Now I know I created this site for me to talk about my music and have the odd little rant about Shannen Doherty, Pat Benatar and my undying love for Charmed… but today I’m going to address another topic. Today I feel compelled to talk about one of the most unique, compelling and frelling drad entities that I have ever had the pleasure and privilege of laying my eyes upon. Today I want to rant and rave about Farscape.
I have had a love affair with this show for over 9 cycles (that’s years for non-Scapers) and it’s always been a show near and dear to my heart and I will always consider myself to be a mad Scaper. I have always maintained that this was the pinnacle of Sci-Fi, no show has ever been like it, no show has ever been as creative, entertaining, scary, twisted and down-right lovable as this one. I don’t think there will ever be another show like it.
I have spent the last week watching it again after over a cycle because I love to space out my viewing. I love to forget some parts of the storyline so that I feel like I have a little surprise each time I watch the series. The fact that no matter how many times you watch it you still feel a sense of surprise, of joy and of suspense is one thing that stands out about this show. The fact that whenever I watch it the performances and storylines are so powerful that the emotions they build within are so strong that it hurts.
There’s spaceships, aliens (although, after a few episodes the only time you really go “look at that alien” is when Crichton goes “look at that alien”. You become so attached to the characters you no longer notice there differences.. or in my case that’s what happens.) Where was I? Oh, aliens, bad guys, epic battles, epic love (I still maintain that Aeryn and Crichton’s story is the greatest love story ever told!)… Epic love, epic loss, plot twists, humour, horror, friendship, family, sad endings, new beginnings…. PUPPETS!!! This show has just about everything. It’s even got a variety of alien curse words for frell sake!
It’s got the hunky guy and the sexy babe that are so not the hunky guy and the sexy babe. The lead characters, John Crichton and Aeryn Sun, are two very flawed people who come together against all odds and find love and happiness (eventually) in a Universe that is not the friendliest and safest place to be in. The chemistry between Ben Browder (Crichton) and Claudia Black (Aeryn) is so evident on screen that I have never believed so desperately in a love like this before. Aeryn and Crichton have surrounded themselves with friends that have become a family, all willing to sacrifice themselves time and time again for each other, no matter what the circumstance they are all there when someone needs them. The things they have to deal with are extraordinary and I have never seen a show with as wide and vast a canvas as this one. This show has always been labelled as weird, as extraordinary… just the other day my Dad described it to someone who was watching it at his house for the first time as “sci-fi on acid”. It’s not like any other SCI FI. It took greater leaps. It’s characters had greater flaws to overcome. It’s crew and producers and writers had greater imaginations. Each episode felt like it should have been a feature movie. The cast are magnificent. The crew are magnificent.
To me, this show has a number of significant messages to it.
1) Family – watch it and you’ll see what I mean. Friends are the family you create for yourself and that is certainly what the characters of this show do. They go through hell and back together and do it all over again and they get through it all because of one another. I’ve never seen a strong emphasis on that in any other show
2) Home is where your heart is - John Crichton is an astronaunt lost in the Universe who wants nothing more to go home until he falls for Aeryn Sun and all the two of them want is each other and he realises that as long as they’re together they are home. The fact that after all they have been through that they still end up with each other should show anyone that determination and love can make any relationship work.
3) Tolerance – John Crichton tries to make allies with people the best he can until he sees them as truly evil or without moral. He stops viewing people by their appearance and judging them by their differences but judging them based on their actions, their judgements and their personalities. He doesn’t even seem to discriminate against Peacekeepers so much until they have messed his life up in some way.
For four seasons and one mini series the show runners have given the fans nothing but excellent episodes. Each one has been an incredible story, so unique in it’s vision or story or even just how the characters react to a situation. It always remained fresh and enjoyable. I never felt it stagnated but it kept getting better every year. I don’t want to talk in depth about storylines and episodes because I want people to go out and watch them for themselves and feel the joy and extreme priviledge that I did when I watched them for the first time. I felt lucky because in the US people had to subscribe to the channel this show was on but in the UK it was syndicated so I was able to get a greater access to it. I sit and I watch my DVD collection and read all the notes in the illustrated companion guides and I feel lucky that I got to be a part of something as unique as Farscape just by watching it every week. One thing that also saddens me is that I am unable to attend the Farscape Convention held in the US. Farscape is one of the greatest shows of all time and I’d love a chance to get involved with other fans and with the people who put their blood, sweat and tears into getting each episode out to the loyal fans each year.
One thing that struck me this week is sitting watching Aeryn and thinking “I really wish I dressed like her” and remembering thinking that everytime I’d ever watched an episode. Then I looked at what I was wearing and have been wearing for cycles and realised “hey, I dress like Aeryn! When did that happen?”. It’s a great thing when something like that seeps into your subconscious. I’d always wanted to be a little like Aeryn, mainly towards the end of the series when she opened up her feelings more. I’d always wanted her strength and the ability she had to admit when she needed help because for her that was a hard thing to learn to do. Her growth was truly amazing.
Aeryn Sun is my favourite character and I’m a fan of Claudia Blacks. She is an amazing actress and a lovely person. But so are the rest of the cast and the characters all grow and strengthen in amazing ways. I love everyone of the characters… they are all so interesting and innovative, I just get a little biased when it comes to Aeryn. Sorry.
It was heartbreaking when Farscape got cancelled in season four, mid-story and after a cliffhanger ending left us not knowing if our favourite characters were dead or alive. There was no happy ending. There was no ending. Even though we campaigned and got Peacekeeper Wars made and released I still don’t feel that that was justice enough to the cast, crew and fans of Farscape. This was a show that continued to get better each season with it’s storylines, it’s effects and it was cut down before it had flourished. I’m so happy that the story is being carried on in comics and that there is talk of a web series but I still don’t think that’s justice enough. Farscape was always a big production. It’s way bigger than anything that has ever been on TV before but SCI FI (as per usual) didn’t give it half the chance it deserved! In the UK each new season was syndicated on national TV before the UK SCI FI channel showed it so it reached a wider audience. Unfortunately, the US held all the cards.
One thing that I find puzzling though is when people say “I’ve seen that show. It’s so weird”. I have never found the show weird. Maybe that’s what attracts me to it. It’s on my wavelength! That and Claudia Black as Officer Aeryn Sun. She’s to die for!
I now reach the end of season four and it still breaks my heart because the story ends at the end of Peacekeeper Wars. I love the comic series. I have never enjoyed a series of comics so much. War Torn was released years ago and I’d always hoped that they’re would be more comics. It was funny the day I first saw the Farscape comics series in my local Forbidden Planet. I screamed “FARSCAPE” at the top of my voice, scaring a shop full of people in the process, receiving not so pleasant looks from the people around me and having the guy at the till in fits of laughter because he’d never seen a reaction like that to comics before. The comics are so good. I love the storylines and that essentially anything can be done here without the worry of SCI FI or networks messing around with a great thing.
Rockne S. O’Bannon has kept the show alive for the fans but I miss Claudia, Ben and the rest of the cast with their wit, passion, talent and frelling awesomeness. I now try to find a way to help them all tell the story they’d set out to tell all those years ago.
My Dad’s generation had Star Wars. My generation had Farscape… and it was given a bum deal. This show challenges the imagination on every level. It had one of the hardest working cast and crew and writers and producers. It had one of the most talented cast I have ever seen with true chemistry that only enhanced the magic of every episode.
I finish on this note. When I was a kid my Dad showed me Star Wars and I was amazed by the concept of science fiction and by people living in outerspace. All my life I’ve been more interested in worlds very different to the one I inhabit which may be evident by some of the songs I write. Farscape is the pinnacle of all these things. It’s the pinnacle of sci-fi, it’s the pinnacle of romance, it’s the pinnacle of hardwork and it will forever be a testiment to all involved and I am so honored to be a fan.
I thank Rockne S. O’Bannon for creating such a magnificent story and world for me to delve into. If only I were an escaped prisoner…
Further research or reading…. please check your local stations for Farscape listings if interested (let’s get more people watching so we can support the comic series and show demand for some new Farscape)
www.farscape.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farscape
http://www.watchfarscape.com/
http://www.scapecast.org/
Also, check out Ben Browder and Claudia Black in season nine and ten of Stargate SG1 (after watching the other eight seasons of course).
Much love and many hugs
*HUGS*
