If It's Friday, It Must Be Farscape

Well, OK, by the time I get this written up and posted, it'll technically be Saturday, but why quibble?

As usual, Spoilers Ahoy!

Man, every time I think I can't possibly get more hooked on this show, I turn out to be wrong. I love these characters, I love watching them interact, I love watching the relationships between them change and develop and take steps forwards and backwards. It's not just the soap opera kind of stuff, either, the "is she really pregnant, and who's the father, and who on the ship knows about it?" and yadda yadda yadda, although I have to admit that I do take an almost guilty sort of pleasure in that kind of thing, when it's presented to me in the right sort of context. But, no, it's the way they talk to each other, the way they crack jokes, the way they pull together to work as a team or fall apart under stress. It's all so very believable, in a wonderfully messy, utterly "human" sort of way. These weird, funky aliens are just so much more real than 99.9% of the characters on television. It's great.

And then there's the story. Actually, you know, it's interesting: the plot of this particular episode was absolutely bog-standard for TV sci-fi. Yeah, there's a giant space plant eating the ship. We've seen that a zillion times, right? But although if, say, Enterprise pulled that kind of a plot I'd probably be yawning, with Farscape it had me hanging on the edge of my seat. And the reason for that, to me, is obvious: Farscape has proven, time and time again, that it is simply not a safe, predictable kind of show. I find myself completely convinced that absoutely anything can happen at any time. The characters really can die. The heroes can fail. Horrible things, things that shake the foundations of the characters' universe, can happen, and those things will have consequences. Moya could have been eaten by the plant. John could have dropped Chiana into the fan. Realistically, it may not have been very likely, but deep in my gut I believed that it was possible. It's amazing what a difference that makes. And how very unfamiliar a feeling it is.

OK, the usual random, disconnected thoughts here:

At least they've finally started to clear up the mystery surrounding Aeryn's pregnancy. I definitely still have questions though (and not necessarily just the questions that Aeryn and John have). My biggest confusion has to do with the fact that she doesn't look pregnant. OK, they've been pretty fuzzy on exactly what the time factor is here, but I figure it has to have been several months since the command carrier, at least. I dunno what the gestation period is for Sebaceans, but shouldn't she really be showing by now?

It occurs to me that, given what Aeryn has told us, Velorek may be the father. I actually think that would be kind of nice, though John may not see it that way.

There's still the other big mystery, of course. With every passing episode, I become more and more convinced that something seriously strange happened to Pilot and Moya inside that wormhole. But I have no frelling idea what. I suspect it wasn't anything good, though.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but that old woman is really starting to grow on me. This ep, she was funny, she was useful, and she was actually a somewhat sympathetic character. Wow. And Sikozu... Sikozu is still annoying, but she's annoying in an interesting, even likeable way. I wasn't at all sure what to make of her at first -- heck, I'm still not sure what to make of her -- but I'm beginning to think that her addition to the character mix has definite merit. I'm really looking forward to seeing where the relationship between her and Scorpius goes... She certainly seems quite smitten with him. Personally, I think they'd make kind of a cute couple! OK, scary, but cute. In a freaky sort of way.

Speaking of Scorpius, I wonder what he's going to do now that they've spilled all his coolant juice? Or is Noranti going to be able to whip him up a new batch? By the way, catch the look on his face when the wormhole opens up. He hasn't given up that obsession any more than Crichton has.

So, D'Argo is the new captain? Hmm, that's really not a result I would have expected (and definitely not the way I would have voted if I were one of Moya's crew), but the more I think about it, the more I think he's a good choice. (Interesting that nobody voted for Chiana. If the writers were going for a non-obvious choice, she would have been the one I'd have expected. Then again, she did seem to be having some trouble keeping it together this ep. Poor Pip.)

I have never, ever, been that excited in all my life by a preview. I think I actually screamed. Oh, OK, I did scream. Several times. But it was definitely a happy scream. Despite the fact that I really do agree with the logic that says dead characters should stay dead lest it cheapen the drama, I really want Zhaan back, for a whole host of reasons. I'd even love just to see her again, however briefly. I have a weird, paranoid suspicion, though, that perhaps that "return of one of Farscape's most popular characters" thing, Zhaan's voice notwithstanding, is actually a clever bit of misdirection and they're going to bring back Crais or something instead. Nahhh... Rumour and speculation has it that the next episode will feature the return of Stark, though there's no way he's the character being referred to, because, face it, he was never that popular. But if Zhaan is back, alive or dead, that would seem to be a pretty good indication that rumor has it right. Yep, the logical conclusion would be that he found her! Yay, Stark! I always believed the voices in his head were real! Of course, if Stark is coming back, that opens up the verrrry interesting question of how he's going to react to finding Scorpius on Moya. My guess would be "homicidally."

OK, I could go on and on and on... Actually, I did go on and on and on, didn't I? But I believe I will stop now. This is me, calmly making an effort to be patient and wait for next week...