Welcome to the very first FRIDAY FLASHBACK here at Crave Online. This feature is dedicated to looking back at some of the best genre TV series of years past as well as recommending them to new fans who may never have seen them before.
It's no secret that science fiction on television is fast becoming an endangered species... even on the Syfy network itself. The recently canceled "Stargate Universe" was the last space based sci-fi show still on the air and it could be a while before we see another series like that again. Syfy seems to have embraced the "blue skies sci-fi" of "Eureka" and "Warehouse 13" to the detriment of everything else. Not to mention Syfy's odd combination of reality shows about imaginary ghost hunters and wrestling on Friday nights.
But there was a time when the former Sci-fi Channel truly did "imagine greater." And "Farscape" was the series that delivered on that promise.
"Farscape" was created by Rockne S. O'Bannon and followed an American astronaut named John Crichton (Ben Browder) who was accidentally transported across the universe where he found himself hunted and on the run on board a living ship of escaped prisoners who eventually became his friends.
I have to admit that I initially scoffed at the idea of Jim Henson Productions putting out a serious sci-fi show. "Muppets in Space," anyone?
However, the puppetry used to create the creatures in "Farscape" were designed and controlled by some of the best puppeteers in the business. They had a truly alien appearance and a major advantage over CGI in that the creatures and characters were actually interacting with the actors on camera, giving them a sense of physical reality that animation/live action hybrids just can't replicate.
Take Rygel, for example. On his own, you might think he's just another Kermit or Yoda. But he's actually one of the most vile characters on the show. Rygel's greedy, selfish, sometimes cowardly, foul mouthed and largely out for himself. But voice actor Jonathan Hardy managed to keep Rygel somewhat likable for all of his faults and the writers treated him as much a part of the cast as the rest of the characters.
Every great sci-fi show needs a great villain and "Farscape" had one of the best in Scorpius (Wayne Pygram). Think of him as a cross between Darth Vader and Spock. In his own way, Scorpius was just as compelling as Crichton and their rivalry fueled the series for most of its four season run. Even their time as uneasy allies during the fourth season was wildly entertaining.
But the heart of this show always comes back to Crichton and Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black). While Crichton was very much an everyman hero fighting to get home, his slow courtship of Aeryn brought out a more human side to her character and gave viewers a literal star-crossed romance. This is the reason that both Browder and Black ended up cast as regulars on "Stargate: SG-1" after "Farscape" ended.
