Mon, October 18, 2004
Farscape—2:14 PM
As I mentioned buzzworthily the other night, the Sci Fi network is currently halfway through airing its new miniseries: Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. This is a bit of a milestone because the original Farscape show was unceremoniously canceled by Sci Fi a while back, and the decision to greenlight its return in miniseries form is due in large part to a concerted effort by the show's smallish but loyal fan base. Something similar, coupled with strong DVD sales and record-breaking syndication ratings, is responsible for new Family Guy episodes airing on Fox next January. For that reason alone, it's important to tune into The Peacekeeper Wars and tell all your friends to do the same.
The first two hours aired last night, but you'll have another chance at them this evening before the two-hour conclusion. (Four hours in a stretch may sound like a lot, but with TiVo you can spread it back out over two nights if you want. Don't have TiVo? Get TiVo. Then repeat steps one and two.)
I didn't watch that much Farscape when it was originally on, which is my own fault. It's a science fiction show, so there's a lot about cultures and trade agreements and characters with weird hair or too many eyes. The nice part about The Peacekeeper Wars is that it's a lot easier to catch up than it would be if you were jumping in at an arbitrary point in the Farscape series. It's an inventive and imaginative journey through another part of the galaxy, and the main characters are very enjoyable. It's clear that there's a lot more depth to most of the situations – depth that was explored in the series, but won't fit into a four hour miniseries.
To be completely honest, I would have a hard time distinguishing it from any other Sci Fi show if not for the Jim Henson characters, which are spectacular. During The Peacekeeper Wars, Sci Fi is promoting another miniseries called Earthsea as well as its long-running series Stargate: SG-1, and they seem very similar in terms of aesthetic and mythology. What I'm getting at is, how did Sci Fi decide that Farscape needed to stop, while similar fare continues uninterrupted? (I'm guessing that Richard Dean Anderson is the answer to that question. He passes for "star power" on Sci Fi, and I'm guessing Farscape was simply the low-hanging fruit when it came time to trim budgets and pay for a bigger trailer for MacGyver.)
Anyway, if you're at all interested in science fiction stories, quick-witted hunky astronauts, space wars, or puppets, I recommend giving Farscape a chance. You'll enjoy it, and it's for a great cause!
