Samantha Carter

Lore & Background

Captain Samantha Carter first appears in "Children of the Gods", the pilot episode of Stargate SG-1, as a United States Air Force captain who joined the fictional SG-1 team under the command of Colonel Jack O'Neill. After being promoted to major in Season 3, Carter remains O'Neill's second-in-command until her promotion to lieutenant colonel early in Season 8, at which point she assumes command of the SG-1 team and O'Neill is promoted to brigadier general in order to lead Stargate Command.

Between Seasons 8 and 9 of SG-1, following the defeat of the Replicators and downfall of the Goa'uld system lords, she accepts a position as Head of the Stargate Research and Development Program, based in Nevada. She is assigned to Stargate Research and Development at Area 51 when the Ori emerge. Upon her return to Earth, she is reassigned to SG-1, now under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell. Following the defeat of the Ori in Stargate: The Ark of Truth, Carter is promoted to full colonel and appointed as commander of the Atlantis expedition early in Season 4 of Atlantis.

Carter is later given command of the Daedalus-class ship, the George Hammond. Before the present-time events of Stargate SG-1, Samantha Carter worked at the Pentagon for several years, trying to get the Stargate operational. She has a Ph.D. in theoretical astrophysics and logged over 100 hours in enemy aircraft during the Gulf War. She is the daughter of Major General Jacob Carter, and has a brother named Mark. Her mother died in a car accident when she was a teenager.

Reader's Guide

Over the course of the two shows, a number of men are in love with, infatuated with, or attracted to, Carter. This includes Jack O'Neill, the Tok'ra Martouf, Dr. Rodney McKay, Fifth, Orlin, Agent Malcolm Barrett, Narim, Pete Shanahan, Dr. Jay Felger, her former fiancé Jonas Hanson, and Joseph Faxon (her duplicitous husband of a possible future in Season 4, episode 16, "2010"). Many of these individuals have (presumably) since died, including: Martouf (and symbiote Lantash); Fifth; Narim; Hanson; and two alternate versions of Jack O'Neill.

This has led many of the cast and crew of Stargate SG-1 to humorously nickname her character Samantha "the Black Widow" Carter. Asked why the series never confirmed a relationship between Carter and O'Neill, producer Joseph Mallozzi stated in his blog, "The Sam/Jack relationship was fraught with complications, given that he was her commanding officer. Pursuing any sort of relationship would have been inappropriate for both and would only have really been possible late in the series after Jack's retirement. [...]

Jack and Sam could have gotten together after Jack's retirement, but it was never made canon because, quite frankly, it wasn't my call. Still, despite the lack of official confirmation, it was only natural that they should get together after the events of Threads and, in my mind, they have been together ever since. An attempt to suggest as much in [Stargate Atlantis'] season 4's Trio, unfortunately, ended up on the cutting room floor when the episode ran long."

In season 9, episode 7, Sam catches up with Malcolm Barrett and tells him that she and Pete had broken up. He asks if she is single, and she responds, "not exactly."

Did You Know?

• In season 4's 'Exodus', Carter destroyed a star by dialing a stargate on a planet being consumed by a black hole and launching the active gate into the nearby star, causing a supernova that destroyed Apophis's fleet.
• Carter was temporarily controlled by the Tok'ra Jolinar in season 2, and retained many of Jolinar's memories, which helped her detect Goa'uld presence and use certain Goa'uld technology.