I was a featured extra in an episode of Farscape .. a two week shoot ... wearing white contact lenses (no pupils) ... a conceptual artist fresh out of film school I went on to work with the Henson team, designing and building the FX ... the animatronics and creature design and modelling were second to none, using some state of the art materials and technology purchased from none other than NASA ... pilot Moya (the face of moya) was never seen in a shot with an actor ... so the impression was that pilot Moya was human sized ... The animatronic head was actually gigantic, filling a sound stage ... I always thought it was a shame she was not depicted on screen as gigantic as she actually was ... she was truly awesome and spectacular to behold. During the filming of the series the Henson team was based at Fox Studios Sydney, which was housed in the the old Dog Pavilion (Fox Studios Sydney was built on the beautifully restored historic site of the original Sydney Showgrounds) ... Thank you for a heart-warming trip down memory lane❣
Pilot was in many, many scenes with human actors. The one where Moya was trapped in starburst, when Pilot had his/her/its arm removed, etc. Yes, Pilot was big.
The episode where they switch bodies and have to act as their character acting as a different character is mind-blowing and a good showcase of everyone's talent
Farscape is not the most underrated show of all time, because it's generally revered among the people who have watched the whole series. However it is the best unseen show that most people will write off as a cheesy TV show, such a shame. I consider Farscape to be one of the top 5 best TV shows ever.
And it proves that you can make a scifi without focusing on pushing politically correct agendas. It was just good story telling, no preaching, no white guilt shaming, no toxic masculinity tropes, just a compelling story with great actors and beautifully creative art.
@@algomez8563 Lexx had budget problems though, unlike Farscape. The production values are night and day. Still, Lexx was awesome for being the antithesis of Star Trek.
Frell. Dren. Tralk. Fek. Yotz. Nerfer. Drannit. Stiv. Greebols. Welnitz. Loomas. Malik. Hezmana. Prabakto. Faputa. Kratarda. Drad. Toeska. Eema. Draz. Trankass. Pewnkah Fahrbot. Mivonks. Hazmot. Magra. Zannet. Plok. I can REMEMBER almost 30... I'm probably leaving out a bunch that were only used once or twice. Farscape was the undisputed master of creative alien curse words.
Gigi Edgely was awesome as Chiana, great physical movements that must have been awkward to perform, and a great deadpan delivery of some of the best lines in the series.
There were only two sci-fi series I was completely obsessed with; Babylon 5 and Farscape. Farscape was just that show that grabbed your attention immediately. I just couldn't get over how it is that the syfy network cancelled the show. The writing behind the show was great, I have to say my favorite scene was when Crais and Talyn starburst inside the command carrier. That was the most insane scene ever in t.v. sci-fi.
Same here, an emotional roller coaster, even got me into using Mirc to get into chat rooms about FS, still using the same nickname from time to time. I still have the boxset of B5. Cancelation of FS is beyond me.
My favorite show, too!! ...and I love a lot of sci-fi! I watched the series when it first aired and never missed an episode. It was perfect right from the start...for exactly the reasons described in this video. Such amazing creativity from the Henson team!
When the Guardians Of The Galaxy film came out, I couldn't work out why it felt so familiar. The crew are almost exactly the same makeup. Token male human as main protagonist, who constantly drops references to Earth pop culture, that none of the rest of the crew have a chance of understanding Female love interest to main protagonist, disconnected underling of the big bad, learns that her previous overlord is in fact the bad guy. Is a kickass fighter, wears tight clothing. Hardcore tattooed male warrior, wife killed by an underling of the big bad. Prefers to use bladed weapons, but will happily use a big gun. Small non-humanoid character. Only cares for himself, likes to collect trinkets. Pissed off at the galaxy. Primary comic relief Tall living plant. Moral backbone of the crew. Sacrifices themselves to save the rest.
James Gunn's interpretation of The Guardians of the Galaxy came from Farscape. The biggest weakness with Quill over Crighton is that Crighton is a recent expat to outer space (by the time of the show) so he was able to reference current things, while all of Quill's references have to stay stuck in the 1980's.
I think Chritons overall arc of turning from no fucking clue to badass mofo over time is what really made me like this series so much. He dons the peacekeeper garb and a badass attitude making for one of the most awesome cosplays if you see people running it, but the overall attitude and talking to himself and other things throughout with his audible monolog and other quirks that he develops overtime as well as how he melds with the rest of the crew. Just priceless.
He's the perfect plot tool to introduce us to this alien universe, as he learns as we learn. He grows with the audience as they too familiarize themselves with this new existence, and they made us feel like we had an inside connection with him in that he would constantly use analogies and pop-culture phrases that were incomprehensible to everyone but the audience.
In the Farscape RPG (from 2002, using the D20 System of D&D 3rd Edition) John Crichton was listed as a 5th level Scientist/3nd level Warrior as of Season 2. By the end of Peacekeeper Wars I'd put him at Scientist 10/Warrior 8, after all the wormhole discoveries he'd made, battles, and pure weird crap he'd been through; he went from being barely able to control a pulse pistol in the pilot, to wielding Winona right alongside Aeryn, who was listed as a 7th level Commando by Season 2. Engaged in interplanetary galactic diplomacy between the Scarran Emperor and the Peacekeeper High Command, strutting around making demands _with a thermonuclear bomb strapped to his side_ all while covertly engaged in a secret plan to destroy the Scarran's primary source of _Crystherium Utilia_ to cripple the Scarran Empire (plus, _he built a miniaturized thermonuclear bomb by himself.)_ Yeah, John Crichton as an 18th level character is _no joke._
One thing I certainly took note of as to why Farscape is awesome, and this is a minor point, vaguely touched upon by the video is this: the theme song, with it's dissonant, wailing vocals and tribal beats, sounds almost like a warped, twisted parody of Star Trek TOS's theme song. The whole composition seems to scream musically "Wake up! This show is NOT Star Trek, this is VERY MUCH it's own thing!" I love it for that.
Not to mention the subtle character progression as time goes on. When they started Criten wouldn't use a blaster. It wasn't untill Aryn was in danger that he picked one up without hesitation and went to work.
Scorpius is one of the most memorable villains I can think of because he wasn't just a villain. He was the protagonist in his own story. His journey just happened to be a very dark one in opposition to John's. In the middle of the series they elevated Crais in a similar way. Grayza by comparison got short shrift in terms of writing and character development. In my personal estimation she never developed into the hero of her own story, as opposed to being the antagonist of our hero's stories.
Being a doctor who fan I thought nothing was going to come to the level of enjoyment I got from it. Lexx got close, but Farscape was just amazing. Such a great era. Then Fringe and the Buffyverse came along as well. Farscape did more in its short run than many many other highly regarded shows combined did in their run Can't speak high enough of this masterpeice of entertainment.
I love that Claudia Black and Ben Browder made their way to the last 2 seasons of Stargate SG1! There was even a parody of Farscape in Stargate SG1's 200th episode!
It was a privilege to see this show. It was never advertised in the four years it aired on BBC2 and was never mentioned in the Radio Times and therefore had a small but select audience in Britain. Fast moving and definitely the thinking man's Star Trek.
There is nothing like Farscape. It was a truly original sci-fi, even from its weird opening music. Love everything Jim Henson. Was devastated when they cancelled Dark Crystal - AOR. They did such an amazing job of bringing the Dark Crystal world back to life.
farscape always struck me as romantic fanfiction come to life. crichton and aryn's love story was told amazingly. such natural chemistry as well. the best sci fi show out there for me.
Probably best sci-fi fantasy tv series produced so far. (and I have seen all believe me) That is probably because it went against what a standart or mediocre space opera production supposed to be in so many ways...from aestetic choices of ship or costumes , to make up , to characterization to story themes and character development. And even villains have their own goals not incompatible with protoganists and in time they even became symphatic. I mean look at Scorpius. Character development of Crais was top notch. Not to mention romance between lead characters (John and Aeryn) beats everything I have ever seen in elsewhere
"symphatic", for those wondering what that word means, is defined as "a perfectly cromulent word you make up when you want to sound smarter than you are."
Yes, The Expanse has really scratched that Farscape itch, ironically being based in our solar system with fairly realistic physics and no aliens. About 80% less funny but story-wise they’re BFFs :)
I named my first snowboard Winona. It was only later that someone said "like Ryder?" I think I yelled "no, I didn't think of that. I was just copying my favorite show." It goes without saying she was renamed after that.
Farscape is my favorite sci-fi show, right there with DS9 and Babylon 5. Absolutely Loved this show, no show or movie since has come close to developing such a unique and impressive visual style. The closest, is Guardians of the Galaxy, which is why I loved the Ben Browder Cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy P2.
Interesting, Farscape is one of my favorite shows of all time too and I absolutely love Guardians of the Galaxy. That being said, DS9 and Babylon 5 didn't really appeal to me in the few episodes I have watched. Maybe I need to start from the beginning and give them another shot.
I would include also inconjunction with Farscape for myself in no particular order; Star Fleet X-Bomber (not Star Trek's SF), Red Dwarf, Firefly, Planetes, Babylon 5, Helsreach, Space: Above & Beyond, Astartes I-IV, Cowboy Bebop,, SF DS9, StarGate SG-1, the original Lost in Space, SW R1+EIV-EVI+EI-EIII, Jayce & the Wheeled Warriors, Star Trek..
9 is basically 5's storyline nicked from a failed pitch JMS made to paramount years earlier remoulded to fit the trekiverse. Sadly the only good trek series was... A stolen idea.
I saw all the episodes starting in the nineties, until the last Peacekeeper Wars, I was captivated from day one! Thanks for your comments. One actor turned me into a Dye Never fan, that was the fantastic Claudia Black, I couldn't think of anyone else being an actor here. Thank you, great story.
1) amazing prosthetics and costumes 2) inspired alien races with deep back stories 3) impeccable puppetry and excellent visual effects 4) captivating stories and throughlines and plots. 5) incredibly different and likable characters 6) interesting, often multifaceted villains 7) a scintillating opposites-attract romance 8) humor and seriousness consistently well-blended 9) complete commitment to excellence by crew 10) success at generating real feelings and emotions
I disagree with you about Scoripus... He did have a moral code, it was just one we never fully understood till later in the run of the show... in my opinion he was the best villain of any show ever... there are so many times he even made it quite clear that he had no issues with John, he just wanted the knowledge the ancients placed in his head about wormholes. He was very surgical and sterile... he only wanted what he wanted for his own reasons... he was true to that from the first time we meet him till we find him begging for the wormhole tech from John with the pretty please with a cherry on top... You hated him, but loved him at the same time because regardless at who ruthless he was, he was always true to himself... couple that with the episode where we find out why he wants the knowledge so badly... you can't help but feel for him. I could go on and on, but needless to say he was/is one of the richest and deeply flawed characters ever.
I'll never forget the first time we are introduced to Scorpius, and thinking, "my lord, they've successfully envisioned my childhood nightmare villain!" I'm glad I was well into middle age by the time Farscape aired, or Scorpius would have terrorized my dreams for the rest of my life.
An old friend of mine got to work on it as a 3D modeller and animator. His team took over either in S2 or S3 I dont remember but you'll notice as the 3D effects became REALLY good. Farscape really takes off around this stage. Some of them eventually got to meet the actors and the actors were far more excited to meet them haha. They worked huge hours to make it look good and it shows. They even redid a lot of the early 3D objects such as their ship. Amazing show.
So....seriously the look of this show could be called, "The foundation for how to make a Star Wars show." In as much that the locations did NOT look all like quarries in England or forests in Canada, and the aliens weren't just humans with a little something on their faces.
Jon Ericson EXACTLY!!! This is how a Star Wars show should be, but they can probably make it look even better now with the technology we have, and Disney's money.
@@thesonofsuns2154 I have to agree with you on that. Rogue One dovetails nicely between the Prequels and the Original Trilogy. It has great characters with just enough backstory to keep it interesting. Luckily, it doesn't have the narrative/political agenda that the new SW movies have.
p.s., there's (at least) 1 more reason why it was awesome: *The Fashion.* Wow! The costumes, the outfits we're simply amazing. Every member of the main cast had an eye catching and stunning look. (well maybe not Rygel, but he was so cool and unique he didn't need it.) And likewise most of the others they'd encounter. If Any Show deserved a Grammy for Costume - - This Was It.
I was working some REALLY crazy hours when Farscape came on and managed to watch just a few minutes of one episode and... It was just too weird for me. It wasn't until a friend convinced me to go back and watch the pilot and to give it a chance did I realize how great the show was. It was over for years by this point, so I got to watch all of it and was just blown away at how original the story was as well as how engaging the characters were. I made such a big mistake in discounting it as just weird sci-fi. Thank you for pointing out a few of the things that I found great about the show.
I was lucky to have a PVR which time-shifted the episodes from about 3 am until I could watch them... On Channel 9 which had co-produced the series, IIRC
The most amazing show ever put to television. from the pilot episode to the worth the wait Peacekeepers War miniseries Farscape never missed a beat, remembered its history and still kept the story fresh, innovative and completely compelling. No other show comes close :D
Had the pleasure of cohosting the Farscape panel at wintercon this year! the cast and writer are the nicest people. They are everything you’d hope someone you admired would be!
Scorpy in Jon's head is the best. My favorite episode was that season opener with Jon and his beard, haha. They knew how you make the best kind of show possible.
It is a shame that they canceled it so Star Gate could jump the shark. I liked Star Gate but honestly when Sci-Fi got it they should have wrapped up the current story line and ended it instead of making spinoffs and adding a new enemy faction.
I've been using farscape for therapy, I had covid and it wreaked my memory, with 8 main characters it's got 64 story lines before they even encounter the villain, or natural disaster, at first it overwhelmed my brain, I just couldn't keep up. By the 3rd time I saw it I had started catching the gags and jokes. I'm halfway through the 5th time watching it and the only thing I can say is thanks for my memory and focus back!! I highly recommend it!
a great show indeed. Well written with lots of twists, very funny and Scorpius was awesome. I feel many did not get into this show because if you would see one episode alone out of context it would be probably too crazy for most. It is less mainstream than something like firefly for sure but that does not mean it is worse.
A lot of people watched an episode when they aired, said ‘muppets in space, ugh,’ and shut it off. It’s on Amazon Prime now tho (along with Babylon 5) so hopefully a whole new audience will come to it.
@@gateauxq4604 sad to say I was among those. At the time, it looked like a low rent version of stargate/star trek/muppets. 15-20 years later, the use of real puppets and makeup and sets is such a visual relief from where the genre has gone, and the writing and originality show that it wasn't a low rent anything. If anything, early seasons of DS9 and stargate look cheap next to farscape (though I would still have DS9 in competition for best space opera of all time).
It was always great the way Crichton would use Earth slang, and not care that the others had no idea what he was talking about. Sometimes he'd teach things to the rest of the crew, like teaching D'argo to play rock paper scissors. Except that D'argo didn't quite understand it, and would sit there any play by himself. Then at various points through the rest of the show, if Crichton and D'argo were disagreeing about something, they'd do rock paper scissors. Or better, when Crichton would teach the crew Earth saying off screen, and they'd suddenly whip it out in the episode, but say it wrong. The best was when they'd use it right, because it was completely unexpected, like in Thanks for Sharing, when D'argo dropped "I'm your daddy!"
One of the best things about this show is that once you get through the first half season there isn't a single episode that doesn't develop the plot and evolve the characters and their relationships with one another. Then there's the fact that it wasn't afraid to torture it's protagonist and you really see the effect it has on him. He goes from an astronaut in denial over his situation that's reluctant to even pick up a gun, to a legitimately feared gunslinger that's willing to nuke the Scarrans. The other thing I'll say is the twinning thing in season 3 opened up the possibility that they could kill the protagonist even though the show required him to remain successful. And now I've talked myself into watching the series again damn it, there goes another 70 hours of my life.
Yep, this series was fantastic the bank heist three parter in particular was phenomenal I'm curious what your top 10 episodes would be. Also Chiana was a great character
Possibly my favourite aspect of FarScape is that every character has their strengths and they remain consistent, they're never thrown out for comedy. I hate when a character who has incredible potential is demeaned for comic relief. The most egregious instance of this that I can personally recall is in the show NCIS, where Tony Dinozzo is said (and occasionally shown) to have incredible skill in investigation and leadership, but that is entirely ignored in all other episodes just so they can make him look like a useless idiot for a laugh. Crichton is shown to have incredible mental strength and willpower, and that never changes. He isn't entirely invulnerable to mental attacks, which allows them to still be an interesting threat, but they allow Crichton's strength to show. They also show that Crichton is intelligent, just out of his depth. Especially in the two parter "Self-Inflicted Wounds," when scientific terminology is being thrown around and he comprehends it. They maintain he is a scientist, not just a hot head pilot. He seems clueless at times, but only because none of what is around him is at all familiar. Anyway, all I am really trying to say here is I love that they keep Crichton the hero without making him invulnerable, and without demeaning any of the other characters. FarScape is awesome.
My daughter watched it with me when she was a kid, and my granddaughter was introduced to it my my daughter and she loved it, too! I'm about ready to re-watch it. My favorite series of all time.
What a fantastic summary. Eloquent and we'll structured and insightful. I haven't seen ANYTHING of this show in more than a decade and now I want to watch it again.
Every time I see an article or interview where someone goes on about how there aren't any well written strong female characters, I always think "you've never seen Farscape, have you".
Farscape gets way too much uncalled for hate, especially since seasons 9 and 10 of Stargate but it is just so unique and has so much personality, more people really need to give it a chance
Also I got my limited edition boxset signed by Ben Browder but he had never seen one like it before so sat and looked though it for ages saying that he wanted one. Proud moment :D
Well the concept of the show was taken from Canadian show Lexx. It features a group of prisoners escaping on a living ship that’s a giant bug. What I’ve seen of it is good and it’s no rip off, but it’s a more traditional telling of the concept used in Lexx
These are all the points that make me love Farscape. Add to that the top screenwriting, where in every and each of the episode, there was a conclusion of the action chapter but also some character resolution. With every episode our character grown and that made in turn space for even more crazy and exciting adventures. In the end, it looks cheesy, it acts cheesy but underneath it's about universal themes as love and caring that fuels and ties all together.
I just realized Criton not only had a son from Arin, but remember Commander Graser had raped Criton and was preggo in last episode of The Peacekeeper Wars of relating the baby to be a girl ( Graser did not reveal to her husband she had raped Criton and he thinks its his ) BUT ALSO,, Criton has a 3RD Child by the Princess who turned into stone as a ruler with her bf who Criton asked to take his place for the unborn child of a son. Yes, Farscape 2 is very possible of 3 , Criton's. 2 Sons 1 daughter. 1 son is a rebel in Moyaer, the other son is a Prince from uncharted territories and the daughter a Peacekeeper. Yes, Farscape 2 is a MUST!!!
I've never seen Farscape. I'm at the end of a course that I've been doing in my spare time when I'm not working, and I've already decided I want to watch this show for the first time when I've finished the course.
It has this quality of weird and out of place things. It will never get old cause it never tried to be cool. It never tried to sell moral heroes and happy endings. It never was desapointing or deceiving to us. Im 35 years old and have seen my fair share of sci fi but this is probably my all time favorite.
My name is John Crichton, an astronaut. A radiation wave hit and I got shot through a wormhole. Now I'm lost in some distant part of the universe on a ship, a living ship, full of strange alien life forms. Help me. Listen, please. Is there anybody out there who can hear me? I'm being hunted by an insane military commander. I'm doing everything I can. I'm just looking for a way home.
Note that Crichton's voice-over changed over the seasons as he became used to the universe he's now living in and becomes close to the aliens he lives with.
@@lordinquisitorpeter8221 Then he should have resisted such enslavement with every fibre of his being! To do otherwise is to be no better than other tau-loving traitors! PREPARE THE EXTERMINATUS!
Rygel and Pilot have more character and development to them than lots of human characters in other sci-fi shows. They're so expertly portrayed that you forget they are puppets and get swept away in the character. The characters also show that you don't need to fill a series with humans for them to be enjoyable or relatable, often human characters are the dullest and bring little of consequence to the show, a wide diverse array of aliens is so much more enjoyable to watch. Also this is a show where most of the main cast in later seasons are female and the universe didn't grind to a halt, imagine that!
"I want to sell out and settle down. For one day only it's a blue light special on aisle three. My wormhole technology, and three set of steak knifes, all the tea in China."
Couldn't agree more!! As a trek guy, it always took me a dozen or more episodes to "get used to" the look and feel of what ever new series I had taken up, but FarScape was so in-your-face different that it took the whole first year!!! I ended up loving this series and was floored when it was just stopped for no apparent reason. The characters and music were so awesomely different and high paced I could help but to buy the series. Claudia Black is a goddess.
Not even close..As a trek guy, who of all people should be able to see the weakness in the show and how about John's line "He's no Captain Kirk." that is for sure, a weak human at best, not a hero at all.
Farescape is IMHO THE BEST SF series of all times. It has perfect mixture of humor, drama, interpersonal relations and SF tropes and best villans ever (it say something if you can consider guy dressed in lether tuxedo trully scary). I am only sad it had only 4 seasons and ended with frankly terrible Peacekeaper Wars. Second close is Babylon 5 and it might be a draw if not for weak Babylon first season and somewhat weaker fith season also some cast desicions were not to my liking, I positively hated characters of Elizabeth Lochley, as she felt out of placed and forced.
You gotta love how Rockne S. O'Bannon created such a master piece.... After the failure which was Seaquest DSV- that being his other major Sci-fi property. Every time I look at Farscape I can't help but consider how good Seaquest could have been if the executive meddling never occurred and if the show stuck to the original continuity heavy, hard sci-fi leanings found with in it's first season. Anyway, thanks for providing us with another fantastic re-cap! Keep up the great work!
Farscape is crazy! The best illustration of this happened at my parents' house. I was visiting and brought my copy of Peacekeeper Wars with me and watched it. My mom sat down and watched the last part with me. When it was done, she gave this look and said, "What the hell was that?!" Being on the inside it took me a few moments to understand how immersive, yet all-over-the-place the story is to someone who hasn't seen any of it. (It would've been worse if I had showed her the episode with Stark's video game.)
I enjoyed this very much. Thanks! I just downloaded the whole series the other day and plan to binge/re-watch them soon. I have been a trekker/trekkie since iST:TOS first aired when I was a teenager, and although I love that show, Farscape is my favorite sci fi show of them all because of everything that you listed, plus its creativity and innovation. Just the best! I'm glad they were able to get a conclusion together. It is so frustrating when shows are just ended abruptly.
Everything was just so amazing. Whoever cancelled this show should be fired... Out of a cannon. Epic music scores! The spirituality of Za'an, and her mystical powers. The old lady and her bagful of magic powders. The work by Jim Henson to make these puppets look so perfect. Rigel was incredible. farting helium, peeing explosives, swimming under water and gobbling up bits of John and Aaron, and not forgetting the wedding ring. His little power chair. The planet where he was worshiped and rose up into the light! Scorpy was the stuff of nightmares. such perfect acting and costuming. and then he develops into an ally. The brain chip. The AUrora chair. My side your side, my side your side! Pass you to the other side. Wow! The little alien bunny rabbits that with their wormhole knowledge are more powerful than anything in the Universe, yet are in danger of dying out. Moya, the magnificent living vessel, created by a peaceful god race, the builders to spread peace throughout the universe. Chiana, so quirky and sexy, and the way she brought nobility to being a Trelk. Dhargo's faithfulness to the crew and his bravery. Love hangin with you man. And whoever made up all the Farscape swear words to keep the dialog clean. What the Hismanna! Frell me dead. Tastes like Drenn. :) And Ben and Claudia were just so perfect. Details even down to the Denticks for cleaning teeth, translator microbes, and Moya's amexus fluid for washing clothes. Just a strange wonderful, scary, exciting, challenging world they created. The power glove, the various trackers, flame throwing beings, etc. Beings that have a "peace organ" embedded in the middle of their head. Any other scifi is just boring stuff after all that. And they got cancelled quickly. Can't have an exciting, inspirational and thoroughly entertaining show for the people with an IQ over 130 now can we? Cancel it and put some other dreck on TV that isn't even worth watching.
And pilot. totally alien concept. symbiotic bonding with the leviathon. Innate senses that function with nanosecond accuracy. Mathematical abilities beyond compare, in total communion with the living ship. Almost omniscient when everything is working, which is almost never. :) And Moya, who lives to serve. and finally speaks in the episode with the builders, just one request. Can Za'an sing?
Stargate will always hold a special place in my heart as the best series ever. Stargate was also the reason I came to watch Farscape in the first place, because I really liked Ben Browder and Claudia Black and another Sci-Fi series with the 2 in it as main actors? sign me up. Good thing I did find it, because it grew to become my number 3 favorite Sci-Fi series only beaten by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Stargate: SG1
I introduced my best friend to Farscape. Somewhere in Season 2 or 3 we noticed the quality of the scripts had gone down - and then realized that was during the writers strike. But what it really brought home for us was the incredible quality of Farscapes well told stories. I miss this world.
Farscape was a beautifully written character-driven show. I especially liked that the writers didn't pander to anyone. If you expected every episode to end up resolved with a happy ending, you were wrong. Often there was a thought-provoking moral dilemma decision that was/had to be made/accomplished either deliberately or accidentally with unintended consequences, and/or resulting in the burden of personal pain and/or sacrifice. Much like life. Love this frelling show.
Indeed, Farscape is one of the greatest SF series ever made! It is fun, smart, the make-up is exceptional, each character is unique with an interesting background reflecting a huge and complex universe! Also, Moya, their Levianthan ship... a biological one, is just awesome! I like also the amber color of the ship, weaponry and the music wich reflects perfectly strange and dangerous situations. ^^ I hope there will be a video game soon! Unfortunately, no one knows this series in France whereas Mass Effect, Star Wars and Star Trek are well known. ^^
Ultimately what made Farscape so compelling was that we cared about the characters. None of the main protagonists, good or bad, were not two dimensional. The love story between Crichton and Aeryn was beautifully evolved. I was hooked on the series from when I first watched it back in 1999 and think it remains one of the finest such shows. The outcry of fans at the series' cancellation was a tribute to how well regarded it was and is.
Extremely character development and writing. Evolution of Crais , turning Scorpius a semi ally , even making Scarrans eventually not beyond hope , vacilliation of Rygel between his selfish geed to his occasional wisdom and courage (for a puppet extremely well displayed emotions) and best romance story I have ever seen between John and Aeryn. This show took enormous risks in writing and they paid off.
I was ready to kill someone when they canceled it.. It was my favorite show. It still is my favorite sci-fi show today, A fantastic show of what you can do when you really care about your craft, Farscape still blows your mind looking at it today.
I'd like to say thank you for this video. While I've always loved space opera shows, I had barely even heard of Farscape before and may never have watched this gem if I hadn't heard you promoting it here. I'm now about halfway through season 2 and it's already one of my new favorite shows.
I still remember that (spoiler) Scorpius comes back later, even though he was a villain. Show was good enough for me to remember this fucking thing, well over a decade later from fucking memory alone.
Jim Henson had been dead for a decade by the time Farscape aired. Brian Henson, his son and heir, was the main driving force behind it. If Jim had any influence at all, it was from the grave.
i'm pety sure he was referring to the jim henson group, as a team yes brian was in charge, but it didn't say brian henson group at the end of the credits.
I absolutely love Farscape. In the beginning it felt so different than any other scifi shows it was difficult to watch As the characters developed and what motivated each character then the show quickly became one of my all time favorite scifi series
I loved this show. Farscape is my benchmark for a sci-fi show. No one has made the cut since then. I don't think it can be done. Everybody sticks with what is safe and familiar.
I’ve recently been rewatching Farscape since it’s free on RUclips right now and I was wondering if there was a Rowan J Coleman style retrospective for it. So I was delighted to find this when I searched here! I feel like you’re script writing and video making have only gotten better since this and maybe one day you’ll make a longer and more in-depth retrospective - I’d love that.
It's not always the studios that cancel, but the networks that commission the shows. SyFy, for example, cancelled Stargate Universe by not renewing it for a third season. Financing for SGU was 50% MGM and 50% SyFy, and each episode cost $2 mil. That's what I can quickly recall from discussions on Gateworld forums. The showrunners loved SGU, but the bigwigs appear to have made a decision in favour of wrestling. SyFy was also on premium cable, and then SGU's scheduling there was shuffled around all the time, and that's always bad. I coud posit, that SGU was conceived and ran right in the middle of the Great Recession. Had the economic downturn not happened, more Nielsen families would have been able to afford premium cable that would have included SyFy, but that was not the case. Netflix cancelled Sense8, and I'm sure, that the people there were very mindful of the show. At least Sense8 now gets a grand finale due to great fan response.
It's not uncommon for shows to be sacrificed to economics, or to studio politics. Back in the day, SciFi ran into trouble and got a new CEO, Bonnie Hammer, whose firm policy of "no space shows" (partly because Paramount was keeping Star Trek for its own channel) helped kill off several promising shows. Or the Babylon 5 spinoff, Crusade: the local branch of TNT were big fans of B5, and managed to rescue it for S5 and green light several TV movies and the spinoff series. But as a new venture for the channel and a new property, head office decided the new show needed more oversight, and it got heavily involved, butting heads with JMS, the show-runner. At the same time, head office was looking at figures from their airing of S5 of B5, and noticed that while they got a lot of new viewers for the show, rather than stick around and watch their more typical fare of wrestling and sexy dramas, the fans switched back to some other channel immediately, so they were rather less keen to keep Crusade going. Often, there's one or two people championing a show, and if they fall out of favour, or move on somewhere else, the new management makes room for their pet projects instead...
Mart Rootamm I'm not gonna hold my breath. Been a long time since I've found anything watchable on seefee. Like to see some more realistic stuff like "The Martian" movie; real exploration, real interaction problems. Including food, water, and O2 deprivation. Seen enough ray blasting rubber suits...
Growing up this was my favorite show on Syfy. It was so good I recorded it on VHS tapes. I still have those tapes but I haven't looked at them in 20 years. Thank goodness for people uploading this content to show me my past and what I loved.
![Bloopers Compilation (S2) | Special Feature | Farscape [25th Anniversary Edition]](/img/1.gif)
Crichton: "You used me!"
Scorpious: " We used each other."
Crichton: "Well, you're better at it."
Scorpious: "Oh, you're learning."
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I was a featured extra in an episode of Farscape .. a two week shoot ... wearing white contact lenses (no pupils) ... a conceptual artist fresh out of film school I went on to work with the Henson team, designing and building the FX ... the animatronics and creature design and modelling were second to none, using some state of the art materials and technology purchased from none other than NASA ... pilot Moya (the face of moya) was never seen in a shot with an actor ... so the impression was that pilot Moya was human sized ... The animatronic head was actually gigantic, filling a sound stage ... I always thought it was a shame she was not depicted on screen as gigantic as she actually was ... she was truly awesome and spectacular to behold. During the filming of the series the Henson team was based at Fox Studios Sydney, which was housed in the the old Dog Pavilion (Fox Studios Sydney was built on the beautifully restored historic site of the original Sydney Showgrounds) ... Thank you for a heart-warming trip down memory lane❣
How interesting! Thanks for sharing those memories with us!
Thank YOU for sharing such a fascinating and fun story of your own! Such a great experience, I'm sure!
Pilot was in many, many scenes with human actors. The one where Moya was trapped in starburst, when Pilot had his/her/its arm removed, etc. Yes, Pilot was big.
I was already a huge Farscape fan, but learning it was shot here in Oz (at least in part?) was an awesome surprise - Thanks!
what episode i love farsape ve lost count of how many times iveseen it all the only thing is i cant afford it on bluray its so damn expensive
The episode where they switch bodies and have to act as their character acting as a different character is mind-blowing and a good showcase of everyone's talent
Yes, this ep is my favourite, too! Besides Peacekeeper Wars.
Farscape is not the most underrated show of all time, because it's generally revered among the people who have watched the whole series. However it is the best unseen show that most people will write off as a cheesy TV show, such a shame. I consider Farscape to be one of the top 5 best TV shows ever.
I wrote it off as cheesy and silly early in season 1. I'm so glad I recently gave it another try. Truly awesome.
A bit like lexx.
And it proves that you can make a scifi without focusing on pushing politically correct agendas. It was just good story telling, no preaching, no white guilt shaming, no toxic masculinity tropes, just a compelling story with great actors and beautifully creative art.
Yes LEXX is another SciFi gem.
@@algomez8563 Lexx had budget problems though, unlike Farscape. The production values are night and day. Still, Lexx was awesome for being the antithesis of Star Trek.
But you didn't mention all the swearing. Farscape gave us a whole lexicon of alien swearing for us to use
weldonwin I agree. How the FRELL could he have forgotten that?!
theallmightychad this youtuber is a pile of Dren
not bad. but i still prefer Red Dwarf swearing. lol
Frell.
Dren.
Tralk.
Fek.
Yotz.
Nerfer.
Drannit.
Stiv.
Greebols.
Welnitz.
Loomas.
Malik.
Hezmana.
Prabakto.
Faputa.
Kratarda.
Drad.
Toeska.
Eema.
Draz.
Trankass.
Pewnkah
Fahrbot.
Mivonks.
Hazmot.
Magra.
Zannet.
Plok.
I can REMEMBER almost 30... I'm probably leaving out a bunch that were only used once or twice. Farscape was the undisputed master of creative alien curse words.
Cussing? I don't know how the FRELL you could say that. My translator microbes had to have got that wrong. hahaha!
I absolutely LOVE this show.
TriniCrew you mean “frelling love this show” right?
Gigi Edgely was awesome as Chiana, great physical movements that must have been awkward to perform, and a great deadpan delivery of some of the best lines in the series.
Sexy too
Yeah if I had been her significant other I would have asked her to come home in character occasionally
i think the dead pan look was because all the makeup would creep into the expressions and need redoing, hey didn't smile either
There were only two sci-fi series I was completely obsessed with; Babylon 5 and Farscape. Farscape was just that show that grabbed your attention immediately. I just couldn't get over how it is that the syfy network cancelled the show. The writing behind the show was great, I have to say my favorite scene was when Crais and Talyn starburst inside the command carrier. That was the most insane scene ever in t.v. sci-fi.
Same here, an emotional roller coaster, even got me into using Mirc to get into chat rooms about FS, still using the same nickname from time to time. I still have the boxset of B5.
Cancelation of FS is beyond me.
I legit cried when Crais said "Starburst" in *that tone of voice* and with that grim satisfaction on his face. Talyn was amazing.
My favorite sci-fi show of all time. Seriously.
@Christobanistan yes, both. Hated Lexx, loved Firefly/Serenity (gone too soon). Farscape is still my favorite.
Farscape is a classic of scifi tv shows. Thanks to the dedication of many talented people this show has a deep connection in all who enjoy this show!😁
You should see Orville
My favorite show, too!! ...and I love a lot of sci-fi! I watched the series when it first aired and never missed an episode. It was perfect right from the start...for exactly the reasons described in this video. Such amazing creativity from the Henson team!
When the Guardians Of The Galaxy film came out, I couldn't work out why it felt so familiar. The crew are almost exactly the same makeup.
Token male human as main protagonist, who constantly drops references to Earth pop culture, that none of the rest of the crew have a chance of understanding
Female love interest to main protagonist, disconnected underling of the big bad, learns that her previous overlord is in fact the bad guy. Is a kickass fighter, wears tight clothing.
Hardcore tattooed male warrior, wife killed by an underling of the big bad. Prefers to use bladed weapons, but will happily use a big gun.
Small non-humanoid character. Only cares for himself, likes to collect trinkets. Pissed off at the galaxy. Primary comic relief
Tall living plant. Moral backbone of the crew. Sacrifices themselves to save the rest.
James Gunn's interpretation of The Guardians of the Galaxy came from Farscape. The biggest weakness with Quill over Crighton is that Crighton is a recent expat to outer space (by the time of the show) so he was able to reference current things, while all of Quill's references have to stay stuck in the 1980's.
Then they brought Ben Browder into the second movie.
Mind blown
@@MurdochCreates yes he was one of the gold people
James Gun has said he used Farscape as the bases for GotG already.
Ronan the Accuser was Crase. Farscape season 1 villain. Rogue Military Commander.
I think Chritons overall arc of turning from no fucking clue to badass mofo over time is what really made me like this series so much. He dons the peacekeeper garb and a badass attitude making for one of the most awesome cosplays if you see people running it, but the overall attitude and talking to himself and other things throughout with his audible monolog and other quirks that he develops overtime as well as how he melds with the rest of the crew. Just priceless.
He's the perfect plot tool to introduce us to this alien universe, as he learns as we learn. He grows with the audience as they too familiarize themselves with this new existence, and they made us feel like we had an inside connection with him in that he would constantly use analogies and pop-culture phrases that were incomprehensible to everyone but the audience.
John Crichton was pure weaponized insanity by the end of the show.
In the Farscape RPG (from 2002, using the D20 System of D&D 3rd Edition) John Crichton was listed as a 5th level Scientist/3nd level Warrior as of Season 2. By the end of Peacekeeper Wars I'd put him at Scientist 10/Warrior 8, after all the wormhole discoveries he'd made, battles, and pure weird crap he'd been through; he went from being barely able to control a pulse pistol in the pilot, to wielding Winona right alongside Aeryn, who was listed as a 7th level Commando by Season 2. Engaged in interplanetary galactic diplomacy between the Scarran Emperor and the Peacekeeper High Command, strutting around making demands _with a thermonuclear bomb strapped to his side_ all while covertly engaged in a secret plan to destroy the Scarran's primary source of _Crystherium Utilia_ to cripple the Scarran Empire (plus, _he built a miniaturized thermonuclear bomb by himself.)_
Yeah, John Crichton as an 18th level character is _no joke._
To be fair John was always clueless. He just learned how to better adapt.
One thing I certainly took note of as to why Farscape is awesome, and this is a minor point, vaguely touched upon by the video is this: the theme song, with it's dissonant, wailing vocals and tribal beats, sounds almost like a warped, twisted parody of Star Trek TOS's theme song. The whole composition seems to scream musically "Wake up! This show is NOT Star Trek, this is VERY MUCH it's own thing!" I love it for that.
yes I think that the theme is the best out of all the si fi shows
Every time an episode started, it felt like I was spiralling into some acid trip, I just couldn't tell if it was going to be upward or downward.
Not to mention the subtle character progression as time goes on.
When they started Criten wouldn't use a blaster. It wasn't untill Aryn was in danger that he picked one up without hesitation and went to work.
Scorpius is one of the most memorable villains I can think of because he wasn't just a villain. He was the protagonist in his own story. His journey just happened to be a very dark one in opposition to John's. In the middle of the series they elevated Crais in a similar way. Grayza by comparison got short shrift in terms of writing and character development. In my personal estimation she never developed into the hero of her own story, as opposed to being the antagonist of our hero's stories.
I always thought of Grayza as the spiritual successor to Servalan from Blakes 7. Overall a similar show, though Farscape is way more wacky.
I’m nearly certain Grayza would have gotten the same level of character development had there been a fifth season.
Being a doctor who fan I thought nothing was going to come to the level of enjoyment I got from it. Lexx got close, but Farscape was just amazing. Such a great era. Then Fringe and the Buffyverse came along as well. Farscape did more in its short run than many many other highly regarded shows combined did in their run Can't speak high enough of this masterpeice of entertainment.
Amen
LEXX..., was on another crazy level huh....? Had to do it twice!
@@donmcneal233 man, the stuff in that show lol. just wild!
I mean nothing ever gonna be as good as doctor who, but Farscape was a near perfect show.
I cried when this series ended. I truly was a love to watch.
Keep active! They are working on getting a continuation right now. They need a good feedback on the social media!
I love that Claudia Black and Ben Browder made their way to the last 2 seasons of Stargate SG1! There was even a parody of Farscape in Stargate SG1's 200th episode!
It was a privilege to see this show. It was never advertised in the four years it aired on BBC2 and was never mentioned in the Radio Times and therefore had a small but select audience in Britain. Fast moving and definitely the thinking man's Star Trek.
There is nothing like Farscape. It was a truly original sci-fi, even from its weird opening music.
Love everything Jim Henson.
Was devastated when they cancelled Dark Crystal - AOR.
They did such an amazing job of bringing the Dark Crystal world back to life.
farscape always struck me as romantic fanfiction come to life. crichton and aryn's love story was told amazingly. such natural chemistry as well. the best sci fi show out there for me.
Probably best sci-fi fantasy tv series produced so far. (and I have seen all believe me) That is probably because it went against what a standart or mediocre space opera production supposed to be in so many ways...from aestetic choices of ship or costumes , to make up , to characterization to story themes and character development. And even villains have their own goals not incompatible with protoganists and in time they even became symphatic. I mean look at Scorpius. Character development of Crais was top notch. Not to mention romance between lead characters (John and Aeryn) beats everything I have ever seen in elsewhere
What about Stargate Universe? We RUclips commenters want to know :-)
If you're talking space sci-fi Babylon 5 is first place for me for it's rich, complex and rewarding story. Farscape and Firefly a close second
Try Expanse
"symphatic", for those wondering what that word means, is defined as "a perfectly cromulent word you make up when you want to sound smarter than you are."
Yes, The Expanse has really scratched that Farscape itch, ironically being based in our solar system with fairly realistic physics and no aliens. About 80% less funny but story-wise they’re BFFs :)
My favourite sci-fi show. I liked it so much I called my cat D'Argo, because he looked like he had a qualta blade running down his back.
A friend of mine named his daughter Aeryn. So, the cat thing doesn't impress me so much.
I named my first snowboard Winona. It was only later that someone said "like Ryder?" I think I yelled "no, I didn't think of that. I was just copying my favorite show." It goes without saying she was renamed after that.
Farscape is my favorite sci-fi show, right there with DS9 and Babylon 5. Absolutely Loved this show, no show or movie since has come close to developing such a unique and impressive visual style. The closest, is Guardians of the Galaxy, which is why I loved the Ben Browder Cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy P2.
Interesting, Farscape is one of my favorite shows of all time too and I absolutely love Guardians of the Galaxy. That being said, DS9 and Babylon 5 didn't really appeal to me in the few episodes I have watched. Maybe I need to start from the beginning and give them another shot.
Sense you love Farscape, you absolutely need to watch Lexx.
@@owenmontgomery1197 Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out. It's hard to find new shows that I like.
I would include also inconjunction with Farscape for myself in no particular order; Star Fleet X-Bomber (not Star Trek's SF), Red Dwarf, Firefly, Planetes, Babylon 5, Helsreach, Space: Above & Beyond, Astartes I-IV, Cowboy Bebop,, SF DS9, StarGate SG-1, the original Lost in Space, SW R1+EIV-EVI+EI-EIII, Jayce & the Wheeled Warriors, Star Trek..
9 is basically 5's storyline nicked from a failed pitch JMS made to paramount years earlier remoulded to fit the trekiverse. Sadly the only good trek series was... A stolen idea.
I saw all the episodes starting in the nineties, until the last Peacekeeper Wars, I was captivated from day one! Thanks for your comments. One actor turned me into a Dye Never fan, that was the fantastic Claudia Black, I couldn't think of anyone else being an actor here. Thank you, great story.
Favorite line "Blue azz bytch"... Gotta love Rigel
Lo Da Scholar ... my favorite line was from Da Argo: “Chrichton ... is always confused”
1) amazing prosthetics and costumes
2) inspired alien races with deep back stories
3) impeccable puppetry and excellent visual effects
4) captivating stories and throughlines and plots.
5) incredibly different and likable characters
6) interesting, often multifaceted villains
7) a scintillating opposites-attract romance
8) humor and seriousness consistently well-blended
9) complete commitment to excellence by crew
10) success at generating real feelings and emotions
I disagree with you about Scoripus... He did have a moral code, it was just one we never fully understood till later in the run of the show... in my opinion he was the best villain of any show ever... there are so many times he even made it quite clear that he had no issues with John, he just wanted the knowledge the ancients placed in his head about wormholes. He was very surgical and sterile... he only wanted what he wanted for his own reasons... he was true to that from the first time we meet him till we find him begging for the wormhole tech from John with the pretty please with a cherry on top... You hated him, but loved him at the same time because regardless at who ruthless he was, he was always true to himself... couple that with the episode where we find out why he wants the knowledge so badly... you can't help but feel for him. I could go on and on, but needless to say he was/is one of the richest and deeply flawed characters ever.
He was just ruthless and a end justify the means guy. In this context torturing Crichton is reasonabe, if you have not much scrupels.
His moral code was actually pretty simple for the most part = ensure that the Scarrans are kept in check / defeated by any means necessary.
I'll never forget the first time we are introduced to Scorpius, and thinking, "my lord, they've successfully envisioned my childhood nightmare villain!" I'm glad I was well into middle age by the time Farscape aired, or Scorpius would have terrorized my dreams for the rest of my life.
He had a simple goal, protect the peacekeeper realm, by any means if that means crichton brain ends up as mush so be it.
Genocide is not a moral code.
Possibly the best moment in the history of science fiction television:
"Talyn... starburst."
Amazing show.
An old friend of mine got to work on it as a 3D modeller and animator. His team took over either in S2 or S3 I dont remember but you'll notice as the 3D effects became REALLY good. Farscape really takes off around this stage. Some of them eventually got to meet the actors and the actors were far more excited to meet them haha. They worked huge hours to make it look good and it shows. They even redid a lot of the early 3D objects such as their ship. Amazing show.
So....seriously the look of this show could be called, "The foundation for how to make a Star Wars show." In as much that the locations did NOT look all like quarries in England or forests in Canada, and the aliens weren't just humans with a little something on their faces.
Jon Ericson EXACTLY!!! This is how a Star Wars show should be, but they can probably make it look even better now with the technology we have, and Disney's money.
@@jamesooten3659 Yep. The new Star Wars movies absolutely suck. I like Rogue One though.
@@thesonofsuns2154
I have to agree with you on that. Rogue One dovetails nicely between the Prequels and the Original Trilogy. It has great characters with just enough backstory to keep it interesting. Luckily, it doesn't have the narrative/political agenda that the new SW movies have.
my side, your side, my side, your side !
How many peacekeepers do you know on this base?
"What were you keeping from Scori?"
"Time a kissed a girl."
"Must have been some kiss."
lol!
Damn it Stark!
I frelling love stark.
p.s., there's (at least) 1 more reason why it was awesome: *The Fashion.*
Wow! The costumes, the outfits we're simply amazing. Every member of the main cast had an eye catching and stunning look. (well maybe not Rygel, but he was so cool and unique he didn't need it.)
And likewise most of the others they'd encounter. If Any Show deserved a Grammy for Costume - - This Was It.
The clothing in that show... One comment I read summed up Farscape: "An American has adventures while journeying through Australia's S&M subculture."
Emmy, not Grammy.
I LOVE Farscape. That show was so damn good... And now I gotta go rewatch the entire thing again.
I was working some REALLY crazy hours when Farscape came on and managed to watch just a few minutes of one episode and... It was just too weird for me. It wasn't until a friend convinced me to go back and watch the pilot and to give it a chance did I realize how great the show was. It was over for years by this point, so I got to watch all of it and was just blown away at how original the story was as well as how engaging the characters were. I made such a big mistake in discounting it as just weird sci-fi. Thank you for pointing out a few of the things that I found great about the show.
I was lucky to have a PVR which time-shifted the episodes from about 3 am until I could watch them... On Channel 9 which had co-produced the series, IIRC
The most amazing show ever put to television. from the pilot episode to the worth the wait Peacekeepers War miniseries Farscape never missed a beat, remembered its history and still kept the story fresh, innovative and completely compelling. No other show comes close :D
Had the pleasure of cohosting the Farscape panel at wintercon this year! the cast and writer are the nicest people. They are everything you’d hope someone you admired would be!
Farscape = Sci-Fi at it's best!
Scorpy in Jon's head is the best. My favorite episode was that season opener with Jon and his beard, haha. They knew how you make the best kind of show possible.
they should bring the show back
@@truthoftheuniverse4179 read the continuation comics/graphic novels.
It is a shame that they canceled it so Star Gate could jump the shark.
I liked Star Gate but honestly when Sci-Fi got it they should have wrapped up the current story line and ended it instead of making spinoffs and adding a new enemy faction.
like to that!
I've been using farscape for therapy, I had covid and it wreaked my memory, with 8 main characters it's got 64 story lines before they even encounter the villain, or natural disaster, at first it overwhelmed my brain, I just couldn't keep up. By the 3rd time I saw it I had started catching the gags and jokes. I'm halfway through the 5th time watching it and the only thing I can say is thanks for my memory and focus back!! I highly recommend it!
a great show indeed. Well written with lots of twists, very funny and Scorpius was awesome. I feel many did not get into this show because if you would see one episode alone out of context it would be probably too crazy for most. It is less mainstream than something like firefly for sure but that does not mean it is worse.
A lot of people watched an episode when they aired, said ‘muppets in space, ugh,’ and shut it off. It’s on Amazon Prime now tho (along with Babylon 5) so hopefully a whole new audience will come to it.
@@gateauxq4604 sad to say I was among those. At the time, it looked like a low rent version of stargate/star trek/muppets. 15-20 years later, the use of real puppets and makeup and sets is such a visual relief from where the genre has gone, and the writing and originality show that it wasn't a low rent anything. If anything, early seasons of DS9 and stargate look cheap next to farscape (though I would still have DS9 in competition for best space opera of all time).
It was always great the way Crichton would use Earth slang, and not care that the others had no idea what he was talking about. Sometimes he'd teach things to the rest of the crew, like teaching D'argo to play rock paper scissors. Except that D'argo didn't quite understand it, and would sit there any play by himself. Then at various points through the rest of the show, if Crichton and D'argo were disagreeing about something, they'd do rock paper scissors.
Or better, when Crichton would teach the crew Earth saying off screen, and they'd suddenly whip it out in the episode, but say it wrong. The best was when they'd use it right, because it was completely unexpected, like in Thanks for Sharing, when D'argo dropped "I'm your daddy!"
One of the best things about this show is that once you get through the first half season there isn't a single episode that doesn't develop the plot and evolve the characters and their relationships with one another.
Then there's the fact that it wasn't afraid to torture it's protagonist and you really see the effect it has on him. He goes from an astronaut in denial over his situation that's reluctant to even pick up a gun, to a legitimately feared gunslinger that's willing to nuke the Scarrans.
The other thing I'll say is the twinning thing in season 3 opened up the possibility that they could kill the protagonist even though the show required him to remain successful.
And now I've talked myself into watching the series again damn it, there goes another 70 hours of my life.
Crichton: "I can't believe I left a nuclear bomb on an elevator."
Chianna: "That's all right. You've done worse."
I watch the whole series every 2 years, it never get old!
This is my third rewatch and it got me glued again from the very first episode.
At least twice a year here 🙂
Yep, this series was fantastic the bank heist three parter in particular was phenomenal I'm curious what your top 10 episodes would be.
Also Chiana was a great character
"Unrealized Reality" was one of the best, and the three-parter to rescue Aeryn. Also "Different Destinations".
"Bone to Be Wild" and the beginning of the episode that followed it. Clever and hilarious!
I still dream about her. Ungodly hot!
@@garykish8951
Hell yeah
This series deserved/s to be recognised among the other big sci fi shows, its criminally underrated
Possibly my favourite aspect of FarScape is that every character has their strengths and they remain consistent, they're never thrown out for comedy. I hate when a character who has incredible potential is demeaned for comic relief. The most egregious instance of this that I can personally recall is in the show NCIS, where Tony Dinozzo is said (and occasionally shown) to have incredible skill in investigation and leadership, but that is entirely ignored in all other episodes just so they can make him look like a useless idiot for a laugh. Crichton is shown to have incredible mental strength and willpower, and that never changes. He isn't entirely invulnerable to mental attacks, which allows them to still be an interesting threat, but they allow Crichton's strength to show. They also show that Crichton is intelligent, just out of his depth. Especially in the two parter "Self-Inflicted Wounds," when scientific terminology is being thrown around and he comprehends it. They maintain he is a scientist, not just a hot head pilot. He seems clueless at times, but only because none of what is around him is at all familiar. Anyway, all I am really trying to say here is I love that they keep Crichton the hero without making him invulnerable, and without demeaning any of the other characters. FarScape is awesome.
Under rated comment!
I have watched this show from beginning to end about 9 times and yes I still love it as much now as I did the first time I watched it.
I remeber when I first saw this series as a kid. I was about 8 or 9 years old and it scared the shit out of me.
That's true, I had the same sentiment when I first saw it. Then I caught it several years ago on AXN and it got me hooked.
My daughter watched it with me when she was a kid, and my granddaughter was introduced to it my my daughter and she loved it, too! I'm about ready to re-watch it. My favorite series of all time.
I love all the cultural references John bring with him. 'Harvey' and Loony Tunes are mentioned, but there are so many, even 'Blazing Saddles'.
Farscape, Babylon 5 and DS9 will always define the best of the best, my favourites
What a fantastic summary. Eloquent and we'll structured and insightful. I haven't seen ANYTHING of this show in more than a decade and now I want to watch it again.
i wish i could go back and do another first viewing of this series, one of the few SCiFI shows that actually made me care about the entire cast.
One of the few shows that got cancelled but actually got the finale it deserved. Loved it and miss it.
Every time I see an article or interview where someone goes on about how there aren't any well written strong female characters, I always think "you've never seen Farscape, have you".
Craise's redemption was amazing to watch
This will always be my favorite sci Fi series. It's brilliantly written.
Exactly. It´s brilliantly everything!
'You can be more." "Look up, and share the wonders I have seen."
Farscape is awesome. -- Yes, yes, it is. -- We need more.
Meh, I always wanted more, but the only "more" we would get now would be a re-make, and they'd probably ruin it.
@@PiousMoltarthey'd definitely ruin it sadly, and only ai could give us a worthy sequel.
Farscape gets way too much uncalled for hate, especially since seasons 9 and 10 of Stargate but it is just so unique and has so much personality, more people really need to give it a chance
Also I got my limited edition boxset signed by Ben Browder but he had never seen one like it before so sat and looked though it for ages saying that he wanted one. Proud moment :D
Rational Gamers Thats what I love about Ben Browder, he is such a Sci-Fi geek
Rational Gamers There is one awesome scene in SG1 Season 10 when they send up Farscape and a few other Sci Fi shows.
Well the concept of the show was taken from Canadian show Lexx. It features a group of prisoners escaping on a living ship that’s a giant bug. What I’ve seen of it is good and it’s no rip off, but it’s a more traditional telling of the concept used in Lexx
@@williamskay109 I´d say it´s more to do with the old Greek´s Odyssee. The Ulysses motiv.
These are all the points that make me love Farscape. Add to that the top screenwriting, where in every and each of the episode, there was a conclusion of the action chapter but also some character resolution. With every episode our character grown and that made in turn space for even more crazy and exciting adventures. In the end, it looks cheesy, it acts cheesy but underneath it's about universal themes as love and caring that fuels and ties all together.
I just realized Criton not only had a son from Arin, but remember Commander Graser had raped Criton and was preggo in last episode of The Peacekeeper Wars of relating the baby to be a girl ( Graser did not reveal to her husband she had raped Criton and he thinks its his ) BUT ALSO,, Criton has a 3RD Child by the Princess who turned into stone as a ruler with her bf who Criton asked to take his place for the unborn child of a son. Yes, Farscape 2 is very possible of 3 , Criton's. 2 Sons 1 daughter. 1 son is a rebel in Moyaer, the other son is a Prince from uncharted territories and the daughter a Peacekeeper. Yes, Farscape 2 is a MUST!!!
I've never seen Farscape. I'm at the end of a course that I've been doing in my spare time when I'm not working, and I've already decided I want to watch this show for the first time when I've finished the course.
It has this quality of weird and out of place things.
It will never get old cause it never tried to be cool.
It never tried to sell moral heroes and happy endings.
It never was desapointing or deceiving to us.
Im 35 years old and have seen my fair share of sci fi but this is probably my all time favorite.
My name is John Crichton, an astronaut. A radiation wave hit and I got shot through a wormhole. Now I'm lost in some distant part of the universe on a ship, a living ship, full of strange alien life forms. Help me. Listen, please. Is there anybody out there who can hear me? I'm being hunted by an insane military commander. I'm doing everything I can. I'm just looking for a way home.
Note that Crichton's voice-over changed over the seasons as he became used to the universe he's now living in and becomes close to the aliens he lives with.
The Inquisiton heard you're distress call. Have no fear loyal citizen.
@@lordinquisitorpeter8221 He associates with Xenos! Purge the unclean!
@@SymbioteMullet
Maybe he got captured by them and now is forced to work with them.
@@lordinquisitorpeter8221 Then he should have resisted such enslavement with every fibre of his being! To do otherwise is to be no better than other tau-loving traitors! PREPARE THE EXTERMINATUS!
Great show. ..my favorite is Gigi Edgely as Chiana,with her odd,scarecrow like poses!
Rygel and Pilot have more character and development to them than lots of human characters in other sci-fi shows. They're so expertly portrayed that you forget they are puppets and get swept away in the character.
The characters also show that you don't need to fill a series with humans for them to be enjoyable or relatable, often human characters are the dullest and bring little of consequence to the show, a wide diverse array of aliens is so much more enjoyable to watch. Also this is a show where most of the main cast in later seasons are female and the universe didn't grind to a halt, imagine that!
Dna mad scientist (for pilot)
PK tech girl (The dominar)
Those eps kill the idea that they're puppets nope. They're sekret alien actors.
"I want to sell out and settle down. For one day only it's a blue light special on aisle three. My wormhole technology, and three set of steak knifes, all the tea in China."
Welcome to my Cold War!
"It's beer'o'clock, where the _hell_ is my riot?"
Couldn't agree more!! As a trek guy, it always took me a dozen or more episodes to "get used to" the look and feel of what ever new series I had taken up, but FarScape was so in-your-face different that it took the whole first year!!! I ended up loving this series and was floored when it was just stopped for no apparent reason. The characters and music were so awesomely different and high paced I could help but to buy the series. Claudia Black is a goddess.
Not even close..As a trek guy, who of all people should be able to see the weakness in the show and how about John's line "He's no Captain Kirk." that is for sure, a weak human at best, not a hero at all.
Farescape is IMHO THE BEST SF series of all times. It has perfect mixture of humor, drama, interpersonal relations and SF tropes and best villans ever (it say something if you can consider guy dressed in lether tuxedo trully scary). I am only sad it had only 4 seasons and ended with frankly terrible Peacekeaper Wars. Second close is Babylon 5 and it might be a draw if not for weak Babylon first season and somewhat weaker fith season also some cast desicions were not to my liking, I positively hated characters of Elizabeth Lochley, as she felt out of placed and forced.
Greatest show ever made. "Cross my heart, smack me dead, stick a lobster on my head!"
You gotta love how Rockne S. O'Bannon created such a master piece.... After the failure which was Seaquest DSV- that being his other major Sci-fi property. Every time I look at Farscape I can't help but consider how good Seaquest could have been if the executive meddling never occurred and if the show stuck to the original continuity heavy, hard sci-fi leanings found with in it's first season.
Anyway, thanks for providing us with another fantastic re-cap! Keep up the great work!
I liked John's Sarcastic pet names he had for everyone and the one liners.
Farscape is crazy! The best illustration of this happened at my parents' house. I was visiting and brought my copy of Peacekeeper Wars with me and watched it. My mom sat down and watched the last part with me. When it was done, she gave this look and said, "What the hell was that?!" Being on the inside it took me a few moments to understand how immersive, yet all-over-the-place the story is to someone who hasn't seen any of it. (It would've been worse if I had showed her the episode with Stark's video game.)
God "John Quixote!"
Their crazy episodes were some of the best stuff ever filmed.
I enjoyed this very much. Thanks! I just downloaded the whole series the other day and plan to binge/re-watch them soon. I have been a trekker/trekkie since iST:TOS first aired when I was a teenager, and although I love that show, Farscape is my favorite sci fi show of them all because of everything that you listed, plus its creativity and innovation. Just the best! I'm glad they were able to get a conclusion together. It is so frustrating when shows are just ended abruptly.
Everything was just so amazing. Whoever cancelled this show should be fired... Out of a cannon. Epic music scores! The spirituality of Za'an, and her mystical powers. The old lady and her bagful of magic powders. The work by Jim Henson to make these puppets look so perfect. Rigel was incredible. farting helium, peeing explosives, swimming under water and gobbling up bits of John and Aaron, and not forgetting the wedding ring. His little power chair. The planet where he was worshiped and rose up into the light! Scorpy was the stuff of nightmares. such perfect acting and costuming. and then he develops into an ally. The brain chip. The AUrora chair. My side your side, my side your side! Pass you to the other side. Wow! The little alien bunny rabbits that with their wormhole knowledge are more powerful than anything in the Universe, yet are in danger of dying out. Moya, the magnificent living vessel, created by a peaceful god race, the builders to spread peace throughout the universe. Chiana, so quirky and sexy, and the way she brought nobility to being a Trelk. Dhargo's faithfulness to the crew and his bravery. Love hangin with you man. And whoever made up all the Farscape swear words to keep the dialog clean. What the Hismanna! Frell me dead. Tastes like Drenn. :) And Ben and Claudia were just so perfect. Details even down to the Denticks for cleaning teeth, translator microbes, and Moya's amexus fluid for washing clothes. Just a strange wonderful, scary, exciting, challenging world they created. The power glove, the various trackers, flame throwing beings, etc. Beings that have a "peace organ" embedded in the middle of their head. Any other scifi is just boring stuff after all that. And they got cancelled quickly. Can't have an exciting, inspirational and thoroughly entertaining show for the people with an IQ over 130 now can we? Cancel it and put some other dreck on TV that isn't even worth watching.
And pilot. totally alien concept. symbiotic bonding with the leviathon. Innate senses that function with nanosecond accuracy. Mathematical abilities beyond compare, in total communion with the living ship. Almost omniscient when everything is working, which is almost never. :) And Moya, who lives to serve. and finally speaks in the episode with the builders, just one request. Can Za'an sing?
What can I say? I don´t watch TV any more (only the news channels). They had it coming!
@@fastacker2 Заан... Слезы сами текут.
Omgggggg this comment!! Everything about it = 🎯
@@Youalleatmuffins 💯
It has a very "Australia circa 2000" feel and look. The chemistry between the actors takes it to the next level.
Stargate will always hold a special place in my heart as the best series ever.
Stargate was also the reason I came to watch Farscape in the first place, because I really liked Ben Browder and Claudia Black and another Sci-Fi series with the 2 in it as main actors? sign me up.
Good thing I did find it, because it grew to become my number 3 favorite Sci-Fi series only beaten by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Stargate: SG1
Loved the ending getting to see what the WH weapon really was and what it meant. The proverbial "Now you done pissed me off".
Farscape made me appreciate science-fiction... I love this show and it reminds me a lot of good memories...
I introduced my best friend to Farscape. Somewhere in Season 2 or 3 we noticed the quality of the scripts had gone down - and then realized that was during the writers strike. But what it really brought home for us was the incredible quality of Farscapes well told stories. I miss this world.
"Why FARSCAPE is AWESOME"
100% agreed with everything said in this Video!
Farscape was a beautifully written character-driven show. I especially liked that the writers didn't pander to anyone. If you expected every episode to end up resolved with a happy ending, you were wrong. Often there was a thought-provoking moral dilemma decision that was/had to be made/accomplished either deliberately or accidentally with unintended consequences, and/or resulting in the burden of personal pain and/or sacrifice. Much like life. Love this frelling show.
Indeed, Farscape is one of the greatest SF series ever made! It is fun, smart, the make-up is exceptional, each character is unique with an interesting background reflecting a huge and complex universe! Also, Moya, their Levianthan ship... a biological one, is just awesome! I like also the amber color of the ship, weaponry and the music wich reflects perfectly strange and dangerous situations. ^^ I hope there will be a video game soon! Unfortunately, no one knows this series in France whereas Mass Effect, Star Wars and Star Trek are well known. ^^
Ultimately what made Farscape so compelling was that we cared about the characters. None of the main protagonists, good or bad, were not two dimensional. The love story between Crichton and Aeryn was beautifully evolved. I was hooked on the series from when I first watched it back in 1999 and think it remains one of the finest such shows. The outcry of fans at the series' cancellation was a tribute to how well regarded it was and is.
Extremely character development and writing. Evolution of Crais , turning Scorpius a semi ally , even making Scarrans eventually not beyond hope , vacilliation of Rygel between his selfish geed to his occasional wisdom and courage (for a puppet extremely well displayed emotions) and best romance story I have ever seen between John and Aeryn. This show took enormous risks in writing and they paid off.
There are 100 reasons why it is awesome.
All of them are Claudia Black!
Fifty more reasons: Gigi Edgley.
"ON..THE..GROUND....NOW!!!" Big gun wielded by leather clad female psycho. Priceless!
its about time someone acknowledged the existence of farscape, my favorite series that tops any other.
I was ready to kill someone when they canceled it.. It was my favorite show. It still is my favorite sci-fi show today, A fantastic show of what you can do when you really care about your craft, Farscape still blows your mind looking at it today.
I'd like to say thank you for this video. While I've always loved space opera shows, I had barely even heard of Farscape before and may never have watched this gem if I hadn't heard you promoting it here. I'm now about halfway through season 2 and it's already one of my new favorite shows.
fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck yeah!! I love this series SO much!
I still remember that (spoiler) Scorpius comes back later, even though he was a villain. Show was good enough for me to remember this fucking thing, well over a decade later from fucking memory alone.
dont you mean frell yeah
For villains the Nebari are not explored to the degree of Psi Corps on Babylon 5 but are no less chilling with their "cleansing".
Jim Henson had been dead for a decade by the time Farscape aired. Brian Henson, his son and heir, was the main driving force behind it. If Jim had any influence at all, it was from the grave.
i'm pety sure he was referring to the jim henson group, as a team yes brian was in charge, but it didn't say brian henson group at the end of the credits.
Yeah but he didn't say "The Jim Henson Group", he said "Jim Henson's team", which heavily implies he was overseeing it.
I absolutely love Farscape.
In the beginning it felt so different than any other scifi shows it was difficult to watch
As the characters developed
and what motivated each character then the show quickly became one of my all time favorite scifi series
And the translator microbes make all the aliens sound Australian!
I loved this show. Farscape is my benchmark for a sci-fi show. No one has made the cut since then. I don't think it can be done. Everybody sticks with what is safe and familiar.
the BEST science fiction show... 4 seasons was not enough!
They finished the story in comic books. BOOM! Studio made them.
@@ZDrive The comics suck.
Z:\ Drive I hope you didn't miss the mini-series tying up all the loose ends.
@ Everyone should miss that. Peacekeeper Wars is the worst piece of shit the Sci Fi channel ever did.
@Mickey E Except basically every other movie the Sci Fi channel did
I’ve recently been rewatching Farscape since it’s free on RUclips right now and I was wondering if there was a Rowan J Coleman style retrospective for it. So I was delighted to find this when I searched here! I feel like you’re script writing and video making have only gotten better since this and maybe one day you’ll make a longer and more in-depth retrospective - I’d love that.
The first scifi show that during the first episode, I said, "They got this right."
I purchase the Blu-Ray set years ago… looks great I. HD. Great strange show!
Loved this show and makes me wonder if studios ever watched their own shows they've canceled?
It's not always the studios that cancel, but the networks that commission the shows.
SyFy, for example, cancelled Stargate Universe by not renewing it for a third season. Financing for SGU was 50% MGM and 50% SyFy, and each episode cost $2 mil. That's what I can quickly recall from discussions on Gateworld forums.
The showrunners loved SGU, but the bigwigs appear to have made a decision in favour of wrestling. SyFy was also on premium cable, and then SGU's scheduling there was shuffled around all the time, and that's always bad.
I coud posit, that SGU was conceived and ran right in the middle of the Great Recession. Had the economic downturn not happened, more Nielsen families would have been able to afford premium cable that would have included SyFy, but that was not the case.
Netflix cancelled Sense8, and I'm sure, that the people there were very mindful of the show. At least Sense8 now gets a grand finale due to great fan response.
It's not uncommon for shows to be sacrificed to economics, or to studio politics.
Back in the day, SciFi ran into trouble and got a new CEO, Bonnie Hammer, whose firm policy of "no space shows" (partly because Paramount was keeping Star Trek for its own channel) helped kill off several promising shows.
Or the Babylon 5 spinoff, Crusade: the local branch of TNT were big fans of B5, and managed to rescue it for S5 and green light several TV movies and the spinoff series. But as a new venture for the channel and a new property, head office decided the new show needed more oversight, and it got heavily involved, butting heads with JMS, the show-runner. At the same time, head office was looking at figures from their airing of S5 of B5, and noticed that while they got a lot of new viewers for the show, rather than stick around and watch their more typical fare of wrestling and sexy dramas, the fans switched back to some other channel immediately, so they were rather less keen to keep Crusade going.
Often, there's one or two people championing a show, and if they fall out of favour, or move on somewhere else, the new management makes room for their pet projects instead...
That woman. At least SyFy now has new leadership, and their promise around space-based sci-fi is being fulfilled; cf. The Expanse.
Mart Rootamm I'm not gonna hold my breath. Been a long time since I've found anything watchable on seefee. Like to see some more realistic stuff like "The Martian" movie; real exploration, real interaction problems. Including food, water, and O2 deprivation.
Seen enough ray blasting rubber suits...
Sense8 was a GREAT sci-fi show idea that was ultimately ruined by all the LGBTQ+ soapboxing... way to preachy for me.
Growing up this was my favorite show on Syfy. It was so good I recorded it on VHS tapes. I still have those tapes but I haven't looked at them in 20 years. Thank goodness for people uploading this content to show me my past and what I loved.
I clearly need to try to watch this show. My Mum used to watch it when i was about 8 but the aliens scared me so I'd hide in my room.
Scorpious’s outfit is the freakiest villain getup in all of sci-fi.