Investigating Farscape: Uncharted Territories of Sex and Science Fiction (Investigating Cult TV) [Hardcover]

Jes Battis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Investigating Cult TV | Publication Date: July 10, 2007

"My name is John Crichton. I'm lost. An astronaut. Shot through a wormhole.  In some distant part of the universe.  I'm trying to stay alive. Aboard this ship.  This living ship. Of escaped prisoners."  During its fourth and--for the present--final season, Farscape was the Sci-Fi Channel's highest rated original series.  With its dedicated fan-base, Farscape seasons are still  top-billing Sci Fi DVDs.  This first substantial analysis of the show, written by a scholar-fan, uncovers Farscape's layers and those of the living spaceship Moya. Jes Battis proposes that Farscape is as much about bodies, sex and gender, as it is about wormholes, space ships and interstellar warfare. It is this straddling of genres that makes the show so viewable to such a broad audience, of which almost half are women.  He explores Farscape's language and characters, including Moya, its creation of family and home, of masculinity and femininity, and the transformation of an all-American boy

Editorial Reviews

Review

"His passionate love for the show breathes in almost every line." - Roz Kaveney 

About the Author

Jes Battis is a Ph.D. student in the Department of English, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, and is the author of Blood Relations: Chosen Families in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (2005).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845113411
• ISBN-13: 978-1845113414
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,670,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jes Battis is currently Assistant Professor of English at the University of Regina, teaching classes in fantasy and science fiction, queer studies, children's lit, and medieval material culture. His OSI Series is available from Ace-Penguin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful literary analysis of Farscape, but perhaps not for the casual reader, July 21, 2008

By 

Frank Harris (Tucson, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Investigating Farscape: Uncharted Territories of Sex and Science Fiction (Investigating Cult TV) (Paperback)

Battis is obviously a devoted fan of the show, and treats his close reading of the series with a fondness that goes beyond an academic interest in the various gender, queer, and postcolonial theories that Farscape explores (and casts his writing in a more engaging manner than most academic theses). That said, the reader would probably get more out of this book if they have some familiarity with literary theory, Lacan, Butler, etc.

I give it five stars because in doing what I perceived to be its chief aim - the kind of close reading of a text that brings out so much more from it, like a magic-eye illusion - it does a perfect job. And I greatly enjoyed that, feeling like I could go back and watch any given episode, now, with more things to look for and new understandings, and see it with more depth than I ever did before.

If you'd like a range of interesting takes on Farscape, ranging from the sexual to the political and beyond (which, I should note, the author acknowledges as only his take and that he fervently hopes for more perspectives from others), and enjoy discussing what it means to be human, political commentaries in fiction, and stuff of that ilk, then definitely read this book. If you enjoy the show for simply for its explosions and wit, then by all means stick with that, and keep enjoying it as is, though you might find yourself bored or bemused by Investigating Farscape.

13 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A book that did not need to be written., August 27, 2007

By 

Scorpious's PA "GP" (Great Britain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Investigating Farscape: Uncharted Territories of Sex and Science Fiction (Investigating Cult TV) (Paperback)

The author is confused from what the show gave us, and searches (using his words) to "queer" the show as much as possible, when there is no need to do so.

He also does not understand some of the European influences and ethos on the show and is caught up in poor arguments.

For example Chiana has a "tralk", which the Farscape community accepts as a meaning "slut", yet there are plenty of people in reality who are very comfortable in their sexuality and are not weak or gender-trapped.

The author is determined to take some of the shows key moments and inject his "queerness" in every moment.

I must stress I am not homophobic in any way but Season 1 - finale with John and D'Argo drifting in Space above the destroyed Gammak Base, he argues poorly to turn that into a sexual argument.