#farscape thoughts

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

I'm going back through Farscape, and on a second watch what strikes me the most is how...sincere the show is. It seems like it believes in every insane thing that it says, every bizarre premise it introduces, and every weird character it introduces.

And it needs that sincerity, too. If it wasn't all-in on its premises, the show wouldn't work. It would fall apart under the weight of its bizarreness. Sure, it has jokes, but those jokes are never at the expense of the show itself, never ironic "turn to the camera" moments, so it works to further the nature of the show.

[glowingeyedgoddess]

I really need to do a Farscape verse for Astarte.

I'm sure that the Goa'uld would fit in well in Farscape, albeit not having been around for awhile. Because the legendary Peacekeeper goddess Djancaz-Bru sounds a lot like a Goa'uld to me!!

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

John Crichton affecting an aristocratic British accent while undercover as a Peacekeeper officer (despite the fact that none of the the Peacekeepers he'd met had that accent) further cements him as science fiction's greatest Florida Man.

He seriously thought "What would an officer in a colonialist military force sound like?", decided "mid 19th century British" was the correct answer, didn't consult anyone (based on the reactions of his shipmates), and went all in on it. Minimal thought, maximum dedication.

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

One thing I really like about John Crichton is that he is 100% willing to kill anyone that tries to kill him, his ex-fascist lady love, his not-a-Klingon platonic life partner, his blue mom, his blue stepdaughter, his aristocratic Muppet frenemy, his blue tentacled Muppet pal or the giant whale starship they all travel in, especially if that person is Captain Ahab in space or a half-lizard leather fetishist space Nazi.

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

I like to imagine that, due to his time digging around Crichton's brain for the wormhole technology knowledge, Scorpius has become the only member of the cast who understands what John Crichton is talking about when he makes pop culture/historical references.

John: (makes an obscure reference to Earth popular culture/history)

Scorpius:

I also believe that Scorpius makes those references to himself all to time, much to his own chagrin.

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

Okay, we're gonna take a minute to just talk about, and appreciate, the DRD design on Farscape.

Look at them:

They are Friend Shaped. They are disarming. They are useful and helpful. They have so much personality (especially 1812, I'd die for him), and they're essentially something that allows Moya and the crew to interact directly.

One of them is also the first thing Crichton (and kinda the audience) see of Moya. They say "Yeah, the show is gonna be weird, but not always. Look at these Little Guys, they're here to help and be cute." They show that in the insane, complex, scary world of Farscape, there's time for things to just Be Cute.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

No moment of science fiction television will ever be more insane than John Crichton belting "The Star-Spangled Banner" as he pulls himself across the floor while defying the mind control techniques of a half-lizard Nazi leather fetishist.

The fact that the aforementioned lizard Nazi almost certainly know a exactly what Crichton is singing adds to this insanity.

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

Farscape: Here's a story about a group of deeply broken people who find meaning in each other going on weird, heartfelt adventures with one of the most compelling, heartbreaking romances in all of TV science fiction. This show will make you cheer and cry in equal measure, and will change how you view what science fiction can be forever.

Also, it has Muppets.