Exploring the Uncharted Territories: A Farscape Viewing Experience

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by PsychoPere, Dec 22, 2010.

  1. Bonzo the Fifth

    Bonzo the Fifth Commander Red Shirt

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    Those are very astute questions. Can't answer any of them without spoiling, though, but I will say you will get an answer.

    Yeah, Rygel ends up coming off rather well this season. You'll have quite a bit more respect for the little guy by the end of this season.

    The episode structure gets a bit varied this season, since we basically bounce back and forth between Moya-episodes and Talyn episodes... The Talyn ones tend to be a lot more dark and straight space opera-ey, while most of your lighter, 'classic' (as in more like Season 1-2 Farscape), and experimental episodes tend to be the Moya ones. People tend to have a preference for one or the other, which can get frustrating when you have to wait for alternating episodes to get to your favorite group (at least until they reintegrate later on). Personally, I prefer the Moya eps, since they tend to be more fun. The Talyn episodes are certainly compelling and interesting, but the heaviness of them can be a bit wearying for me after a while... not to mention the Talyn episodes contain the absolutely excreable 'Meltdown', the only episode I personally can't stand to re-watch (which is too bad because there's definitely a few things in it worth seeing, if you know what I mean... the rest of it's just THAT bad).
     
  2. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Worse, Japan.

    Touché.

    You have no idea. :lol:
     
  3. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Yeah, I know. I'll probably slow down in a bit, though. That was just a good way to jumpstart my rewatch.

    Currently on "A Human Reaction."
     
  4. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I've been caught up with this thread to the point where I've been watching Farscape lately (Doing a Farscape and TNG rewatch simultaneously). Tonight I saw That Old Black Magic, one of the better episodes of Season 1. Always fun to see Chrichton and Crais go at it.
     
  5. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    I almost wish Maldis had become a bigger villain over the course of the series. He had some interesting potential, but he definitely wouldn't have made any sense in Season 3 or 4, especially without Zhaan around.

    There is one episode in Season 4, though (I believe it's "John Quixote") where a bunch of crazy shit is going on and somebody asks who is responsible, and Crichton says under his breath: "With our luck? Maldis."

    I love the little things that the show remembers about itself.
     
  6. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Farscape did pretty well when it came to internal continuity. That is something I will look out for on this rewatch as I can't remember any other of those small bits.

    As for Maldis, I'm not sure what else they could have done with him, especially with Scorpius being introduced. Maybe one more episode but after that, he might have lost a bit of luster.
     
  7. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I just happened to watch the second episode with Maldis. He is nuts. This is such a fun show, too bad it never got a season 5. I love how the show has stand alone episodes that build unto itself.
     
  8. Bonzo the Fifth

    Bonzo the Fifth Commander Red Shirt

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    Well, the thing that made Maldis work as a villain is that, until the introduction of Harvey, he was the only Farscape baddie that actually 'understood' John Chrichton's general brand of pop culture insanity and could throw it right back at him, by virtue of having literally been inside of his head... not in necessarily throwing the pop culture back at John, but by being completely unfazed by the delivery and being able to bring off a few cutting one-liners, which are usually John's weapon of choice...

    By Season 3, though, we have Harvey, who served much of the same function, and had the benefit of being able to lob the pop culture grenades just as deftly as John himself... by that point, and with Zhann being dead, Maldis really didn't have a narrative niche to fill anymore...
     
  9. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    Now, wouldn't that be amusing?


    Incubator
    - This really does seem like an ambitious season so far. We've got the crew split between Talyn and Moya, each with their own Crichton, and the show takes the time to follow Scorpy's activities, with a third Crichton! (even if he doesn't have a body)

    - Along those ambitious lines Head-Crichton is an ingenious method for delving into Scorpy's personal history. It's one horrific history, too. The willingness of the PKs to take in Scorpy, considering what we know about PK feelings towards interspecies coupling (D'Argo, LoLaan, and Jothee, for example), also paints that organization in a different light than we normally see.

    - Moya & Pilot don't disregard the crew's wishes often, and rarely in matters not related to Talyn, but I do appreciate those moments where the pair does, reminding the audience that Moya is a living creature with her own mind and opinions.

    - Good episode. It was very interesting to see Scorpy's backstory played out. Considering how much of it was spent on Scorpy's ship, as opposed to Moya, I assume that means Scorpy will probably be used sparingly now until "big" episodes hit.


    Meltdown
    - I really liked the way the apparent flashback ended, with Crais "breaking out" of the flashback and addressing Crichton directly from within it. Nice little bit of editing and presentation there.

    - This episode rather sucked. I really don't want to spend any more time thinking about it.


    10 episodes to go until season four...
     
  10. Bonzo the Fifth

    Bonzo the Fifth Commander Red Shirt

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    Yep, warned you... no worries, I think we can all agree that this is the last 'bad' episode of the series. From here on out, they're pretty solid. Of course, there are some iffy ones (especially some of the initial offerings in Season 4), but 'Meltdown' is the only one that I would call outright awful, if for no other reason that the completely bizarre bit with Stark in Talyn's Pilot set, which Talyn isn't supposed to have to begin with...

    *grumble*
     
  11. Bonzo the Fifth

    Bonzo the Fifth Commander Red Shirt

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    Yeah, 'Incubator' is a good ep. Does a really good job of giving Scorpius a sympathetic backstory while taking away nothing from his sheer badassery.

    As for 'big' episodes, yes, and no... that's the beauty of having Harvey as a character... gives us a lot of Scorpy goodness without causing him to decay as a character... but no worries, you'll get plenty of the real deal before the end of the season... :-D

    I might recommend that you watch 'Scratch and Sniff' separately from the following 2-parter. They differ a lot in tone, and Scratch n Sniff is a pretty damn funny episode, IMO and deserves to be enjoyed...
     
  12. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    I swear I must be the only person who actually enjoys "Meltdown."
     
  13. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Back in Season 1 Crais says that Talyn can support a Pilot, but he simply doesn't need one to operate, so Talyn having an unused Pilot chamber is perfectly fine.

    I actually enjoy "Meltdown." I've never understood the hate it receives.
     
  14. label

    label Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I don't hate it.........can't say as I actually enjoy much of it, but I certainly don't hate it. Really only "hate" one episode....Taking the Stone. I always skip that one on rewatches.
     
  15. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    I dozed off in the middle of "The Hidden Memory" last night. I was exhausted from not really sleeping the night before. One minute they were running around the Gammak Base, the next minute I was staring at the DVD menu screen. Lame.
     
  16. Bonzo the Fifth

    Bonzo the Fifth Commander Red Shirt

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    Even so, Stark isn't one of the Pilot species, and you would think such an intimate bonding would be a bit more... permanent than what we saw (Pilot can't even separate from Moya without dying). It does give one reason to wonder the differences, advantages and disadvantages of this as opposed to the Hand of Friendship.
     
  17. Daneel

    Daneel Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Thought I'd pop in this thread, as I too am watching Farscape for the very first time right now. I'm mostly watching it while at work (it's a front desk job, and there's often f**k all to do, especially during the night shifts, so I can usually get several episodes done before I go home). After listening to people on this board rave about the show for years, my interest was piqued. I found the complete series DVD set on sale a few weeks ago, and decided to see what I was missing.

    Last weekend, I blew through Season 1, and now I'm on Season 2 -- just finished "My Three Crichtons". Up next, the "Look at the Princess" trilogy.

    So far, I would say I like it... but I don't love it. Given all the hype, I was kind of expecting to be blown away, but a lot of the episodes so far have felt like standalone filler. Which isn't necessarily bad --it's still quite entertaining-- but I'm hoping for more.

    Fortunately, I'm a patient man, and I'm getting the sense that the series is about to kick it into high gear very soon. I've seen some hints of greatness in some of the episodes; I was impressed with a number of them near the end of Season 1 (the "Nerve"/"The Hidden Memory" two-parter pretty much had me hooked), and "The Way We Weren't" in this season showed me what this show is capable of. If I get more stuff like this, I'll be a happy camper indeed.

    Another thing I've liked is how all the characters are very flawed, quirky, and interesting. Crichton's got the "everyman hero" routine down pat, and while his headstrong nature can be irksome at times, it does help keep things lively (and I can just imagine how frustrated the other characters are by his constant pop-culture references that never make any sense to them :lol:). The evolution of characters like Aeryn and D'argo has worked well so far. Zhaan is always interesting to watch -- and for a bald, blue, walking plant, she's actually rather alluring (speaking of which, why doesn't she have hair? The other female Delvians we've seen did). Rygel is always amusing, although I've occasionally wondered why they just don't toss him off the ship (he really seems to be more trouble than he's worth at times). Chiana -- she's a slippery one. I like her. Sometimes she seems to genuinely want to help out and be a part of the crew, and other times it appears she's just looking out for number one. You're never quite sure what's going on in that head of hers.

    So yeah, I'll probably get through a few more episodes tonight; I'm looking forward to it. Anyway, as you were. :)
     
  18. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    "Nerve/The Hidden Memory" in Season 1 is where the big arc is introduced, but it also takes a break in the beginning of Season 2. I'd say the "Look at the Princess" trilogy is where it starts to pick up again, and then most of the show tends to center around it. You start getting more and more arc-related episodes and fewer standalones.
     
  19. LitmusDragon

    LitmusDragon Commodore Commodore

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    Re: Daneel

    ^ Glad you like it. :techman: It's not my absolute favorite sci-fi series either but it's in the top 5 for sure. You still have a lot of great episodes to get through. Season 3 is probably the best season.
     
  20. T J

    T J Commodore Commodore

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    Just finished the series for the 1st time. Since I'm still digesting I'll simply say... interesting. A little hard to get into... it picked up. All in all it was pretty good. My starving Sci-fi soul needed something, anything sci-fi. I'm now full. :)