Farscape Season 1, Vol. 1 - Premiere/I, E.T.

Starring:Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Virginia Hey, Anthony Simcoe, Kent McCord, Jonathan Hardy, Lani John Tupu, Murray Bartlett, Christine Stephen-Daly, Damen Stephenson, Colin Borgonon, Greg Blandy, Laurence Woodward, Lawrence Woodward, Sandi Finlay
Director: Andrew Prowse
Studio: Adv Films
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Smart-talking American astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) is flung through a wormhole and comes out in the midst of an interstellar prison escape on the other side of the universe. Bad luck for Crichton: the galactic cops (called "peacekeepers") mark him as the new public enemy number 1. This 20th-century boy is forced to ally himself with the colorful convicts: D'Argo, a hulking warrior with a fleshy Rastafarian mane; Zhaan, a blue-skinned priest of indeterminate age (played by Road Warrior alumnus Virginia Hey); fugitive peacekeeper Aeryn (Pitch Black's Claudia Black); Rygel, a greedy and troll-like exiled king; and Pilot, the giant insect-like nerve center of their living ship, Moya. It's an impressive-looking made-for-cable series, with imaginative production design and mix of state-of-the-art digital effects and sophisticated puppetry (or rather Muppetry, courtesy of co-creator Brian Henson), but it's the sharp writing and vivid characters that have built--and kept--the show's following.

Amazon.com

Smart-talking American astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) is flung through a wormhole and comes out in the midst of an interstellar prison escape on the other side of the universe. Bad luck for Crichton: the galactic cops (called "peacekeepers") mark him as the new public enemy number 1. This 20th-century boy is forced to ally himself with the colorful convicts: D'Argo, a hulking warrior with a fleshy Rastafarian mane; Zhaan, a blue-skinned priest of indeterminate age (played by Road Warrior alumnus Virginia Hey); fugitive peacekeeper Aeryn (Pitch Black's Claudia Black); Rygel, a greedy and troll-like exiled king; and Pilot, the giant insect-like nerve center of their living ship, Moya. It's an impressive-looking made-for-cable series, with imaginative production design and mix of state-of-the-art digital effects and sophisticated puppetry (or rather Muppetry, courtesy of co-creator Brian Henson), but it's the sharp writing and vivid characters that have built--and kept--the show's following.

Premiere introduces each character and the basic premise, a sci-fi Fugitive by way of Voyager in a world far from the Federation-friendly universe of Star Trek. Crichton's welcome is anything but warm, and the cultural and philosophical differences of the fleeing outlaws, as well as their pure self-interest, clash under the constant threat of capture. In I, E.T., a hidden homing signal forces Moya to hide in a terrestrial bog while the crew tries to disarm the device (which has been fused to the ship's nervous system), and Crichton makes first contact with the planet's pre-space flight inhabitants. "Spielberg was all wrong," he remarks while dodging military patrols and soothing the fears of a sky-watching scientist. Well-timed to fill the void left by Babylon 5, this is the promising start of a fresh sci-fi franchise. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

A great show makes its debut.......2004-08-23

"Farscape" is one of my favorite TV shows, and it certainly got off to a strong start with the episode "Pilot." The series has a terrific cast, with Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Virginia Hey, and Anthony Simcoe sharing the spotlight with creatures constructed by Jim Henson's company. The writing is sharp and there is plenty of conflict to drive the story; the characters are all escaped prisoners with their own agendas. One of the pleasures of watching these early episodes is watching how they gradually build trust and anticipating the addition of the many interesting characters that will be added to the show later to keep things from getting too comfortable.

"Farscape" deserved a two-hour premiere, but the cast and crew do an excellent job of constructing a lean, efficient story to introduce the Farscape universe within the one-hour format. "I, E.T." is a pretty middling episode as far as this show goes, but it does provide an interesting twist on the idea of the visitor from space.

What the Frell?.......2003-09-25

A wormhole--something unproven--not anymore it isn't. Astronaut John Crichton quickly realizes this when he's sucked down one, and spit out into the middle of an intergalactic space battle between escaping prisoners and the Peacekeepers. John's module incidentally collides with a Peacekeeper Prowler, whcih turns out to be Bialar Crais' brother, who becomes John's enemy for the rest of season one. The first episode quickly introduces the characters, and puts a slight emphasis on how that character is going to act through the series. The premiere definitely should of been made into a two hour to allow for more characterization and more time to do everything.
The second episode I still wonder why it is episode one. Not much of anything happens in it. There's good acting, and Rygel gets a chunk out of Aeryn's arm. Wasn't a bad episode compared to most series, but for farscape, it's below average.
The DVD features are descent, with footage not seen in the U.S. and with commentarys on both of the episodes. A great collection.

See How Far the Worm-Hole Goes.......2003-07-08

Farscape is one of the most fascinating shows (not just sci-fi) to grace the airwaves. It's a shame that the series was cancelled, but the DVD's will leave a wonderful legacy.

Pilots are akward for any show since, in the span of an hour, they must introduce the main characters and their relationships to each other as well as create the environment in which they live. Science fiction pilots have the added burden of establishing where in the universe (and when in time) the stories occur, showing how technology has advanced (or in some cases retreated), sketching out new cultures and basically setting forth what are the new rules. "Pilot" does an admirable job all around. Not only do we become familiar with all six major characters (seven if you include Moya), but it also sets up the wonderful paradox that makes the series so compelling in the first season: namely that each character has his/her own agenda but they must work together to survive. This definitely ain't Star Trek. "I, E.T." is a neat bit of storytelling in that it turns a cliched story on its head: this time we are the invading aliens. Not a major story, but still enjoyable in the way it evokes a sense of wonder.

Both episodes feature commentaries and while they are both enlightening into the way Farscape first came into being, Claudia Black's and Anthony Simcoe's banter during I, E.T. is definitely the more fun of the two (would love to see them at a con!) Two featurettes are offered. First is a "behind-the-scenes" documentary, which acts more as a primer for the uninitiated than a behind the scenes, though there is a fascinating segment on the process used to make D'Argo's costume (Plus seeing Anthony out of make-up. Yikes!). The second featurette is less a "Video Profile" of John Crichton and more Ben Browder's persepective on the series as a whole, which is more interesting anyways. Of the two still galleries, I prefer the Conceptual Drawings which include some early ideas of Peacekeeper weapons and Pilot's den over the Crichton Gallery, as many of those pictures are either a) taken from the DVD covers, b) awash in a garish red light, or c) both. Any complaints I may have, though, are small and pale beside the strengths of the rest of the disc.

Great everything..........2003-06-08

Farscape has cool special effects, good actors who play great characters, action, humor, amazing stories and everything you could want in a science fiction triller.
This DVD has the first two epsiodes AND lots of extras, including drawings, weblinks, commentary, actor profile on Ben Browder and a 'making of' documentary.
The only problem that pops up with the DVDs is I noticed by the fourth one many of the extras are gone, like the commentaries, and I also realized that to get the first season, 22 episodes, you need to get 11 DVDs. That seems like a lot of DVDs or, should I say, few episodes per the DVD. Most series on TV put four to five episodes per DVD, which means with Farscape you end up spending a lot more and end up taking up a lot of space for one show.
If I had the money or space it would be worth it. But for right now I think I will focus on other shows. It is just a case of a great show but bad packaging. Try to get it used.

Best show I've seen in years, by "far".......2003-04-11

This volume is the launch of an epic series. Even those who are not especially into science fiction can enjoy the amazingly refreshing characters and plot(s). The talented cast manages to bring greater dimension to their characters than that of any other series I can think of (and this is truly a 'series', so episodes are best viewed in chronological order). The costumes/makeup and special effects are generally very good, but they are never compelled to carry the show, as is too often the case in this genre. The series is built on layers of twisting, intertwined plots, held together by a balanced equation of romance, sex, horror, drama and comedy, and it 'works'.

It's an intelligent show that demands a little more attention than most; unpredictable plot turns and references to past episodes can leave the uninitiated a bit confused. A little patience pays off; this show trumps anything you'll see on network TV, by far.

Buy it, watch it, get hooked on it. Then wonder why the Sci-Fi channel dumped it, instead of advertising their Friday night gem on 'mainstream' TV....

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