Archives for July 2013

Season 1, Episode 12: “Rhapsody in Blue”
*** out of *****

“When the darkness rises up from inside, that is normal. It is when you reach down to pull it up! …that the noxious warning sounds.”

A Delvian sect who fled to the Uncharted Territories after a Peacekeeper-assisted coup on Delvia draws Moya to their temple and steals Zhaan’s peace-mojo. We’re treated to more of Zhaan’s background, including a revelation about the crime that got her imprisoned in the first place.

This is one of the few times in the series (and possibly the ONLY time–I don’t entirely remember anymore) that we see other Delvians. Apparently the make-up team had their hands more than full getting all of them ready for shooting each day, and it was deemed just too much trouble to have more than one Delvian in an episode at a time[1].

I like this episode, and yet I don’t really enjoy watching it. It begins as a welcome look into Delvian culture, and the sinister undercurrent of something creepy going on with mind-screwing aliens holds my interest. Yet once Tahleen makes her move on Zhaan and the crew gets telepathically distracted[2], it does get a little slower. I think perhaps if it were more focused on Zhaan during this time rather than Crichton, it might have been better, because most of the time we’re just watching Crichton talk to his non-existent wife. I liked that John helps Zhaan get somewhat back to where she was by showing her his vision of her during unity, but aside from that (and John’s frustration with Aeryn toward the start at her not finding anything incredible), this episode needed less John, more Zhaan. That rhymes, folks, and you KNOW it rhymes[3]!

There is one line I particularly hate in this episode, though. When Zhaan blocks Tahleen’s attack on Crichton, she says, “I am now a pa’u of the Tenth Level, able to protect.” It’s just a really clunky line. I know they’ve established that pa’u levels exist and are rated by number, but said in that way, it just feels a bit too much like Virginia Hey is playing Dungeons & Dragons. Quick! Roll a save vs. flawed writing!

Last line:
“Hardly wasted. They were the best cycles of my life.”

Other Comments:
Developing a common Farscape occurrence, John gets mind-frelled again. But then, so does almost everybody in this episode.

——
[1] Which is a shame, as Delvians are one of the most visually intriguing races in Farscape.

[2] Aeryn’s particular mental distraction seems…kind of stupid. Her weapon falls apart and she immediately freaks out? I wonder if Claudia Black argued with any of the writers about this.

[3] Well, maybe it doesn’t.

Season 1, Episode 11: “Till the Blood Runs Clear”
***1/2 out of *****

“You help me capture the prisoners and I’ll split the bounty, seventy-thirty.”
“Seventy…FORTY!”
“Eighty-forty. You in or out?”

After trying to recreate the wormhole that got him to the Uncharted Territories, John and Aeryn are forced to land on a planet for repairs and discover that Crais has put up numerous wanted beacons in his search for Moya[1]. Soon they’re forced to play bounty hunter themselves when they run into two Vorcarian blood trackers named Rorf (“Worf?” “RORF!”) and Rorg. Meanwhile, D’Argo has more temper tantrums and Zhaan gets in some private time when we’re introduced to the Delvian photogasm.

I do like this episode. John’s act with the Vorcarians (and Aeryn’s reaction to it) is fun to watch, and one of the first instances of what becomes a recurring situation in Farscape[2]. Also, Furlow’s a great character. She’s clever, she’s opportunistic, and she’s an untrustworthy figure that that John is forced to trust[3]. The thing that amuses me most about her is that she’s savvy enough about her self-serving attitudes such that she makes you at least suspect from time to time that she might actually be on your side.

As for the flaws of the ep, D’Argo really gets on my nerves here. He’s blustering, bossy, loud…and he’s too stupid to get that John isn’t actually betraying him. But at least it leads to a little bit of reconciliation and common ground between the two of them. Also, the pacing is a bit problematic at times. The scene where the Vorcarians capture D’Argo seems to be mostly shots of people walking/driving through the desert.

After being forced to give Furlow his flight data on wormholes (without a copy for himself), John tells her he’ll see her in five years. Turns out he wasn’t quite right about that time estimate…

Last line:
 “You remember now, any time you need some repair work done, you know where to come! You sure you don’t want that thing detailed?”

Other Comments:
This episode also gives us the first hint of John’s obsession with wormholes in that he doesn’t really think about Aeryn being in the module in his attempt to create a wormhole.

Some similarities to Tatooine: it’s a desert, someone goes blind, and my knowledge of the third season calls to mind the line, “You’re gonna die here, you know. Convenient.”

——
[1] Fortunately, they only advertise wanting Zhaan, D’Argo, and Rygel, since Crais wants John for himself and there’s a secret offer in the beacon for Aeryn if she turns them in: honorable retirement and a quick death! Oh boy!

[2] Fortunately for John, Worf Rorf and Rorg aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer, and it mostly works. For a while.

[3] Which is another recurring situation in this show, really.

(Sorry this one took a bit to get to. I’ve been busy with A Memory in the Black stuff this week. But more on that soon…)

Season 1, Episode 10: “They’ve Got A Secret”
**1/2 out of *****

“Oh, man. I bet that thing’s gonna grow.”

While searching for Peacekeeper devices on Moya, D’Argo accidentally knocks something loose that winds up getting him blown out into space and Moya pregnant. Also, we learn Luxans can survive in vacuum for up to a quarter of an arn, though it apparently makes them a little loopy in revealing and expositionary ways.

This episode is a little slow. It lays a lot of good foundation for future episodes, but it’s not all that fantastic on its own merits. If only I knew at the time how much Farscape likes to develop characters and plots in dynamic fashion, I might have been more excited upon my original watching. As it was, I remember not finding it all that interesting that first time because I still didn’t much care about D’Argo. We do get a lot more backstory for him[1], which reveals a great portion of his current agenda and motivation, but at the time I was a bit unmoved. I know, I know, I’m a heartless monster.

As for the mystery of what’s going on with Moya, it doesn’t seem to have too much traction until toward the end when it really gets going and we get close to figuring out what’s going on. That said, the bit where Crichton runs into the whole section of DRDs just staring at him in the black is creepy in its own little way. I was thinking it was evocative of The Birds–and a minute later John hung a lantern on it with his own mention of Hitchcock, so I’m guessing that was intentional.

Nonetheless, it must be said that the concept of a SHIP getting freaking PREGNANT is really far out there on the edge of things we’d ever really seen in a TV show before. It’s weird, it’s cool, it’s Farscape.

Last line:
“D’Argo, no matter what happens to us, I will never tell anyone about your son.”

Other Comments:
This episode also shows us that after her experience in the last episode, Aeryn seems to have retained a partial understanding of how Pilot controls Moya.

Hi, Talyn!

—–

[1] Lo’loan, Jothee, and Makton are introduced, in absentia. Seeing D’Argo play with Rygel, thinking he’s Jothee, is both amusing and touching. And just a tad disturbing somehow.

Season 1, Episode 9: “DNA Mad Scientist”
**** out of *****

“I wanted him to find me a place where I could belong. I didn’t want to get left behind. I’m so scared.”

A geneticist offers the crew a way to get each of them home with DNA-based starmaps. All it will cost them is one of Pilot’s arms, and for Aeryn to find herself an unwilling participant in his latest experiment.

I was in a forum discussion once where people were talking about the best way to introduce someone to Farscape. It was a general consensus that it would be showing them this episode first[1]. It’s running on all cylinders, showcases all of the characters (with the possible exception of Moya), and shows off the settings, attitudes, and unique flavors of Farscape. It’s really one of the best episodes of the season. Plus: eye-poking[2] and Farscapian body-horror!

It certainly starts off with a bang. If this were an episode of Star Trek, or Babylon 5, or pretty much any other sci-fi show, we’d have lots of agonizing discussions as the crew tries to figure out a way around Namtar’s demand for Pilot’s arm, or people talking it over with Pilot, or general hemming and hawing. Farscape? None of that. 7 minutes in, cut to them cutting his arm off. Hey, it’ll grow back, right[3]?

Having turned on one of their own, then begins the process of turning on each other as they scheme (or play diplomacy, depending on the term you prefer) to be the first to go home. Everyone has their own agenda on this show (even as the series continues and people grow closer, they’re still individuals with their own agendas–it’s just that they become influenced by the relationships they’ve developed), and this episode is particularly good at showing it.

Pilot’s reaction to having his arm sliced off without permission gives a lot of characterization. To John’s shock, he’s reasonably okay with it after the fact–just a price to pay for being bonded to a leviathan and seeing the galaxy[4]. As with anything of this nature having to do with Pilot, I wonder how much of his reaction is influenced by his guilt of the agreement that got him bonded to Moya in the first place. Perhaps he views it as less price, more penance. Even better, this isn’t something that just happens and is forgotten. It gets referenced multiple times later on in the series, if I recall correctly.

Meanwhile, Aeryn’s starting to develop some abandonment issues, in a sense. Her fear that the others are going home, that John will eventually leave, and she’ll be on her own without a group to belong to leads her to finally give in and submit to Namtar’s test to find a Sebacean colony on which she can live with others of her kind[5].

I love the way this episode ends. Everything is most definitely not all better, but all of the characters remain very real. D’Argo doesn’t apologize in words–in fact he even says he’d make the same choice if he had it to do over again. But he does play his newly completed shilquen[6] instrument for Pilot at the episode’s close. What makes the moment so poignant is the look on Pilot’s face. He’s not a puppet. Guy’s alive.

Last line:“It is not a weapon.”

Other Comments:
 Despite how much I enjoy this episode, the concept of maps to homeworlds based on DNA tests seems a little odd.  One would think they could just ask, “Hey, where’s Delvia?” if he’s got a whole database in there. But, of course, he has other reasons for asking for the DNA…

Curious how when the datacrystal shatters it spews all its data up in one big hologram for a few moments before it all dissolves. I wonder if I can do that with my flash drive?

The shot of Zhaan touching the starmap is an iconic image that they used many, many times in promos and still shots.

It bothers me that “food cubes” on Farscape are not actual cubes.

[1] I not only agree, but I can attest that it works.

[2] Sheesh, multiple eyes poked with needles, and yet this still isn’t the worst eye-horror Farscape gives us in its run…

[3] Zhaan, at least, seems to be apologetic, but her compassion for what they did to Pilot is obviously in conflict with her having a hand in doing it.

[4] Which is not to say he’s not above getting snarky about it: “It appears your crystal is useless. Lucky for you, you didn’t trade anything of real value to get it.”

[5] So far, she’s rejecting the idea of going to Earth with Crichton if he ever finds a way to get there: “Me, on a planet filled with billions of YOU.”

[6] First mentioned in Back and Back and Back to the Future.

Season 1, Episode 8: “That Old Black Magic”
***1/2 out of *****

“What is the matter with her?”
“You called her a warrior. You could not have cut her more deeply.”

Crichton runs afoul of a powerful mystical being called Maldis with a ginormous black ruff who pits him against Crais in a fight to the death. Zhaan digs into her violent side to find the means to face Maldis herself, getting help from a red-skinned priest shopkeeper who’s nice enough to be kind of a dick in order to make us not mind that he dies at the end.

Okay, first of all, I like Maldis, so I like this episode. In a sense, his power makes him Farscape’s answer to Q from Star Trek. I know a lot of fans don’t much care for him[1], but as far as I’m concerned his presence makes for two good episodes. I suspect, if Zhaan had stuck around, Maldis would’ve turned up again, but without her to deal with him, there’s really no one else who can[2] without bringing in a one-episode throwaway character. (Come to think of it, that would’ve been a great way to bring Zhaan back for another episode.)

This is the first time we’ve seen Crais since the premiere. He’s already showing signs of being a little cracked from his obsession. It would’ve been interesting to have a Crais-focused episode prior to this to show how things have been for him as he struggles to find Moya and comes up empty, but as that would mean an episode without any of the regular cast, that’s not really something they could do during the first season while they’re trying to establish the show. On the other hand, this episode does do a good job of showing where he’s at now, if not precisely how he got there. The fact that Crais was a conscript from a farming colony rather than a volunteer adds another layer to his character.

The fact that John empathizes with Crais’s grief adds a layer to John, too[3]. John keeps trying to make peace with Crais, giving Crais multiple chances to change his behavior. It’s a core aspect of his character. Sometimes (i.e. in other episodes, with other characters) it pays off, but Crais’s constant refusal pushes John to accept the kill-or-be-killed situation.[4] The “good man pushed too far” is a role John finds himself in a lot in this series, isn’t it?

While John and Crais are undergoing The Maldis Experience[5], Zhaan spends much of the episode struggling between finding a way to fight Maldis and still keep her inner peace. It’s a good struggle, and one she’ll continue to struggle with, but in this episode it’s slightly flawed in that there’s a difference between fighting someone who’s hurting others, and inflicting pain on an innocent two-headed bird[6]. Yeah, yeah, slippery slope and all that, I get it, but there’s room for shades of grey there that no one seems to acknowledge.

For Maldis’s failure, he does manage to achieve one goal: giving Crais’s vengeance a booster shot. Crais snaps Lieutenant Teague’s neck to keep from being called off of the chase, and he’s now in even deeper than he’s been before.

Last line:
“I’m…I’m sorry.”

Other Comments:
I’m sure I’ll say this many times, but the CG establishing shots for the planets Moya visits are really freaking top-notch.

The idea that Maldis can’t be killed, only dispersed, will not only be used for Maldis but also for Stark later on (though Maldis will return from his re-coalescence in far better shape than Stark does).

We learn that Crichton lost his virginity to Karen Shaw in the back of a 4×4; a throw-away detail that’ll be repurposed to amusing effect in Season 4…

[1] I can only guess that some people don’t like mysticism in their sci-fi. I suggest these people stay away from Dune and Star Wars (okay, Star Wars is arguably fantasy, but…)

[2] Stark? No, Stark’s mind is already shattered enough without Maldis sitting on it. He’d crack like a walnut under a budong.

[3] Not that it’s enough to get through Crais’s desire for vengeance just yet, but it’s a start.

[4] “So you’re done talking to him?” “Yeah! All done!”

[5] Sounds like a band name. “The Maldis Experience: Featuring Haloth!”

[6] Or Rygel, whom no one ever much seems to mind hurting…

Season 1, Episode 7: “PK Tech Girl”
***1/2 out of *****

“They spit fire? How come nobody tells me this stuff? How come nobody tells me they spit fire? Aeryn!”

Moya discovers the wreck of the Zelbinion, a legendary Peacekeeper command carrier and the ship on which Rygel was first imprisoned for 100 cycles. In checking it for supplies and maps, they find Gilina, a Peacekeeper tech from Crais’s ship and the only survivor of her squad after a Sheyang scavenger attack. As Rygel confronts his fear of the place and John and Gilina try to get into each other’s pants, the Sheyangs return and do their best to make a general flaming nuisance of themselves.

While I like this episode, I’m finding it difficult to find things to say about it. I think part of it is that I remember liking it more than I did on the rewatch. I suspect my remembering it as being better is likely to do with how many Farscape elements it sets up. Gilina will return, the Sheyangs will return, Durka has an entire episode devoted to his return… We get the Zelbinion’s defense screen, which will be with us for quite a long time.[1] We also establish that someone wiped out an unsinkable Peacekeeper command carrier, which creates a nice little Chekhov’s gun used to establish how dangerous the Nebari can be later on.[2]

The Sheyang ship bears something of a resemblance to Regula One from Wrath of Khan. The Sheyang themselves look interesting (sort of…fire-breathing turtle-slugs), but it’s a shame they didn’t have enough in the budget to make their mouths move realistically.[3] We don’t see much of these guys throughout the series, but Teurac does return to play a reasonably significant role in a rather enjoyable three-parter in season two.

We learn that Aeryn’s whole unit was demoted after her defection, and they can only be reinstated upon her death. So that’s all happy and stuff. We also learn that Moya’s afraid of fire. I’m shocked, I tell you! Shocked!

Last line:
“I stand corrected.”

Other Comments:
Nice atmosphere on the Zelbinion. One rather expects someone to get snatched up by a xenomorph.

[1] In various states of (dis)repair.

[2] It’s just a shame they never had much time to develop that particular plot thread. I often wonder what they’d have done with it in Season 5.

[3] My episode rating would’ve likely been higher if they had.