Farscape episode review Premiere 1.01

Premiere
Season 1, episode 1

The first scene of the series gives us John Crichton (Ben Browder)in a wild, flower-print shirt, sitting on the hood of a red convertible and looking quite serious. We then learn he was actually AWOL from pre-flight quarantine during that moment, but apparently without consequence. Crichton has a nice little moment with his father, in which we learn that the younger Crichton has definitely struggled with being the son of a man who once walked on the moon. But we see also see the faith the father has in his son, despite John's nervousness.

The set up for the shuttle flight (and the entire series) is a mission to test Crichton's theory, developed with his life-long friend DK, on using atmospheric friction to boost a vessel's speed exponentially. I suppose this is meant to be a variation of the gravitational-slingshot mechanism which has become a sci-fi chestnut, but at least that concept is scientifically sound. I'm not so sure about this atmospheric friction idea, though -- but I'm not a physicist so I'll just suspend my disbelief on this one. Skeptics may have a bit more trouble with this issue. Things move a bit slowly until the shuttle "Collaroy" lifts off (actual space shuttle footage, wonderfully integrated), and Crichton begins his test run. Alas, bad timing! Unusual solar activity has sent an unknown type of electro-magnetic wave hurtling toward Crichton just as he is reaching maximum speed. The wave hits, and Crichton is sucked into a wormhole, and the adventures begin.

The effect of the wave hitting Crichton's module and the trip through the wormhole are as a nicely done as any such scene in a typical scifi feature, and the scene he pops into on the other side is equally cinematic. His (and our) first glimpse of Moya, under attack by dozens of Peacekeeper Prowlers as she attempts to flee, is a truly breathtaking moment. Again, timing is everything -- the escapees aboard Moya detect Crichton's craft and bring it aboard in the hope that he can help them somehow, but not before a near-miss with a Prowler sends it crashing into an asteroid.

Little do the ex-convicts realize how completely helpless Crichton is in this new universe. When we first see Zhaan (Virginia Hey) and D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe) they are both working furiously to free Moya from her control collar so that she can flee. Zhaan is working with super-speed, and she is so stunning the effect is almost hypnotic. D'Argo's approach is more typically Luxan (read: violent), and he is ripping out control threads without regard for what they actually control. By some coincidence, D'Argo rips out the correct thread and Zhaan is able to key in the command codes, and Moya starburst out of immediate danger.

During all this, Crichton is standing understandably bemused: real live aliens, on a huge ship, in the middle of a battle out of the best of Star Wars. He can't understand anything until one of the DRDs (tiny maintenance drones) injects him with something. We later learn these are "translator microbes," and this is the second bit of mumbo-jumbo that I just had to give them a pass on. No matter how many theories you come up with, the translater microbes idea is flawed: "they colonize the base of your brain and enable us to understand each other." Huh? How's that again? Nevermind... moving right along, this is our introduction to Rygel (voiced by Jonathan Hardy), as well. He hurls some particularly nasty mucous at Crichton, setting the tone for this set of episodes: Crichton is abused by the rest of the crew. D'Argo knocks him out with a tongue sting just as Crichton starts to protest his treatment by Rygel.

During Moya's escape, a single Prowler was dragged through starburst with them. They bring the small fighter aboard and imprison the pilot with Crichton, whom they assume to be Sebacean until they learn otherwise. The fighter pilot is Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), and she immediately flattens Crichton (continuing the abuse trend) and demands his name, rank, and regiment. She, too, thinks he's Sebacean. Eventually the two are brought down to the galley to eat, ("Eat what?" Crichton asks, when D'Argo says, "It's time to eat..." D'Argo laughs a just-right menacing laugh and lets Crichton think he's on the menu for a few minutes!) and Aeryn is caught trying to palm a fork. Crichton reveals a glimmer of competence by succeeding where Aeryn failed. They pick the lock and escape, making it to Aeryn's prowler.

Moya was damaged in the escape attempt and they locate a commerce planet to obtain the necessary supplies to repair her. Aeryn and Crichton escape in her Prowler and make it down to the surface, where Aeryn contacts Crais, captain of the Command Carrier, who arrives shortly. When Crais orders Crichton's capture and execution, Aeryn respectfully disagrees and defends Crichton. Crais is having none of this, and declares Aeryn "irreversibly contaminated", and condemns her to death as well. Aeryn, John, and D'Argo find themselves as prisoners of the Peacekeepers until John distracts them during a search and grabs one their weapons. The ensuing scene gives us one of the recurring themes of the series, indeed one of the most powerful and compelling themes ever explored to such depth. Aeryn does not want to go back with the escaped prisoners, but John knows she will die if she remains. She protests that being a Peacekeeper is her whole life, and he tells her simply, "You can be more." Finally, Aeryn agrees to go back with John and D'Argo.

Back up on Moya, repairs are being effected but Crais is closing in with the command carrier, frag cannons at the ready. Moya cannot starburst again because of the damage she sustained. The tense closing scene, with Pilot counting down as the command carrier closes the distance to come with weapons range, takes a spectacularly unexpected turn when Crichton frantically asks for "Paper! I need paper," and ends up scribbling equations madly on the floor. He pulls a Spock maneuver and guesstimates everything perfectly; Aeryn is forced into piloting the ship through the sling-shot maneuver, and Moya whizzes past the stunned Peacekeepers in the nick of time. Yes, it was predictable that John's theory would be put to the test to save Moya, but I will never forget the image of John, on his knees in Moya's command, writing across the floor as those frag cannons are bearing down on them.

Like most series premieres, this episode had to cover an enormous amount of material and introduce all of the main characters as well. We didn't get any depth on anything, really, just the high points. But the high points were more than enough to hook me. The production values alone would have me tuning in to see those awesome effects from week to week; the exotic characters, particularly Zhaan, and the balanced script were bonuses. For once we are given a protagonist who is not a military man, and is an outsider to boot (shades of the original "Kung Fu" television series, there.) Crichton doesn't walk in and take over; in fact, in the slingshot scene the only thing that gets the crew to agree to try it is Zhaan's statement, "It appears the only alternative is death." The fish-out-of-water theme can get old quickly, but Crichton is a quick study and excels in humanity's true strength, adaptability. The possibilities for growth and change presented in the Premiere are myriad, not just for Crichton but for Aeryn. Other intriguing hooks are planted as well: just why were Zhaan and D'Argo imprisoned, anyway? Is Rygel really a deposed monarch? How are they going to stay one step ahead of Crais, with all his superior technology and other resources?

On the downside, having crammed all the material in that they did, the episode couldn't help seeming rushed. Then there are the scientific fumbles, the Farscape maneuver and the translator microbes. Neither one was adequately explained and since we're going to be seeing (or hearing about) a lot of both of them, that's unfortunate at best. All in all, though, these problems are far outweighed by the many superior aspects of the production, leaving me wholly satisfied.