Which Farscape episodes should I skip?

[Thoth]

I'm watching all of Farscape for the first time. I'm just starting season 2. It's good so far, but there have been some sucky episodes. So, in order to avoid the crap episodes I was wondering if you guys could tell me which episodes I should skip.

If anyone is kind enough to do so, keep in mind that I would prefer to watch all episodes that are important to the plot, even if they're awful.

Thanks.

[./freelancer]

Skip episodes? Are you nuts? Seriously, I like all episodes at least a little, and they just got better with each season imo. So obviously I'm gonna recommend not to skip any

[SunKrux]

I'm with freelancer. Yes, there are some less than stellar FS eps but any bad eps of FS is way better than most good eps of other shows.

[Thunderstorm]

Maybe skip some scenes but not any whole eps, you might miss out on some important stuff they refer back to later. Even 'Eat Me' (S3) which might be my least favorite ep should be watched at least once just so you know what happens because damn - the ending is important!

I think the beginning of S2 was probably the slowest for me so that might be what your hitting. Also everyone has different likes and dislikes so without knowing which eps you liked or not you'd just get which eps I dislike which from participating in the season tourneys is not necessarily the same as a lot of others.

Besides you've got to watch all of S2 just to see the progression of John - you'll understand when you get to the end of the season.

[PengYn]

Agreed with pretty much all of the above. Eat Me is also my least favourite episode and I remember at the time thinking "It's okay to be disappointed with one episode, just turn it off." I'm glad I didn't because I would have moved onto Thanks for Sharing and literally gone "What the frell?!"

There's a lot more character growth in season two that season one doesn't get anywhere near. And Thunderstorm's right - especially for John. I'm always amazed at the different favourites in episode tourneys. Often what one person likes, another abhors. I could tell you which episodes I might give a miss, but they'll be different to what someone else will give you. Pretty soon you'll have missed half the season lol. I think it's important your first time round to see them all. Then when it comes to the next time round - and trust me it will - then you can pick and choose.

[SunKrux]

Exactly PengYn. I watched Eat Me the first time around and haven't seen it again since. It is, imho, one of the more important eps in the series, but one that I can only watch once.

Every Scaper has their favorite and least favorite eps but I've come to learn that all Scapers agree on what I've already said, a bad Scape eps is WAY better than a lot of other shows "good" eps. Just enjoy the ride the first time around and then pick and choose what eps you'll watch on the second time you ride the frellin'tastic Scape ride.

[magictrick]

Gonna agree with the above. I hit some episodes that I didn't really like, but I just fast forwarded through some of the scenes and still caught most of the important stuff.

[Darren]

"Eat Me" is bad, but vital to the Season Three arc.

My least favorite episode is probably "John Quixote" in Season Four, but a lot of Scapers just love it. The cast gets to do some funny stuff (Claudia is hilarious), but it's just too out there (even by Farscape standards) for my tastes.

[DigiFluid]

Ugh, loathed 'John Quixote'.

[magictrick]

Only liked John Quixote because of who we get to see at the end.

[the fifth man]

I thoroughly enjoyed "John Quixote" personally.

As for skipping episodes, I agree with those above. Even the "bad" episodes of Farscape are worth watching, at least once.

[Thunderstorm]

The first time I watched John Quixote, I didn't much care for it either. It got a little better on subsequent viewings. But what I think really helped was listening to the commentary with Ben and Claudia. Hearing Ben give the reasons why he wrote certain scenes or designed a scene or character a certain way gives a different perspective when next watching the ep.

[Ladyinred]

HERE you can find a transcript of John Quixote commentary. And more!

[ShardsofGlass]

I hated Eat Me in Season 3 as others have said, and I think I only watched it once. But a friend of mine saw it as her first ever FS ep, and she loved it. It's what drew her into the show. So you never know what people will like. The great thing about FS was that it took chances. Sometimes that resulted in really great eps, and other times it failed gloriously, as Ben liked to say.

BTW, I enjoyed John Quixote, but it wasn't a favorite.

[Thoth]

I'm with freelancer. Yes, there are some less than stellar FS eps but any bad eps of FS is way better than most good eps of other shows.

Well, I have to disagree.

It's gotten to the stage now where the bad episodes are so frequent and so awful that I've stopped watching. I just can't handle it any more. I finish an episode and feel, 'God, what a waste of my time' or 'Wow, that was soul-destroying'. And because of that, each time I think about watching one, I just dread it and end up doing something else.

But, if you'd like to direct me away from the crumby episodes, I'll probably go back and soldier on. I might even watch the bad episodes that are important plot-wise.

Episodes that have been beyond unbearable so far in season 2 are:
Vitas Mortis
Taking the Stone (couldn't finish this one)
Crackers don't matter (wasn't TOO bad)
Picture if you will
Home on the Remains (couldn't finish it)
Dream a little dream (couldn't finish it)
Out of their minds (wasn't awful, but still left me feeling dead inside)

(Keep in mind, I'm only 11 episodes into the season and I wish I hadn't watched 7 of them)

So, any help?

PS: Sorry, guys. I'm not trying to ruffle feathers by saying that it's not been rosy watching one of your favourite shows. But I need to tell the truth to get you guys to help me out. Either that or never watch it again (maybe farscape just isn't for me).