Complete Farscape on DVD Nov 17

[tomalak301]

Finished off Farscape (The series part) tonight with We're So Screwed and Bad Timing. Man how this series ended on a cliffhanger was sad, even though the most emotional I got was with John and Aeryn after she had just been rescued in Part 1. Despite some qualms I have with how this series ended (Aeryn recovering quickly, destroying flowers, the way Stark was brought back, which seemed a bit of a waste), I really did like these episodes. And Bad Timing, man I'm glad we got the mini. Really loved the final scene between Jack and John.

So glad I bought this series. Not sure when I'll watch PK wars, but when everything is said and done, thank you A&E for bringing this series back to DVD. Screw you Best Buy and all the retailers for not really caring that much by not having many copies, but this is a good mood post so I'll leave it at that.

[Dar70]

Yeah the scene between John and Jack was very well done. I was almost hoping that John would let Jack come along for the ride. Very emotional and sad scene. Ben Browder and Kent Mccord did an excellent job with the scene.

[Lindley]

On the Bad Timing commentary, they say that Kent's side of the conversation was filmed way back during "Kansas", so they had to do some clever editing to make it fit with the way the story had developed since then....

[RoJoHen]

Dar70 wrote:

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Yeah the scene between John and Jack was very well done. I was almost hoping that John would let Jack come along for the ride. Very emotional and sad scene. Ben Browder and Kent Mccord did an excellent job with the scene.

Not gonna lie, I still have no idea what the whole "clipboard you can put paper in when it's upside-down" thing was all about.

[Plomeek Broth]

I did a blind buy of Farscape the Complete Series and the Peacekeeper Wars today. I have only seen less than five episodes easily and it was many years ago, so I don't remember if I liked it or not. I do enjoy Trek, nuBSG, Firefly, and Buffy so I am praying I will love this too. The price was too good to pass up and it was now or never. I hope I made a sound decision

[RandyS]

Plomeek Broth wrote:

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I did a blind buy of Farscape the Complete Series and the Peacekeeper Wars today. I have only seen less than five episodes easily and it was many years ago, so I don't remember if I liked it or not. I do enjoy Trek, nuBSG, Firefly, and Buffy so I am praying I will love this too. The price was too good to pass up and it was now or never. I hope I made a sound decision

You did. It's been alot of years since I've seen Farscape myself, but I bought the new DVD's the day they came out, and I'm making my way through the first season right now, and have fallen in love with the show all over again.

I forgot how good it was.

[selina]

My complete collection finally arrived after weeks of desperate waiting. And I've noticed something funny: The order of the episodes is a different one on the US-DVD-version than it was on my old videotapes from the UK, e.g. “Throne for a Loss” was the second episode on my videotape, but on the US-DVD-version it’s now the fourth episode. I had no idea that the order of the episodes varies from country to country . Well, to be fair, there are just a few episodes in a different order and since I know the show I can tell that it doesn’t matter so much. Still, I was a bit surprised.

[RandyS]

selina wrote:

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My complete collection finally arrived after weeks of desperate waiting. And I've noticed something funny: The order of the episodes is a different one on the US-DVD-version than it was on my old videotapes from the UK, e.g. “Throne for a Loss” was the second episode on my videotape, but on the US-DVD-version it’s now the fourth episode. I had no idea that the order of the episodes varies from country to country . Well, to be fair, there are just a few episodes in a different order and since I know the show I can tell that it doesn’t matter so much. Still, I was a bit surprised.

I don't know this for sure, but from what I've read in the Farscape complete season books, the episodes in the current release are in production order. Claudia Black is qouted as saying she thought the aired order screwed up her early character arc, and was disapointed by that. From what I noticed lookingat my DVD's, the episodes as presented in the present release restored this. She didn't say that exactly, it's what I noticed from comparing the 2 lists.

[Trent Roman]

Finished the second season the other night. I really enjoyed the final arc with the Shadow Depository and the cliffhanger; I hope we see that sadistic arachnid lady again. That said, while I enjoy the arc-based episodes, I'm finding myself ever more disinterested in the rest; I'm particularly tired of episodes where the crew are crazy or stoned or some such. Seeing characters acting out of character can be interesting, but first you need to have a baseline, and these characters seem to spend half their time under some form of psychosis, and even when 'sane' characterization tends to be scattered (Zhaan has been all over the place). Too, I simply prefer rational actors and motivations, which I think is part of why I really prefer things like the Princess and Shadow Depository arc, which are all about competing interests; poeple being crazy for the sake of crazy is beginning to feel cheap. I'll go on to the third season, in part because the cliffhanger really has me hooked, in part because there's really nothing better on, but I just can't seem to get as enthused about this series as many people seem to be; despite having the discs on hand, it tends to be rather low on my list of priorities, so definately not the compulsive viewing experience others get.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

[Kegg]

Trent Roman wrote:

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Seeing characters acting out of character can be interesting, but first you need to have a baseline, and these characters seem to spend half their time under some form of psychosis, and even when 'sane' characterization tends to be scattered (Zhaan has been all over the place).

Yeah they dropped the ball on Zhaan, as I like to opine. They clearly weren't too clear on where her losing faith arc was going, so it went everywhere in scattershot order.

The thing is, the crazy episodes are really supposed to be, er, fun, rather than interesting. One either finds the manic energy funny or they don't - not that I always do, I find "Out of Their Minds" (the mind-swap episode), a fan favourite, overrated for precisely this reason- isn't as funny as it could have been and is mostly content, in good old fashioned Farscape style, with body part and vomit jokes.

"Won't Get Fooled Again", on the other hand (the one with the Scarrans screwing with Crichton's head) is one of the very best examples of what I mean. Yeah, there's a story there, sort of, but mostly it's just twisty fun.

[Skywalker]

Just watched "Crackers Don't Matter" recently, after not having seen it in years. Still hilarious.

[Trent Roman]

>Bump<

Finished Season 3 the other night, and I have to say, this is more like what I was expecting when I hear people sing the praises of this series, tightly-plotted and emotionally affecting. From the get-go, they get rid of the irritating soap opera with D'Argo and Chiana and gave Zhaan a touching send-off (I know the actress couldn't play the role anymore). I like that they expanded the cast (I'm a sucker for large casts) not only to replace Zhaan but reconnect with Crais and Talyn and have them share center stage with the rest of the crew. I loved the whole split-crew thing, the clever use of the duplicate to keep the protagonist anchored in both, and how it created new character dynamics--particularly on Talyn. In fact, I'd say the Talyn episodes and the final arc are the highlight of the season; by contrast, the episodes aboard Moya seemed to be spinning their wheels somewhat, waiting for the real story to get back to them. Meanwhile, we get more of those episodes that seem like they were written--and now filmed!--with everybody on crack. One show in particular, the extended Looney Tunes parody, was a real test of willpower not to press the fastforward button or pop the DVD out altogether. (Other points of irritation would include Stark suddenly vanishing again off-camera and that old, three-eyed alien showing up out of nowhere in the finale.) Plot-wise, I love that they're really getting stuck-in with the overall astropolitical landscape of the setting, expanding on the Scarrans and the looming conflict with the Peacekeepers. It generates great ambiguity in terms of what the heroes should be doing, well-demonstated in the final arc, and the tension between preventing Scorpius from acquiring wormhole technology on the one hand and the awareness of the threat the Scarrans represent on the other. On that note, I liked that the destruction of the command carrier played up the panic and tragedy, rather than making it seem like a victory.

It was strong, too, character-wise. The obvious thing is Aeryn and Crichton--after two seasons of dancing around the obvious, the relationship is finally consummated, only for the whole thing to go to hell when that Crichton dies. I find irritation the tendecy a lot of series have to infinitely defer fulfilling sexual tensions, particularly when the devices used are so patently artificial (and I include this show's first two seasons in there), but this is just the kind of fucked-up situation that makes the block perfectly understandable, that lets you feel the characters' pain and longing. After two seasons of being an afterthought, Rygel finally acquires some depth of character and usefulness to the plot, able to parlay his duplicity and officiousness into advantages, and not being such an asshole 24/7; he has good scenes with Aeryn, when he encounters the female of his species, and just last night I quite liked his final tribute to Talyn. I finally stopping thinking of him as 'the fucking puppet'. Wasn't quite sure about Jewel at first--perhaps not the best idea to introduce a character as useless and abrasive--but she grew on me as the season went on: when done right, she replaced Crichton's early role as the fish-out-of-water, showcasing the pain and fear of isolation on an alien ship full of strangers. The sisterly bond she develops with Chiana (alternatively at each others' throats or supporting each other in difficulty) was a good development. Stark, well... I don't think he's much of character, despite attempts to flesh him out with romantic interests--mostly, he just behaves to varying degrees of crazy. I think I preferred him in the final arc of Season 2, resentful and not entirely trustworthy. On that note, I think that they recovered well from Crais' not particularly well developed change of heart in the first season, balancing his usefulness, longings and regrets on one hand, and the feeling that you're never quite sure whose side he's on until the end on the other.

This show has finally gone from something I was watching mostly out of curiosity and because there's precious little else on, to something I'm looking forward to seeing. I'll rent Season 4 soon--if only to resolve the cliffhanger (whatever else I might say about this show, it always knows how to end its seasons on high notes). I'm glad the next instalment is just a video store away--must have been torturous waiting months to see what happens next in the first-run.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

[RoJoHen]

My only real comment is that Stark is a much deeper character than he appears on first viewing. He's actually my favorite character of the entire show; there is a subtlety beneath his craziness that you don't really get until you've seen the show a few times through (and learn more about his backstory).

[Michael Chris]

Yeah, Stark is one of my favorite characters. Not just in Farscape!