Farscape : season 1 review

1999

SF elements

Review

John Crichton, human astronaut, gets sucked through a wormhole to a distant part of the galaxy, and finds himself in the midst of a breakout -- several prisoners have hijacked a leviathan spaceship and are escaping. The series follows the adventures of the mis-matched crew, as they flee from the evil Peacekeepers, and try to find their respective ways home.

There are lots of nice touches. The crew aren't particularly nice -- shades of Blake's Seven here -- and they don't like one another much (although they get to like each other more as they get to know one another better). The human isn't the hero-leader: his skills and attitudes are rather primitive, and he is often mocked by the rest -- although he does save the day rather oftener than is plausible. And these aren't boldly-going gung-ho adventurers -- their homesickness, especially Crichton's, is well-drawn. (And, in the style of late 90s TV SF and fantasy, all the bit-parts speak with Antipodean, rather than American, accents.)

The series took a while to draw me in: I spent the first few episodes not sure whether I thought it was dire, or whether I really liked it. It's the latter.

Rating: 3