By Matthew Battles
Fourteen years ago, an Australian TV show boldly went where few program's had before; through a wormhole and into a distant part of the universe. Exploding into the midst of an all-out space battle, John Crichton - played by Ben Browder - instantly made enemies by accidentally killing the brother of a fleet commander. Chased across the galaxy, Crichton - who's brain has secretly been filled with the dangerous secret of wormhole control - must quickly adapt to this new way of life on the run, taking refuge on Moya, a living ship full of escaped criminals.
Fourteen years ago, an Australian TV show boldly went where few program's had before; through a wormhole and into a distant part of the universe. Exploding into the midst of an all-out space battle, John Crichton - played by Ben Browder - instantly made enemies by accidentally killing the brother of a fleet commander. Chased across the galaxy, Crichton - who's brain has secretly been filled with the dangerous secret of wormhole control - must quickly adapt to this new way of life on the run, taking refuge on Moya, a living ship full of escaped criminals.
Set across a huge galaxy, teaming with life, Farscape remembers the one thing that most shows forget; not all aliens will be humanoid! The population of Farscape was one of the most diverse I've ever seen. They were blue, purple and green. Some were slimy, some scaly. Some metallic. Some of them flew, others scuttled. There were even one or two that were made of gas! Farscape also had an incredible attention to detail, padding out every new civilisation with culture, customs, religion and a backstory. The show had it all; diverse characters all with intriguing personal stories. Romance, action, comedic one-liners and an ensemble cast who's chemistry just crackled. Most importantly, Farscape had a heart of solid gold.
There wasn't a science fiction stone left unturned by this show during its four season run; time travel, body swaps, amnesia, cloning. You name it, there'll be at least one episode dedicated to it. Running for four very successful seasons, Farscape gained a dedicated cult following before being abruptly cancelled, bowing out on a heartbreaking cliffhanger finale.
With the kind of devotion shown only by cult fans, people took to the Internet - a fairly new thing at the time of Farscape's demise - and created forums, communities even magazines to continue the story. All the while bombarding the network with pleas to resurrect their beloved franchise, Firefly style. The persistence paid off! Just two years after cancellation, Farscape burst back onto screens with a two-part conclusive miniseries; The Peacekeeper Wars! Uniting the entire original cast and a few old faces, The Peacekeeper Wars tied up all loose ends and brought the series to a suitably epic conclusion, wrapping everything in a (spoiler-free!) satisfactory ending.
There wasn't a science fiction stone left unturned by this show during its four season run; time travel, body swaps, amnesia, cloning. You name it, there'll be at least one episode dedicated to it. Running for four very successful seasons, Farscape gained a dedicated cult following before being abruptly cancelled, bowing out on a heartbreaking cliffhanger finale.
With the kind of devotion shown only by cult fans, people took to the Internet - a fairly new thing at the time of Farscape's demise - and created forums, communities even magazines to continue the story. All the while bombarding the network with pleas to resurrect their beloved franchise, Firefly style. The persistence paid off! Just two years after cancellation, Farscape burst back onto screens with a two-part conclusive miniseries; The Peacekeeper Wars! Uniting the entire original cast and a few old faces, The Peacekeeper Wars tied up all loose ends and brought the series to a suitably epic conclusion, wrapping everything in a (spoiler-free!) satisfactory ending.
Favourite Moment?
It's a toss up between three great ones; watching Zahn, a bald, blue and beautiful female plant-alien experience a photogasm... really! Relishing in the various hilarities of the body swap; Crichton enjoying being in sexy Aeryun's body while Rigel discovered the joys of human urination.
The champion moment for me comes in the season 3 episode 'Suns and Lovers' where a demented cyborg storm beacon has magnetically attached herself to a blast door, only to be cooly told by Crichton that the door was detachable before jettisoning her off into space. Her response, and the responses of the Moya gang make me laugh every time without fail. I'm always rewinding and watching this moment again.
It's moments like these, the tiny instances of genius that makes Farscape such a fantastic and compelling show, but don't take my word for it. Why not find out for yourself? Had on down to Amazon and pick up a box-set - or check out YouTube, I'm sure a few episodes have found their way over there!
It's a toss up between three great ones; watching Zahn, a bald, blue and beautiful female plant-alien experience a photogasm... really! Relishing in the various hilarities of the body swap; Crichton enjoying being in sexy Aeryun's body while Rigel discovered the joys of human urination.
The champion moment for me comes in the season 3 episode 'Suns and Lovers' where a demented cyborg storm beacon has magnetically attached herself to a blast door, only to be cooly told by Crichton that the door was detachable before jettisoning her off into space. Her response, and the responses of the Moya gang make me laugh every time without fail. I'm always rewinding and watching this moment again.
It's moments like these, the tiny instances of genius that makes Farscape such a fantastic and compelling show, but don't take my word for it. Why not find out for yourself? Had on down to Amazon and pick up a box-set - or check out YouTube, I'm sure a few episodes have found their way over there!
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