Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars

Just in case you are not familiar with the back story of this excellent little mini-series: Farscape PKWs is a continuation of a cancelled television series on the Scifi channel. Nothing special about that you say?

Well, what makes this unique is the fact that it never would have been made except for the legions of fans who caused such a ruckus after Scifi made the stupid mistake of canceling. THE FANS got the attention of financial backers who then invested in making this little gem. How amazing is that? In a world where we feel like people crap on us at will and it's us again the big corporations...the little man finally won a small but decisive battle.

As for the show, some die-hard fans, myself included, noticed a few differences in how the mini-series was shot and some character changes...though all the original actors were used. Still, I was almost in tears when I saw my favorite Hynerian in all his squat and toadlike splendor. Definitely not a disappointment to loyal fans and hopefully an eye catcher to those who are new to the series. The humor was there, the dangers were still lurking around the corners, and the chemistry was as sizzling as ever. I highly recommend that anyone who hasn't seen this glorious series go out and rent the first season. You'll never regret it!

At last Farscape has the ending it deserved. The Peacekeeper Wars did everything I hoped it would, and even more than I dreamed possible. As a long time fan of the show I had waited for this with growing anticipation, to the point where I almost expected to be disappointed.

I wasn't.

It's big, it's bold, it's thrilling, it runs the gamut of emotions and then some, and amidst all the spectacle it never loses sight of the most important component of this brilliant series - the characters. I was reduced to tears on several occasions, particularly during the last ten minutes.

A big thank you to all the fans who got this made, to Ben, Claudia, Anthony, Gigi, Wayne and all the other actors and puppeteers, and to Rockne O'Bannon, David Kemper, Brian Henson et al for bringing us this and four wonderful seasons.

It was one helluva ride.

Be happy mine eyes!

At long last, Farscape, the series untimely canceled by the 'wisdom' of the SciFi Channel, has returned in a mini-series worthy of the original series.

In brief, this WAS Farscape! Unlike so many other mini-series which compromise the core qualities which made the series great and pandered to the lowest common denominator, Farscape:PKW has remained true to the magic and charm we so loved and we've so missed, picking up immediately after the cliffhanger at the end of the final season.

The only way this mini-series fell short of the original series was the nature of it being a mini-series. The creators had less time to focus on the interactions of the characters and supply more of the special moments which made Farscape as great as it was. However; surprisingly little was lost. My friends as I, gathered at my house to watch this together, all remarked how it was surprising how much story was told it so little time. The creators did a wonderful job making use of these four hours. Anyway, the only people to blame for only having four hours were the foolish execs who came up with the mistake of canceling Farscape the series in the first place.

Everyone I know is in unison in the fervent hope that Farscape will once again become a series. We've seen here that Farscape is still alive and well. If SciFi Channel is not wise enough to resume it, hopefully another network will. Such a network will earn my allegiance. Nonetheless, if Farscape does not come back, at least we have some sense of completion to our beloved story and characters which was sadly denied us upon the untimely cancellation of the series.

As Scorpy said.... "John Crichton... is alive!" Long live Farscape!

Farscape was the best and most imaginative of sci fi series. The characters were just that ...characters. Not a cop who gets results through unorthodox interrogation techniques, not a group of American army personnel representing earth to a group of American-o-centric aliens but a group of incredible (meaning unbelievable) characters.

The colours, the shapes.....

John spends the entire series as a mentally ill person warped by his experiences and the brain surgery of Scorpius.

When he takes on a 7 foot lizard creature in a fist fight he ends up smashed and bruised on the far side of the room. When he falls in love she happens to be a soldier dedicated to his own extermination. Nobody gets his jokes and he honestly doesn't know the secrets the others are prepared to kill him for.

Farscape is about a hopeless quest. No Voyager style course plotted in to a computer. Earth is just a dream to be scrabbled after by a desperate loony. He keeps a grip on his own reality by quoting catchphrases from prime time TV and incidents from black and white films. Harvey, the computer program implanted by Scorpius is my favourite. What a wonderful complex character Scorpius is - there is no evil in Farscape, no black and white, only shades of Grey.

I would quite happily have accepted John waking up and believing it was all a dream following some tremendous astronaut accident.

Farscape the mini series is a wonderful finale to the best sci fi series ever conceived.

I expected a lot of The Peacekeeper Wars, and I think these hopes were a little unrealistic for a mini-series trying to cover what was intended for a series.

Unfortunately, this very much a full series squeezed into three hours. Many fascinating stories could be discerned, but few had the air time they needed, and many were simply confusing. Characters exchanged meaningful looks, only to never be seen again. The editing process had taken its toll.

For a Farscape "episode" this was surprisingly conventional fare, and in places it did wander into the cliché. But full credit for the minds behind it, they were squeezing in a series (and from the content on display it seems obvious that their claims to having plans for the fifth series were far from insubstantial) and simply didn't have the time. Beyond all this, it was still Farscape. Brilliant acting, fine writing and the age old characters, all a little wiser as they were in series four.

I rather enjoyed the... unconventional end to series four, but it's obvious that many wanted closure, and while it doesn't entirely satisfy that demand, it was good to see the finest sci-fi ever made back on our screens, if only for a little while.