Farscape...what a gem!

[rabid1st]

I am probably going to be mentioning Farscape in my television meme. But I just wanted to share a thought about the perfection of this series. I am watching it from the beginning again. Something I did with Buffy last year. I had expected to be a little disappointed with the Buffy repeats and found myself pleasantly surprised by the fact that they held up so well. But I truly had expected that I would cringe over Farscape. I remembered S1 as being quite a trial to watch, until Nerve, at least. But, on this rewatch, I've found that knowing what I know about Farscape and how it will end...makes it a positive joy to watch again.

You will all recall that I have mentioned over and over again that the wrong ending to Tennant's Run of new Who, the lack of character development or storyline commitment, will ultimately corrupt the future success of the show. This is playing out now. But it will continue to play out in a more subtle fashion for those of us with DVDs. Fans can't really rewatch Doctor Who S1-S4 with the same sense of hope we had the first time, because we know that it fails to satisfy in the end.

Knowing something ends on a whimper rather than singingly, affects how you view it in retrospect. And knowing that Farscape had one of the most satisfying ends in television history, really makes watching it again a delightful experience. If you have never watched Farscape...you might have to grit your teeth through the first ten episodes...but believe me it is well worth the effort in the end. And I am not talking about happy endings, nor promising you one. Instead I promise completely satisfying character development, because there was certainly large hunks of unhappy in the Farscape viewing experience. "People really bleed when they are hit in Farscape" as the quote goes. The writers really understood how and when to make the audience suffer, something RTD and Whedon and Moore and Chris Carter did not know.

If you watched most or all of Farscape, as I did, go back and see it again and take the time to admire how very groundbreaking this series was. Yes, Rigel still looks like a Muppet, there's no denying it. But the show goes out of its way to make him a fully rounded character as well. One point struck me very strongly on the rewatch...and that was that every character on the show is fully realized and developed. And every one of them had blood on their hands. Every character murders someone. Though in Crichton's case...maybe we should call it accidental homicide, but it is the opening act of his character. Seriously, what show makes every character in it so conflicted from the outset? Only Farscape. Okay...and maybe the Sopranos, eventually.

Rae

Comments

[maniacalshen.livejournal.com]

Plus, besides the character growth and conflicts, Farscape had its fun parts! Like the endless chin-thong jokes, as well as, "MY SIDE YOUR SIDE." I never did make it through the fourth season, though. I actually saw about half the final miniseries, then went and watched seasons 1-4.5. I should probably go back and restart Farscape at some point.

Fans can't really rewatch Doctor Who S1-S4 with the same sense of hope we had the first time, because we know that it fails to satisfy in the end.

Yeah, I find I haven't been inclined to watch my dvds... at all, really.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

The Farscape finale isn't without pain. I was very upset about some of it. But I think overall Farscape is the most successful show of all time, because it did so many things so very well. And in the end, it was true to itself. I was one of the few fans of the show that really agreed with the decision to end S4 on a cliffhanger. I thought that was VERY Farscape...and also...it allowed the fans to mobilize much more effectively than if the show had tried to wrap it all up in a hurry. <<--something that worked against Babylon 5 for example when they brought it back from cancellation.

I thought the decision to tell SCIFI to go frell themselves was very fitting and I remember arguing that the S4 ending was no more appalling than any Farscape cliffhanger...all of them seemed hopeless and yet turned out to have loopholes in them. I figured there would have to be a loophole...and there was. Unlike RTD and Whedon and Moore...the Farscape producers deserved the trust their fans gave them.

And they do amazing DVD commentary as it turns out. I'm not a fan of the commentaries...but I do like how competent the Farscape crew is, how much they know about character development and arcs and such. Just as I was impressed with what David and Billie knew about acting. And...Farscape...has the added distinction of doing a commentary for "The worst episode they ever did." They actually picked it out and talk about how bad it was and how they all failed. Which is just...cool.

Rae

[maniacalshen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I actually have no idea what the fourth season cliffhanger was. That's why I should go watch it all, but this time in its entirety and from the beginning. XD

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

What inspired me was that they recently released "The Complete Farscape" and my local library bought it. Someone was asking me about it and I was telling them how great it was and that they should watch it...and I sort of convinced myself to try to rewatch from the beginning. But, as I said, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I am.

[sensiblecat.livejournal.com]

The reason I never took to Ashes was that for me LoM had the perfect ending, and I had no desire to revisit that.

[maniacalshen.livejournal.com]

I understand where you're coming from, but you may want to reconsider someday. The Ashes to Ashes ending is really, really good! I was extremely impressed. Though I admit you might have to grit your teeth through some of the first season, if you're as prone to second-hand embarrassment as I am.

[auntiesuze.livejournal.com]

Loved loved LOVED Farscape. They wrapped it up so beautifully, and kept it true to the series - some sad ends and some happy ones, but they all made sense. I definitely wouldn't mind rewatching this series from the beginning.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

It is surprising me in a delightful fashion. As I said, even more satisfying than my recent return to Buffy, because again, BTVS is colored by an unsatisfactory end. But also because I hadn't expected as much of S1 Farscape. It is very consistent in the way the character's develop, even though both Ben Browder and Claudia Black had complaints about how their characters were written and directed from episode to episode. She is much more of an actress than he is an actor...but he is remarkably intelligent when it comes to storyline structure. And he was apparently holding his own on Crichton being a dweeb rather than a manly man, which the producers and network apparently wanted him to be in the beginning.

My favorite DVD commentary exchange was when Ben was mocking himself for being sort of pasty and out of shape in Jeramiah Crichton...which he calls the "Best shape of my young life" and then as one of the guest actors comes into the frame (a tall, beautiful black man with sculpted muscles) he says...

"Look at this guy. He's obviously spent most of his life in the gym. Did any one ask her [the native girl in love with Crichton] why she even looks at the dumpy white guy when she could have this guy? Look at his back, look at those muscles."

Claudia responds, "Maybe Crichton is the only straight man in the village."

And after a slight pause, the director says, "Are you suggesting this is a tribe formed entirely of comedians?"

LMAO!

[auntiesuze.livejournal.com]

Heeee! I'll have to find the DVDs if only for the commentaries! :D