For fans of Lt. Col. Sam Carter, the absence of their favorite gun-toting scientific boffin/female lead is a difficult pill to swallow. Missing from the first five episodes of season nine while Amanda Tapping was on maternity leave, Carter returns in episode six, Beachhead, only to discover that, worse yet, she's no longer a member of SG-1 — at least, not for now.

[…] Nonetheless, the cover story developed by the writers to explain Carter's absence dovetailed perfectly with the actress' own experience. "If fits in so well with my personal life," says Tapping. "Carter left to take care of Cassie. She has taken on a more nurturing role, as did Amanda. She has taken time off to look after this girl, and here I am taking time out for family and looking after my girl. So, it's actually been paralleled quite wonderfully."

[…] Taking on the role vacated by O'Neill is Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell (played by former Farscape actor, Ben Browder). However, when it's suggested to Tapping that Browder's character is the new leader of SG-1, it quickly becomes apparent that this is the source of some good-natured rivalry on set.

"You know, I have an interesting thing," she says with a laugh, "about him being the leader of SG-1, because Ben and I have this constant thing — hey, we're both of equal rank, but I've been on SG-1 much longer. How come you get to lead? I actually went up to Rob Cooper (executive producer) after this one episode that I had just read and said, you know, Carter kind of takes control of this mission and does all the intel on it — how come Mitchell comes in and ends up calling in the troops and leading them? That seems terribly unfair, you know, when they're both the same rank. And Rob said, no, no, you're right, — you'll be leading that mission."

[…] So, Carter and Mitchell, in effect, share command of SG-1? "Definitely. And I think that we were doing that last year when Carter was ostensibly the leader of SG-1. She always deferred to Daniel and Teal'c out of necessity and pure respect. You know, you can't know everything. And I hope that's the way the show is going."

[…] One would have thought, given the success of the current season and the excitement around the new cast and characters, that another season would be a shoo-in? "Every year we say, no, no, this is it — the show's not coming back and every year it does, so I'm kind of afraid to say we'll be coming back because I might jinx it. So we're always going to say, no, no, we can't possibly go on anymore."

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