Farscape: Complete Season 1 (Box Set) [DVD] [1999]

Thankfully, ALL four regular seasons plus the 2-part mini-series conclusion (which brings the story to a satisfactory end at least) are available on DVD. That's 90 hours of perfect television at your fingertips. What more can you ask for?

At the beginning of Season One, John Crichton (superbly played by Ben Browder) is a contemporary American astronaut/scientist on a 'routine' mission outside the earth's atmosphere to test a theory of space propulsion which he has invented. While making his test, he is inadvertently shot though a wormhole instead and spat out 'on the other side of the galaxy.' He is then picked up by the crew of a leviathan ship—which turns out to be a huge benign creature who allows other creatures to live inside her—and is confronted by a motley group of aliens of varying species who have never heard of Earth, and are more concerned with eluding pursuit than with either Crichton or his planet of origin. Turns out this leviathan's crew are all escaped prisoners, and John is stuck on board with them—for better or for worse.

Crichton, the only human, is our instant reference point. He only wants to 'find a way home,' at least at first. Of course we can all relate to his point of view, but as the series develops, we get drawn, with him, into that universe on the other side of the galaxy which holds so many wonders for our displaced human. We get to watch John meet the challenges he faces, and discover, to our extreme delight, what a lowly 'human' such as himself brings into the mix.

The character of Crichton is an American, but the series was filmed in Australia with input from people from all over the English-speaking world, so Farscape is NOT a typical American good-guy-white-hat kind of story. John Crichton is a complex human being, with strengths and weaknesses we get to discover right along with him and his crewmates on the leviathan. We become aware that Crichton an INDIVIDUAL human being, not a race, or a national stereotype.

John Crichton is cheeky, resourceful, kind, intelligent, inventive, loyal, incorrigible, hilarious, intuitive, sexy, unpredictable, explosive, courageous, romantic and supportive. We love him truly—right from the start—and begin to ponder, at least by midseries, what the heck will happen if he ever does manage to 'get home' again. Won't earth be too small for him now? (Hold that thought.)

Season One is more episodic than the following seasons. Several story arcs develop subtly in Season One, including the incredibly moving and believable love story between Crichton and the stiffly-vulnerable Peacekeeper soldier Aeryn Sun (played by Claudia Black) but Season One is primarily where you get to know Crichton, get to know the other beings he associates with, get to know the larger 'world' of Farscape.

Some episodes are weaker than the others, of course, but they are all entertaining and all bear re-watching too. Season One ends by revealing to us the 'real' villain of the piece—the most memorable villain EVER recorded on film—but fortunately you don't have to wait a whole year to find out what happens next (like I did while watching Farscape on the BBC!) Not with all these wonderful DVDs on offer now...

I can only recommend that you buy ALL the Farscape DVDs right away, along with this one. You will love the show—I guarantee!—and will watch them all, again and again and again. Probably for your whole lifetime. Farscape is unforgettable stuff.

The great thing is that, unlike some other series, everything is possible in this universe and no one feels the need to explain why it is possible. Just as you think you start to know how the series is going to develop, the next episode takes you by surprise.

Combine the amazing Jim Henson Studios creations with some funny and dead-sexy characters ("Ah you mean like The Muppets?" "Mmmm no, not quite!"), and you will have yourself a series to have and to hold. Forever.

He has to throw his fortunes in with a group of escaped prisoners and a Peacekeeper--the galatic military police force that keeps law and order. It's not the premise that matters (there are any number of great premises that fail to deliver).

What matters is the quality of the writing. Episodes like the Premiere, That Old Black Magic and others feature strong writing and witty performances by the ensemble cast. The direction is always interesting and even the weakest written episodes usually has something to recommend it.

The visual effects are marvelous and most on are a par with feature films. This isn't the finest season but it has many terrific moments that rank with the best in television science fiction.