Farscape | S1E20 - The Hidden Memory | Reaction
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- Hi all,
These are my reactions to Season One of Farscape.
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#Farscape
"How many Peackeepers do you know on this base???" Love that line....
I think one of the things that make Scorpius so sinister and intimidating is his quiet stillness, he seems to calculate everything.
Crais is scary because he seems increasingly insane, unpredictable and volatile.
Welcome onboard Stark! One thing I loved about Farscape was the organic adoption of new cast members that just kind of "happens" across a story or number of stories. Very few long term characters (friends or foes) ever feel out of place (only one or two I can think of). There were a few that came and went but left you wanting much more screentime from them because they were so well realized by the actors and crew...
Yeah. Generally the show handled integration well. I love that for so many it is a journey towards being a part of the crew and wanting it. It feels more organic then "we got thrown together and did a thing and now we're all friends." Much like with the original core group learning to like each other and trust each other. Even with recurring villains things build the way real rivalries and continued conflicts due.
That whole bit of Aeryn telling Crais off, and that she realizes that what she's lost wasn't worth it in the first place. My favorite Aeryn moment, and her turning point ❤👍
I love it when Aeryn tells off Crais. “You will never order me again!”
Poor Gilina. I've always been sorry she didn't make it past this point. Simply fantastic episode, which in addition to continuing the episode arc, carries the season forward into the final stretch. THIS is Farscape and it's only going to get better from this point on.
Yes, Crais is utterly unhinged and he has been for some time. Scorpius on the other hand is the sanest man in the uncharted territories. He's utterly brilliant and ruthless-which makes him the perfect villain.
Yes. 17 seemingly standalone misfits in space episodes and then bang. Everything happens.
Not a single thing arising in this two parter is wasted.
The female characters were all excellent this episode. Yes I like Stark too, a trigic character with a noble soul.
By the way funneling in story arc continued this episode , the past images and deeds of Crais (from That Old Black Magic episode) were fully displayed and Moya having her child albeit unexpected nature of the baby Leviathan (from "They have got a secret")
I still vividly remember watching this on the scifi channel the night it first aired. It was the first time I felt even a small amount of pity for Crais.
Aeryn Soon is my favourite character. I love the others on Moya but Aeryn is my favourite
Claudia has created two of the best characters in sci fi tellybox, Aeryn and Vala.
what is so good about stark is he can be so sympathetic he has to ease his enemies pain
Two or maybe three highlights. One Crais was downgraded in a great way in plot story arc wise and Scorpius was elevated as main threat by this episode finale. Once Scorpius saw false memory planted by Gilina (who was obvious main casaulty candidate since Nerve episode) he did not hesistate at all to put Crais , captain of a Command Carrier with similar rank and authority into chair. From his appearent ease to turn the tables and determination , the audience gets the message : Scorpius is not someone to be trifled with. Once he sets his mind on a goal , he goes with everything to get it , tries every avenue but acts in a calm , deliberate , professional manner like a surgeon. Two : Aeryn's reckoning with Crais who was strapped in Aurora Chair was brilliant , excellently acted by both actors. And three : Stark who is still a little bit weirdo unknown is introduced
Medusa: "I like Stark."
Me: >Swoon<
Possibly my favourite character in the series.
You two and Ben 'Creighton' Browder.
Stark has his moments.
There's a recurring theme to my viewing of your reactions. Every time you ask a question...
Me: You'll see.
Oh poor PK Tec Girl. Im always just a little sad we didnt see more of her beyond her role in helping them do what needs doing and tragic love interest. I feel like the actress was good and the character had potential. It also would have been fun to see the contrast between her and Aeryn not just as people but what their backgrounds and experiences as Peacekeepers was like.
Fun behind the scenes fact. If Im remembering it right, how that character is was the original plan for Johns love interest. Basically Aeryn before she was Aeryn. But then they saw the chemistry between the actors while reading and changed directions.
Greetings Medusa, I've just discovered your channel this week to find you're reacting to not 1, but 2 of my favourite Sci fi shows that everyone else seems to miss: Farscape and Babylon 5. Not only that but you seem to be genuinely enjoying both. I'm always glad to see people explore new worlds and stories and holy crap are you in for a ride!
I look forward to watching you enjoy both very different shows, I only wish the weeks would go quicker.
Welcome aboard!
It's all kicking off now! I know I can talk spoilers because you've already finished the series, so here are a few thoughts about the show's long-running story arc...
The working title for Farscape was 'Space Chase', and it's here that the show swaps the so-so space chase of the early eps (Crais) for a much more effective replacement (Scorpius). The long-form storytelling ramps up over the next season and hits peak serial storytelling in Season 3, to the point that new viewers found the show hard to get into.
There was a really good article somewhere online that I can't find anywhere now, comparing Farscape to other SF shows with serial storytelling and series-long story arcs, like The X-Files, Lost, Babylon 5 and so on. The point it made--and it's a REALLY important point, not just about TV, but storytelling in any medium--is that many of those shows eventually left viewers dissatisfied with their endings. And why? Because their seasons-long plot arcs were based around a mystery.
In The X-Files it was about the shadowy government conspiracy regarding aliens. In Lost it was about what the heck was up with that weird island. In the Battlestar Galactica reboot, it was about the Cylons' mysterious 'plan' that the opening credits reminded us of at the start of every episode.
Unfortunately, by the end of those shows' final seasons, it became clear that the writers actually hadn't planned everything out, and didn't know the answers to the questions they kept dangling in front of viewers. They were just making it up as they went along. And the longer they went on, the more they contradicted themselves and tangled things up. In the end, they couldn't stick the landing. Especially Lost and BSG.
But the writer of the article singled out two shows that actually managed to pull off the long-form, multi-season story arc: Babylon 5 and Farscape.
Babylon 5 succeeded because the whole thing was planned out from the beginning, so the writer always knew where the story was going and what the ending would be. Any mysteries could be sensibly posed and sensibly answered because the writer knew everything in advance.
By contrast, Farscape never knew where the heck it was going; the writers cheerfully admitted throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what stuck. "Hey, this Scorpius character seems cool, let's keep him!" "Hmm, that bit with Crichton hallucinating Scorpy in a Hawaiian shirt was fun... maybe we could do more with that." "Should the Nebari or the Scarrans be the ultimate villains of the show? Eh, let's figure it out later." (Doctor Who does a lot of this, too.)
For instance, I don't think all the stuff in this episode about the beautiful place Stark once saw was any kind of intentional foreshadowing for the end of Season 4 (although I might be wrong). I think they threw it in without knowing where that place was, on the off-chance that they could come back to it later when they had an idea. When I first saw this episode, I thought he might have seen Earth...
So how did Farscape successfully tell a five-season-long story (well, four seasons and a miniseries) with a proper ending, while Lost and BSG and The X-Files failed... despite making it all up as it went along, just as those other shows did?
Because Farscape didn't base its story arc on a mystery.
It didn't say, "Here's some mysterious foreshadowing and tantalising clues and cryptic predictions! What does it all mean? How does this puzzle fit together? All shall be revealed! Just keep watching!"
That only works *if the writers know the answer*. If they don't--if they're just faking it--eventually they'll make the mystery so convoluted that they write themselves into a corner and can't come up with an ending that satisfies. (I hope I don't need to bring up the Disney Star Wars sequels, which started with lots of JJ Abrams 'ooh how mysterious' foreshadowing and then went... a bit strange. Or what can happen when Steven Moffat gets a bit too carried away with his multi-series Doctor Who puzzle boxes.)
Instead, Farscape set up a situation and then said, "Tune in next week to find out *what happens next*." Scorpius wants to get the wormhole knowledge out of Crichton. Crichton doesn't want him to have it. Ready, set, go! What ploy will Scorpius try this time? How will Crichton get out of it? What other escapades will they have along the way?
The viewer has all the information to understand the story up front. Instead of being hooked by wondering what's going on, they're hooked by caring about what will happen next. Empathy is a stronger hook than mystery.
There are certainly smaller mysteries folded into that story arc, like *why* Scorpius wants the wormhole technology so much. But you don't really need to know his personal agenda for the overall arc to work. It's enough to know that he works for the Peacekeepers and they're not exactly people you want to give more power to.
And along the way you have other stories like John's romance with Aeryn, his slow change of heart from wanting to get back to Earth to *protecting* Earth and staying out in space, the various character arcs of his shipmates, and so on. But very few of those are based on mysteries either. They work because we care.
/rant :D
(and if anyone can find that article, I'd be forever grateful!)
You're bang on.
Like bab 5 and the expanse you care about the main plot. It unfolds brilliantly because the writers read the previous episodes and used bits (Eg stark's vision) that they'd alluded to later on to great effect.
But you've got what is for me at least, the pivotal episode midway through s3 which totally puts the story on a god tier.
I love that you left this glorious long comment and so wish you could have found the article.
So many turning points in this episode. Crichton, Aeryn, and Crais all have profound moments of change here, and of course Moya having her baby.
I was so very upset Gelena died. She was so cool.
Stark is an actor from the first Matrix movie, Paul Goddard. I think he played one of the agents in that movie.
Scorpius doesn’t learn that Aeryn was hurt so he doesn’t know everything.
I always liked Stark's mask. It is a little phantom of the opera, but it looked cool.
So many new characters added in two episodes, and advancing the existing characters' stories. You think they could handle any more new characters and plotlines from here on?
Looking back on it now, the way this show juggles so many important characters and plot lines that get added over the four seasons is a true masterpiece. (I don't think it's a spoiler to say that, yes, they'll continue adding characters and plots and the show is never weighed down by them). The showrunners for Game of Thrones could have learnt a lot if they watched this show.
Complete agreement. This should be studied in writing classes as how to handle a large ensemble of varied and interesting characters.
Rygel locked one of the pressure tanks so that Chiana and him will be in the same tank together.
Thanks for your wonderful reaction. Now is when the show really get going.
I've always had a soft spot for Stark... 💜
It's Great you liked this Episode. It had me totally gripped when I watched it. Never watch a gripping story when you are holding a Choc-Ice.
I like the made up words they use for swearing -- and this was before the reboot of Battlestar Galactica.
Scorpius is a fanatic and utterly convinced that any amount of suffering is justified for the greater good. And to bring about this great good he needs wormhole tech.
That's not to say he has no sadistic side at all, but it is most certainly not his driving motivation.
I think one of the Techs liked Gilina. One of the Techs gave me that impression.
"How on earth ..." I think you missed something at the start of the series.
The only bad thing about your reactions to Farscape and Babylon 5 is that they're not uploaded more frequently!
Life and work happens 😊
Yes especially Babylon 5 which is my favorite sci-fi show. I am new to Farscape, I just finished the series and now need to watch again now that I know everything.
Hey Medusa out of curiosity have you seen yet who voices Pilot?
Yes.
Thank you so much for wording your quarry in a none spoilery way. Knowing whose doing the voice acting can ruin emersion for some and its always nice to see people be careful of that.
Gilena was great, she should have lived and gone with them. I think she was a better match for John also
Hai