Farscape | |
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Season 4 logo
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Genre | Science fiction |
Created by | Rockne S. O'Bannon |
Starring |
Ben Browder Claudia Black Virginia Hey Anthony Simcoe Gigi Edgley Paul Goddard Lani Tupu Wayne Pygram Jonathan Hardy |
Country of origin | Australia, United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 88 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
Robert Halmi Jr. Brian Henson David Kemper Rockne S. O'Bannon |
Running time | 50 minutes (season 1) 44 minutes (seasons 2–4) |
Production company(s) | The Jim Henson Company Nine Network (season 1) Hallmark Entertainment A&E |
Release | |
Original network |
Nine Network (Australia) Sci-Fi Channel |
Picture format |
1.33:1 (Season 1–3) 1.78:1 (Season 4) |
Original release | 19 March 1999 | – 21 March 2003
Chronology | |
Followed by | Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (miniseries) |
External links | |
Website |
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series, produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment.The Jim Henson Company was responsible for the various alien make-up and prosthetics, and two regular characters (the animatronic puppets Rygel and Pilot) are entirely Creature Shop creations.
Although the series was planned for five seasons, it was abruptly cancelled after production had ended on its fourth season, ending the series on a cliffhanger. Co-producer Brian Henson later secured the rights to Farscape, paving the way for a three-hour miniseries to wrap up the cliffhanger, titled Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, which Henson directed. In 2007, it was announced that the creator was returning for a web-series but production has been repeatedly delayed. A comic book miniseries was released in December 2008 that was in continuity with both the series and the hoped-for webisodes.
In February 2014 it was reported that a screenplay for a new Farscape movie was in development. At WonderCon 2014, Rockne S. O'Bannon confirmed to Nerdacy that a Farscape movie is in development but in very early stages.
Farscape features a diverse ensemble of characters who are initially escaping from corrupt authorities in the form of a militaristic organization called the Peacekeepers. The protagonists live inside a large bio-mechanical ship called Moya, which is a living entity. In the first episode, they are joined by the main character, John Crichton (Ben Browder), a modern-day American astronaut who accidentally flew into the entrance of a wormhole near Earth during an experimental space flight. On the same day, another stranger is picked up by Moya: a stranded Peacekeeper named Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black). Despite his best intentions, John makes enemies; the primary of these is known as Scorpius. There are a few stand-alone plots but the show gradually unfolds progressive arcs beginning with their recapture by the Peacekeepers, followed by John's search to find another wormhole back to Earth and an eventual arms race for wormhole technology weapons. Secondary arcs explore the way in which the characters change due to their influences and adventures together, most notably John over his obsession with wormhole technology, his relationship with Aeryn and the neural clone of Scorpius that haunts him in his brain.