Farscape: Favorite episodes

So we finally finished watching Farscape. We had to take a couple of days off because Alec went to Ashland with his AP Lit class. Also, we didn't watch the whole series; we skipped "DNA Mad Scientist," "Vitas Mortis," "Taking the Stone" and "The Choice," because those ones are annoying/depressing. Also, I was cooking or something during "They've Got a Secret" and "Dream a Little Dream." I might go back and re-watch those six now, just because I don't like them to feel left out. And there are at least a couple of good scenes in each of them.
As I said in my previous post, my favorite episodes are still the weirdest, for the most part, while conventional episodes such as "I, E.T." are boring. My favorites in season 1 are:

"Thank God it's Friday... Again," in which John pretends to be stoned (not for the last time) and Aeryn and Pilot work together first time, as Aeryn taps into a heretofore unknown scientific ability. And hey--Rygel's bodily fluids become explosive!

"That Old Black Magic," in which John and Crais face off in Maldis's maze-like castle. This is the first time we see more of Bialar's character. It also sets the precedent for only badguys getting John's cultural references.
"Till the Blood Runs Clear," in which John must pretend to be a big bad bounty hunter in order to keep two actual bounty hunters from torturing D'Argo--too much. Its the first time that John demonstrates his ability to pretend to be a tough guy, rather than just stoned.

"The Flax," in which John and Aeryn are trapped in a transport pod which has been caught in the Flax, a trap set by space pirates. OK, so the real reason that I like this episode is that it includes John and Aeryn's first kiss, which is amusingly interrupted by D'Argo finally coming to rescue them.

"Through the Looking Glass," which is the first mostly funny episode, in which Moya is split into four "dimensions," each with its own... quirks. The Moyans wander around between the split off Moyas, trying to fix the problem while not being distracted by the earsplitting noise found in one and nausea-inducing light found in another. The most amusing split off is the one that has the same effect as laughing gas. Rygel in particular has fun in that one.

"Nerve" and "The Hidden Memory," in which Scorpius, Stark, and Talyn are introduced (or born, in Talyn's case), as well as the Aurora Chair. Aside from that, they're also great episodes.

"Family Ties," in which Crais seeks asylum on Moya and steals Talyn, and Scorpius takes over his his command carrier. This is also the first episode during which John and D'Argo are clearly shown to be friends, rather than people that have been forced to live together, as they were before.

So what if that's 8/22 episodes in the season? My favorites in season 2 are:

"Crackers Don't Matter," in which everyone goes insane, and starts obsessing over crackers. It's also Harvey's first appearance (yay!). And is generally hilarious, and is one of my top five favorite episodes, if not my very favorite.
"Picture if You Will," in which Maldis comes back for revenge, and traps the Moyans in a maze-like picture. He likes mazes. Possibly the main reason that I like this episode is that it is the first episode of the show that I ever saw. I was confused, and didn't really like it. Silly me.

"Out of their Minds," which is the body swap episode. I'm convinced it was made just to give the opportunity for the scene in which Anthony Simcoe (Chianna in D'Argo's body) tries to... persuade... Ben Browder (Rygel in John's body) to leave with... her. Everyone else is funny, as well (except Zhaan, who is conveniently off ship at the time because she's not funny enough to pull off a body swap).

"Won't Get Fooled Again," in which John is lead to believe that he never left earth. Things take a turn for the weird, however, when the other Moyans show up, and refuse to acknowledge that they aren't humans. It gets weirder--and funnier--from there. This is the episode in which John names Harvey. One of my favorite scenes is the one in which Crais shows up--as a police officer--to give John a ticket for attempted murder and assault on a police officer, all the while holding a very patient doggy. "Come Toto."

"A Clockwork Nebari," in which Nebari (Chianna's species) come aboard and forcibly give a treatment to the Moyans which is supposed to eliminate undesirable tendencies such as violence. They don't give it to Pilot and Chianna, because it wouldn't work on them, and Rygel and John are immune (Rygel because of his fast metabolism and John thanks to Harvey). This gives another great opportunity for John--and Rygel--to act stoned, and for both of them to say "bitchen," which is hilarious.

"Liars, Guns, and Money" ("A Not So Simple Plan," "With Friends Like These," and "Plan B"), a trilogy in which the Moyans rob a bank, among other things. As I mentioned in my last post, it is what passes for a clip show in this series, because they draw on the help of several people that they have met since the beginning of the series. It is also a totally bitchen set of episodes.

Hmm. 8/22 episodes again. Well, it's a good show. My favorites from season 3 are:

"Green-Eyed Monster," which is kinda annoying in general, but it also shows that Stark and Rygel make a great team. And when I say "great" here I mean "hilarious."

"Incubator," in which Scorpius reveals details of his past. Awww... he smiles when he thinks of his mummy...!

"Scratch 'n Sniff," in which everyone drinks a lot, dances, and acts silly, while John and D'Argo bicker constantly. Also, this episode has the only instance in which D'Argo meets Harvey (other than the times in which he takes over John's body and tries to kill people, of course, but that's no fun).

"Revenging Angel," in which John is knocked on the head and left comatose. He copes by imagining his world as a Saturday morning cartoon, while Harvey "helps."

"I-Yensch, You-Yensch," in which we see the most unlucky criminals ever. They try to rob the restaurant in which D'Argo and Rygel are negotiating with Scorpius and Braca. Poor schmucks. Also, poor long-suffering Braca. Scorpy and Rygel make a great team, though.

"Into the Lion's Den" ("Lambs to the Slaughter" and "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"), an epic two-parter. John and Scorpy, together at last! And... sniff... Talyn and Crais... whah. I can't say. But they're heroic. It was confusing to me the first time I saw it at 1:00 Monday morning, but then, I didn't know the show very well, and even then I could tell it was epic.

Ooh... only 7/22 episodes made it to this list in season 3. Whatever that means. Finally, here are my favorites from season 4:

"Crichton Kicks," in which John hangs out in an old Leviathan, and DRD 1812 and Sukozu are introduced. As a bonus, John pretends to be a goat. No, you did not misread that.

"John Quixote," in which John and Chianna become trapped in a crazy virtual reality game.

"I Shrink Therefore I am," in which everyone but John is shrunk to miniature size. There is a particularly memorable scene in which Sukozu points out the scientific impossibility of their situation, and Rygel basically says, just go with it.

"Coup by Clam," in which the Moyans eat mollusks which, when shared, cause the sharers to share physical sensations. Hilarity ensues.

"Kansas," in which John and the others finally get to earth via a wormhole, only to find that the year is 1986. Their very presence has caused problems in time, so they must fix things in John's family... before he erases himself from the timeline and literally disappears ("I know, Back to the Future!").

"Terra Firma," in which they Moyans spend a couple of months on Earth. It is a rather talky episode, but it's good talking.

"Twice Shy," in which everyone's main characteristic becomes intensified, and then is stripped from them. John and Aeryn finally get over their angst.

"We're So Screwed" ("Fetal Attraction," "Hot to Katratzi," and "La Bomba"), in which the Moyans rescue Aeryn from Scarrans and lose Scorpius. Next they gatecrash a conference between Grayza and the Scarrans in order to rescue Scorpy, while John straps a nuclear bomb to himself to ensure their safe passage. It's all very cool.
Ooh... 10/22 for this season. I guess it's my favorite of the four. I almost added a couple of others, too.

So there you have it. My favorite episodes from the series. It's a good thing that there were only four seasons, for the purposes of this list if nothing else. I didn't include Peacekeeper Wars on this list because I figure it goes without saying. Oy. Get a load of the synopsis on the back of the dvd box:

"When a full-scale war is engaged by the evil Scarran Empire, the Peacekeeper Alliance has but one hope: reassemble human astronaut John Crichton, once sucked into the Peacekeeper galaxy through a wormhole. Crichton's task: Get the entire Peacekeeper race to safety before the last war of an era brings and end to the universe."

I'm not sure if I want to laugh or cry. Soooo wrong on so many levels. Don't you love it when people write synopsies for things about which they clearly know nothing? Maybe they thought an accurate discription would be too confusing.

I now feel compelled to make a list of my top five six favorites, in the order that they aired:

"Crackers Don't Matter"
"Won't Get Fooled Again"
"Liars, Guns, and Money Part II: With Friends Like These"
"Into the Lion's Den Part II: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"
"John Quixote"
"Kansas"


There. I did make one reference to Doctor Who, anyway. And it only took me from 5:50 to 11:23 to write this. In my defense, I was watching stuff and eating dinner for much of that time.