Elizabeth Weir from Stargate: Atlantis
Stargate: Atlantis was a boy’s show from day one: the writer’s room full of men and the white male characters getting the bulk of the plots. But Elizabeth Weir, who was in charge of the entire Atlantis expedition, was my favorite character. Sadly, I don’t think I realized it until she was written off the show in Season 3.
Elizabeth was a diplomat, which I really enjoyed considering the first show was military-based and often saw the humans imposing their morals and culture on the aliens. I had a lot of hope during those early season that Atlantis would be different than SG-1. But ultimately, it had the same flaws, and then the show was canceled. But that was two seasons after Elizabeth was killed off, and one season after actor Torri Higginson, who played Elizabeth, said that because of the writers lack of interest in developing Elizabeth, she wouldn’t be on the show any longer. (They’d brought her back for a tiny guest spot.)
In a way, talking about Atlantis is very hard for me because I felt so betrayed by the show. I love Elizabeth, Teyla, Kate, Laura, Katie, Jennifer, Sam, Sora, Jeannie, and all the rest of the women who were underused, ignored, killed off, and underdeveloped. Atlantis was the first space show about exploration that I’d watched in a long time. (Space exploration for pure science and wonder being the reason for my life-long love of Star Trek.) I own all five seasons on DVD, but since the final episode aired, I haven’t been able to watch even my favorites. Even the ones with Elizabeth.
I loved Elizabeth the diplomat exploring space. I love how smart and calm and peaceful she was. I love how she put her foot down to the pushy scientist and the hero military man. I love how she left her boyfriend and her dog to go explore the universe with no guarantee of returning home and that she brought of her father’s pocket-watch with her.
Even if she wasn’t in enough episodes, Elizabeth Weir and the other women of Stargate: Atlantis were awesome. Buy Stargate Atlantis: The Complete Series Collection