Sunday, September 11, 2016

Farscape, where have you been all my life?

I recently got chastised by several scifi/fantasy loving friends for not having tackled Farscape yet.  In my (admittedly thin) defense, I have been busy watching BtVS, Angel, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The X-Files, Fringe, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly and a whole bunch of other genre shows.  I am currently working on this deficit, having just finished S1E16, and I just like it more and more as it goes on.

For those who don't know, Farscape is a science fiction television show that ran for four seasons (1999-2003 (or 1998-2002, depending on what source you use)) before being abruptly cancelled.  Nutshell summary:  an American scientist/astronaut gets shot through a wormhole during an experimental flight and ends up on board a starship with a bunch of on-the-run aliens.  Yes, it is a show about a bunch of people on a spaceship flying around the universe and having adventures ... which pretty much describes every other science fiction television show ever made (Star Trek in all its iterations, Firefly, BSG, etc.)  What makes it different is that when we start, none of the characters like or even know each other, plus half of them are puppets a la The Jim Henson Company.  The CGI is pretty weak but there isn't much of it and the practical puppets and make-up effects are phenomenal.  Each of the characters is developed and they all change and grow - even though they are the "heroes," they all do unlikable but perfectly understandable and in-character things.  It's quite amazing, actually, for a show like this.

I'm getting through episodes as fast as I can, and hopefully won't get derailed too badly by returning network shows (or Galavant, which was just raved about by one of the aforementioned friends).  What I really need is a rainy sick day so I can just immerse myself in the Farscape 'verse.  And you should too, if you haven't already (it's streaming on Netflix so go for it).

Image result for farscape images


1 comment:

  1. About time. I love it even more than Firefly, mostly because it got to play out longer. The ending of season one is great. S2E5, The Way We Weren't, is a personal favorite. Season 3, well, oh boy.
    Just a fantastic show.

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