Farscape {Premiere (1999)

Smart-talking American astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) is flung through a wormhole and comes out in the midst of an interstellar prison escape on the other side of the universe. Bad luck for Crichton: the galactic cops (called "peacekeepers") mark him as the new public enemy number 1. This 20th-century boy is forced to ally himself with the colorful convicts: D'Argo, a hulking warrior with a fleshy Rastafarian mane; Zhaan, a blue-skinned priest of indeterminate age (played by Road Warrior alumnus Virginia Hey); fugitive peacekeeper Aeryn (Pitch Black's Claudia Black); Rygel, a greedy and troll-like exiled king; and Pilot, the giant insect-like nerve center of their living ship, Moya. It's an impressive-looking made-for-cable series, with imaginative production design and mix of state-of-the-art digital effects and sophisticated puppetry (or rather Muppetry, courtesy of co-creator Brian Henson), but it's the sharp writing and vivid characters that have built--and kept--the show's following.

Premiere introduces each character and the basic premise, a sci-fi Fugitive by way of Voyager in a world far from the Federation-friendly universe of Star Trek. Crichton's welcome is anything but warm, and the cultural and philosophical differences of the fleeing outlaws, as well as their pure self-interest, clash under the constant threat of capture. In I, E.T., a hidden homing signal forces Moya to hide in a terrestrial bog while the crew tries to disarm the device (which has been fused to the ship's nervous system), and Crichton makes first contact with the planet's pre-space flight inhabitants. "Spielberg was all wrong," he remarks while dodging military patrols and soothing the fears of a sky-watching scientist. Well-timed to fill the void left by Babylon 5, this is the promising start of a fresh sci-fi franchise. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

rare find

Since Season One is currently out of print as a boxed set, I had to assemble the season from pieces and parts from all over the Internet. Vol. 3 was difficult to find. While the box label was a bit faded, the DVD itself was in excellent condition--and that's what mattered. March 11, 2008

D'Argo takes center stage

In "Back and Back...," Crichton (Ben Browder) and company rescue a scientist and his assistant from their imploding spacecraft. In the process, Crichton begins to suffer from time flashes wherein he experiences the future, thereby becoming aware that the mysterious assistant has a deadly secret. There is a lot of good characterization here and a tantalizing hint at D'Argo's (Anthony Simcoe) past. I like the way that so many Farscape episodes turn on Crichton's disarming manner of just leveling with other characters and telling them the truth rather than contriving unlikely deceptions to resolve plot points.

"Thank God..." is another good D'Argo episode. This time he has inexplicably decided to settle down and live as a field worker on an agrarian planet. Suspecting that something is not quite right, Crichton and the others investigate, finding that the planet has an unsettling connection to an old enemy.

I love this show. As good as these episodes are, there is much better to come.
October 2, 2004

A great show makes its debut

"Farscape" is one of my favorite TV shows, and it certainly got off to a strong start with the episode "Pilot." The series has a terrific cast, with Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Virginia Hey, and Anthony Simcoe sharing the spotlight with creatures constructed by Jim Henson's company. The writing is sharp and there is plenty of conflict to drive the story; the characters are all escaped prisoners with their own agendas. One of the pleasures of watching these early episodes is watching how they gradually build trust and anticipating the addition of the many interesting characters that will be added to the show later to keep things from getting too comfortable.

"Farscape" deserved a two-hour premiere, but the cast and crew do an excellent job of constructing a lean, efficient story to introduce the Farscape universe within the one-hour format. "I, E.T." is a pretty middling episode as far as this show goes, but it does provide an interesting twist on the idea of the visitor from space.
August 22, 2004

What the Frell?

A wormhole--something unproven--not anymore it isn't. Astronaut John Crichton quickly realizes this when he's sucked down one, and spit out into the middle of an intergalactic space battle between escaping prisoners and the Peacekeepers. John's module incidentally collides with a Peacekeeper Prowler, whcih turns out to be Bialar Crais' brother, who becomes John's enemy for the rest of season one. The first episode quickly introduces the characters, and puts a slight emphasis on how that character is going to act through the series. The premiere definitely should of been made into a two hour to allow for more characterization and more time to do everything.
The second episode I still wonder why it is episode one. Not much of anything happens in it. There's good acting, and Rygel gets a chunk out of Aeryn's arm. Wasn't a bad episode compared to most series, but for farscape, it's below average.
The DVD features are descent, with footage not seen in the U.S. and with commentarys on both of the episodes. A great collection. September 25, 2003

Exploring a Different Uncharted Territory

The pilot episode of Farscape lets us know these stories take place in the Uncharted Territories. But starting with the episodes featured on this disc, we see that these uncharted territories include the souls of Moya and her crew.

"Back and Back and Back to the Future" pierces the gruff exterior of D'Argo as a mysterious femme fatale named Natala ensnares the warrior's heart. Unfortunately, Crichton starts having visions of himself with Natala which become progressively more disasterous. Not only do we start to see more of D'Argo's vulnerablility, but we're also treated to a well-designed, time-travelling head trip.

"Thank God It's Friday, Again" has D'Argo on an alien world, but after just three days the gang finds he has traded his soldier's weapons for a famer's tools. Though he seems blissfully content with his new life, things start to spiral out of control with Zhaan slipping into the same blind happiness as D'Argo, an apparent attempt on Rygel's life, Crichton's abduction by a rebel force, and the slow realization that this paradise is intimately linked to one of the galaxy's greatest threats. This is one of Farscape's best episodes, not only for it's wonderful visual appeal, but also for the way it expands our understanding of the characters. A wistful D'Argo confides in Zhaan that this experience echoes some of his long-held dreams. Aeryn reaches beyond her Peacekeeper-imposed blinders as she and Pilot must work together, not in military maneuvers, but in the more cerebral world of science as she struggles to find out what has happened to Rygel. And to top it all of, we have Angie Milliken's beautifully disturbing portrayal as the planet's ruler, Volmay. (Plus the infamous "She gives me a woody" line.)

Each episode offers a commentary: The first, featuring Ben Browder and director Rowan Woods, draws attention to the directorial choices made such as camera angles and set design. The second features Anthony Simcoe and series creator Rockne O'Bannon and gives a glimpse into the Australian influences on Farscape. The character profile features Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan, which seems odd as these two episodes spend a lot of time on D'Argo, but you won't catch me complaining. The Delvian has always been a favorite of mine and it was interesting to hear Virginia Hey's take on the character she embodies. (And embodies is the word: during the interview she completely forgot she was wearing prosthetics at the time!) Zhaan's still gallery has some beautiful shots, though the posing in a few seem overly dramatic. The conceptual drawings are fascinating, though it would have been nice to have some captions. It took a while to realize that some of the aliens depicted were actually Tavleks featured in "Throne for a Loss" from the _previous_ disc.

As O'Bannon explains, each of the characters starts off as a standard sci-fi stereotype. The beauty of Farscape is that it then leaves those cliches behind, delving into these wonderfully realized characters. July 22, 2003

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