1.01: Premiere

padders

System Lord of ASciFi.com
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Well you have to start somewhere!

This was one of the best premier's for a sci-fi show that I have seen considering they went down the "single episode" route as opposed to doing a double episode.

The episode lobbed John Crichton straight into the new universe we are set to explore and also introduced as really nicely to the other characters. We got to see D'argo's firery nature straight away which was great. I really good episode i thought!
 
I agree. If you look back at Star Trek Next Gen, the first year, and being a fan, you still have to admit how (dare I say it) bad it was.

Farscape's first episode was amazingly helpful with the characters for just one episode. The writers gave you a good insight into not only D'Argo, but also Moya, the peacekeepers and Aeryn, and John Crighton. Pretty good work for just one hour.

For those who aren't scifi fans, I don't think they give sufficient time to think through how difficult it must be to write for this type of series. In initially creating the peacekeepers and Aeryn, D'Argo, Rygel, Zhahn, Pilot and Moya, the writers created entirely different species, worlds, religions, backgrounds, and lives, not just actors with different looks. A big task.

NBC might as well just admit why their ratings for the Olympics have gone down. Farscape fans are boycotting. We want our series back, and we want it NOW.
 
Well I am going to watch all my episodes again so i thought i would start from the beginning and went back to this ep.

The episode must have taken a long time to write and i sincerely doubt it was the first episode they wrote at all. As Texane suggests a lot of work would have had to go into creating all the character information, the universe they are in and all that. I would think they played around with this and lots of other episodes before they actually made the first one.

It is amazing how much information you get from this episode. It both introduces characters and also sets up the major plot line for the 1st series anyway: Get home, being chased by Crais and why. All the characters are introduced well by Zhaan the slight exception but then she has a complicated character. It was still her that listened to John with his theory about going back down to the planet.

I could almost go and watch it again right now.

Definitely a 10/10 episode in my books.
 
good news

the sci-fi channel is showing the pilot episode, followed by back to back episodes of season 1, before they start season 2, i think it's the end of april...peachy :D
 
I've recieved my first batch of dvd's so here goes. I thought the episode suffered a bit from being 'just' a single episode. Things seemed very rushed, especially in the beginning. If they could have made this episode twice as long and spend twice as much time on each bit it would have been better.

Getting to know John's friends on earth better would have let us felt the loss he must feel better than we can from the glimpses we're given. When he pops out of the wormhole things happen a bit quick as well. *pop* *crash* *suck* *sneak* *needle* there you go, here's your friends for the next 5 seasons. The bit when they go down to the planet, get caught and escape does also feel a bit rushed.

All in all the overall story is nice and it does the job of introducing the characters and all that but the actual episode could have been even better if they'd made it a two parter or twice as long. Just my opinion of course :D
 
Okay, having watched this ep for the first time in a while, I must say I'm still thoroughly impressed. The effects are outstanding and they only improve from there. There was a lot of information crammed into this first hour and it's all told very well, so you can keep up if you pay attention. I would have preferred a 2 hour premiere so they could delve a little more into the escape and subsequent scenes, but the character development is right there and that's what's important. You know who everyone is and their role on the ship. D'Argo is trying to take charge, Rygel is looking out for himself, Zhaan is the "peacekeeper" and mother-type, and Pilot is, well . . . Pilot.

Aeryn and John have the most character development in my opinion. Aeryn starts out cocky and arrogant, not wanting to be a part of anything then comes around, beginning to accept her circumstances even if she hates it. And John is at the center of it all, lost and confused and just trying to keep from getting killed.

All in all, not a bad way to start such an epic saga.
 
Just re-watched this one, too. I just read people's comments on another bboard just a few days ago and tried to keep an eye on what they had pointed out (which was also pointed out here) while I watched.

First off, when I first watched Premiere, I thought it was two hours long. There was so much information crammed into this single hour pilot ep that I figured I had been watching it for quite a bit longer! ;) Perception is everything, I guess.

This time around, I was still impressed with how much information I got, and how far the story was pushed in that single hour (50 minutes, actually). So much happened to John, and he had learned and done so much that it's still hard to believe that Rock, Prowsie and all managed to get it done. So YEAH for them!

I had no problem identifying with John... after all, he was the only Human in the show... and later on, Aeryn. I'm actually glad that they didn't spend more time establishing John's life on Earth in Premiere. If I'd seen that, I'd have less in common with John, so I'd have been spending more time finding someone else to identify with, instead of focusing on this guy as the central character. It's important that each "Human TV viewer" can see John as themselves. That way, we're drawn in to the story... we have a stake in the outcome.

Of all the six earliest eps, I think Premiere was the strongest.
 
OK, so i'm necro-posting, i know, i know. I bought the bluray box set for Farscape some time ago and i finally got around to starting it this week.

The effects hold up nicely and i love the characters. Still not sure about the title soundtrack though as it sound like those screaming sheep videos that people keep forcing me to watch. I must say that i am impressed with the level of story telling. Even in the first episode, i find that i really enjoy the company of the characters.
 
Digging up this old post again, but have decided to revisit the Farscape world again now that the dark Autumnal nights are drawing in.

The premier episode is exceptionally well-done for a single. And as others have already remarked here the writers have been very economical with the writing in terms of introducing the principle characters as well as drawing out a decent storyline at the same time. There's not much backstory, but like most shows, that usually arrives in latter episodes, and even though we don't have much detail about the likes of Crighton and Aeryn Sun, they are instantly likeable characters even if Aeryn comes off as an unsympathetic, arrogant tyrant at times - that's how he was brought up and trained by the Peacekeepers, yet she has a touch of recognisable "humanity" about her that we can latch onto.

Despite the show being almost 20 years old, the sfx are not too shabby.
 
Tried watching this with the family tonight, but my kids weren't impressed that the first woman character was sexualized as a temple prostitute and the male alien was a hardcore warrior - and then when the human woman was unmasked, she threw John to the floor then sat on his face. As my eldest shouted out "white male writer!".

I thought it might be worth trying out, but my daughters found it too sexist to endure.

I guess that means a rewatch of either Babylon 5 or Buffy, then. :)
 
If anyone wants to (re)-watch Farscape I would recommend to start with episode 15 (Durka Returns) or 16 (A Human Reaction). Forget about the earlier episodes.
It isn't an issue nowadays, but from the old days of 'watch now or miss out' Farscape remains the only TV-show I would stay home for.
 
Tried watching this with the family tonight, but my kids weren't impressed that the first woman character was sexualized as a temple prostitute and the male alien was a hardcore warrior - and then when the human woman was unmasked, she threw John to the floor then sat on his face. As my eldest shouted out "white male writer!".

I thought it might be worth trying out, but my daughters found it too sexist to endure.

I guess that means a rewatch of either Babylon 5 or Buffy, then. :)

Curious. My 17 year old daughter Xena, Buffy, Wonder Woman, Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, (she ADORES Starbuck) fan that she is thinks Farscape is the bee's knees.
 

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