Thoughts on Farscape

After finishing Battlestar Galactica, I felt a sudden swell of sadness. I needed a new engrossing science fiction series to watch. To fill that void I have turned to Farscape. I know it probably seems like I’m late to the game — I am being that it aired over ten years ago — but I must say I’m really enjoying it.

I’m almost finished season one and I already know this series has me hooked and wanting more. I love all of the major characters so far. John, Aeryn, Ka D’Argo, Rygel, and Zhaan are all interesting and complex people. I thought I knew all of the characters pretty well by the tenth episode, however that assumption has proven wrong.

All of the characters are very flawed — as good ones tend to be. Due to certain circumstances, the inhabitants of the Leviathan starship called Moya are forced to cooperate and work with one another. Each is vying for their own survival and freedom, and while that is true, to varying degrees these are all selfish people. Some of them end up doing backhanded things to their shipmates, things that I don’t think I could bring myself to do — then again, who’s to say given the proper set of circumstances? That’s what’s brilliant about good story telling like Farscape. You need multifaceted characters to really bring any story to life — not just science fiction.

I’m looking forward to finishing this series, and I imagine there are going to be quite the twists and turns in seasons two, three, and four. I plan on posting some concluding thoughts after I finish.