tv: farscape

Child and I are marathoning Farscape, and I regret--a lot--that this show I didn't watch live weekly, because getting hit by it like this is like a steamroller, and I think I need recovery time to process it and pick it up by pieces and put it together. The first season didn't hit me like this, but the end of the second season and especially the third are almost overwhelming.

I'm still completely shocked how good this is, and how much work with all the characters are so hideously complicated. I love Crichton and watching him breakdown and become someone else, someone that the person that left earth would never, ever recognize (would scare him with his development into shoot first, ask later), and Aeryn's basic decency even while she was a Peacekeeper and being--oddly enough--so much less conflicted once she stopped thinking she should still want to rejoin the Peacekeepers and becoming kind of what the word should embody, and I have this stupid crush on D'Argo for being developed as this supposedly simple warrior with this massive well of compassion and loyalty not just to comrades in arms, but friendships as deep and rich as any romantic relationship. And Chiara is just amazing, who only seems light and mindless and honestly, she should be leading the revolution against her people, because she'd be so good at it.

Weirdly, the only one I never connected to--though I liked her like a lot--was Zhaan and I honestly have no idea why. I mean, it hit me hard wen she died, but I mean, not like D'Argo might. And Rigel is hilarious.

Weirdly, Stark just--I'm fascinated by him but he weirds me out because he's crazy, crazy, crazy.

Crais and Scorpius are so--I mean, I never thought I'd get so--I think I ship Crais/Talyn, which really, this is canon, right?

Checking in half-way through season three and I know it will start going really fast soon, so.

Comments

[cereta]

EEEEE Farscape! I'm so jealous of you, watching it for the first time!!!

[cofax7]

I'm almost jealous, too, except that I wouldn't give up being in the fandom for as long as I was (which was really only about 18 months--I picked it up midway through S3), with all the madness during the long hiatuses and crazy speculation we did during season 4. I loved that shit (although not the madness during the campaign after the cancellation).

And for this I use my ultimate Farscape icon.

[rivkat]

I'm just halfway through S4 in my rewatch. I am so interested in post-torture John (and the hits just keep on coming), and why he is so different from the more standard woobie in my mind. Because he does change, I guess, and not just in the narratively familiar ways--harder but also more compassionate, needing time to process, obsessed with wormholes and with Aeryn and almost never with quite the right timing (and given the episode I just watched that's pretty ironic). It's like he plays all the Masculine Hero Tropes, but just enough off message that I can love him.

[settiai]

Eee! Farscape! ♥

[batdina]

FWIW, partner chick and I had the same response while watching in marathon and stopped part way through season three (near the end) to catch our breath.

It's awesome, isn't it? And I too didn't realise I cared about Zhaan until she wasn't there any longer. Though replacing her with idiot redhead was part of the problem there too.

anyway, we need to get back to it and finish season three and watch four. maybe at the end of the month when the partner doesn't have to set an alarm and go to work?

[raincitygirl]

Eeeeeeeeee!!!! You discovered Farscape. I know what you mean about it hitting like a truck. I mainlined all four seasons in the space of about three weeks last year, and it was so awesome. Although Season 4 is...uneven. I found parts of Season 4 both meandering and sexist, which surprised the hell out of me (the sexism part, because Farscape had always been so good on gender). But it gets good again towards the end of Season 4.

[winter_elf]

Yea, I love Farscape. Watched it when it was on air. And, OMG - thank goodness for the break/breathing room. I don't think I could sit down and watch so many at time for all the ANGST!TORTURE!WHUMP!CRAZY!DEATH!ANGST! that goes on! Amazing - and it fed my whump mania big time. But you know, I never was interested in any fanfic. The show did SO MUCH for me, that I didn't feel the need to do any more to the characters. I almost wanted to give them a break!

[sorrel]

I just got the full series box set about a month ago and promptly rewatched the first three seasons, which I had all seen before, and watched the fourth season in full for the first time. And then wandered around kind of dazed for two weeks after, rambling about how much I loved it to anyone who would listen. Shows take me like that only rarely- Veronica Mars is the only other one I can think of, and I was let down by that ending. No such occurrence with Farscape.

[synecdochic]

Season 3 of Farscape is the most perfect season of television ever made. I will warn you, once you get to, oh, ep 14 or 15 or so, you will not want to stop. Plan for a marathon.

[norabombay]

Seconded. Just carve out the day, bring some drinks, wine would be good. Grab a blanket and settle down in a nest. Don't plan on doing anything when you are done.

[cofax7]

the most perfect season of television ever made

::coughs:: "I-Yensch, You-Yensch". Still, it is otherwise amazingly awesome.

[norabombay]

Second half S3 to the first couple eps S4 = FUCKING BRUTAL. Just. You know how it went from the 'happy' show of S1, to this entirely new thing and new John by the end of S2? Yeah, that.

Stark had a tough challenge- how do you be the craziest one in the room when you are there with John & Aeryn? You have to start well past 11 and dial it up.

Crais/Talyn? I think so. Not in a sexual way, but Crais is basically his pilot/daddy and they have this amazing symbiotic relationship.

This show is right up there with the Wire for most brutal series ever.

[cesare]

I really loved the show as a whole when we watched it all last year/early this year.

But if I remember right, you have a really rocky stretch coming up where they waste some episodes on weird meta maybe-meant-as-humor stuff-- I really wonder what was going on there, if they found out they were getting canceled and were flipping off the network, or what. It was really frustrating, feeling like they were blowing episodes off when we could see how few episodes were left and how much plot was left to resolve. We nearly gave up, but thank goodness, the show got back on track and back to the plot.

[cofax7]

There was, in fact, a metric fuckload of network interference that gave rise to the season 4 problems. Also they lost a bunch of writers, and there was some disputation in the writers' room about what to do about [X]. The new writers weren't as good, the veterans spent a lot of energy rewriting episodes, and the network was all over them like flies on poop. It was a hot mess.

... I still think season 4 was a hot mess, but I'm slowly coming around to the idea that they did try, and it wasn't all the writers' fault, or even Kemper's.

[brownbetty]

Is that what was happening? It was obvious that something had happened, on that order, when I was watching the whole thing, about a year and a half ago.

[out_there]

Weirdly, the only one I never connected to--though I liked her like a lot--was Zhaan and I honestly have no idea why. I mean, it hit me hard wen she died, but I mean, not like D'Argo might.

I srespect Zhaan and she's interesting, but she's not one of the characters I would defend until death. Aeryn is absolutely my girl. Always. Forever. John and D'Argo and Chiana, I also adore and love. Scorpius is one of my favourite villians ever and I have a soft spot for his offsider -- I'm mentally blanking on his name, damnit, it's been a long day -- which should surprise absolutely no-one since I do love the terribly efficient assistants in every fandom of mine. Crais, strangely enough, never quite grabbed me but Jule grew on me more than I expected. Rygel and Pilot are awesome but, yes, Stark is just that step too far into crazy-land for me to love him -- yet without him, we wouldn't have the princess-in-the-castle episode and I love that more than words can say.

Farscape is one of those shows where there's an abundance of truly interesting characters, who actually grow over the seasons, and there's someone for everyone to love dearly.

[brownbetty]

I love Crichton and watching him breakdown and become someone else, someone that the person that left earth would never, ever recognize

And yet, the thing is, you can almost recognize baby through-the-wormhole Chrichton in S3 Chrichton. It's as if he had everything the wasn't couldn't be turned to the project of surviving in the UC just carved away, but there's something at the core that remained.

[in_the_bottle]

I don't think I can ever be coherent when it comes to Farscape. It's my favourite show EVER and when people as me why, I just flail at them and go non-verbal. I've never been in the fandom or read that many fics since the show itself is SO GOOD and I don't think any fic would do it justice. It's a serious series most of the time, yet it's also crack plus a huge dose of LSD... it's just... magnificent!

[second_banana]

I did a marathon first time watching last year. It was... too much. I didn't give myself enough time to really process what was happening to each character. Plus, I was watching just before I passed out from sleep exhaustion every night. I don't recommend that.

That said, Aeryn is probably one of my favorite characters in all of sci-fi television. She is amazing, and played so. freaking. well.

I think my biggest problem was the uneven-ness of season 4 mentioned by folks above and the fact that I, as blasphemous as this is, didn't really like Chrichton. I will fully admit that I didn't take the time to dissect his journey. I think his character needed that time for me. But really, I feel this way about Jack from SG-1 as well. I think I have a problem with the arrogant-fish-out-of-water trope. Seriously! He's new! Why does he get to make any decisions ever? (This was my thought process then, I am very very sure I need a re-watch to see if I actually feel this way.) Basically I only liked him because he was so important to Aeryn. But if I'd given him the time and consideration he probably deserves I might feel differently.

I lamented for most of the show what could have been done with Zhaan. I liked her a *lot* and felt like she had so much potential. I would have loved to see a show where she, Aeryn, and Chiana were all major players. Alas, it was not to be. (Of note- the lack of ladies not dealing with some form of guiltwoe over having real live feelings once Zhaan left totally colored my opinion on the amount of screentime given to Crichton.)

So yeah... a re-watch is clearly in my future. A slow, leisurely re-watch where I can think all the thinky thoughts the show deserves. Because it is freaking awesome.

[scy]

FARSCAPE.

Oh, <3s. It is amazing.

I love, love love love that show. So much.

[marycontrary]

Everyone on the 20+ comments is ok with S2e7 spoilers, right?


Zaan <3, but the episode when she blooms is so double plus ungood. I was high on sleeplessness after finals and coming down with a Farscape marathon, and those images hit me right in the hindbrain. Screaming heebie-jeebies, my own skin bubbling with those buds, my nose and mouth clogging. *shivers*

Nothing like a little temporary brain damage to make a show hit you where it really hurts.

Also, watch the fantastic fight choreography and the cinematography, then watch any other show. All of a sudden, other shows are lackluster, with trite camera angles and strictly second rate gunplay.

Also, OMG. They start with a pilot/astronaut who's also a scientist, then they convince me he's got high int, cha, and dex in the actual episodes! He's really good at his job, he's exceptional, no fucking around trying to be Everyman, no 'this plot works because everyone was too stupid' nonsense.... well, less of that, at least. It's so much harder to do a plot about a really smart person, and Dorothy Dunnett, Lois McMaster Bujold, and the Farscape writers are on my very short list.

[blueswan]

Here via cereta, because Farscape, eeeeeeee! This show is the show of my heart. I resisted it for years and then I tried it and lost my heart to it and it's people. So. Much. Love. It does so much so well. You're so lucky to be watching it for the first time, and you're going to get so much more out of each succeeding re-watch. Farscape!

[lexstar29]

Farscape was a fabulous show, it's also one of the most rewatchable shows for me. I never get tired of it. The wait between episodes used to be horrid, although I know exactly what you mean about needing the breather! They definitely packed a lot of plot into their 44 odd minute episodes!

[margrave]

FARSCAPE!

God. Season 3. Also, Crichton torture and all its ramifications. The show went from ADVENTURE! to OMFG! *CREYS*! And my heart was its forever and ever.

Also, Aeryn Fucking Sun is my hero.

[eretria]

Farscape! Oh, that show.

I still refuse to watch the final episodes and the mini series, because then I know it'll be over. I refuse to believe it's over. Yes, the show has that kind of power.

[kopernik]

Few things in life delight me more than Stark's crazy. Ahh, good, good times.

[anatsuno]

Oh my god Jenn. I can't believe you'd never seen Farscape before, oh my god, this makes me SO HAPPY FOR YOU. *glee*

[kernezelda]

*shrieks and clutches hair* OH MY GOD! You are really finishing Farscape?!! I had given up hope and thought it was just not-your-cup-of-tea. Farscape is my One True Show, and I so very much want to read your reactions and character analyses and everything you think about it.

[saunteringfiend]

Oh wow, Farscape! Welcome to the fold.

[grammarwoman]

You were warned, right, that when you announce that you're watching Farscape for the first time, the fandom comes out to welcome you? *grin*

Farscape will always be the show of my heart, the one where they tried so hard and did so many things so awesomely. It's like they took every trope out of the sci-fi book and said "Huh. Let's make this shit go to 11.", and did it fantastically.

I have to get high and mighty for a minute, though, and lament that you aren't experiencing it a week at a time, then forced to wait forever for each successive season to come out, then have your heart broken by the cancellation, only to explode into pure joy at the news of the miniseries. You think the show's arc is an emotional rush - the absence of it could be even crueler.

Plus, everyone on the show is so damned amazing. Ben Browder is the epitome of a leading man - he loves his audience, loves to talk with anyone about the show, and would go back and do more in a heartbeat. His chemistry with Claudia Black was INSANE, and they are still good friends. Frankly, it was the two of them that got me into Stargate, and for that, I will always be grateful.

[harpers_child]

the year i went to dragon con there was a farscape panel. they let in the disability stickers with their sherpas and then there was some sort of line problem outside. ben browder decided that since it was taking so long to figure out things outside (10-15 mins) he would come out and keep us company until doors opened. he went around taking pictures with people and saying hi to fans he'd seen before and got one woman a bottle of water and told the service dog that the dog was doing a good job. virgina hey also came out and said hi. when doors opened ben helped seat the crowd. he's super nice and amazing and an awesome human being.

and that's my farscape story.

[cofax7]

That story doesn't surprise me atall. Browder's just like that.

[sothcweden]

Here from cereta's post.

Farscape is the only show that I've purchased on DVD but never read any fic for. I'm so glad to see someone else discovering it!