Prepare for Starburst: A Farscape Rewatch Thread

[Falcon Horus]

Human Reaction

Jelgate already mentioned it already, it's that classic case of aliens come to Earth, humans meet aliens, aliens are locked up and studied, and dissected.

The episode starts out normal enough with Pilot and Moya discovering the wormhole which then conveniently leads to Earth. John has a chance to return home and that's when the oddities start piling up - up to the point where Rygel is dissected.

John and Aeryn escape the compound, and end up involved in after-rain-we're-soaked-to-the-bone-so-let's-get-naked-sex trope. It wasn't shown but all indications point towards an interaction of some kind. Perhaps Aeryn knocked him unconscious after that first kiss - who knows.

Anyhoodle, John realizes he's being hoodwinked. The aliens reveal themselves and the purpose of their experiment. The end.

Zhaan, Chiana, Pilot and Moya aren't around for more than a minute or two.

This episode is best forgotten -- probably the least one of season 1.

Next!

[jelgate]

Human Reaction

An oddly topical episode this week given my country’s current national situation.

Your country would imprison people for doing nothing wrong?

Crichton is home; but the humans aren’t particularly welcoming of outsiders. Plus it rains a lot. ‘Earth minus the sunshine’ is a pretty good description of the UK right now.

This seems to be the theme of Earth in Farscape. Its not the most pleasant and a little cynical

Still in a happier frame of mine, this is probably my favourite Farscape episode, with the possible exception of ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’.

Seems like a total different frame. In that episode, John just goes crazy

First, I love the way it looks. For the Earth bits they are definitely using a different type of grading than usual, maybe even totally different cameras. The bleak and stripped back tone is great.

You lost me. I feel like SQ as I don't know what grading is

The director definitely knows what they’re doing. I think some of the shots and set piece mirror ones from famous indie-type films. For example, Crichton & Aeryn on the bed is framed the same way as the end of The Graduate.

Similarly, there’s a British film called A Matter of Life & Death. Anyone seen that? It’s a 1940’s movie in which a doomed fighter pilot falls back to Earth after everyone thought he was dead.

I'll take your word for it that this episode parodies those movies as I have never heard nor seen them

Anyway, he wakes up on a beach in his flightsuit. Crichton’s scene on the beach mirrors that exactly. From the shots they do of the waves and the sky, to the point where he runs up to a girl and asks her where he is. Excepting in AMOLAD it’s a fighter plane than flies over and interrupts, rather than a helicopter.

Still taking your word for it.

That film is also half in colour ( for scenes on Earth) and half in black and white ( for when he’s in Heaven). Human Reaction mirrors that divide: out space is all technicolour, where Earth is grey and drab. Seriously this director is a good one.

That I did notice and I don't these type of things usually. I thought it was used as a subtle hint that this isn't really Earth.

I also love that they use the freaky ‘aaahs’ from the title music as the cue for the Earth. I think I’m right in saying that this is the only time in the entire series they use the title music in the soundtrack? Really drives home the point that it’s Crichton/Earth who are the distant ones, strange and weird and not the universe he finds himself in.

The music can be used for multiple interpretations and also mean nothing. I say the music was used to show the apprehension of John

Character-wise I think that it’s from this point that Crichton starts getting darker. It’s a trajectory that is accelerated by what happens with Scorpius but it starts here when he goes home. Even if it is a fake at the end, I think he realises that it could all too easily be reality. The humans would be just as harsh as the rest of the universe.

You could argue the darkness started at the beginning. Being chased by a murderous psychopath is not pleasant. I don't really think this adds to it. John admits earlier that he doesn't think Earth would be accepting to aliens. Agree Scorpy is what starts the insanity in a significant way

To my mind, this is where John and Aeryn become a couple (and not because they sleep together). It’s the bit where Aeryn says ‘Are you with us or them?’ and Crichton replies ‘I’m with you, Aeryn’.

The thing is they go back and forth so much in the first few seasons, a lot of time its hard to pinpoint what their relationship is. I would agree at this point about the ship.

Can we talk about Claudia Black? I think she nails this episode. She’s awesome. From how childlike and vulnerable she looks when Crichton leaves, to the way she tastes the rain in the thunderstorm.

I think it suppose to be the reverse of Crichton, Now she is the outsider instead of John.

Also the delivery of the line ‘ Did I kill him?’ re. the knocked out guard. Probably written in the script to mean, “Is he still alive?” but acted as “Does it matter to you that I did it?” Or even ‘Are you going to grass me up?’. Great choice.

I think it showcases that Aeryn doesn't know what to do in this situation. A fact that scares her a little

The way they handle the translator microbes is also cool - with John responding in English and the audience/ Jack just having to extrapolate what they say.

I like how they made up multiple gibberish languages

From an editing point of view: so much good stuff in this episode Definitely worth cutting up, and not only if you’re doing a John/Aeryn vid. It has such a distinctive, earthy look when compared with rest of series that it’s very handy.

Really? I didn't think it would have enough action for that

Yeah, don’t I seem to remember in the Premier, Crais wanted to have Crichton dissected to see what humans were made of? Now I know Crais isn't a particularly nice peacekeeper but he's not the worst either...

Its not really the point if Crais said he would dissect people or not. Peacekeepers do anything for their power. So it makes me doubt Aeryn's position of the limits of Peacekeepers

Not so much cartwheels but I did enjoy the way that scene looked so much that I drew a picture of it after the re-watch Just be thankful it’s of them just before they have sex rather than during.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]41793[/ATTACH]

That would be totally in your imagination as they didn't show that in the episode. Also you would probably be banned from Gateworld
To Be Continued

[jelgate]

Human Reaction

This is one of my favorite episodes for obvious reasons... I think you guys know why So I will spare you all and not gush about that part so much.

I'm skepetical you'll not ramble about the John/Aeryn sex scene. Its your two favorite obsessions

I actually watched the ep and then watched it again with the audio commentary with Ben and Claudia. The nice thing about these audio bits is they were added in years later I think. Because we have Ben admitting that the gray hair wasn't actually his, but he says now he has plenty LOL

Maybe that is what he wants us to believe. I have a hard time watching audio commentary. Mostly because I can never hear the episode with the commentary

They didn't actually know what to do with Chiana for this ep Ben talks about that and that is why they put her in that opening scene with Zhaan arguing about stealing something and well I thought that was perfect and gave us a little character moment for her. That she may still be struggling with her old ways and fitting in.

You are seeing things where they don't exist again. Its just a scene to show Chiana in the episode. Its obvious from here that the episode was written before they decided to make Chiana a regular

Loved the Goodbyes and that to me is what really sells it that Wow John could be going home. And like jel[ mentioned I loved the really touching Goodbye between D and John. Very awesome to see how far our characters have come and just how much they've bonded with John.

I think we all knew John wasn't going home

John swirls down the Worm hole and (yeah I'm with jel it seemed all too easy and convenient...but meh.... I'm going on this adventure and liking it). So BOOM...he lands on earth with that poor Shuttle again.... it's seen more action than anyone I think

A lot of TV is convienent like that. Don't take my criticism of saying that it was bad.

Ben commented he spent some time surfing there (it was shot in Austrialia) and he actually got a bruise which you see when he has his "wife beater" shirt on in the safe house with Aeryn. it's funny how you never notice things until the actor points it out and then you go oh yeah Ben also said he had gotten very ill from food poisoning or something but there was a cot on set and in between takes he would crash out and spent several days so deathly ill, coming from both ends, but he never took a day off filming.

Its not unheard of. Actors a lot of time don't get time off because they are on a tight schedule. On the inverse, their is a lot time when they aren't doing anything. I probably wouldn't even if someone said anything. I'm too focused in the story to notice those small things

So back to the crash....surf...BOOM...here come the troops up over the hill. John is shot and tranquilized. They said the way they shot that they wanted it to be like when an animal is hunted and falls down dramatically. And they really wanted this ep to have that independent film feel and so with the camera work and blocking I think they did a fabulous job.

I don't get an independent film feel. I thought the look was to get the feel of the military coming for John

They spent 4 hours waiting for that crab to crawl across that pin that Jack threw into the water.

Jack?

So what I was annoyed with the way humans were depicted as these really intolerable racists that wants to just kill and cut open all alien life forms. That whole stereotype is rather troublesome but we now know it was how the ancients constructed events from Johns memory. That really begs the question that honestly do you think it was cheaper for them (resource wise) to construct all that huge elaborate experiment rather than just use their resources to go scouting on their own and do the best they can? I find it rather plot devisive but *shrugs* it was good story telling so I'm gonna forgive it.

Its like I said in my review. Its a cliché that we present aliens as a threat with suspicion. We can't really say its true until aliens really show up. Considering how humans treat each other in the real world, I'm leaning towards truth. You can't really answer what is easier in regards to the Ancients without some sort of fictional energy units. I lean to trust them since the Ancients were never deceitful. Even Einstein.

So D, Aeryn and Rygel come down....Surprise!!

The Sarcasm meter is going off.

I loved the back and forth with the alien language overlayed with what we can understand in the room with John and what we can't understand outside the room. That was very awesome. I think it adds realism to the whole thing.

I liked the Rygel language the best

Rockne and Rowan allowed Aeryn to come up with her own language Claudia mentions that she just decided she wanted it to be English backwards. So I think they actually manipulate her audio so it's running backwards.

That seems lazy. D'Argo and Rygel made up their language.

There is that interesting bit when Aeryn is leaving the safe house and she says something to Jack and he actually seems to understand it and says "Thank you Officer Sun" I think that is when as the audience you are starting to feel like whoa wait something is amiss here.

You have a point. John never calls her Officer Sun, so how is he suppose to know?

So Look there did you see? I skipped right over the John/Aeryn kiss/ love scene. Actually Ben and Claudia commented that they added the "Euro Release" the morning after scene and of course Aeryn is all business and John and trying to discuss things. It's really hilarious that they make John more like the woman there...wanting to talk about it and process it and here is Aeryn playing more the male role of what? It's no big deal.. let's move on. LOL I do love the scene and that they don't have to show anything really....but it's still very sensual and meaningful. But Ben and Claudia also mentioned what jel did that it's their "Emergency Sex" LOL because they only seem to get it on when they are about to die.

It seems common to their characters. Aeryn is still used to Peacekeeper ways. She doesn't see sex as anything special. This explained more in later seasons.

So back to how John starts figuring it out and it's all hinging on the women's restroom. Ah Ha! Good one...cuz John has never been in there. Right! Even Claudia called him on that one. LOL I think that is sort of a weird way to do it cuz wouldn't there be pockets of that Red Static from little areas he wasn't in? I guess eventually he would've found them. Funny thing the men's restroom Ben said from left to right the men in there were: Anthony Simcoe, Rowan Woods and Ricky Eyres.

Reality is wrapping around him. The Ancients are recreating Earth from buildings he has been in. The buildings in the fake Earth won't correspond to the real Earth.

As for the ending, I really didn't care much for the alien and it seemed a bit confusing to me when I had to try to go back (after the reveal) where exactly did they take John to do this elaborate ruse? Ben said it was some giant incinerator designed to burn garbage but it had never been used and it was about 80 feet deep, so it was a very expansive space...so I guess we are to assume it was all "Matrix Trickery" until John took the Red Pill and he woke up in never never land.

Probably some pocket in the wormhole of their own creation. Remember what happens to John when he got sucked into that wormhole in S4? I don't want to get too spoily but I bet its something similar.

Very head trippy and Poor John....Even Ben says this is the last of John's innocence and from here on out he's gonna start to slowly lose it.

Got to blame Scorpy for that

Yeah, I went back to check my memory wasn’t playing tricks on me. He does:

‘ A Human? That will require some study. I will enjoy pulling you apart to see what you are made of’.

Jel is right again. Take note SQ

Interestingly though, that is the exact point at which Aeryn jumps in to stand up for Crichton. So it’s possible that dissecting prisoners is beyond normal peacekeeper morals (or at least Aeryn genuinely believes that it is and that Crais is wrong).

Aeryn defended John because she thought John nothing wrong

Kind of neat that when they go into each other’s worlds John and Aeryn’s positions are reversed. They both have to defend the other from being experimented against by their own people. And they both end up going on the run for it.

I said as much. Great minds think alike. Although we could argue that this doesn't count as its not really John's world

Human Reaction

Jelgate already mentioned it already, it's that classic case of aliens come to Earth, humans meet aliens, aliens are locked up and studied, and dissected.

Like Jack from Stargate, I don't like clichés

The episode starts out normal enough with Pilot and Moya discovering the wormhole which then conveniently leads to Earth. John has a chance to return home and that's when the oddities start piling up - up to the point where Rygel is dissected.

I liked the work of making puppet look like guts

John and Aeryn escape the compound, and end up involved in after-rain-we're-soaked-to-the-bone-so-let's-get-naked-sex trope. It wasn't shown but all indications point towards an interaction of some kind. Perhaps Aeryn knocked him unconscious after that first kiss - who knows.

I think its quite obvious given their scene next morning. I would be skeptical if not for that scene

Anyhoodle, John realizes he's being hoodwinked. The aliens reveal themselves and the purpose of their experiment. The end.

I like how succient you put it.

Zhaan, Chiana, Pilot and Moya aren't around for more than a minute or two.

I have made a similar criticism about the show before. It seems like a lot of times they focus too much on John and Aeryn. Me and SQ argue about this constantly. I win of course

This episode is best forgotten -- probably the least one of season 1.

Next!

Or is it?

Dun Dun Dun

[Falcon Horus]

You lost me. I feel like SQ as I don't know what grading is

Film grading or color grading explained:

Color grading is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture, video image, or still image either electronically, photo-chemically or digitally. The photo-chemical process is also referred to as color timing and is typically performed at a photographic laboratory. Modern color correction, whether for theatrical film, video distribution, or print is generally done digitally in a color suite.

[jelgate]

Its Friday, and I am going camping for the weekend. I'll be around using my phone but its quite difficult to make a review on my phone so I watched these episodes ahead of time and am posting them now. I'll check back and comment like I always do. I'm just earlier because of my vacation. I'll do what SQ did and put the episode in spoiler tags so you don't have to read the reviews until you watch it.

Through the Looking Glass

Spoiler:

I can't put my finger on it but for some reason I love this episode. Its not really a character episode and its is kind of put off by itself as its not really crucial to the plot of the story. I just like the episode for the team aspect. This is kind of funny in how the team is fractured. John doesn't even bother in this episode and he bothers me a lot. I appreciate the effort but the explaining of stuck in starburst always made no sense. I was confused in the going backwards and forwards. Despite this, I don't frellin care. I love this episode because I love seeing John experenceing all these different Moyas and what they bring. Like when we see John go to the red Moya and watch D'Argo's disgust as he throws in Pilot's den. My least favorite is the blue Moya. I do not hide the fact that Aeryn is probably my least favorite of the Moya crew. I don't care for the static Moya where we can't hear anything. That said, credit where credit is due, using sound distorting technology may be simplistic but still a smart idea. History shows that sometimes the low tech ideas work the best. Again, read a book SQ I think yellow Moya is my favorite of all. Mostly because it shows a different side of Rygel. I know its not just Rygel who laughs uncontrollably but just seeing him make so many jokes is so different that I find it hilarious. A pitfall is that we spend so much time exploring these separate Moyas is that the solution is rushed. I mention this is the whole science of starburst is too confusing. I think that leads to a rush of lets back up. That makes no sense to me because the whole science of starburst makes no sense as explained by Pilot. But I let it go as I love seeing John go to the other Moyas again. BTW, I love how this episode gives Chiana something to do. I like how it gives us a little insight into Nebari physiology. We see how the red environment doesn't phase her and the blue Moya affects her worse to everyone. Sometimes I think we forget that John is technically a doctor. I mention this because it is he who notices that the creature is trying to communicate with us not kill us. Although it would kill us to protect is own kind. I think I can respect that. Almost all of us would our loved ones over others if it came down to choice. I loved the weirdness of the alien even if she made no sense. The whole backward and forward through starburst seriously confused me about the spiliting of Moya. One good thing about these reviews is that I start thinking as I reflect. Because it is a set, we sometimes forget that Moya is also a character. I think this shows how much Moya has grown attached to the crew. This also made me realize why I like this episode. Its a team building episode. Look how you have them arguing in the first scene and then the crew is laughing with each other at the end. I frellin love the last scene. I think its hilarious them laughing with their humorous stories. The sad thing is that feels like the end of early Farscape. As the next episode starts the season finale arc which leads us to the wormhole story that lasts for the rest of the show

A Bug's Life

Spoiler:

The art people are going to tell me to get over it but the writers seriously messed up on creating this entity. Viruses don't lay spores and all they care about is stealing DNA to create copies. I just roll my eyes at the science. All we need is a body swaping entity. This is another one of those science fiction classics that I am not sure why we needed to butcher science. Its also seems unfair that everyone blames John even this episode. It everyone had played along the idea probably would have worked. Everything gets frelled up because Rygel got greedy. Speaking of Rygel, I forgot how much he and Chiana are a duo of misfits. They tend to get the crew in trouble with their greed. This episode is a prime example. Everything goes to yotz because they opened that container. Like I said the idea of Moya working with Peacekeepers to hunt down a body switching lifeform is hardly a new concept. Its really not that interesting to be honest. Its predictable and of course we knew it was going to end up in a Peacekeepers' body. We have no problem killing them. Its like when we reviewed some of those earlier episode where the story is weak but the characters are not. The only part of the story that I care about is how the Peacekeeper captains' stabbing of Aeryn has repercussions into the next week's episode. Despite this, I actually like this episode because of the character interactions. Their are so many to name and I have to leave shortly. I like Aeryn's flirting with Peacekeeper captain to squeeze information. I know you die hard shippers like SQ are nauseous right now but I think their is still a glimmer of Aeryn longing for her old life. This episode shows John tactical side as the whole reason for the setup was to gain information on if any Peacekeepers were following them. We don't get many episodes of John being smart. Although his fake accent is frelling annoying. I think part of the problem their plan failed is because of how the cells have traumatically scarred D'Argo and Zhaan. We get to see more of the seductive Chiana FH loves. I could go on but I am tired. I mentioned that I thought the best part was the stabling of Aeryn. Really it was how everyone reacted to her being stabbed. I think the D'Argo earlier this season would be happy to see a Peacekeeper bleeding on the floor. I loved everyone's reaction to see her injured. Something that continues but we will get to that later. Finally, I will say even though John can be stupid, I thought it was smart and creative (SQ is going to rub that in) of using starburst to ignite the unstable cesium fuel. Despite the plot predictability I like this episode

[squirrely1]

I'm skepetical you'll not ramble about the John/Aeryn sex scene. Its your two favorite obsessions

It's not an obsession I just like the ship on this show. I consider it one of the best in a sci fi series.

Maybe that is what he wants us to believe. I have a hard time watching audio commentary. Mostly because I can never hear the episode with the commentary
You are seeing things where they don't exist again. Its just a scene to show Chiana in the episode. Its obvious from here that the episode was written before they decided to make Chiana a regular

I really enjoyed the commentary but I only watch them on eps I really like and That is why I watch it twice once without the commentary and once with.

I think we all knew John wasn't going home
A lot of TV is convienent like that. Don't take my criticism of saying that it was bad.

I wasn't saying it was bad just agreeing with you...for once.

Its not unheard of. Actors a lot of time don't get time off because they are on a tight schedule. On the inverse, their is a lot time when they aren't doing anything. I probably wouldn't even if someone said anything. I'm too focused in the story to notice those small things

That's why it's fun to watch it with the commentary cuz you can gain some small insights into things that you'd never know otherwise and for a rewatch it's just an added layer of fun for me anyway.

I don't get an independent film feel. I thought the look was to get the feel of the military coming for John

I was just relating what Ben said in the commentary and the independent film feel was when Aeryn/John were in the safe house and it was how it was filmed and blocked. I mean I'm not good with the technical terms that maybe FH or Blue can give it more justice but actually Ben was saying they wanted each episode to be like a Feature Film or little movies so that is why they hired Rowan Woods who is a Film director to try to go after that type of mini feature film in every ep feel.

Jack?

Yes Jack Crichton...John's Dad.

Its like I said in my review. Its a cliché that we present aliens as a threat with suspicion. We can't really say its true until aliens really show up. Considering how humans treat each other in the real world, I'm leaning towards truth. You can't really answer what is easier in regards to the Ancients without some sort of fictional energy units. I lean to trust them since the Ancients were never deceitful. Even Einstein.

Yeah ok....this cliche is what bugged me but it was supposed to come off as cliche I guess that was the point from a writing/story perspective.

The Sarcasm meter is going off.

No I was actually trying to be funny and make my posts more interesting like FH's and Blue's and give it some sound effects and succinctness which seems to elude me

I liked the Rygel language the best

That seems lazy. D'Argo and Rygel made up their language.

Yeah I don't care for Aeryn's language and it does seem like she took the lazy/easy way out.

You have a point. John never calls her Officer Sun, so how is he suppose to know?

YAY!!! FINALLY! I get a point!! *marks one in the SQ column*

It seems common to their characters. Aeryn is still used to Peacekeeper ways. She doesn't see sex as anything special. This explained more in later seasons.

Yeah it was just for recreation and her training was all about her not becoming attached to anyone. So yeah I get that. But also I think she was just focused on getting out of there safely cuz again their lives were in danger as was D'argo's.

Reality is wrapping around him. The Ancients are recreating Earth from buildings he has been in. The buildings in the fake Earth won't correspond to the real Earth.
Probably some pocket in the wormhole of their own creation. Remember what happens to John when he got sucked into that wormhole in S4? I don't want to get too spoily but I bet its something similar.

You lost me on this one but I'll just chalk it up to it was alien tech that is hard to explain and leave it at that.

Got to blame Scorpy for that

Yeah can't wait for Scorpy to get on the scene. The show really ramps up to all levels of sick once he gets onboard.

Jel is right again. Take note SQ

*puts point in jel's category* "MY SIDE, YOUR SIDE, MY SIDE, YOUR SIDE, MY SIDE, YOUR SIDE!!! And don't forget it!"

[squirrely1]

Through the Looking Glass

Ah yes as jel mentioned the last of the innocent crew...laughing it up. I too really liked this episode and the realism of the three Moyas.

The Red Moya = Hell where the visual distortions possibly like being on a ship and your visual cortex just cannot rectify it. I love how they made John throw up and that makes you honestly identify with just how unsettling it is for him to be there. It draws you into it and really gives you a sense of OMG this is frelling crazy. I liked how D'argo found a way to deal with the red and rigged up some glasses....and when he comments back to John that it hardly helps but he at least doesn't retch as often. LOL

Then we get to the Blue Moya = Ocean which immerses them into a sonic environment... I too loved how differently they were effected and noticing just how this impacted Chiana over everyone else? Maybe it was that sonic control collar...had a similar frequency possibly? I did appreciate Aeryn's clever solution...and NO jel I'm not gonna read any books any time soon. OMG and before they rigged the headset solution I had to laugh at their corny pantomime's of acting out D'argo and when John acted out Rygel...I think Claudia and Ben just about lost it. Hilarious!

Then everyone has to love the Yellow Moya= Mello LOL I too loved Rygel's jokes and at one point when John says he has to focus and can't become like him (Rygel) I swear it sounded like Rygel responded with...."What? A Henson with Amazing Sexual Prowess?" LOL But I think he said...."What? Handsome with Amazing Sexual Prowess?"...but I swear I heard Henson. I do really regret that the DVD collection did not come with subtitles. So many times I can't understand what is said due to accents or just ambient sounds and I have to run it back and try to figure it out. I pray one day they actually release a set with subtitles.

@jel's comment that the science was confusing and/or John was the only one who is the "doctor" and figured out the alien was not trying to harm them. I think it was more John's human nature that allowed him to tap into the empathy the creature was throwing off and well he did recognize the prime numbers which gave him the ability to figure it out. This is so Doctor Who-ish and I love it when they do this! BTW....I know jel would love Doctor Who .....if he would just give it a chance.

All in all I loved this ep and felt it really gave us a tremendous look at how our team is really bonding. I also loved the nice bookends they presented with the eating at the round table the feast that they all obviously all helped to cook up and dine on together at the beginning and ending of the ep and that laughter all in the lap of pilot was really so endearing. I actually loved how close John got with Pilot....right up into the den with him. It was such a great bonding moment between the two characters. As jel put it...Moya and Pilot are just as much characters in this series and this ep proved it.

[squirrely1]

A Bug's Life

I actually looked up to see who stole what from whom..and Disney's A Bugs Life was in 1998 and this episode was 1999, so I guess Farscape borrowed from Disney this time.

Either way what bugged me the most (no pun intended) was John's horrendous Peacekeeper accent. Was that supposed to be Australian or what? It was pretty bad. This ep really didn't serve to do much of anything. It was pretty pointless IMO. So I'll spare you all and not really say too much about it.

It mainly served to show that they have access to some pretty Peacekeeper uniforms that happen to fit John and Aeryn perfectly. We now know why D'argo has those handy chain anchors in his chest and Chiana is starting to grow on us little by little.

I found it hard to see John brutally kill the "hot lips" girl and honestly felt like they went a little over the line on that one because wouldn't John have been in charge of himself just a little? Why didn't Chiana kill anyone? She didn't seem that particularly violent while she was host to the virus. So this was perplexing to me.

I did like how John figured out a way to blow the ship up as it was trailing that fuel or whatever.

Actually that last scene between John and Aeryn could actually redeem the whole episode for me when John says to her, "he just missed your heart" and Aeryn replied "closer than you think". In other words, she just about fell for that Captain Larraq. I think this ep was just a tiny little character ep for Aeryn in that we see that she still somewhat clings to the Peacekeeper life and she longs to find a way to possibly go back to it. Not because she doesn't have feelings for John or the other crew members, but she just doesn't want to be alone and maybe doesn't think she will ever be able to settle down with any of the crew including John, because ever since Human Reaction she realizes there is no place for her in John's world. So really if John ever does get the chance to go home, where would that leave her? Alone. That is her fear and it drives her to want to get back to the Peacekeepers somewhat. I honestly think if Larraq had been with them longer and worked on Aeryn a little more she may have joined him. It appeared he may have been wearing her down a little.

Ok so I guess I said more than I thought I would. Whoops

[Falcon Horus]

No I was actually trying to be funny and make my posts more interesting like FH's and Blue's and give it some sound effects and succinctness which seems to elude me

The only reason, possibly, why I have short reviews -- I'm not a native English speaker so my vocabularly isn't as extensive as a native speaker's would be.

Through The Looking Glass

The CMYK episode.

Cyan - the blue Moya with the irritating sound that blocks out all other sound.

Best bit is John describing Rygel to Aeryn and Aeryn pretending she doesn't get it so he does it again. She so did that on purpose.

Magenta - wow, strong reaction to the color red, or red light. The way if was edited even made me a little dizzy.

Chiana's "Doesn't effect me!" sing-song line, until she hits the blue Moya that is.

Yellow - happy Moya, like a drug but oh so happy

blacK - normal Moya where Pilot and Zhaan are the only constants. And the creature eventually as well.

It's a low-budget episode with a simple story: stuck in starburst after Moya wants to proof herself to her crew, then find a way out by going forward or backwards again (forwards it was). They are split up and still have to work together to get to their end point.

I absolutely adore that last scene when all 4 Moya's come back together and they all end up in Pilot's lap.

Also, the episode which gives us: One Mippippippi, two Mippippippi, three Mippippippi...

[squirrely1]

The only reason, possibly, why I have short reviews -- I'm not a native English speaker so my vocabularly isn't as extensive as a native speaker's would be.

Through The Looking Glass

The CMYK episode.

Cyan - the blue Moya with the irritating sound that blocks out all other sound.

Best bit is John describing Rygel to Aeryn and Aeryn pretending she doesn't get it so he does it again. She so did that on purpose.

Magenta - wow, strong reaction to the color red, or red light. The way if was edited even made me a little dizzy.

Chiana's "Doesn't effect me!" sing-song line, until she hits the blue Moya that is.

Yellow - happy Moya, like a drug but oh so happy

blacK - normal Moya where Pilot and Zhaan are the only constants. And the creature eventually as well.

It's a low-budget episode with a simple story: stuck in starburst after Moya wants to proof herself to her crew, then find a way out by going forward or backwards again (forwards it was). They are split up and still have to work together to get to their end point.

I absolutely adore that last scene when all 4 Moya's come back together and they all end up in Pilot's lap.

Also, the episode which gives us: One Mippippippi, two Mippippippi, three Mippippippi...

Ah ok, well then I am totally impressed with your English then. Much better than jel's

And I had forgotten to mention the One Mippippippi bit....haha that was hilarious!

[jelgate]

I think we lost blue this week. Hopefully, she returns next weekend for the Scorpy introduction

Through the Looking Glass

Ah yes as jel mentioned the last of the innocent crew...laughing it up. I too really liked this episode and the realism of the three Moyas.

So that means we will agree for one.

The Red Moya = Hell where the visual distortions possibly like being on a ship and your visual cortex just cannot rectify it. I love how they made John throw up and that makes you honestly identify with just how unsettling it is for him to be there. It draws you into it and really gives you a sense of OMG this is frelling crazy. I liked how D'argo found a way to deal with the red and rigged up some glasses....and when he comments back to John that it hardly helps but he at least doesn't retch as often. LOL

I though the headaches were caused by the visual images being too intense. Its a comparison to blue Moya were we switch to auditory to compare against the visual. We see D'Argo suffer too. I just assumed he could handle better since we know Luxians are stronger than humans.

Then we get to the Blue Moya = Ocean which immerses them into a sonic environment... I too loved how differently they were effected and noticing just how this impacted Chiana over everyone else? Maybe it was that sonic control collar...had a similar frequency possibly? I did appreciate Aeryn's clever solution...and NO jel I'm not gonna read any books any time soon. OMG and before they rigged the headset solution I had to laugh at their corny pantomime's of acting out D'argo and when John acted out Rygel...I think Claudia and Ben just about lost it. Hilarious!

Where do you come up with these names? I wished they would have explored the Nebari move as I thought it was more of her physiology and nothing to do with her control collar Pain centers on the brain aren't anywhere near the auditory center. I guess its wild conjecture since we never got an answer. It is funny since noise cancelling technology is something we have in the real word.

Then everyone has to love the Yellow Moya= Mello LOL I too loved Rygel's jokes and at one point when John says he has to focus and can't become like him (Rygel) I swear it sounded like Rygel responded with...."What? A Henson with Amazing Sexual Prowess?" LOL But I think he said...."What? Handsome with Amazing Sexual Prowess?"...but I swear I heard Henson. I do really regret that the DVD collection did not come with subtitles. So many times I can't understand what is said due to accents or just ambient sounds and I have to run it back and try to figure it out. I pray one day they actually release a set with subtitles.

Rygel said a Hynerian with sexual prowess. My Netflix episodes do come with subtitles

@jel's comment that the science was confusing and/or John was the only one who is the "doctor" and figured out the alien was not trying to harm them. I think it was more John's human nature that allowed him to tap into the empathy the creature was throwing off and well he did recognize the prime numbers which gave him the ability to figure it out. This is so Doctor Who-ish and I love it when they do this! BTW....I know jel would love Doctor Who .....if he would just give it a chance.

I was talking about Pilot's science explanation made no sense. Prime numbers is not exactly a high science concept. It was interesting how he was the one to realize someone is trying to communicate. I am actually okay with the weirdness of the alien. It matches the episode. For the record, I have tried Doctor WHo and did not like it

All in all I loved this ep and felt it really gave us a tremendous look at how our team is really bonding. I also loved the nice bookends they presented with the eating at the round table the feast that they all obviously all helped to cook up and dine on together at the beginning and ending of the ep and that laughter all in the lap of pilot was really so endearing. I actually loved how close John got with Pilot....right up into the den with him. It was such a great bonding moment between the two characters. As jel put it...Moya and Pilot are just as much characters in this series and this ep proved it.

I loved how Pilot didn't realize what was so funny. I think it is meant to show a contrast. I loved the end especially to see all these wild stories they had. I would not want to eat those biscuits. I also want to know what D'Argo did while chasing a girl[/QUOTE]

A Bug's Life

I actually looked up to see who stole what from whom..and Disney's A Bugs Life was in 1998 and this episode was 1999, so I guess Farscape borrowed from Disney this time.

I imagine as much. As much as we all like this show, its obvious its not well known outside of science fiction.

Either way what bugged me the most (no pun intended) was John's horrendous Peacekeeper accent. Was that supposed to be Australian or what? It was pretty bad. This ep really didn't serve to do much of anything. It was pretty pointless IMO. So I'll spare you all and not really say too much about it.

Its like we said in a earlier episode. Cricheton is a terrible actor. Take note I said Cricheton and not Ben Browder. To be honest a lot of these S1 episodes are pointless. Its mostly a setup episode for the finale. It does serve a character aspect to showcase how their horrors as prisoners.

It mainly served to show that they have access to some pretty Peacekeeper uniforms that happen to fit John and Aeryn perfectly. We now know why D'argo has those handy chain anchors in his chest and Chiana is starting to grow on us little by little.

The uniforms is mostly to explain how John can infiltrate a base in the next episode. I thought the chains were kind of self-explanatory since the first episode

I found it hard to see John brutally kill the "hot lips" girl and honestly felt like they went a little over the line on that one because wouldn't John have been in charge of himself just a little? Why didn't Chiana kill anyone? She didn't seem that particularly violent while she was host to the virus. So this was perplexing to me.

You beg me to watch Game of Thrones and killing a woman with a table bothers you? They make it very clear when inhabited by the "virus" you have no control of your body. As for Chiana, she isn't in the fake power command like John. She was gathering reconssiance before making move to attack the girl to destroy the stun gun
[/QUOTE]

I did like how John figured out a way to blow the ship up as it was trailing that fuel or whatever.

I actually thought it was creative (sigh) to use the unstable nature of cesium

Actually that last scene between John and Aeryn could actually redeem the whole episode for me when John says to her, "he just missed your heart" and Aeryn replied "closer than you think". In other words, she just about fell for that Captain Larraq. I think this ep was just a tiny little character ep for Aeryn in that we see that she still somewhat clings to the Peacekeeper life and she longs to find a way to possibly go back to it. Not because she doesn't have feelings for John or the other crew members, but she just doesn't want to be alone and maybe doesn't think she will ever be able to settle down with any of the crew including John, because ever since Human Reaction she realizes there is no place for her in John's world. So really if John ever does get the chance to go home, where would that leave her? Alone. That is her fear and it drives her to want to get back to the Peacekeepers somewhat. I honestly think if Larraq had been with them longer and worked on Aeryn a little more she may have joined him. It appeared he may have been wearing her down a little.

That is Aeryn's whole arc. Her clinging to her Peacekeeper life versus moving on. Not every episode is a character episode. Plot progression is just as important

Ok so I guess I said more than I thought I would. Whoops

Not surprising since you can not be succient

The only reason, possibly, why I have short reviews -- I'm not a native English speaker so my vocabularly isn't as extensive as a native speaker's would be.

Bull dren. I have known you for 9 years. You're written English is just as good as anyone else. Maybe if you wanted to use big words but SQ can't handle big words either

Through The Looking Glass

The CMYK episode.

Cyan - the blue Moya with the irritating sound that blocks out all other sound.

Squirrely1? It doesn't block out sound but just makes an annoying sound. Like nails on a chalkboard.

Best bit is John describing Rygel to Aeryn and Aeryn pretending she doesn't get it so he does it again. She so did that on purpose.

I must have missed that part as I don't recall anything you say

Magenta - wow, strong reaction to the color red, or red light. The way if was edited even made me a little dizzy.

The after shadows of D'Argo and John are what gave me the headaches. The red color didn't much to me

Chiana's "Doesn't effect me!" sing-song line, until she hits the blue Moya that is.

That to me is classic Chiana. As long as she is not affected she just want to have fun. At least at the start. She matures later on

Yellow - happy Moya, like a drug but oh so happy

Its like someone turned on the nitrious oxide.

blacK - normal Moya where Pilot and Zhaan are the only constants. And the creature eventually as well.

Wasn't the creature in all the Moyas?

It's a low-budget episode with a simple story: stuck in starburst after Moya wants to proof herself to her crew, then find a way out by going forward or backwards again (forwards it was). They are split up and still have to work together to get to their end point.

The word you are looking for is bottle episode. It uses existing sets and little guest stars to save money. Some of my favorite episodes from TV are bottle episodes. Its about communication because that is the problem the crew had at the start of the episode

I absolutely adore that last scene when all 4 Moya's come back together and they all end up in Pilot's lap.

Also, the episode which gives us: One Mippippippi, two Mippippippi, three Mippippippi...

And where Pilot fails to see what is so funny?

SQ may love Crichetonisms, but I love when everyone is clueless to what John is saying

Ah ok, well then I am totally impressed with your English then. Much better than jel's

And I had forgotten to mention the One Mippippippi bit....haha that was hilarious!

That is only because I don't give a frell to check my spelling.

[squirrely1]

@jel - I just come up with names in an attempt to make some sense to it and have fun in the review...yeah ignore me

As for the Game of Thrones violence versus this violence... I wasn't complaining of the violence here I was complaining that it was a bit out of character for John and yeah we know he was affected by the virus but it was still hard to see that..but then again this is what makes this show great, they are not afraid to do that with their lead. It was a bold idea.

[Falcon Horus]

Bull dren. I have known you for 9 years. You're written English is just as good as anyone else. Maybe if you wanted to use big words but SQ can't handle big words either.

Then I'll just stick to: person of little words.

Squirrely1? It doesn't block out sound but just makes an annoying sound. Like nails on a chalkboard.

I think I prefer nails on a board over that irritating blue noise.

Wasn't the creature in all the Moyas?

It was, you are correct.

The word you are looking for is bottle episode.

Thanks, I thought it was called that but wasn't sure.

And where Pilot fails to see what is so funny?

Pilot, totally clueless.

[jelgate]

@jel - I just come up with names in an attempt to make some sense to it and have fun in the review...yeah ignore me

Why would I ignore you? I thought it was funny

As for the Game of Thrones violence versus this violence... I wasn't complaining of the violence here I was complaining that it was a bit out of character for John and yeah we know he was affected by the virus but it was still hard to see that..but then again this is what makes this show great, they are not afraid to do that with their lead. It was a bold idea.

Didn't bother me. It wasn't John. So its not out of character.

Then I'll just stick to: person of little words.

I don't want you to write small reviews because you think your English is bad. If you want to make them longer your English is fine. Look at SQ's rambling. They are common English words and her reviews are longer than all of ours. Now get to work on A Bug's Life

I think I prefer nails on a board over that irritating blue noise.

That is funny since I am the opposite

It was, you are correct.

I usually am. Take note SQ

Thanks, I thought it was called that but wasn't sure.

Now you know

Pilot, totally clueless.

I think he often clueless because of his solitude.

[Falcon Horus]

A Bug's Life

First, before I forget, PK Crichton sounded like a he felt constipated or something. Almost comical, yet irritating at best.

Anyhoodle...

In order to gain information the crew decides to pretend to be Peacekeepers again, transporting prisoners. Why oh why, would they lock Rygel in his cell when they know he has a secret escape route?! That boggled my mind, and especially since we know he attracts trouble. He's like the curious cat that gets killed, or in this case, frozen for study.

And letting Chiana roam free when they have "special cargo" on board - COME ON!! That's asking for trouble. That story pretty much wrote itself.

The PK ship was leaking that blue stuff and I was surprised that Moya and Pilot didn't object in some way. I mean, the fumes couldn't have been very healthy to Moya's offspring, now could it? And yet, they allow Crichton to go ahead with his deception.
I guess they really needed that info they were after.

The creature inside the stasis pod was butt-ugly, and an intelligent virus... Okay. But a virus which produces spores... Okay, that requires some disbelief on my part.

All goes well, until Chiana and Rygel team up and open the pod - cue: all hell breaks loose.
The virus jumps free, tricks them, and goes around and around. They have to come up with a way to counter it, or detect it, and get rid of it.

It's like a music chairs with a virus instead of chairs. A violent, hellbent on destruction virus...

It killed the blonde and it stabbed Aeryn. Now that was a powerful and most awesome scene. One of my favorite moments in the episode. And when Aeryn is talking about piloting different ships and the reason she had to wait a few years before she could reach the paddles.

Ignite the fuel -- convenient but okay. So, that's why they needed a leaking ship...

And we learned there's a Gamma base in the area. What are PK's doing so far out in the uncharted territories? *dum dum dum dum*