Farscape

Saw it and liked it from the first episode on. The German translation is not recommendable but the original is really a great piece of work (art), a fact, which was unfortunately not noticed by the TV-channel SciFi. If you like creative, witty and funny entertainment you will love FARSCAPE! The Jim Henson company brought in all their resources and skills to create a completely strange, alien world on your TV-screen. The overall plot is somehow old-fashioned but the ingredients of this SciFi-opera are superb. Different styles and types of movie-making have been mixed to create a very addictive show. Characters and types of creatures are worked out very carefully. The plot is unforeseeable and very varied, so you never get bored.

Thanks to Sci-fi and the Henson Company for this wonderful contribution to the TV science fiction canon.

Farscape is one of the most visually compelling shows ever to grace the medium, and its gorgeous sets , effects and cast are all matched by the show's completely original blend of humor, camp, perspective, action and drama. The Henson Company's creative genius really shines through and makes this the truly great series it is. And the Gross/Subvision soundtrack is also worth owning.

Ben Browder plays John Crichton, an American astronaut and genius who has - quite by accident - created a wormhole by conducting an experiment involving the slingshot effect. Sucked into the wormhole, John is whisked away to ... where? His craft collides with a small war ship which then spins off and crashes into a meteor, killing its pilot. John, head spinning, is then rescued (seemingly) by a large ship which is under attack from ships like the one which crashed into his. Aboard the large ship, he almost immediately meets the lovely humanoid Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), who introduces herself by beating him up and demanding his name, rank and serial number. Aeryn, who will become both the love of his life, and the most difficult relationship of his life, is just the beginning... Soon, John will learn that he is aboard a Peacekeeper Leviathan (Moya) - a living ship - which has been taken over by the prisoners it was being used to transport. Aeryn is the prisoners' only surviving peacekeeper prisoner, and, since John looks exactly like a Peacekeeper, Moya's new crew is not inclined to trust him.

The relationships between John and his new-found friends that develop over the succeeding four years of Farscape provide a great context for the many adventures they share. Through death, betrayal, birth and rather massive cultural dissonance, Moya and her crew see and do it all as they flee the pursuing Peacekeepers in more ways than one. Each character has his or her own arc and backstory, and even in the most plot-heavy and action packed episodes of the series, it is the characters that give the show its structural integrity.

The acting is - across the board - spot-on. Browder and Black are superb and have great chemistry. Anthony Simcoe, Gigi Edgley, Virginia Hey, Lani Tupu, Rae Lee Hill and Paul Goddard were all excellent. I am going to single out Wayne Pygram, however, for his amazing interpretation of one of the most ambiguous and memorable villains (?) in the history of sci fi entertainment - Scorpius - a tortured hybrid between two warring species (Scarrans and Peacekeepers) who, apparently, hates everybody and has an insatiable lust for power. Scorpius is a complex, contradictory, brilliant, and utterly unpredictable character, and along with many of the other obstacles the crew encounters will keep you guessing to the very end.

Farscape also features some of the best TV scripting and directing I have seen in recent years. Be forewarned, however, that the dialog and plots generally move along very very quickly and require undistracted attention. This is especially so from the latter half of season two to the end of the show's regular run. The first season is excellent episode-based sci fi, but in the second season, the writers began exploring complex, layered, multiple-episode story arcs. The story arcs were generally very good, but their complexity requires a serious commitment, and in general, the show is not recommended for non-consecutive viewing.

So hooked was I that I have saved searches for Claudia Black, Wayne Pygram, Ben Browder, Lani Tupu and Gigi Edgley on TVTome.

If you want to dive right in, get the boxed sets. They are loaded with special features, deleted scenes and interview which are all worth watching if you like the show. In fact, there are almost as many special features as there is show time in the boxed sets.

It took me a short while to get into this show. I find that most people who don't like it, just don't GET it. Farscape is a deep and intense show with a lot of small twists and turns in a very complicated plot. It is NOT a show you could watch one or two episodes of and know what was going on. They do a great job with the meager budget they work with and create a very livable "viable" view of the far and distance universe taking the level up above Star Trek or Star Wars. Probably my favorite show of all time, and well worth the time it takes to understand what's happening.

A little something for everyone. Action, adventure, drama, romance, etc.

Bring Farscape Back!!

I watched about ten minutes of each of a couple of series 1 Farscape episodes and hated it. Cliched plots, characters blatantly lifted from other shows, and *muppets*. Might as well watch the Phantom Menace.

However, after persistent nagging from a hooked friend, I gritted my teeth, sat down and actually watched a whole show. Oh wow. Oh WOW.

Farscape isn't a plot show, it's not a gadget show, it's not even an effects show. It's primarily a character show, and it's a great one, aimed squarely at adults. The characters are often space operatically heroic, but are also believably flawed. They are petty, affectionate, selfish and giving. They are also commendably consistent, and both bear grudges and remember debts.

I find the acting of *all* the main cast outstanding; expressive, genuine and naturalistic. They give it everything, and fully commit to every scene and every line. I understand that viewers in the USA might find this strange when compared to the mugging, grimacing and ostentatious emotionalism that passes for acting on domestic US shows. It's a matter of taste, and I find the reserved but expressive acting of Farscape far more palatable.

Possibly the biggest strength of Farscape is the chemistry between the cast. The amount of physical, emotional and sexual tension rivals that of gritty TV verite rather than fluff SF. Babylon 5 characters are as well written, but not (sorry Babfans) as well acted or as involving.

Farscape has justifiably been accused of having cliched plots and characters. This it does, but no more so than any Star Trek franchise, and even Babylon 5 occasionally lurched into genre hell. True, you'd be hard pressed to tell Andromeda and Farscape apart from a brief precis of the plot and characters, but this only illustrates that there are certain genre elements that are now classic rather than cliched. Farscape starts from a tried and trusted design and then implements it astonishingly well.

On the other hand, it *does* have muppets...

Farscape is not the easiest series to get into. You really need to see it from the beginning which is probably one of the reasons the ratings were not that great when it aired on the Sci-Fi Channel.

There is a continuing story here and the characters and their relationships to each other are complex. But this is what makes this show so compelling. Once you get into the flow of this series it is impossible to not be totally entertained and involved.

My recommendation is to rent or buy the box set of the first year and try it for yourself. You will not be sorry.

A new Farscape movie will be shown on Sci-Fi this fall. Apparently it will begin where the series left off. Hopefully this will lead to other movies but at this point, who knows?