Crash Course in Farscape
Apr. 6th, 2004 12:13 amWhee! Farscape mini-series! After a crappy afternoon that's just such a wonderful thing to hear!
( Sc-Fi Wire Announcement About Farscape )
And for pimpin' this awesome series to those who have never watched, I figured I'd throw together the "essential eps" for a crash course in Farscape ...hey, it's available at Netflix...and... er... Kazaa. (Note: this list is based on what gives the best through-line of the story and thus ends up listing a few snoozers while ignoring some really kick ass stand alone eps that, while wonderful, aren't essential to the mytharc of the series.)
1X01 - "Pilot" - Not the greatest of episodes (it seemed to me that for the first half of Season 1, Farscape was really trying to find itself. I don't know that they did until somewhere around PK Tech Girl) But the pilot is still essential viewing as it establishes the premise of the series: American astronaught John Crichton is sucked through a wormhole to the other side of the Galaxy, an area called the "Uncharted Territories." He finds himself in the midst of a prison break... and a Cold War.
1X07 - "PK Tech Girl" -- Peacekeepers = Nazis. That's really the message that came across to me on first viewing. The ep establishes Aeryn as female action hero/soldier who had grown up in a Nazi-esque existence. Bonus: Crichton/Aeryn jealousy.
1x10 - "They've Got a Secret" - D'Argo reveals more of his past, and Moya... well... it's important because of what happens to Moya.
1X16 - "A Human Reaction" - The ep itself is -- eh. Plotwise, it's familiar territory that we've seen in The Twilight Zone and in the Trek universe. The only reason I'm including it, is because even though it didn't look like it at the time, it connects directly to the mytharc. And, yeah, if you're wondering, Crichton and Aeryn did have sex after that "fade to black." . . .but this *isn't* the start of the C/A romance.
1X19 - "Nerve" - This is where Farscape mythology first takes flight. Aeryn is critically ill. Crichton is willing to do anything to save her. Galina from PK Tech Girl returns. And series uber-villain Scorpius is introduced.
1X20 - "The Hidden Memory" - Tables have turned and now it's Aeryn's turn to try to save Crichton. . .and what's happening to him will have repercussions that will be felt throughout the series. Aeryn also cuts her last ties to the Peacekeepers. (Minor character death)
1x22 - "Mind the Baby" - Season 1 finale. Kick ass scene between Crichton and Aeryn's commander/Crichton nemesis Crais.
2x07 - "The Way We Weren't" "What did you think? Aeryn was off picking roseliss buds while only the mean Peacekeepers were doing the really nasty stuff?" Aeryn's dark (and I do mean dark) past returns to haunt her.
2x18 - "Liars, Guns, and Money - Part I: A Not So Simple Plan" -- Kicking off the heartbreaking arc that concludes the season. The crew of Moya discover that D'Argo's son is being held on a slave ship and they hatch an outageous "bank" robbery to get the cash to buy the boy out of slavery. . . except, as per always, things don't go as planned.
2X19 - "Liars, Guns, and Money - Part II: With Friends Like These..." Things go from bad to worse to worse. Scorpius turns up, D'Argo is furious with Crichton, and Crichton is losing his mind.
2x20 - "Liars, Guns, and Money - Part III: Plan B" It all went to hell (as plans tend to do). The whole damn thing was a trap. Scorpious is in control (torturing Crichton) Moya is horribly injured, and ends with Crichton begging D'Argo to kill him.
2x22 - "Die, Me, Dichotomy" -- Crichton's mental breakdown leads to horrific, heartbreaking results. (Major Character Death)
3x01 - "Season of Death" -- (aptly titled season premiere) dealing with the consequences of "Die, Me, Dichotomy" A huge sacrifice is made to try to put things right. (Warning: This is the dark season -- wonderful & compelling but taking the characters through the dark nights of their souls... and with numerous casulties. It rocks.)
3X04 - "Self Inflicted Wounds - Part II: Wait for the Wheel" "There is no blame, only what is meant to be. Grow through your mistakes and redemption will find you." Crichton thinks he may have found the way home to Earth... but obsessions have their prices. (Major Character Death)
3x06 - "Eat Me" It is for all intents and purposes a (reasonably scary) MOTW. Nothing outstanding...except for the consequence at the end which is crucial to the rest of this truly amazing plot.
3x07 - "Thanks For Sharing" Picking up where "Eat Me" left off, this is another episode where the plot is less important than its consequence which is splitting the crew. For most of Season 3 there are two separate casts which alternate episodes. One cast ends up with most of the comedic eps (I won't be listing those eps even though there are some really good ones especially the incredibly creative "Revenging Angel" aka the "looney toons episode". The eps I'm listing will follow the crew that includes Aeryn). This ep is the ep that splits the cast in half.
3x08 - "Green-Eyed Monster" When Crais tries to turn Aeryn and Crichton... well...
( Read more... )Farscape paid off the ship. Crichton and Aeryn get together. (And, yeah there are some happy eps this season... it's just if they're happy... they don't tend to be part of the mytharc)
3x10 - "Relativity" The Peacekeepers have sent an assassin to kill the fugitives John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, and Bialar Crais. And that assassin is Aeryn's mother. . .
3x14 - "Infinite Possibilities: Daedalus Demands The escalation of the Peacekeeper/Scarran Cold War has lead to an arms race that Crichton is morally obligated to try to stop.
3x15 - "Infinite Possibilities: Icarus Abides The odds of survival are small, but, still, a hero has to fight the good fight. . .no matter what the consequences. Heartbreaking, tragic. . . beautiful. (Major Character Death)
3x17 - "The Choice" Aeryn struggles with ghosts of her past (both living and dead) in an effort to find the will to go on... (Minor Character Death)
3x18 - "Fractures" Aeryn returns to Moya... and Crichton doesn't know how to deal with the changes in her.
3x20 - "Into the Lion's Den - Part I: Lambs to the Slaughter" If you ever wondered what drives Scorpious to do such heinous things, if you want to understand his ruthlessness, this episode explains the tragic...even horrific past that made him what he is. . . and the (perhaps even just[?!?]) cause that he will sacrifice any vestige of honor to see through to completion.
3x21 - "Into the Lion's Den - Part II: Wolf in Sheeps Clothing" Sick of being dogged, hunted, and tortured our heroes decide to go straight to the source and meet Scorpious on his own turf. . .and even the most surprising of characters can find redemption (Major Character Deaths) leaving the survivors free. . .and lost. . .with no more ties to bind them.
3x22 - "Dog With Two Bones" When winning the battle feels like losing the war. Now the desperate flight that held the fugitives together is no more, each realizes they should go their separate ways. One by one the crew departs for parts unknown and Crichton finds himself with the impossible choice of Home. . . or Aeryn. . .at least until Aeryn takes the choice out of his hands. Ends with a surprise twist.
4x05 - "Promises" Aeryn returns to Moya (to this point in the season she has only appeared in dream sequences). . .and to Crichton's horror, Scorpious is with her. Aeryn has promised Scopious "sanctuary." Needless to say... this does not go well.
4x11 - "Unrealized Realities" "God-like aliens. I'll take a critter any day over a god-like alien" John's experiments with wormholes worries a superace of god-like aliens who want to impress upon him the damage he could cause to the universe as he knows it should he unintentionally alter space and time with one of his experiments.
4x12 - "Kansas" John finally creates the wormhole that leads him home. One problem. It took him (and Moya's crew) to 1986 (Luckily... it was halloween).
4X13 - "Terra Firma" Okay, kinks worked out and he's REALLY back home. In the present. Only there's a reason for the cliche "You can't go home again..."
4X14 - "Twice Shy" Eh episode, only to be remembered for its final scenes. . . where Crichton and Aeryn finally get back together.
4x16 - "Bringing Home the Beacon" The all girl ep (well except for the ending) where the female members of the crew face off against the female villains on the show. Twist at the end.
4x18 - "Prayer" Aeryn, imprisoned on Katratzi is tortured by the Scarrans trying to discover the identity of the father of her fetus. (Even in pain, imprisoned, and tortured... Aeryn kicks butt!)
4x19 - "We're So Screwed - Part 1:Fetal Attraction There's nothing in this universe (or any alternate universe) that will keep Crichton from finding Aeryn.
4x20 - "We're So Screwed - Part II: Hot to Katratzi Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! They were free. But Scorpious got captured. (shit) Crichton can't stand that guy. Hell, he wants him DEAD.
( Read more... )
The plan... as always... goes awry.
4x21 - "We're So Screwed - Part II: La Bomba" You know what's a good idea in a negotiation? Bringing a nuclear bomb. Well... maybe not "good" idea...
4x22 - "Bad Timing" The good news is that Crichton and Aeryn get engaged. The bad news...the Scarrans are planning to take over Earth...
( Sc-Fi Wire Announcement About Farscape )
And for pimpin' this awesome series to those who have never watched, I figured I'd throw together the "essential eps" for a crash course in Farscape ...hey, it's available at Netflix...and... er... Kazaa. (Note: this list is based on what gives the best through-line of the story and thus ends up listing a few snoozers while ignoring some really kick ass stand alone eps that, while wonderful, aren't essential to the mytharc of the series.)
1X01 - "Pilot" - Not the greatest of episodes (it seemed to me that for the first half of Season 1, Farscape was really trying to find itself. I don't know that they did until somewhere around PK Tech Girl) But the pilot is still essential viewing as it establishes the premise of the series: American astronaught John Crichton is sucked through a wormhole to the other side of the Galaxy, an area called the "Uncharted Territories." He finds himself in the midst of a prison break... and a Cold War.
1X07 - "PK Tech Girl" -- Peacekeepers = Nazis. That's really the message that came across to me on first viewing. The ep establishes Aeryn as female action hero/soldier who had grown up in a Nazi-esque existence. Bonus: Crichton/Aeryn jealousy.
1x10 - "They've Got a Secret" - D'Argo reveals more of his past, and Moya... well... it's important because of what happens to Moya.
1X16 - "A Human Reaction" - The ep itself is -- eh. Plotwise, it's familiar territory that we've seen in The Twilight Zone and in the Trek universe. The only reason I'm including it, is because even though it didn't look like it at the time, it connects directly to the mytharc. And, yeah, if you're wondering, Crichton and Aeryn did have sex after that "fade to black." . . .but this *isn't* the start of the C/A romance.
1X19 - "Nerve" - This is where Farscape mythology first takes flight. Aeryn is critically ill. Crichton is willing to do anything to save her. Galina from PK Tech Girl returns. And series uber-villain Scorpius is introduced.
1X20 - "The Hidden Memory" - Tables have turned and now it's Aeryn's turn to try to save Crichton. . .and what's happening to him will have repercussions that will be felt throughout the series. Aeryn also cuts her last ties to the Peacekeepers. (Minor character death)
1x22 - "Mind the Baby" - Season 1 finale. Kick ass scene between Crichton and Aeryn's commander/Crichton nemesis Crais.
2x07 - "The Way We Weren't" "What did you think? Aeryn was off picking roseliss buds while only the mean Peacekeepers were doing the really nasty stuff?" Aeryn's dark (and I do mean dark) past returns to haunt her.
2x18 - "Liars, Guns, and Money - Part I: A Not So Simple Plan" -- Kicking off the heartbreaking arc that concludes the season. The crew of Moya discover that D'Argo's son is being held on a slave ship and they hatch an outageous "bank" robbery to get the cash to buy the boy out of slavery. . . except, as per always, things don't go as planned.
2X19 - "Liars, Guns, and Money - Part II: With Friends Like These..." Things go from bad to worse to worse. Scorpius turns up, D'Argo is furious with Crichton, and Crichton is losing his mind.
2x20 - "Liars, Guns, and Money - Part III: Plan B" It all went to hell (as plans tend to do). The whole damn thing was a trap. Scorpious is in control (torturing Crichton) Moya is horribly injured, and ends with Crichton begging D'Argo to kill him.
2x22 - "Die, Me, Dichotomy" -- Crichton's mental breakdown leads to horrific, heartbreaking results. (Major Character Death)
3x01 - "Season of Death" -- (aptly titled season premiere) dealing with the consequences of "Die, Me, Dichotomy" A huge sacrifice is made to try to put things right. (Warning: This is the dark season -- wonderful & compelling but taking the characters through the dark nights of their souls... and with numerous casulties. It rocks.)
3X04 - "Self Inflicted Wounds - Part II: Wait for the Wheel" "There is no blame, only what is meant to be. Grow through your mistakes and redemption will find you." Crichton thinks he may have found the way home to Earth... but obsessions have their prices. (Major Character Death)
3x06 - "Eat Me" It is for all intents and purposes a (reasonably scary) MOTW. Nothing outstanding...except for the consequence at the end which is crucial to the rest of this truly amazing plot.
3x07 - "Thanks For Sharing" Picking up where "Eat Me" left off, this is another episode where the plot is less important than its consequence which is splitting the crew. For most of Season 3 there are two separate casts which alternate episodes. One cast ends up with most of the comedic eps (I won't be listing those eps even though there are some really good ones especially the incredibly creative "Revenging Angel" aka the "looney toons episode". The eps I'm listing will follow the crew that includes Aeryn). This ep is the ep that splits the cast in half.
3x08 - "Green-Eyed Monster" When Crais tries to turn Aeryn and Crichton... well...
( Read more... )Farscape paid off the ship. Crichton and Aeryn get together. (And, yeah there are some happy eps this season... it's just if they're happy... they don't tend to be part of the mytharc)
3x10 - "Relativity" The Peacekeepers have sent an assassin to kill the fugitives John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, and Bialar Crais. And that assassin is Aeryn's mother. . .
3x14 - "Infinite Possibilities: Daedalus Demands The escalation of the Peacekeeper/Scarran Cold War has lead to an arms race that Crichton is morally obligated to try to stop.
3x15 - "Infinite Possibilities: Icarus Abides The odds of survival are small, but, still, a hero has to fight the good fight. . .no matter what the consequences. Heartbreaking, tragic. . . beautiful. (Major Character Death)
3x17 - "The Choice" Aeryn struggles with ghosts of her past (both living and dead) in an effort to find the will to go on... (Minor Character Death)
3x18 - "Fractures" Aeryn returns to Moya... and Crichton doesn't know how to deal with the changes in her.
3x20 - "Into the Lion's Den - Part I: Lambs to the Slaughter" If you ever wondered what drives Scorpious to do such heinous things, if you want to understand his ruthlessness, this episode explains the tragic...even horrific past that made him what he is. . . and the (perhaps even just[?!?]) cause that he will sacrifice any vestige of honor to see through to completion.
3x21 - "Into the Lion's Den - Part II: Wolf in Sheeps Clothing" Sick of being dogged, hunted, and tortured our heroes decide to go straight to the source and meet Scorpious on his own turf. . .and even the most surprising of characters can find redemption (Major Character Deaths) leaving the survivors free. . .and lost. . .with no more ties to bind them.
3x22 - "Dog With Two Bones" When winning the battle feels like losing the war. Now the desperate flight that held the fugitives together is no more, each realizes they should go their separate ways. One by one the crew departs for parts unknown and Crichton finds himself with the impossible choice of Home. . . or Aeryn. . .at least until Aeryn takes the choice out of his hands. Ends with a surprise twist.
4x05 - "Promises" Aeryn returns to Moya (to this point in the season she has only appeared in dream sequences). . .and to Crichton's horror, Scorpious is with her. Aeryn has promised Scopious "sanctuary." Needless to say... this does not go well.
4x11 - "Unrealized Realities" "God-like aliens. I'll take a critter any day over a god-like alien" John's experiments with wormholes worries a superace of god-like aliens who want to impress upon him the damage he could cause to the universe as he knows it should he unintentionally alter space and time with one of his experiments.
4x12 - "Kansas" John finally creates the wormhole that leads him home. One problem. It took him (and Moya's crew) to 1986 (Luckily... it was halloween).
4X13 - "Terra Firma" Okay, kinks worked out and he's REALLY back home. In the present. Only there's a reason for the cliche "You can't go home again..."
4X14 - "Twice Shy" Eh episode, only to be remembered for its final scenes. . . where Crichton and Aeryn finally get back together.
4x16 - "Bringing Home the Beacon" The all girl ep (well except for the ending) where the female members of the crew face off against the female villains on the show. Twist at the end.
4x18 - "Prayer" Aeryn, imprisoned on Katratzi is tortured by the Scarrans trying to discover the identity of the father of her fetus. (Even in pain, imprisoned, and tortured... Aeryn kicks butt!)
4x19 - "We're So Screwed - Part 1:Fetal Attraction There's nothing in this universe (or any alternate universe) that will keep Crichton from finding Aeryn.
4x20 - "We're So Screwed - Part II: Hot to Katratzi Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! They were free. But Scorpious got captured. (shit) Crichton can't stand that guy. Hell, he wants him DEAD.
( Read more... )
The plan... as always... goes awry.
4x21 - "We're So Screwed - Part II: La Bomba" You know what's a good idea in a negotiation? Bringing a nuclear bomb. Well... maybe not "good" idea...
4x22 - "Bad Timing" The good news is that Crichton and Aeryn get engaged. The bad news...the Scarrans are planning to take over Earth...