by Sal Kenny

Created on: April 16, 2008

Outer space is big. But for such a big place, the outer space we see on television is crowded. It is full of places where no one has gone before and galaxies far, far away. It is cluttered with prime directives, galactic cowboys, and hostile robots with nuclear weapons. But in the teeming world of interstellar adventure, Farscape stands alone.

Set in a distant part of the galaxy, Farscape follows human astronaut John Crichton as he explores a world of unknown creatures, terrifying danger and incredible beauty. After arriving there by accident, he survives at first and then thrives as the lone human in a crew of escapes prisoners on the run from an insane and powerful enemy. Yes, it's a tired concept but sci-fi stories aren't as much about new ideas anymore as they are about compelling characters.

And of all the characters in the world of science fiction, I wish I could be John Crichton.

Drawing from its Muppet roots, Farscape placed Crichton and crew into strange worlds full or weird creatures who caused new trouble each week. They plotted, they schemed, they ran for their lives and through it all, they drew the viewer in. They made you love Moya, their living ship, and her crew.

You cheered their successes and jeered their defeats. You celebrated heroics and mourned a death. And through it all they did something so infrequent in science fiction: they made you laugh. Farscape was nothing if not funny. From the alien puzzlement at human culture to constant pop culture references, Farscape kept it light in a genre heavy with the very serious business of space exploration. Again, their Muppet roots served them well.

From beginning to end, the series grew and developed characters that were complex and tormented yet easy to relate to. They felt loss, love, anger, joy and fear. They fought with one another but banded together when one of their own was threatened. And in the end, we said goodbye to those we lost and wished well those who remained.

I wasn't happy when Farscape ended but I am happy that it was there while it was.

Frelling fantastic.

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