Stargate Atlantis: A Necessary Evil

Stargate-Big Finish Audios #1.2

by Sharon Gosling

When Sheppard's team encounters a culture with phase shift technology that keeps their entire population invisible - and immaterial to the outside world, it looks like Atlantis might have found the perfect protection from the Wraith. Eager to make a trade for the technology, Dr Weir embarks on a diplomatic mission to negoitate with the people of Lannavulin, but once there, it becomes apparent that not everyone is happy with the planet's status quo.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Media Tie In, Fiction

60 pages, Audio CD

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Sharon Gosling began her career in entertainment journalism, writing for magazines in the science fiction and fantasy genre, before moving on to write tie-in books for TV shows such as "Stargate" and the 'reimagined' "Battlestar Galactica."

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

What was supposed be a trade negotiation leads to Weir and McKay getting stuck in the middle of coup on a planet with a hive ship in orbit and no way to escape. I've never been a big fan of Elizabeth Weir, but the story was still quite entertaining.

[Tularia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never really cared for Dr. Weir's character, nor Torri Higginson for that matter, but the story is good and her voice is clear. Worth a listen!

[John Michael Strubhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans on the television series, this Big Finish Production (audio) features a cast of mostly Torri Higginson as Dr. Elizabeth Weir - ever the diplomat in this one. Sorry, but this is not (legally) available. The story is very good as it brings up issues of morality and perspective. I found it, as my friend Alex would say, delightful. I never much cared for Dr. Weir. That's why this gets 4 stars.
Bittorrent this one if you're a fan. I'd actually suggest buying it, but the price for the used CD is outrageous and Big Finish won't see any of that money. It's worth the trouble find it if you can.

[Ana Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great audio show! I think I'm going to enjoy most of these but this one was an a wonderful Weir centric story. She was such a wonderful character and she never really had an episode all to herself where she could show off the phenomenal negotiating skills she was supposed to possess. I like how Gosling worked this plot line into the Atlantis cannon, it's very imaginative but also a little sad.

[miha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na enem planetu imajo tehnologijo ki jih zamakne iz vidnega spektra, tako da so za zunanji svet nevidni, ampak ljudej noter niso enakomerno srečni in se eni želijo upreti in služit "raithom" ne konča se dobro.

[Daniel Gaul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at Elizabeth Weir as a leader in the field; so glad to hear Torri Higginson back in action :-)

[Graisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, though not among the best. Worth a listen if you love Stargate.

[Debra Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weir tries to help a civilization fight against the wraith.

[Shhhhh Ahhhhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet

[Katelyn Hess · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD! I love Weir so much! Great listen!

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Does anyone else almost cringe whenever Dr. Weir makes an appearance in this show? Sort of a cringe. Not annoyed. Not a complete cringe. But something is just "off" about her. Something isn't right. (Regarding Torri Higginson.)

The later seasons when she's rarely there and her departure were definitely the best things that happened to the show. I was relieved to see her go. So as you can guess I wasnt really looking forward to listening this. And I was right.

Even though I dont like the character much, my main issue with this audiobook wasnt due to the character, it was due to the narrator Tori Higginson herself. While Micheal Shanks was amazing at distinguish voices for other characters Tori Higginson didnt even try. Which annoyed me a lot. You are reading for other characters for crying out loud woman, you should have at least tried to change your voice for them!!!

Besides that, the story was great! It is an hour-long "episode" of the Show just like the first one. In the story Dr. Weir is mind-probed by the Asurans following her capture at the beginning of season four. During the probe, the incident she recalls is set during season three, after Common Ground and prior to First Strike.

[Shane Amazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stargate Atlantis: A Necessary Evil, is a brilliant tale told by my favorite character Dr. Elizabeth Weir(Torri Higginson). Sent to negotiate for a piece of technology that could protect the city of Atlantis from the Wraith, Dr. Weir finds that even when protected from the Wraith humans are not free from tyranny. While trying to aid a group of unfortunate beings the Wraith approach and threaten to feed. Confident in the technology that protects them little attention is paid to the doom above. All is well until an act of betrayal sends Dr. Weir and her team into a fight for their lives. Will they survive???
Now for the pros and cons.

The pros:
1) Torri Higginson does an outstanding job reading the story. Her emotion and cadence is entertaining and fun.
2) The production is excellent. The music conveys the emotion the scene needs and the sound effects are spot on.
3) The story is brilliant. The action is plenty and the thought provoking scenes fit the Weir character perfectly.
4) The interview answers many, many questions of why Torri and the Stargate franchise went their separate ways.

The cons:
1) Obviously an hour is way to short.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was well done all around. The framing device was plausible (if a bit less likely than a mission report would have been), voice acting was good enough to easily distinguish the major characters, and the story hit on a theme that had been covered many times in the main Stargate shows: would the people of Earth still care about the rest of the universe if they had a foolproof way to hide? Additionally, it brought up a question that had never occurred to me throughout the entirety of Stargate Atlantis: were the Wraith all evil? The book posits that had Stargate Command found a way to kill all Goa'uld in the galaxy before they discovered the Tok'ra, they would have done it and inadvertently slaughtered a potential ally. If they were a similar faction of good race, the Atlantis team did indeed risk killing them before they could make contact. Overall, I would rate this book very highly, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys both Stargate and audiobooks.

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I actually liked the story. Of all the ones that I've listened to lately, this one was the best. It was interesting to learn more about Weir's innermost thoughts, about her doubts. I have to admit that I could never be a diplomat so experiencing what it would be like was quite intriguing.

I also liked the way Torri Higginson read the story. You could hear how much she was enjoying herself. And her interview was the best that I've heard on these CDs yet. I honestly admit that I dreaded it because much had been said of how Torri left the show and why she refused to come back in S5 but listening to her as she laid out her reasons, I could perfectly understand. And I hope to see her on NCIS soon again!

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one could easily have been five stars if someone other than Tori Higginson had been the voice actor. Granted, I've never been a fan of her character Elizabeth Weir, but my problem is not with her character her. The story was really good and Higginson does very well as Dr. Weir (of course) and as the narrator (she's an excellent narrator). The problem is when she's reading for other characters. It's ;ile she doesn't even try to distinguish voices for other characters from her own. I could not tell the difference between Weir and McKay which is problematic.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story really suited Weir, but it didn't particularly suit me.

[torin_kylara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent continuation of Atlantis storylines. Unfortunately, I simply cannot give it more than 4 stars because I started listening to the next one before I rated this one and the contrast made it obvious this one did not deserve five stars. Sorry, Elizabeth Weir!