Farscape - "Premiere" (TV Episode Review #12)

20 years ago, astronaut John Crichton was in his space module when he was hit by a radiation wave, got shot through a wormhole, and was lost in a distant part of the universe on a ship—a living ship—full of strange alien lifeforms.  Hunted by an insane military commander, he spent the next five years doing everything he can just looking for a way home.

The pilot episode of Farscape, literally titled “Premiere”, has a plot that is simple and straightforward.  It is fast-paced and nails everything needed to be told.  The story of “Premiere” can be summed up in two blurbs:

1. An astronaut from contemporary Earth is slung offworld in an experiment gone wrong and ends up in a distant part of the universe.

2. A ragtag band of fugitives are on the run from the law onboard Moya, a living biomechanical starship.

The opening three minutes of this episode set the tone without any time to waste (even if it may feel a bit rushed).  The protagonist, John Crichton, is established perfectly: he is a scientist and astronaut who is testing the possibility of faster-than-light travel onboard his customized space module, Farscape-1.  He has a high school friend who assisted him and a veteran astronaut father who believes in him.  Back in 1999, NASA’s space shuttle program was entering its final decade of operation, so Farscape-1 gets launched from a space shuttle.  It feels quite dated 20 years later, but at the turn of the millennium the space shuttle was still the gold standard of space travel, and thus it was expected that this would be the vehicle to launch John’s module.

As a whole, “Premiere” mainly serves as an introduction to the Farscape storyline, universe, and characters.  Characters’ personalities are established immediately, and they say a lot about their backgrounds.  Ka D’Argo is a Luxan, a militaristic race of fine warriors, who lost his honor by disregarding his chain of command; he is headstrong, brash, and cares about his own honor, but he does have a softer side.  Zhaan is a calm and collected priestess who might be hiding a bit more about her past than just being “an anarchist.”  Rygel XVI, the exiled former Dominar of the Hynerian Empire, may be a deposed monarch, but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t act like he is still on the throne: prideful, self-centered, and self-entitled.

Much is hinted about the culture of the Peacekeepers, the militaristic force that is chasing Moya, through just the character of Aeryn Sun.  A Sebacean Peacekeeper pilot that Moya pulls onboard, she is initially loyal to her command, stubborn and uncompromising.  Born and raised a Peacekeeper, she knows no other life but that of an obedient soldier and thus has a narrow perspective on the universe. For instance, there is a scene where she asks John, “What is compassion?”, because such a basic concept as compassion is completely foreign to her.  Her upbringing, her unquestioning loyalty, her inability to understand any outsider perspectives—these personality traits tell much about how the Peacekeepers groom their soldiers from childhood into fighting forces: by depriving them of their morality.

In just its first episode, the Farscape universe is already brought to life by its incredible special effects, which hold up extraordinarily well.  While some of the CGI looks a little dated to 1999, overall it looks very convincing, excellent for sci-fi television at the time.  Also, the CGI is mainly utilized for wider shots, such as the large space battle in the first half.  More impressive, however, are the practical effects, a very valuable craft fully realized by the Jim Henson Company.  The set design of Moya is unique—unconventional and idiosyncratic, she very much feels like an alien ship, let alone a biomechanical one.  The puppetry of the alien creatures, such as Rygel and Pilot, are nothing short of masterful; their body movements and facial expressions look so authentic, they look like real creatures.  Also commendable is the heavy prosthetic makeup and costuming for D’Argo, whose actor Anthony Simcoe can still emote and show facial expressions underneath it all.  In an age where CGI has become the norm in realizing alien creatures, it is refreshing to be reminded of how realistic practical effects can still look when done right.

In the midst of it all, John is now a fish out of water. He is disoriented by his rapid-speed encounters with the Peacekeepers and the fugitives on Moya for the first time; and thus, so is the audience.  Like John, you’ll likely be thinking the same question that he is thinking when he first arrives: “What the heck is going on here?”  As an audience surrogate, John serves as a touchstone between the familiarity of Earth and this strange foreign setting that he enters for the first time; and we discover this new environment, piece by piece, through John’s eyes.  With this earthly anchor, the universe of Farscape becomes easier for the audience to digest.

On this very day, Farscape celebrates its 20th anniversary.  Right from the get-go, the series showed so much promise because “Premiere” is such a great pilot episode.  It does exactly what a TV pilot should do, and then more: unpacking the setting, characters, and conflict in an inventive way, all in a 50-minute runtime.  While the series never achieved mainstream popularity, Farscape has a rightfully earned status as an essential classic of not only science fiction television, but of 2000s television.