Greetings, Sebaceans!

I’m sure that the one many of you who read this site are avid “Battlestar Galactica” fans.  And I’m sure that you’ve already seen the series finale that aired last Friday.  I’ve heard that it was some incredible stuff.  It’s definitely sparked many a debate online as well as in live discussion.

I’m not here to talk about that.

Instead, I want to draw your attention to a momentous occasion that I, myself, had been completely oblivious to until last week:

This year marks the ten year anniversary of the sci-fi television show “Farscape”.

It’s hard to believe that this wonderfully written show began ten years ago.  Still much harder to believe that it got cancelled so suddenly after just four seasons (and on a cliffhanger, no less – thanks a lot Sci Fi SyFy Sci Fi channel).  Luckily, after an enormous backlash from the show’s fanbase, the creators were given the green light to return with a four hour mini-series that resolved the cliffhanger, as well as tied up a few of the other loose threads that had been running throughout the original series.

Just a quick plot synopsis of the show – American astronaut John Crichton accidentally falls through a wormhole with his shuttle during a test flight in space.  He finds himself flung halfway across the universe, ending up on a living prison ship with three escaped prisoners and an intergalactic police commando.  Add to that another police commando (whose brother he accidentally killed upon exiting the wormhole) hot on his heels with a thirst for vengeance, and you have yourself a fun and well written little show.

The funny thing is, I didn’t even get into “Farscape” when it first started airing on the Sci Fi SyFy Sci Fi Channel.  I was only watching it for one show – “Sliders”, which aired at 9 PM.  Since “Farscape” aired an hour earlier, I skipped it entirely.  I was aware of it, but was unfortunately ignorant of the spacey (not Kevin) wonders contained within.

Nope, instead I continued to watch a show that got dumped by Fox Slide itself further into the toilet… without a timer to get itself back out.

When “Sliders” finally got cancelled, I started to see what else Sei Fei Si Feye Sci Fi had to offer.  That was when the ghost of Jim Henson appeared, sat beside me, smiled… and smacked me dead in the face while yelling at me that I should be watching the “Farscape” marathon that was being shown that Saturday.

So I did.  And boy-howdy, was I glad I did.

“Farscape” turned out to be a pretty incredible show.  Muliple-episode story arcs contained within season-long story arcs.  A colorful and well developed cast of characters.  Henson-designed make-up effects and muppetry that didn’t look fake.  Adventure, excitement, and a half-dozen other things that a Jedi would crave if he or she watched this show.

“Farscape” would become my new favorite show, as I eagerly awaited for each Friday to arrive so I could veg out between 8 and 9 PM on the Sye Phi Soleil Moon Frye Sci Fi Channel.

For four seasons the show didn’t disappoint.  Each episode delivered a creative mixture of plot, character development, drama, action, and humor.  Perfectly balanced, this show could have easily gone on for quite some time.

But, like I said before, the Scie channel with the Saturn logo (not to be confused with the car manufacturer) decided it was too expensive to continue to produce.  And despite the fact that the show was contracted for five seasons, the plug was prematurely pulled after four.

One lucky break and a mini-series later, and “Farscape” is still a hot issue within its fanbase, as well as with the creators and actors who participated in it.  And now with the tenth anniversary upon us, we have reason to celebrate.  Already there are several new comic book mini-series being planned, the first of which is already up to issue number three.  The best thing about these minis is that they are being written by creator Rockne S. O’Bannon himself, are considered canon, and pick up immediately where the television mini-series left off.

The other great news is that the creators are also bringing “Farscape” to the internet as a live action series of webisodes that will also tie in to the original program, as well as the comic book minis.  These webisodes will include participation from the original cast members.

So, while all the BSG fans are lamenting that their frakking show has met its final fin, “Farscape” fans can rejoice as their frelling show continues to hold on for its tenth cycle in one form or another, continuing to share the wonders it has seen.

Happy Anniversary, “Farscape”!

The Don is trapped on a living dead ship.  Oh frell…

Stumble it!

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 6:20 am and is filed under American Comics, Donnie Sturges, Fandom, Internet, Television, events. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.