One of the bigger unanswered questions from the long history of the Stargate film and television franchise has to do with the recasting of a major character. In 2003 Stargate SG-1 was getting ready to launch its first spin-off series, featuring a new team and a new galaxy of adventures. Actress Jessica Steen was cast to portray Dr. Elizabeth Weir, a linguist and a civilian diplomat put in charge of Stargate Command by the newly inaugurated President Henry Hayes (William Devane).
Steen's was a pivotal role, as General Hammond was reassigned and the Goa'uld Anubis invaded Earth. The SG-1 team, meanwhile, was flying off to try and find the lost city of the Ancients. Weir was a linguist and a civilian diplomat, and something of a fish out of water at the S.G.C. But the writers had long-term plans for the new character: Weir would join the spin-off series the next year, leading an expedition to the lost city of Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy.
This plan was in place when the casting call for "Dr. Theresa Weir" went out in the summer of 2003. (The character's name would be changed during production.) The actress signed on not just for SG-1's season finale, but with an additional piece in her contract that paid her not to take other jobs while the new series entered pre-production. Dr. Weir was to be the crossover character bridging Stargate SG-1 into Stargate Atlantis.
But when SG-1 returned in 2004 to kick off Season Eight with "New Order," followed by the series premiere of Atlantis, Steen was gone — replaced by actress Torri Higginson. Viewers, however, had loved Steen's on-screen performance. So what happened?
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