Torri Higginson talked with MGM’s Sharon Gosling about the return of Elizabeth Weir in last week’s mid-season finale “This Mortal Coil”. She talked about Weir’s being a clone created by the Replicators and how that might have been difficult for some actors to get a handle on because it’s a hard thing to grasp, but explained, “In television, you can do whatever you want and sci fi definitely opens that up a lot more. There are many leaps of logic that you can jump and have fun with.”
Being cloned does have its advantages, since the Replicators could possibly create as many clones as they want. This idea was not lost on Higginson, who said, “So I think the opportunity is always there – but they haven’t talked to me at all about it, so I have no sense of it whatsoever. But we’ll see.”
According to what has been gathered so far from executive producer Joseph Mallozzi’s personal blog, Higginson will have one more appearance in Season Four, but the name of the episode is shrouded in mystery. Will she be the “real” Elizabeth Weir (after all, viewers didn’t see her actually die), another clone, an alternate reality version, a figment of someone’s imagination, or any other type of sci-fi alter ego? Atlantis will return on January 4, 2008, at 10pm Eastern on the Sci Fi Channel with part two, “Be All My Sins Remember’d”, so maybe we’ll know then … or maybe not, as there are ten episodes to come in 2008.
Season Four will end in a cliffhanger with “The Last Man” and Season Five will pick up right where it leaves off with “Search and Rescue”. Mallozzi teased, “Who’s searching and who’s in need of rescue?” Could it be Elizabeth Weir? “Tune into the season 4 finale to find out.”
And if the opportunity does come for Higginson to return to the sets of Stargate Atlantis for its fifth season? “I wouldn’t go back to do a regular thing,” Higginson replied, “but I’m more than happy to go back to do one or two episodes. As long as Weir had something to do – was there for a reason and was emotionally and intellectually engaged with the story, then it would be a lot of fun. Because it’s great — it’s a great job, it’s great to go to work up there [in Vancouver].”
Read the complete interview at MGM: Close Up: Torri Higginson.