Farscape

[Bjorn]

So we took a long break from watching this.  I think the whole Zhaan thing was actually a bigger blow than either the lady or I originally thought.  Following that, we both just kind of quit bringing it up, plus we had a bunch of games from the holidays to play and that took up a chunk of our leisure time.  But now we're back to watching it.
 
This show just really does revel in putting its characters through serious emotional trauma.

The twin Crightons seemed like they had to be destined for catastrophe, and of course the love arc ends up going with the one doomed to die.  Aeryn has in a matter of a few weeks/months discovered that her mother is still alive, walked away as a crewmate executed her mother (or so we are led to believe), fallen head over heels in love, and then had said lover die in her arms.  And soon enough she'll be re-united with his twin, I'm assuming, who has become a truly insufferable ass in the ensuing time, one so obnoxious that Pilot finally shifted from passive aggression to straight up aggression by temporarily banning him from the ship. 

 

And speaking of that, Scratch n Sniff (S3E13) is now one of my favorite episodes.  Not that it's technically the best, but similar to the comment I made around the end of Season 1, I needed some Farscape weird to breakup the more serious stuff, and this one is just delightfully weird.  It's interesting how almost impossible it has become for the Moya crew to actually operate in a real society.  Between their reputations, their legitimate craziness and pre-existing personalities, they just can't manage to go for more than a few hours without screwing something up.  And in other shows where that might eventually feel forced, it feels like their natural environment.  To contrast it to another Star Trek episode, I love how this is basically the Hunter S Thompson version of Captain's Holiday. 

[Ben X]

Just watched S01e11 while my girlfriend pottered around in the background half paying attention, and at one point she exclaimed in reference to Claudia Black, "Ugh, she is the worst actress in the world!"

[Twig]

wow she doesn't watch much television does she

[Bjorn]

I can see how any one episode (particularly early ones) could lead people to think that a lot of the actors are average to poor, but it's the long arc that proves just how stunningly excellent and dedicated each person is to their character and craft. 

 

Apparently Black also has the super power of being able to summon a single, large tear on command whenever she wants, or even multiple times in a row if a scene needs re-shot. 

[Ben X]

I can see how any one episode (particularly early ones) could lead people to think that a lot of the actors are average to poor, but it's the long arc that proves just how stunningly excellent and dedicated each person is to their character and craft. 

 

That's good, because I'm not enjoying many of the lead performances very much so far.

[Ben X]

Just watched S01E17 (Through The Looking Glass or something), it was pretty cool. I think I said this about Star Trek TOS as well, but a lot of these could really do with being half an hour...