Samantha Carter

This article is about the main Stargate franchise character. For the others variations of "Samantha Carter", see Samantha Carter (disambiguation).

Samantha Carter
Biographical information
Planet of origin	Earth
Nationality	American
Birth	December 29, 1968
Gender
Race	Tau'ri
Species	Human
Information about family
Parents	Jacob Carter (deceased), an unnamed mother (deceased)
Sibling	Mark Carter (brother)
Other relative	2 nephews
Socio-political information
Occupation	Military
Salutation	Doctor
Rank	Colonel
Allegiance	Homeworld Security
Out of Stargate universe information
Portrayed by	Amanda Tapping Christine Kennedy (young Sam, "Jolinar's Memories")
First appearance	"Children of the Gods"

Colonel Samantha Carter, Ph.D (born December 29, 1968), commonly called Sam, is a US Air Force pilot and engineer. She is a theoretical astrophysicist and expert in advanced technologies, especially alien. She became part of the Stargate project in 1993 and was a member of the flagteam called "SG-1" in 1997 for more than ten years. In 2007, she became the operational leader of the Atlantis expedition in the Pegasus galaxy for one year. She helped in the developpment of many Earth technology breakthroughs, including Naquadah generators, spaceships and weaponry among many others. In 2009, she was given command of the last built Daedalus-class warship, George Hammond.

Biography

Carter, daughter of Jacob Carter and an unnamed mother, is born on December 29, 1968. His father named her Samantha as he wanted a boy. She has a younger brother, Mark. When she was a kid, she played with the Major Matt Mason astronaut doll (SG1: "Entity", "Seth", "Forsaken", "Children of the Gods").

When she was twelve, her mother died in a car accident as her father didn't pick her up when he was supposed to because he was to dedicated to his military carreer in the US Air Force. Carter blamed her father for that for many years (SG1: "Seth", "The Devil You Know").

Military carreer

Carter attended classes at the Air Force Academy. She was a brilliant mind and graduated Ph.D. in astrophysics. She also became a pilot and logged over a hundred hours in enemy space during the Gulf War. She worked for the Pentagon and joined the Stargate project team led by Catherine Langford in 1993 where she studied the Stargate and improved the dialing computer created eleven years earlier. According to her, she should have been part of the first Abydos team when Dr. Daniel Jackson discovered the last gate symbol on the Giza cartouche. In 1997, she became the most advanced expert on Stargate technology (SG1: "Prodigy", "Children of the Gods").

Personal life

Carter had been engaged to Captain Jonas Hanson, yet she finally broke it off with him and gave her ring back, because of his "I-want-to-control-everything" behavior (SG1: "The First Commandment").

Character's evolution

Stargate SG-1 Season 1 (1997)

For an episode-by-episode summary, see Samantha Carter: Stargate SG-1 Season 1 History.

After the revelation made by Colonel Jack O'Neill that the Stargate is still active on Abydos and Dr. Daniel Jackson alive, Major General George Hammond assigns Captain Carter to be transfered from the Pentagon to the Stargate Command on a new mission on Abydos as she is their expert on the Stargate. First reluctant, O'Neill briefs Carter, and a team leaves Earth for Abydos. There, Carter discovers the Stargate's Dial Home Device, meets Jackson and, thanks to Jackson, discovers that a vast network of Stargates exists throughout the Milky Way galaxy and the Stargate can lead anywhere in the galaxy. She records all the symbols found inside the Abydos cartouche chamber, uses them to update the SGC's dialing computer and fix the planetary shift issue avoiding them to go on other planets. General Hammond announces the creation of the SG teams, and Carter becomes part of the flagteam SG-1, led by O'Neill. Thanks to a wounded Ferretti who gives the symbols he saw after an attack on Abydos, Carter and her team determine the Stargate address and SG-1 and SG-2 teams go the this world, Chulak. SG-1 is caught by Apophis' forces and thanks to Teal'c, Apophis' First Prime, freed from prison as well a many other prisoners. Carter and Jackson are the first to come back through the Stargate, warning the defense team to hold their fire. When O'Neill, Major Kawalsky and Casey are the last people to cross the gate, Carter orders to close the iris, avoiding enemies to enter in SGC.

On planet Simarka, Carter falls upon the laws of the people of the planet that are very restrictives for women. She is adubcted by Abu, who trades her for Nya, daughter of Turghan chieftain of the Toughai with no success. Eventually, Carter fights Turghan, wins the fight, and frees Nya who was on the verge to be stoned to death, the Shavadai, and herself as well. Thanks to Carter, Moughal, chieftain of the Shavadai, declares that women are free from the ancestral laws.

On P3X-797, Carter, O'Neill and other members of the SGC are beeing infected by a desease that turn them into primitive state and behavior. She tries to seduce O'Neill like a wild animal but is isolated. Dr. Janet Fraiser eventually finds a cure to heal them and all the touched.

Carter tries to find a way to reason her former fiance, Captain Jonas Hanson, to stop harrassing the people of the planet he visited with SG-9 and established himself as a god. But Hanson uses her and her knowledge to fix and turn on a Goa'uld device capable of making the sky orange, and protecting them from a burning sky. Eventually, Hanson is killed by the cave-dwellers.

On the Nox homeworld, Carter, O'Neill and Jackson are killed by Apophis and his Serpent guards as they tried to ambush Apophis. They are brought back to life by the Nox, a peacefull people who have a different philosophy and perception of life.

On Argos, when Colonel O'Neill suddenly ages rapidely, Carter brings back to SGC some blood samples and studies them with Dr. Fraiser. She discovers that O'Neill has been infested by nanocytes that are duplicating themselves, not multiplying, causing the appearance of aging. Finding the source of activation of the nanocytes, she is able to wake up the Chosen after the device has been broken and made them sleeping during the day.

On Heliopolis, Carter figures out to find a way to activate the Stargate without using the broken DHD.

Back on Chulak, Carter and Jackson are on mission to find some Goa'uld symbiotes for studying them on Earth. Carter cannot prevent Jackson to fire on a tank full of symbiotes.

Carter, with the help of Teal'c, Dr. Fraiser, and other female Airmen, prevent the invasion of the SGC by Hathor, who had subdued all SGC's men. General Hammond nominates Carter and Fraiser for a Recommendation Medal.

On Hanka, Carter becomes attached to the sole survivor of a plague, a young girl named Cassandra. Defying O'Neill's orders, she stays with her inside a bunker when they realize she's a human bomb sent by Nirrti to make the Stargate explode when she's in proximity. Fortunately, the bomb doesn't explose and soon after, the object shinks and is absorbed by Cassie's organism. Cassandra is kept on Earth by Dr. Fraiser.

After SG-1 rescued a group of advanced humans from a planet near destruction, Carter befriends and gets closer to Narim. Yet, they have to find a way for a new home for the refugees before Colonel Maybourne gets his hands on them.

Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter are trapped inside an icy cave with no way to escape. O'Neill is badly wounded. Meanwhile, Carter tries to fix the DHD with no success. Carter eventually gives up and lays down near O'Neill to warm him up. Soon after, they are rescued by a team sent by the SGC as they were not on a remote planet, but on Earth, in an area not far from the McMurdo Air Force base.

When Senator Kinsey decides to shut down the SGC's fundings, SG-1, as a rogue team, decides to follow Jackson's coordinates he had from an alternate reality, in order to prevent an attack of Earth by Apophis. Carter accepts willingly to join even if she might be court martialed. They are finally trapped inside a Goa'uld Ha'tak vessel. Carter estimates that the time they'll reach Earth will be at least one year. O'Neill orders Carter and Jackson to disseminate C-4 in the ship. They eventually discover that the ship has traveled much faster she thought as they are in the Solar system.

Stargate SG-1 Season 2 (1997/1998/1999)

For an episode-by-episode summary, see Samantha Carter: Stargate SG-1 Season 2 History.

Eventually, with the help of Bra'tac, SG-1 destroys Apophis and Klorel's motherships. Carter, Teal'c, O'Neill and Bra'tac escape through death gliders, and admire the beauty of Earth. They are eventually rescued by the space shuttle Endeavour.

On Nasya, Carter is infested by a Goa'uld symbiote when she attempts to reanimate a Nasyan, Quinta. This "Goa'uld" is actually Jolinar of Malkshur, a Tok'ra, fleeing from an Ashrak. The Ashrak finds Jolinar (who is in jail) and uses the hara'kesh to kill her. Jolinar eventually gives his life to save Carter's.

Carter meet her estranged father Jacob in Washington, D.C. He tells her that he called NASA for her, yet Carter isn't so pleased. Her father doesn't understand her attitude, yet Jacob announces her he has a cancer, lymphoma. He leaves her upset.

Thanks to Jolinar's memories left in Carter, SG-1 finally meets the Tok'ra. When SG-3 and Colonel Makepeace arrive on the Tok'ra's planet to extract Carter as her father is in very bad condition, she cannot return as the Tok'ra don't want them to leave because nobody wants to be host, and they would be a threat for them. Eventually, Carter offers them a willing host, her own dying father, who accepts to be a host for Selmak. Once inside him, Selmak cures Jacob's cancer and Jacob Carter becomes a liaison between Earth and the Tok'ra.

When O'Neill is injured by an arrow shot from the Stargate, Carter receives her first mission as commander of SG-1.

See also

Other "Samantha Carters"

• Alternate realities
  • Dr. Samantha Carter (SG1: "There But For the Grace of God")
  • Dr. Samantha Carter (SG1: "Point of View")
  • Captain Carter (SG1: "Point of View")
  • Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter (SG1: "Ripple Effect")
  • Major Samantha Carter (SG1: "The Road Not Taken")
• Alternate timelines
  • Colonel Samantha Carter (SG1: "2010")
  • Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter (SG1: "Moebius", Part 1)
  • Doctor Samantha Carter (SG1: "Moebius")
  • Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter (SG1: "Unending")
  • Colonel Samantha Carter (SGA: "The Last Man")
  • Colonel Samantha Carter (Stargate: Continuum)
  • Samantha Carter, Mission Commander of the space shuttle Intrepid (Stargate: Continuum)
• Other
  • Samantha Carter, the android version created on Altair (SG1: "Tin Man", "Double Jeopardy")
  • Replicator Carter (SG1: "New Order", Part 2, "Gemini", "Reckoning")
  • Jolinar of Malkshur (SG1: "In the Line of Duty")