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 like the living ship are borrowed from
Babylon 5, but 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--in Dolby Digital 5.1) 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.
Series One continues with two more episodes on this tape: "Durka Returns", in which the crew meet the beautiful Chiana as well as Rygel's old tormentor, Captain Durka; and "A Human Reaction", where Crichton finally gets back to Earth but with unfortunate results for the rest of Moya's crew. --Mark Walker
Synopsis
In episode 'Durka Returns' a Starburst brings Moya and the crew in contact with the Nebari. Chiana a female rebel is about to under go a mind cleansing at the hands of Durka a mind-cleansed former Peacekeeper torturer. Rygel intervenes and transforms Durka into his former self. In 'A Human Reaction' Crichton returns home through a wormhole and meets his father. However all is not well.
