Frell Yeah Farscape!

Farscape | Created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, The Jim Henson Company

There’s long been talk about a Farscape movie happening some time in the future, but now, creator Rockne S. O’Bannon recently made it official. What does this mean to Farscape fans? Well, let us show you.

Farscape is the story of an American pilot and theoretical scientist, John Crichton, who ends up lost in space after his experimental mission goes wrong. He gets caught up in the escape attempts of some very unique aliens on board the living ship, Moya, but they all share the same goal: they want to go home. But as the seasons progressed and their journey drew them further and further away from their goals, some incredible friendships were formed with these amazing characters that so many fans came to love. It was a show that wasn’t afraid to be silly one moment, and deeply emotional the next.

Some of the staff here at WWAC are very excited about the prospect of seeing those characters again. 

So which is your favourite?

Farscape | Created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, The Jim Henson Company
Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black) with Pilot (voiced by Lani Tupu)

Farscape introduced me to Aeryn Sun, and through her, the actress Claudia Black. This woman never fails to amaze me in every one of her portrayals. I am still stunned by the scene in “The Way We Weren’t” where she and Pilot have a moment that just rips me apart. People might scoff at the show because it features “puppets,” but actors like Black show you just how real those creations can be. The character of Aeryn herself. Unf. What can I say without this turning into a huge sobbing gush of emotions? I mean, I love all the characters on Farscape, but Aeryn is just all kinds of beautiful. She begins as the hardass soldier and continues on through an incredible range of character development with such a roller coaster of emotional ups and downs. Yes she inevitably falls for John Crichton, but she never loses herself in that relationship, and he is not always the catalyst that helps her explore who she is beyond the Peacekeepers. Oh but who am I kidding? I totally forever ship John and Aeryn.
— Wendy Browne

Farscape | Created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, The Jim Henson Company
Moya exiting starburst travel

Umm, Moya. Yep, definitely Moya.
— Al Rosenberg

I’m a cliche, but I’m a John Crichton-loving cliche. John Crichton, played by the adorable puppy Ben Browder, was immediately endearing to me. I have a type of character I love in sci-fi, best described via trope as hotshot-pilot-dudebro-who-is-actually-a-genius-and-romantic-puppy, and Crichton embodies that with an extra dose of mentally unbalanced that made for some incredibly surreal moments of entertaining television. As the 20th-century American protagonist of Farscape, Crichton made the show feel not like sci-fi, but a fish-out-of-water set in outer space. He kept the series grounded, and relatable, which balanced out the weird-but-awesome aliens and spaceships he encountered.
— Kate Tanksi

*bites lip* Zhaan. Everyone else on the ship is so yelly, and I know that Zhaan has her moments of yelling too, but I appreciated her serenity in, let’s be honest, a pretty frenetic show.
— Jo Fu

Farscape | Created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, The Jim Henson Company
Virginia Hey as Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan

Favourite episode or moment?

“Talyn. Starburst.”
— Wendy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TocBiVkPdVs

So many. I can’t even pick one. But “Won’t Get Fooled Again” stands out as being the kind of meaty psychological but surreal and cracky gloriousness that made me fall in love with Farscape. This is a very serious episode. No, really. It is.
— Kate

The episode “Scratch ‘N Sniff,” very funny.

— Al Rosenberg

In your hunger for more Farscape, did you consume any of the comics, books, etc?

Farscape_Dargo_Lament_TPB | http://www.boom-studios.com/farscape-uncharted-tales-d-argo-s-lament-tpb.html
Farscape: D’Argo’s Lament from BOOM! Studios

I never knew they existed, but now that I know, I want to. >_>
— Kate

Ditto to Kate
— Al

Ditto to everyone. There was extra stuff?
— Jo

Yes, there have been comics and books, though I only read one or two of them. Sadly, I didn’t find them particularly memorable. There’s something about seeing all the characters in action on screen that just didn’t work for me in paper format with Farscape.
— Wendy

When Farscape was cancelled in 2003, fans campaigned for its returned. The result was Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars. Do you think the franchise needs a feature film now after all these years? Do crackers still matter to you?

Crackers totally still matter. I don’t necessarily think we *need* another Farscape movie, but damn do I want one. I don’t even care if it’s bad (I doubt it would be!). Just gimme. Sure I was excited about the new Terminator and I’ve been a lifelong fan of Star Wars, but in just a few short seasons, Farscape gave me so many incredible moments and so many amazing characters, pitching me through a range of emotions from one minute to the next. It was the epitome of powerful character and story driven television that wasn’t afraid to get silly, to explore pain and loss, to love and to leave.
— Wendy

I don’t care if the studios and the cynics see it as a nostalgia ploy. What I see in this revival of TV shows from the 90s and early 2000s (see also: The X-Files) is that during that period of time we had some amazing quality television, but it was before studios had to care if fans cared that something was no longer on the air. Ten years ago, fans didn’t matter. Now we do, and I say viva la revolution.
— Kate.

I think Farscape was a huge deal for a lot of people. The franchise has enough of a cult following that I think it will succeed. For instance, listen to the Farscape nerdgasm on Heroine’s Journey, people will eat this up. Including me.
— Al

Time for some speculation. What do you think the new movie will be about? What would you like to see?

If it’s just two hours of them all sitting around eating shwarma, occasionally shooting at something, making amusing comments and randomly yelling “FRELL YOU,” I will be happy. I just want to see all my babies on screen again.
— Wendy

Wayne Pygram as Scorpius in Farscape
Wayne Pygram as Scorpius

SCORPIUS. If we don’t see my favorite chinderwearing villain I will cry a lot.

But in all seriousness, I love the open-ended nature of this series. I love that it’s an ongoing story, and this is our epilogue, our flash forward into the future, and, fingers-crossed, our happy ending. They–the fans, and the characters–deserve that much, after everything.
— Kate

They’re making a Farscape movie?? Didn’t they already make seasons 9-10 of Stargate: SG-1? (Psst, that’s where you cue the laugh track at my Good Nerd Joke!)
— Jo Fu

Stargate SG-1 | Claudia Black and Ben Browder
Many a Farscape fan probably watched Stargate SG-1 just to get their Claudia Black and Ben Browder fix

So what about you? Fan of Farscape? What do you think of the movie news? Leave your thoughts (and/or images) in the comments!

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Wendy Browne

Wendy Browne

Publisher, mother, geek, executive assistant sith, gamer, writer, lazy succubus, blogger, bibliophile. Not necessarily in that order.

8 thoughts on “Frell Yeah Farscape!

  1. At Wendy’s request, here are my belated feelings about Farscape:
    Favorite Character – I always liked Chiana! She’s one of those ragtag, resilient con artists who just keeps figuring out how to do amazing stuff, like help a living ship birth a baby ship! She had an amazing character arc, complete with logical backsliding and incredible growth, and she doesn’t take shit from anyone.
    Favorite moment – Harvey in a Hawaiian t-shirt, obviously.
    Consume books/comics – Also didn’t know they existed! I see Wendy’s point about that energy not communicating well to the page, though.
    Peacekeeper Wars – It’s been a while, but I remember enjoying the Peacekeeper Wars! My mother is particularly fond of the moment when Aeryn, having just given birth, cradles her child in one arm, picks up a gun and keeps shooting. I think it was sort of a landmark moment for fandom and the impact of fandom, but they also manipulated us with the end of the series. Eeeeeesh.
    Movie – That… never happened right? Is there still a movie in the cards? I often have mixed feelings about returns/reboots, but Farscape was so much about silliness and fun, and they wrapped up the wormhole stuff pretty well. I think they could do something new but in the right spirit that would be great!

  2. Such a huge fan of Farscape I can’t wait to see the movie and who knows maybe it’ll spawn a sequel or even another tv series which would be Awesome,.. Bring it on we’ve all been waiting forever already…

  3. Absolutely love Farscape, I watch it over and over and over….as well as peace keeper wars and they have brought it back on demand, I have it set to record!

  4. Favorite character: Scorpius. Very few villains strike an almost equal balance of loathsome and admirable, but the Farscape crew hit it out of a the park with this guy.

    I’m not even going to speculate what the movie might be about. I just want it.

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