ADV Films presents

Farscape #7 (2000)

"There's never any time for 'this stupid human stuff' and I'm sick of it!"- John Crichton (Ben Browder)

Stars: Ben Browder, Claudia Black
Other Stars: Anthony Simcoe, Virginia Hey
Director: Peter Andrikidis, Ian Watson

Manufacturer: DVCC
MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (mild violence, some language)
Run Time: 01h:39m:12s
Release Date: 2001-10-16
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A-	B+	A	A	C-

 

DVD Review

Volume 7 of the Farscape series contains what are generally known as two fan favorite episodes: The Flax and Jeremiah Crichton. By now, the show was able to play around a bit with its storylines and not worry about strictly adhering to the hard sci-fi aspects, and it shows a bit here. By the same token, though, it doesn't get so goofy that it breaks the mood, which I think a few of the newer episodes have done.

In the first presentation, The Flax, Aeryn Sun is attempting to teach John Crichton how to operate Leviathan technology (a small pod ship) so that he can function on his own in an emergency. As they fly about in an empty section of space, they find themselves suddenly trapped. A mysterious Zenetan pirate shows up and visits Moya, where he reveals his knowledge of the Flax, a complex force field designed to hold ships while they're plundered. He agrees to help rescue John and Aeryn, but at the same time, D'Argo also wants the pirate to show him an abandoned Luxon cruiser caught in the Flax, for evidence of his family, for whom he has been searching. Originally, this episode was something of a big deal, as it was the first one to showcase a slightly closer-than-usual relationship between John and Aeryn, setting itself up as a big dramatic high-point. Regardless, it's one of my personal favorites in the series. Too bad the Zenetan pirates have never made a return.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Moyas.


In Jeremiah Crichton, John decides he's had enough of being treated like a 'stupid human', so he takes his shuttlecraft for a spin. Unfortunately, since Moya is pregnant, her unstable behavior has gotten worse. She decides to starburst to another part of the galaxy while John is still flying around, thus abandoning him. Months later, Crichton finds himself in an idyllic setting on an Earth-like planet he's found. He's accepted in the local tribe and is at peace with the fact he may never get back to his own homeworld. Meanwhile, his crewmates are still searching for John, feeling guilty over having driven him away. They finally find the planet he's on, but a variety of problems complicate the issue. The daughter of the chief of the tribe has her eye on Crichton, which has caused a rift in their behavior. On top of that, when Rygel and D'Argo show up, the tribe treats Rygel as if he is a god. Leaving the planet will prove an extremely tricky task. It's rare to see an episode in any series that fast-forwards the events by many months like this, establishing a total sidetrack in the main plot. The end result is very interesting, with a few minor flaws. I can only assume that titling the episode was supposed to be some kind of reference to the Robert Redford movie, Jeremiah Johnson, but even then, I'm not sure the reference quite fits.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Moyas.


I wish the series in its current form wasn't quite so complex. I think these first season shows were good because of their streamlined aspects. Although the character of Chiana is soon introduced (on the next disc, in fact), I think there's too many characters in the current series. There's so much going on, and much of it involves many psychological aspects. You shouldn't have to re-show the entire first 2 seasons just to get new viewers up to speed with the massive story elements of the current season. At least, that's my opinion as far as certain sci-fi shows go. For better or worse, though, Farscape has pretty much already redefined what these shows can be like, so it's sad to see so many new attempts at the genre are so terrible and clichéd.

Rating for Style: A-
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: The typical fantastic transfer is presented here. Even a bit more so, because the episode Jeremiah Crichton takes place in bright, harsh sunlight, with rich colors from the tribal setting. The disc handles this new, clearer setting like a champ, with fantastic detail and sharpness.

Image Transfer Grade: A
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: Audio quality is up to the usual snuff, with fantastic Dolby 5.1 mixes on both episodes, possibly more dynamic and immersive than usual. Loads of directionality and split-surround effects are to be found, along with noticeable bass extension and an overall high-powered clarity. The Jeremiah Crichton mix is less exciting since it is more dramatic, but still well done. Farscape features probably some of the best television-to-home video sound mixes, and this is no exception. The Dolby 2.0 Surround is just as clear and clean, obviously lacking some of the punch of the 5.1, but no less impressive.

Audio Transfer Grade: A 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 8 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English (captions) with remote access
4 Other Trailer(s) featuring Ninja Resurrection. Blood Reign, Tekken: The King of Iron Fist Tournament, Orphen
Packaging: other
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Video Profile: Terry Ryan, costume designer
2. Costume Design notes

Extras Review: The 11-minute video profile of costume designer Terry Ryan is pretty interesting and certainly educational. It reveals some of the processes used to design and create the costumes, which is a process that must take a variety of factors into account. Costuming for unknown/non-existent cultures is probably one of the hardest jobs of all, and Ryan does a good job of getting some of that creativity across. A brief series of notes and photographs is presented as additional material on costuming. No other extras are present, other than some previews.

Extras Grade: C-
 

Final Comments

Fans will know whether they fit into the buy or rent category, but either way, it's a fairly good disc for the Farscape series, and adheres to the usual standards of previous volumes.

Dan Lopez 2001-10-16