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.
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.
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.
Comment by Adam — July 10, 2008 @ 4:12 am
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.
Comment by Eri — July 11, 2008 @ 3:57 pm
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.
Comment by Dan — August 6, 2008 @ 12:06 am
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.
Comment by Frankllin — August 17, 2008 @ 12:35 am
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.
Comment by Jalar — August 17, 2008 @ 6:52 am
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.
Comment by DZ — November 28, 2008 @ 8:30 pm
I for one am glad she was canned. Her character was not very like-able, didn’t add much to the plot lines and her acting was mediocre and unconvincing. She was one of the reasons I stopped watching the show after the first season. Don’t pine for her return let her stay dead. The most annoying things about the SG franchise is that no one ever stays dead. Another reason not to bring the character back. I just finished watching season 5 off Hulu. I think even though the Woolsey character is also not very dynamic, Picardo is at least like-able and believe-able. Too bad the show is canceled now.
Comment by TC — November 16, 2009 @ 2:43 am
I dont like seasons 4 and 5 without Torri. And the new ATLANTIS movie will be boring without Weir’s character…
Comment by zola — November 5, 2010 @ 6:10 pm
I loved Dr.Weir and was very sad to see her go. She grew on me from the beginning. Also, there was a dynamic between her and Sheppard that was never explored. Despite the drama and the incredibly annoying McCay, Atlantis was a terrific, entertaining show.
Comment by John Anthony — December 30, 2010 @ 3:57 pm
I am just watching the SGA series, am on season 4 and it is sadly lacking without the Dr. Weir character. She had become so close with the main team and the new Commander, played by Amanda Tapping, is just not the same warm, thoughtful, inteligent character. Amanda Tapping is okay but just not the same. There is no history with her and the main characters. I am very sad to see she will not be in the upcoming episodes. I wonder if this contributed to the series’ ultimate demise. I guess I can blame it on that if I want to :-)
Comment by FantasyGirl — March 6, 2011 @ 2:26 pm
This was a great show. I wondered why it only lasted 5 seasons until I saw it in its’ entirety on netflix. The show lost its’ team. Did someone set this show up to fail on purpose?
Comment by Deb930 — July 31, 2012 @ 2:39 pm
Quite possibly, Torri Higginson, is the worst actress active to date. She is compeltely horrible and bringing out a different actress for her role was the right call. Samantha Carter, and Woolzy were worlds better than her character and the actors involves also delivered roles with ACTUAL depth, ACTUAL expression!
Tori was literally confined to ONE facial expression, I -never- saw her facial expression change once, it was the same for shock, fear, happiness, and the fact she can barely throw her voice around and flails in the role of a strong confidence woman… You don’t feel her confidence, she doesn’t even sound competent in the least as a character, singularly the worst thing to happen to the Stargate franchise, the show really improved witht he canning of this acress.
Comment by Valaska Averia — August 2, 2013 @ 2:33 pm
I through she over acted in so much scenes.
Comment by Samantha Duncan — September 12, 2014 @ 2:14 pm
They should kept Jessica Steen she was great in that role.
Comment by Samantha Duncan — September 12, 2014 @ 2:16 pm
A LOT of you people here do not know what you are waffling on about.
In my opinion, Torri Higginson played her character well, good, great even.
A leader needs to distance themselves from the people under their command, she did it really well.
Emotions and personal problems have NO place in decision making.
She knew when to smile, when to frown, and when to keep a straight face when having to chastise someone.
I enjoyed the whole series, and I thought it ended way too soon.
I feel it should be continued, with guest appearances for all the main characters, I would love that, starting back on earth, then going back to the Pegasus galaxy, but NOT with some dire overlords to fight.
Comment by mick4358 — March 31, 2015 @ 5:39 am
Velasks, adam & tc, you three don’t get it. (1) Leading the team is a tremendously difficult task and the key is remaining outwardly neutral. Its clear that there was something between her character & Sheppard, but she had to tamp it down in order to lead. This paralllels her earth husband relationship — if you want to lead and exploration, you can’t have every day ties that equate into every day preferences. (2) The real key to stargate from the beginning (Kurt Russell movie) was the melding of science and bureaucracy. You have to do that without smashing people down. That was the essence of Higgison’s character, and it may look boring to you teens, but only because you’ve never had the conflict of leadership. When you 3 get to be adults, you will understand, and look back on the Higgison character with subservient awe.
Comment by Ike Baikal — May 8, 2016 @ 10:17 pm