One of the more tragic decisions made of late was the removal of Torri Higginson from the cast of Stargate Atlantis. Reduced for the fourth season to a recurring guest star, Higginson’s character, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, was killed off, though with a storyline still allowing her to come back.
Her storyline was, as mentioned, left hanging by the series’ writers, but according to the show’s executive producer Joseph Mallozzi told Sci Fi Wire that Higginson won’t be coming back.
“Initially, she was a little reluctant, and perhaps she was thinking about her fans,” he said, regarding a possible comeback. “She wanted to create closure for her character, but we wanted to keep the character alive. … We sent the script for review, and ultimately she passed. We would have loved to have her come back … I think at this point she’s moved beyond the show and is looking elsewhere, and we wish her the best of luck. She did a terrific job, but we will not see her in season five, and it was her choice, and we respect her decision.”
It’s a terrific shame that Higginson was treated the way she was.
“The very last day of filming Season Three, as I finished filming the last scene on the last day, I was called up to the office and was told that my character was going to become recurring if I chose to be,” Higginson recently said in an interview with DTRN’s “SciFi Guys” Internet radio program. “So, I thought that was not a very dignified way to deal with it, and I was a bit surprised. So my reaction was — I was a little bit surprised. I was a little bit upset by how it was dealt with.”
Nevertheless, we wish her all the best in her future endeavors, and we will miss her.
The way she was treated? She was treated fine, if you know anything about the business, you’ll know that most actresses would just get the new via their agent, she should be thankful for what they’ve given her. Unfortunately after season 4 she behaved like a spoiled brat, basically biting the hand that fed her and complaining she got a ‘crappy deal’. Honestly, I don’t think she deserves to come back, and now that we now she’s not I think the show is better for it.
Your opinion, Adam. Higginson, being 15 years IN ‘the business’, probably knows a little on how it works. If you research the whole situation, you’d find she’d actually asked the producers for five months prior to her release whether her character would be changed or downsized and they told her no. Neither the new producers or the old producers of SGA have been able to give a viable reason why the character was killed off in the first place! And while that may work for you, for those who did appreciate the character it’s absolutely ridiculous. And we’re supposed to assume that in created a one-episode ‘guest appearance’ which she has to drop everything for, they’re being ‘nice?’ PLEASE! I hope she moves on to bigger and better things. I, for one, am tired of the drama behind-the-scenes of Atlantis, and I’ll be moving on, too.
Exactly, Torri Higginson and the character of Dr. Weir deserved better. I stopped watching Atlantis after the character musical chairs and have moved on as well. There are better shows out there.
I agree with Eri and Dan. I saw last night’s episode of SGA. They brought back Dr. Weir after a fashion. The character was played by a different actress! In the end, the character ended up gating into space in order to prove herself. This was not right. I am no longer interested in the show. The need to right a story line that brings back Tori Higginson as Dr. Weir and restore her as the head of the Atlantis expedition. In addition, develop a long term story line that is interesting and satisfying to the fans. Unless this happens, I will no longer be interested in the show.
Well, what goes around comes around. After shafting Weir to evidently bring on Amanda Tapping, the Atlantis producers then get left hanging by her when she bolts to do Sanctuary.
I stopped watching after that same episode where they brought back someone else playing Weir, and gated her out into space.
Season 5, Episode 5 to be exact.
Stargate got raped harder than Indy 4.