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**Kinky_Carter** · 27 April 2007, 11:11 AM

I can tell alot of people are happy that Elizabeth is reduced to a recurring role. But I couldn't be more depressed. I love Elizabeth, my fave character of the show. She should be added more into the show, not lessened. I mean they've shown with SG-1 that you can have a civvie go on adventures.

Elizabeth may be out of commission for awhile. But maybe that experience will change her for the better. Make her braver and possibly make her want to go out on missions with John and the others, while Sam takes control there. I'm not sure what they have in store for her, but I really really hope Elizabeth stays for the long run.

**belanna30** · 29 April 2007, 03:22 PM

I have to agree. Weir is my favorite character as well. Although, I enjoy the John/Rodney show just as much as everyone else, I think there is a ton of potential to her character that no one has made a chance to exploit. Now, has she done everything right? No. Has anyone else on the show? Maybe Teyla. . . . that's a maybe.

I am sad that she is being reduced to recurring, but I still want to see her as part of Atlantis and keeping her as "part" of the team. (Besides, I'm a sparky fan. .. . So, the more Elizabeth/John interaction the better.)

Still, we have never heard the final count on how many episodes for Season 4 and with

Spoiler:

I will say that I am going to be a selfish person and I hope that we will see a good amount of Weir to help fill out Teyla's "off" time.

So, I'm trying to have a positive outlook.

**Liam24** · 02 May 2007, 05:21 AM

I just find this decision really bizarre... Weir leaving Atlantis? What the heck for? She's pretty much the only reason I watch the show... she's freakin amazing... The show doesn't have that much going on for it plotwise anyway these days... I mean, replicators? AGAIN?

And the solution is to get rid of the most enduring, interesting and well acted characters on the show? WHO WRITES THIS S***?

Considering I only watched half of season three, I doubt I'll be watching much more now that Weir is going the way of recurring...

Just registered to post that...

Good luck everyone!

Liam.

**Killdeer** · 03 May 2007, 05:46 PM

Tonight I picked up the latest Stargate magazine from Barnes & Noble. There's a lengthy interview with Torri Higginson, titled "Weir & Now." I thought it was a great article. Here's some quotes (spoilered for length):

Spoiler:

**Killdeer** · 03 May 2007, 06:06 PM

And a few more quotes (again spoilered for length, and some spoilers for the end of Season 3):

Spoiler:

Favorite writer for Weir:

"I find Carl Binder seems to have the most joy writing for Weir and that shows through my mind," reflects Higginson. "He gives her places to be human and to be a woman. It is hard to write a leader who is not military and it is doubly hard to write a non military female leader in a very military world. They've done a great job but it is a huge challenge but whenever I get a script from Carl where Weir is present, I am excited about it."

Weir and the team:

"One thing that has been interesting for me is whenever they've done a Weir-centric episode, she's usually having to act on her own. She's not a part of the team. In Before I Sleep, it was me acting with me. In The Long Goodbye, I was on my own throughout the city. The biggest joy for me as an actor usually is interaction with another human being. I was trained to believe acting is not acting; you are reacting to what the person is giving you. Yet the way the writers have written Weir's situation is that whenever she has something meaty to do, it is usually her by herself. That is frightening to carry it all, and where do I find it? How do I make it interesting, because it can get very boring to look at one person too long. I felt it was a great challenge."

The episode The Real World:

"It was something I was looking forward to because it is an aspect that I have struggled with," admits Higginson. "I've felt Weir's been written one dimensionally and that has been one of my issues, trying to find a balance with her. The writers and I try to find a common ground with who they think Weir is and who I think she is. I think what makes people interesting is seeing those vulnerabilities, no matter what genre you are looking at. I was really looking forward to being able to show that side of her."

Beckett's death and its affect on Weir:

"Oh gosh. That is another thing we talk about," says Higginson. "It is interesting because it is not a character driven show but a plot driven show. I think that is where the writers get frustrated with the actors because we are always up there going "Wait a minute! We just lost one of our guys! Can't it be referenced in the next episode?" Their modus operandi is 'No, this is part of a plot driven show and logistically, we don't know the order of how they will be airing.' I have an issue with that. There was an episode where a new doctor is introduced and I said, 'In this scene, please can I show some sadness? Can there be a beat of that?' And they didn't want to, and I think fans are very loyal to certain characters. I understand where they are coming from but I felt we were missing something, some level of emotion."

Torri's move to recurring status:

"I was told right when we wrapped that there would be changes and that it was my choice if I want to come back and do some recurring [work] or walk away," states Higginson. "Weir is an interesting character and if she's up there working, that would be fun to do because it's a great bunch of people in Vancouver. I'd love to go back and revisit so we'll see what happens and go from there."

**Celcool** · 04 May 2007, 01:28 AM

Kildeer, that interview is awesome. Torri has some smart ideas for her character and shares our concerns about the way Elizabeth is used. I wish they would listen to her. One of the things she said I liked is what people here on GW have been discussing, about the characters showing sadness over another character dying in the episodes following. Totally with her on that! That scene with Keller in FS would've been different if they let her show some emotion.

Originally posted by Liam24 View Post

I just find this decision really bizarre... Weir leaving Atlantis? What the heck for? She's pretty much the only reason I watch the show... she's freakin amazing... The show doesn't have that much going on for it plotwise anyway these days... I mean, replicators? AGAIN?

And the solution is to get rid of the most enduring, interesting and well acted characters on the show? WHO WRITES THIS S***?

Considering I only watched half of season three, I doubt I'll be watching much more now that Weir is going the way of recurring...

Just registered to post that...

Good luck everyone!

Liam.

Greened ya. Yeah, good luck to us all.

**belanna30** · 04 May 2007, 08:24 PM

Great interview. I'm going to have to track it down and read it. Lord, this stinks that she's recurring!

Sorry, I know that this isn't helpful at all to anyone and that I don't feel like I am adding. I guess I just need to go to bed and think about something else for awhile.

**nowvoyager908** · 06 May 2007, 06:40 PM

Originally posted by belanna30 View Post

Great interview. I'm going to have to track it down and read it. Lord, this stinks that she's recurring!

Sorry, I know that this isn't helpful at all to anyone and that I don't feel like I am adding. I guess I just need to go to bed and think about something else for awhile.

I know how you feel. Every time I watch an episode and I see how Elizabeth (and Carson of course) interact with the rest of the cast, and how important they are to the team dynamic, it hits home how much of a huge hole will be left to fill when they are gone. I can't shake the feeling that tossing Weir aside like yesterday's trash will prove to be a big mistake on the part of TPTB. It just strikes me as wrong in so many ways.

**Killdeer** · 06 May 2007, 06:57 PM

Originally posted by nowvoyager908 View Post

I know how you feel. Every time I watch an episode and I see how Elizabeth (and Carson of course) interact with the rest of the cast, and how important they are to the team dynamic, it hits home how much of a huge hole will be left to fill when they are gone. I can't shake the feeling that tossing Weir aside like yesterday's trash will prove to be a big mistake on the part of TPTB. It just strikes me as wrong in so many ways.

ITA. After watching Tao of Rodney this weekend, I just kept thinking about next season when she won't be there any more. It's going to be a definite loss. Losing both Weir and Carson...gah, its like they've carved the emotional heart out of the team. Who's left to give the personal touch? Just Teyla, and she's going to have her own issues next year.

**Agent_Dark** · 06 May 2007, 07:14 PM

Originally posted by Killdeer View Post

Torri's move to recurring status:

"I was told right when we wrapped that there would be changes and that it was my choice if I want to come back and do some recurring [work] or walk away," states Higginson. "Weir is an interesting character and if she's up there working, that would be fun to do because it's a great bunch of people in Vancouver. I'd love to go back and revisit so we'll see what happens and go from there."

That's interesting. First Strike aired in Canada in February, and they would have had to have wrapped up principal photography well before that. Those leaked interviews with Weir's fate came out mid-January right? That sounds to me like they had decided on Weir and Season 4 before they'd even finished filming, possibly writing, Season 3...

**Killdeer** · 06 May 2007, 08:17 PM

Originally posted by Agent_Dark View Post

That's interesting. First Strike aired in Canada in February, and they would have had to have wrapped up principal photography well before that. Those leaked interviews with Weir's fate came out mid-January right? That sounds to me like they had decided on Weir and Season 4 before they'd even finished filming, possibly writing, Season 3...

I think you're right. It was interesting to me because it was the first confirmation I'd seen that TH's reduced role was not her idea. Maybe that's been confirmed other places and I just missed it. But I know I have seen speculation on whether it was TPTB's decision or TH's, since we had heard nothing from the actress until now.

This seems to confirm that TPTB decided to remove TH/Weir before the season ended, as you said. They then wrote First Strike in such a way so as to accommodate whatever choice she made, leaving completely, or doing some recurring work. I wonder if she even knew when they were shooting First Strike, what was going to happen? She said she was told right when they wrapped....

**Agent_Dark** · 06 May 2007, 09:51 PM

What I get out of that is that the descion regarding Weir was a long time coming them - as in it would have been talked about long before the end of S3. It was no 'wake up and decide to off her' or 'network sent an email yesterday telling us to get rid of her'.

**Killdeer** · 06 May 2007, 10:08 PM

Originally posted by Agent_Dark View Post

What I get out of that is that the descion regarding Weir was a long time coming them - as in it would have been talked about long before the end of S3. It was no 'wake up and decide to off her' or 'network sent an email yesterday telling us to get rid of her'.

No, I wasn't saying that.

I really didn't get much out of that about how long they'd thought about it. It just seemed like Torri didn't know about it until then, or at least didn't know for sure. Honestly, the main thing I got from the quote was just that it wasn't Torri's choice to leave/be recurring. I can't really guess how long TPTB had planned it just from this quote, although I would imagine at least long enough to write First Strike the way they did.

**Agent_Dark** · 06 May 2007, 10:32 PM

Originally posted by Killdeer View Post

No, I wasn't saying that.

I never said you did... o.O

**Killdeer** · 06 May 2007, 10:42 PM

Originally posted by Agent_Dark View Post

I never said you did... o.O

Oh ok!

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