Farscape, Season 3.2 -- Limited Deluxe Edition [DVD] [1999]

With the third season well under way by now it's clear that Farscape has developed into a grown-up show. There's a new self-confidence and a new maturity here that's entirely welcome after the often wildly erratic tone of the second season. The production design and high-quality effects work remain true to the show's original quirky style, although both the look and the more adult-themed scripts have become progressively darker. It's also clear that anyone who has not followed Farscape extremely closely from the very first episode of Season One will be utterly baffled by the convoluted plotting and complex character interactions.

All the principal actors know their characters inside and out by now, and delight in showing off their many weaknesses and flaws. Refreshingly, the crew of Moya are a squabbling, bickering, selfish bunch most of the time, who somehow and against expectations manage to pull together (just) at the crucial moment. The writing has matured, too, remaining as witty as ever but equally unafraid to push both genre and censorship boundaries as villains bloodily torture their victims (usually Crichton) and the main characters become more and more obsessed about their sex lives (or lack thereof). Farscape is a galaxy far, far away from the clean, cosy world of Star Trek.--Mark Walker

Limited Deluxe Edition Contents:
Computer Chip
Mouse Mat
Six Exclusive Photographs
Two Lithographs

DVD Special Features:
Five uncut episodes
Deleted scenes
John Crichton Info Pod (including Ben Browder interview)
Jool Info Pod
Behind the Scenes episode trailer
Gallery of stills featuring concept artwork
Character and prop photography

Episodes:
Episode 3.06: Eat Me
With their transport pod damaged, Crichton, Chiana, D'Argo and Jool are forced to land on an old, diseased Leviathan in a Peacekeeper Control Collar. Their fears of running into Peacekeepers aboard the ship are soon replaced by terrifyingly real foes: mutant scavengers who are feeding on each other, the Leviathan's Pilot, and the Leviathan itself... and Kaarvok, a madman with an horrific taste for brain matter.

Episode 3.07: Thanks for Sharing
Crichton has been duplicated into two identical Crichtons. Moya's crew, trying to buy a healing agent for the injured gunship Talyn, becomes embroiled in a planet's deadly politics. Meanwhile, Aeryn discovers that her own mother, Xhalax Sun, is leading the Peacekeeper Retrieval Squad sent to recapture Talyn.

Episode 3.08: Green Eyed Monster
When Talyn is swallowed by a giant space creature, a Budong, Crais's neural connection to Talyn malfunctions, and he asks Aeryn to accept the 'Hand of Friendship' to help him control the hybrid gunship. Warily avoiding the Budong in a Transport Pod, Stark and Rygel come up with a way for Talyn to escape, but Crichton's jealousy complicates the plan...

Episode 3.09: Losing Time
After passing through a magnetic cluster, the crew experiences strange blackouts and periods of lost time. They discover that Pilot has been posessed by a being who is pursuing an evil 'Energy Rider'. The being inside Pilot warns our crew that the Rider is inhabiting one of them, and if that person isn't found, and the Rider extracted, the crew will all die.

Episode 3.10: Relativity
The Peacekeeper Retrieval Squad lead by Aeryn's mother, Xhalax Sun, traces the crew of Talyn to a Jungle Planet where the gunship is recuperating. When Crichton, Aeryn and Crais easily divert the squad away from the gunship, they realize that Talyn might not be the only target of the Peackeepers' mission. When Aeryn's attempts to reason with Xhalax fail, she realizes that the pursuit of Talyn will not stop until Xhalax is dead.