Amanda Tapping: Not Stargate Barbie
And this time, her boyfriend lives

Maureen Ryan
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 9, 2004

Amanda Tapping is as articulate and smart as her television character, "Stargate SG-1" scientist Samantha Carter. Calling from Vancouver, where the show is made, the actress talks about being "shocked" that fans are so interested in Carter's love life – and glad producers never turned the brainy Carter into "Stargate Barbie." More thoughts from Tapping are below.

On the stories in Season Eight.

The stories are big. There's a lot happening. In one-eighth of a page, it can say, "Then world War 3 broke out." So the stories are big, there's a lot happening, there are a lot of visual effects. The episode I was just shooting before our [mid-season] break, there were two Carters, so there were a lot of visual effects and green screen stuff, and that's time-consuming. The stories are great and the scripts are wonderful, though.

On the changes in Carter this year and her relationship with police officer Pete Shanahan.

In the episode where Teal'c gets an apartment, Carter's relationship with Pete goes a bit further, there's more fleshing out of her personal life. Finally she's got a guy in her life who doesn't die! (laughs)

It is [scary] for her. It's an opening up of a sheltered and protected harbor. She's opened her heart in a big way, so it's scary for her. Until last season, we hadn't really done that much [on that side of Carter]. My fear is that it's a double-edged sword. It's great to round her out and it makes her more accessible, but have we taken anything away from her strength and integrity? Those are the things that prompt women to write me letters about how much they admire Carter. You do have that fear, how much do you want to reveal [about Carter's personal life]?

On the intense fan interest in whether Carter and Richard Dean Anderson's character, Jack O'Neill, would ever get together as a couple.

I realized there's this whole group of fans called 'shippers' [who want Carter and O'Neill to get together]. I was shocked, but then it makes sense. You always wonder if two main characters from a show will become a couple. And there's a sexual tension, a chemistry. We didn't realize it would get to be so huge [among fans], that it would get to be such a divisive issue. It was kind of surprising how big it was.

For Rick and I, we don't want it to be a big deal. The show isn't about that. The show is not about [defining] her through a relationship. We never wanted her to be pining for her superior officer, it's important to me that there is a lot more to her than that.

Having said that, we enjoy playing off the sexual tension and the fact that they're attracted to each other, but that's about it.

There was a desire for closure one way or the other, and [the Season 7 episode "Grace"] was the perfect way to do it. [In the episode] Carter battles her demons and addresses issues in her personal life and professional life. When "Grace" came along, it was the perfect way to deal with all those issues and where she sits with that. … She realized that she had to move on. Knowing she can never have [a relationship with O'Neill], therefore that's safe – "I don't have to risk anything and I can sit here comfortably." She was not going to pin her hopes on that anymore.

On the fan reaction to her new love interest, Pete Shanahan.

The reaction was huge, I was shocked. Some people were very supportive, they thought he was this great character and finally she had a bit of a life, as an adult female in her 30s – it made her more well-rounded.

Other people hated Pete – as they hate anyone other than Jack [O'Neill]. They call him Stalker Pete [because he once spied on doings at Carter's house], which cracked me up. He's a cop, he's an investigator by nature, if he has an opportunity to find out everything he can about a person he cares about, he will.

I got a letter, one in particular was quite vexing. It said, "How dare you do this to Jack! You have lost all integrity." and I'm thinking, "I've lost all integrity? Or my character? Me, Amanda?" Well, I mean, if I don't show up to work, they'd fire me. This person was really mad though – "I'm never watching the show again."

But I love the passion of our fans, they make what you're doing worthwhile.

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