Battleangel

Sometimes I wonder where I would have been without the BitTorrent protocol. Probably doing something really important. But enough about that.
Farscape is one of the first complete series that I’ve sat through, thanks to BT and a vacant schedule. And the fact that only four seasons were produced.
I thought it would be a good idea to share my thoughts on the series because I realized that it is not your average run of the mill space sci-fi. Even if the show has been cancelled for soon to be a year I feel that it is relevant for future series and how we manufacture entertainment in this narrow but potent genre.

Stylish, emotional, grand, groundbreaking and a tad infantile at times. That is the best way to sum up the series.
Makeup and visual effects really made the series stand out. I have never witnessed a TV series or movie for that matter sport as many rubber faces, as much makeup and as extreme prosthetics. It’s all pretty obvious when you think about how Farscape was the the leading project and showcase for the Henson Company for years. The same company that made the effects for the TV series Dinosaurs and a wide variety of movies like The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Lost in Space, Dr. Dolittle, Le Pacte des Loups and The English Patient, believe it or not.
Another thing I liked about the series was the relatively complex characters. To a certain limit of course and sometimes they were just treading water. But the series took character development very seriously.
The “bottom up” plot is something that it has in common with many a series. The somewhat unique twist here is the lofty and sometimes occult concept. Like wormholes and healing for example. It certainly had a higher mysticism factor than the competitors. And from starting out small the show managed to grow and become more interesting over time as concepts and plots became more expansive and extreme. Big concepts .. too big to handle or have time to follow up on .. but I nevertheless like the initiative. It adds an extra dimension to story. Cultivating a sort of culture that while not always realized on screen makes the fictive universe seem so much more consummate.
One of the things that I found special about the series was the extended story “threading”. I.e. how story lines would be left alone for a very long time and then picked up again. It felt very fluid that way. Also interesting to see how the focus of the show shifted over the seasons. It accomplished more that way in four seasons than most shows manage in twice the time.
If you want some “homework” you can do a cross series analysis of Farscape and a series like Stargate SG-1 for example. Like how story lines progress over time (or not at all) and which effect this has on ratings and how sympathetic you view the show. In short, devising a framework for the perfect tv sci-fi. Note especially how characters are designed and what qualities are depicted as positive and which are merely amusing. I’m sure you can find some masculine vs. feminine controversy here

Another remarkable feature is the demographic constellation of the audience. As I’ve mentioned before, the show was no way as gender biased as other sci-fi series. In fact the audience was roughly comprised of men and women in equal numbers. And many women have proven to be not as forgiving and forgetting as many men in the same situation.

My main objection to the series was definitely the infantile / muppet plots and tech digressions. Ironically, the work done by the Henson Company was impeccable. Their animatronic and prosthetic characters did work flawlessly and never felt misplaced or infantile. It was more a question of acting and peripheral techno babble. Cute technological inconsistencies. Like the “DRDs” for example. That did not work for me. Maybe it was meant for a different target audience. One that views technology differently.
I guess they didn’t want to go the high and mighty road of Star Trek with their distinct lingo. And instead they tried a grungier version. The thing that made the series great and unique also led to its downfall. Sometimes it was just to much trendy people in space and you were kind of wishing for the dry wit of a Trek script, sonically ironed Starfleet uniforms and a sort of “masculine” seriousness. It’s interesting because very few series (actually none that I can think of) in this genre serve a full banquet if you want a catching metaphor. What I mean to say is that sci-fi is often just dessert or just soup or in the worst case scenario one big German road house steak.
Another minor flaw was that the series had a couple of “fillers” and characters development episodes too many.

One thing that puzzles me about many discontinued series is why they can’t manage to come up with a better ending. Maybe they do it to piss off the network that axed them. Or maybe they seldom get clear directives on whether it really will be the end until it is too late. Maybe they feel that if they just write up something hilarious enough, the network will give them another season to explain themselves. The cliffhanger of all cliffhangers.
Anyway, the end of Farscape felt ad libbed. Why do something like that? It was one of the most unfulfilling endings since Gainax tried to script the end of Evangelion … twice.

For those holding out for the TV mini series (and thus a proper end), it seems to be under way. More or less. Although I fear they can come up with an even worse ending still.