See, about Farscape, I feel like I must have missed something. I watched it for the first time properly not too long ago and I actually really really liked season one and prefer it to big chunks of season two while that doesn't seem to be the overwhelming consensus on Tumblr? Lemme hear your thoughts :)
Oh really? Well each to their own of course. If you like Farscape you're a-okay. Whatever you find to be the best part and not. So you want my thoughts on Farscape? I ALWAYS WANT TO TALK ABOUT FARSCAPE :D
Personally I find season one very uneven, and just objectively it is. But it's not a surprise. They were trying to find their voice you know? Hell, several episodes are out of order and it doesn't really matter or show much cause there isn't much depth yet or consistency. And regarding depth: that also makes sense because it is a show about people who were thrown together in the first episode. They had never met before (well I suppose Rygel had crawled by Zhaan and D'Argo in their cells at some point, and Aeryn did kinda meet Pilot but that's beside the point). They needed time to forge bonds.
Which brings me to why I prefer later seasons: character relations, character development, consequences and consistency. I love where they take the characters and how their relationship to each other grow and change. I absolutely adore John and Aeryn and the story they have together, and that comes into its right more in later seasons.
Season one has Crais as the "villain", and he feels very one dimensional in his role as their adversary. He's angry cause John killed his brother and that's all he can think of. One track mind of hate. Not that interesting. At the end of the season Scorpius emerges. And there we have a great villain. He's complex and creepy as hell. And now Crais is turned into someone interesting too. He isn't just the guy who's hunting them anymore. He's a proper character.
Also, I love the angst in Farscape. And again, that doesn't really have that much of a place in season one. That might be because the writers didn't feel like we were ready. Or the characters weren't ready. They needed depth for the angst to resonate. Now, this of course excludes the last few episodes of the season. That's when it got really good for me, but it's also when the themes and characters that would go on through the rest of the show were introduced properly.
Farscape was really good at building character and story arcs. And to not let things just slip away. Things that were mentioned in early season one when things were kinda up in the air it was just fun space stuff come back later (Maldis' comment about John losing his virginity is the best random thing ever. Halfway through season four we get a callback to that. I mean come on!) Sure, the wormhole knowledge was planted in the latter half of s1, but it doesn't mean anything until later. And speaking of, A Human Reaction is indeed a great episode. I think that might be the first time the really found that sweet spot with the storytelling. Sure, there are good eps before that. From a J/A standpoint The Flax is great, and it is a good episode otherwise too. But it is then followed by Jeremiah Crichton which is just not good at all. DNA Mad Scientist had great themes, good Aeryn drama and everything... but it didn't pack as much of a punch as it would have at a later point for example.
Thing is, I am not saying season one of Farscape is BAD. I'm just saying that I don't find it as good as the rest. Because Farscape is built on progress and character development, and for obvious reasons that takes a while. Season one is a good base, but it is a dangerous first half of a season for people who are just "giving it a go". Especially now that it's getting a bit old. There's a lot of weird alien puppet that might not look as good as they once did compared to today's insane animation techniques, and it is slightly disjointed. They just go on random "missions". Basically: it feels like any other sci fi for a while.
You are comparing s1 and s2 in your comment. There are chunks of s2 I don't care too much about either, but I think that the show has settled properly by then. The characters care deeply for each other now, the main adversary has been introduced and so on. The beginning of the season is a bit weak for sure, but then we're hit with Crackers Don't Matter which is pure insanity, The Way We Weren't that hurts like hell (and again, wouldn't hurt as much in s1 cause we need to have the relationships a bit more firm and Aeryn a bit less of a stone hearted soldier). They dare to make three parters. What show dares that? And twice in the same season! We get my favourite fun episode, Out of Their Minds, we get The Locket which is perfect if your heart belongs to John and Aeryn and also a great season finale.
As a whole I probably prefer season 2 mainly cause of where we have the characters. Everything just matters a little bit more because of everyone's relationship with the other characters. And we understand where the show is heading, and what they sort of dare to do. Also, the clothes are better :P
However, my favourite season is three. Hands down. Oh the delicious angst. So very very good. Thing is, your comment is obviously the reaction to the post about remembering how good season one was of all your shows, and I always seem to prefer the third season. It tends to be the one where all the angst happens and your heart gets ripped to pieces. Probably cause all the characters are firmly established and they've had time to start to build relationships and all that... it's time to tear them apart (in a good way!) Oh and well, The Peacekeeper Wars is the best part of Farscape. Because that really is the final bang. It's what everything has lead up to and the stakes are high, and the characters are so solid and so are their relationships.
Anyways, I think that season one of Farscape is far better going back. When you know the characters and you love them it is fun to see where they started and how they've changed. Things they say make you go "oh darling, if you only knew what you will become" etc.
So this was long. Haha.
