So I'm giving this a try because it has a strong recommendation from Brett. Oh also, he had pointed out it is listed on TVTropes under Sanity Slippage, which just invites me right in. This first episode seemed ok but mostly pretty cheesey. Although Brett, not having seen the first episode, seemed disappointed and says it gets better when they introduce more characters several episodes in.

In the first few episodes and already we've got clones and other beings speaking through a main character... excellent. This episode was cool.

Totally a Groundhog's Day episode, which is inevitably fun.

I don't care much for Rygel. Understanding, of course, that a Jim Henson production such as Farscape will have puppets, it's still more fun to watch an alien if it is something that can be played by an actual actor. That said, the Cthuhlu-esque ruler inprisoned with Rygel (also a puppet) made for some fun interaction.

The stimulant infused gauntlet was cool and made for some fun character conflict, and the villains who wore them were very cool looking. It was cool to see Zhaan establish with the prisoner that she was "soft but not weak." And they didn't end with some kind of "moral win" as it tends to be framed with drugs. After detoxing he chose to go right back to the gauntlet.

Aww, PK Tech Girl was cute. As she was John's first object of attraction in the series, it was interesting to put some tension between him and Aeryn. Her reaction of lifting the crate overhead with a guttural roar suited her well. Also, the fact that the scavenger aliens spat fire and exploded when shot was pretty amusing.

I'm very amused with the title now that I've seen the episode. Finding the dark side of a supposedly utopian planet is always a fun scifi template.

So-so, but as I said, my expectations have already been set that "it gets better." I think this episode is misordered, but not in any spoiler or inconsistency kind of way.

Maldis was amusing. At least they finally did something with Crais, but as Brett has suggested, the cooler villain is yet to be introduced.

I was pleased with myself in the middle of the episode when I realized the mad scientist's name, NamTar, was Rat Man backwards. It's much more obvious when you see it written than when you just hear the name. I would describe his appearance as an S&M version of a Cyberdemon Scientist. Aeryn becoming a Pilot was pretty weird. But the thing that really stood out in this episode is that they didn't explain away the ease with which the characters were willing to betray each other. I thought they were going to say that NamTar injected something in them that made then so pugnacious. Instead it just showed how tenuous of an alliance they all have.

Moya preggers is like wtf? The zillion DRD eyes lighting up was scary. Most of this episode was an excuse for exposition of D'Argo's backstory, which wasn't hugely interesting. I like him in general though. He's like Worf with a gunsword.

Wormhole! I'm sure they'll do more with that later. For now it just made for some interesting tension between Aeryn and Crichton. Crichton's alpha male act was played pretty well. The concept of Zhaan's photogasm was hilarious.

Ah, the inevitable "We're gonna die so let's get it on" plot line. It played well though. The "female of the species" in love with D'Argo was a weird twist. Aliens and gender... I'm sure that could get complicated.

They're so damn blue. Not a great episode, but still interesting moments.

I totally called it. First they did the C3P0-god thing with Rygel and then they would have ended up killing him. Crichton recited part of the prophecy as he realized just in time that Rygel could unlock the device and to me it was totally an Indiana Jones-"Penitent man kneels before God"-moment.

Chiana finally introduced! The way she moves is awesome. Durka was a cool villain.

Ah, another scifi template I love... everything you see you've seen before, so it must be in your mind.

I love when there is a clear visual distinction for representing different concepts. It makes things much less confusing to keep track of. This episode had the red light dimension, the blue sound dimension, and the yellow happy dimension.

Crichton impersonating a Peacekeeper captain is amusing.

Here we are: "I am Scorpius." So... wormhole tech... in his mind.

Aww Gilina... Aeryn is quick to go from dying to kicking ass.

Ok, so this episode highlights nicely examples of why Brett describes Zhaan as Alien ex Machina. Suddenly she reveals both that she can turn invisible and that she is a plant based lifeform. Though I was very amused by the idea of a calcivore (eats bones, leaves flesh). And I enjoyed the double reversal of which to call the bad guy.

They lit a whole moon on fire! Also, D'Argo can survive at least 15 minutes in the cold vacuum of space...

Whew, finally got rid of the baby for now.

Kind of a dumb episode.

Terrible. I just checked and, yes, this is the worst rated episode of the series. I think it's in the running for worst episode of any show. Unfortunately this was the first episode Nick and Grant saw of this series. Any chance they will watch more is probably pretty low now.

This episode was amazing! I'm very much a fan of insanity plots, and so it begins...
<ul>
<li>"You're right John, they don't get it... They don't get how crazy they are."
<li>"Shut up, I hate it when villains quote Shakespeare."
<li>"Come John, kill him, then we can go to the beach."
<li>"What? Am I being irrational? Well have a little pain! [shoots D'Argo]"
<li>Scorpy in a Hawaiian shirt: "Kill her... then we'll have pizza. And margarita shooters. NOBODY... has margaritas... with pizza. You're out of your mind John... I know."
<li>"I need you to understand, that CRACKERS DON'T MATTER!"
</ul>

2010-07-24 - Just watched this with the commentary with Claudia Black (Aeryn) and director Ian Watson. I was really disappointed they talked almost none about the episode. It was more a director and an actor talking about their roles and how they work in different situations. Ok, but not what I wanted. I have a feeling that if Ben Browder were in the commentary, especially with Claudia, it would be a lot more fun.

Some Aeryn backstory in this episode. Not hugely exciting, but enjoyable.

Maldis is alright. Pales to the insanity of the previous episode though.

I'm amused that the setting was a carcass bigger than any space station. Zhaan with spores? Whatever.

A silly take on a lawyer planet, but less of "this is what would logically follow as the majority of the population became lawyers" and more of "people don't like lawyers and now there are lots of them, scary!"

A very fun episode using a standard scifi story. The characters switched bodies and it was really fun to watch them each act with each other's physical mannerisms and speak with each other's choice of words.

Ah! More and less evolved Crichtons!

Just looking at the episode list and seeing several three-part episodes is exciting. I swear the intro is slowly evolving. I don't want to search if that is true or not... I'm enjoying my perception too much to find that it might not be true. The tension between John and Aeryn is fun. The Scarran is a cool enemy. The 80 year statue thing is pretty funny. The moment Scorpius showed up and trigged flashbacks for John was pretty cool.

Ooo, Peace Keeper spy. The Moya creator thing is dumb so far. The scene on the transport with ro-NA and Lt. Braca was very awesome. Scorpy's in his head! As Brett commented, both John's intended and actual statue poses were pretty funny.

The explanation of Scorpy's half Scarran half Sebastian decent as the reason for the rods in his head is amazing.
"Please tell me the rumors are true... tell me your search for thermic consistency is tormentful!"
"How Batman was that!?"

Not a very interesting episode except for the background signs of Crichton continuing to slip. That and the visual of Bug-Rygel.

Words fail me, but this was just amazing. "Your mind is about to crack, and I cannot allow that. I was here first!"

Next on Lifetime: The story of Aeryn and Crichton growing old together.

Multiple perspectives on the same story is an interesting idea, although the execution was only average. Still fun with characters I enjoy of course.

Interesting to see more Nebari and Chiana's brother. I'm very amused that Crichton's impression of being mind cleansed is to act like a total stoner.

Oh man, real Scorpy is back. And left to die... I'm sure it'll all work out fine. Totally fine.

"Our money is alive!" I like Scorpius's description of the cooling rods in his head: "The sensation is... more complicated than pain." Seeing enemies from many of the previous episodes was cool, especially Durka and Rygel's joy in carrying his head. The concern in D'Argo's voice and Aeryn's face as they realize why Scorpius let Jothee go...

Oh man, real Scorpy and Neural clone both in Crichton's head. Natira was a cool villian. Some of the firefights were hard to watch because they kept doing full screen flashes, but this actually made the fight in the dark even cooler. The standoff where Crichton couldn't make himself run from Scorpius was cool. "Aeryn... I'm gonna, uh... go to Scorpius..." Brutal ending scene.

The mirror scene in the beginning was absolutely amazing. Grunchlk and the doctor are cool. He's a diagnostician... now we've got House in Farscape. The scene in the neural cluster was a combination of touching and brutal. "Pilot, you're high." "I'm not higher or lower than I've ever been... my position is fixed!" "Tenth level Pa'u... pity. A twelfth could break this bond." Watching Aeryn's crash was brutal and John's breakthrough made it even more sad. The incredible thing about the episode is that even as a season finale, that wasn't the part it ended on. The web over his brain was creepy as was having to choose memories to lose. Aeryn dead, Scorpius has the chip, John is alone on the planet, the doctor is dead, and the speech center of John's brain is destroyed. Brutal.

The new intro is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I already had a very strong love of the previous intro and now it's evolved to something much darker. Terrifying and exciting. Scorpius controlling Grunchik was funny. Ah, I love Aeryn. That kind of trade is one way for me to absolutely not mind seeing Zhaan go. The pose and dramatic style of Crais's "FIRE!" was epic.

I love the character design of Moordil. My only though on the Chiana/Jothee thing is that whatever story gets him off the ship is fine by me.

Jool is annoying. The fact that Crichton can call Harvey to chat is pretty funny. "If he masters wormhole technology, what will he use it for?" "Faster delivery of pizzas!"

Stark has awesome little outbursts of insanity and rants of death... "Oh you want to cry, young creature? I will show you something that will make you cry forever..." Harvey: "Your distractions are many, while I'm totally dedicated to getting a measure of freedom." Zhaan's exit speech went a little long considering the dangerous situation they were in.

Ooo, a fun "don't change the timeline"-episode. I liked the future perspective as it changed. First the prevailing language changed, then the existing population was decimated, then the surface of the planet was incinerated, then the entire planet was destroyed. Another brutal ending for Crichton... seeing that in the past they were calling "Crichton!" as the nurses were massacred.

"You and me buddy, good things are gonna happen. Good things!" The episode seemed sort of average, but the ending... oh my god...

It was amusing being able to truthfully say he wasn't there because it was the other Crichton. Also now the cast is split into two groups... each with their own Crichton.

Crichton got to say "That's no moon!" Awesome. The budong was pretty impressive. Stark continues to be insane and excellent. Tender moments between Aeryn and John necessarily remind that this is only one of the Crichtons...

Scorpy dreams of John! It'll be fun to see how his wormhole research works out. Weird! Oh man, modified Chiana was amazingly fun to watch. Just totally wow. "This ba-daaa wants yooou!" Also, DRD Pike!

Stark and Rygel were a fun pair in this. Poor Aeryn!

mmm, liquified pilot! Blue-hair, neon-eyed Asian nurse is hot. Scorpy in the chip with the echo of Crichton's mind... excellent. Giving Scorpius a full backstory makes him even more interesting and the Scarrans much more sinister.

Super crazy Stark floating above Talyn's new pilot chamber, and Aeryn in the sexy-mist.

The style of this was amazing right from the beginning. D'Argo dancing and everything made this so funny to watch.

The Ancients! Cool to see "Jack" back. And Harvey vs Crichton: "Gambled and lost..."

He's finally free... for a short time. Sad...

Incredible for its novelty value, but there should have been less cartoon time. That said, Scorpius and D'Argo as cartoons was very funny. And D'Argo's face the moment where the ship said Qualta blade was amazing.

Devastated grieving Aeryn was played very well.

Aeryn's cold reaction to seeing Crichton was pretty rough, and her confusion when this Crichton didn't remember the budong incident... Chiana's premonitions are getting more interesting. I liked the situation they created by pairing people and each sure of the their person's innocence. Crichton's dying message to his other self was cool. Pretty funny that he did the Rock, Paper, Scissors thing.

Interesting situation they put them in with Scorpy-Braca teaming up with Rygel-D'Argo. However, the robber characters made such annoying sounds that it affected how much I could enjoy the episode.

Amazing all over the place.

I really like the talk between Crichton and Scorpius with a fiery chasm between them... Also, "Traveling through wormholes ain't like dustin' crops..."

Wow... surprises... I was amused that no one knew who the old woman was. The moments where the Earth visions and reality blurred were very cool. And Rygel's moment where he acted almost as a narrator... "We're done..."

DRD 1812 and crazy composing Crusoe-Crichton were cool. The intro continues to evolve and amaze. "Look upward and share... the wonders I've seen." Newest crazy girl has nice eyes and can shift her gravity. Aeryn in a swimsuit, albeit in Crichton's mind.

Braca against Scorpius is kinda just No.

"Killed" and buried, still no reason to think he's gone. Very funny looking scene as all of the girls are about to escape from the cell. Jool improved a lot over her stay.

Vomit plays a pivotal role here. Also swimming in lava, that was cool.

Very good to have Scorpius and Aeryn back... but at the loss of Harvey. Again.

Giant metal-eating space plant! Points for that, but overall not a great episode.

Trippy and weird. I love the "still in the game" element. And the Chiana switch. And "Honey, the butler's dead." And the trouble with Scorpius? Just a problem with his door.

John and Scorpy teamup! Also, Scaran ruling class and shrink wars.

The other offworlder was cool looking. Reminded me of Gaara of the Sand. The priest was pretty crazy looking too. Also, he had a surprise buzzsaw, useful for random decapitation.

The clams linking people and being mistaken for space madness is a pretty funny idea. The doc is a pretty funny looking dude too.

This was an amazing episode. The character Crichton nicknamed Einstein was very cool. I liked the pure black eyes. The weird sort of repeating interview style was very interesting too. The Scaran-ruled Earth, and the unrealized reality with everyone switched... and Crichton's ending "Oops..."

So weird seeing them finally on Earth. Especially Aeryn and Pip. Aeryn learning English and trying to understand how to fit in has been cute. So umm... Chiana and young John... Also they did the Back to the Future disappearing thing.

Earth!

Giant spider! D'Argo can't get mad and John wants to give up... weird.

I like that Crichton was whistling the theme from Great Escape.

hmm, lot of interesting stuff... the Peacekeeper/Scaran meeting... fake Aeryn... Chi no longer gray...

This was a really fun episode. I believe this was the last that was actually filmed, which makes sense because a lot of the content is in character interviews, which is pretty enjoyable and often funny.

His only clue... is a single word he heard in a reality that doesn't exist.

Aeryn Sun! Harvey 2.0! Rescue Scorpius?

I love saying the name Katratzi. Katratzi! Also Katratzi kinda looks like a Death Star.

"John wearing a nuke, offering to sell wormhole technology: I can leap tall galaxies in single bound!" "Referring to John: He's crazy! Aeryn: Isn't it fun?"

"It is beer O'clock, where's my riot!"

I like the explanation for why Harvey is back. Scorpius looked really disappointed by the fact that John would have left him to die.

To Scorpius: I do admire your compartmentalization of duplicity.

Sikosu's secret was pretty cool.

John: I can't believe it, I left a nuclear bomb on the elevator. Chiana: Don't worry, you've done worse...

Regarding John's decsion to drop a nuke down the elevator shaft: Oh... god, we should have voted...

"Previously on Farscape" showing the scenes from every episodes was really cool. So the fact that they are talking about Scarans conquering Earth and it had relationship subtext was pretty funny. Calling home from the moon was cool. That last alien was really cool looking, but that ending so much just "We're canceled anyway, fuck you!" It even finishes by saying "To Be Continued..."

Still an amazing series.