Farscape Signs for 2 More Years 294
Dimes noted that the scifi channel has signed Farscape for 2 more seasons. 44 more episodes of my favorite sci-fi on TV (Well, maybe Lexx gives it a run for its money ;). New episodes start in January, and I'm a happy camper. Related ramblings: TNN is doing a marathon rerun of all of ST:TNG all this week. And I finally watched Enterprise- that theme song really has gotta go. But I'd like to see more, if only I could get it in my area. So much potential if they don't screw it up.
This should be interesting... (Score:2, Interesting)
Good geek TV (Score:3, Interesting)
Perhaps it is just a throw-back to those days in my youth watching McGyver, but this is a good show, scientifically plausable, interesting plot, and compelling characters.
Not actually on any more, but recent enough to be interesting. Amazing special effects, and an interesting plot where you never really know whether the aliens are good guys, bad guys, or somewhere in between (the reality being the latter). In that sense, it mirrors the complexity of real life.
While the last season got somewhat depressing in places, the people behind "The Onion" have consistently provided a tongue-in-cheek, very funny dialog which, until recently didn't take itself too seriously. Also, new season just starting, can't talk long.
One of the few ways to watch TV News which actually talks about that insignificant part of the world outside the US.
There is just something about the consistent style, interesting plots, and slightly sick humor that makes this the best Cop show since "The Bill" (it's a Brit thing - Yanks need not worry).
Re:Good geek TV (Score:2, Interesting)
Farscape Newbie (Score:3, Interesting)
Thankfully SciFi started re-airing it and this time I caught it. I think Season 2 just started on the reruns. Can anyone tell me what they're up to in the 'real' ones? I want to start watching those but I don't know where exactly they're at (Season 3 somewhere?)
I'd have taken notice of Farscape a LOT earlier if someone had told me Jim Hanson's Creature Shop was involved. The look & feel of the alien muppets beats the living daylights out of the "Nose Of The Day Department" who seems to do Star Trek. Then again when Farscape does have Human-Like aliens it's usually "Different Skin Colour" aliens.
I also love how everyone except Crichton has an Australian accent. And how badly they're trying to hide it. Yes, I know it's because the show's filmed there.
Plotwise, it's ok. The first season did have quite a few "Standard SciFi Plot #42" episodes, and some corny stuff (Scorpius? I mean... come on...), but I still like it. The characters are a lot more real than in Trek.
It's still not Babylon 5, but hey.
But, Back in Sydney (Score:3, Interesting)
It's ironic that Farscape is filmed in Sydney, Australia where I live, but Channel 9, co-sponsor of the show isn't showing it since season 1 finished last year. In the regular sci-fi timeslot of Tuesday and Wednesday nights they are showing ST:TNG (again) and Roswell. They aren't even repeating B5 yet!
The I hear runours that it's showing in other cities in Australia, but still not Sydney. What's the story? It's even been taken off the Channel 9 web site, which makes it even harder to work out what is happening.
It's quite surreal to see Sydney bush scenes, with the plants spray painted blue or something similar, or Sydney beach scenes (remember, I've only seen season 1) for what is primarily an American show.
Oh, of course. How silly of me, it's on cable. Unlike the US, cable TV doesn't have the same market penetration over here yet. Well, I can always go over to my mum and dad's place and watc them ... at 3:30am!
Yay, more production money for D/U (Score:2, Interesting)
They might also have been encouraged by the recent anouncement of hefty tax breaks for produtions worth more than AUS$15 (US$8)million.
Why I like it. (Score:5, Interesting)
1. They don't always come out on top, or completely walk away supreme victors in conflict.
2. A lot of the time (much like in cowboy bebop) they don't come out ahead in the end because of something they did, they do because of weird luck, or the source of conflict making a huge mistake. So it's not predictable.
3. They focus a lot on things that happen in the past to season plots without overdoing flashback sequences (also like cowboy bebop)
4. Their technical voodoo bullshit sounds reasonable.
5. They will kill a character off.
6. They have the soap opera feel, and the cliffhanger crafting completely nailed also.
So basically, it's done intelligently. I hate watching a show and having my intelligence insulted. There's only been once episode (that crappy dance club, people milking episode) that truly sucked ass. I swear they accidentally let some brain dead shitty 60's movie director man the helm for some unknown reason. The only scifi I watch on TV at this point is Farscape, Outer Limits, cowboy bebop, outlaw star (more to see where they are going with it) and Stargate SG1 reruns. Even though Stargate SG1 is pretty predictable most of the time, it still has a big screen feel to it that I like. The characters are better than the plot, but good enough that watching it is still fun. I initially caught the first episode of farscape on scifi by accident at a friends house (Hey Dave) around the time it first aired, and they were playing it 3 times a day. I was hooked from then on. I had just grown completely sick of X-Files, and it completely replaced it. I can't wait for the new episodes. The awesome thing is that as the show matures, it gets better. My girlfriend and I were really worried that they'd apply the LEXX treatment to the show to try to push the ratings, or keep it on top. Then they brought the annoying big titted redhead on the show, and it really looked like it was going that way. I swear they must have changed directors or something for a little bit. Either way, things improved and it's me and my girlfriends favorite show at this point.
News from behind the scenes... SPOILER WARNING... (Score:5, Interesting)
Until recently I'd never seen more than ten seconds of Farscape. They don't run it on any of the free-to-air channels in Sydney, much to the ire of many. I'm not much of a TV watcher myself, but I don't mind the odd episode of ST:TNG and happily admit to having been hooked by Babylon 5 when they were playing it on late night timeslots four years ago here in Sydney. I only knew about Farscape because my brother once played a bit part in an alien bodysuit for one episode. But now I've seen three whole minutes, and what's more, most of them not yet seen by the public, because last night I sang in the soundtrack recording for the penultimate episode (21) of the 3rd season at the Sony studios in Sydney. The production company contracted us (the Sydney Chamber Choir [sydneychamberchoir.org]) to provide sixteen male voices for a couple of hours. The music was dark and Mozart-Requiem-like with lots of low notes, and we had to make it sound as much like a Russian choir as possible (for the choral iliterati, that means cavernous and subsonic).
SPOILER FOLLOWS
In the scenes we accompanied, an immense spaceship was being destroyed, water everywhere, and there was a tense meeting between some human bloke and a mean-looking alien commander in a black leather headpiece with a shrivelled face and pointy teeth (seems it was his ship being pounded). They both wore identical technological amulets which they discarded while talking. This seemed to be significant. There was no dialogue track, so all we had to go on were the visuals. Does any of this make sense to you diehards out there?
Re:Best Show Ever. (Score:5, Interesting)
I wrote it off because of the "damn muppets", and only eventually and very reluctantly sat down to watch an episode at the insistence of a long suffering friend, who just kept patiently plugging it while I teased him mercilessly.
Oh my. Oh my.
For those who haven't seen it, here's a taster of how slick and knowing it is. Picture our protagonists fighting off an attack by evil space pirates armed with powerful strap-on bracer weapons. Our ersatz-Klingon protagonist picks up a discarded weapon and straps it on. It injects some glowing green goo into him. After the pirates are beaten off, ersatz-Klingon is still angry and bellowing, and declares that he should lead the ship in this crisis.
How would Star Trek handle this? Fifteen minutes of hammering the point home, while he cackles maniacally and the crew go "Gee, Dargo seems a little out of sorts today. Is he wearing black eye liner?" and we shout "He's evil! Get the weapon off of him! You idiots!"
On Farscape, his companions exchange one subtle glance - and no words - and jump him the instant his back is turned. The writers expect us to know the genre and to have figured it out. No patronising exposition is required, no frustrating and uncharacteristic period of ignorance by the crew. I really appreciate that.
This theme continues through most of the episodes. When the characters can't figure something out, it's not made obvious to us the viewer either. Sometimes the characters figure situations out before the viewer does. Often, there are no obvious solutions to their problems, and the solution is rarely if ever a Particle of the Week or a Deus Ex Machine.
Farscape treats its characters and its viewers with equal respect. The characters never get conveniently dumb, and the viewers aren't expected to either. I really appreciate that.
Farscape rocks (Score:3, Interesting)
It took me a good while to give it a chance, but damn is it good. Space opera is back with a vengeance! Farscape often tells stories better than any show I've on television. From the writting to visual effects, this show has it all. I think it's one of the best kept secrets on TV. It's not exactly the televised novel that B5 was, but many shows are connected and the series feels like it's going somewhere. Here's a few reasons to give Farscape a chance:
Re:Best Show Ever. (Score:2, Interesting)
Then one day, my friend brought over about 20 CDs with all of the first two seasons with of episodes. I sat down and ended up watching them all in about a 3 day period. I wasn't expecting to like it... and if I had seen two or three episodes at random out of the two seasons, I probably wouldn't have liked it... but it's REALLY a show that needs you to watch the episodes in the right order.
None of this "planet of the week" crap like on Star Trek, with no real character development and very little continuity between episodes. Farscape builds off previous episodes. Characters CHANGE. They learn.
The show is full of subtleties and nuances that would otherwise be missed if you hadn't seen the previous episodes.
Re:Farscape Newbie (Score:2, Interesting)
I also love how everyone except Crichton has an Australian accent. And how badly they're trying to hide it. Yes, I know it's because the show's filmed there.
Ever heard the actors in Xena or Hercules talk off camera? Or Marina Sirtis' real accent (or perhaps a lack of one, depending on where you live)? It really throws your brain for a loop, doesn't it?
I think the gist in Farscape is that the Peacekeepers all speak with an Australian accent. Whenever Crichton tries to infiltrate them, he fakes a horribly done British-type accent.
BTW, I agree with all the praise previously posted here. Top-notch writing that never spoonfeeds to the audience. I thinks it's unique in the way it has set up the characters and their interactions. The main characters are all (until the 3rd season) escaped prisoners, their dishonorably discharged captor, or a clueless alien (human) outsider. There is always an inherent mistrust that surfaces occasionally, just as it would in real life. They mostly work together out of mutual benefit, but ultimately they each want to go back to their home planet, and no one is going to sacrifice their chance so someone else can go first. They've backstabbed and stolen from each other, and even forceably cut off one of the ship pilot's arms (it regenerated) to trade for information. You do need to pay attention; if a character is lying or scheming, there won't be a wink to the audience to let us in on it.
And if you're watching 2nd season in reruns, it gets even better. Scorpius royally kicks ass! What a truly frightening character.