Could Carter replace Weir? SPOILERS

[Mitchell82]

Let's see -- several people told us that Torri was out late last year, and nobody believed it. Now we find out she's been cut to recurring. What does that tell you about that information?

Well it tells me that her role is reduced not out completly.

[Major Tyler]

Personally, I love the idea of Carter in command of Atlantis. It makes the most sense, really. She's got the brains, experience, expertise, and she's respected by both the civilian and military worlds. She's the perfect combination of everything. To make it work, I think Carter would have to be promoted to full-bird Colonel, leaving Sheppard her 2IC, and leader of the flagship team.

Dr. Weir (should she fully recover) could still play a role in the adminstration of Atlantis. She could be Sam's civilian liaison, and be the chief civilian leader...she just wouldn't have the final say anymore. Or, even more prestigious, she could be Earth's Ambassador to the Pegasus Galaxy! Heck, she could be all those things! This just might work!

Now, if Weir doesn't fully recover, she could still be there in whatever capacity remains to give advice and be an inspiration for the expedition members. If Elizabeth's mental faculties were compromised by the blast, she might speak in cryptic riddles whose meaning is not immediately understood. Lots of shows have a mysterious character that they consult in times of crisis, "Kosh" of Babylon 5 being one example.

I can picture a scene of Sheppard and company entering a darkened room (so as not to irritate the skin grafts or the scars on her retinas from the laser) in the infirmary, where all you can hear is the quiet beep of the life-support monitors and the hiss of the respirator. Shep softly briefs Weir about their latest predicament, and after a long (but inciteful) pause, you see a bandaged hand glide slowly but gracefully over the keyboard of a laptop positioned on a stand over the bed.

Once the clicking of the keys dies away, you hear the monotone electronic sound of Weir's artificial voicebox squawking out the sage words she typed. Though the team initially puzzles over their meaning, by the end they are able to decipher it in time and it is vital to whatever solution Sam and the others devise. It wouldn't have to be the end of Weir! They could even wheel her out on occasion once her retinas heal. Wow! This would be a very unique and unexpected twist, and an intriguing way to develop Weir's character.

Personally, I hope they go for more of something in my first suggestion, but the second idea would be very interesting, too.

[FoolishPleasure]

OMG i never thought of it that way, carter could be promoted to general.

Carter and Sheppard both hold the same rank of Lt. Colonel, however, since Carter has held the rank longer, she would technically be his superior. The net gossip vine is whispering that Carter will be promoted to full Bird, which definitely makes her Sheppard's boss. BTW, she could not jump two ranks at once and become Brig. General.

[Major Tyler]

BTW, she could not jump two ranks at once and become Brig. General.

That's not technically true. It is possible to jump over a rank, but it's very, very rare. It's called "deep selection" and usually only happens with flag officers. For instance, it's more likely that a Brigadier General would be deep selected into a Lt. General position (bypassing Major General), than it is for a Lt. Colonel to jump to Brig. General.

Also, some excellent officer candidates with sufficient credentials (mostly medical doctors) are deep selected into a Captain rank upon joining, bypassing both Lieutenant grades.

[Coremae]

And that's the problem. She's got a foot in every door. She's "perfect". She's John, Elizabeth and Rodney combined. Do we really need a character like that not only on the show but also leading the expedition?

People will either get bored because they're basically seeing the same things twice or the PTB will go nuts and just remove John, Rodney and/or Elizabeth altogether.

Sorry ya'll feel that way. FirstSTrike kicked much butt, Weir in or out bothers me but her character hasn't found her nitch, YET. Sam would be cool as city head, though I think her character would be over kill, sweet, I so love over kill. Becket going bye bye isn't that much of a bad thing, his character was as cool as LT Barkley on STNG, I don't miss Barkley much. Ford is cool, though he's forgettable, super Ford is much much better and needs to come back. If only for an episode or two. You know what would be cool. Having Teal'c run Atlantis. Now that would be SWEEEEET.

Michael, is sooo cool. He's my new favorite villain, besies Ba'al Apophis, Anubis and maybe Adria, nah maybe not Adria.

[PG15]

Perfect timing:

From Joe's Blog:

Anonymous #6 writes: “Is there any truth to the latest talk that Torri will be in only four episodes of season four?”

Answer: At present, we’re not talking about a specific or set amount of episodes.

So, it could still be 4, I suppose, but it hasn't been confirmed yet either way.

[jenks]

I reckon they'll just plan the episodes and then writer her into the ones where she's needed, because there were a few episodes in season 3 where there was no real reason to have her in the episode at all.

[Daniel Jackson]

So, it could still be 4, I suppose, but it hasn't been confirmed yet either way.

If she's going to be in that few, I think she'll be killed off.

[Celcool]

I'm amazed that he actually answered that question instead of being snide and sarcastic.

Yes, that's a miracle, but still, his reply didn't really contain any answer. It doesn't say much to me, if anything, it made me even less optimistic, if that's even possible.

I have no faith whatsoever in tptb anymore.

Edit: I'm watching Andy Mikita interview from MGM site (already removed). He said that there're gonna be some interesting cast changes in Atlantis. Paul is gone and... crap, Torri will be gone.

I say better to think the worst now and maybe be surprised if it all turns out okay than be incredibly optimistic and then be terribly wrong about it. Torri needs to know that we support her, that's all.

[FallenAngelII]

Surely it has been more than once?

Edit: I checked she has been in 3 episodes. One each season so far.

We don't knwo if she is going to lead Atlantis yet. Lets wait and see. There is nothing we can do about it in the meantime.

Oh I forgot about "Grace Under Pressure" for some reason. Her cameo in the 1st season should just count as a cameo. She appeared for 5 seconds and had 2 lines or something.

I think Carter should be given command, she is the only person in two galaxies that could outsmart Mkcay if the time came to it and she has more combat and intelectual experience in alien craft's, technological experiments, experimental warfare, alien negociations and she has the rank to out do Sheppard.

None of those things qualify her to lead the expedition. It qualifies her for Very Impressive Person, though. She is really intelligent, smart and well-learned. So? Does that make her worthy of leading the most important undertaking known to man? It's not like she'd still be allowed to work in the labs anymore, either. As leader of the expedition, she'll have other things to do.

As leader of the SGC, Jack went off-world how many times again?

She has combat experience, whatever? So? As the leader of Atlantis, she would not be stepping through that gate on a regular basis.

She can pull rank on John should she feel like it. So can Elizabeth. Even though she doesn't outrank him, she's still his boss. And ponder if Elizabeth couldn't and Sam could (aren't they both Lieutenant Colonels?). What a great show that would make for.

John: "Well, I think that..."
Sam: "I pull rank. Shut up!"

Just asking for internal problems.

[hutchi4]

I'd have to admit I'm not a big fan of Weir but I think she should stay where she is as much as I think Carter is a great character she should not have the right to replace Weir overall I hate how they are changing everything on Atlantis I liked everything the way it was before.

[entity22]

As some already mentioned,I too liked Atlantis just the way it was and I hate it when they kill off some characters especially when they were so popular (especially Carson).But as much as I hate the getting-rid-of-characters stuff while we're only at the 3 to 4 season,I don't mind getting Carter on the show.
I am a huge fan of Stargate Sg1 and I practically grew up with it so bringing a character from there is just fine with me.Besides,Sam is a great character and she has so many qualities :she's brave,tough,intelligent but also funny,kind and easygoing and ,in the last couple of Sg1 seasons,she was also allowed to be a little sarcastic/ironic and funny which is a big plus(not to mention that Amanda Tapping is just great).I mean,think about it for one sec,without all the hate,Carter is qualified for the job,any job and she's really not just a military person,none of them are just that.She will not go there as SG1 member but as Dr/Colonel Sam Carter.
I don't really get all the Sg1 hate that some SGA fans have because without SG1 there would be no SGA in the first place and 2 of the main characters actually appeared first on SG1(granted ,it was not Torri playing Weir then but still...).I started watching Atlantis late during Season 1 and only because it was a sister show to SG1,that's why I gave it a chance(well,that and McKay) and I loved it from the first episode so why not give Carter a chance (just like all our favourite actors advice us to do).I mean,first we should see how she fits in and then decide 'cause I doubt that bringing her to SGA is to blame for what will happen to Elizabeth + I don't really think she'll be in command .

[nonniemous]

If you don't know where it's from nor it's accuracy, then why trust it at all?

Which is what everyone kept saying about the rumors that started circulating late last summer concerning Beckett's fate. Look how that worked out...

[shep45]

hi i'm new here as you can see it's my first post, but i'm a huge SG fan, i was just thinking as i read your posts, if i'm the only one scared of the fact that they might create ahole new character for amanda Tapping meaning she will not come to SGA as sam carter???

quote from gateworld news thread, tapping in 14 atlantis episodes,

"Though Cooper recognizes that some fans are concerned about the move -- injecting an established show that is loved by fans with a character from its cancelled predecessor -- he believes that Tapping and the character she plays will convince them when Season Four premieres later this year. "It's such a likeable character, [and] she's such a good actress, I don't think anyone will have a problem with it once they see it," he said."

i hope they will keep her as sam carter but i'm scared they won't

[Mar9645]

If they don't know how many episodes Elizabeth will be in (assuming, of course, that TPTB are telling the truth), it's because she's going to be recalled to Earth due to injuries/being fired and the has-been military character of Sam Carter will be sent to Atlantis (wherever it winds up landing) to take over the expedition, thereby blowing all to hell the civilian, multi-national concept the show started with.

They won't kill her outright because the fandom would be even more outraged than they already are. Somewhere down the road, depending on the ratings, they'll either have word come through to Atlantis that she died from complications of her First Strike injuries OR, knowing they need to save their ratings asses, Weir will be reinstated and back for Season 5.

I suspect, though, that she's already done for and they just won't admit it. It's a miracle those guys can still walk without tripping over their noses.

As I've said before, Stargate Atlantis will be dead and gone at the end of Season 4. Judging by the number of very blunt letters Sci Fi Weekly is printing on their site, I'd say the Sci Fi Channel is very aware of all the fan protests. They'll be watching the ratings even closer come summer.

The answer to this threads question is that Carter couldn't replace Weir in a billion light years!