That was random

[annavere]

I have several times been recommended Farscape, by people whose taste I trust. I have also seen it routinely rank high on lists of Best Sci-Fi Shows. However, before any of that, I did attempt to watch the first episode on Netflix, and was so irritated I shut it off before it was even over, because the characters were massively annoying and the attempts at comedy were so offputtingly juvenile that I was pretty sure the show just wasn't my thing. I have always believed it must get better, so it's been on my eventual watch list, but always near the bottom, in the "okay, if you say so" section.

Today, I discovered that Plex has live TV, like cable. And I could channel surf! And one channel had Farscape, so I gave it the random episode treatment, to see if it might serve as a better intro than having to sit through the pilot a second time. And it did!

So, the episode I randomly watched was like an acid trip explained with bullshit technobabble (*affectionate*). The crew's living ship was pregnant. They went into starburst (the travel method, not the candy) and accidentally got wedged into some kind of dimensional rift, at which point rugged science-brained man of action Crichton (the freaked out guy from the pilot) went running around different-colored ship dimensions trying not to be sick, and organizing everyone caught on different planes to fire up the engines at the same time. Later, he spoke to the sentient acid trip extra-dimensional jellyfish trying to break through the walls of their dimensions - tipped off by the glowing claw marks left everywhere all being prime numbers. Peaceful communication and cooperation ended up saving the day, which was quite sweet.

Then they all sat around eating space food (some of which looked suspiciously like someone in catering supplied a bowl of cellophane noodles) and being one big happy family.

Amazing set design. Truly, I had a hard time paying attention to the action, too busy staring at the gorgeous ship design, putting all other shows and even some films to shame. Also, makeup and costumes were stunning. Also, also, the Henson Creature Shop Pilot was lovely. Visually, this was a feast.

Nobody did opening credits saga sells like the 90s-00s. I really think they were works of art, and it's a shame they lost popularity.

All three of the female characters were immediately distinctive, both in character and design. They were cool, and I wanted to know more about their stories. Why was the silvery one not a team player? What's the deal with the lapsed warrior priestess? Why was the human-looking one semi-fused with the Pilot brain?

Also, strong warrior alien guy (sounded like Dargo, but I'm not using names, because I'll probably butcher the spellings) being forced to use 1 Mississippi to keep time was pretty funny.

Still don't like Frog Guy, or see what he adds to the show or crew, but at least they toned down the bodily function gags.

I actually liked Crichton as the lead. He had kind of a "fed up with it all" vibe, yet still threw himself into whatever the hell was going on and did his level best to keep the crew alive.

Anyway, yeah. Farscape just gathered a distinct and positive personality, on the strength of whatever it was I watched. Random episodes can be a fun experience!

Comments

[senmut]

Given it wasn't consistent in airing when I saw it, I watched on random originally. Rygel, the frog guy, is their curmudgeon and occasionally useful because of his status. D'Argo and picking up Crichton's humanisms usually amused me.

But Chiana (sp?) the silver blue girl was designated Outsider for a bit and has so many trust issues. Zhaan, priestess, is trying so hard to be peaceful and counselor. Aeryn and Pilot have History by virtue of who they were.

I agree that the pilot was weak. The writers took a bit to hit their stride. The sets, most of the effects, the costumes? All so good.

And I was most drawn in by the fact that every cast member has a backstory that does play out and show them as strong Characters. Rygel was my own 'okay fine he exists' initially.

[teratornis]

Farscape's one of those that's been on my to-watch list for quite a while, as well. I watched some of the first season at some point, but it was a long time ago, and I don't remember much. I do also recall being somewhat annoyed at points, though, so maybe I'll have to check out a few random episodes, myself, and see how that goes. Glad you had a good experience with the episode you checked out, it sounds like a pretty wild one.