Samantha Carter

From The Stargate Omnipedia

Cartersamantha.jpg

SG-1's science expert and theoretical astrophysicist, Samantha Carter was responsible for deciphering the Stargate address system and designing the dialing computer, allowing Earth to use the Stargate without its companion D.H.D. Brave, devoted and extremely intelligent, she is Earth's leading authority on the Stargate and wormhole theory, as well as a member of the Air Force.

Carter graduated at the top of her class from the U.S. Air Force Academy. As a pilot, she logged over 100 hours in enemy air space during the Persian Gulf War. She spent two years at the Pentagon trying to make the Stargate program a reality from about 1994 to 1996, before Dr. Daniel Jackson ever deciphered the Stargate and allowed the gate to be activated.

When Sam was young, her mother died in a car accident, which almost drove her and her brother from their father, Jacob -- who was indirectly responsible for her mother's death. Sam eventually forgave him, and followed the general's footsteps and joined the Air Force. When the Stargate program was created a year after the first mission to Abydos, Sam was reassigned to the S.G.C. and made Colonel Jack O'Neill's second-in-command on SG-1.

Sam learns of her mother's death. From "Jolinar's Memories."

Sam is kind and loyal, especially to the members of her team, whom she has defended in countless battles against enemies both foreign and intergalactic. She is probably the highest-ranking female officer in the S.G.C. (She currently holds the rank of colonel.) The Stargate program has become her life's work, and she spends much of her free time at work on projects at the S.G.C., or writing a book on wormhole physics.

After SG-1 found the entire population of the planet Hanka wiped out by Nirrti, save for a young girl named Cassandra, Sam befriended her. Dr. Janet Fraiser adopted the girl, and the three of them have formed a special bond. Carter stayed by Cassie's side even as her life was hanging in the balance, even at great risk to herself.

Carter is possessed by the Tok'ra Jolinar. From "In the Line of Duty."

During a Goa'uld raid on the planet Nassya, Carter, giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a native man, unintentionally became host to a Tok'ra symbiote: Jolinar of Malkshur. The Tok'ra was fleeing from a Goa'uld Ashrak (a hunter-killer), who followed the team back to Earth and eventually caught up with Jolinar. The symbiote gave her life for Sam, dying in her body. Sam was changed forever: the symbiote left behind a protein marker, as well as traces of naquadah in her bloodstream. Because of this, Carter is now capable of operating Goa'uld technology, including the hand devices and healing devices. She also retained many of Jolinar's memories, which have become a strategic asset on several occasions.

Sam has been possessed by an alien entity, brought back from the dead by the Nox, sold into slavery, met herself from an alternate reality, saved Earth from an alien incursion, thwarted a Replicator attack on the Asgard, blown up a sun to destroy Apophis's fleet, nearly destroyed the peaceful planet K'Tau, been kidnapped and nearly dissected, commanded SG-1 in O'Neill's absence, and flown in an interstellar race.

Sam is reunited with her father, Jacob. From "Secrets."

In her time with the Stargate program she has also had several unresolved romances, including a special intimacy with the Tok'ra Martouf / Lantash, once Jolinar's mate. She also became involved with the Tollan Narim, an ascended being named Orlin, and Earth ambassador Joe Faxon. Sam herself has strong feelings for Colonel Jack O'Neill, though military regulations prohibit the two from developing a personal relationship. Unfortunately, the men interested in Sam have a tendency to ... die.

Carter immediately bonded with Daniel Jackson, due in large part to their shared scientific focus and moral concerns. Sam's scientific and Daniel's diplomatic training complement each other, and have won SG-1 many victories. Sam also shares a close friendship with Teal'c, who has been her comforter during difficult situations. Both are true warriors.

Sam also remains close with her father Jacob, a retired Air Force general whom she helped to save from lymphoma cancer through the introduction of the Tok'ra symbiote, Selmak. Since Jacob joined the Tok'ra, his relationship with his daughter has greatly improved. Sam also has a brother, Mark, who lives in San Diego and has two children, and until recently was estranged from their family.

Jonas helps Carter find a way to save Earth. From "Redemption, Part 2."

Because of the deep friendships and loyalty she has built with the rest of the team, Carter took the death of Daniel Jackson extremely hard. At first she somewhat resented his replacement, Jonas Quinn, but eventually learned to trust and admire the Kelownan, encouraging him to remain with SG-1 and use his particular abilities to help the team in their fight against the Goa'uld.

Carter has grown into a key leadership role at the S.G.C., just as well as she executes the orders of her superiors. She has single-handedly conceived of plans that saved the planet, vanquished enemies and defeated Goa'uld powers. But during her off-hours, Carter prefers working on her motorcycle more than taking up O'Neill's offers to go fishing and, every other weekend, will spend the day with Cassandra over a game of chess.

When O'Neill took reassignment and SG-1 disbanded, Sam worked for a few months in research and development at Area 51. But the threat of the Ori soon brought her back to Stargate Command, where she effectively shared command of SG-1 with Cameron Mitchell. Two years later she entered a very new stage in her personal and professional life when she took command of the Atlantis expedition in the Pegasus Galaxy, saying goodbye to SG-1 and Earth. She served there for one year before being reassigned, eventually taking command of Earth's newest battle cruiser, the U.S.S. George Hammond.

DETAILS

PLAYED BY - Amanda Tapping (web site)
FIRST APPEARED: Children of the Gods

KEY EPISODES

Children of the Gods - Carter takes her first trip through the Stargate and joins the newly-formed SG-1. She is a brilliant astrophysicist and an accomplished pilot.
Emancipation - Carter is taken as property by a tribal ruler on another world, and fights against the male-dominated order.
Singularity - Sam takes a young refugee girl named Cassandra under her wing when the Goa'uld wipe out her world.
Solitudes - Carter and O'Neill are stranded in Antarctica, and Sam is unable to save them -- because she does not know they are on Earth.
In the Line of Duty - Carter is possessed by a Goa'uld symbiote for a short time. Jolinar claims to be part of a rebel faction, and gives her life to save Sam when a Goa'uld assassin tracks her down.
Thor's Chariot - Sam discovers that Jolinar's death left her with the ability to use Goa'uld technology.
Secrets - Jacob Carter, Sam's estranged father, re-enters her life with the news that he is dying of cancer.
The Tok'ra, Part 1 - Jolinar's memories lead SG-1 to the Tok'ra, and Carter meets her former symbiote's mate, Martouf.
The Tok'ra, Part 2 - With her father near death, Carter arranges for him to become host to a Tok'ra symbiote -- saving his life, and giving Earth a new ally and ambassador.
Point of View - Sam meets her double from an alternate universe, who married Jack O'Neill and never joined the military in her world.
Jolinar's Memories - When Sam's father is captured by Sokar, the memories left in her mind by the Tok'ra Jolinar may be his only hope of rescue.
The Devil You Know - Carter is tortured by Apophis with the memory of her mother's death.
Foothold - Realising that the S.G.C. is being taken over by aliens, Carter escapes and calls on Maybourne for help. She also comes up with a way to remove the alien's disguises.
A Hundred Days - O'Neill is stranded offworld for three months, and Sam struggles with her feelings for him as she works to devise a rescue plan.
Small Victories - Carter teams up with Thor to annihilate a substantial Replicator threat determined to destroy a key Asgard world in their galaxy.
Divide and Conquer - Carter is incorrectly suspected of being a Za'tarc when she hides her feelings for Jack from the detector.
2010 - Ten years into the future Carter has grown older and married Joseph Faxon, discovering she is unable to bear children, as are the majority of humans now that a substantial alien presence has completely integrated itself into Earth's future.
Prodigy - Carter takes cadet Jennifer Hailey under her wing to show her just what her future may await her if she continues in the Air Force.
Entity - Carter is possessed by an alien entity, and O'Neill must sacrifice her to destroy it.
Ascension - Returning to Earth from a black-out on an extinct world, Carter finds a mysterious presence has returned with her, an ascended being willing to leave the Great Path to be with her.
The Fifth Man - Carter and her teammates are perplexed to discover no one at the SGC remembers the fifth man who joined SG-1, Lieutenant Tyler, and is taken into custody for fear of alien tampering.
Rite of Passage - As Cassandra falls deathly ill, Carter and SG-1 return to Hanka to uncover the mystery of why the youth were forced to undergo Nirrti's evil medical experiments, and what can be done to solve them now that she has disappeared.
Between Two Fires - Carter and Narim unite once more, with he delivering a dire message to SG-1. Carter convinces Narim to betray his people to save Earth and countless other worlds from a new Goa'uld threat.
2001 - Carter meets Joseph Faxon, an eager Ambassador to the Aschen, and discovers that, thanks to a warning from the future, there is more to this alliance than may meet the eye.
Desperate Measures - Carter is kidnapped by a terminally ill man who intends to use her as a guinea pig to discover the advantages of a symbiote before he resorts to installing the creature in himself.
48 Hours - Carter is forced to team up with Dr. Rodney McKay to determine what happened to Teal'c when the Stargate prematurely deactivated, and what can be done to get him back.
Summit - Enraged that the Tok'ra allowed Martouf to die, Carter tries to prove to Ren Al that they consider the symbiotes more valuable than the hosts. To Carter's surprise, Lantash blends with Lieutenant Elliot to survive.
Last Stand - Carter is forced to say goodbye to Lantash, still within Elliot, as the two have a plan to save the others from Zipacna's forces before his Jaffa can capture them all.
Meridian - Carter tells Jackson, who is lying on his deathbed, how important he has been to her, as she must now say goodbye before he is forever lost to the team.
Revelations - Carter is instrumental in assisting Heimdall in SG-1's rescue of Thor aboard Osiris' mothership. She is captured by Osiris, informing him that, to his disbelief, Daniel is now dead.
Redemption, Part 1 - Carter again butts heads with Dr. McKay, and is unable to find a solution to save Earth from Anubis's deadly weapon.
Redemption, Part 2 - Carter and McKay find common ground in helping to avert the destruction of Earth, and Sam confesses that she likes him.
Nightwalkers - With O'Neill offworld with the Tok'ra, Sam assumes command of SG-1 to investigate a secret Goa'uld colony in a small Oregon town. She is temporarily possessed by a Goa'uld, but finds a chemical that kills the symbiote.
Prometheus - Carter gives top-brass reporters a tour of the X-303 to prevent them from going public with the information, and is betrayed by them as they reveal themselves to be Rogue N.I.D. operatives.
Smoke and Mirrors - Carter is instrumental at uncovering O'Neill's innocence after it is believed he assassinated Senator Kinsey, and successfully brings to light the Rogue N.I.D. operation known as the Committee.
Paradise Lost - Carter is burdened with guilt after she finds herself responsible for inadvertently being the cause of O'Neill's disappearance with Maybourne to a place they cannot find.
Metamorphosis - Carter is captured by Nirrti and undergoes genetic tampering before the Goa'uld is destroyed, later reversing the damage.
Revisions - Carter studies the advanced Link technology up-close, and helps to free the local population from its control after learning that the computer is altering their memories and sending their loved ones to their deaths.
Space Race - Sam's thrill-seeker side comes out when she joins an alien pilot for a dangerous interstellar race.
Avenger 2.0 - Sam helps an S.G.C. scientist, Jay Felger, create a virus that shuts down enemy Stargates. When it renders the entire network inoperable, the two must find a way to undo the damage.
Evolution, Part 2 - Carter commands the infiltration into Anubis's super-soldier facility, and is injured by a Kull warrior during the escape.
Grace - Travelling to Earth on board the Prometheus, Carter suffers a head injury when she forces the ship into a gas cloud to escape an enemy vessel.
Chimera - Sam begins a close relationship with detective Peter Shanahan, an old friend of her brother, and eventually is forced to explain her true work with the Stargate program.
Death Knell - Carter evades one of Anubis's Kull warriors for several days before being rescued by O'Neill and Teal'c.
Resurrection - With O'Neill recovering from injuries, Carter leads the team on a mission to investigate a rogue N.I.D. research facility, where they find a Goa'uld-human hybrid.
Lost City, Part 2 - Carter is given command of SG-1 following O'Neill's unofficial resignation, due to his compromised condition at the hands of the Ancient repository of knowledge.
New Order, Part 1 - When she and Teal'c go in search of the Asgard, Sam is captured by the Replicators and tortured by Fifth, who she was ordered to abandon two years ago.
New Order, Part 2 - When Fifth creates a false home in Sam's mind and impersonates Pete, Sam sees right through it. He lets her go, only to create a human-form Replicator copy of her. Sam is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
Affinity - Sam debates whether or not she has a future with Pete, and finally consents to marry him when he proposes.
Gemini - When Sam's Replicator doppelganger shows up asking Stargate Command to end her life, Sam hesitantly trusts her -- only to be betrayed and lose Earth's only weapon against the Replicators.
Threads - Pressed by her feelings for Jack O'Neill and overwhelmed by Pete's plans for the future, Sam breaks off their engagement.
Avalon, Part 1 - As Cameron Mitchell assumes command of SG-1, Carter has taken a new job working R&D at Area 51.
Beachhead - Carter rejoins SG-1 when her expertise is needed to help stop the Ori from establishing a foothold in our galaxy.
The Fourth Horseman - Sam works alongside Orlin, an Ancient who is in love with her but who has assumed the form of a human child.
Grace Under Pressure - Dr. McKay manifests an hallucination of Carter to help him stay alive while trapped in a sinking Puddle Jumper.
Line In the Sand - Carter is challenged to use Merlin's technology to hide an entire village from the Ori army, but lies near death when she is shot.
The Road Not Taken - Carter finds herself in a parallel universe, where she becomes a celebrity after saving the planet from an Ori attack.
Unending - Carter saves SG-1 and the legacy of the Asgard by trapping the Odyssey in a time dilation field, but it takes her some 50 years to figure out a way for them to escape alive.
Adrift - Sam and Dr. Lee work to bring the Midway Space Station online when they learn that Atlantis has been lost in space.
Lifeline - Carter (now a full bird Colonel) and Lee join the Apollo in the Pegasus Galaxy, and manage to locate the lost city of Atlantis.
Reunion - With Elizabeth Weir lost to the Replicators, Sam says goodbye to SG-1 and assumes command of the Atlantis expedition.
Trio - During a trip offworld, Carter, McKay and Keller fall into an unstable underground chamber and Carter injures a leg.
Air, Part 1 - Carter commands the Hammond as it transports dignitaries to Icarus Base, and unsuccessfully defends the secret base when it comes under attack from an alien armada.
Incursion, Part 1 - Carter takes the Hammond to an Icarus-type planet the Lucian Alliance is using to try and gate to Destiny, and loses two pilots when she must flee the planet's sudden explosion.