Product Details

• Actors: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Virginia Hey, Anthony Simcoe, Kent McCord
• Directors: Andrew Prowse
• Writers: Rockne S. O'Bannon
• Producers: Kris Noble, Matt Carroll, Naren Shankar, Richard Clendinnen, Rockne S. O'Bannon
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Adv Films
• DVD Release Date: February 6, 2001
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000541X6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,975 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Television > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Farscape

• For more information about "Farscape Season 1, Vol. 1 - Premiere/I, E.T." visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 1 in The Farscape Season 1 Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Smart-talking American astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) is flung through a wormhole and comes out in the midst of an interstellar prison escape on the other side of the universe. Bad luck for Crichton: the galactic cops (called "peacekeepers") mark him as the new public enemy number 1. This 20th-century boy is forced to ally himself with the colorful convicts: D'Argo, a hulking warrior with a fleshy Rastafarian mane; Zhaan, a blue-skinned priest of indeterminate age (played by Road Warrior alumnus Virginia Hey); fugitive peacekeeper Aeryn (Pitch Black's Claudia Black); Rygel, a greedy and troll-like exiled king; and Pilot, the giant insect-like nerve center of their living ship, Moya. It's an impressive-looking made-for-cable series, with imaginative production design and mix of state-of-the-art digital effects and sophisticated puppetry (or rather Muppetry, courtesy of co-creator Brian Henson), but it's the sharp writing and vivid characters that have built--and kept--the show's following.

Premiere introduces each character and the basic premise, a sci-fi Fugitive by way of Voyager in a world far from the Federation-friendly universe of Star Trek. Crichton's welcome is anything but warm, and the cultural and philosophical differences of the fleeing outlaws, as well as their pure self-interest, clash under the constant threat of capture. In I, E.T., a hidden homing signal forces Moya to hide in a terrestrial bog while the crew tries to disarm the device (which has been fused to the ship's nervous system), and Crichton makes first contact with the planet's pre-space flight inhabitants. "Spielberg was all wrong," he remarks while dodging military patrols and soothing the fears of a sky-watching scientist. Well-timed to fill the void left by Babylon 5, this is the promising start of a fresh sci-fi franchise. --Sean Axmaker

Additional Features
The DVD also features commentary for each episode, with co-creators Henson and Rockne S. O'Bannon joining star Ben Browder to discuss the origins of the series for Premiere, and costars Claudia Black (Aeryn) and Anthony Simcoe (D'Argo) chiming in on I, E.T., sharing production stories and casting details. There's also the informative documentary featurette The Making of a Space Opera and an interview/profile with Browder. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WORTH WAITING FOR, December 22, 2000

By	"ajhuron7" (San Antonio, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

I have the UK editon of this DVD & it's excellent. The sound is in Dolby 5.1.Wait until you hear Moya flying into starburst across your T.V. screen. WOW!The picture quality is also excellent & is meant for TV's with more than 500 lines of resolution. This Dvd has some cute extras. On disc one there are somewonderful interviews that show just how much work & sweat is put into Farscape. On disc 2 you can finally see the actorwho plays Dargo without make up. Make sure when you view both DVD's you have a home theatre. If you don't have one get one. This DVD is worth the wait for fans of the show. You may also pick up the Farscape music CD to satisfy your cravings. This DVD also contains screensavers & web links. The only difference on the UK version is the packaging. So enjoy. I'll review the next Farscape DVD when it arrives, as I already have it. Blast off into Farscape!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In Like a Lion ..., September 20, 2001

By	Aaron A Atwood "[e-mail]" (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Farscape is a series that goes far out on a limb to maintain the illusion of an alien universe and avoid the cliches of television sci-fi by depicting every other race as human with something on their foreheads. The characters can be funny without ever crossing that line into sillyness, and real enough that it can be a little heavy without being too melodramatic.

The premiere episode does a good job of introducing the universe, the characters we'll follow in it, and the premise of their main conflicts. One of the pleasures of the show is that the status quo will shift significantlt over time, but the premiere goes a long way ot making these developments accessable, so if you're curious about the show, it will help to start at the beginning.

The biggest knock I have against the DVD they couldn't have helped; the second episode just happens to be one of those rare, weak episodes of the series. I, ET may seem a little cheesy compared to the pilot episode because it lacks the ship battles, cosmic scale and (to some extent) humor of the usual episodes but the point of it is to show that the one transplanted human in the 'alien' in the show. It's a good idea, but played better in later episodes.

People who have watched the show may wonder if the sound, picture quality and extra scenes are worth the price of admission for 're-runs'. I'd say 'no' if those were the only benefits. I really enjoyed these, the visual special effects are better, and the sound is crisp, but by themselves these were maybe an extra 10-20% goose to the overall experience. The deleted scenes are nice, but blink and you'll miss 'em.

The overwhelming argument for the familiar fan to get the DVD of these particular 're-runs' are the overlaid audio commentary tracks. It may sound technical and uninviting, but these are fun and I came away appreciating the show on a level that I hadn't really considered before. With the tracks here and on Farscape 2 you'll get a much fuller picture of the craft and consideration the cast and crew put into making this weekly spectacle. It's not like those cheesy infomercial 'making of ...' documentaries, or the director-after-his-third-scotch mumbling over all the dialogue like the tired intellectual that he is. No, on these DVDs you will be entertained by friendly performers and writers laughing about what they tried to do with a scene and candidly exposing the little magician's tricks about how they came about it. If you don't like the initial show this may not interest you so much, but any regular viewer should have these early Farscape DVDs that let everyone in behind the curtain.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Farscape... far out!, January 23, 2001

By	N. Gisburne (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have the entire first series on DVD (its been available for much of 2000 - try amazon.co.uk if you are able to view region 2) and it is incredibly addictive. Perhaps the most original and exciting sci-fi series ever, I'd venture to say. The lavish production puts many Hollywood movies to shame. Comparing it with one of its contemporary series, Andromeda, Farscape has that look of 'no expense spared on wardrobe and sets', while a recent Andromeda episode, er, put some silver paint on the aliens' faces and that was it! I vote Farscape way head of any TV sci-fi you're likely to see, and on DVD the full Dolby experience is awesome. Also the humour is very dry at times, which just adds to the enjoyment. This one is well worth your hard-earned cash, believe me.