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Farscape Season 1 Limited Edition
01/11/2004 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
DVD: Hallmark KLT8910E. Price: £99.99 (UK) although it is possible to get it from half to two-thirds cheaper, so shop around for the best deal. stars: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Virginia Hey and Gigi Edgley. check out websites: www.farscape.com, www.henson.com and www.kult-tv.co.uk
If, like me, you held back getting the individual pairs of episodes of this series, then this is a superb way to get all 22 episodes of 'Farscape' season one in this 10 DVD set with all the extras associated with it in a nice Velcro sealed box. If you've got them separately, then unless you have a fetish for different pictures on the DVDs, then you've got everything already. This reviewer does recommend that you check for marks on the DVDs before settling down to watch though. I found one on one of my DVDs that didn't really budge sufficiently to play the Chiana intro episode 1:15 'Durka Returns'. Although I can't comment as to whether this happens on more than one set, send back rather than try cleaning yourself.
That aside, I hope I'm talking to the converted here that 'Farscape' was one of the bright lights in the SF viewing calendar at the turn of this century. This complete run of season one re-enforces this and watching it again, it's interesting to see everything getting onto its feet. As actor Ben Browder comments in one of the commentaries, the series really hits stride by the 17th episode but the first 16 aren't that bad either. There is also a multitude of voice-overs from all but Hey and Edgley about the series, together with features on many of the aspects of creating the characters and set-design that should keep you watching for a decent month. Anthony Simcoe says to cool down he used to just wear shorts in his D'argo make-up. It's a shame that we didn't see this sort of human-Luxan hybrid for the amusement effect then just be told about it. Then again, it's still rather odd seeing him in make-up talking with his regular voice in some of the extra features after only reading about it in interviews. This isn't displeasure at that fact, by the way, but a demonstration of what he brings to bringing the alien to life.
'Farscape' follows the exploits of astronaut John Crichton (actor Ben Browder) when his experimental spacecraft is sucked through a wormhole to the other side of the galaxy and narrowly missing being destroyed in a Peacekeeper attack. He escapes with a motley set of prisoners on the living Leviathan spaceship Moya and one of the Peacekeepers who got caught in its starburst escape manoeuvre. After that, things were never likely to stay the same and we enter a far more dangerous and unpredictable reality than we've seen for a long time. Unlike other TV SF, it is circumstances rather than desire which keeps these characters together, not to mention the desire for individual freedom. Oh, did I also mention that towards the end of the season, we also meet that nice Peacekeeper Scorpius who eventually rules the roost for the first time.
This is the start of a quality TV SF series that if you missed the first time is well worth your effort to dabble in and watch from the start. It might only have lasted 4 seasons but is something that is definitely worth savouring again and again.
GF Willmetts
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