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Product details
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
An international co-production of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, Australia's Channel 9 and Hallmark Entertainment, Farscape is genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5 and the continuing success of the Star Trek franchise. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, Farscape takes a visual leap beyond previous shows. Admittedly, the basic premise may be borrowed from Buck Rogers (American astronaut catapulted to far-flung galaxy populated by strange aliens), while the crew have something of Blake's 7 about them (a motley bunch of escaped convicts pursued by a relentless foe), and ideas such as the living ship are borrowed from Babylon 5. However the Farscape concept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. The production design is all bio-mechanical curves and the script never takes itself too seriously (fart jokes and double-entendres pop up when you least expect them). It must have been expensive to make, but it certainly looks (and sounds) like every penny made it to the screen. In true Buck Rogers style, Ben Browder plays leading man John Crichton as an all-American astronaut, although with a more believable sense of bewilderment; the supporting cast is a mixture of Australian and British actors, mostly disguised under heavy make-up.
There are two episodes on Volume 4. In "That Old Black Magic", a malevolent magician forces a confrontation between Crichton and his nemesis, Crais; Zhaan must revive her bad old ways in order to save the day. "DNA Mad Scientist" is the most original episode, with a neat twist on the Frankenstein scenario thanks to the splendid villain, Namtar; a distinctly unpleasant side to some of the characters is revealed as they bargain body parts in exchange for a map home. --Mark Walker
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:VHS Tape
"That Old Black Magic" starts the tape well with a spooky atmosphere and a very convincing bad guy-Maldis. (Who returns in Season Two) My favourite character (Zhaan) gets to show her darker side in this episode.
"D.N.A Mad Scientist" is my favourite Farscape episode so far with a fantastic monster in Namtar, realised well by puppetry and CGI. The makeup is great, and Aeryns transformation into a Pilot is well handeled. Overall a brilliant episode and video!
Format:VHS Tape
"That Old Black Magic" is an excellent episode, with brilliant acting by Ben Browder and Lani Tupu (Crichton and Crais) as they fight it out in Maldis' realm. The direction here is breath-taking, with brilliant camera angles, especially during the fight scenes. Virginia Hey (Zhaan) also gives her best, and the last scene promises more to come.
"DNA Mad Scientist" is one of those episodes that happens in every sci-fi series, which seems to say that we are an adult-orientated series. However, it is not a bad episode all in all, and even Aeryn's unlikely evolution into a Pilot is handled well. NamTar is visually spectacular, and an excellent creation of Jim Henson's. The tension between Pilot, Zhaan, Rygel and D'Argo is also well handled and acted.
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