Farscape - General Discussion

[Anduin]

Just discovered a concept pic of Pilot! It's good, though I prefer the look we actually got.

[jah1986]

On 7/2/2022 at 3:53 AM, Anduin said:

Just discovered a concept pic of Pilot! It's good, though I prefer the look we actually got.

Agree, I much prefer what we got in the show.

[Anduin]

More concept art! This time, Kyvan's ship. Thing is, I can't remember who Kyvan is. Which episode. What they do. Total blank. Anyway, enjoy if you so desire.

[Johannah]

"Picture If You Will"

Kyvan was really Maldis.

[tv echo]

Aeryn mention in this article about Claudia Black's new film...

'FARSCAPE' & 'STARGATE SG-1' FAN FAVE CLAUDIA BLACK TACKLES ‘MORE MATURE’ SPACE ROLE IN THRILLER ‘DEUS’
By Benjamin Bullard   SEPTEMBER 16, 2022
https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/deus-the-dark-sphere-claudia-black-sci-fi-thriller-interview 

Quote

Karla, Black’s character, anchors the film and brings a tragic backstory along on her extended Achilles tour, which requires the crew to hibernate their way through months of isolated space travel and thus lends an extra layer of gravity to their far-from-home decisions. Talking with SYFY WIRE, Black says there’s a decidedly more grown-up, astute human angle to her leading role in DEUS than what fans have seen from the beloved characters she’s portrayed in Farscape (as Aeryn Sun) and Stargate SG-1 (as Vala Mal Doran).
*  *  *
".... She’s a much more mature woman than we’ve seen compared to other characters I’ve played. Vala was extremely playful; Aeryn was a very sort of tragic, soft-centered heart of an epic space opera. ...."

Edited September 23, 2022 by tv echo

[Anduin]

Shout Factory put up a great page for the start of April. You might need to scroll down.

[dargosmydaddy]

Well, that was just mean...

[Anduin]

37 minutes ago, dargosmydaddy said:

Well, that was just mean...

Yeah, I see that. But I thought it was funny.

[DoctorAtomic]

There's a web page that just plays Farscape? I clicked on the link and Aeryn was sucking on Crichton's finger because he cut himself. I haven't swooned for over 15 years. 

[Anduin]

33 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

There's a web page that just plays Farscape? I clicked on the link and Aeryn was sucking on Crichton's finger because he cut himself. I haven't swooned for over 15 years. 

Looks like!

[DoctorAtomic]

2 hours ago, Anduin said:

There's a web page that just plays Farscape

I used to run home in the early 2000s. I was on the west coast and the feed was live.

 

[Anduin]

2 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I used to run home in the early 2000s. I was on the west coast and the feed was live.

 

Lucky you! Here in Oz, most SF/F shows were broadcast late at night. TNG, DS9, B5, Farscape, Buffy, Angel. Oh, Channel 9, I don't miss you. Program the recording to start 5 minutes before, you'd still end up with 30 minutes of... a current affairs show, I think. Some kind of irrelevant nonsense, at any rate.

SG1 was always on at a decent time, which made me happy. Maybe Seaquest and Charmed? I wasn't into those, so I'm not sure. But don't worry, soaps like 90210 and Melrose were on during primetime. Never liked soaps, so I'll admit to being bitter.

Anyway, Farscape!

[DoctorAtomic]

Farscape is on Prime Video!

[tv echo]

THE 20 BEST SCI-FI TV SHOWS ON PEACOCK: THE CONTINENTAL, FARSCAPE, RESIDENT ALIEN & MORE
By SYFY WIRE Staff   Updated Jan 4, 2024
https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/the-best-sci-fi-tv-shows-on-peacock-right-now 

Quote

Farscape
...
Farscape still has a dedicated fanbase even though it's been more than two decades since the show's premiere. The series follows human astronaut John Chrichton (Ben Browder) as he finds himself stranded on an alien world after accidentally getting sucked through a wormhole. In his effort to make it back to Earth, he joins a ragtag group of aliens on the run who soon become his newfound family. It's a show well worth a watch (or rewatch) if you're looking for some awesome space adventure. 

Edited January 8 by tv echo

[AnimeMania]

'Farscape' Is Launching a 25th Anniversary Comic on Kickstarter

The Farscape 25th Anniversary Kickstarter will run until March 21, 2024. 

Reserve the complete FARSCAPE graphic novel library along with a brand new 25th anniversary special and limited edition collectibles!

Pledge $25 to $775 to get various Farscape Collectibles.

Estimated Release Date: January 2025

[Johannah]

I'm not really interested in comics, but it's nice that they are still thinking about my favorite all-time show.  I still do...

[jah1986]

All time favorite sci-fi show. Still watch the reruns and still know the episode titles from one or two scenes.

[Anduin]

I found myself watching Till The Blood Runs Clear. Overall good, but there's a moment where Aeryn gets in a fistfight. Wow, sound effects have improved in the last 20 years. These ones are just so over the top, it almost sounds like a cartoon. At least the explosion effects are good.

But one of my pet peeves with fights. When you hit an enemy with an object and stagger them, you keep hitting them with the object, don't just throw it away. You keep hitting them until you're sure you've won.

[Anduin]

Jeremiah Crichton is not a very good episode, but it contains interesting ideas. Why did the Hynerians impose the tech jamming field on these people? What will their life be like now it's gone?

Also, I saw something crazy. D'argo's head follows a similar design to Moya. Anyone else see that?

[Affogato]

On 3/27/2024 at 5:07 AM, Anduin said:

I found myself watching Till The Blood Runs Clear. Overall good, but there's a moment where Aeryn gets in a fistfight. Wow, sound effects have improved in the last 20 years. These ones are just so over the top, it almost sounds like a cartoon. At least the explosion effects are good.

But one of my pet peeves with fights. When you hit an enemy with an object and stagger them, you keep hitting them with the object, don't just throw it away. You keep hitting them until you're sure you've won.

And yet when Daredevil does it they call him brutal :-)

[Anduin]

50 minutes ago, Affogato said:

And yet when Daredevil does it they call him brutal :-)

I didn't see any of the Netflix Marvel shows. Maybe I should.

[Johannah]

On 8/7/2024 at 11:46 PM, Anduin said:

Jeremiah Crichton is not a very good episode, but it contains interesting ideas. Why did the Hynerians impose the tech jamming field on these people? What will their life be like now it's gone?

Also, I saw something crazy. D'argo's head follows a similar design to Moya. Anyone else see that?

Jeremiah Crichton is considered one of the worst episodes, but like you said, I liked some of its elements.  Besides what you mentioned, it's starts on a good premise that Crichton is fed up with being considered inferior and useless when they all count on him to solve things.  I also like the religion aspect, where Rygel asks for their holy book and explains that every religion has one.  I also like that Rygel wanted what he thought he deserved, not what he could get; he is their sovereign, not their god.  Frankly, I didn't think the episode was as bad as most did.

Never noticed the D'Argo/Moya resemblance.  Maybe they should run a DNA test.  "Who's your daddy?"

[Anduin]

I suppose that actually studying the effects of the cultural change is more of a Trek episode. Maybe it's an idea I can make a story out of myself. Been a little thin on the imagination front recently, but maybe I have something now.

[DoctorAtomic]

You're talking the 'worst' of an absolutely stellar show. It's the fake beard. 

We also forget - "I need some air." "There's plenty of air in here!"
Zhaan, comforting hand on Aeryn "He is Crighton." 

The other part of the episode that's missed is that Aeryn is stuck on Moya, and she's basically doing the Crighton role in figuring out what's going on and hacking up a solution. He even calls her out flirtingly on it afterwards. 

I'd say I, ET is step below this, and I liked that one also. 

[Anduin]

Durka Returns! And Chiana is introduced! Interestingly, the first crewmembers she sees are D'argo and then Crichton. Hazy memory suggests that she interacts with those two more than the others. A bit 'start as you mean to go on' there.

I don't actually like Durka very much. It's the talking in an artificially smooth way. Always turns me off. Qimir in the Acolyte was the same. You aren't Gabriel Woolf, please don't try.

So how much of Durka's reversion was due to Rygel's actions? But Rygel was acting in the belief Durka would regress... a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If memory serves, we got one other eposide about the Nebari as a whole. There was a suggestion they could be a new big bad along with the Peacekeepers and Scarrans, but the show never got to that point. Does that plot appear in the comics?

[Anduin]

Inspired by the news of a 25th anniversary comic, A Human Reaction. I vaguely remembered John remembering everyone, entering the women's bathroom, and that it was a setup. But I thought the other crewmembers were setups too. So this would be the first time John and Aeryn had it off? Given the snail's pace of my rewatch, I may have forgotten a previous time.

The writer, Justin Monjo, is in my favourite non-Mad Max Aussie movie, Salute of the Jugger/Blood of Heroes, written and directed by David Webb Peoples. And the wheel turns full circle. The comic has a story named Do Leviathans Dream of Biomechanical Sleep? That might be a typo, meaning sheep. Anyway, Peoples co-wrote Blade Runner, based on a Philip K Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Only a little bit of Chiana? This must have been when they were reworking the scripts to fit her in. But why no Zhaan either?

This episode is worryingly plausible. Not the space stuff, but John leaping at the chance to go home, and the government reacting with hostility/cold-blooded science towards the aliens. While it's all very well done, it's just uncomfortable watching.

Oh, hey, the beer they drink is Victoria Bitter! Well named. I don't like beer, and that stuff is especially bad. It's also known as Vomit Brew. At least it isn't Fosters, which is Australian for 'I'm gullible enough to believe a marketing slogan.'

Curious how a woman in man's clothes generally looks better than the other way around. In fact, Aeryn in the shirt and jacket looks better than her even in the dress.

Funny thing, I've seen women's bathrooms in games. Any Ancient wanting to fool me could easily extrapolate that to real life.

That one Ancient muppet really isn't good. It just looks really dumb. I don't blame the design team that much, they only have so much time and budget to come up with these things. Such is life.

Outside the wonky muppet, this is one of the stronger episodes.

[DoctorAtomic]

I think there's extra minutes when the show aired on Channel Nine that confirmed John and Aeryn had sex in this episode. Or, when I listened to the commentaries they said something. 

Problem for me is that I've walked into too many women's bathrooms by accident so I would have got fooled. 

[Anduin]

6 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I think there's extra minutes when the show aired on Channel Nine that confirmed John and Aeryn had sex in this episode. Or, when I listened to the commentaries they said something. 

Problem for me is that I've walked into too many women's bathrooms by accident so I would have got fooled. 

Yeah, I was just wondering if I forgot anything that happened in a previous episode.

[Anduin]

Through the Looking Glass is a good one. Interesting plot, great dialogue. I remembered the crazy light and Aeryn being all science, but that was about it. Have the Farscape actors ever talked about getting their scripts? There must have been some moments like 'what the hell do I do with this?' And indeed how the writers came up with some of this stuff.

I sometimes wish the show made a little more sense, but I also enjoy the bonkers aspect too. I'm split.

The last scene, where they're all talking and laughing, it felt a little force to me. But in-universe, I bet they think back on all that food when they're reduced to crackers. Also, two extradimensional entities in two episodes. I think that's excessive even by Trek standards. But a good episode, thumbs way up.

[DoctorAtomic]

I think either this one is the first one I saw or the intro to Chiana was. The only knock is that it's kind of a 'reset' because all they had to do was back out of it. 

But all the dimension hopping and effects on each of them was clever and original. 

Going back to the beginning though, it's good and continuing character development using her brain and 'being more'. 

 

[Anduin]

A Bug's Life. Very tense. John's terrible accent, which I know I'll hear more of going forward. :( But Chiana gets the line of the episode! "Is everybody aboard this ship kinkoid?" No, just the writers. Speaking of which, looks like this is where they caught up to having her aboard. A lot more to do than the last two episodes.

Now, Peacekeeper ranks. They seem to have the same names as Earth ranks, but here we have two captains in different uniforms to both each other and the only other captain we've seen. Neither John nor Larraq defer to each other, which suggests they're the same rank. In real life, US navy/coast guard captain is O-6, higher than the other branches, who have captain at O-3. I get different uniforms for different duties, but you'd think John and Crais would have the same 'in charge of a large ship' uniform vs the special ops uniform. I can't imagine we'll ever get an answer, but I still like to highlight this confusing situation.

When I saw the title, I thought this was going to be another insect one like Exodus From Genesis. Nope, bug as in virus. Very clever.

D'Argo gets rid of his chains at the end, and swears never to be captive again. My memory is pretty hazy, but I have the feeling he does get locked up a time or two going forward. Poor guy.

Ooh, mention of the Gammak Base! I know that plays into the S1 finale, but have no memory of how. Going to be interesting tomorrow night. Speculation, some kind of complication with Moya's pregnancy, they need help.

[Anduin]

Nerve is hard to watch, which is why it took me a couple of weeks. I just like my entertainment to be lighter in tone. I'm a TNG/old Dr Who sort of person.

Anyway, Aeryn is still injured from being stabbed last episode. It's bad enough that she needs a tissue sample. John and Chiana have to go to the Gammak base to retrieve one. But guess who's there! Both Scorpius and Gilina!

Nice detail, Aeryn punches a bag that looks like the red wedge from the PK symbol. And in uniform news, we see two officers in the red chest piece version. John wears Larraq's kind of darker and grungier uniform. Maybe that's the special ops one, while red chest piece is for everyday officers? But when Crais appears, he's wearing mostly black with red highlights.

I just like trying to figure these things out.

[DoctorAtomic]

This is when the show really turns the corner in making a rag tag bunch of escaped prisoners on the lam into deadly terrorists that level empires. 

Oh, you like these people? "You will never order me again." *turns on Aurora Chair*

 

[Anduin]

The Hidden Memory! This is one I've Been looking forward to for a while. I lifted a couple of ideas for my own writing, wanted to see how they compared with what I remembered. Babylon 5 did armed organic ships before, Shadows and Vorlons, but it's still cool. It may have popped up elsewhere in SF that I'm not familiar with. I also remember how Crais and Aeryn sort of share custody of Talyn, and Talyn's end. :(

Gilina really has an interesting dilemma here. She can escape and be safe, but also lose everything she's known and be the other woman. That's a heavy burden for a supporting character. Sadly, she dies and we don't see her live with the consequences.

On the other hand, we have Stark join the regular cast. I had no idea that he was somewhat faking his madness. Also, I wasn't expecting him to remove the mask so soon. Nice to see him making the first move in the being helpful stakes.

[DoctorAtomic]

The radiant Aeryn Sun!

I said before, this is when the show really went into 5th gear bonkers. 

[Anduin]

Bone to be Wild isn't the strongest episode. It's more a setup for later. The A plot really doesn't do much for me, outside the costumes. This show really pushed the limits of latex work. Perhaps the only challenger would be the Klingons on Star Trek Discovery, but I'd still go with Farscape. Yeah, I know that M'Lee is Browder's wife, and she has some interesting headgear, but I just don't care.

The C plot, the power struggle between Crais and Scorpius, isn't my thing either. I watch fiction for adventure and things different to the world I live in, not bloody interpersonal politics.

Hello to the Aeryn and Talyn plot! I get why she was picked, because she got partially Piloted back in DNA Mad Scientist. All that DNA or genetics or whatever didn't fully clear out of her system. Yes, I should read read more about high end biotech and rocket/space station controls. But here I am passing off Farscape as research.

The interior of Talyn is very interesting. Very red. Shows up better than black, I suppose. :) I'll never understand the control schemes in this show, no matter what ship they're always minimal. Real rockets can get away with that because they're remotely controlled from the ground, leviathans because they're self-controlled, but PK and other mechanical ships should have something of the Enterprise or even Falcon kind of controls. Even if all the blinking lights and switches don't actually do anything, they help provide a sense of verisimilitude, you know?

[DoctorAtomic]

6 hours ago, Anduin said:

The C plot, the power struggle between Crais and Scorpius, isn't my thing either. I watch fiction for adventure and things different to the world I live in, not bloody interpersonal politics.

That's a critical plot for Crais going rogue and making off with Talyn though. It's not really earned otherwise. And how their eventual end comes around. That contrasts with Aeryn being cast out but still finding community and family. 

 

[Johannah]

I'm enjoying these recaps and using Farscape for research made me LOL..

[Anduin]

1 minute ago, Johannah said:

I'm enjoying these recaps and using Farscape for research made me LOL..

It's easier than getting my head around biotech and rocket science!

[Anduin]

I need a shave. Instead, I'm watching Farscape! I played some Starfield today. Technically dated, but mostly bug free. Artistically dull. So I needed some bright and exciting space opera instead.

They really pack a lot into the running time. Both Rygel's and Crais' double turns, discussion of death, a meal, the hint of romance, and one frelling huge explosion. This one should feel crowded, but instead it's a comfortable pace.

Here's something odd. It only takes a few hours of unauthorised alien contact for a Peacekeeper to be declared irrevocably contaminated. Yet we see Peacekeepers shamelessly hitting on Chiana. If anything counts as contact, banging an alien should. Maybe they think they can be done before the time limit is up!

But here Chiana kisses John. Given that Sebaceans are a human subspecies, would this be his first alien kiss? I can't remember some of the early episodes that well. My rewatch was pretty slow before I started talking about things on here.

Also, I was sure I'd have a lot to say, but I'm not really doing recaps, just more the little moments that stand out at me. Anyway, maybe I should go and shave now.

[Danny Franks]

6 hours ago, Anduin said:

Here's something odd. It only takes a few hours of unauthorised alien contact for a Peacekeeper to be declared irrevocably contaminated. Yet we see Peacekeepers shamelessly hitting on Chiana. If anything counts as contact, banging an alien should. Maybe they think they can be done before the time limit is up!

I think Chiana is just meant to be that alluring. Every male PK who meets her in the first season wants to bang her (can't really blame them) and she plays up to it, for the most part, so she can manipulate them.

But also, I suppose irrevocable contamination is a very inconsistently applied judgement, and often used by superiors when convenient or advantageous. The commander of the Gammak base probably could have had Chiana as his "personal server" for as long as he liked... unless he pissed off Scorpius or another superior officer. The PKs are nothing if not hypocrites.

6 hours ago, Anduin said:

But here Chiana kisses John. Given that Sebaceans are a human subspecies, would this be his first alien kiss? I can't remember some of the early episodes that well. My rewatch was pretty slow before I started talking about things on here.

Does Zhaan kiss him at some point in the first season? I may be misremembering. Or the Delvian who's manipulating his mind in Rhapsody in Blue?

I always loved that moment between him and Chiana. it sets the baseline for their relationship, which I always considered analogous to "step-siblings who met as horny teens and never got to just bang it out." Chiana is trying to thank him (and the fact that's the only way she knows how is sad. Until she learns another way, by cooking them all a last meal) but she's also shooting her shot because she does like him. 

There are a lot of goodbyes in the finale, though, and it makes me wonder whether they weren't optimistic about a second season. But I love how much the characters have evolved over the course of the season, and that sincere, warm moments between any combination of them (even John and Rygel) feel earned and authentic.

[DoctorAtomic]

13 hours ago, Anduin said:

Here's something odd. It only takes a few hours of unauthorised alien contact for a Peacekeeper to be declared irrevocably contaminated.

I have a feeling it's a legal term with a lot of leeway to fit the situation. Since Chiana is on the base, maybe it doesn't count. 

In the first episode, Aeryn was on Moya with everyone else before her and Crighton got back to Crais (white death pod), he was getting on her case about it because he wanted answers on how his brother died. Crighton sussed it out quick to give her a save on it. 

In the episode where the people harvest the crops that make the oil for the weapons, I'm betting the Peacekeepers who have to go to that planet to collect the oil aren't being accused of contamination. 

[Anduin]

Now somewhat less hairy than this time yesterday, I watched Mind the Baby. Talyn is such a cool looking ship, sadly he fell into the wrong hands. Crais has always annoyed me and always will. But here's some speculation. In the fertility process, there must be some component that says to submit to Peacekeepers.

Zhaan seems to be remembering the future. Was Litigara the Rashomon episode? I remember being underwhelmed by that one. Anyway, she thinks John is a ghost here. But at the end, she accepts that D'Argo is actually alive. Her moment of realisation seems to be between scenes. Interesting choice to leave that out.

Interesting detail about Talyn's starburst. He lights up all in red lines, tucks his arms in, then jumps into a yellow tunnel. Compare Moya. Blue lines, blue tunnel. Anyway, it looks very cool. Much love for the effects team.

[Johannah]

Litigaria was not the Roshomon ep.  Was underwhelmed with the litigaria ep.  LOVED the Roshomon episode - loved dissecting how everyone saw each other.  Bummed we didn't get Chiana's take on the others.  We know Rygel's - everyone is inferior to him.

Edited October 17 by Johannah

[DoctorAtomic]

I think Crais is an important component to the universe building. He could have used some more development to that end. He's got an interesting back story where he's basically ripped from his family and has to care for his little brother while he was still a kid himself. Then Crighton tears his world apart. Then *Scorpius* comes in. So he's groomed to be a PK his whole life and just thrown away like garbage. It's no wonder he kills himself. 

Except for Look at the Princess, the only other Sebaceans we see are PKs. 

 

[Anduin]

Vitas Mortis. D'Argo's turn to go through the emotional wringer. Interestingly, John is wearing a big long leather coat. Did he buy it at the last commerce planet, or more PK clothing left behind? He dressed more like a PK as time went on, and leaned more towards violence as a solution. Given he had red and black to work with, maybe he should have started dressing like Captain Picard instead.

Melissa Jaffer! Only a couple of scenes, but it's fun seeing her. I wonder who else gets multiple roles over the years.

Do I sense a King Arthur influence on this episode? Merlin aged backwards and one fate has him trapped in crystal forever. Here Nilaam ages backwards and temporarily traps Aeryn and John in crystal.

Anyway, I was looking through all the eps of this season. I'm looking forward to so many, though each for different things.

[DoctorAtomic]

I think Aeryn made a comment about them buying some new clothes. But it's definitely a narrative choice, like I said before. They blew up a moon already. 

[Anduin]

Taking the Stone. I remembered Chiana and a bunch of freaks jumping off a cliff on a cemetery planet, but that was it. Anyway, not the strongest this time around. John feels very opinionated this episode. Toxic? While I think Aeryn's approach was probably the right one, I can see some of my own dumb behaviour in John. Very uncomfortable. But at least he comes to realise he's not thinking straight. That'll lead in nicely to Crackers Don't Matter tomorrow.

In other news, the mask Rygel found reminds me of the one from Sutton Hoo. I like it.

And some nice dialogue. John calls Aeryn the pin-up girl for frontal assault.

[Johannah]

I never knew any of actors before this series, but obviously, the other recurring actor was Ben Browder's wife, Francesca Bueller (?).  She played at least 4 different roles, one for multiple episodes.  Can't remember if her character in the Princess trilogy spanned 2 episodes.

I disagree with the many people back then that said Aeryn was right in Taking The Stone.  Let Chiana commit suicide?  That's the right choice?  How do you come back from that?  How many people do you know that would just sit around while somebody they cared about committed suicide?  "Well, it's their decision.  Whatever.  I guess I'll start making funeral plans.".   I know you can say it was only potential suicide, but if you care for someone,  the risk isn't worth it.

Edited October 22 by Johannah

[Anduin]

5 hours ago, Johannah said:

I disagree with the many people back then that said Aeryn was right in Taking The Stone.  Let Chiana commit suicide?  That's the right choice?  How do you come back from that?  How many people do you know that would just sit around while somebody they cared about committed suicide?  "Well, it's their decision.  Whatever.  I guess I'll start making funeral plans.".   I know you can say it was only potential suicide, but if you care for someone,  the risk isn't worth it.

No. Aeryn thought China would land safely. That pushing her would only drive her harder. Chiana did land safely and get over it, which is why Aeryn was right.