The full run of the seminal ‘90s space opera Farscape is soon to begin on Horror Channel, and we at Moonbase Alpha are more than a little excited. So, whether you’re returning to it to relive and revive fading memories or are diving into its weird and colourful insanity for the first time, here’s a brief primer of what you can expect.
The plot centres on John Crichton, an astronaut from Earth who during an orbital flight finds himself sucked through a wormhole and expelled in a distant part of the universe. He ends up aboard Moya, a sentient biomechanical starship that can undertake FTL travel by opening a tear in space-time called a starburst (yes, really!!), and initially encounters Aryn, a rejected former soldier, D’Argo, a belligerent member of a warrior race, Rygel, the imperious and froglike deposed ruler of an interstellar empire, Zhaan, a blue-skinned ethereal priestess, and Moya’s multi-limbed Pilot who acts as the ship’s helmsman and navigator, and intermediary between the ship and her passengers. Unlike other ‘90s sci-fi stalwarts like Star Trek or Stargate that are largely driven by exploration, the central ensemble of Farscape are fugitives (the series’ pitch title was Space Chase), each having escaped imprisonment by the Peacekeepers, the ruthless military of the human-like Sebaceans, with Moya used as a prisoner transport.
The series continually expands in scope across its four seasons and miniseries conclusion, its themes taking in the likes of morality, loyalty, trust, friendship, romance, regret, and redemption as Moya and her crew blaze a trail of chaos across the galaxy while they frantically try to remain one step ahead of those pursuing them. There are very few truly standalone episodes; each is instead its own story that also contributes to the developing arc of the series, largely driven by Crichton’s attempts to recreate the wormhole and return home, and an escalating arms race over the technology to weaponise such gateways, principally between the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans, a sadistic race of megalomaniacal Nazi lizardmen.
The series is notable for not only featuring humanoid aliens of varying designs typical of any space-based sci-fi but also multiple creatures operated by puppetry and animatronics, most notably Rygel and Pilot, whose physical sizes and movements make it apparent they aren’t actors in suits. The special effects are produced by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop – the company that was also responsible for the critters of classic ‘80s fantasy movies Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal – and despite knowing they’re artificial creations they nevertheless feel like living, breathing creatures.
However, what truly makes the show stand out from others of its ilk, amidst bouts of deadpan snarking and extreme horniness, are multiple concepts of unbridled lunacy that allowed the imaginations of the creatives to run rampant. Only a few include the likes of endless pop culture references invoked for maximum surreality, an alternate reality with actors playing each other’s characters, a Road Runner-style animation that continues in live-action with similar violent slapstick, a nightmarish computer game world driven by haunting memories, Rashomon-style retellings where everyone’s character traits are variably dialled up depending on the narrator, S&M hallucinations, myriad alien drugs periodically driving everyone to different kinds of insanity, and regular vomit and fart jokes. You certainly wouldn’t expect to see an episode of The Next Generation where Troi gets distracted by lying in a desert having multiple orgasms induced by bright sunlight.
When creator Rockne S. O’Bannon originally sold the series to Syfy (then still The Sci-Fi Channel), the network president told him in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want a kids’ show and to “make it as weird as you can.” When you experience Farscape’s surreal assortment of diverse aliens, creative swearing, interplanetary shenanigans and demented humour, along with the boundless depths of creativity by which each is realised, you’ll soon agree that everyone involved more than succeeded.
Farscape debuts on Horror Channel on April 4th at 6pm as part of the weekday Sci-Fi Zone.
For more information, head over to http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk
Tune in on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 69, Freesat 138.
