I really enjoyed the first episode, but it seemed like the storyline was rushed. The impression I gained was that the writers for Farscape had everything planned out at least a year ago and intended to continue the story over the course of a few more seasons, but because Scifi (known to others as the Stargate channel...) decided to allocate its precious funds to Scare Tactics and unwatchable monster movies they had no choice but to cram it all in a few hours, rather than a dozen or two. The effects are great, and, unlike so many other movies and shows, really have a unique aesthetic style to them. When the show flicks to a gleaming leviathan hanging over a cloud scarred ocean world or a command carrier eclipsing the sun I don't feel like I'm really there, nor do I feel like I'm watching through a television screen: the phenomena can only be compared to the viewing of an extraordinary painting.
Rygel had all the best lines. The young priest that they brought from the water world to the place with the temple seemed to be cracking up in every shot they had him in. I would have liked to see more development on virtually every aspect of the series, but the Scarran Emperor especially, as we only barely glimpsed his better, less-pure-evil side for a moment. The production values for the show are also the best in the business as far as I'm concerned, arguably better than anything that science fiction has ever given us. Unlike Stargate's head-crest-of-the-week there is real effort lavished onto every character in the series. People's faces open up to throbbing eyeballs, Scorpius's cylinder thing gets broken off, and we see beneath his skull.
In spite of this the show only barely departs from the cliche scifi that Stargate is firmly anchored to. Namely, there are still arbitrary blinking lights here and there, the Scarran Emperor sits on a giant revolving throne (which, when you think about it, just makes no sense at all, namely, how the hell did he get onto the thing in the first place?). Ships are commanded the same exact way they were in Star Trek, which would be far too inefficient for something so complicated as a starship. They say the Scarrans are conquering the galaxy (which, I'll remind, consists of I think a hundred billion stars? Some insane number at least...) and that the Peacekeepers can't fend them off in spite of the fact that the territory the Scarrans would have to control would be easy to nip at by even the weakest of guerillas.
But regardless of its faults, I loved every second. It's the best Science Fiction has, crucified and resurrected just like our beloved lord and saviour. Let's hope that when Aeryn has her kid the storyline is left open for a new series when all the main characters are finally killed off for good.1
1 I knew that Chianna and Dhargo weren't dead when they died...though the show takes a lot of twists and turns, the one thing it doesn't do is kill off the core characters, at least in such undramatic fashion (Jewel doesn't count). All we saw was Chianna shouting Dhargo's name, no kissing, no nothing. If they're going to go, the writers and director are sure to make their departure as dramatic as possible. It's Scifi Soap Opera, after all.
