Re: Farscape Re: Nerd Level

Erik von Nein · Post by **Erik von Nein** » 2012-02-04 02:23am

Uh, there's like one episode mid-season 1 that matters, as it sets up the conflict for the rest of the series, then like the last three episodes matter, then it's more or less smooth sailing form there.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2012-02-04 02:24am

yeah i have totoally zero idea when i cut in a second time; people i didn't know were engaged in ongoing plots i didn't understand

but there was no king authur so better than b5 :V
speaking of which skimming eps while ripping suggests to me that s2 was the best quality/failure ratio of b5

Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba · Post by **Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba** » 2012-02-04 02:26am

Stark wrote:so nua can you give me a curve on the start of the show

because i watched it when it aired and by the third episode or osmething i was driven away by the horror

but now you tell me ep 2 is the pinnacle of horror

well

you know how the first season of b5 is basically star trek but worse than star trek, and then it was completely different every season after that

most of farscape is basically star trek but better than star trek - more interesting production design, characters, humor, subversive elements, and when it wants to introduce a character that's an evil alien wizard it doesn't bother saying he's a hyper-evolved energy man it's just like 'yeah that guy's a wizard i guess magic exists and no one really cares'

it gets more arc-based as the show goes on but it never becomes b5, so if you're not interested in lots of fairly decent but lightweight conceptual science fiction standalone episodes it may not be for you

but the first batch of episodes is probably the most generic and dull, since the characters are still essentially cutouts and the writers haven't figured out the beats yet and most of the stuff is just filmed in forests 5min outside of sydney using atrocious lenses and it just looks cheap and generic

it's in probably the second half of the first season that it picks up steam, and they start going for more ambitious location and setwork, and then i'd say it only gets better up to and into the 3rd and 4rth seasons

but yeah, i remember watching the second episode of the show after i bought the dvd sets and being like 'wait are most episodes like this? have i made a huge fucking mistake?'

fortunately it is the dullest episode, though that stone one i mentioned is the out-and-out worst (it wins out on not-dull level by being set on some strange alien graveworld, instead of 'some trees and a farmhouse it cost 8 dollars to film in')

i forget which of the first few episodes are worth watching at all, and i don't have my dvd set here to refresh my memory on which are good

but i'm confident that you could jump in at episode 7, PK Tech Girl, which is the first episode that i can recall with anything more than the vaguest images (this is a good thing), without missing much, and after that point most of the plots or subplots start to kick off

stofsk or others can correct me if i'm wrong

Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba · Post by **Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba** » 2012-02-04 02:32am

and looking at the list on wikipedia almost all of the episodes after pk tech girl i remember being at least decent and some were quite good

i did come into them biased in their favour, of course

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2012-02-04 02:33am

stark farscape starts off slow, but some of the early episodes are valuable as they help establish the characters

but generally there are only a handful of episodes that start off the main arc, NUA's already mentioned stay clear of the second episode I, E.T. and Jeremiah Chricton was already mentioned as being pretty bad

I'd need to think about what other episodes to avoid though, but basically teh second half of the season is where the action's at

as for B5 i'm just gonna come right out and say it the problem is that JMS decided to write the whole fucking thing himself

Erik von Nein · Post by **Erik von Nein** » 2012-02-04 02:39am

Yeah, PK Tech Girl's kinda important, I guess. D'argo's greatest inspiration for life is in the atrocious "TGIF, Again," sadly. But it's talked about later, so there's that. Oh, and some race in Ep. 4 shows up later, but they're "RARGH mercenaries," so yeah.

I'd say screw most of the first season, watch PK Tech Girl and most of the episodes after. Well, except J. Chriton. Got that was awful.

Erik von Nein · Post by **Erik von Nein** » 2012-02-04 02:40am

The Flax and Rhapsody in Blue are kinda bad-ish, mostly because RiB is Zhaan centric and ... ugh. Grating.

Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba · Post by **Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba** » 2012-02-04 02:42am

jeremiah crichton is just terribly mediocre

and kind of hilarious since they made the tribespeople multi-ethnic to avoid any accusations of racism

and since the production was so cheap it looks like crichton just accidentally stumbled onto the set of survivor more than anything else

but i, e.t. is the only really bad episode of the first season

some of the first few are really forgettable and mediocre

and of course the one with maldiss is ridiculous, because he is a patently ridiculous villain (but the episode has enough redeeming features for me to recommend watching it)

edit: yeah tgif, again has some good parts even if the episode as a whole is meh

and back and back and back to the future SOUNDS from wiki's description like it might have been decent, but i actually can't remember it at all

so i guess i will leave it to stark's discretion

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2012-02-04 05:11am

You need to see the following S1 episodes:

- PK Tech Girl
- Durka Returns
- A Bug's Life

After that, you have Nerve and then can watch every episode. So, two to three episodes it is and then you can watch the rest of Farscape without a problem.

Crazedwraith · Post by **Crazedwraith** » 2012-02-04 05:34am

I would add Premiere to that

But then my taste is not that discerning apart from I, E.T. I'm fine with season 1. I even like some of the concepts behind Jeremiah Crichton. Though the execution is well crap.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2012-02-04 05:37am

Oh yeah, Premiere as well.

Crichton may be the only one who goes from jerk to hero via the way of degradation and creepy stuff.

Erik von Nein · Post by **Erik von Nein** » 2012-02-04 05:44am

What about "A Human Reaction"? Or "Throne for a Loss"? Or "Til the Blood Runs Clear"? Or "The Flax"?

Or you could ignore three of those and just realize they're mercenaries when those races invariably come back. It makes viewing season 2's ending a little easier. But "A Human Reaction" is where the entirety of the series' conflict comes from.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2012-02-04 05:47am

None of them are really necessary and it is not as if their actions are not self-explanatory.

Erik von Nein · Post by **Erik von Nein** » 2012-02-04 05:55am

Yeah, thus what I said.

But "A Human Reaction" is kinda necessary. The brief blurb you get in "The Hidden Memory" doesn't really cut it too well, and it makes "Won't get Fooled Again" less amusing.

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2012-02-04 06:08am

Uh yeah, you have to watch 'A Human Reaction'. Not only does it introduce a pretty major and important faction, it is also a damn good sci-fi tale in its own right. One of my favourites.

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2012-02-04 01:53pm

Moved to a more appropriate forum IMO.

Post by **Vympel** » 2012-02-04 09:50pm

I watched all of Farscape on Stofsk's recommendation last year. It was pretty good, but it does take over half of the first season to find its way. Even in the better seasons, there are some stinkers here and there, but not enough to change my impression of it as good, entertaining and funny science fiction.

And the puppets are awesome.

Stark wrote:Logh is forever ruined by nerds 'discovering' it a few years ago

Indeed, the worst thing that could possibly happen to a series is people becoming aware of its existence!

Dread Not · Post by **Dread Not** » 2012-02-04 10:14pm

Personally I thought the show got genuinely good at DNA Mad Scientist onwards. There's a couple of stinkers in the first season afterwards that can be skipped like Bone to Be Wild, but generally it's good stuff. The second season was even more consistently good and I'd say the finale was where the series hit its peak. I don't think it was ever that entertaining again, but it still had its moments.

For the first season I'd say the episodes that shouldn't be skipped for either story or quality reasons are:

-1) Premiere
-7) PK Tech Girl
-9) DNA Mad Scientist
-10) They've Got a Secret
-11) Till the Blood Runs Clear (Even ignoring the mercenaries return, they go back to the planet in season 3 so it helps to have seen the episode)
-15) Durka Returns
-16) A Human Reaction
-17) Through the Looking Glass
-18) A Bug's Life
-19) Nerve
-20) The Hidden Memory
-22) Family Ties

Alkaloid · Post by **Alkaloid** » 2012-02-05 12:09am

I'd say the Flax and That Old Black Magic, not because they're really important, but the Flax because it's bloody funny and explains why no one has just shot Rygel yet, and TOBM if you don't find Zahn annoying becaus she gets about 3 episodes focused on her in the whole series, and this is the first and probably most important one. Also Maldis is a fun bad guy.

sirocco · Post by **sirocco** » 2012-02-05 02:30pm

Alkaloid wrote:I'd say the Flax and That Old Black Magic, not because they're really important, but the Flax because it's bloody funny and explains why no one has just shot Rygel yet, and TOBM if you don't find Zahn annoying becaus she gets about 3 episodes focused on her in the whole series, and this is the first and probably most important one. Also Maldis is a fun bad guy.

I think that one of the reason I love this show is that I still wonder why they didn't shoot each other up until the end.

Dread Not · Post by **Dread Not** » 2012-02-06 05:17am

Alkaloid wrote:I'd say the Flax and That Old Black Magic, not because they're really important, but the Flax because it's bloody funny and explains why no one has just shot Rygel yet, and TOBM if you don't find Zahn annoying becaus she gets about 3 episodes focused on her in the whole series, and this is the first and probably most important one. Also Maldis is a fun bad guy.

Meh, the Flax was decent but mostly for the John/Aeryn interaction. The jokes didn't do a whole lot for me. Otherwise I don't think there's much to be missed by skipping it. That Old Black Magic might be worth watching if only because it's the only time you see Crais in person until the end of the season, and what he does at the end has ramifications later on. I'd say Rhapsody in Blue is the better episode to watch in terms of Zhaan's development. Her friendship with Crichton is deepened by its events which is subtly referenced here and there later on, and you also learn the details of her back-story. I also don't think it's a bad episode like Erik suggests, though I never had a problem with Zhaan. She's not a great character, but she's not a Neelix or a Wesley Crusher.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2012-02-06 06:22am

Trust me guys, Old Black Magic and the Flax is not what you want to recommend to somebody who wants to see if Farscape can deliver meaningful stories. Both are cheesy to the extreme.

Seriously, apart from Nerve and the following, S1 has a lack of that.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2012-02-06 10:15am

Trust me guys, Old Black Magic and the Flax is not what you want to recommend to somebody who wants to see if Farscape can deliver meaningful stories. Both are cheesy to the extreme.

Spoiler

On the other hand I am one of those who found whole of Season One watchable. Some like the "Pacfic Islander" episode Stofsk mocked were indeed dreadful but overall I found Season One very solid. This is unlike my expouser to DS9 where I found most episodes very slow upto Season 3. It was only on the internet I read people apparently think Season One was slow and weak in quality.

Given how peoples tastes vary your and others mileage may vary of course.

Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba · Post by **Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba** » 2012-02-06 10:37am

I think That Old Black Magic needs to be seen, both for its setup of a recurring villain, and its importance to Crais. It is silly, but if that's a dealbreaker then Farscape is just a bad choice of show.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2012-02-06 10:51am

I think http://www.farscapeworld.com/ does a very fine job of telling you what episodes to watch. Go through their Season Guides for a quick overview of what to watch and why. Or see the episode guide. I found their scores for each episode accurate enough and after watching an episode for their reviews are an interesting read full of insights on the series.

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