We're still not there yet in this episode, but the series' potential is becoming more apparent.
Plot Synopsis:
Farscape World has a summary here.
The Skinny:
Here we have another concept that sounds awesome on paper. The "benign aliens crash land on Earth and must gain the trust of some of the locals while simultaneously evading military capture" trope is pretty common in science fiction - the title references E.T. for a reason - and it's nice to see Farscape's writers attempt to invert the old cliche. The key word is "attempt," however. There are interesting moments here and there, but again, this episode is a bit blah compared to what we'll see in later offerings.
The few elements that, for me, stand out:
- The conversations between D'Argo and Aeryn are interesting on a number of levels. What these scenes say about the source of Peacekeeper bigotry is particularly striking. Aeryn looks down on Luxan military history the way the colonizer looks down on native tribal warfare. As far as she's concerned, D'Argo's people are uncivilized butchers who need to be suppressed for their own good. It's not simply that she fears catching Luxan cooties - though she clearly bristles at physical contact. It's that she feels her own culture is morally superior. (And that attitude is not solely a Peacekeeper trait, by the way. When D'Argo and Aeryn get around to discussing Crichton, they both agree that the human is a "savage".)
- Rygel's biting Aeryn is a lot more vicious than I originally remembered it to be. The little guy actually relishes swallowing a bloody chunk of Aeryn's arm flesh. Given that the supposed good guys are going to sink to ripping off limbs later, is this a hint of things to come?
- This is also the first time Moya's status as an intelligent creature is used as a critical plot point. Better Moya stories come later - stories in which we really feel her presence as a character in her own right. Nonetheless, it's good that the writers highlight her sentience so early in the run of the series. (An aside: I always name my laptops after Moya. As a matter of fact, I'm currently typing this review out on my brand new Moya-III. That's how much I love the gentle giant.)
Writing: 6.0
This script is, once again, rather slow, but it is an improvement over the pilot.
Acting: 6.5
We also see a slight uptick in the performances, though the actors are evidently still struggling to really get into the groove.
Message: 6.0
I suppose if you wanted to, you could read an anti-military theme in the plot of this episode, but I'm going to forgive the writers for that message, as it's pretty weak.
Highlights:
John: Yo! Aeryn! Let's go! (Aeryn doesn't seem to be in a big hurry to go anywhere.) Hey come on, this is your chance to flex those big Peacekeeper commando muscles out in the field.
Aeryn: Peacekeeper commando. Yeah. Really.
John: Is there a problem?
Aeryn: Oh... I... find and explain our top-secret tracking device to a bunch of escaped prisoners and then lead a mission to destroy it.
John: Well #1 - you're not leading the mission. #2 - those Peacekeepers you're so concerned about? They'd kill you right now. It's the Peacekeepers who --
Aeryn: -- turned on me for speaking up for you. I don't know what I was thinking.
John: Well back home, we call it being stand-up.
Aeryn: Well I stood up, and I no longer have a home.
John: Well join the club. (Ouch.)
John: It's kinda like Louisiana... or Dagobah. (Aeryn shoots him a perplexed look.) Dagobah - where Yoda lives.
Aeryn: Who's Yoda? (Heh. I love how the other characters respond to Crichton's Earth pop-culture references.)
D'Argo: Careful, Peacekeeper.
Aeryn: Peacekeeper. If I were still a Peacekeeper, would I be sitting on this planet next to you? (This she says with very clear disgust.) It's been long enough. I say we go.
D'Argo: Not quite yet. Those hounds are still out there. They could track us down in a second.
Aeryn: Oh fine. Let's just perch here and do nothing then.
D'Argo: Listen Aeryn - if you have a problem with my strategy --
Aeryn: Ha! I should have known that this would be Luxan strategy. It's probably why you did so well against the Grozoldians.
D'Argo: Grozoldians? What do you know of them?
Aeryn: Oh, everyone knows about that battle. How the Luxans went screaming into retreat so fast --
D'Argo: Those monsters murdered thousands of Luxan women and children. We had no alternative but to retreat. We soon took our revenge.
Aeryn: Hmm - and murdered thousands of their women and children.
D'Argo: We had no alternative to that either.
Aeryn: I'm sure the Grozoldians said the same thing. (A reminder that this is a pretty morally grey universe.)
Rygel: What is this thing I have to cut with?
Zhaan: Well you can't use a metal tool. I found that in D’Argo’s quarters. I believe it's made from bone.
Rygel: (repulsed) DOH! This is a Tokaar knife! Do you know what ceremony young Luxans males use this for? On themselves? At that... certain age?
Zhaan: Then I suspect that D'Argo will want it back unharmed. (LOL!)
Zhaan: You're afraid. You're afraid this great ship will die.
Rygel: I don't know what I'm doing. I've always had others to do for me. Even in prison I... (He trails off and sighs.) I don't even know how to hold a tool.
Zhaan: There's great pain in this for all of us isn't there? Come. We'll face the pain together. (Nice.)
No comments:
Post a Comment