| QUOTE |
| This is a loving present to Farscape fans, in snazzy holographic gift wrap and tied with a bow. They are going to lap it up. It crosses the t's and dots the i's on the series, and allows many of the central characters a sense of dramatically satisfying - if not always happy ever after - closure... The script is achingly funny in places... Part Two is a visual feast, from explosive opening to the apocalyptic climax - one of the most spectacular scenes ever seen on small screen SF, a giddying mix of high emotion, hysteria, destruction, tension and sacrifice. |
| QUOTE |
| Finally this morning, I wanted to mention this because I know a lot of you are really looking forward to it. I had the chance to see the forthcoming Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars this past weekend. The 2-part mini-series debuts on the Sci-Fi Channel on Sunday, October 17th. Trust me when I say that if you're a fan of Farscape, you're going to absolutely love it. The mini-series wraps up most of the loose ends from the series, including the finale's brutal cliff-hanger ending, and gives each major character, relationship and story arc (and even many minor ones) a satisfying resolution... The scale is bigger and grander than ever before, and the effects work is spectacular. Most importantly, the characters are all back just as you know and love them. Each is given due attention and an important part to play in the story. I'll tell you, I thoroughly enjoyed all 200+ minutes of Peacekeeper Wars and I can't wait for the eventual DVD release. You can read a more in-depth review of the mini-series over at Genre Online. |
| QUOTE |
| This exciting adventure is without a doubt the best science fiction feature film to be released this year and it is only going to appear on the small screen. |
| QUOTE |
| ... The Peacekeeper Wars is BLOODY BRILLIANT... Well, with a few provisos... The most worrying is that it is not Farscape-virgin friendly... and contains two moments of psuedo-science so cheesy you'll need a disbelief bypass operation to stomach them... but they're buried in a landslide of wholesome goodness. Throughout, Ben Browder and Claudia Black are nothing short of magnificent. If it was ever in doubt, there's no question now that these two are among the best series leads ever in science fiction: charismatic, passionate and totally convincing. It's a fitting end to an incredible series. Not only does it wrap up a lot of loose ends, it also stays uncompromising to the end. |
| QUOTE |
| Tale of the Scape Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars proves you can’t keep the sci-fi geeks down. by Bill Frost When the sci-fi media is desperately latching onto TV shows like Lost (new ABC series about plane-crash survivors on a strange island) and Charmed (old WB series about witchy sisters and their fantabulous, boob-accentuating outfits) as their own, you know the genre is in dire straits. What’s next? The paranormal ramifications of Joey? Extrapolations of who would win in a broadsword fight between Aragorn and Conan O’Brien? Taking Enterprise seriously? The state of science fiction/fantasy programming on television has never been sorrier, but where to place the blame? Inexpensively produced reality shows? Arguably, they can be cranked out faster and cheaper than sci-fi shows—but, c’mon, have you ever seen Mutant X? Costs $750, tops. A dwindling national supply of geeks? As long as Rush continues to tour and field nightly requests for “By-Tor and the Snow Dog,” not likely. A complete lack of anything new to explore in the genre? Yeah, like that’s ever stopped the TV geniuses—if it weren’t for the clever subliminal color-coding, there’s no way in hell you’d be able to tell CSI (green) from CSI: Miami (yellow) from CSI: NY (blue) from CSI: Salt Lake City (white ... very, very white). The broadcast networks and syndication are almost completely out of the sci-fi game; Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Futurama and the gang are strictly ghosts in reruns, Star Trek: Enterprise sucks Shatner, and the only reason Stargate SG-1 and Andromeda are putting out new episodes is because cable’s Sci-Fi Channel is producing and paying for ’em first. The geeks can thank the intergalactic deity of their choice for Sci-Fi, right? Well, not always: The Sci-Fi Channel is still the go-to network for genre series and movies (yes, even Knight Rider and Frankenfish), but even they’ve succumbed to the magical programming cocaine of reality TV with no-budget time-fillers like Scare Tactics and Last Dungeonmaster Standing, or whatever they’re tossing out this week. Even worse, Sci-Fi has canceled some excellent scripted series to make way for this crap—most notably Farscape, which got the ax in 2002 after four critically drooled-over seasons and more sci-fi awards than you could shake a flax net at. It was also the channel’s longest-running series and first-ever foray into original programming, ironically. Sci-Fi cited falling viewership and rising production costs as the deciding factors, sending Farscape fans into a Save-Our-Show Internet frenzy. Since those usually have the lifespan of a red-shirted Star Trek away-team member, Farscape looked as good as dead. Lo and behold, however, the geeks have prevailed: Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (Sci-Fi; premieres Sunday, Oct. 17), a four-hour two-part miniseries wrapping up the loose ends and possibly setting the stage for a regular-series comeback, exists only because of rabid, grassroots fan efforts. Of course, The Only TV Column That Matters™ was never included on the contact list for SaveFarscape.com’s inventive “Adopt-a-Critic” program targeting the country’s newspapers, but as long as they’re hassling those clowns at the dailies instead of me, cool. Explaining Farscape’s Byzantine back-story in this space would be impossible, but here’s the thumbnail: Earth astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) is sucked into a wormhole and shot to the other side of the galaxy, where he encounters and eventually teams with various alien life-forms, some of the Muppet-like variety (Farscape is a Jim Henson Co. production, after all), some of the unbelievably-hot-but-with-an-inexplicable-Australian-accent variety (Claudia Black, one of the best tough-sexy sci-fi women ever). Together, they’re a rag-tag crew of rebels fighting for their lives against, seemingly, everyone else in the universe. Classic, by-the-numbers sci-fi plotting, but with enough imaginative twists, character insights and impressive special effects (both CGI and organic) to make it truly unique and inescapable once you’ve gotten hooked. The Peacekeeper Wars is as good a place as any to jump in; a brief series recap at the beginning provides a Farscape for Dummies crash-course that’s less of a brain-melter than reading through the show’s four-season history at SciFi.com/Farscape (though also recommended). And, if the miniseries does as well as the Scapers expect, it could make that rarified comeback from cancellation. Ah, if only to shut up those who keep whining on about, “Well, if they can bring that horrible Family Guy back ...” |
| QUOTE |
| By David Bassom Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars marks the welcome revival of one of sci-fi TV's most innovative and underrated series, following its cancellation at the end of its fourth season. Picking up from season four's cliffhanging finale, the mini-series skilfully resolves the majority of the show's plot threads, while leaving the door open for further adventures... ...Director Brian Henson captures the scope of the story beautifully, and although the tone is inevitably far more serious and conventional than anything Farscape has previously offered, there are still plenty of laughs... ...Farscape's regular cast are all on top form. Ben Browder is at his most sympathetic and engaging as Crichton and Claudia Black is once again by turns tough and touching as Aeryn, while Anthony Simcoe, Gigi Edgley and Wayne Pygram offer classy support. The mini-series also boasts impressive special effects and a wonderful orchestral score from Guy Gross. Detractors may accurately complain that The Peacekeeper Wars features too many characters... and isn't quite as surprising as the show's very best episodes, but that still doesn't undermine its many accomplishments. The mini-series succeeds in bringing John Crichton's adventures to a worthy resolution, and demonstrates that the Farscape saga could easily live on in further spin-offs, or even make its long-awaited jump to the big screen. Verdict: 9 The sci-fi tv event of the year... brings John Crichton's adventures to an epic and moving end |
| QUOTE |
| It's been a while since I've enjoyed a good cry watching a TV show — and during a sci-fi adventure, yet. (Come to think of it, I suppose I shed a few tears of frustration watching the tragically premature series-finale of Angel last spring.) And unlike sitting through those dreadfully dull Star Wars prequels, these weren't tears of boredom. Watching Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (premiering Sunday and Monday on Sci Fi), you find yourself responding emotionally not just to the grand courage, the soaring romance and the giddy wit of its space heroes, led so confidently by Ben Browder and Claudia Black as the resurrected John Crichton and Aeryn Sun. You're also overcome by the creative brilliance of Farscape's gifted writer-producers, who achieve such epic effects on a small screen and in such a compressed time frame. And, last but certainly not least, you're inspired by the remarkable triumph achieved by the show's fans, who rallied with unflagging determination and resourcefulness to keep the show alive after Sci Fi's appallingly short-sighted decision to dump the show at least a season too early. So, with all that said, how's the show? In a word, spectacular. For the last few weeks, I've kept my TV tuned to the Farscape marathons during the day, occasionally boosting the volume to relive some of those wild adventures, those vivid sounds and sights that David Kemper, Rockne O'Bannon and their fantastic cast and crew delivered over the original series' too-short life span. Peacekeeper Wars lives up to the series' standards and to our own anticipations and expectations. It's dazzling in every respect, at times overloading the mind with plot. But soon enough, once Crichton and Aeryn are brought back from the last cliffhanger, the battle between Peacekeepers and Scarrens escalates, with our renegade heroes caught right in the middle, just as we like it. Farscape is the funniest fantasy series I've ever seen, with crackling dialogue and Crichton's snarky pop-culture references always good for a laugh. But the characters are so rich, their loyalty and love for each other so enduring, that when tragedy invariably intrudes, the impact can be shattering. I cried while watching Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars for a number of reasons. I was touched by the story and captivated by the spectacle, but I was equally moved by being reminded of the power passionate fans can wield in the face of colossal corporate blindness. As I watched this terrific entertainment, I couldn't help but feel a bit of bitterness that this is all we got. What a waste of a great franchise to have been cut down so soon. I'm confident there will be more stories to be told in the Farscape world: on TV, at the movies, somewhere. And when we see them, we will again have cause to celebrate-and to lament what might have been. |