Farscape Series Review

On my journey through the wild world of Farscape I had a friend constantly ask me if it was better than my beloved Battlestar Galactica. I still cannot give a definitive answer because they are such fundamentally different shows. They're like night and day. Yet very few shows, sci fi or otherwise, are so willing to go as far as Farscape does. It's world-building is consistently impressive, it's characters well-written, it's effects crafted with deft care (courtesy of the Jim Henson company) and it's stories expansive and complex.

Not what you'd expect from a show featuring a farting alien.

Telling the story of John Crichton (Ben Browder), an astronaut shot through a wormhole to a distant part of the universe, Farscape tells stories of immense beauty, heartbreak and hilarity. If i may be so bold: it is to science fiction, what Buffy is to fantasy. It is never what you expect it to be. You thought you'd see a show about space hijinks where everything is reset by the end of an episode? Here, have a several seasons long arc with ridiculously impressive continuity. You thought your lead was an infallible hero, ala Luke Skywalker? No, not at all. John Crichton is a flawed human being who makes tough choices and loses people he loves in the process. Aeryn Sun is just a love interest? Screw you buddy, Aeryn Sun will kick your ass and look good doing it.

And it all takes place on a living ship named Moya. It is a wonderful ship.

With a cast consisting of talent like Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Virginia Hey and Gigi Edgely (all Aussies by the way!) this show doesn't lack for acting prowess. These actors have given me many emotions, especially Black, how she doesn't have a bigger career i will never understand, the woman just knows how to act. Simcoe brings both physical and emotional power to Ka Dargo and makes the audience feel his pain even through all those prosthetics, Virginia Hey brings kindness and subtle badassery to Zhaan, as you would expect from a Mad Max alum, and Gigi Edgely is a gloriously physical performer, a true character actress.

It is especially impressive that the latter three must act through full body make up/prosthetics. The show can also boast some great guests, Magda Szubanski, Bruce Spence, Rebecca Gibney and Rebecca Riggs all make appearances.

Along the way Crichton gains and loses friends, gets involved in a galactic war and comes face to face with some true horrors. But what viewers will take away from Farscape is its willingness to go all the way with its storytelling, it pulls no punches and takes its characters to daring places. I don't just recommend Farscape as a science fiction, i recommend it as an adventure, a fantasy, a comedy, a tragedy, a romance and an epic.