It�s been a challenging year for Amanda Tapping � dealing with being a new mother and finding her place back in Stargate SG-1. But for Carter, the actress says, the fun�s just beginning...

�I wasn�t part of that gelling process that happens very early on in the season. The team had gelled, and I didn�t feel a part of it. I really had to break through the crust and find my place on the team. I had a hard time at first, going, �Do I still fit in on the show? Can I still hang with the guys? Here I am bringing my baby to work and is this still going to work?� So it took a while. But it�s good now, and we revel in that, and honestly, I think that�s why we�re still on. Here we are shooting our last episode of nine seasons. Whatever the formula is, it�s working.

�What we�ve gone back to with Carter this year is that very driven, very focused professional and analytical woman that I really like. The beauty of what�s happened to Carter over the course of the nine years is that as a human being she�s warmed up. She�s come into her own. She�s got a better sense of humor, and I think this year even more so, simply by virtue of the fact that that�s how I�ve chosen to play her. We�ve explored her depths � we�ve dived into her soul and explored what she�s capable of in terms of her emotions [in past seasons] and now she brings that depth of soul into what she�s doing. So she�s gone back to being analytical Carter, but I think there�s more to her than that now.

�What I�ve always loved about this character is her focus and her loyalty, and we�re right back on that, which is great. And the team has a whole new vigor to it. There�s a whole new sense of purpose to this show and to this new team, there�s a whole new cohesion that they�re trying to find with each other. Carter sits very solid where she is now.

�I am �Exposition Girl�, but I think there is more of a balance in the show as to who is explaining what. There�s a lot of different mythology going on � and as much as we�re dealing with the technobabble aspects of the Ori, we�re also dealing with the mythology, and that�s Daniel�s department, as it always has been. So there is a balance.

�I think it�s keeping pace with what�s going on � we�re living, without sounding too didactic, in a darker world than we were when we started the series. Between 1997 and 2005, a lot has changed on this planet. We are reflecting that, in a way, on the show. SG-1 is dealing with what is, for all intents and purposes, a fundamentalist state that leads with fear and terror. And you and I are dealing with that politically in our society. I don�t think that that�s lost on anyone and I think that the writers have handled it well. It makes sense that the show is a bit darker. It�s a sad fact, but we�re mirroring our present society. There is escapism on Stargate SG-1 and I think that there is still a sense of fun on the show. I don�t think we have mired ourselves down in the mythology and the religious aspect of it all too much. We still have a sense of humor and irreverence that we�ve always had, that I think carries the show. But the stories have got a little darker.

�Because of the nature of Ripple Effect, it wasn�t our Dr. Frasier and Martouf. There is a clear recognition, but somewhere the lines of communication are not the same. It�s not the same perspective, and we don�t speak in the same vernacular because we�re dealing with different experiences. So it was weird. It was like, �But Janet, come on, it�s me!� The one thing that I wished for in Ripple Effect was a scene between Carter and Janet. I think it was a matter of telling as good a story as we could in the short period of time as we had. We had a big story to tell in 44 minutes. There wasn�t time to show all the interpersonal relationships. Carter had to deal with Martouf. So if we had had a Carter and Fraiser scene, then we wouldn�t have dealt with the story as well. But that�s the one thing with Ripple Effect that I missed. That was a scary one. I looked at that [scripts] and went, �Oh, crap. No sleep for the next seven days.� Up at 4 o�clock in the morning, sitting with a breast pump trying to learn my lines...

�We have introduced a whole new dynamic to this show, not only in terms of new character like Beau [Bridges], Ben [Browder], Claudia [Black] and Lexa [Doig], but also with a whole new mythology. The Goa�uld are gone, and now we are faced with this new enemy. For the writers, it�s like writing a first season show, so you don�t have as much time to focus on the interpersonal relationships of your individual characters.

You�re still introducing the concept of the show and elements of that. As a result, what I lost out on was personal scenes with Teal�c, with Mitchell, with Beau�s character. We haven�t had much exploration of that this year.

�I would liked to have had more time with Beau, and with Lexa. Beau and I had a big conversation at the beginning of the year about what sort of interaction we wanted the two characters to have. Carter had such a wonderful relationship with Hammond, so I said to Beau, �What do you think we can do with this?� We came up with a whole relationship for them, but there hasn�t been any opportunity to explore that at all. And I understand why � this season has been about establishing the Ori and pushing the story forward. It was the same with Lexa. I wanted to show a friendship building between her and Dr. Lam � not that it could in any way replace the friendship that she had with Janet, but so that she had some interaction with other women on the base. Lam isn�t even Air Force.

�Grace Under Pressure was the most interpersonal stuff Carter got this year, and I love that Carter. I would like to see that Carter more. There was this great sexual tension, and I love working with David Hewlett. Both characters are on the same level, so there�s this great, very quick banter.

�I don�t know what the line up is going to be next year � who will be here and who won�t be here. But we�re looking at going to 200 episodes, and I want to be here for that! It�s worked this year with Olivia and it�ll be easier next year because I won�t be breastfeeding.�

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Stargate Official Magazine Yearbook March/April 2006