Farscape Seasons 1 & 2
Character Growth: Farscape intrigued me at first. Everyone says that the character development in the first season was the best. I would have to agree. There were some very interesting concepts and plot reveals that kept me wanting to see more. Everything you ever needed to be explained was in the first episode which is hard for me to say when you had awful first episodes like in the Burn Notice or Stargate SG-1 premieres. The show took on an alien perspective of everyday moral issues like vulnerability, torture, drugs, facing the unknown, and having a superiority complex. A lot of the episodes were stand-alone with a few story progressions sprinkled in the mix. The characters would always react appropriately after a certain event post-factum a certain incident from a previous episode. The story really peaked in Episodes 7 and 10. Gradually you learn more and more about the "living" ship, you find out about the warrior's family, and learn the blue one's biography. A new girl shows up in Episode 15 and a new villain in Episode 19. I like to think that the season ended there in the two-parter in episode 20.
Retrospective: Then something changed. Farscape was just too painful to watch. I'm not just talking about the introduction being just as skippable as the Star Trek Enterprise introduction. You begin to realize that each episode starts off with some horrible division between the crew, which leads to some crazy shenanigans, that only builds up to some sort of near-death experience for each member of the crew, and ends with the shipmates in a more precarious predicament than they were before. It was like watching a 1990 Horror Movie. Show off some sexy scenes, add a couple of villains that talk really slowly, include a few high-pitch screeches, and maybe throw in some slow-motion to build tension. I can look past the body swap in Episode 9, the two 3-part episodes, or even how every season ends with an enormous cliffhanger. But at a certain point I couldn't connect with what was happening. Yes, the show takes a huge risk by creating each episode as a giant alien-like metaphor to a particular aspect in humanity. But I was no longer connecting or even showing sympathy for these characters anymore. I failed to see how Chiana could captivate the attention of every other male or why Stark was taking command of the ship with his ludicrous plans. I started blaming themselves for their own stupid problems!
Development: Honestly, I started to accept the show's failures after reading up on some of the producer notes and commentary. Titles weren't supposed to be released outside the production offices. Chiana was actually supposed to die in the same episode of her debut (Episode 15) but Sci-Fi Channel was trying to create a market and an attractive girl is easy to market. The script had to be rewritten when the weather didn't clear in Episode 16. I didn't even make it to Season 3 but I hear Zhaan had to be written out of the show since of some complication in her kidneys. It is posted that the blue dye made them bleed but I feel it could have been a collaboration of things with the life of an actress. Those are just a few things I noticed when reviewing the episodes.
Review: Farscape is an under-budget, outdated television show that pushed the limit on a crew of misfits in outer space. Although I applaud it for creating wonderful characters with awesome backstories, the show tries too hard to be risque and edgy with its immature setting and demoralizing crew. Season 1 Episodes 1-20 is perhaps the pinnacle of what is required to watch to know what is happening. Afterwards the show devolves to a mere stalemate between the hero and the villain as neither can live or die by the other's hand. Watch at your own risk.
10-28-2019