I always knew. In fact, I talked to Lani Tupu about it when I met him. Very interesting how he did Pilot's voice, and remarkably very much in tune with how his character is. Such a difference between the voices of Pilot and Crais that unless you see the credits at the end, you really couldn't tell.
Rewatching Farscape...
- Thread starter Dar70
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I knew but that was something I got from Farscape the magazine.
What was he like?
Did he (or anyone on the show) ever say why Pilot sounded so different in the PKW movie?
Lani Tupu is a very funny guy. Great with fans, loads of fun. Kind of guy you can go out and have a few beers with. Really laid back. He loves his Hawaiian pattern shirts for sure... each time I saw him, he had a different one on. lol
(Every cast member of the show I've met has been a blast. Gigi Edgley, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Rebecca Riggs, Wayne Pygram, Paul Goddard, David Franklin... every single one I've ever encountered have all been among my favorite experiences in meeting actors/actresses. I've noticed this trait with every single Australian or New Zealander I've ever met, whether it's actors or just regular people. Always having a great sense of humor, loads of fun, never take anything too seriously. Folks you can just have fun with and not worry about saying the wrong thing.)
I've had the feeling for many years that filming FARSCAPE in Australia was the perfect choice. I'm convinced it wouldn't have been quite as good anywhere else.
If I remember correctly, it was because the sound devices and settings for the series was already gone, so they had to recreate it from scratch.
I just finished watching for the first time, having bought the 20th anniversary blu ray set a couple years on the recommendation of, well, every other sci-fi fan I’ve known since 1999. I only got cable right as Skiffy was shifting from being the Farscape station to the SG-1 station, so up until now, I’d only seen three scenes of the show:
The last act of “Bad Timing” (which, with the rowboat and all, had big “A man crying about a chicken and a baby? I thought this was a comedy show” energy compared to everything I heard), and a couple scenes of the Peacekeeper Wars (Chiana getting turned on when the monk opened his head, and Ayren pulling her gun on Rygel and being reminded he had the baby), which convinced me this wasn’t really the kind of show I could just jump in to. I’ve been reading along with the old retro-reviews on the A/V Club for lack of anyone to talk about the show with. I’m going to check out the post-finale comics, next, so I’m well on my way to Farscape completionism.
So, quick overall thoughts. Appropriately enough, considering I know Black and Browder from SG-1, the last two seasons felt kind of like the show mutated into its own spin-off with the changes in cast, format, and music. I did miss Zhann, I’d heard a lot in the AVC comments alluding to her makeup problems, but I was expecting her to have an appearance change or formally become a recurring character or something, so her death really surprised me. On the other hand, she didn’t have much to do aside from be ship’s mom after Chiana showed up and absorbed most of her sex-positivity and capacity for violence (which probably also had something to do with her makeup, I noticed she was wearing a lot more neck-to-wrist shirts in season 2). After an extremely rough first half-season, I think Noranti did start to bring back some of the Zhann-ness that was missing, so I suppose it’s only natural she’d also have to quit for makeup reasons.
Still, there’s the most pressing topic I’ve wanted to discuss, since the first couple episodes of the show, to the point where I googled to see if anyone had a good answer, and was shocked it didn’t seem to have been discussed; Is Rygel a chaos-muppet or an order-muppet? His royal background, imperiousness, and elaborate scheming point to order-muppet, but his gluttony, helium-farts, and half-assed spur-of-the-moment scheming (exemplified by his under-considered attempt to sell out to Scorpius at the end of the first season) are the traits of a chaos-muppet.
Pilot, of course, is the prototypical order-muppet, with the possible exception of that time he cackled gleefully as he ejected a terrorist into space.
The last act of “Bad Timing” (which, with the rowboat and all, had big “A man crying about a chicken and a baby? I thought this was a comedy show” energy compared to everything I heard), and a couple scenes of the Peacekeeper Wars (Chiana getting turned on when the monk opened his head, and Ayren pulling her gun on Rygel and being reminded he had the baby), which convinced me this wasn’t really the kind of show I could just jump in to. I’ve been reading along with the old retro-reviews on the A/V Club for lack of anyone to talk about the show with. I’m going to check out the post-finale comics, next, so I’m well on my way to Farscape completionism.
So, quick overall thoughts. Appropriately enough, considering I know Black and Browder from SG-1, the last two seasons felt kind of like the show mutated into its own spin-off with the changes in cast, format, and music. I did miss Zhann, I’d heard a lot in the AVC comments alluding to her makeup problems, but I was expecting her to have an appearance change or formally become a recurring character or something, so her death really surprised me. On the other hand, she didn’t have much to do aside from be ship’s mom after Chiana showed up and absorbed most of her sex-positivity and capacity for violence (which probably also had something to do with her makeup, I noticed she was wearing a lot more neck-to-wrist shirts in season 2). After an extremely rough first half-season, I think Noranti did start to bring back some of the Zhann-ness that was missing, so I suppose it’s only natural she’d also have to quit for makeup reasons.
Still, there’s the most pressing topic I’ve wanted to discuss, since the first couple episodes of the show, to the point where I googled to see if anyone had a good answer, and was shocked it didn’t seem to have been discussed; Is Rygel a chaos-muppet or an order-muppet? His royal background, imperiousness, and elaborate scheming point to order-muppet, but his gluttony, helium-farts, and half-assed spur-of-the-moment scheming (exemplified by his under-considered attempt to sell out to Scorpius at the end of the first season) are the traits of a chaos-muppet.
Pilot, of course, is the prototypical order-muppet, with the possible exception of that time he cackled gleefully as he ejected a terrorist into space.
The actress that played Noranti didn't quit, she was in it all the way up to PK Wars, and the character even continued into the comics.
The talk about Lani Tupu reminded me of something I've always wondered about him voicing Pilot. Was that all natural or did they alter his voice some in post? I've always been amazed by how different his Pilot voice is from his Crais voice, which I've always assumed was his natural voice.
The talk about Lani Tupu reminded me of something I've always wondered about him voicing Pilot. Was that all natural or did they alter his voice some in post? I've always been amazed by how different his Pilot voice is from his Crais voice, which I've always assumed was his natural voice.
Lani Tupu is a fairly soft spoken man. At least he was when I talked to him and during his panels. Yes, he raised the timber of his voice a bit for Pilot (his words), but there was some use of sound equipment and settings that gave it a final touch.
When he talked as Crais, he added more bass to his voice to reflect the soldier upbringing of a Peacekeeper.
What I always found interesting was that after he became linked with Talyn, his voice as Crais was a little softer, more controlled. It reflected the soldier in Crais, but was somewhat subdued as if he was a Pilot for Talyn.
Rewatch him as Crais in season 1 and before he links with Talyn in "Mind the Baby" and compare it to his voice in later appearances, and you'll hear what I mean.
When he talked as Crais, he added more bass to his voice to reflect the soldier upbringing of a Peacekeeper.
What I always found interesting was that after he became linked with Talyn, his voice as Crais was a little softer, more controlled. It reflected the soldier in Crais, but was somewhat subdued as if he was a Pilot for Talyn.
Rewatch him as Crais in season 1 and before he links with Talyn in "Mind the Baby" and compare it to his voice in later appearances, and you'll hear what I mean.
I read that she had a reaction to the makeup during filming PK Wars (it was different than what was used in the series proper), and that’s why she stayed on the water planet rather than leaving with Moya at the beginning (she had been scripted to remain with the crew the whole time), and was only seen in quick cuts in the second half of the miniseries, because the character was being played by a stand-in with her voice dubbed over for those scenes in the war-zone.
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I think Crais is probably one of the more interesting characters in Farscape, and seeing him brought so low by Scorpius, as well as watching Scorpius undone by the same obsessive nature like Crais was an interesting turn. I think Crais has one of the better arcs in the series. A credit to Tupu and his performance.
I would personally say performances, plural. Pilot was not only an essential part of the crew, but for the series. Pilot never felt like a puppet or fake, and that's not just a credit to the people who were on stage as Pilot, but to Lani as well.
FARSCAPE was that incredibly rare show where everything just came together perfectly. It's hard to imagine it's like will ever be gracing the screen again.
FARSCAPE was that incredibly rare show where everything just came together perfectly. It's hard to imagine it's like will ever be gracing the screen again.
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I had already complimented Pilot but will do so again
Pilot and Crais are interesting stories that are two sides of the same coin of the struggles with service and ambition and how it can impact a person's life.
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