Farscape

I was forced to watch Farscape.

A couple of years ago, I decided to give Farscape a try. After four episodes, I stopped. It just didn't seem to be very good. The production values were crappy, the latex makeup was annoying, and the guy who appeared to be the lead villain... well, he sucked.

Fast forward two years later, and one of my best friends got hooked on the show when it was aired over the summer. Now this is a friend who has read books, watched television shows, and used software, all based on my recommendations. If I said "you have to try this," she did. So when she said I had to watch Farscape, I resisted, but eventually relented. I promised to watch until the seventh episode of the second season. If I wasn't hooked by then, she said, I could stop.

I've just finished watching Farscape: The Peacekeepers War mini-series, which follows the regular series. I was hooked long before episode seven of year two.

Farscape follows in the grand tradition of Babylon 5 and Buffy, in that it has a fairly crappy first season, with some bright spots, and then takes off in the second, and suddenly you're watching a really, really good show. In fact, Farscape takes off before the end of Season 1.

Farscape is probably the funniest SF show which isn't an outright comedy (heck, I though it was way funnier than Red Dwarf, but I know some would consider that blasphemy.) It's as dramatic as B5, and while it doesn't have the acting genius of Peter Jurasik and Andreas Katsulas, it does have a much more rounded cast. Also, it has Claudia Black, who is very, very good.

While Farscape does have an overall story, it isn't the work of genius that B5's story was. But, again, the actual scripts are better. Particularly the dialogues.

It's a show about aliens, but it's a show about people, friendship, and love. It is, very much, a show about ambition, obsession, and betrayal, but it is an optimistic show. It is a show about madness, but it is a show about making the right decisions. It is a show about man's folly, but it is a show about man's genius and greatness.

So what I'm saying is... it's a really good show. You should all watch it. Just make it through the first 20 episodes or so. It gets better. Trust me.