Mark Carter
Summary
Mark Carter is the brother to Samantha Carter and son of Jacob Carter. He has two children, a boy and a girl, and lives in San Diego, California.
Character Biography
Mark Carter is the son of Jacob Carter and brother of Samantha. As children, Samantha and Mark lost their mother in a fatal taxicab accident. Samantha and Mark blamed Jacob for their mother's death (3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2"). He was late in picking up his wife, and she took the cab instead. Sam maintained a relationship with her father, albeit strained. Mark, refused to have anything to do with Jacob.
Even when his father was dying of cancer, Mark refused to visit the man on his deathbed and would not answer Sam's calls regarding it (3.02 "Seth", referring to events in 2.11 "Tok'ra Part 1"). Because of national security concerns, Mark probably also never learned the cause of his father's sudden remission, implantation of a Tok'ra symbiote named Selmak. Selmak explained Mark's refusal to visit hurt Jacob greatly, but Jacob angrily countered it didn't hurt at all because he no longer considered Mark his son (3.02 "Seth"). The vehemence of Jacob's reply was in direct conflict with his statement, and it was obvious to Samantha that her father's symbiote was right.
Selmak requested a mission on Earth so that Jacob's relationship with Mark could be mended. The unresolved issue with his son was disturbing Jacob and annoying Selmak. During a mission in Seattle, Washington, Jacob observed an estranged father regretting losing touch with his son and had an earnest discussion with Teal'c about the relationships between human fathers and sons. With Samantha's support, Jacob visited Mark's home in San Diego. Reluctant and wary, Mark returned his father's embrace and allowed Jacob and Sam to enter the home. Mark's daughter, appearing to be around 4-5 years old, was also at the door. After this meeting, Mark and his father mended their relationship. When Jacob/Selmak visited Earth, he would at least ask about, if not visit, Mark and the kids (7.03 "Fragile Balance", 8.18 "Threads").
Mark's relationship with his sister, Samantha, has been described more inconsistently. When Sam first mentions her brother's children, she mentions how disappointed she is not to be able see her niece and nephew much since her brother moved to San Diego: "I miss 'em like hell; don't get there near enough" (1.07 "Cold Lazarus"). However, a couple years later she tells her father that she has not seen her brother since either of his children were born due to an emotional estrangement (3.02 "Seth"). Mark broke off contact, painting her with the same brush as Jacob, presumably since she followed their father's footsteps and joined the Air Force.
After Mark and Jacob reconciled, his relationship with Samantha also warmed. Mark felt comfortable enough in his relationship with his sister to set her up with an old friend of his, Pete Shanahan (7.15 "Chimera"). Pete was a cop out of Denver, Colorado who was working on a case in Colorado Springs. Mark suggested that the two get together. Mark told Sam that Pete had a very interesting story about how and why he became a police officer. Sam and Pete hit it off. Pete eventually transferred to the Colorado Springs police department, and he and Samantha got engaged.
The wedding plans were becoming more concrete during Jacob's last visit to Earth, even though Samantha was trying to hide her increasing cold feet (8.18 "Threads"). Unbeknownst to her during this visit, Selmak was already comatose, and Jacob knew he was dying. She thought her father was only coming to meet her fiancé and visit Mark's family while he visited Earth. It is unclear whether Jacob made the trip to San Diego or not. While on Earth, Selmak's infirmity struck Jacob as well, and he was confined to a hospital bed in the SGC, where he eventually died. Sam most likely was the one to inform her brother of her father's death, though of course its top secret classification would have prevented full disclosure as to what happened. At the same time, Mark likely learned his sister broke off her engagement to Pete Shanahan.
Episodes
Note: Mark Carter only appeared onscreen in the episode 3.02 "Seth"
- 1.07 "Cold Lazarus"
- 2.11 "The Tok'ra Part 1"
- 3.02 "Seth"
- 3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2"
- 7.03 "Fragile Balance"
- 7.15 "Chimera"
- 8.18 "Threads"
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Actor
Not credited
--Aurora 08:07, 1 March 2006 (PST)