"Farscape" (1999) TV series 1999-2003

Creator:

Rockne S. O'Bannon

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

19 March 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Thrown into a distant part of the universe, an Earth astronaut finds himself part of a fugitive alien starship crew.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Space | Fugitive | Technology | Villain

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 11 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Ben Browder	...	John Crichton (88 episodes, 1999-2003)
Claudia Black	...	Officer Aeryn Sun / ... (88 episodes, 1999-2003)
Anthony Simcoe	...	Ka D'Argo / ... (88 episodes, 1999-2003)
Lani John Tupu	...	Pilot / ... (85 episodes, 1999-2003)
Jonathan Hardy	...	Dominar Rygel XVI / ... (84 episodes, 1999-2003)
Gigi Edgley	...	Chiana (74 episodes, 1999-2003)
Wayne Pygram	...	Scorpius / ... (61 episodes, 2000-2003)
Virginia Hey	...	Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan (50 episodes, 1999-2002)

Also Known As:

Farscape (Australia)
Space Chase (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

50 min | USA:60 min (88 episodes) | New Zealand:44 min (Season 2-4)

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:16 | New Zealand:M (Season 2, 3, 4 DVD Rating) | Australia:M (Season 2, 3, 4 DVD Rating) | Australia:MA (Season 1 DVD rating) | New Zealand:R13 (Season 1 DVD rating) | Australia:MA (some episodes) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Singapore:PG | USA:TV-14 | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

Bondi Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Jim Henson Productions

Trivia:

Raelee Hill (Sikozu) originally auditioned for the role of Commandant Grayza.

Quotes:

Dominar Rygel XVI: Oh good, they're alive. Now you can torture them with your insane dribblings.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (2004) (TV)

The best original science fiction I've seen in a great while.

This has got to be without a doubt, the best original science fiction show I've seen in a long time. I had rather high hopes for seaQuest (written by Rockne S. O'Bannon as well), and was disappointed. My first impressions of "Farscape" were "Voyager" / "Battlestar Galactica" clone, but that lasted about five minutes. I think my favorite characters are probably Pilot and Moya herself, although Aeryn is a close third. I do wonder that everyone frequently defers to John's leadership since he is brand new to the situation (not to mention that area of space) and seemingly does not understand even the basics of Leviathan tech.

I do love the occasional pop-culture reference, such as John's statement "This place looks like Dagobah." Upon being asked where "Dagobah" was, John smiled at his joke and replied that it was a place where great warriors were trained. I half expected the reply to be "Wars not make one great". It's a good, subtle blend that keeps us awake, but doesn't inspire wild "easter egg hunts" for other allusions.

I am very impressed with this show, and I hope the Sci-Fi channel will continue to produce this excellent series.