Blu-ray review: Farscape: The Complete Series

Synopsis ~ Strap in and hold on tight for the extraordinary adventures of astronaut John Crichton, (Ben Browder) who, after a freak accident, finds himself surrounded by hostile aliens and soaring through the cosmos aboard Moya, a glorious living space ship. Hunted by the relentless Peacekeepers, he allies himself with Moya’s crew -- Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), Luxan warrior Ka D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), azure priestess Zhaan (Virginia Hey), spritely Nebari thief Chiana (Gigi Edgley), Dominar Rygel, the deposed royal ruler of the Hynerian Empire and Pilot – to search for a way out of this inconceivably alien world and return home.

An imaginative fusion of live action, state-of-the-art puppetry, prosthetics and CGI, “Farscape,” produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with RHI Entertainment, featured mind-boggling alien life forms, dazzling special effects, edge-of-your-seat thrills, irreverent humor and unforgettable characters -- all brought to rich life by the creative minds at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™. “With FARSCAPE, we work hard to meet our fans’ high expectations and this new Blu Ray release utilizes the highest quality source materials available so I know our audience will not be disappointed,” said Brian Henson, Chairman of The Jim Henson Company and executive producer of FARSCAPE.

Studio: A&E Home Entertainment
Running Time: 68 hours & 56 minutes | plus special features
Rating: N/A
Number of Disks: 20

Special Features:
- 29 Episode Commentaries, including “Premiere” with Rockne S. O’Bannon, Brian Henson and Ben Browder; “Jeremiah Crichton” with Claudia Black, Producer/Writer David Kemper, Browder and O’Bannon; “Bone to Be Wild” with Anthony Simcoe;“Relativity” with Lani Tupu (Crais/Voice of Pilot) and Director Peter Andrikidis; and, “Bad Timing” which features Browder, Black and Kemper discussing the series’ final episode
- A brand-new documentary: Memories of Moya: An Epic Journey Explored featuring revealing new interviews with the cast and creators
- Multiple featurettes and documentaries on which fans, cast and crew discuss the fate of their beloved series, including:
   *In the Beginning: A Look Back with Brian Henson
   *Making of a Space Opera
   *Inside Farscape: Save Farscape
- Multiple video profiles featuring archival clips and cast/crew discussing their characters and roles on Farscape
- Over 90 minutes of deleted scenes
- Slideshows and archival photo galleries, including character concepts and promo photos
- Production design galleries featuring screenshots, rough drafts and concept slide shows
- Behind-the-Scenes interviews with Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Virginia Hey, Gigi Edgley, Paul Goddard (Stark), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) and more
- Original TV promos and trailers
- Bloopers

Episodes:
*Information on all 88 Episodes HERE

Slightly breaking away from the typical Sci-Fi norm – if indeed only in puppet form - Farscape: The Complete Series successfully managed to cash in on the presumably spent Sci-Fi TV piggy bank; at least until its untimely cancellation in 2003, and while the series never truly provided any new or ground-breaking scenarios that hadn’t already been touched in some way by previous and more prominent Treks, the creative creatures, strong writing and talented Farscape cast nevertheless rocketed the little series that could to its own collection of cult loyalists.

The horde of supplemental extras though is where this set really shines, offering up a vast array of series long insights which provide fans the ultimate in Farscape history. Though only 29 episodes receive commentaries, what is offered is amazingly comprehensive and completely entertaining. Nothing is missed and no topic is too small, dealing with everything from series premiere problems, casting, and puppetry, to how each episode was approached, and while watching the bulk of these commentaries may indeed prove challenging for rookies, fanatical Farscapers will be thoroughly pleased.

And speaking of bulk, the Behind-The-Scenes offerings are also a great exercise in excess, piling up “Memories of Moya”, “In the Beginning: A Look Back with Brian Henson”, “Making of a Space Opera”, “Inside Farscape: Save Farscape”, and a host of other miscellaneous Behind-The-Scenes interviews, the set does a fantastic job catering to Farscape followers while providing every last sliver of interesting information about the series.

Most of the Behind-The-Scenes extras are split amongst series information and the fight dedicated fans gave as a result of the series being abruptly cancelled, but the documentary “Memories of Moya” is by far the best source for more recent information about the series. The over 90 minutes of deleted scenes is also a wonderful surprise and an asset seldom seen on set of this size, so if you’ve ever wanted to see all those crucial moments which you thought should have happened but never did, in one form or another they’re probably lurking in this stellar section.

The most puzzling aspect of the extras; or perhaps the episodes – aside from the fact that they only include Bloopers from Season Two – is that the fan prodded miniseries which gave closure to the complete series did not make it on the set. I’m assuming that A&E may try and strike a deal with Lionsgate for a companion set containing these vital episodes; but if not, I’m sure Lionsgate is poised to release them once the final Complete Series sales numbers are in.

So with a defining upgrade to Henson’s already legendary name and light-years more technically challenging than papa’s pioneering “Pigs In Space”, Farscape: The Complete Series sits proudly on the shelf as a well written, well executed, well imagined bit of Sci-Fi fantasy.

*Purchase this title and other recent releases locally HERE

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