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Farscape Signs for 2 More Years
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Tue Oct 02, 2001 09:42 PM
from the no-i-am-sci-fi dept.
from the no-i-am-sci-fi dept.
Dimes noted that the scifi channel has signed Farscape for 2 more seasons. 44 more episodes of my favorite sci-fi on TV (Well, maybe Lexx gives it a run for its money ;). New episodes start in January, and I'm a happy camper. Related ramblings: TNN is doing a marathon rerun of all of ST:TNG all this week. And I finally watched Enterprise- that theme song really has gotta go. But I'd like to see more, if only I could get it in my area. So much potential if they don't screw it up.
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Greaattt.. (Score:1)
---
evel aka matt
"we got a might convoy, rockin' through the night"
This should be interesting... (Score:2, Interesting)
Enterprise Theme song... (Score:1, Offtopic)
I like it.
Enterprise Theme Song (Score:1, Offtopic)
I was pleasantly surprised. I have to say I actually like it, a lot. It conveys the theme and mood of the series quite well - we're explorers, and tired of being held back. In a way, I think the music as much sets the pace for the entire series as well as it does for this incarnation of The Franchise itself. Humanity finally coming into it's own.
I expect the series will have it's ups and downs, but really, how much stagnation do we -want- in Star Trek? Same Theme, Different Stereotypes?
Re:Enterprise Theme Song (Score:5, Funny)
Even TOS theme isn't that dated, though it does bear a certain '60s vibe.
Is that a crime? For any other show I'd say no. But for a sci-fi show (and this goes for damn near all of them, not just Star Trek), I don't want a theme that screams "Contemporary!!" In a subtle, yet real way, it pulls me out of the show and drops me back in the year 2001... where, I might add, I'm not much on pop, or light rock, or post-disco semi-calypso, or whatever the hell genre that fits in. (Like I said, I'm not much on it
I don't watch a whole lot of other alternative Sci-fi shows... my cable system doesn't run many. But I do get syndicated Stargate SG-1 (which I think is excellent)... same music as the movie. Granted, it takes place in the present time, but still, the theme doesn't drag me into Hip Culture.
In this day and age, psuedo-classical like the Voyager theme is very neutral to us; it probably wouldn't be if we could listen to our culture with truly fresh ears, but we are who we are. It doesn't take us to the universe of the show; but there's no music that could do that directly. It also doesn't firmly ground us in the early days of the millenium.
That said, your description: "conveys the theme and mood of the series quite well - we're explorers, and tired of being held back" can be equally well done in a more culturally neutral style, and in fact, probably better. (May be an unpopular opinion, but the style the credits are in now, whatever style that may be, is IMHO one of the least expressive styles imaginable. Plop in some sad words and flip the song to minor and you're a long way to "me and my baby broke up, but I'm screwing her sister so who really cares".)
All IMHO, but that might help clarify some people's reasons for disliking it.
Or they may just not care for that style of music.
Does any one know? (Score:1)
Lexx (Score:1)
Lexx (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, and the sex is good. Yes, I'm shallow, but dammit, I like it, so bug off.
*sniff* Makes me proud to be a Maritimer.
Best Show Ever. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Best Show Ever. (Score:5, Interesting)
I wrote it off because of the "damn muppets", and only eventually and very reluctantly sat down to watch an episode at the insistence of a long suffering friend, who just kept patiently plugging it while I teased him mercilessly.
Oh my. Oh my.
For those who haven't seen it, here's a taster of how slick and knowing it is. Picture our protagonists fighting off an attack by evil space pirates armed with powerful strap-on bracer weapons. Our ersatz-Klingon protagonist picks up a discarded weapon and straps it on. It injects some glowing green goo into him. After the pirates are beaten off, ersatz-Klingon is still angry and bellowing, and declares that he should lead the ship in this crisis.
How would Star Trek handle this? Fifteen minutes of hammering the point home, while he cackles maniacally and the crew go "Gee, Dargo seems a little out of sorts today. Is he wearing black eye liner?" and we shout "He's evil! Get the weapon off of him! You idiots!"
On Farscape, his companions exchange one subtle glance - and no words - and jump him the instant his back is turned. The writers expect us to know the genre and to have figured it out. No patronising exposition is required, no frustrating and uncharacteristic period of ignorance by the crew. I really appreciate that.
This theme continues through most of the episodes. When the characters can't figure something out, it's not made obvious to us the viewer either. Sometimes the characters figure situations out before the viewer does. Often, there are no obvious solutions to their problems, and the solution is rarely if ever a Particle of the Week or a Deus Ex Machine.
Farscape treats its characters and its viewers with equal respect. The characters never get conveniently dumb, and the viewers aren't expected to either. I really appreciate that.
Good geek TV (Score:3, Interesting)
Perhaps it is just a throw-back to those days in my youth watching McGyver, but this is a good show, scientifically plausable, interesting plot, and compelling characters.
Not actually on any more, but recent enough to be interesting. Amazing special effects, and an interesting plot where you never really know whether the aliens are good guys, bad guys, or somewhere in between (the reality being the latter). In that sense, it mirrors the complexity of real life.
While the last season got somewhat depressing in places, the people behind "The Onion" have consistently provided a tongue-in-cheek, very funny dialog which, until recently didn't take itself too seriously. Also, new season just starting, can't talk long.
One of the few ways to watch TV News which actually talks about that insignificant part of the world outside the US.
There is just something about the consistent style, interesting plots, and slightly sick humor that makes this the best Cop show since "The Bill" (it's a Brit thing - Yanks need not worry).
Haiku (Score:1)
Uncharted territories
His doom, two more years
If they screw it up... (Score:1)
And even if they do screw it up, it'll still be on the air for at least five years.
Farscape Newbie (Score:3, Interesting)
Thankfully SciFi started re-airing it and this time I caught it. I think Season 2 just started on the reruns. Can anyone tell me what they're up to in the 'real' ones? I want to start watching those but I don't know where exactly they're at (Season 3 somewhere?)
I'd have taken notice of Farscape a LOT earlier if someone had told me Jim Hanson's Creature Shop was involved. The look & feel of the alien muppets beats the living daylights out of the "Nose Of The Day Department" who seems to do Star Trek. Then again when Farscape does have Human-Like aliens it's usually "Different Skin Colour" aliens.
I also love how everyone except Crichton has an Australian accent. And how badly they're trying to hide it. Yes, I know it's because the show's filmed there.
Plotwise, it's ok. The first season did have quite a few "Standard SciFi Plot #42" episodes, and some corny stuff (Scorpius? I mean... come on...), but I still like it. The characters are a lot more real than in Trek.
It's still not Babylon 5, but hey.
Getting a head start? (Score:1, Troll)
Watching Enterprise (Score:1)
Sure would be nice to see it for myself!
Farscape... The best.. (Score:1)
Farscape keeps me wondering what's next... The show rocks... One of the better shows Tivo decided to record..
ChiefArcher
Another quality product from Oztralya. (Score:2, Informative)
LEXX is becoming more popular here, but still is only shown on Cable. Again, it was on late Sunday nights on Free to Air on Channel 7 here, but only for the first season.
Farscape is quality sci-fi (Score:2, Informative)
The ship itself, which the pilot is connected to biologically, is itself a living being, and sometimes makes decisions on its own. The show seems to have explored the living-ship aspect quite well.
The show's main focus is usually on Crichton, who is confused from the start. He doesn't understand anything, much less how he got there. Of course, he learns quickly (Humans have to be good for something.) but is still considered by the rest of the crew to be inferior.
The crew, being made of excaped prisoners, is always on the run, but they don't start off by trusting each other, except by necessity. On more than one occasion, one member has betrayed the rest. Each different species has their own quirks, and biological differences, from D'Argo's self-poisonous blood to Rigel farting helium.
The language-barrier is tacked by implanted microbes, which, while something that has to be tackled by the type of show, doesn't immediately take effect on Crichton. The different languages also cause problems with other non-implanted beings later. But at least it's not the 'magic auto-translating badge' or other methods used elsewhere.
The plots are good, the episodes are well-written and interesting, and the acting is great. While watching it, I forget that Rigel and Pilot are puppets. I recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction, just watch a couple episodes. It's not for everybody, but what is?
p24t
This makes my day! (Score:1)
btw, I just watched the Buffy season opener and now understand why people are such big fans. Now all I need is a TIVO and my few last hours of free time will be gone.
A Slashdotter's ultimate farscape episode (Score:2)
Is it me or.... (Score:1)
That theme song has GOTTA go (Score:1)
Funny Ass Recap of Enterprise (Score:1, Offtopic)
The ultimate TV space opera (Score:2, Funny)
Disguised Aussie accents in Farscape ? Lister's accent [radioactivecat.com] sure beats the smeg out of it. Food replicators in Star Trek ? small potatoes compared to cow vindaloo [cervenytrpaslik.cz]. Data the android ? how about Kryten the 3000 series mechanoid [radioactivecat.com] ? and 790 the robot head is really ugly compared to Holly [tripodnet.nl].
But, Back in Sydney (Score:3, Interesting)
It's ironic that Farscape is filmed in Sydney, Australia where I live, but Channel 9, co-sponsor of the show isn't showing it since season 1 finished last year. In the regular sci-fi timeslot of Tuesday and Wednesday nights they are showing ST:TNG (again) and Roswell. They aren't even repeating B5 yet!
The I hear runours that it's showing in other cities in Australia, but still not Sydney. What's the story? It's even been taken off the Channel 9 web site, which makes it even harder to work out what is happening.
It's quite surreal to see Sydney bush scenes, with the plants spray painted blue or something similar, or Sydney beach scenes (remember, I've only seen season 1) for what is primarily an American show.
Oh, of course. How silly of me, it's on cable. Unlike the US, cable TV doesn't have the same market penetration over here yet. Well, I can always go over to my mum and dad's place and watc them ... at 3:30am!
Yay, more production money for D/U (Score:2, Interesting)
They might also have been encouraged by the recent anouncement of hefty tax breaks for produtions worth more than AUS$15 (US$8)million.
Speaking of TNG... (Score:2)
...and speaking of things that have got to go, what about that damn black bar on TNN? Who's the genius that cooked that up? I'd actually like that channel if that thing weren't there, especially since TNG looks better than it has in years, but I just can't stomach that bar, cutting off the bottom of the picture.
And to lump a totally unrelated topic into this post, did anyone catch the season premiere of Andromeda last weekend? I think my local station accidentally ran it a week early. I really want to like that show (as someone here said once, it's all about the ladies, and yes, it is), and I keep waiting for it to improve, but it never seems to get better. Too many implausible plot twists to keep the story on the right track. If you saw the season opener, you'll recall a huge one, but I won't post that big of a spoiler.
last hope (Score:1)
spout off a quick nameserver that I could temporarily.
Why I like it. (Score:5, Interesting)
1. They don't always come out on top, or completely walk away supreme victors in conflict.
2. A lot of the time (much like in cowboy bebop) they don't come out ahead in the end because of something they did, they do because of weird luck, or the source of conflict making a huge mistake. So it's not predictable.
3. They focus a lot on things that happen in the past to season plots without overdoing flashback sequences (also like cowboy bebop)
4. Their technical voodoo bullshit sounds reasonable.
5. They will kill a character off.
6. They have the soap opera feel, and the cliffhanger crafting completely nailed also.
So basically, it's done intelligently. I hate watching a show and having my intelligence insulted. There's only been once episode (that crappy dance club, people milking episode) that truly sucked ass. I swear they accidentally let some brain dead shitty 60's movie director man the helm for some unknown reason. The only scifi I watch on TV at this point is Farscape, Outer Limits, cowboy bebop, outlaw star (more to see where they are going with it) and Stargate SG1 reruns. Even though Stargate SG1 is pretty predictable most of the time, it still has a big screen feel to it that I like. The characters are better than the plot, but good enough that watching it is still fun. I initially caught the first episode of farscape on scifi by accident at a friends house (Hey Dave) around the time it first aired, and they were playing it 3 times a day. I was hooked from then on. I had just grown completely sick of X-Files, and it completely replaced it. I can't wait for the new episodes. The awesome thing is that as the show matures, it gets better. My girlfriend and I were really worried that they'd apply the LEXX treatment to the show to try to push the ratings, or keep it on top. Then they brought the annoying big titted redhead on the show, and it really looked like it was going that way. I swear they must have changed directors or something for a little bit. Either way, things improved and it's me and my girlfriends favorite show at this point.
News from behind the scenes... SPOILER WARNING... (Score:5, Interesting)
Until recently I'd never seen more than ten seconds of Farscape. They don't run it on any of the free-to-air channels in Sydney, much to the ire of many. I'm not much of a TV watcher myself, but I don't mind the odd episode of ST:TNG and happily admit to having been hooked by Babylon 5 when they were playing it on late night timeslots four years ago here in Sydney. I only knew about Farscape because my brother once played a bit part in an alien bodysuit for one episode. But now I've seen three whole minutes, and what's more, most of them not yet seen by the public, because last night I sang in the soundtrack recording for the penultimate episode (21) of the 3rd season at the Sony studios in Sydney. The production company contracted us (the Sydney Chamber Choir [sydneychamberchoir.org]) to provide sixteen male voices for a couple of hours. The music was dark and Mozart-Requiem-like with lots of low notes, and we had to make it sound as much like a Russian choir as possible (for the choral iliterati, that means cavernous and subsonic).
SPOILER FOLLOWS
In the scenes we accompanied, an immense spaceship was being destroyed, water everywhere, and there was a tense meeting between some human bloke and a mean-looking alien commander in a black leather headpiece with a shrivelled face and pointy teeth (seems it was his ship being pounded). They both wore identical technological amulets which they discarded while talking. This seemed to be significant. There was no dialogue track, so all we had to go on were the visuals. Does any of this make sense to you diehards out there?
Or (Score:2, Insightful)
farscape etc. (Score:1, Informative)
love that farscape (Score:2, Insightful)
BABES
Claudia Black. Gigi Edgly. Oh my.
I can't think of any other show I've seen where my favorite character is the *ship* and my second is a puppet (Pilot). Or where the women kick such ass, or the main character screws things up as often as he saves the day.
Trek you can predict in the first two minutes of any ep. In Farscape you never know what's going to happen. Except, of course, that there'll be at least one or two hilarious moments, and that someone is bound to act like an asshole in a most unheroic - but most human - way.
Max
What I'd REALLY like to see... (Score:1)
Edgar Rice Burroughs (Score:3, Insightful)
Farscape rocks (Score:3, Interesting)
It took me a good while to give it a chance, but damn is it good. Space opera is back with a vengeance! Farscape often tells stories better than any show I've on television. From the writting to visual effects, this show has it all. I think it's one of the best kept secrets on TV. It's not exactly the televised novel that B5 was, but many shows are connected and the series feels like it's going somewhere. Here's a few reasons to give Farscape a chance:
Farscape is why I use edonkey (Score:1)
Apparently there was supposed to be a deal with YTV in Canada, but it never happened. And this way I can watch the shows at my leisure, and in order (very important).
-W
Lexx? CmdrTaco revealed! (Score:2, Informative)
Lexx is crap. Not Andromeda crap (i.e. sketchy scifi/science) which is still fun. Lexx is crap-crap. Utterly iredeemable. It is the TV equivalent of Battlefield Earth.
I wonder if its a sign of old age... (Score:1)
The only thing i really liked was the intro to season 1
Enterprise - What's wrong with the theme (Score:1)
Why Farscape is Cool (Score:1)
* It's exciting and unpredictable. You can never be sure that our heroes are going to win or, if they are, if it'll go as planned.
* There is a strong and effective story arc. The story truly does move forward; this isn't just a story about some people wandering around in space. (DS9 was good like this, but TNG, alas, was not.)
* The technology is at a good level for story purposes; it's high enough to make this clearly SF, but there's a lot of room for things to fail. The ship isn't nigh indestructible like the Enterprise D.
* The aliens really are alien, not just humans with funny noses. Even the human looking ones have key physiological differences (Sebacean heat death), and plenty of aliens are just bizarre.
* Finally, there are far more realistic levels of good and evil than you see in much commercial SF. The villians tend to be bad _individuals_, not giant evil empires. The heroes are all somewhat self interested and will do unprincipled things at time (cutting off Pilot's arm to give to NamTar in exchange for a map home). The largest and most powerful military organization in the area are, for most intents and purposes, a high-grade rent-a-cop outfit. The Peacekeepers aren't good or evil, they're lawful, and have members who can be either.
Overally, I think it's an exciting, dynamic, believable show, and I'm thrilled that the SF channel is recognizing this and giving us more of it. They'll certainly have my eyeballs for the next couple of years.
-michael-
I have never gave Farscape a chance... (Score:1)
Not only does Farscape prevents me from watch sci-fi crap such as Lexx and the entire Star Trek franchise, but my tolerance for crappy shows in general is lessen.
Farscape is beyond just a great sci-fi show, it is a great show. I do not spend a lot of time watching tv but I will stop down for three things:
1. Hockey and NHL2Night
2. The Sopranos (and half the HBO lineup include Sex & The City, 6 Feet Under and Band of Brothers).
3. Farscape
Farscape is so greatness in fact my wife likes it. That would not be so impressive however she hates sci-fi so much that she will go out of her way to tease me about it. But she loves Farscape!
FarScape on DVD (Score:1)
Hicks and geeks (Score:1)
Continuity, Character, and Clichelessness (Score:1)
OK, so I sort of made that last term up. But Farscape is the first SF television show I've seen that I wasn't in some way squeamish about mentioning to people I know who aren't big SF fans. It's got a quality that sets it apart from most of the rest of television, and just about all of the rest of SF TV. I am also overjoyed that Farscape doesn't avoid subjects which other SF shows either ignore completely or "wink" at in a very pubescent fashion, such as bodily functions and sexuality. It's a fine line between "not avoiding" and "wallowing in," and the show does a great job of walking that line to maximize dramatic impact and character exposition. Anyway, in my opinion, there are three hallmarks of Farscape that, when taken together, differentiate it from other SF TV shows.
1. Continuity. This is, to me, the difference between crappy money-makers like the Star Trek franchise and good SF TV like Babylon 5. It also happens to be one of the virtues that the Farscape writers/producers were smart enough to seize on as well. The things that happen in our lives determine and affect our later behavior.
I remember hearing someone else say the following once about ST:TNG, and it stuck with me because it really epitomized the problems I had with that show. I always thought it was somewhat juvenile (although I understood the need to appeal to the 12 to 18 demographic), and this drove it home. In one of the episodes, the android officer, Data, knifed one of his fellow officers (I think it was Yar) pretty seriously, due to some malfunction. The very next week they were chatting and sharing an elevator normally as if it had never happened. I'm sorry, but higher consciousness be damned; if someone sticks a blade in your gut, you're going to be a little uneasy being alone with that person for the foreseeable future. Farscape never suffers from this problem.
It's important to remember that the reason that ST series were never big on continuity (in more than a general background way) was because the producers and script supervisors have to work a lot harder to keep control of story and character arc to enforce it. (Meaning you have to have story and character arcs to begin with.) To me, this why the film ST:Generations was pretty good; despite the silly plotline with bringing back Kirk, it was the first time we really saw something awful happen to one of the characters (Picard), something he couldn't fix and which would deeply affect him for the rest of the story arc. In this case, it was a little easier to do since the story arc was only two hours long, but it was a great leap forward for a character who was basically nothing more than a one-dimensional metaphor for good judgement up to that point. It also gave the later story emotional resonance, something also usually lacking in ST shows. (There were a few exceptions; the one that comes to mind immediately is the excellent ST:DS9 episode where the station commander is forced into some sort of time warp which causes him to only be able to see his son periodically through the rest of his life as he matures, grows old, has his own family, etc. That was a script and show which stacked up favorably against some of the best West Wing and ER episodes.)
2. Character. I like my characters three dimensional. I just started watching at the beginning of season 2, and I've enjoyed immensely discovering the very rich backstories of all the characters. I had been content with seeing them only as the two-dimensional constructs I had assumed they were, but what I am finding is that as I see older episodes and see more of each character's personal arc, I can watch a later episode and see actual growth and motivation that I had simply missed or ignored before. Plus the acting is really quite good for the most part.
It is clear as you see more and more of the episodes, and place them in chronology, that the producers have a very clear understanding of where each character is going. It is very rare that they pass up the opportunity to have a character take action which furthers his/her own personal goals because of some "higher" or "altruistic" motive. These motives may be good for morality tales, but they don't necessarily equate to either good drama or illuminating the human condition. (And yes, I believe that at its heart that is still what Farscape and other good SF is about. The only way to illuminate some invented alien condition is through a work like LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness. And anyone insane enough to want to make an hourly episodic series of something like that is not likely to find anyone else even more insane who would put up the money for it, not to mention air it, put up commercial time, etc....)
3. Clichelessness. This is what separates Farscape from B5 in my opinion. B5 did an excellent job of having both story and character arc on the large scale -- which one would expect of a writer of J. Michael Straczynski's [sp?] stature and credentials. On the small scale, however, it frequently suffered from problems of tired, worn-out humor; overwrought and/or clumsy dialogue; and contrived situations and character simplification to achieve plot points. And although my hat is certainly off to Mr. Straczynski for his landmark work at pulling off a five-year series of this scope, I think the writing itself fell victim to that scope by being stretched too thin.
While Farscape certainly has its moments as well in this regard, they are much fewer and farther between than in any other SF series. Although some of the plot devices are not wholly novel in the SF realm, they are well-integrated (the warrior race, the living ship) and never reduced to two dimensions even to temporarily serve the needs of poor writing. What I see in Farscape is, above all, the evidence that the producers and script supervisors are more than willing to say to a writer, "No. Go back and do it again," until they see something that serves the motivation of these fleshed-out characters.
What separates the good SF like Farscape from the crappy 90% (to paraphrase Theodore Sturgeon) is the unwillingness to settle for less than something that looks, smells, and tastes like Truth (in the dramatic and literary sense). That's a hard vintage to come by, and once you've drunk from that cup, it's very hard to settle for the kind that comes with a screw-top. Farscape has raised the bar for SF television, and I for one say it's about time.
I like the Enterprise theme song (Score:1)
Re:New study reaffirms facts about homosexuals (Score:1)
Moderators!?! (Score:1)
At least there's no confusion with Lexx (Score:2, Funny)
All it takes is a look at the lexx its self to see what the show's based around.
What are the main charactures in less:
- A huge organic space ship, with a long extrusion, and two 'ocular perabola' which are so powerful they can blow up planets.
Additional notes:
- The lexx talks, but has an IQ of about 3
- It is capable of sustaning life within it, 'replicating' food for the crew, so it tastes how they want it, but always comes out in an ooze, from some equilly attactive extrusion in the cabin.
- The dunny's have no paper, the lexx 'licks' you clean.
Then there's Xev (formally Zev)
- Part sex slave, so she'll fuck anything that walks... except stanley tweedle
- Part cluster lizard, so she can stand up for herself, put up with the heat... and eat flesh.
- Because she was turned into a sex slave, she is drop dead gorgeous.
Kai. A dead guy.
- Also pretty good looking.
- Dead, so he's (basically) invincable
- Is an ex-assasin, with no feelings.
Robot Head
- A head, of a robot, that is madly in love with Xev, except for season 3, when it's madly in love with Kai.
Stanley Tweedle
- A real geek. Has been a geek all his life.
- A wimp, if it wasn't for Xev, he'd be dead long ago.
-
-
Right, thats a pretty good crew workup there, a great chick, a dead guy, a geek, a robot and a planet destoryer.
What do they do?
I don't know what it is about lexx, but there's no shame or confusion about what it's based around.
Lexx has got to take the cake, as the most F*cked up, sex oriantated cult sci fi series out ther.
I don't know how anyone can not love it
Re:Disappointing Lexx season (Score:1)