Customer Reviews

Farscape Season 3, Vol. 3

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, trying to explain what has come before this volume for the novice and uninitiated is next to pointless, but for those in the know, this is another solid collection of episodes from the shows' third season. "Relativity" deals with tough-chick Aeryn Sun and her serious quandry of her mother being sent by ther Peacekeepers to bring our heroes in. The solution is not pretty and one that comes back to haunt her later on in the season. "Incubator" is a chilling tale of bad-guy Scorpius' past, and boy, it's not one easily forgotten. "Meltdown" involves our heroes getting dragged towards a sun by a bizarre force. "Scratch N' Sniff" is easily one of the more bizarre episodes of the show, involving a bickering crew and a shore leave gone horribly awry. It's a welcome lighthearted trip from the gloom and drama that fills this set, but the whole collection is still good. Recommended (unless your new, then I recommend checking out the show from the beginning).

First, to be clear on what you will find on Volume 3 of Season 3 of "Farscape," it is episodes 5, 6 and 7, not 8 and 9, which are on Volume 4. At this point in the season the successful attempt to bring Aeryn back from the dead has cost Zhaan her life, and Moya's crew now has to carry out without the blue skinned priestess:

Episode 5, "... Different Destinations" (Written by Steve Worland, First Aired April 13, 2001) is one of the most emotionally devastating "Farscape" episodes ever, which is really saying something. While visiting a memorial that honors the peace treaty made between the Peacekeepers and the Venek Horde a temporal rift opens and Crichton, Aeryn, D'Argo and Jool are pulled back in time to when the monastary was the scene of the great siege. As they try to stay alive and get back to their own time, Crichton and the others realize that every thing they do is changing the course of history, with profound effects (which the rest of the crew on Moya in the "present" can see as the planet below them changes). Crichton desperately tries to find a way to make everything right again while Aeryn learns the truth about a famous Peacekeeper hero and D'Argo befriends a young girl. Far warning: you will be emotionally drained by the end of this one, a classic example of how great time travel stories can be when written intelligently. (5+ Wormholes)

"Eat Me" (Written by Matt Ford, April 20, 2001) finds Crichton, Chaina, D'Argo and Jool landing on an old, diseased Leviathan when their Transport Pod is damaged. Since the Leviathan wears a Peacekeeper Control Collar the gang is on the lookout for Peacekeepers, but instead all they find are mutant scavengers and Kaarvok, a madman who likes to eat brain matter and who has the power to "twin" any living being. This he does to D'Argo, Chaina, and Crichton. Meanwhile, Aeryn, Rygel and Stark discover a beaten and battered Talyn drifting through space, along with an unconscious Crais. At first this seems like a "road not taken" episode where the crew encounters a Leviathan carrying their less fortunate counterparts. But "Eat Me" ends with what ends up being the most significant plot develop during Season 3. (5 Wormholes)

"Thanks For Sharing" (Written by Clayvon C. Harris, First Aired June 15, 2001) has Crichton going crazy trying to figure out which one of him is the original and which the clone. Meanwhile, when D'Argo, Chiana and Rygel head down to Kanvia to pick up some Chromextin, a healing drug for the ailing Talyn, they become embroiled in local politics. Then there is the bombshell that Crais drops on Aeryn regarding her mother and the circumstances of her conception. The news is rather pertinent because it is Xhalax Sun that is commanding the Peacekeeper Retrieval Squad that attacked Talyn. Consequently, there are a whole lot of "to be continued" elements for Season 3 introduced in this episode. (4 Wormholes)

This is one of the stellar discs in the "Farscape" collection. The first episode is an absolute classic, and the other two are pivotal in establishing the major story arc of Season 3, which explored the themes of separation and death in some depth.

I'm a fan so I think the episodes are great, nuff said. The extras include long interviews with Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) and Gigi Edgeley (Chiana). Pygram claimed not to have aspired to be an actor, which makes you wonder how he turned out to be so incredibly self-absorbed. He refers to himself in the third person several times, always a bad sign. I wonder if anyone has told him he's not the star of the show. Gigi was much more charming and interesting, and it's nice to see her without the gray paint. She seems to be much more like her character (fun!) than Pygram is. Each disk has a deleted scene, some trailers and promos.

This Rating is based on DVD Quality, not Series Quality

First, I am a huge Farscape fan. I believe it is the best Science Fiction TV series - and the sci-fi channel was stupid to cancel it.

Now, the only issues I have with this DVD set is the DVD quality. The sound quality is awful!! In Relativity, it sounds as if the boom-operator was widely swinging his microphone because the sound would decrease suddenly mid-sentence. I'm not sure if it was technical errors on part of the crew or an issue with the DVD. I happen to lean towards the later, because at times, the whole soundtrack (music and dialog) will decrease in volume.

Other than sound issues, it's a great DVD

A.D. Vision has taken to labeling there DVD's with Disc1 or DiscA type of labeling. This of course makes it pretty hard to tell which disc is which when you bring your disc menu. So you are stuck using the EZ Play slot on the Sony DVP CX870D 300 +1 DVD player. Otherwise Farscape is great!