As we approach the end of the year, the name “Hallmark” can become synonymous with mass-produced Christmas romance movies. These holiday movies are frequently parodied for being predictable but Hallmark Entertainment’s 1999-2003 television series “Farscape” is undeniable evidence that the company is not afraid to take risks. In a collaboration with The Jim Henson Company, the creators of “The Muppets,” Hallmark produced one of sci-fi’s boldest and strangest dramas.
“Farscape” follows the story of escaped alien convicts in a distant part of our galaxy who overcome their captors and take control of their prisoner transport ship. Their spaceship is a massive living organism named Moya who silently helps them run from their enemies. The main protagonist is an astronaut from Earth who only meets the aliens as a result of an accidental encounter with a wormhole. Even so, the captivating nature of the show comes from beyond just its premise. The artistic talents of the writers, designers and actors attached to this project make the rather short-lived series one to remember. Its capacity makes for both humorous absurdity and an intense drama.
Hallmark Entertainment and The Jim Henson Creature Shop were frequent collaboration partners in both film and television. The Creature Shop is a visual effects company that specializes in puppetry. “Farscape” entered Hallmark’s sights when American writer Rockne S. O’Bannon and the Henson company’s chairman Brian Henson began discussing ideas of a new sci-fi show in the early 1990s. The two successfully pitched “Farscape” to the Sci-Fi Channel, giving them the greenlight to create their first 22 episodes in 1999. The Sci-Fi Channel’s president’s instructions were music to the partners’ ears: “Just make it as weird as you can,” he said. With the power of the Creature Shop, they did just that.
The talented Creature Shop designers created two animatronic puppets to join the main cast of characters and mimic the movements of living beings. Anamatronic technology in “Farscape” served the purpose of bringing viewers into a world that felt completely new and alien but still believable. The size of the puppets played into efforts of making them appear like real aliens. One puppet was so massive that it took up most of a large room, while the second was only twenty-six inches tall. Each puppet required about six puppeteers to control them and their sizes boasted the talent of the Creature Shop. There was no way anyone could believe either character was just a human in fancy makeup.
The first animatronic character introduced in the series is called “Pilot.” As indicated by the name, Pilot was directly responsible for controlling the ship. Moya the spaceship is a living organism, so Pilot is physically connected to the ship to communicate with her telepathically. Pilot also serves as the level-headed voice of reason for the crew in the midst of chaos.
The second animatronic character is “Rygel.” He deals with chaos in a much different way. Rygel begins scheming upon his first meeting with John Crichton, the American astronaut who mistakenly wound up on the wrong end of the galaxy. He gives John a warm welcome and some helpful information in hopes that John has something valuable to offer him. Floating around the ship on a levitating throne, Rygel claims to be exiled royalty with over 600 billion subjects. It’s also Rygel’s character who bribes the guards and helps himself and his two imprisoned companions make their escape.
Rygel’s two companions are Zhaan and D’Argo, portrayed by two Australian actors. Zhaan is both a priestess and an anarchist, but it is the anarchist activities that have landed her on the prison ship. Later in the series, it is revealed that she is actually a species of plant, with blue-colored skin from head to toe. Rygel’s other companion D’Argo is a warrior who claims to have been convicted of murder. The gentleness and vulnerability he shows in a tender conversation with Zhaan in the series’ premiere suggests that his criminal background may not be completely true. His character is equally as alien in appearance as Zhaan, displaying tentacle-like features hanging from his chin. Serving the same cause as the animatronic designs, the elaborate makeup conceives strange alien creatures that captivate viewers’ attentions.
The character development adds even more richness to the story. With a rebellious priestess and a warrior who has a soft side, the writers of “Farscape” begin their series with intriguing, complex characters. But the intrigue does not stop there. One of the most memorable storylines of “Farscape” is the developing relationship between John Crichton and Officer Aeryn Sun. John is human and Aeryn looks human, but she is really from a race of aliens called the Sebaceans. The Sebaceans are a cold-blooded species in both the physical sense and in attitude. Sebaceans run a highly-structured military dictatorship in their part of the galaxy and oppress other species of aliens like that of Zhaan and D’Argo. Their strict rules are what send Aeryn on the run. Like John, Aeryn finds herself on the prison ship against her will. John is brought onto the ship by Zhaan and D’Argo intentionally, as they hope John’s odd-looking spacecraft possesses useful technology. Aeryn, a Sebacaen Peacekeeper, is an unwelcome guest whose spacecraft was accidentally swept up by Moya as the prisoners made their escape. After dutifully alerting the Peacekeepers to the location of the prisoners, Aeryn is locked up by the Peacekeepers for breaking protocol. Her crime is her exposure to John, an “unidentified species”while she is deemed “irreversibly contaminated” and condemned to death. Through all that, John, Aeryn, and the prisoners work together to escape Peacekeeper forces once again and speed off on Moya away from their territory.
In a literal sense, John’s contact with Aeryn isolates her from her people and lifestyle. In a deeper sense, her contact with John presents an opportunity to grow in ways she never imagined. Born and raised to be a warrior under strict regulations, friendship is a foreign concept to Aeryn. Somehow, this makes John more determined to become Aeryn’s friend and teach her to embrace emotion and compassion. Human norms are presented as alien concepts in the “Farscape” side of the galaxy, especially to Aeryn. As the found family aboard Moya continues to develop, John and Aeryn grow closer to one another. Some of the greatest moments of this television drama –in the midst of the intentional strangeness of “Farscape”– are found in the stories where John and Aeryn risk their lives for each other. One most notable example is in the first season’s first two-part event episodes: “Nerve” and “The Hidden Memory.” In “A Bug’s Life,” the episode prior to “Nerve,” Aeryn is injured only for John and the others to discover her injury is worse than she let on. The continuation of the injury storyline from the previous episode is one of the first major occurrences of a classic “Farscape” phenomenon that producers and cast members often talk about: characters facing consequences. Other sci-fi series of the era commonly used stand-alone stories from episode to episode. The events of one episode had no effect on the events of the next. In fact, it was normal for characters to never even reference the events of past episodes. This was not the case with “Farscape.” Series star Ben Browder once explained, “With Farscape, there was no reset button.” It is this feature that makes the drama so intense and impactful.
The only way for John to save Aeryn from her injury is to infiltrate a high-security Peacekeeper base and find a compatible Sebacean tissue graft. John manages to get the tissue sample to Aeryn but is captured by a sadistic villain who subjects John to interrogation in the torturous “Aurora Chair.” In this chair, John is painfully forced to watch all of his memories over and over until his interrogator finds what he wants. Continuing with the phenomenon of “consequences,” John never truly recovers from his experiences in the chair. From “Nerve” to the end of the series, he only copes with it.
When Aeryn finally rescues John, she is faced with her ex-commanding officer who previously hurt her by casting her aside after her “contamination.” The moment is raw and emotional, elevated by the phenomenal acting of Claudia Black and Lani Tupu. This chance encounter between Aeryn, the Moya crew and her exile from the Peacekeepers was arguably a bit too convenient to the plot. To many viewers, the storyline seemed forced, with obvious effort to get a Peacekeeper perspective in the main cast of characters. By the time Aeryn’s big scene in “The Hidden Memory” comes along, any arguments about the plot feeling contrived no longer matter. At that point, it’s clear the writers took their initial concepts and committed to them fully, fleshing out all of the drama that could be drawn from the situations they set up.
The show’s commitment to creativity and absurdity makes for a wild, disorienting, and emotional ride for viewers. The writers and actors craft their deep, complex characters. The makeup artists, Henson Creature Shop designers, and puppeteers work behind the scenes to mold the show and make the visuals look as strange as its elaborate plot. While “Farscape” may not be an obvious companion to hot chocolate-sipping by the fireplace, the efforts of all the talented figures should not be forgotten or overlooked as a classic Hallmark masterpiece.
