Elizabeth Jamieson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
elizalavelle) wrote2007-05-11 09:55 am
elizalavelle) wrote2007-05-11 09:55 am
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Saturday night Tom, Jo and I got together to watch The Peace Keeper Wars (mini series that finished off Farscape) as I'd not yet seen it. It was a great way to wrap up my birthday stuff (yes I do stretch out my day lol) and now that I've seen it all I can offer many Farscape musings
So, starting with the mini series as that's where I just finished. I liked the ending. I loved that this show got an ending as the season 4 finale left me screaming at the television in disbelief that this was how things were going to end. I think that the baby storyline was handled really really well. I wonder how it would have worked had they had a fifth season as for a whole year it's hard for a show to survive with a baby being introduced. So perhaps it's good that this was the end so it could go out on a pretty happy ending.
Of course not totally happy as Dargo had to die. I mean it works, to go through a whole battle like that and have the only victims be extras doesn't end an air of realism to anything. And Dargo did get a fine send off. Of course I cried, Anthony and Gigi acted the hell out of their last scene together and I'd been so happy to see them finally work things out. It's like the Whedon trick with Tara "hey she's in the credits now and she and Willow are find now and everything is all great and.... 'your shirt' DAMMIT JOSS!" I'm suckered in by that type of thing all of the time. I like happy endings.
I also like that while we can guess that the PK Chancellor is having John's baby he isn't ever really told about that one. There are enough loose ends for the mind to mull over for quite a while.
The wormhole knowledge being taken away was great. Another thing that was hinted at in the series and I liked that it was followed through. That way at least one knows that that part of John is done with because no matter how resolved things were left if he still could make weapons or even navigate wormholes then he'd always be at risk and nothing could really feel like it ended happy after all.
The show as a whole.
Firstly I have no idea how I missed this one while it was on. I would have loved it, I do love it! But as I missed it thank you to every Browncoat who told me to see this one, there seems to be quite the high crossover in those two fandoms.
I liked the way the plot progressed with this end goal in sight. It was so well thought out and every season built on the last one and while they all had a mix of stand alone episodes the story arcs carried through wonderfully and even things that were in the standalones were often referenced later which is brilliant writing. One of my favourite things and what I think makes a show good (are you listening Veronica Mars?) is continuity and Farscape was all over that. There were so many little throwbacks to previous episodes through the whole thing. Even gestures and small phrases were reused. That's how a show should be done.
Also the finales' were all stunning. All cliffhangers that just got more intense as the show went on and yet they worked. Every new season was able to tie up the loose ends and keep moving smoothly and that's something rare to find.
John Crichton: I loved how John evolved through the whole series. How he shows up in literally an alien world and learns to adapt and that they learn to adapt to him. It's a lesson in acceptance of everyone and of how humanity could be when we're being optimistic about ourselves. Also a show like this works best when you have a human character to view everything through as that's relatable for everyone. Listening to the commentary for season one I was struck by how often Ben would comment on how innocent Crichton was in the early episodes, then as the series went on I got it. He really worked at slowing having John get less soft, less of the innocent human in space who doesn't really understand the rules of the game being played around him. However I did like that Crichton didn't often fully get the rules but he'd just go for it anyways and because people didn't know how to deal with him he could win. It was a hell of a streak of beginners luck but it worked quite well.
Aeryn Sun: How anyone could not love Claudia Black after seeing this show is beyond me. When she first appeared I sort of took one look and wondered why she'd been cast, it took all of 30 seconds to change my mind and to have me decide she was flat out phenominal. I spent much of the series really relating to her mostly out of all of the characters, which is a little worrying in some ways, and yet I think I cannot be alone at all on that thought so perhaps not so worrying. But I could definitly pick out some of my own character traits in her, ergo the fun game of trying to kill her off every season in a new and exciting way had me freaking out.
Aeryn/John: LOVE these two together. I liked the more direct route this show took. Yes there was a lot of scewing with their relationship but we didn't have to wait 9 years to acknowledge that there was one (Xfiles!) and I love angsty relationships on tv/movies, I like them to end happily but in my sugar coated mind they do, so there. These two were just wonderful. Clearly Ben and Claudia had a ball playing off of each other in these roles and the on screen result was television gold.
D'Argo: I love the depth they went with this character. It could have been left with him being simply a warrior and building on that and he still would have been interesting but the backstory with the family was brilliant AND having the viewer actually get to meet Jothee fairly early on worked so well also. It wasn't a big unfulfilled plot, there was an end in sight when his story began. I really enjoyed his story arc.
Chiana: I wasn't sure that I'd like her character when she first appeared... little too crazy for me. Then (as all characters on this show do) she got more complex and just so fascinating. Plus I have all of Jo's fun Gigi stories to mix with her character and so I'm kept muchly entertained. I think of all of the characters on the show Chiana really got to grow up. She was such a kid and as the series went on she got more responsible and to the point where she was ready to settle down and build a life with D'Argo. Awesome growth, very well written. The relationship between Chiana and Crichton was also awesome. Somewhat ambigous as a tease for viewers sometimes but always interesting. Like he's her older brother's best friend so he's looking out for her and they have sort of that brother sister relationship and then sometimes she'll push it to the sexual side and I'm sure there are people who shipped them and were given plenty of on screen material to work with... they were never boring ;)
D'Argo/Chiana: These two were awesome. I enjoyed them happy, was distraught when there was that first bit with the going in and out of time and you knew they weren't going to last even though they didn't. One thing I really liked was that while the potential was there for the on-again off-again drama with these two they juts left them off until the end. You knew they both still cared for each other but beyond that nothing was done until it was time to give us a fake happy ending and then much angst.
Zhaan: I miss Zhaan. They pretty much had Zhann replacement type of characters throughout the show because to keep the balance on that ship someone had to be able to make remedies and someone had to be somewhat of a peacekeeper (heh) on Moya. I loved that her evil side got to shine through a couple of times. Her connection with Crichton in the beginning I think was vital to keep his character becoming more and more engrossed in the life of the universe and not just dwelling on earth. Also, I must take a moment to say her make up was stunning. It's a shame it caused her problems but visually it was amazing! I actually think that finding out that she was a plant was the most shocking thing to deal with for her though, harder to wrap my head around than a blue being. Interesting, but my brain still doesn't work around that properly.
Rygel: Yes I will talk about a muppet as a person, so sue me. Rygel is awesome. So stubborn and yet has those few great generous moments. I found because he was so little I'd forget that he was actually this old being, I'd think of him almost as childlike sometimes (what with the way he ate food etc) but then suddenly he'd bust out with something really wise and you'd realize that the writers weren't forgetting him or pushing him aside, he was just saved for when he was needed most.
Pilot: I am still so intregued with this character. The backstory we got in (I think) The Way We Weren't was so interesting because I never would have thought he'd have had any sort of dark side and then there it was. I loved that he and Aeryn bonded early on because I think they centered each other somewhat.
Moya: A living ship = awesome. I was a little worried early on when they had her be pregnant, often with Farscape I'd be thinking to myself "this sort of plot is happening too soon" and then an episode or so later I'd see that it was going to work fine and not mess with the overall show. Not many shows can pull that off. I liked that Moya had actual fears and reactions to situations. That she sometimes didn't agree with Pilot... I just really liked the idea that this ship could be it's own indipendant being. Also giving Talon such a different personality was brilliant too. Two ships, two different characters. Nicely done.
Crais: A character who I sort of thought I'd hate, until I sort of found I really liked him and even when I hated him and thought he was betraying (sometimes he was, sometimes not so much) he still brought such depth to the show and I think really challanged Crichton to step up to the plate with Aeryn in the third season.
Scorpius: I loved this nemisis to Crichton. I think all of the scenes inside Crichton's mind between Harvey and John were just insipred. Again the two actors played so well off of each other and so on screen I was just rivited. Very neat stuff. I think having it left a little (usually more than a little) unclear as to which side Scopius was playing for was an interesting choice that paid off. The constant pull between him working for The Peacekeepers, or helping John was so well done and even when you think that just maybe he could be betraying everyone and helping the Scarrans it's still believable and you never fully dislike the character... if anything he's a love to hate kind of character.
Stark: I feel at some point I'll have to use "my side! your side! my side! your side!" because I love it. I like his crazyness and how sometimes he's not this great character but a little obsessed and creepy or a liar etc... so much grey area on this show, no one is wholey good or wholey evil and that is really neat to see when it's well maintained. I did not like Stark when his hair had grown back, but it was fixed for the mini series, good times ;)
Noranti: whom we never find much out about, I think the most information we get about her is from the earth episodes when they're talking about her spiritual beliefs. She was always fun though and I liked that you were never quite sure if she knew what she was doing or if she was just making it all up as she went along.
Sikozu: She was a neat one. So smart and yet not able to really relate well to humanity of any kind. Reminds me of one of my arguments about some profs at school. They could be brilliant but unable to convey it in a way that anyone would relate to. Brains are not everything in this world. Did not love her hair in the mini-series, also the way she acted the character was somewhat different, but that also can be attributed to the fact that she'd now been living for 6 months with the Peacekeepers and would have adapted to their ways.
Jool: Aside from the annoying, but useful, screaming, I liked her. She was quite the parallel to Crichton because she was not at all prepared to be on Moya. She did at least know more of the Universe but not really much outside her sheltered part of it. Neat to see that it wasn't just the human who was out of place travelling through space.
Jack Crichton: Brilliant actor. I believed him for every moment he was on screen. Again we got to see him being both the loving father and then suddenly seeing his stubborn side and he and John not getting along always. Just neat. Must have been neat to play.
Francesca Buller (Ben Browder's wife): I was so impressed at how she was used in the series. I think my favourite thing was that there was no attempt to cast her in a 'Crichton's love interest' role because that so often can fall flat on screen and when I heard she was in the series every season I was worried they might have gone that route. Instead it was much more fun trying to guess who she was every season :)
The Earth episodes: These were brilliant. From 'A Human Reaction' to the ones in the fourth season. It was so neat to see everyone else suddenly get a perspective on what Crichton was adjusting to. Their interpretations of earth culture are fantastic and I think the writers did a great job stepping outside of themselves to figure out what sort of things would appear very strange to aliens. I just about died at Aeryn watching Sesame Street "this girl is slow!" and just thought the whole arc was brilliant. I really liked how it was tied up with the television special and then knowing that in the end people on Earth were starting to come together as the human race. Nice. Now why can't that be happening now again?
Anways, there's my initial thoughts, they just skim the surface I think but I think this is more than enough writing for now.
Frelling fantastic show, everyone should know this one!
So, starting with the mini series as that's where I just finished. I liked the ending. I loved that this show got an ending as the season 4 finale left me screaming at the television in disbelief that this was how things were going to end. I think that the baby storyline was handled really really well. I wonder how it would have worked had they had a fifth season as for a whole year it's hard for a show to survive with a baby being introduced. So perhaps it's good that this was the end so it could go out on a pretty happy ending.
Of course not totally happy as Dargo had to die. I mean it works, to go through a whole battle like that and have the only victims be extras doesn't end an air of realism to anything. And Dargo did get a fine send off. Of course I cried, Anthony and Gigi acted the hell out of their last scene together and I'd been so happy to see them finally work things out. It's like the Whedon trick with Tara "hey she's in the credits now and she and Willow are find now and everything is all great and.... 'your shirt' DAMMIT JOSS!" I'm suckered in by that type of thing all of the time. I like happy endings.
I also like that while we can guess that the PK Chancellor is having John's baby he isn't ever really told about that one. There are enough loose ends for the mind to mull over for quite a while.
The wormhole knowledge being taken away was great. Another thing that was hinted at in the series and I liked that it was followed through. That way at least one knows that that part of John is done with because no matter how resolved things were left if he still could make weapons or even navigate wormholes then he'd always be at risk and nothing could really feel like it ended happy after all.
The show as a whole.
Firstly I have no idea how I missed this one while it was on. I would have loved it, I do love it! But as I missed it thank you to every Browncoat who told me to see this one, there seems to be quite the high crossover in those two fandoms.
I liked the way the plot progressed with this end goal in sight. It was so well thought out and every season built on the last one and while they all had a mix of stand alone episodes the story arcs carried through wonderfully and even things that were in the standalones were often referenced later which is brilliant writing. One of my favourite things and what I think makes a show good (are you listening Veronica Mars?) is continuity and Farscape was all over that. There were so many little throwbacks to previous episodes through the whole thing. Even gestures and small phrases were reused. That's how a show should be done.
Also the finales' were all stunning. All cliffhangers that just got more intense as the show went on and yet they worked. Every new season was able to tie up the loose ends and keep moving smoothly and that's something rare to find.
John Crichton: I loved how John evolved through the whole series. How he shows up in literally an alien world and learns to adapt and that they learn to adapt to him. It's a lesson in acceptance of everyone and of how humanity could be when we're being optimistic about ourselves. Also a show like this works best when you have a human character to view everything through as that's relatable for everyone. Listening to the commentary for season one I was struck by how often Ben would comment on how innocent Crichton was in the early episodes, then as the series went on I got it. He really worked at slowing having John get less soft, less of the innocent human in space who doesn't really understand the rules of the game being played around him. However I did like that Crichton didn't often fully get the rules but he'd just go for it anyways and because people didn't know how to deal with him he could win. It was a hell of a streak of beginners luck but it worked quite well.
Aeryn Sun: How anyone could not love Claudia Black after seeing this show is beyond me. When she first appeared I sort of took one look and wondered why she'd been cast, it took all of 30 seconds to change my mind and to have me decide she was flat out phenominal. I spent much of the series really relating to her mostly out of all of the characters, which is a little worrying in some ways, and yet I think I cannot be alone at all on that thought so perhaps not so worrying. But I could definitly pick out some of my own character traits in her, ergo the fun game of trying to kill her off every season in a new and exciting way had me freaking out.
Aeryn/John: LOVE these two together. I liked the more direct route this show took. Yes there was a lot of scewing with their relationship but we didn't have to wait 9 years to acknowledge that there was one (Xfiles!) and I love angsty relationships on tv/movies, I like them to end happily but in my sugar coated mind they do, so there. These two were just wonderful. Clearly Ben and Claudia had a ball playing off of each other in these roles and the on screen result was television gold.
D'Argo: I love the depth they went with this character. It could have been left with him being simply a warrior and building on that and he still would have been interesting but the backstory with the family was brilliant AND having the viewer actually get to meet Jothee fairly early on worked so well also. It wasn't a big unfulfilled plot, there was an end in sight when his story began. I really enjoyed his story arc.
Chiana: I wasn't sure that I'd like her character when she first appeared... little too crazy for me. Then (as all characters on this show do) she got more complex and just so fascinating. Plus I have all of Jo's fun Gigi stories to mix with her character and so I'm kept muchly entertained. I think of all of the characters on the show Chiana really got to grow up. She was such a kid and as the series went on she got more responsible and to the point where she was ready to settle down and build a life with D'Argo. Awesome growth, very well written. The relationship between Chiana and Crichton was also awesome. Somewhat ambigous as a tease for viewers sometimes but always interesting. Like he's her older brother's best friend so he's looking out for her and they have sort of that brother sister relationship and then sometimes she'll push it to the sexual side and I'm sure there are people who shipped them and were given plenty of on screen material to work with... they were never boring ;)
D'Argo/Chiana: These two were awesome. I enjoyed them happy, was distraught when there was that first bit with the going in and out of time and you knew they weren't going to last even though they didn't. One thing I really liked was that while the potential was there for the on-again off-again drama with these two they juts left them off until the end. You knew they both still cared for each other but beyond that nothing was done until it was time to give us a fake happy ending and then much angst.
Zhaan: I miss Zhaan. They pretty much had Zhann replacement type of characters throughout the show because to keep the balance on that ship someone had to be able to make remedies and someone had to be somewhat of a peacekeeper (heh) on Moya. I loved that her evil side got to shine through a couple of times. Her connection with Crichton in the beginning I think was vital to keep his character becoming more and more engrossed in the life of the universe and not just dwelling on earth. Also, I must take a moment to say her make up was stunning. It's a shame it caused her problems but visually it was amazing! I actually think that finding out that she was a plant was the most shocking thing to deal with for her though, harder to wrap my head around than a blue being. Interesting, but my brain still doesn't work around that properly.
Rygel: Yes I will talk about a muppet as a person, so sue me. Rygel is awesome. So stubborn and yet has those few great generous moments. I found because he was so little I'd forget that he was actually this old being, I'd think of him almost as childlike sometimes (what with the way he ate food etc) but then suddenly he'd bust out with something really wise and you'd realize that the writers weren't forgetting him or pushing him aside, he was just saved for when he was needed most.
Pilot: I am still so intregued with this character. The backstory we got in (I think) The Way We Weren't was so interesting because I never would have thought he'd have had any sort of dark side and then there it was. I loved that he and Aeryn bonded early on because I think they centered each other somewhat.
Moya: A living ship = awesome. I was a little worried early on when they had her be pregnant, often with Farscape I'd be thinking to myself "this sort of plot is happening too soon" and then an episode or so later I'd see that it was going to work fine and not mess with the overall show. Not many shows can pull that off. I liked that Moya had actual fears and reactions to situations. That she sometimes didn't agree with Pilot... I just really liked the idea that this ship could be it's own indipendant being. Also giving Talon such a different personality was brilliant too. Two ships, two different characters. Nicely done.
Crais: A character who I sort of thought I'd hate, until I sort of found I really liked him and even when I hated him and thought he was betraying (sometimes he was, sometimes not so much) he still brought such depth to the show and I think really challanged Crichton to step up to the plate with Aeryn in the third season.
Scorpius: I loved this nemisis to Crichton. I think all of the scenes inside Crichton's mind between Harvey and John were just insipred. Again the two actors played so well off of each other and so on screen I was just rivited. Very neat stuff. I think having it left a little (usually more than a little) unclear as to which side Scopius was playing for was an interesting choice that paid off. The constant pull between him working for The Peacekeepers, or helping John was so well done and even when you think that just maybe he could be betraying everyone and helping the Scarrans it's still believable and you never fully dislike the character... if anything he's a love to hate kind of character.
Stark: I feel at some point I'll have to use "my side! your side! my side! your side!" because I love it. I like his crazyness and how sometimes he's not this great character but a little obsessed and creepy or a liar etc... so much grey area on this show, no one is wholey good or wholey evil and that is really neat to see when it's well maintained. I did not like Stark when his hair had grown back, but it was fixed for the mini series, good times ;)
Noranti: whom we never find much out about, I think the most information we get about her is from the earth episodes when they're talking about her spiritual beliefs. She was always fun though and I liked that you were never quite sure if she knew what she was doing or if she was just making it all up as she went along.
Sikozu: She was a neat one. So smart and yet not able to really relate well to humanity of any kind. Reminds me of one of my arguments about some profs at school. They could be brilliant but unable to convey it in a way that anyone would relate to. Brains are not everything in this world. Did not love her hair in the mini-series, also the way she acted the character was somewhat different, but that also can be attributed to the fact that she'd now been living for 6 months with the Peacekeepers and would have adapted to their ways.
Jool: Aside from the annoying, but useful, screaming, I liked her. She was quite the parallel to Crichton because she was not at all prepared to be on Moya. She did at least know more of the Universe but not really much outside her sheltered part of it. Neat to see that it wasn't just the human who was out of place travelling through space.
Jack Crichton: Brilliant actor. I believed him for every moment he was on screen. Again we got to see him being both the loving father and then suddenly seeing his stubborn side and he and John not getting along always. Just neat. Must have been neat to play.
Francesca Buller (Ben Browder's wife): I was so impressed at how she was used in the series. I think my favourite thing was that there was no attempt to cast her in a 'Crichton's love interest' role because that so often can fall flat on screen and when I heard she was in the series every season I was worried they might have gone that route. Instead it was much more fun trying to guess who she was every season :)
The Earth episodes: These were brilliant. From 'A Human Reaction' to the ones in the fourth season. It was so neat to see everyone else suddenly get a perspective on what Crichton was adjusting to. Their interpretations of earth culture are fantastic and I think the writers did a great job stepping outside of themselves to figure out what sort of things would appear very strange to aliens. I just about died at Aeryn watching Sesame Street "this girl is slow!" and just thought the whole arc was brilliant. I really liked how it was tied up with the television special and then knowing that in the end people on Earth were starting to come together as the human race. Nice. Now why can't that be happening now again?
Anways, there's my initial thoughts, they just skim the surface I think but I think this is more than enough writing for now.
Frelling fantastic show, everyone should know this one!