Farscape Series Reaction… and, Fic Recs, Please?
Where do I go for Farscape fic? Anyone have recs? Ideally centered on John, Aeryn, and/or Scorpius (or Harvey).
Good: Hurt/comfort, long epics, alternate seasons, humor, darkfic, slash.
Bad: Schmoop, babyfic, agendafic, anything OOC or too AU.
Please?
Yes, everyone who tried for years to talk me into watching Farscape was right. I loved it.
I just finished the series. I began to really like it in seasons two and three, but didn’t find myself totally in love until season four. It took a while for the show to actually gel into the quality they were attempting all along, but once it did it became absolutely brilliant. I had no idea how dark, odd, twisted, and kinky the show would get! And yes, I did fall totally in love with John Crichton. He’s an insane, hilarious, fucked-up mess of a character. He ended up hitting all my fictional kinks and probably creating a few new ones. Aeryn Sun just got better and better, passionate and vulnerable without compromising her strength and competence. John and Aeryn might be the best portrayal of a relationship of equals that I’ve ever seen on television.
You were all right. I should have watched it sooner. And I would really like to smack in the face whatever moron at the Sci Fi Channel decided to cancel this amazing show!
It wasn’t perfect. They so should have had a fifth season; the miniseries was too rushed and, by necessity of time, lacked a lot of the odd and twisted diversions that made the series so unique. I wish Scorpius had gotten more development; I’d have liked to have seen more of a character arc and more of his relationships with Sikozu and Braca. Jool’s miniseries return was OOC and nonsensical. The show threw in way too many scantily-clad young women who seemed to exist mostly in pursuit of ratings. Crais had a good arc in theory, but never connected emotionally as a three-dimensional character (and what’s with Lani Tupu forgetting how to do Pilot’s voice in the miniseries?). A lot of the “issues” between John and Aeryn were obviously manufactured to drag out the UST as long as possible. There were some definite race issues–why so few people of color and wtf were they thinking with “Twice Shy”? D’Argo’s apparent death was more about the writers twisting the knife than organic to the story. The emphasis on John and Aeryn’s child annoyed me, as the whole thing about life only being meaningful if you reproduce always bothers me in fiction.
These are minor quibbles, though. The show is amazing.
More favorite things: every surreal moment of Harvey; John’s pop-culture references, ridiculous sense of humor, and shaky grip on his own sanity; the show’s moral ambiguity, refusal to let anything be simplistic black and white–that every single character has both good and bad qualities, that sometimes the heroes do repulsive things and the villains command genuine sympathy; all the over-the-top absurd episodes–virtual reality games, cartoons, body swaps, alternate universes…; canonical muppet mpreg(!!!); the variety of strong, complex female characters–particularly that Aeryn, Chiana, and Zhaan are strikingly different archetypes that prove that there’s not just one way to be a “strong woman”; that the show passes the Bechdel test regularly; that despite my dislike of the baby storyline, Aeryn defied every schmoopy pregnancy stereotype and remained her badass warrior self throughout; that the writers treat viewers intelligently and subvert the cliches of the genre; that despite the annoying nuclear-family-beats-all ending, most of the series emphasizes the non-traditional, self-created “family” of friends and comrades (and that John chooses them over returning to Earth); the silliness that lurks beneath D’Argo’s tough exterior; Claudia Black’s astounding talent, beauty, and that fantastic semi-goth dress she wore in “The Choice”; that everything has consequences–main characters bleed when they get hit, traumas change the people who experience them; that even though it’s often goofy, it treats war and murder as profoundly serious; and did I mention how insanely dark, absurd, twisted, and kinky this show gets?
I am so totally going to watch it again. And again.
And… fic recs? Please? Must… have… fanfiction…
Current Mood: 
pleased
26 Responses to “Farscape Series Reaction… and, Fic Recs, Please?”
elz on October 13, 2009 1:12 pm | Link
Farscape! Yay! ITA with your thoughts on all counts (Harvey! Muppets! Aeryn/Claudia!).
As for fic, off the top of my head: recs, more recs, and some fic.
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rusty-halo on October 13, 2009 1:41 pm | Link
Yay, thank you for the recs! :)
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_jems_ on October 13, 2009 1:24 pm | Link
I’m so glad that you grew to like John. Since he’s my favorite television character EVER, it takes me aback when people don’t like him - or downright hate him. I can’t help but feel that anyone who does hasn’t ever seen the entire show, because how can you hate John after the late-season-3-early-season-4 arc?
Farscape is pretty much the only show where I’ve never felt the need for fanfic, so I’m afraid I can’t help you there.
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rusty-halo on October 13, 2009 1:41 pm | Link
I definitely don’t want fic to fix anything missing in the show–I just want it to keep going, because I’m sad that I’ve finished it and there are no new episodes!
I really didn’t like John at first. He starts out as the bland all-American hero type that I can’t stand. But he changes so much. I think part of it is the actor growing into the role and the character becoming more three-dimensional over time, but it’s also that the character really changes based on his experiences. He learns and grows and becomes more competent, clever, and interesting, and he also suffers immensely from the terrible things that are done to him (and the terrible things he does himself). The John of the end of the series is light years beyond the John of the beginning.
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_jems_ on October 13, 2009 1:55 pm | Link
My fix for missing Farscape is to rewatch. I’ve done it seven or eight times and while sometimes I’m bored with this thing or that, there is always something that surprises me and draws me back in.
One thing I realized on my latest rewatch is that John didn’t achieve the status of favorite male character until the first four or so episodes of season 4 (which aren’t my favorite by any means, I think they’re pretty weak, actually, what with the lack of Aeryn). But the thing is that with every rewatch, you can see so clearly, even from the first episode, that he is the same guy, and seeing that guy and knowing what’s to come and what he becomes is heartbreaking and wondrous at the same time. So in my mind, I always loved him as much as I started to the first time I watched season 4. Turns out it wasn’t true, though!
In my rewatches, I rarely rewatch the mini series, though. I lived with the season 4 finale as an ending for many years before the mini became a reality, and I prefer it. After such a long time, it was nice to get some closure, but I think they delivered too much closure, while not developing certain storylines enough (Sikozu’s and Scorpy’s, especially).
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rusty-halo on October 13, 2009 4:56 pm | Link
I’m really interested in going back and rewatching now that I like John. I found a lot of the early stuff tedious because he bored/annoyed me. But you’re right, he is still very consistently the same character throughout, even though he changes so much. Hopefully the early seasons will be a lot more enjoyable on rewatch.
Season four is where I started really liking him, too, probably because it corresponds to him being the most utterly fucked up.
The miniseries was odd. They had hit their stride so well in season four; the miniseries was a jarring contrast. It just didn’t gel as well and crammed too much in. I am glad it exists, though, and that they were able to have some sort of closure. It’s no substitute for a fifth season, though. Damn you, Sci Fi Channel!
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shipperx on October 13, 2009 10:25 pm | Link
I totally think one of the great things about Farscape is John’s story arc. He starts out so shiny, new, and sort of naive. All that is kicked the hell out of him. So much is taken from him. He grows progressively darker and from then on it’s his trying to maintain his humanity. He doesn’t end as the same man he started as. He’s far, far more damaged, but in many ways he’s better.
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cindergal on October 13, 2009 2:18 pm | Link
I am filled with glee! :-)
I was hoping you would grow to like brave, crazy, fucked up John as much as I did. And now you know I meant it when I said the writers would do anything. I think it’s time for a rewatch for me, too.
I don’t have any fic recs as I’m one of those who didn’t feel the need for it, but I see elz has fixed you up.
And now I have to go and check out Game of Kings from library again. :-)
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rusty-halo on October 13, 2009 4:02 pm | Link
And now I have to go and check out Game of Kings from library again.
Haha, yes! You owe me–how dare you waste time moving when there are books to be read. ;)
I think you’ll like Lymond for the same reasons I like John–he’s brave, witty, hilarious, and utterly fucked up. And it’s a similar thing where he takes a while to grow on you, but once he does, you’re hooked.
I definitely want to rewatch Farscape. It looks like there’s a complete series DVD set coming out soon, so I might wait for that. I had to download a lot because Netflix was missing so much, and the download quality wasn’t great–I couldn’t make out much during dark scenes and the audio was pretty bad. So I’m sure to pick up more glorious details upon a higher-quality rewatch. :)
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Amy on October 13, 2009 2:37 pm | Link
It’s amazing full stop. And your post reminds me how much so.
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rusty-halo on October 13, 2009 4:39 pm | Link
Proof that I really should listen to my friends when they tell me I’ll love something!
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Badluckshadow13 on October 13, 2009 3:42 pm | Link
I think there used to be a couple on fandomination.net… not sure where that site went…
adultfanfiction.net has a couple I think
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queenofthorns on October 13, 2009 5:14 pm | Link
YAY!!! I’m so glad you ended up loving “Farscape” - it’s just fabulous. I think even the weaker episodes in season 1 and season 2 have something to offer (and you should definitely re-watch, because there are so many little throwaway details that are amazingly incorporated later on - Scorpius actually appears for the first time really, really early in season 2 in “Crackers Don’t Matter” but I didn’t realize that the first time I was watching.)
Like you, I fell for Aeryn right away and it took me a while to fall for John (though I started to love him right after the Aurora Chair and the love just grew right after that.) Aren’t they amazing? SNIFFLE!
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rusty-halo on October 14, 2009 12:19 am | Link
I don’t know what it is with former Spike fans liking messed up characters, but… wait, actually it makes perfect sense. ;)
I started re-watching season one tonight and am already enjoying it more than I did the first time. Knowing what happens later adds a lot of depth–it’s so much more interesting watching the characters and their relationships develop.
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Frelling Tralk on October 13, 2009 5:14 pm | Link
I wish Scorpius had gotten more development; I’d have liked to have seen more of a character arc and more of his relationships with Sikozu and Braca.
I was always pretty happy with their use of Scorpuis, but seasons 3 and 4 frustrated me a little with how underused D’argo and Chiana were. Chiana especially got a really interesting and dark storyline for season 4, and I felt like they never followed it through enough and the the ensemble feeling wasn’t there as much as it was in earlier seasons
The ending of Scorpuis/Sikozu was a big disappointment though, apparently Wayne personally requested the final scene for those two, but I felt like it did a real diservice to Sikozu’s character, especially after I had got quite into shipping them during season 4. Along with Braca for a threesome *g*
A lot of the “issues” between John and Aeryn were obviously manufactured to drag out the UST as long as possible.
Yeah I love John/Aeryn in season 3 especially, but they did kind of lose me in season 4. It seemed like season 3 had set up some really good issues for them to deal with after Aeryn fell for the other John and saw the remaining John as the copy, but then they seemed to drop that to make John be the one to push Aeryn away and using the drugs (which also fizzled out a bit). And even when they got back together their relationship (past the wonderful kiss in Twice Shy) felt very deemphasiszed compared to season 3. But then I might be biased as season 3 is pretty much my favourite season ever *g* And I did lose how their relationship was portrayed in the mini-series, it just felt like it got pushed to the background a bit in the second half of season 4 when they were finally a couple at last. But then I suppose there were a lot of other issues going on at that time
There were some definite race issues–why so few people of color and wtf were they thinking with “Twice Shy?”
In the companion they mentioned that they had really fought for that actress to get a part in Farscape (she was previously up for Graza and another part in Wait For the Wheel) and they said they had to stick their neck out to get her cast for Twice Shy, but yeah looking back now that was kind of iffy. I’ve heard that in general Australia does have less people of colour though, so that may have also been a factor
Crais had a good arc in theory, but never connected emotionally as a three-dimensional character
Crais had quite a dedicated fanbase, and there was a big outcry over his death, but yeah I never really connected with him either. He’s usually the type of character I love (big Spike fan here) but something about how shouty and unhinged he was tended to put me off. Scorpuis was the outsider character that I ended up latching on too.
And fic rec (John/Scorpuis if you don’t mind slash)
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Frelling Tralk on October 13, 2009 5:16 pm | Link
Sorry, forgot to add the link :P
http://astrogirl2.livejournal.com/321244.html
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Frelling Tralk on October 13, 2009 5:19 pm | Link
And I did lose how their relationship was portrayed in the mini-series
Sorry again, I can’t figure out how to edit comments here, but that should say “love”
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rusty-halo on October 29, 2009 11:35 am | Link
Thank you for the fic rec! Slash is good, John/Scorpius even more so. :)
The ending of Scorpuis/Sikozu was a big disappointment though, apparently Wayne personally requested the final scene for those two, but I felt like it did a real diservice to Sikozu’s character
I agree. Sikozu was certainly capable of being a traitor, but there is no way she would be dumb/naive enough to believe that a deal with the Scarans would work. It was so odd how much of an afterthought she was in the miniseries, and how she seemed to have no relationship with anyone but Scorpius. You’d barely know that she spent so much time on Moya.
It seemed like season 3 had set up some really good issues for them to deal with after Aeryn fell for the other John and saw the remaining John as the copy, but then they seemed to drop that to make John be the one to push Aeryn away and using the drugs
Yeah, that was weird. It obviously had a huge impact on Aeryn to love and lose the other John, but then it got glossed over really quickly afterward. We should’ve seen more of the development of the relationship between Aeryn and this John.
In the companion they mentioned that they had really fought for that actress to get a part in Farscape (she was previously up for Graza and another part in Wait For the Wheel) and they said they had to stick their neck out to get her cast for Twice Shy, but yeah looking back now that was kind of iffy.
Man, that’s frustrating. When I saw her it was like “Yay! A person of color! And she’s not evil!” Except, oh, she is evil, and she embodies a bunch of offensive “primitive” stereotypes. Great. That plus “Jeremiah Chrichton” and its “planet of superstitious brown people” makes Farscape pretty iffy on race issues.
Crais [is] usually the type of character I love (big Spike fan here) but something about how shouty and unhinged he was tended to put me off. Scorpuis was the outsider character that I ended up latching on too.
Same here. Crais had the type of redemption story I’d theoretically love, but the actor just didn’t have the charisma to make me care. Scorpius totally did. >:)
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nutmeg3 on October 13, 2009 9:29 pm | Link
I have no idea about fic, because I never read it, but I’m so glad you love this show. ::beams::
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rusty-halo on October 14, 2009 12:15 am | Link
Thanks. :) It is really awesome.
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shipperx on October 13, 2009 10:22 pm | Link
There’s a farscape weekly LJ that posts fic links.
And, yes, farscape is wonderful for it’s complex characters. All the heroes are flawed and Scorpius, as villainous as can be, still has logical motivation, actually thinks he’s the hero of the piece (with a means justifies the end mindset) and John sees himself hovering on the brink of turning into the same thing. They make excellent enemies and shadow images of one another.
I don’t think I really fell for John until he started going insane in season 2 (Not sure what that says about me). But, I always loved Aeryn.
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rusty-halo on October 14, 2009 12:11 am | Link
There’s a farscape weekly LJ that posts fic links.
Thanks! I’ll check it out. I’m more interested in favorite recs from people I know, though. I’m way too old and stodgy to sort through large amounts of fic on my own. (Says the former archivist who once read every single Spike fic she could find!)
I don’t think I really fell for John until he started going insane in season 2 (Not sure what that says about me).
I’m the same way–I always fall for the characters who fall apart. It’s not really the falling apart so much as the study of a very strong character being pushed by immense circumstances past what he can take, but hopefully also, y’know, eventually getting past it and growing as a person. (Well, at least I like to think that I don’t just have a kink for watching strong characters lose their minds!)
But, I always loved Aeryn.
Aeryn is absolutely fantastic throughout. I wish there’d been more focus on her, but I can’t complain too much because I love nearly all of the other characters too.
Scorpius, as villainous as can be, still has logical motivation, actually thinks he’s the hero of the piece (with a means justifies the end mindset) and John sees himself hovering on the brink of turning into the same thing. They make excellent enemies and shadow images of one another.
Oooh, you’re making me want to read meta!
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pukajen on October 13, 2009 11:00 pm | Link
The show has been continued on in comics. Rockne O’Bannon does all the story outlines, and a comic writer, and huge FS fan, does the actual breakdown.
I bought the first hardback containing the four comic directly after PKW. It was really good, and I am anxiously waiting for the next four to be bound so I can buy them too.
There’s also a four comic arch featuring D’Argo; three on his past, one on what he did in between seasons three and four.
Rockne O”bannon announced at Comic Con in San Diego, that the comics have been so successful that they’ve been contracted by BOOM! for a monthly edition.
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rusty-halo on October 14, 2009 12:15 am | Link
Thank you for the information! I’m glad to hear it’s been continued.
I’m not much of a comic reader, unfortunately, but I will check it out if I get really desperate for more.
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pukajen on October 14, 2009 12:34 am | Link
I don’t read comics at all either. I tried with the Buffy ones, but just couldn’t do it. I also bought the bound copy of the first four, so it was more of a graphic novel to me.
Also, there’s a Farscape Con in Burbank next month…
http://www.creationent.com/cal/farscape.htm
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rusty-halo on October 14, 2009 1:10 am | Link
Dear god, don’t tempt me. I’d rather claw out my own eyes than attend a Creation con, but that’s a heck of a guest lineup…!
I have tried to read comics, but my brain is extremely verbal and extremely not visual. I have a hard time parsing the images and get really frustrated because it takes forever to figure out what’s going on. I recognize it’s a flaw in me and not in comics, but… *shrugs*. I have managed to enjoy some Dark Tower and A Song of Ice and Fire, but in general they just don’t work for me. I might give the Farscape ones a try eventually, though–thank you for recommending them to me.
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