"(narrator) When SG-1 needs an expert on travelling through time and space,... ..they turn to the best, the brightest..." "and the most beautiful." "But don't let this officer's looks fool you." "I take it you're Colonel O'Neill." "Captain Samantha Carter reporting, sir." "Amanda Tapping as Samantha Carter..." "She couldn't be more perfect for the part,... ..because we needed a woman who could be very strong,... ..who you could buy as a soldier,..." "..who's had combat training and has actually been in wars,... ..and who is a brilliant scientist..." "..and who is a beautiful woman." "Finding an actress that can do all three of those convincingly is very difficult." "I memorised your report from the first mission." "I've been preparing for this all my life." "I didn't realise when I began... ..that it was gonna be such an action-adventure sci-fi show." "I thought it was gonna be more intellectually based... ..in terms of my character being the scientist,... ..and I'd be struggling with great scientific problems." "But now on the show..." "It's become this great physical show for me,... ..which I never imagined myself doing." " Come on, let's move!" " Come on, come on!" "Go, go!" "So for me that's a great challenge." "It's also a great gift to be given something like this." "As a woman, especially, to be given this." "We kicked their asses." "They had asses?" "For me, this character is a cross between Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson." "She's the perfect hybrid of these two men." "She's got a military base, is an air force captain, fought in the Gulf War..." "Have you ever pulled out of a simulated bombing run at 8-plus g's?" "Yes." "As a theoretical astrophysicist, her scientific background is very strong." "Look at this." "You can actually see the fluctuations in the event horizon." "So she skirts this line,... ..which for me creates great conflict, because it's... ..do I go the scientific route... ..or do I stick with military protocol?" "So she gets to play opposite both men and have strengths with each of them." "I'm an air force officer just like you are, Colonel." "And just because my reproductive organs are on the inside instead of the outside... ..doesn't mean I can't handle whatever you can handle." "(narrator) ln the pilot episode, the writers had Amanda poke fun... ..at Richard Dean Anderson's former television series." "It took us 1 5 years and three supercomputers... ..to MacGyver a system for the gate on Earth." "(narrator) ln reality, she has only praise for her co-star." "He's lovely to work with." "He's got a great sense of humour." "He's very generous and he's fun... ..and, having had the amount of experience that he's had on series,... ..he really looks out for us and knows when to fight and knows when not to." "And, you know, he's our champion of causes." "And he's a lovely man." "He really is." "What you doin'?" "So I think we're all very lucky." "Not only that, but we have a great crew." "And I think the sense of humour on this show is what keeps us going,... ..cos we work really long hours and really long days and it's a huge show." "But everyone has a great sense of humour." "(narrator) ln "Point of View"... ..Amanda got the opportunity to play her double, thanks to a bizarre twist of fate." " We made a good team, Major." " Yeah, we did, Doctor." "Plus your hair's kinda grown on me." "Pardon the pun." "This should be a show that entertains... ..and allows people to think beyond what they normally think about." "Maybe take you to a different place and make you ask:" ""ls that possible?" Yeah, it is." "(director) And action!" "(narrator) A series with high technical demands... ..can take its toll on actors." "But Amanda loves the challenge." "The hard part on a film is that you really can't fake anything out,... ..because the camera sees it." "So you just sort of have to jump in,... ..jump into the puddle and let it happen to you." "Believe it." "It's hard, certainly, especially on a set this huge, with this many people,... ..to sort of let everything go, let your logical side go,... ..and go "OK, we've just come to this planet inhabited by gnomes."" "But you have to believe it." "For the sake of the Asgard, we must not fail." "No pressure." "Just to act in front of a blue screen is kinda weird,... ..but you just have to let it go." "You have to find that part of yourself that believes it." "That "little kid" part of yourself, almost." "I mean, even doing the war scenes." "In the pilot, we had these big shoot-'em-up bombs going off." "You know, I turned to Michael Shanks and I said:" ""This is just like being a kid, except we're getting paid to play war." "You know?"" ""And our guns look better than the sticks we used to carry around the alleyways."" "Colonel, we're sitting ducks here!" "(narrator) lf given the chance,... ..would Amanda embark on a real journey to worlds unknown?" "If they found a Stargate, would I go through it?" "Yes." "It would be amazing." "I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't,... ..but certainly I would." "I'd jump at the chance."