Too Much Bad News

Last month, we lost Caroline John, who played Liz Shaw on Doctor Who. A few days ago, it was Mary Tamm, the first Romana. Today, I've heard that Jonathan Hardy, who was the voice of Rygel on Farscape has died. That last one is particularly shocking to me; I've become sadly used to losing fondly-remembered Doctor Who actors in recent years, but Farscape is another matter. Surely anyone who could play someone as stubbornly survival-oriented as Rygel must live forever? Surely?

Two Great Tastes

It seems Farscape's Ben Browder is going to be making a guest appearance on Doctor Who next season. Clearly somebody in this universe loves me!

I Know I've Remarked On This Phenomenon Before, But I Think I Bears Repeating.

You know, I was all set earlier to make a blog post about what an incredibly annoying day I've been having. But then, over my long-delayed lunch, I sat down and watched an episode of Farscape. (I've been slowly re-watching it and have just hit the end of season 1.) Man, that show always makes me feel so much better about my own life. Sure, I had to do some yardwork today, and it was hot and tiring and left me with trembly muscles. But, hey, it didn't involve exposure to the vacuum of space! Yes, I had to run a bunch of errands, but none of them ended with people shooting at me. My house may need a gazillion repairs and my car may have had battery problems again, but neither of them is psychotic... or pregnant... or on fire. Lunch may have been delayed, but at least I had more than crackers to eat. I may still have the remnants of a cold, but it's nothing compared to that plague that makes your skin slough off. No one is trying to kill me, enslave me, or dissect my brain. And none of my mortal enemies have moved in with me. Heck, I don't even have any mortal enemies.

Contemplating all this has now made me feel downright cheerful. I honestly do think that this is one of the important functions of fiction.

My Life According to Farscape

This is an entertaining meme, and I was encouraged to post my answers to it here, so...

Using only EPISODE names from ONE SCI FI TV SHOW, cleverly answer these questions.

Are you a male or a female?
PK Tech Girl

Describe yourself:
I, E.T.

How do you feel:
Mental as Anything

Describe where you currently live:
Terra Firma

If you could go anywhere where would you go?
...Different Destinations

Your favorite form of transportation:
Through the Looking Glass

Your best friend is:
Out of Their Minds

What’s the weather like:
Meltdown

Favorite time of day:
Bad Timing

If your life was a TV show, it would be called:
The Way We Weren't

What is life to you:
A Constellation of Doubt

Your fear:
Season of Death

What is the best advice you have to give:
Dream a Little Dream

Thought for the Day:
Crackers Don't Matter

How I would like to die:
What Was Lost: Resurrection

My soul’s present condition:
Losing Time

My motto:
Thank God It's Friday... Again


There. I don't know how clever it was, but it's quite fun to do with Farscape, which has some of the most entertaining titles ever. (I didn't even get to use some of the best ones.) As usual with these things, I refuse to tag anyone. Do it if it amuses you. And, heck, feel free to use non-SF shows if you like.

A T-Shirt From The Uncharted Territories

I just had two different people ask me whether I knew that the Henson Company is selling Farscape 10th anniversary t-shirts today. Come on, guys, you know me! I ordered mine last night. Heh.

They're on offer for 24 hours only, though, so if you want one so you can be cool like me, act now!

And happy anniversary, Farscape! I can't believe it's been that long, but, then, I did start watching a couple of seasons late, so it's only been something like eight years for me. And I'm gonna hold onto that thought, 'cause it makes me feel younger.

[ETA: Looks like they're going to be extending the sale through Sunday.]

Happy Scaper

I got my copy of the second Farscape comic in the mail today, and I've just finished reading it. If anything, I think I enjoyed it even more than the first one, though it seemed to be over even more quickly.

These characters? Are insane. I love them to bits.

Look, Now I'm A Comic Book Reviewer!

A buddy of mine who posts over at Comic Book Resources' Robot 6 blog asked me if I'd write up a short review of the Farscape #1 comic for them. Why people think of me for things like that I'm sure I don't know. Heh.

Anyway, I did so, and if you're curious, it can be found here. It's really just some vague comments on how Farscape-y it is -- answer: very! -- and contains no spoilers or anything.

From the Uncharted Territories To Your Computer

A cool bit of news:

The Jim Henson Company Launches on iTunes

Sci-Fi Cult Hit FARSCAPE and Classic Puppet Series FRAGGLE ROCK Go Digital

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES -January 28, 2008- The Jim Henson Company today announced that favorites from the Company’s TV programming and feature film library will be available for purchase and download on the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com) beginning today, January 28th, 2008. The launch will begin with episodes from the first seasons of the critically acclaimed award-winning sci-fi series FARSCAPE and the endearing favorite FRAGGLE ROCK.

The Jim Henson Company has partnered with New Video, a leading digital aggregator of independent video content, to bring these highly sought after programs to the iTunes Store, the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store. Television shows are $1.99 (US) per episode, and music videos and short films are $1.99 (US) each. Through this new partnership between New Video and the Jim Henson Company, both the FRAGGLE ROCK and the FARSCAPE series will be available in their entirety in the coming months.

"We continue to be honored and thrilled by our fans’ ongoing desire to support their favorite shows and view them using all formats of media," said Nicole Goldman, Vice President of Marketing and Publicity of The Jim Henson Company. "We know our fans have been asking for these titles on iTunes and through our partnership with New Video, we hope to serve our loyal supporters and also introduce these beloved shows to new audiences."

I know a number of people who've been interested in seeing Farscape again, or for the first time, or more completely, and who have been having difficulty finding it on disc, so hopefully this will be useful to some of those folks. Needless to say, I recommend the heck out of that show, if you haven't seen it yet. And Fraggle Rock is fun, too, from what I remember.

DRDelightful

On the upside, I got my plush DRD in the mail today, and it it insanely huggable.

Now if only it was real and could fix my toilet...

Farscape News... Sort Of

TV Guide now has a short article about the forthcoming Farscape "webisodes," featuring some comments from Brian Henson. Not much in the way of information there, though, except for the fact that they're going to be 3-6 minute snippets, which is much less than I was hoping for. (I was thinking we'd get ten minutes, at least!)

But apparently he is hoping that it'll lead to more and better things, which is what I've been hoping for, too. *keeps fingers crossed*

Geek Shopping!

I couldn't resist. I had to buy one of these.

(Also: I have my copy of the new Harry Potter book. Haven't started it yet, though. Anybody who spoils me before I finish will get a DRD sicced on them.)

Well, Frell Me Dead!

OK, this, if true, is the most exciting piece of SF-TV related news I've heard in ages. (And given some of the stuff Doctor Who's done in recent weeks, that's saying something.)

I quote from what is purported to be a press release from the Sci Fi Channel:

FARSCAPE WEB SERIES

It's the return everyone's been frelling waiting for! SCIFI.COM has ordered a 10-part webisode series based on the multi-award-winning Farscape, the fan and critical darling that has been widely recognized as one of the greatest sci-fi series in television history. Executive produced by Brian Henson and Robert Halmi, Jr., and produced by The Jim Henson Company, in association with RHI Entertainment, the series will revive and expand the beloved Farscape universe.

Of course, even while I'm all excited, I'm also nervous... Surely, there are at least a hundred ways to screw that up?