Customer Reviews

Farscape: The Complete Series

5 star:		(347)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I first started watching this program somewhere in the Second Season during its initial run on the SyFy Channel at the urging of my wife, who had been an avid viewer since day one. I had seen the Pilot when it was first broadcast, but never watched with regularity (at the time I was working a lot of overtime on Friday nights). I did come away from the Pilot very impressed by what appeared to be a great premise, excellent special effects, and potentially some great characters. Eventually my Friday evening schedule cleared up and once I started watching a couple of episodes I was completely hooked.

There is a definite 4 year story arc here; most of the episodes do tie together as the later seasons demonstrate. I won't elaborate on all the details of the program, mainly because there are many reviews here that do just that. What I will discuss is the quality of the box set that A&E has released, and has done an outstanding job of packaging and remastering the episodes. I had collected the old ADV releases over the years, and they did a good job of reproducing very good audio and video for the most part. What this set has done is go WAY beyond anything that has been on DVD previously. I don't know if this is the case, but it certainly looks as if A&E did a complete makeover on the video and audio on this set, and it is nothing short of SPECTACULAR.

Some quick notes about this wonderful package:

VIDEO: These episodes are presented in their original aspect ratios of 4:3 for Seasons 1-3 and 1:78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen for Season 4. Do not be mislead by other reviewers who claim that the final season of the show (which was indeed the only one filmed in widescreen) is not in its proper format. The quality of the video is STUNNING: details of all levels of color jump out at you, and the detail in close-ups and special effects are truly amazing. (A note here: I watched this on an Oppo BD-83 Blu Ray player which upscales standard DVDs to 1080i). The video is so good, I would swear I was watching a Blu Ray at times; THAT's how good it is. It is a remarkable improvement from the ADV releases of a few years ago (which up until the release of this set, were fetching a hefty price on eBay). I truly was stunned at the video...I don't think this show ever looked this good.

AUDIO: One word: phenomenal. The 5.1 mix totally immerses you in the story. All speakers and the sub-woofer are used perfectly and to to any extremes. The ADV releases had a very good 5.1 soundtrack, but the new A&E version has absolutely jaw dropping audio. Yes, it is THAT good.

PACKAGING: 5 "sets" of DVDs gathered in one glossy box keeping them all together. Each Season has its own "set" with the final set being reserved for a number of special features ("making of" documentaries, mostly). The other Special Features as promised in the description of the set here, are scattered throughout the various discs. I wish the glossy box was a bit more sturdy and easier to access the sets (do you open from the left or right? you decide). A minor quibble though compared to the overall satisfaction I've gotten so far from this new A&E release.

BOTTOM LINE: "Farscape" is truly an incredible show with excellent writing and some fine acting throughout its 4 year run. It would have been nice to have the final 3 hour installment "The Peacekeeper Wars" (which somewhat neatly ties up and concludes the series) included in the box, but rights issues prevented that from happening. You can certainly buy it separately on Amazon (and you REALLY must do so in order to see the conclusion of the show) and keep it next to this on your shelf. Speaking of which, the amount of shelf space saved with this package compared to the original 2 disc ADV volumes is incredible. Even if you own every ADV release like I do, this set is more than worth getting. The video and audio are markedly improved (even though it is never mentioned that the episodes are remastered, one look and you will be able to tell in an instant); and it truly does make a HUGE difference compared with the original ADV releases. The aforementioned amount of shelf space saved is indeed a plus.

Overall, 5 stars for the quality of the show, and this incredible new release with remastered video and audio. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

First of all, this is a nice, and very convenient set, well worth the money. If you've never bought any Farscape episodes before, or you have limited space to store a collection, then this set is probably for you. That said, there are some caveats. I did a back to back comparison of the original ADV discs and the newer ones in this set. There's three things that jump out.

1. The bit rate is about 2/3 of the ADV discs. I expected this to be lower since A&E is squeezing about twice the number of episodes onto a disc - ADV put two episodes while this set piles on four per disc. The only way to do this is to compress the programs more. Quality-wise, the image is still remarkably good, and I didn't hear any differences in the audio quality.

2. Unlike the ADV discs, these are not progressive scan encoded - the video is interlaced. Some players don't handle interlaced video properly when they try to convert it to progressive scan output, and jittering can appear in motion. This drops the image quality on players that are outputting a progressive video.

3. For some reason, A&E didn't bother using the original source material, and instead, used their broadcast edits. At the beginning of each episode, they have the "Dolby Surround Where Available" bug in the lower right corner, which is unacceptable to me. This just makes it look like they recorded it off TV.

On the bright side, the set takes up about a tenth of the space of the entire ADV set does (the main reason I even bothered to buy this set), and has some extra features the original doesn't. It also costs about as much as about 10 of the ADV episodes did. The cases also use the new Bluray style clips that hold the discs in place, so there's much less risk of getting a set with loose (and thus, scratched) discs.

If you're not a big stickler for quality, then this set is for you - the price is just amazing, and most people won't care about the lower bitrate or encoding method. Videophiles, however, should probably steer clear and stick with the ADV sets, or wait until a new set is released with higher quality.

A year or two ago, when I heard that the rights to FARSCAPE had been sold and would be rereleased on the A&E imprint, I was delighted. I bought the entirety of the series on the way-too-expensive Starburst edition, which was, as expensive as it was, vastly cheaper than the original DVDs. FARSCAPE as originally released was one of the most expensive series ever sold on DVD. I've lent my DVDs out to several people as part of an effort to help more people learn about this wonder series. Now I can recommend that people buy it.

FARSCAPE is, after only BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and FIREFLY, my all time favorite Sci-fi series. It is unique in that women tend to love it as much as men (or perhaps I should say younger male viewers, who usually form a huge percentage of the Sci-fi demographic), largely because of the great character development that occurs on the show, and the main romance, which I honestly think is as grand and epic as any romance on any mainstream or nongenre series. To this day, when TV Guide or Entertainment Weekly or other such mainstream publications do lists of the great TV romances of all time, people who do not know FARSCAPE are surprised and baffled to see John and Aeryn make the list.

In a way, it is amazing that I love this show so much. It contains many of the things I most detest about Sci-fi series, such as aliens (in fact, the aliens in FARSCAPE are more extreme than usual because it was produced by the Jim Henson Company as a platform for putting some of its more extreme puppet creations before the public eye), pulse weapons, shields ("Shields down to 20%"), and what I call "magic science," where something extraordinary takes place that beggars the laws of physics and some equally extraordinary scientific solution is proffered to set things right. I hate these things! But I forgave them in FARSCAPE because it got so many other things right. Like what? Well, primarily character development. My complaint with all of the STAR WAR franchise series is that on all of them (with some exceptions like 7 of 9 or some of the characters in ST:DS9) there is no character development. I love Jean-Luc Picard, but he is pretty close to the same character on the final episode as on the first. Contrast that, say, with BUFFY, where every character has undergone an astonishing journey of transformation (e.g., just look atCordelia Chase in Season One, then where she was in Season Three, and then where she ended up in Season Three of ANGEL -- we'll just ignore Season Four of the latter). D'Argo may be a huge alien with tentacles hanging from his head, but he becomes a rich, wonderfully nuanced character. Aeryn Sun -- one of the great female heroes that TV has produced -- stars off as essentially a space nazi, but ends a complex, caring, passionate (despite herself) human being. Scorpius is one of the great, most complex villains that television has produced, original in ways that only a few character in television have ever managed to be. Moreover, the show tells a great story over the course of its four seasons. The first two seasons it stays close to a standalone format, even while developing a longer term arc, but Seasons Three and Four develop a great long story arc.

Season Three. What can you say about it? On the Internet you often see lists of the greatest seasons of shows in TV history. Season Three of FARSCAPE almost always makes such lists. I don't want to give anything away by explaining why it is so great, since much of the joy is in the way the wonderfully original plot twists, but beginning with the wonderful resolution of the great cliffhanger ending Season Two through the heartbreaking twists and plot shockers from the middle of the season, to the new cliffhanger that ended the season, it was a season for the ages. I've told friend that even if you don't like the first two seasons of FARSCAPE, it is worth watching just for Season Three. Definitely one of the great seasons I've ever seen.

A lot of people did not give the series a shot because they were repulsed by the use of two animatronic puppets in the show. I can understand this feeling, but it is not supported by an actual viewing of the show. I never came to enjoy the smaller of the two main Muppets in the show, Rygel. He was actually the more complex of the two Muppets, largely because his face was more expressive. But I personally vastly preferred Pilot, a staggering huge puppet who nonetheless is enormously endearing in a way the small, unhuggable Rygel is not. There are a few other animatronic puppets on the show, but these tow are the main ones. I won't say everyone who gives the show will come to like Rygel, but I do think that Pilot is different, and I don't think even Rygel will alter how one feels about the show overall. In other words, if you don't like this show, the Muppets won't be a factor.

One other thing that I very much love about this series is that it, like FIREFLY, features a nonmilitary ship. All other space operas focus on military vessels or military installations. The Star Treks, BABYLON 5, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (both the brilliant new version and the stinky old one), the Stargate franchise, SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND, and many others, even RED DWARF. Ka D'Argo is former military and even towards the end of the series Aeryn Sun comes across like a military officer, but the structure of the crew is that of civilians.

The main ship on the show, Moya, is one of the most delightful ships ever in Sci-fi. A living ship who is symbiotically bonded with Pilot, she often has a mind of her own. She is also as depicted on the show one of the most beautiful ships we've seen on TV, with the interiors of a gorgeous organic appearance. The series was perhaps the first to benefit from advanced CGI. Previous series such as BABYLON 5 had used CGI, but it was low resolution with flat surfaces and simply not very impressive. In the second episode of FARSCAPE we see Moya rise from a lake to fly off into space, and it was, at that point, without question the most breathtaking use of CGI up to that point. The show did not have an unlimited budget, but they managed to make the most of the show they had. Filmed entirely in Australia, it is unquestionably the finest Sci-fi series ever made outside Hollywood or Vancouver. And being set in Australia, they use a host of Australian actors not seen in many American productions, though they are seen in films and TV series made in Australia and New Zealand. The result is a string of unfamiliar actors and filming locations. Sometimes the wretched American accents of some of the actors will wear on you, but by and large the whole series has a great feel to the cast and guest stars.

If you love quality television, you really need to see this series. If you love Sci-fi, you need to see it several times. And if you just love a great romance, you can't do better than this. And luckily you can now own this great series without having to take out a mortgage on your house or condo.

"Farscape" came at a good time providing a bridgeduring a key time when most science fiction on TV was "Star Trek" or nothing else ("Babylon 5" excepted) and it brought a much needed dollop of humor, fascinating storylines and great characterizations. It's true that the series presents a hodge podge of ideas that were successful in other shows from "Star Trek" to "The X-Files" but what was great as with all things that are an amalgamation of other ideas from other shows was how it was put together.

"Farscape: The Complete Series" is, well, somewhat incomplete. While it includes all four seasons it doesn't include the mini-series "Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars" due to licensing issues with Lion's Gate (which released that title)so you'll need to keep your DVD set for that until the latter is released on Blu-ray.

The Blu-ray presentation for "Farscape" suffers a bit from the fact that it was produced prior to studios thinking of high definition. The show was shot on film but the visual effects were done in digital standard definition that wouldn't be a problem but the show was assembled in standard video as well and the 35mm source prints/negatives are nowhere to be found.

Having said that the New Video used a number of digital techniques to enhance the SD picture and bring it into the high def realm pretty effectively.

Be aware however that "Incubator" has the dialogue slightly out of synch with the picture on the Blu-ray.

Subtitles ARE on the Blu-ray release.

If you adjust your expectations that this ISN'T going to look as good as, say, "Battlestar: Galatica" on Blu-ray or even the original "Star Trek", you'll enjoy this set. Should you buy it? That depends on how picky you're going to be about teh image quality here but this does look marginally better than previous editions.

As a result we have a Blu-ray presentation that isn't in 1080 instead A&E and New Video the distributors here had to go to the best source possible the PAL video (which has higher resolution than U.S. NTSC)thus while this isn't in high definition it DOES look slightly better than the the regular DVD's in particular because the higher bit rate for Blu-ray allows the show more "breathing" room. The show looks soft but there's no way around that. Detail is better than the 2009 DVD's but the compression artifacts that were problematic for the DVD set released in 2009 aren't as problematic here. Likewise, this is a huge upgrade over the "Starburst" editions of the series put out a couple of years back.

The audio is a big upgrade with a lossless 5.1 presentation that is quite powerful and well done.

The special features from the previous 2009 set have been carried over for this set with one new high def featurette included looking back on the show. We get mulitple commentary tracks for a number of episodes (with the first season getting the most).

Summary: -video quality: Is soft but with better detail than most of the DVDs I've seen of the show because the producers used the higher resolution PAL video masters. The encoding and use of compression here is an improvement as well helping the picture quality. It's a marginal upgrade in image quality though.

Audio: Sounds brilliant with a nice, immersive 5.1 lossless mix.

Special Features: All of the special features from the 2009 A&E/New Video release are included with one new high def special featurette.

There are 31 commentary tracks. We also get deleted scenes and TV spots.

Season One:
Premiere: Rockne S. O'Bannon, Brian Henson and Ben BrowderI, E.T.: Claudia Black and Anthony Simcoe
Exodus from Genesis: Brian Henson and Virginia Hey
Throne for a Loss: Ben Browder and Claudia Black
Back and Back and Back to the Future: Ben Browder and Rowan Woods
Thank God It's Friday. . .Again: Rockne S. O'Bannon and Anthony Simcoe
DNA Mad Scientist: a) Ben Browder and Claudia Black; b) Rockne S. O'Bannon and David Kemper
Jeremiah Crichton: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Rockne S. O'Bannon and David Kemper (this commentary bears the humorous subtitle "When Bad Things Happen to Good Shows")
A Human Reaction: Ben Browder and Claudia Black
Nerve: Ben Browder and Claudia Black
Born to be Wild: Anthony Simcoe
Family Ties: a) Ben Browder and Claudia Black; b) Rockne S. O'Bannon and David Kemper

Season Two:
Crackers Don't Matter: Claudia Black and Ian Watson
The Way We Weren't: Ben Browder and Claudia Black
Won't Get Fooled Again: Rowan Woods and Richard Manning
The Locket: Ben Browder and Claudia Black
Die Me, Dichotomy: Ben Browder, Claudia Black and David Kemper

Season Three:
Self Inflicted Wounds Part II: Wait for the Wheel: Claudia Black
Eat Me: Guy Gross
Green Eyed Monster: Ben Browder and Tony Tilse
Relativity: Lani Tupu and Peter Andrikidis
The Choice: a) Claudia Black; b) Rowan Woods and Justin Monjo
Into the Lion's Den Part II: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Rockne S. O'Bannon and David Kemper
Dog With Two Bones: Ben Browder and Claudia Black

Season Four:
John Quixote: Ben Browder and Claudia Black
Kansas: Ben Browder, Claudia Black and David Kemper
Bad Timing: Ben Browder, Claudia Black and David Kemper

The first season of "Farscape" is a bit uneven but the show finds its footing by the second season and was positively on fire once Scorpious was introduced as a character.

I'd still recommend this as long as you adjust your expectations on the video quality of the series particularly if you can get it at a good price.

Series: 4 1/2 stars
Image for show: 3 (translated as good)
Audio: 4 1/2 stars
Special Features: 5 stars
Overall average: 4 stars.

Recommended.

"My name is John Crichton, an astronaut... a radiation wave hit and I got shot through a wormhole... now I'm lost in some distant part of the universe on a ship -- a LIVING ship, full of strange alien life forms..."

From the very first episode onward, it's pretty obvious that "Farscape: The Complete Series" is no ordinary sci-fi series -- the characters are outlaws, the ship is alive, and distant galaxies are full of Muppets. Fortunately, it's not just unusual but brilliant -- full of irreverent humor, strange alien species, heart-pounding action and eerie sci-fi.

Astronaut John Crichton is planning to slingshot his experimental craft, Farscape One, as a one-small-step into interstellar exploration. Instead, he gets thrown through a wormhole, and ends up drifting in a firefight between a vast living prison ship called Moya and the hypermilitaristic Peacekeepers. Obviously, he wants to go home, but isn't sure how.

So he begins a journey with a gang of escaped criminals -- the priestess Zhaan, the bombastic warrior D'Argo, deposed dominar Rygel, and the prickly, surly ex-Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun. They gain a few new members of their crew (including Moya's weaponized baby and the seductive, rebellious Chiana), but also lose some valued friends and allies along the way.

As the series unfolds, the Moya crew encounter countless alien planets, where they deal with bizarre problems, individuals (mad scientists, vengeful Peacekeepers, and Ancients), and alien life-forms (shapeshifting space bugs!). And they must constantly dodge the Peacekeeper Forces, and later the cruel Scarrans -- including the Sebacean/Scarran Scorpius. The Scarrans want the wormhole secrets locked inside Crichton's head, and ancient beings are even more determined to keep his knowledge secret....

"Farscape: The Complete Series" smashes apart the space opera mold, and puts it back together in its own style -- flying Muppets, an alien pilot grafted into Moya, squeaking insectile robots, Leviathans, and blue-skinned telepathic plant people. Yeah, it DOES sound cheesy -- but instead the Farscapeverse just ends up feeling colorful, diverse and sometimes horrifically dark. And fortunately, its promise is fulfilled by brilliant writing.

The series has lots of overarcing storylines twined with clever, intricate one-off episodes and solid personal subplots (mostly involving romance and revenge -- though thankfully it rarely gets soapy). And the dialogue is beyond awesome -- it's crammed with snappy dialogue, pop culture references ("How Batman was that!"), and alien slang words ("frelling" and "mivonks" among others). Every episode has loads of clever, irreverent and wonderfully quotable lines ("I'm not fast enough, I am not alien enough, and you know what, there are people in the universe who don't like me!").

And the cast is simply brilliant, especially since their characters evolve gradually through the series, revealing tragedies and hopes in the process. Ben Browder is great as the "alien" one, a seemingly ditzy astronaut with plenty of brains and sweet kookiness; Claudia Black's Aeryn makes a great love interest for him, as a hardnosed, disdainful ubersoldier who changes into a strong, passionate woman. Virginia Hey, Gigi Edgley, and Anthony Simcoe all give stellar performances as well -- and while Rygel and Pilot are technically played by Muppets, they are gloriously three-dimensional and expressive.

One thing to note: "Farscape: The Complete Series" ends on a massive cliffhanger because the Sci Fi Channel unexpectedly cancelled it, and "The Peacekeeper Wars" (the conclusive ending) apparently won't be included, since the rights belong to two different companies.

Thankfully, it has bucketloads of extras -- twenty-nine commentaries with actors, directors, Brian Henson; TV promos, slideshows, archival photos and clips; assorted conceptual scripts and art; deleted scenes; archival clips; and chitchats with the cast, crew, and fans. Also a whole bunch of featurettes and documentaries including "In The Beginning," "Making of a Space Opera" and "Inside Farscape: Save Farscape." Whew!

"Farscape: The Complete Series" is a cult sci-fi series that deserves to be watched again and again, especially with the new extras. Too bad the final miniseries isn't here.

Series: 5 stars
Presentation: 4 stars
Extras: 5 stars (though most not new)
Worth initial purchase: Absolutely.
Worth upgrading if you already own: Not necessarily.

For four seasons (1999-2003), "Farscape" is a show that redefined my feelings about science fiction television. I'm not someone who got caught up in Star Trek, Firefly, Stargate, Babylon 5, or the myriad of other sci-fi shows that predated or ran concurrently with "Farscape." But this one captured my attention. So simple, yet so complex, this show assembled elements that really shouldn't have worked. From slapstick comedy, to genuine romance, to serialized adventure, to harrowing drama, to riveting suspense, to flying puppetry--"Farscape" had something for everyone. In a precise balancing act, they made you genuinely care about the well-drawn characters. While others might talk of great effects, costumes, and make-up (which the show had), the thing that distinguished this piece for me was the characters who were always believable despite their otherworldliness. I credit a crew of great writers and great actors!

In many ways, I still think of "Farscape" as one of the most underrated shows of its era. Nominated for only one Emmy (Costumes in 2002), the actors really deserved a lot more recognition for their deft contributions. Ben Browder is one of the most appealing leading men that you're likely to encounter, I was happy to experience this land of wonder through his eyes. Claudia Black, in my opinion, had at least two years where I felt she was one of the best actresses on TV period. The show boasted one of sci-fi's best villains, Scorpius, and Wayne Pygram would have won a Supporting Actor Emmy in the perfect world. But the entire cast blended together seamlessly, so when the show morphed from lightness to tragedy--the results could be emotionally devastating!

Few things have been more anticipated in the science fiction landscape than the promise of "Farscape" on Blu-ray. As someone who owned every episode on standard DVD, the announcement still made my heart beat a little faster. And the question on everyone's lips is certainly "Is it worth an upgrade?" After making some visual and content comparisons, the answer would have to be a qualified maybe. It isn't, perhaps, an essential upgrade or one that needs to be undertaken immediately--but the show looks great even if it's not on a whole different level. This edition was optimized from European PAL masters for HD and there is a image crispness and clarity that is a step up from the original releases. Truthfully, though, it doesn't really change the overall viewing experience to a vast degree. So if you already own the episodes, it may or may not be worth the extra expenditure depending on how much this improvement is worth to you.

The Blu-ray Bonus Features only include one addition that is not present on the standard DVD releases. The HD presentation of "Memories of Moya: An Epic Journey Explored" is a contemporary documentary in which notable members of the cast and the creators look back on the show's legacy. As a big fan of the show, I loved seeing everyone now--but again, it is a large financial investment just for this one new feature if you already have everything else.

Blu-Ray Details: 88 episodes on 20 discs. 31 Audio Commentaries. Aside from NEW Memories of Moya Documentary, all other features are the same as the previously released standard DVD Complete Collection set. It is a comprehensive and exhaustive collection of added bonuses, over 15 hours worth.

(1) Farscape Undressed: Behind-the-scenes special that aired on the Sci-Fi network (before it was SyFy), (2) Documentary entitled In The Beginning: A Look Back with Brian Henson, (3) Documentary entitled Making of A Space Opera, (4) Documentary entitled Farscape: The Story So Far, (5) Villains Featurette, (6) Visual Effects Featurette, (7) Save Farscape Featurette, (8) Deleted Scenes, (9) Director's Cut Scenes, (10) Alternate version of Season 2 Premiere, (11) Behind the Scenes Interviews and Video Profiles, and (12) original TV promos.

Not Included: 2004's Miniseries The Peacekeeper Wars

If you do not own "Farscape," do yourself a favor and treat yourself to one of the most innovative and entertaining shows imaginable. Buy this now! If, however, you already own the series--this version may not be worth the upgrade if you are already happy with the edition that you have. Like most things, this boils down to a matter of choice, priorities, and finances. KGHarris, 11/11.

It's so great that this unforgettable series is now available in a "complete" box set, although the mini-series finale, Peacekeeper Wars, is NOT included here. The good news is that you CAN buy Peacekeeper Wars separately, and I would urge you to do so. If there was ever a series - sci-fi or otherwise - which deserves to be watched from start to finish, Farscape is it.

SPOILER WARNINGS GALORE!!!

It has been said that the best science fiction is always about Earth. While most episodes of Farscape take place in galaxies far away, its tie to Earth is always maintained in the person of the main character, astronaut and physicist John Crichton. Furthermore, Crichton's Earth is contemporary. Earth as we know it right now.

The opening episode's first image is of Crichton watching the sun rise over the familiar shuttle launch pad at Cape Canaveral. He is about to board the shuttle in a space module of his own design, to test a theory he's just developed regarding propulsion outwith Earth's gravity. He figures this will be a routine flight and test - he's been up in the shuttle a couple of times before - but Crichton is in for what can only be mundanely described as a 'life-changing moment.'

No sooner has he entered space and begun the trial in his module, than Crichton is engulfed by a wormhole - a tornado in space - which appears out of nowhere between the Earth and the Moon. He and his module are shot down the wormhole's funnel in a gut-churning sequence, then spat out the other end into the middle of a space battle, elsewhere in the Universe!

The shocked Crichton and his module are scooped up by a huge ship called a Leviathan, populated by only three escaped convicts - (1) a bald woman with blue skin, (2) a male warrior with tentacles, a loud voice and a short temper, and (3) a selfish little despot who resembles a hairy slug riding a pillow! Turns out these three convict aliens have just stolen the ship and are being pursued and fired upon by the current rulers of their bit of space, a group of human-like aliens called Peacekeepers.

Of course Crichton's first goal - after survival! - is to get back 'home.' However, as the series progresses, this goal becomes more complicated and less clear-cut. As the old song says: how can you keep them happy down on the farm, after they've seen Berlin? (And received Translator Microbes??)

Through Crichton as 'Everyman' we get to watch humans interacting with 'aliens' who, amusingly and disturbingly, aren't actually all that interested in Earth or humans. In fact, most of them regard Crichton as a weak specimen, annoying and lacking intelligence. They have no idea where Earth might be, and they don't much care.

We certainly identify with Crichton and his trials and tribulations with these alien societies, but it turns out Crichton is NOT Everyman - not even EveryAmerican. Crichton is an individual human being with his own strengths and weaknesses. As the series moves toward conclusion, we slowly realise our mistake in believing Crichton is Everyman, and begin to see where this will lead us.

The central story arc revolves around Crichton's search for Earth and the meaning of 'home' and 'humanity.' Farscape's other major story arc deals with the insanity of weapons of mass destruction, an issue Crichton must confront and take responsibility for, albeit against his will. Another major subplot is a most believable and heartbreaking love story between Crichton and the troubled Peacekeeper deserter named Aeryn Sun.

All story arcs get resolved by the end (in the stand-alone DVD Peacekeeper Wars), I'm happy to report. Indeed, I can't recollect any TV series - sci-fi or not - which has been so strongly focused for five (almost!) seasons, and so satisfactorily concluded.

Season One is vital for understanding the series, and is totally enjoyable to watch, but unlike so many other TV series, Farscape actually gets stronger season by season. Season Four provides the most memorable and shattering moments of the lot, with the exception of the wonderful final scene in Peacekeeper Wars, which actually finishes the story. Many other series start strongly then fizzle out. Not this one. It's a corker, from Day One.

Farscape was meant to have had five complete seasons, but the Sci-Fi channel pulled the plug on production after the fourth season wrap, due to 'high production costs.' Fortunately the channel was later persuaded by Farscape's appalled fan base to at least finish the story with the truncated 4-hour Peacekeeper Wars. It's a bummer that there is no more new Farscape to come, but what is contained in this particular collection will provide 88 hours of mesmerising viewing, as well as many subsequent years of contemplation, re-viewing and debate. Add Peacekeeper Wars to your collection as well ...and believe me, after watching the first 4 seasons you'll WANT to! ...and that's roughly 92 hours of perfect TV.

I can't recommend Farscape highly enough. Many people who do not normally watch science fiction have been hooked by this series - providing they started watching at the beginning and understand where Crichton is coming from. Why? Because the story is believable and accessible, despite its strange locale.

You love Crichton immediately, because of his wacky sense of humour, his intelligence, his compassion, and ability to roll with the punches. The other characters wow your socks off, including the most compelling villain (Scorpius) ever committed to film. No character in Farscape is ever what they seem to be at first, and none of the myriad plots end the way you expect. Take nothing for granted and keep an open mind! Another lesson to learn from Farscape.

Farscape still makes me cry, sweat, gulp, laugh my head off (figuratively), jump out of my chair with glee (literally, at least twice!), and THINK THINK THINK - every time I watch it. All this and complete entertainment as well? Can anyone ask for more?

Do shell out for this magnificent Farscape box set, and then buy the separate Peacekeeper Wars to finish off. I know it seems expensive as a one-off purchase, but you will watch this show again and again. You'll never be sorry you bought it.

UPDATE: When I wrote this review, I was under the mistaken impression that the DVD version included commentary tracks for "Thank God It's Friday, Again" and "They've Got a Secret". I've since confirmed that this is not the case.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

It is important to note that most of the reviews here are for the DVD version. The DVD version of this collection contains commentary tracks for many of the episodes, but these appear to have been left out of the Blu-ray version. Given the immense storage capacity of Blu-ray discs, the omission of 2-4 50-minute audio tracks per-disc is unacceptable. If you, like me, enjoy the audio commentary tracks, then you're better off buying the DVD version. If you don't care about them, however, then the improved video quality of the Blu-ray discs is well worth the extra money.

I love this show. Farscape is a big mix of a lot of the things a science fiction fan like me love to see. You get the visceral stuff like cool sets and special effects that move from neat to full on spectacle. You get the science stuff like explanations and effects of alien physiology and various advanced and imaginative technologies. You get the story driven stuff with scripts going from drama to action to comedy (sometimes all in one episode), dealing with complexities of alien cultures and governments, to straight up space opera type fair complete with villains in black and scary monsters to fight. There is a reason why Farscape was considered by critics and viewers alike to be one of the best science fiction television shows ever made.

You have a modern day Earthling astronaut who is the main character in the series. His is a fish out of water kind of story as he is thrust into this alien part of the galaxy by a wormhole with absolutely no clue regarding his new surroundings. This isn't your normal fish out of water character. This is an intelligent, wise cracking fish who not only takes his new challenges with relative stride, but also with a note of sarcasm. The supporting cast is just as interesting... and interestingly enough all escaped convicts. There is the human female looking plant organism of mediation and empathy (convicted of murder). There is the aggressive tentacle-headed alien with a warrior's rage (also convicted of murder, but is innocent). A blue pixie-like skinned party girl who plays thief and spy at times (convicted of non-conformity). A froggish-like alien with a superiority complex (imprisoned after a coup against him). And last, but certainly not least the tough as nails female Peacekeeper soldier who is a strictly by the book type (ironically on the run for being socially exposed to said convicts). This is a taste of the interesting developments based on characters alone.

The series has varying story arcs much like what you have seen on Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5 and other such shows. What seems to be the main premise of the show slowly morphs into something else. This is done in a way flows smooth and feels organic. What surprises they do pop up on you make sense and aren't just to shake things up. Most episodes have a good mix of the things I mentioned earlier, but sometimes they go off on tangents. Especially on the third season. One example is an episode done entirely animated and ran like an old Warner Brothers cartoon. Even in the odd episodes the show is pretty good.

So good characters and good stories are nice, but science fiction for many lives of dies by the visuals. This is where Farscape shines. Sets are intricate and the CGI scenes are dynamic. Special effects can be found all over the place from laser blasts to animatronics to computer generated space battles. As a matter of fact Farscape has the distinction of being the television series with more special effects on average per episode than any other science fiction show to date. So you want flash and style in your substance? We got you covered.

This highly anticipated Blu-Ray release is going to be hot, but there are caveats. The big one is the high definition picture. Technically it can be called high definition because it's going to be more than 480p in resolution. However not by much. You see the original 35mm film used to film the episodes are pretty much lost so there is no remastering of the source material. Even if they had the original film the CG effects weren't done on that resolution so remastering would have been difficult. Best they can do is use the European PAL video master tapes, which should be at 576p resolution. While this isn't truly high definition it is the best these shows have ever looked, and the end result even has Brian Henson's approval on it.

One other caveat regarding the Blu-Ray set. It will all of the episodes of the series, but not everything. The final mini-series, which Brian Henson refers to as episodes 4:23-4:26, is owned by Lionsgate and will not be in this Blu-Ray collection. That means if you want the complete series you will still need to get an additional title in the future. Small price to pay if you ask me. There hasn't been any mention of upgrading the 5.1 Dolby and 2.0 channel track, but I will update if anything new is announced.

This Blu-Ray set will have 20 disks covering all 88 episodes (minus the mini-series of course) plus all of the previous extras from the Starburst Edition DVDs and previous full series release. There will also be some new extras never before available. Here is a breakdown:

Episode Commentaries - 29 episodes have commentaries covering the spectrum of all the major cast and crew throughout. These are the original commentaries from the DVD collections.

Memories of Moya: An Epic Journey Explored - New documentary exclusive to the Blu-Ray releases chronicling retrospective interviews from cast and crew.

Farscape Undressed - This was a one hour behind the scenes feature shown on the Sci-Fi Channel to help prime new viewers for the third season. This feature wasn't released on the Starburst or DVD sets before it (it is in the new DVD series collection though) and is a much welcome addition.

In the Beginning: A Look Back with Brian Henson - A very informative interview with Brian Henson that was made in 2004. It runs about a half and hour and was on the Starburst release and up.

Making of a Space Opera - A 22 minute documentary on the making of the series. Not quite as informative as Brian's interview, but makes a good promotional piece for the series.

Season 3: A Look Back with Executive Producer David Kemper - Basically David's take on season three and how the show has matured so far.

Farscape: The Story So Far - This is a 22 minute catch up feature for people to get familiar with Farscape up to the fourth season. This featurette was in previous collections.

Inside Farscape: Villains - 15 minutes of interviews with the actors who make up the major villains Scorpius (Wayne Pygram), Crais (Lani Tupu), and Commandant Grayza (Rebecca Riggs). Cool to see Wayne out of makeup.

Inside Farscape: Special Effects - Animal Logic was the visual effects company that worked on Farscape. This feature shows before and after images of various effect pieces along with a commentary explaining what you see.

Inside Farscape: Save Farscape - Pretty inspiring piece on the efforts by fans and crew to revive the show enough for it get a proper send off.

Deleted Scenes - There have been 90 minutes of deleted scenes previously released, and we are getting them all.

Farscape in the Raw: Director's Cut Scenes - Compares the final scenes with the director's print. Keep in mind these scenes are without special effects, music, or sometimes even proper dubbing.

Alternate Version of the Season 2 Premiere

Listening In with Composer Guy Gross - Focuses on Guy and the process he goes through composing the music for the series. You get to watch him at work pretty much while he gives a commentary on what he does.

Behind the Scenes Interviews - I am thinking this may be the interviews from the previous collections from actors Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Gigi Edgley and Wayne Pygram.

Zhaan Forever - A more in depth interview with Virginia Hey. Runs about ten minutes.

On the Last Day: Wrap Speech from David Kemper - A goodbye speech from David to the crew. Recommended viewing once you finish watching the series.

Production and Design Galleries - archival photo galleries, character concepts, promo photos, design gallery screen shots, rough drafts, and concept slide shows.

Original TV promos and trailers

It looks like a number of little extras from the Starburst collection won't be included like the Alien Encounters, Cool Farscape Facts, Farscape Chronicles and even maybe the early make-up tests will be omitted as well. Still if you have to leave something out these are probably the least sought after.

Farscape is a sci-fi TV series that ranks right up there with the best of them. Every fan of the genre should get familiar with this show, and this release is a great way to see it.

I recently picked up the bluray release of Farscape and just last night finished the final episode of season four. What is my opinion?

Stunning!

It's a show that is SO good that it could only be rivaled by the shame I feel for not checking it out sooner. I have always known about Farscape, I caught parts of episodes from time to time but it was just so different from what I was into at the time that it didn't hook me, plus the opening music theme really didn't help. I heard other web friends talking about how good it was and decided to give it another look, but waited for the bluray release. The blurays look amazing, and they are packed with extras, and the art box looks very handsome on the prominent shelf on which it now rests.

As for the show, it was a joy. I can now see a lot of what made this show great in subsequent shows that I enjoyed like the Battlestar Galactica re-imagining. With Farscape it all comes down to character development (my favorite thing), and the interesting ways that the characters manage to worm or weasel their way out of the traps and unusual situations that they find themselves in. It's a BIG adventure, with lots of great new faces from the Australian casting, beautiful sets, and some truly impressive creations from the Jim Henson Company. If you can look past its minor flaws and inconsistencies (and they are usually minor) the character moments are VERY rewarding, especially in season 3.

Immediately after I finished the show I went on to Amazon and bought the sequel mini-series "The Peacekeeper Wars" to see what happens next, and will be checking out the continuations of the show in other formats. I hope you don't wait like I did and check this show out today!!!