ADV Films presents

Farscape 2.4 (2001)

Chiana: Our parasite problems are solved.
Aeryn: Rygel's decided to leave us then, has he?- Gigi Edgley, Claudia Black

Stars: Ben Browder, Anthony Simcoe, Claudia Black
Other Stars: Lani Tupu, Gigi Edgley, Virginia Hey
Director: Tony Tilse, Rowan Woods, Ian Watson

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (violence, some language)
Run Time: 03h:24m:00s
Release Date: 2002-12-03
Genre: television

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

 

DVD Review

Moving deeper into Season 2 of Farscape, things just never let up for the crew of Moya. That said, though, the central plot-based episodes are starting to fade a bit in favor of more filler-style stories where the characters get deeper into trouble, or maybe just a bit out of it. While elements from the larger storyline do come into play, this volume sees some unusual, peripheral experiences butt heads with John Crichton and friends. Starting with episode 14:

Beware of Dog

Food supplies have been a problem for Moya for some time, but now the crew have happened upon some rations from a trade planet. Unfortunately, they suspect the food might be bad and infected with some sort of parasite that could well take over the ship. The crew enlists the help of a Volk, a little dog-like creature, to help hunt down the parasite and kill it off. Soon after the hunt is on, however, D'Argo is attacked and poisoned by a large creature that, presumably, was the Volk gone amok. The crew turns on the Volk and tries to capture it, but there is an underlying suspicion that the beast had nothing to do with D'Argo's attack, and that something else is behind the plot to kill off the crew. To be honest, the plot here is a bit thin and is rather similar to other previous episodes involving some creature trying to take over the ship, or off the crew. It's a bit predictable and generally not one of the best stories.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Moyas.





Won't Get Fooled Again

Crichton wakes up and, rather mysteriously, finds himself on Earth, a captive of NASA. This seems a lot like what happened to him back in Season 1, so Crichton takes the initiative and assumes it's all somehow a big trick and he, in fact, is NOT back on Earth enjoying the company of his father. He knows things are wacky, for sure, when Moya's crew members turn up as average Earth citizens. Scorpius... the drummer in a heavy metal band? The answer to what is going on in this mass hallucination is quite strange, and while this episode seems like an excuse to get silly for awhile, it actually sets the stage for storylines much further down the road.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Moyas





The Locket

This a very strange little departure for the show in which Aeryn and Crichton find themselves lost in a strange gas cloud. While there, they find a planet on which they live a full lifetime as different people; but Moya remains the same, somewhere in orbit. As it turns out, both Moya and the other couple are lost in different, strange zones of time flow and the only way out is perhaps the powers of Stark, the mysterious passenger Moya picked up not too long ago. While a decent enough episode, this smacks quite highly of the usual time-distortion type episode found in virtually every straight sci-fi show in existence. As a result, it has a "been there, done that" feel to it.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Moyas.





The Ugly Truth

Moya's crew decides to confront the issue of Talyn's (Moya's child ship) aggressive tendencies. As he possesses incredibly powerful weapons, the crew wants to disarm him and replace his defenses with less harsh equipment. Talyn won't cooperate, but before they know it, they're all being accused of destroying a trade ship that had passed nearby. Put on trial for the crime, the crew must figure out how the ship was destroyed and if Talyn had something to do with it. An interesting idea, the episode feels a lot like Dream a Little Dream in which the crew also had to defend itself in intergalactic court.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Moyas.





While entertaining, this volume of the Farscape saga feels a little bland and very much a product of too-familiar ideas. We've seen episodes like these on other shows, just with different details and circumstances. This is probably the weakest grouping of episodes yet in the series and shows that departing from the core story just to get weird and introduce some creatures and bizarre situations, is probably not the best idea for the show to run with.

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

 

Image Transfer

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

Image Transfer Review: The transfer is extremely sharp and crisp, up to the usual standards. There are no signs of even the most remote digital error, and the result is an extremely lively image that resembles the most precise image probably possible. Most impressive is the accurate black level that allows the dark scenery to appear normal without any unintentionally grey background.

Image Transfer Grade: A
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby 5.1 sound mix offers a very energized way to watch the show; using all of the channels to good effect and surrounding the viewer in a very functional environment. While the action scenes get a little loud and rowdy, other scenes are well represented by subtle usage of active sound effects and surround immersion. The 2.0 Surround audio lacks the clarity and distinct activity of the 5.1, but is still a good quality track when compared to other Surround tracks of that nature.

Audio Transfer Grade: A 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 12 cues and remote access
4 Other Trailer(s) featuring Andromeda, Spriggan, Gasaraki, The Devil Lady
3 Deleted Scenes
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. Actor/Character Bio: Anthony Simcoe/Ka D'Argo
2. Conceptual Artwork
3. Farscape Dictionary
4. Alien Races and Encounters guide

Extras Review: The extra features are pretty much in the same vein as previous Farscape discs, only with slight changes to reflect the episodes here. This volume's biography focuses on actor Anthony Simcoe and his character, Ka D'Argo, providing a look at what makes him tick (and also providing a glimpse of Simcoe out of his elaborate make-up). The alien guide examines some of the creatures we see in this volume as well as other alien races featured in the series as a general usage type thing. It's a neat feature in a way, since fictional guides to fictional aliens and beings always allows for a certain amount of creativity. Another Farscape dictionary entry explains some terms used in the show to describe elements of the uncharted territories of space. Soon you'll be spouting Farscape lingo like no one's business. Some deleted scenes show some cut material from the episodes, but it isn't anything special; it's easy to see why the trims were made in favor of a speedier narrative. Some ADV previews and the usual heavily animated presentation round out the disc.

Extras Grade: C+
 

Final Comments

Farscape dips, just a little, into a low period in this volume. It isn't terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but it does show some cracks. The rehash of these stereotypical, sci-fi series ideas just doesn't work well with the radical world of the show and the advanced state of storytelling we're already used to. Still, for the completist, there's stuff to appreciate here.

Dan Lopez 2002-12-08