Farscape is genre television at its most ambitious,
inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5 and the continuing success
of the Star Trek franchise, but taking a visual and conceptual leap
beyond those shows. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics, and
state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the Farscape
concept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely
original. "Premiere" introduces the characters and the basic premise:
American astronaut John Crichton is flung through a wormhole and comes out in the
midst of an interstellar prison escape on the other side of the universe. When
the galactic cops (called "Peacekeepers") mark him as the new public enemy
number one, Crichton is forced to ally himself with the convicts: hulking
warrior D'Argo, blue-skinned priest Zhaan,
fugitive peacekeeper Aeryn, exiled king Rygel,
and Pilot, the giant insect-like nerve center of their living ship, Moya.
|