for which the Bridge Production company is infamous for.
Lots of interesting stuff has come out recently, not least of which is Tori Higginson's own recounting of what happened behind the scenes, and how Bridge is the ultimate Club, especially for SG-1ers, Atlantis actors need not apply.
My own feeling is, I'd be grateful if Carter, and Tapping, is made less of a feature of any future show produced by Bridge - and if Tapping were smart, she'd go ahead and finally make her own chances to direct, write and star (which is exactly what she's doing) and ditch the Boys' Club at Bridge as much as she can. Clearly, the woman knows how the place works and capitalized, in one way or another, on the clubby feeling at Bridge. I wonder if, decades from now, she'll be seen as a savvy business woman who did her best to get ahead by working with the system. It's something women have had to do for centuries, but usually, it's the Hepburns and other strong-willed actresses who seemed to get their way.
I haven't watched her new on-line production, Sanctuary, but my husband has, he shrugged and said it was okay. He didn't go back to watch it, as far as I could tell. He didn't tell me if he did. So, I'm not qualified to say whether I thought it was entertaining, a novelty, or weird to see Tapping in long hair and playing a character not Sam Carter. It's a tough business to succeed in with a brand new production company - she's fortunate to have an established place to rent her cameras and other equipment from, and have a built in support system with people she's familiar with. I'm sure it's saved her and her partners oodles of dough. And now, Bridge has been repaid by now having another show on its lot through no real work of its own (as far as I can tell). It's win-win for everyone in that situtation. SciFi, I think I can with confidence, cares not about quality nor consistency with its shows - only that they be cheap to produce and pay for, and that the shows by ready-made with a built-in audience. With her Stargate connections, it should be possible for her to hire as many actors as she can afford. Preferably people with audience draw.
As for how Atlantis will deal with Carter/Tapping gone - the great ratings hope sans the ratings - is easy to gauge. Her character barely made a ripple. Her fans made little contribution to the fandom by way of numbers. Atlantis will go on, as usual, with cast changes galore and hints enough to make one vomit (if one listens to J Mallozzi on his blog). Atlantis will probably survive at least another season, without Carter/Tapping, just as it had before she joined the cast and crew there. No great loss, no great gain.
How are all these emotions possible at the same time? If you're an Atlantis devotee, you're all thrilled and happy that the news Amanda Tapping will be scarcer than scarce on your show. If you're a Tapping/Carter devotee, you're all thrilled that your favorite actress of all time has finally gotten the headlining credit she always deserved on a show she developed with her own money! (it's not unusual in the film industry for an actor to put some captial into a project they're heading, but I can see Tapping-haters saying it's the only way she could ever *get* a starring role in any production)
Tapping herself pointed out how odd it was for her to enter the world of Atlantis with such fanfare, only to leave it with minimal impact a season later.
I've been pleasantly surprised this season of Atlantis, by how little she's actually been IN the show, and how little impact her character, Capt/Major/Lt Col/Col Dr. Samantha Carter has had on the storyline of that show. It's as the writers were loathe to feature her in any depth partly because of the fan/behind the scenes politics for which the Bridge Production company is infamous for.
Lots of interesting stuff has come out recently, not least of which is Tori Higginson's own recounting of what happened behind the scenes, and how Bridge is the ultimate Club, especially for SG-1ers, Atlantis actors need not apply.
My own feeling is, I'd be grateful if Carter, and Tapping, is made less of a feature of any future show produced by Bridge - and if Tapping were smart, she'd go ahead and finally make her own chances to direct, write and star (which is exactly what she's doing) and ditch the Boys' Club at Bridge as much as she can. Clearly, the woman knows how the place works and capitalized, in one way or another, on the clubby feeling at Bridge. I wonder if, decades from now, she'll be seen as a savvy business woman who did her best to get ahead by working with the system. It's something women have had to do for centuries, but usually, it's the Hepburns and other strong-willed actresses who seemed to get their way.
I haven't watched her new on-line production, Sanctuary, but my husband has, he shrugged and said it was okay. He didn't go back to watch it, as far as I could tell. He didn't tell me if he did. So, I'm not qualified to say whether I thought it was entertaining, a novelty, or weird to see Tapping in long hair and playing a character not Sam Carter. It's a tough business to succeed in with a brand new production company - she's fortunate to have an established place to rent her cameras and other equipment from, and have a built in support system with people she's familiar with. I'm sure it's saved her and her partners oodles of dough. And now, Bridge has been repaid by now having another show on its lot through no real work of its own (as far as I can tell). It's win-win for everyone in that situtation. SciFi, I think I can with confidence, cares not about quality nor consistency with its shows - only that they be cheap to produce and pay for, and that the shows by ready-made with a built-in audience. With her Stargate connections, it should be possible for her to hire as many actors as she can afford. Preferably people with audience draw.
As for how Atlantis will deal with Carter/Tapping gone - the great ratings hope sans the ratings - is easy to gauge. Her character barely made a ripple. Her fans made little contribution to the fandom by way of numbers. Atlantis will go on, as usual, with cast changes galore and hints enough to make one vomit (if one listens to J Mallozzi on his blog). Atlantis will probably survive at least another season, without Carter/Tapping, just as it had before she joined the cast and crew there. No great loss, no great gain.
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And possibly snark about the fact that no matter how she's remembered years from now, we'll probably never know precisely what went on with all that.
Also, I watched a documentary today where two female journalists tried to get to size 0 under a doctor's supervision, and they got all stupid and manic-depressive in the process. Couldn't help but think of the boys on SG-1 teasing AT for eating, like, a piece of lettuce for lunch. Makes you wonder what actresses these days are thinking with - seriously.
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My one issue with the Carter situation on Atlantis is that it seems that the women characters (and possibly one or two male ones like Beckett and Ford) are totally expendable. I'd kill for women writers on the show or male writers who actually liked the women on the show. I signed on for an ensemble and I get The John/Rodney (plus everyone else) hour.
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And I have the *same* issues with the all-boys club of writers, and how certain characters and actors get the shaft and short end of that shaft - mostly, it seems, a token white guy and the women and folks of nonwhite variety. I'd LOVE for more Teyla background (other than the stoic leader trope stuff). But they're sorely lacking writers who could do her and the others justice.
Mostly, I get the sense the writers don't like much of ANY actor on the show they work on; actors tend to Get Ideas about their characters and, you know, think and use their brains when they aren't reciting what the writers scribbled down.
I've never seen a bunch of writers who so disliked their own actors/characters, and so blatantly.
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Makes for some interesting reading. As for the fans who are disappointed that she sounds "like sour grapes", well, do they have ANY idea what backstabbers and jerks the boys at Bridge can be?