FarscapeWeekly Farscape Tainted Lunch Coup by Clam episode review & analysis Ross Ruediger

Tainted Lunch
A possibly too-in-depth look at "Coup by Clam"
Ross Ruediger ¤ 21 September 2002

Part 1: Pre-Ramble
Part 2: The Episode
Part 3: Conclusions and Final Thoughts

Part 1: Pre-Ramble

Farting, vomiting, urination, cross-dressers, gender bending, homosexuality, masturbation, extortion, misogyny, a nightclub of ill repute and a heapin’ helpin’ of iridescent, lethal shellfish. The latest from cult film director John Waters? No silly…“Coup by Clam”! But it is possible first time Farscape writer Emily Skopov has a fixation with Waters’ works, and decided to pay a little homage. With some episodes of Andromeda under her belt, a Supervising Producer credit on Xena Warrior Princess, and also having written alongside David Kemper on Pacific Blue, it isn’t difficult to trace a path that brought her to write an adventure for our favorite space opera.

It seemed (at least to the regulars of the alt.tv.farscape newsgroup) that “Coup” was one of those pieces of Farscape that possessed the ability to divide fans right down the middle. Like a John Waters movie - love it or hate it, for better or worse – it’s a little slice o’ Scape you’ll never forget. That such a vile, crude piece of storytelling should come from the pen of a woman only adds to the oddness. I’d further comment on this, but my writing skills won’t afford me the ability to do so without sounding sexist. Suffice it say, Ms. Skopov understands the power of a good gastrointestinal gag as well as any man

Despite the logistics involved in telling the story, the plot is pretty threadbare. In the longstanding tradition of such Farscape classics as “Through the Looking Glass”, “Crackers Don’t Matter”, “Out of Their Minds” and “Eat Me”, it seems largely an excuse to unleash loads of silly jokes and/or weirdness, usually at the expense of the characters. Ian Watson helmed all four of those adventures and he returns to remix the record [see Season 4: Deejay DK's Mega Master FS Remix] he’s mastered time and again with “Coup by Clam”.

Jokes are subjective little animals, and this is important to keep in mind – what works for you may not work for me, and vice versa. Rick Reynolds is a unique stand-up comedian and his one-man show Only the Truth is Funny is one of the more poignant monologues I’ve ever witnessed. Within the act, he has a diatribe that goes something like this…

There are two kinds of people in the world. There are a**holes, and there are creeps; neither is better than the other - the two simply are. The easiest way to figure out which category people fit into is to note their reaction to this joke:

A soon-to-be father is in the hospital waiting for his first child to be born. Wife’s been in labor for hours. He paces back and forth, back and forth until finally the doctor emerges from surgery.

“Sir? We’ve delivered your baby…but there were some complications.”
“Oh my God…like what?”
“Well, sir – would you still love your baby if it had no arms?
He wails, “Oh, nooooo – I mean, yes of course I would - it’s my baby!”
“Well, sir - would you still love your baby if it had no legs?”
“Oh good Lord, yes, I’d love my baby no matter what! Just take me to see my child now!”
“Follow me, sir.”
The doctor takes the man to his wife, who holds the baby, covered in a blanket.
The father pulls it back to reveal only a giant eyeball! He cries out in agony, “Ahhhhhhhh!”
The doctor says, “It’s worse than that, sir…he’s blind.”

According to Rick Reynolds, if you laugh out loud at that joke, you are an a**hole. If you merely smirk in dissatisfaction, and shake your head, you are a creep. There are no exceptions.

According to Ross Ruediger, if you liked “Coup by Clam” and laughed at most of its jokes, you are an a**hole. If you found it a distasteful mess, you are a creep. There are no exceptions - and neither is better than the other.

For the record, this writer knew he was an a**hole long before viewing Ms. Skopov’s freshman Farscape effort.

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Part 2: The Episode
Part 3: Conclusions and Final Thoughts

Ross Ruediger is a Texas-based screenwriter and filmmaker. He can always be reached at lynchnut@hotmail.com