posted
It's funny. My parents and my sister started watching the show in the summer of 1999 (mid-first season), and tried to get me to watch it. I said no, because I didn't want to get hooked on another sci-fi show when I was about to leave for college and have no TV access aside from what my family generously taped and saved for me at home (so I didn't miss Voyager).
I finally managed to catch the reruns on SCI-FI last fall, and I was instantly hooked. 'Scape is now my favorite currently-airing TV show. A hell of a lot better than ENT (but that's not too hard) or "Andromeda" (which I've stopped watching out of frustration and disgust).
Now that the fourth season has started, though, all of the rest of my family have stopped watching it. They all hate it, but I just can't understand why. It's not classic action like the late second and the third seasons, but it's been pretty interesting. It's just that the season has been a lot more exposition and setup than actual resolution. I can "see" a lot of the puzzle pieces moving into place, even if I have no clue what the writers have in store.
So, what does anyone else think? Frustrated, patient, disappointed?
I'll say that there's one thing I agree with my family on -- we all hate Grayza, aka "Commandant Cleavage." First, her motivations are piss-poor compared to Scorpius. Second, her make-the-guy-horny pheromones are just plain disgusting, and tread far too close to the "sexy dominatrix evil woman" sci-fi cliche -- even though I can tell that the writers are trying to avoid that, or at least develop the idea into something more interesting. Whether that will pan out, I don't know; but in the meantime I think it's a bad idea.
{Edit -- Added spoiler warnings per request}
[ August 04, 2002, 16:45: Message edited by: Siegfried ]
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posted
I never watched it. The only things I know is that some of the aliens look very good (apart from those awkward dwarvey looking guys), and they have an Australian accent. Which is weird.
posted
The "awkward dwarvey looking guys" you're referring to are probably Muppets, actually. Jim Henson's Creature Shop is one of the main companies behind the show, and two of the main characters are advanced Muppets. Obviously there are some inherent problems with creating an animatronic character like that, but it's been very successful, IMO. They're certainly comparable to Yoda in terms of realism. And the execution of their interactions with the rest of the characters is superb.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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posted
I find myself having missed several Season 4 episodes, but that's mostly because I have to battle my family for the television during that timeslot and I don't always win.
I don't like Grayza much either, for the afore-mentioned reason that she doesn't have much of a reason for going after Moya and her crew. Crais and Scorpius had their reasons, which was what made them good villains.
The new additions to the cast don't help much either. I'd rather have Jool and Stark back than have Sikozu and Noranti (I had to look up the old woman's name). Although Sikozu's growing on me.
But the show is picking up steam again now that they're all back on Moya. The last few episodes I've seen were pretty good, and we've got a few mysteries set up that will hopefully bear the fruit of good episodes down the road.
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Prismatic EdipisReks
Ex-Member
posted
i haven't seen the show since season 2 . i liked it.
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posted
You might want to put spoiler warnings in the title. But that's just a thought.
I missed the first ep of S4, and thought that the next two were somewhat awkward, personally. And if they kill Scorpy one more time, and actually have the crew BELIEVE that he's dead, I'm going to be very annoyed. Agreed, Grayza's pointless, if her motivation is simply revenge. Bet it's not, though. Aside from that, I think things are going rather well. The whole Aeryn pregnancy dealie, Scorpy's motivations aligning with our heros', the Scarran threat coming more to the fore... I like the fact that John may personally have to decide at a later time whether to singlehandedly wipe out the Scarrans. Good conflict there. I'm also betting that Aeryn's pregnancy has something to do with her mysteriously unexplained absence during John's conversation with "Jack" in his first appearance. It may also be related to Moya's vanishing at the end of S3...
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
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That's one of the reasons why I've been somewhat frustrated by the first few eps this season, but also still very intrigued. The stories themselves were truly horrible and/or bizarre -- but I could spot the plot threads that were being weaved into the background. That's one of the reasons why I love Farscape and Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine: because of the series arcs. (It remains to be seen whether Enterprise will develop a truly competent series arc, but I'm somewhat hopeful.)
I'm wondering if Grayza is basically a kind of plot device, in order to force Scorpy to seek refuge on Moya. I was definitely intrigued (despite the costume) by Grayza in her first appearance, mainly because of the power she wielded in the Peacekeeper High Command -- bossing Scorpius around (or even just threatening him) is no small feat. The possibility that Scorpy's entire wormhole project could be shut down was a very interesting development. But now that the pieces are in place and she's made her grand entrance, she's just a bitchy dominatrix who's upset because she got tied up for Braca to rescue while she was trying to rape one of her prisoners.
However, the other mysteries that were raised by the finale and premiere are maddening, but still interesting. I suppose it's possible to consider that such things have just been forgotten in all the hulabaloo that's been going on since everyone reunited. But these are pretty important details:
Just what did Aeryn get herself into? We know she was going to have her baby checked out... but she also apparently joined some renegade Sebacean vigilante squad and carried out an assassination. (We may see this next week based on the preview I saw.)
What was D'Argo off doing? Was he getting revenge on his Peacekeeper ex-brother-in-law, Macton? And if so, what happened?
Chiana and Rygel went off separately and returned together. Apparently they both had a pretty rough time, mainly because they were being hunted by Grayza. Rygel was going to start the Hynerian Revolution, and Chiana was going to join the Nebari Resistance. Just how did this turn out?
Moya, Jool, and Granny (Noranti) were swallowed by a wormhole -- and Pilot was nothing but evasive regarding the incident. Apparently SOMEONE was behind it, because Pilot said something about "being examined." So what the frell happened, and why isn't anyone talking about it?
Scorpius was shot in the back (the pulse blast went THROUGH his body, if you remember -- Braca shot him in the back, but we saw sparks shooting from the front of his chest) and buried alive. How the hell did he get out of that? He's got a mole on Grayza's command carrier -- I've started to wonder if it might actually be Braca! Bizarre, I know. But knowing 'Scape's writers, it's certainly possible.
Whew. I think that's the problem with the first few episodes. There's just been so many plot threads developing, that there seems to be a lack of focus, and "contrivances" that confuse us. (I put contrivances in quotation marks because the writers may turn out to have a Big Plan�... but we're still left in the lurch without much payoff up front.)
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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posted
Okay, I checked listings for Bell ExpressVu and the next episode coming up is called "Won't Get Fooled Again" or something like that. I this the current episode? SPACE is showing episodes that have to do with D'Argo's son, so that's a couple of seasons old, no?
-------------------- I haul cardboard and cardboard accessories
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posted
Ooh, you're back in the second season, Topher! "Won't Get Fooled Again" is one of my favorite episodes, because it's one of the wackiest hours of television I've ever seen. It's also fairly crucial to the arc in a way that one might not expect.
If you're new to "Farscape," I'd suggest checking out The Season One Primer which is basically a quick overview of the first season. There are also some episode summaries in the "Journey Logs" section that might help you out. Also, keep an eye out for a TV feature called "Farscape: Undressed" which was basically an hour-long summary of the first two seasons, including lots of useful clips and hosted/narrated by Ben Browder and Claudia Black (John Crichton and Aeryn Sun). That'll get you up to speed nicely.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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quote:Originally posted by Harry: The only things I know is that some of the aliens look very good and they have an Australian accent. Which is weird.
Yes. About as weird as aliens having an American accent.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
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posted
Sorry, this sounds like a criticism of American cultural hegemony, which as I recall you are no longer allowed to make, because you like "Profit and Lace."
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posted
You're not going to let this one go, are you?
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
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posted
Aha! Well, then you should be fairly well set, Topher. "Won't Get Fooled Again" is from somewhere in the second half of the season, and it's the first episode where we finally start to realize what's going on with the Scorpius Neural Clone, aka Harvey. It's a sinister episode in some ways, because of the way in which Harvey is "introduced" and used in this first story. Almost all of the story takes place in a... wait, I won't tell you. It'll ruin the fun.
This episode is simultaneously hilarious, bizarre, and disturbing. As a little hint of just how weird the episode gets: picture Crais wearing red high heels.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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. i liked it.
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