NineLizards: Farscape

Series Review / Wallpaper.

Farscape returned! Okay, that's a lie... but I'd love for it to happen.

Say what? Farscape? You didn't even know? What?!? You did not even watch?!?!? You don't even know what Farscape is?!?

You must be one of those people comforting their Nielsen boxes 😔

Farscape

You know. Farscape. Muppets in space. Sort of. I'm not gonna' say how great the series was (though it is) or that it's bad science fiction but great television (though it is) and that you're missing out if you belong to the lovesick crowd (ah, those love scenes in Farscape...) or just like wacky pop-art jokes and big explosions (guess what category I belong to 😁)... It's simply great.

Scifi channel cancelled the show in 2002, after four and a half season, and managed to give some different reasons at the time... Nielsen ratings, rising costs... and they might all have been true.

Personally, I suspect there was a third factor involved, and that is human error, or impatience. I suppose Scifi (these days Syfy) did not realize the amount of bad publicity they would get with the cancellation of Farscape. But once the decision was made, there was little to be done about it, as doing an 180 would turn them into fair game and prime targets, as long as all those idiotic fans are concerned.

But I wonder... isn't that exactly Scifi's / Syfy's user base? Isn't that the group that is willing to pay for a 'mostly reruns' type of cable channel such as Scifi?

Peacekeeper Wars

A few private (?) investors, after all the complaining by the fan community, decided to invest a little more and allow Farscape to reach a worthwhile conclusion. You see, after four seasons, when things were getting more and more interesting, the original financial backing withdrew and all fans stared at the 'to be continued' at the end of the season five ending cliffhanger... knowing that there was nothing more to come. (Before the final episode was completed and broadcasted the showrunners knew the show was cancelled, and they still left the 'to be continued' message in there. Wishful thinking?

Yet, in spite of all the odds, Farscape got resurrected. Not in the form of another season, but as a mini-series. Well, better that than nothing at all, why is it that so many of my favorite series end too early? VR5, Space: Above and Beyond, Firefly, Farscape, and there must be more...

Perhaps I should let production companies pay me for not watching their series 😒

So, one more final plug: GO AND WATCH FARSCAPE. It's worth it.

Because...

...it’s a fine blend of Pigs in Space, Fargo, Gone With the Wind, Logan’s Run, Aliens (1 to 4) and a little Predator, plus a touch of Kingdom Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful, perhaps more than a little helping of Outlaw Star and A Yankee at King Arthur’s Court. And muppets. Not Muppets.

But then in a futuristic fantasy setting, or a fantastic futuristic setting. Yeah, that makes little sense, but Farscape is simply one of the best series ever made, if you can overcome the first season.

Because once the friggin' blue bolts start flying in season two you no longer care about the fact that half the cast is made in the muppets factory, because Farscape is an awesome crossover between a crazy adventure, a hopeless tale of love, and all the flaws that humans and aliens suffer from. Aliens are aliens, not just people with glued-on rubber bits -- although there are enough of those as well. It also sports Scorpio, one of the best villains ever in TV and movie history.

On top of that, it's what every television series aspires to be: it's so entertaining that they had to invent their own swearwords...

Never let the puppets get in the way of that.

Ratscape

Some of the artwork below is Ratscape's, and it is pretty damn impressive. He's been producing all sorts of fan-art, including the 'red and black' stuff you see above. Some of it may resemble world war 2 propaganda, but the so called 'Peacekeepers' are pretty much 'Nazis in space'...

His posters might be one of the main reasons we got our Peacekeeper Wars mini series in the end. It's nog as good as a fifth season, but at least we got some decent closure.

Frell. I love Farscape.

I remember staring at the last episode of season four, knowing that there wouldn't be a season five. For half an hour I was silent, and then I found myself screaming in anger at the television. So if Ratscape is (even partially) responsible for Farscape's (partial) rescue than all the fans are eternally in his debt. Thank you!

Wallpapers

A few Farscape posters that sneaked into my wallpaper collection. You can clearly recognize the Ratscape ones...