Farscape thoughts

[alias_sqbr]

So, I was feeling bored this evening and after thinking for a while I decided that what I felt like doing was watching Farscape. I've been meaning to dig up the dvds from someone for a while(*), but having failed to do so yet I'm using Youtube, which while unsatisfactory in the long term has let me confirm that I do find it watchable.

Now the reason I've never watched much of the show is I got sick of the crappy episodic Star Trek knockoffiness midway through season 1, but I've heard it improves. So, do people have recs for the best way to watch it to minimise cruft without missing important bits of plot etc? ("Skip most of season 1 but you need to watch all of season 2" etc) Cam's watched it so I can ask him but he's out and it's always good to have a variety of opinions.

It's funny watching it again for the first time (apart from odd bits here and there, and vids) since 1999. At the time I was at pretty much my lowest tolerance for tv sf, much to distantcam's dismay. Of course, back then it didn't look so dated!

I remember deliberately not letting myself fall in fangirly love with Aeryn since I was sure they'd just screw her up. It is nice to know this time around that from what I've heard they don't ^_^

(*)Yes, since from before I started playing "Dragon Age" and realised Claudia Black was Morrigan's voice actress, I'm not quite that sad a fangirl. It did help though.

Comments

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

I was quite happy to watch the whole thing through, with the exception of one or two wacky episodes that didn't advance the story arc. Which is no help to you at all...

[capnoblivious.livejournal.com]

Yeah, me too - what got me through the first season was treating the Star Trekkiness as a sort of self-aware ST parody.

(If that doesn't work, sanguinity's advice will.)

[alias_sqbr]

Yeah, I'm a little too picky for my own good when it comes to tv sf, means I am very rarely satisfied!

[sanguinity]

That dorky episodic StarTreky feel is S1 only, in my opinion, and more the first half of the season than the last. The last few episodes of that season ARE worth watching; unfortunately, they build on events dropped in earlier during the dorky episodic StarTreky period.

This is what I advised a friend in an email back in '07 (why no, I DON'T throw anything away!), when I had freshly watched it:

Episode 7, "P.K. Tech Girl", is where things start building upon themselves into what eventually becomes a story-arc. That's the place to start watching.

Before that, nothing is particularly important, and only two are worth mentioning at all: There's archetypally fun stuff throughout episode 4, "Throne For A Loss", and it provides a nice character baseline for who they were before arc-development started. In ep 6, "Thank God It's Friday Again", there's some critical character development for Aeryn, but you could just as easily read TWOP for it (and you might enjoy it more).

Most episodes from 7 forward have something important going on, with two exceptions: Episode 11 amused me, but TWOP gave it a D, and perhaps rightly so. Episode 14 is supremely missable, although it's pretty mockable as Crichton's over-the-top SNAG updating of Captain Kirk.

So that's my recommendation:

• 4
  
• 7 through 10
  
• 12 through 13
  
• 15 through finale.

My answer to him was designed to minimize missing information; however, as I recall, it was not until the last couple episodes of the season that I understood why there were so many Farscape fans.

[sanguinity]

Huh. The order on Wikipedia at this moment is different than the order on the DVDs. My episode numbers refer to the latter.

[pedanther]

The list on Wikipedia is by order of original airdate; the order on the DVDs is episode production order. I can name several TV series where production order, for one reason or another, differs from Correct Viewing Order, but in this case I'd be more inclined to trust the DVD order. (For one thing, I remember being told that Channel 9 aired the first season way out of order.)

[alias_sqbr]

As pedanther said, it was shown out of order. Australian commercial tv is infamous for doing this to sf, and I vaguely recall hearing that Channel 9 had a specific grudge against Farscape for not being the kids show they thought they were getting.

[alias_sqbr]

Yay! Thankyou!

[sanguinity]

You're welcome. :-)

...and if I can make a correction: when I said 1x11 was skippable, I'd only seen a season or two. Having since watched all seasons, there's a character introduced in 1x11 who recurs in two of the most important episodes of S3.

But I'm not going to recant on 1x14. Skip it. There's nothing that goes on in 1x14 that you want to know about, and several things that you don't want to know about.

[alias_sqbr]

*reads a synopsis of Episode 6*

Ah! The episode that made me decide to stop watching the show!

*watches episode 7*

:)

[sanguinity]

:: The episode that made me decide to stop watching the show!
::

So not surprised. If there was ever an episode to make one stop watching the show, that was an excellent candidate for it, indeed.

[the-riviera-kid.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to lend DVDs. I can bring them to Swancon if you'd like (just let me know how much you want, up to an including all 4 seasons).

[alias_sqbr]

Yay! Yes please! All of it! I'll let you know if I find a supplier before then :)

[the-riviera-kid.livejournal.com]

If you want to remind me during the week leading up to (ideally about Thursday) you would be very welcome to do so. (This is not to suggest that I will forget, just that it would be prudent for me to plan for the possibility.)

[alias_sqbr]

Heh. The odds of me remembering to do that are very low but I shall try :) Also: Is it you who owns "The man who loved only numbers"?

[the-riviera-kid.livejournal.com]

I am a member of the set of owners of that book (although I feel compelled to comment on your question skirting an implication that I am the only member said set). I will take this as a request to add it to the collection of things I am to bring to Swancon.

[alias_sqbr]

Ah, no I meant "Are you the owner of the particular copy I have sitting on my bookshelf after having borrowed it from someone ages ago?" :)

[the-riviera-kid.livejournal.com]

Oh, I beg your pardon. I remember us speaking about you borrowing it, but not me actually lending it to you. I presume that it is mine, but I will check my own bookshelf to confirm.