Farscape is an
Australian-American
science fiction television
series filmed in Australia and produced for the Nine Network then for later seasons Sci-Fi Channel. The
series was conceived by
Rockne S.
O'Bannon and produced by
Jim Henson Productions and
Hallmark Entertainment.
The Jim Henson Company was largely
responsible for the various alien makeup and prosthetics, and two
regular characters (the animatronic puppets Rygel and Pilot) are
entirely
Creature Shop
creations.
Although the series was under contract for five seasons, it was
abruptly canceled after production had ended on its fourth season,
effectively ending the series on a cliffhanger. Co-producer
Brian Henson later secured the rights
to
Farscape, paving the way for a three-hour miniseries
entitled
Farscape:
The Peacekeeper Wars, which Henson himself directed. New
webisodes have been announced, but
production has been repeatedly put on hold. A comic book miniseries
was released in December 2008 that was in the continuity with both
the series and the hoped-for webisodes.
Plot
Farscape features a widely diverse and
eclectic ensemble of characters who are all escaping from corrupt
authorities called Peacekeepers. The protagonists live inside a
giant space-dwelling creature named
Moya, which serves as their
ship. In the first episode, they are joined by the main character,
John Crichton (
Ben Browder), a
modern-day American astronaut who accidentally flew into the
entrance of a
wormhole near Earth. On the
same day, another stranger is picked up by Moya: a stranded
Peacekeeper named Aeryn Sun (
Claudia
Black) who appears human. Despite his best intentions,
John does make a
few major enemies; the primary of these is known as
Scorpius. There are a
few stand-alone plots, but the show centers on the unfolding events
surrounding John's battle against Scorpius, John's special
abilities with wormholes, and on another front, his relationship
(or lack thereof) with
Aeryn.
Production
Farscape first ran on Australian TV
Channel Nine Network and the Canadian
YTV channel , then in the U.S. on the Sci-Fi Channel. The
series was originally conceived in the early 1990s by
Rockne S. O'Bannon and
Brian Henson under the title
Space
Chase. The series is told in a
serialized format, with each
episode involving a self-contained story while contributing to a
larger
storyline.
Nearly the entire cast
originates from Australia and New Zealand
, with the exception of Ben Browder, who is an
American actor.
Farscape's characters frequently make use of
Bowdlerized slang such as "frell" and "dren"
as a substitute for
English
expletives.
Cast
Main characters
- John Crichton
(Ben Browder), an
astronaut from present-day Earth. At the
start of the series, a test flight involving an experimental
spacecraft goes awry,
propelling Crichton through a wormhole to a
distant part of the universe. He quickly runs afoul of the
Peacekeepers and is recovered by the crew of Moya, a living ship
which is the main setting for Farscape.
- Aeryn Sun
(Claudia Black), a
renegade Peacekeeper officer.
At the start of the series, she is stripped of her rank and marked
for death after protecting Crichton. Trained as a soldier since
birth, she initially lacks any emotions or empathy. Her severance
from the Peacekeepers allows Aeryn to rediscover her compassionate
nature.
- Ka D'Argo
(Anthony Simcoe), an
ill-tempered Luxan warrior of impressive stature. He was imprisoned
by the Peacekeepers for killing his wife, a crime for which he was
falsely convicted. He carries a weapon called the Qualta Blade, a
broadsword capable of transforming into a
rifle.
- Pa'u Zotoh
Zhaan (Virginia
Hey), a bald, blue-skinned female who belongs to a
plant-like species, named Delvians. Once a Priestess of her
religious order, Zhaan murdered her lover after discovering he was
a Peacekeeper collaborator. Regarded as an anarchist by her captors, she was jailed along
with D'Argo and Rygel. Like other members of her species, Zhaan is
a telepath; she can share "unity" with
other beings (two minds in one body, they can share thoughts,
sensations...) and also, as a Pa'u, she is able to share pain with
another being.
- Dominar Rygel
XVI (voiced by Jonathan Hardy), a diminutive
creature who was once ruler of the Hynerian Empire. He was deposed by his treacherous cousin and
handed over to the Peacekeepers. Despite his size, he is quite
arrogant and provides a source of comic
relief. Rygel is one of two puppet characters who regularly
appear on Farscape. When nervous, Rygel farts helium—often
causing his annoyed crew mates to complain in high-pitched
voices.
- Chiana
(Gigi Edgley), a
mercurial thief and con artist. She is a
Nebari, a grey-skinned species whose society
is heavily-regimented by a governmental body called "The
Establishment". Chiana's rebellious nature made her a leading
candidate for reprogramming
(euphemistically known as "cleansing").
- Pilot (voiced
by Lani Tupu), a
multi-limbed creature who acts as the ship's pilot. He is
biologically connected to Moya's nervous system and also serves as
her voice to the crew. Pilot is portrayed by an animatronic
puppet.
Recurring characters
The initial antagonist of the series is
Bialar Crais (
Lani
Tupu), a Peacekeeper Captain who relentlessly hunts Moya and
its crew. He is driven by the death of his brother, a pilot who
accidentally collided into Crichton's ship when it exited the
wormhole. At the end of the first season, Crais is usurped by
Scorpius (
Wayne Pygram), a rival commander of the
Peacekeeper force. Scorpius is a
hybrid created from the DNA of a human-like
Sebacean and a reptilian Scarran. He is obsessed with extracting
the secret of wormhole technology from Crichton.
As the series progressed, a revolving cast of characters joined the
crew of Moya. During the first season, the crew is joined by
Stark (
Paul Goddard), a member of the Banik
species. Stark has the power to ease the pain and suffering of
others, traits which make him a highly-sought test subject for the
Peacekeepers.
Jool (
Tammy MacIntosh) is an orange-haired
academic who appears sporadically throughout seasons three and
four. When frightened or enraged, her hair becomes red. Her screams
can melt metal.
Noranti (
Melissa Jaffer) is an elderly, three-eyed
alien and a skilled
herbalist. At 293
years old, she occasionally appears to be senile and falls asleep
at inconvenient times. Captain
Meeklo Braca
(
David Franklin) usually
serves as a subordinate to most of the series' villains, feigning
obedience as he steadily rises up the ranks.
In the third season, a new antagonist arrives in the form of
Commandant
Grayza (
Rebecca Riggs), a manipulative Peacekeeper who
aims to put an end to Scorpius' wormhole research. Ruthless and
ambitious, she has a gland implanted in her chest that secretes a
substance which bends men to her will.
Sikozu
(
Raelee Hill) is a brilliant Kalish
woman who joins the crew at the beginning of the fourth season.
Hard-edged and dangerous, she gradually allies herself with
Scorpius.
Plots
John Crichton is an IASA
(International Aeronautics and Space Administration) astronaut
working on an experimental project dubbed "
Farscape". During a test flight above Earth's
orbit, a
wormhole suddenly appears, hurling
John to a distant part of the universe. Upon his exit, Crichton's
space module clips another craft, a fighter, which then spins out
of control and hits a nearby
asteroid,
killing the fighter's pilot. Crichton is set adrift, but is noticed
by and rescued by a large nearby ship, named
Moya, which has been hijacked by escaped
convicts of various alien species. Early on, the crew must contend
with a belligerent regime known as the Peacekeepers. Originally set
up as a law enforcement agency, by the start of the series they
have degenerated into a
mercenary
force.
In the premiere episode, they are pursued by Officer
Aeryn Sun, a Peacekeeper
commando sent to recapture Moya. During the chase,
Aeryn's ship is caught up in the wake of Moya's propulsion system
and she is taken captive. After Aeryn is bought aboard, it is
discovered that the pilot who hit Crichton's ship was Tauvo Crais,
brother of the Peacekeeper Captain
Bialar
Crais. Shortly thereafter, the vengeful Bialar boards Moya,
promising to catch and dissect his brother's killer. When Aeryn
comes to Crichton's defense, Crais deems her "irreversibly
contaminated" from her contact with alien species. Stripped of her
rank and guaranteed the
death penalty
upon her return, Aeryn is forced to flee along with the rest of the
prisoners, providing the basis for a long-running story arc.
The first season episode "Nerve" marks the introduction of
Scorpius, a ruthless
Peacekeeper commander. A Peacekeeper/Scarran
hybrid, Scorpius must wear a protective
coolant suit at all times to prevent himself from overheating.
(This is due to the nature of his biological existence: his Scarran
genetics generate great amounts of heat, while his Sebacian side
has an overwhelming weakness to it, and can even die from it.) Upon
discovering that Crichton's brain is implanted with secrets of
wormhole technology, Scorpius vainly tries to extract it, only to
find that even Crichton cannot access it. Scorpius later usurps the
position of Bialar Crais, becoming the main antagonist for the
remainder of the series.
The love-hate relationship between Crichton and Aeryn features
prominently throughout each season. Aeryn, who was once considered
an exemplary soldier, has difficulty dealing with any emotions,
regarding them as "weakness". For his part, Crichton is torn
between his bond with Aeryn and his steadfast desire to return to
Earth. This dilemma is uniquely dealt with in the third season,
when an accident leaves Crichton "twinned" — effectively split into
two identical beings; neither can be definitively called a copy,
and are both equally John Crichton. When the crew is forced to
split up in order to mislead a Peacekeeper battalion, one Crichton
resumes his task of getting home, leaving the other Crichton
stranded with Aeryn. This proves to be an unhappy development after
Aeryn confesses her love to Crichton, only to watch him die keeping
wormhole technology from the Scarrans. Though the remaining
Crichton survives, the trauma of this event creates a rift between
himself and Aeryn.
Miniseries
Production of a four-hour
miniseries
began in December 2003, written by creator Rockne S. O'Bannon and
Executive Producer David Kemper and directed by Brian Henson. In
May 2004, the Sci-Fi Channel, now owned by
NBC Universal, announced that it would run a
two-episode conclusion titled
Farscape: The Peacekeeper
Wars that was intended to wrap up the Season Four
cliffhanger and additionally tie up some general elements of the
series. The miniseries first aired on Sunday October 17,
2004.
Henson refers to the four hours as episodes 4.23-4.26, though the
New South Wales Film Office refers to the production as a '2 x 2
hour telemovie.' Production of the miniseries ended in March 2004
and, in addition to the announced airing on the Sci-Fi Channel in
the U.S., was also scheduled to be broadcast in the UK on
Sky1 on January 16 and 23, 2005, and by
Five on March 8.
The Peacekeeper
Wars earned a 1.7 household
Nielsen
rating, drawing 1.96 million viewers and making the Sci Fi
channel the #1 non-sports cable network for people aged 25–54 and
18-49 for the time period over the two nights.. However, the
ratings were lower than those of most other SciFi Channel
miniseries, and not a significant improvement on the ratings that
got the series canceled in the first place.
Early fan speculation hoped that high
Nielsen Ratings for
The Peacekeeper
Wars miniseries would prove the viability of renewing the
series, but since the ratings were unexceptional, continuation as a
new weekly series has been ruled out. Brian Henson has stated on
many occasions that he would like to bring the
Farscape
saga to the big screen, but there has been no development on that
front for years.
In October 2005, Farscape entered
syndication in the U.S.,
airing on Superstation
WGN
and on a variety of local, cable, satellite and
broadcast affiliates, but vanished from syndication after about two
years.
Reception
Praise
Between 2000-2002,
Farscape won two
Saturn Awards for
Best
Syndicated/Cable TV Series and
Best TV Actor
(Browder). Additionally, in 1999, it received nominations for
Best TV
Actress (
Claudia Black as
former soldier
Aeryn Sun) and
Saturn
Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television (
Virginia Hey as the Delvian Priestess
Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan). In 2002, it received
nominations for
Best TV
Actress (
Claudia Black as
former soldier
Aeryn Sun) and
Best
Supporting TV Actor (
Anthony
Simcoe as the Luxan warrior
Ka D'Argo)
and
Best
Supporting TV Actress (
Gigi
Edgley as the Nebari rogue
Chiana).
On July 14, 2005,
Farscape: The Peacekeeper
Wars received an
Emmy Nomination
for "Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Miniseries, Movie Or
A Special." In 2007, over four years after its completion,
Farscape was named as #4 on
TV
Guide's list of "The 30 Top Cult Shows Ever".
Cancellation
In September 2002, the Sci-Fi Channel (then-owned by
Vivendi Universal) unexpectedly opted to
withdraw its funding of the fifth season,
canceling the show, just before
the fourth season was to air. While there was much fan criticism of
this decision, the Sci-Fi Channel concluded that the series was too
expensive to renew, as
ratings had
declined during the fourth season. Fans mounted a massive letter,
phone, and e-mail campaign, hoping to restore the show or transfer
it to another network. Early plans to scrap the sets after
production were postponed after news of the cancellation broke,
partly as a result of the fan campaign. The sets were instead put
in storage pending a possible future revival of the show.
Cartoonist
Bill Amend, creator of the
syndicated
comic strip FoxTrot, addressed the series' cancellation in
an October 8, 2002 strip wherein the character Jason Fox petitioned
to have the SciFi channel renew
Farscape. Soon after the
strip ran, Amend remarked that it "generated more e-mails from
readers than anything else I've done in the past. I had no idea
that so many people owned computers, even. I shudder to think what
the mail boxes at the Sci-Fi Channel must be like these
days."
Farscape's cancellation received considerable notice by
news media. Thanks to the attention generated by the fan campaign,
various financial backers in Europe offered their support to
Brian Henson, and in 2004,
The Jim Henson Company produced a
four-hour
mini-series to wrap up the
series storyline.
Stargate SG-1 parody
Following the series' cancellation,
Ben
Browder and
Claudia Black were
both cast as series regulars on
Stargate SG-1 during its final two
seasons. In the
200th episode,
Black's character
Vala Mal Doran
pitches an idea for a movie to a producer, who immediately
recognizes it as
The
Wizard of Oz. She then pitches a second idea the producer
recognizes as Gilligan's Island. He advises her that if she is
going to rip something off, it should be something more obscure.
This leads into a
parody of
Farscape, with Black reprising her role of Aeryn Sun, and
various
SG-1 characters dressed as D'Argo, Stark, Chiana,
and Rygel.
Daniel Jackson
(
Michael Shanks) stands in for John
Crichton, an
in-joke referencing the sexual
tension between Vala and Daniel on
SG-1. Shanks was
originally intended to play Stark, with Browder reprising the role
of Crichton, but the parts were switched the day before filming at
the behest of the actors. The scene also parodies the wide array of
invented
swear words used in the show.
When the scene switches back to the real world, the producer
replies that he has "no idea what that is", likely referring to
Farscape's relative obscurity. Coincidentally, the
announcement of
Stargate SG-1's own cancellation was made
shortly after this episode ran.
Multimedia
DVD releases
AD Vision originally issued
Farscape in volumes which they later combined into
box sets. Production of Season One box sets
was discontinued after the licensing rights were ceded to
Sony, who have chosen not to re-release. Due to the
prohibitive price of the completed sets, the series was later
re-released as individual volumes under the "Starburst Edition"
heading. The
Region 2 and
Region 4 box sets contain Seasons 1-4 as well as
the
Peacekeeper Wars television movie.
More recently,
A&E Network has
announced plans to release both the Farscape Complete Series
Collection and individual season boxed sets. The Complete Series
Collection is due out November 17 2009, and season sets are to be
released soon afterwards.
A&E Network announced that
Farscape: The Complete Series will be released in thinpack
packaging housed in a colorful space-saving packaging. On November
17, Farscape: The Complete Series as well as all four individual
seasons of Farscape will be released on the same day. Farscape The
Complete Series is being priced at $149.99 while Farscape Seasons
1-4 will be priced individually at $49.99.
Farscape The Complete Series: Cover Art, Pricing
and Release Dates
In addition, it was announced at
San Diego Comic-Con
International 2009 that Farscape Undressed, a Farscape special
that was created to catch fans up to events that previously
happened in Farscape, would be included with the release. However,
Farscape: The Peacekeeper
Wars would not be included since
Lions Gate Entertainment still
retains the rights to the mini series.
Farscape Comic Con Details
Other releases
In January 2008, seasons 1 and 2 were made available for download
through Apple's
iTunes Store for
customers in the United States. Season 3 was added in March 2008,
with Season 4 following in May. The episodes can be purchased
individually or as entire seasons.
Seasons One, Two, and Three are available to watch for free on
Netflix.
Webisodes
On July 15, 2007 it was announced that Farscape would return in ten
webisode installments. The episodes are
expected to be a few minutes long each and may eventually be
broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel. The webisodes were to have been
launched as early as fall 2007. In an interview with
TV Guide, Brian Henson stated that the
webisodes will be 3–6 minutes long and may feature
D'Argo
Sun-Crichton.
TV Guide also reported that
Ben Browder is in talks to appear in the
webisodes.
Sci-Fi Wire reported that
Brian Henson and Rockne O'Bannon would pen the episodes.
Several news sources have reported that the web series may lead to
an on-air revival of the series, but Sci Fi general manager
Dave Howe said that there were no plans to
revive the show. Brian Henson has stated that he hopes the
webisodes would lead to a TV sequel.
At the Burbank 2007
Farscape Convention in November 2007,
Rockne S. O'Bannon stated that the webisodes would
likely be released in 2008. Farscape star Ben Browder told SCI FI
Wire that he looked forward to reprising the role of astronaut John
Crichton in the webisodes. The
2008 writers'
strike put a damper on the plans, and Browder said that it was
too early to figure out to what extent he would be involved.
Browder said that he had a brief discussion with Henson about the
Web series at last year's
Comic-Con International in San
Diego:
At Comic Con 2008, Rockne O'Bannon announced that the ongoing
Farscape comic series would tie into the upcoming
webisodes. The first comic was scheduled for release in November
2008. On December 4, 2008, O'Bannon told
MTV
"There’s a new character that you’ll meet in the very first comic
book who ends up a significant player in the webisodes. Villain or
hero? I’m not saying!"
On 10 June 2009,
Maureen Ryan of the
Chicago Tribune announced
via
Twitter, "Farscape webisodes are 'still
in play.' they're still being developed but not yet at script
stage."
[10362]
At the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, Brian Henson stated that the
webisodes were "ready to go" but that they were still looking for
financing on the project.
At the 10th Anniversary Farscape Convention in Los Angeles, 2009,
Brian Henson again stated that they are still waiting for funding.
Ben Browder was asked how the fans could help with funding, and
said he wasn't sure what could be done.
Literature
Boxtree in the UK and
Tor Books in the U.S. published three
Farscape novels:
House of Cards by
Keith R.A. DeCandido,
Dark Side of the
Sun by
Andrew Dymond, and
Ghost Ship by
David
Bischoff. DeCandido was in talks to do a fourth novel, to be
published by Tor, but negotiations between Henson and Tor broke
down, and then the show was cancelled.
Scott Andrews'
Uncharted Territory: An Unauthorised and
Unofficial Guide To Farscape (Virgin Publishing 2002, ISBN
0-7535-0704-8) covered Farscape's first three seasons exhaustively.
Paul Simpson wrote
The Illustrated Farscape Companion
series for Titan Books, one book per season (Book 1 with David
Hughes; Books 2 and 3 with photographer Ruth Thomas) with exclusive
official content.
Jes Battis, author of
Blood Relations: Chosen Families in Buffy
the Vampire Slayer and Angel (McFarland & Company 2005,
ISBN 0-7864-2172-X), published the first book of critical essays on
Farscape in 2007 with
Investigating Farscape:
Uncharted Territories of Sex and Science Fiction (ISBN
1-8451-1342-X) through U.K. publisher I.B. Taurus. The book
examines
Farscape from a post-colonial, Marxist, gender
studies, and queer theory perspective.
The Creatures of Farscape: Inside Jim Henson's Creature
Shop, released in 2004, offered a colorful look inside the
famous creature shop that created the stunning array of creatures
and make up effects. Previously unseen and behind the scenes
images; it includes exclusive contributions from the show's stars
and make-up artists, and a foreword by executive producer Brian
Henson.
There is an
"Illustrated Companion" for each season 1-4, a
total of four, by Paul Simpson.
Farscape Forever!: Sex, Drugs and Killer Muppets released
September 28, 2005; in which Science fiction and fantasy authors
analyze every aspect of the innovative, action-packed, and always
surprising science fiction tv series in this innovative -
irreverent essay collection. Contributors include Martha Wells on
characters Crichton and D'Argo's buddy relationship, P. N. Elrod on
the villains she loves to hate, and Justina Robson on sex,
pleasure, and feminism. Topics range from a look at how Moya was
designed and an examination of vulgarity and bodily functions to a
tourist's budget guide to the
Farscape universe. Included
is an "expert's" advice to the Peacekeepers who, despite their
viciousness, yet never quite seem to pull it off.
Shortly after season 3 began airing,
Titan Magazines released a
Farscape
magazine. Available bi-monthly, the magazine ran from its April/May
2001 issue through to its 12th issue, April/May 2003. The magazine
had a lot of in-depth material, including interviews with the cast
and crew, behind the scenes information on many episodes, original
fiction (by O'Bannon, DeCandido,
Greg Cox,
John Kenneth Muir, and others),
and a regular column by David Kemper. There were two versions of
the magazine produced each issue, with the only difference being
the front cover, and the magazine also had two special issues - a
season 3 special (issue 7), and the final issue (issue 12)
containing an episode guide for the four seasons to date, as well
as sketches for ideas and the
Horizons fiction.
"Horizons" fiction
In the final issue of its run, the
Farscape magazine
published a piece of fiction written by series creator
Rockne S. O'Bannon. Set a long time after the end
of the fourth season, this details some of the adventures the Moya
crew has had since and what has happened to them all. Since
"Horizons" was written before the
Peacekeeper Wars miniseries, there are
some plot inconsistencies between the two, which could be resolved
at some later stage.
Comics
During 2002,
Wildstorm
Productions produced a two-part
Farscape comic
entitled "War Torn", with the first part available in April and the
second in May. The comics featured two stories, each spanning both
issues. "War Torn", the main story, featured the Moya crew becoming
ensnared in a war between two planets over a third, and took up
roughly three quarters of the comic. "The Forth Horseman -
featuring Chiana" was a Chiana-only story as she came across old
friends and foes on the run from the Nebari. Both stories seem to
have been set during Season 2. The second issue also included a
double-page spread of some of the preliminary sketches.
Farscape returned to the comic form in 2008 through a
partnership between The Jim Henson Company and
BOOM! Studios.
BOOM! is publishing several four-issue mini-series that will expand
and explore the
Farscape universe, which will later be
collected into trade paperbacks, under the direct supervision of
series creator Rockne S. O'Bannon. The first two miniseries,
The Beginning of the End of the Beginning (first issue on
sale December 24, 2008) and
Strange Detractors (first
issue scheduled for March 2009) are written by O'Bannon and
Keith R.A. DeCandido, author of the
Farscape novel
House of Cards. Art is by Tommy
Patterson for the first miniseries, Will Sliney for the second. The
third miniseries,
D'Argo's Lament (set during the events
of Season 3) is being published concurrently with
Strange
Detractors. Two further miniseries have been announced:
Gone And Back (starting in July 2009) and
D'Argo's
Trial (starting in August 2009). As well as the main titles,
BOOM! are also publishing the scripts of these stories
separately.
Games
A video game based on the television series was produced by Red
Lemon Studios and released mid-2002 for the
personal computer. Set during the first
season, the game featured voice acting by the original cast of the
television series. Reviews of the game, however, were generally
negative, with many reviewers citing poor
gameplay mechanics.
A
Farscape table-top
role-playing game was released by
Alderac Entertainment Group in
2002. It uses the
d20 System and includes
creatures not appearing in the established television universe. The
game also features an original short story by Keith R. A. DeCandido
set after the second season. The game was nominated for
ENnie awards for
Best Graphic Design and
Layout and
Best d20 Game in
2003.
See also
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