Tag: SyFy / Sci-Fi Channel

Zhaan, D’Argo, Crichton and Rygel enlist the aid of Namtar, a famed genetic researcher whose database of 11,000 species might include star charts back to their home worlds. While Earth proves beyond even Namtar’s reach, he offers maps to the other three for a small price – one of Pilot’s arms. To Crichton’s shock and Pilot’s consternation, they agree, taking the limb by force. When the data crystal with the maps arrive, however, the three discover that Moya’s computers can not handle the avalanche of data, and that the only way to salvage even one of the maps is to destroy the other two. While Zhan, Rygel and D’Argo scheme with and against each other, the prospect of anyone returning home reminds Aeryn of her isolation from the Peacekeepers, and asks Namtar to find her a Sebacean colony somewhere where she might fit in. Instead, the scientist uses Aeryn as a test subject for a new genetic graft, by which he intends to assimilate Pilot’s multitasking abilities into himself. Crichton must find a way to rescue Aeryn before someone wins the battle of wills, and Moya departs the Uncharted Territories forever.

written by Tom Bloquist
directed by Andrew Prowse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Adrian Getley (Namtar – Movement), Julian Garner (Namtar – Voice), Sarah Burns (Kornata)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

In the midst of another search for hidden Peacekeeper devices, D’Argo triggers an explosion that hurls him outside Moya. Aeryn retrieves him in her Prowler and Zhaan revives him, but the injured Luxan suffers from hallucinations, believing his shipmates to be his family. Moya also seems to recover poorly from the accident, as life support and other systems begin to fail, the DRDs begin to attack the crew and Pilot himself loses consciousness. While the crew tries to unravel the mystery of Moya’s behavior, D’Argo’s delusions gradually reveal his own secrets, including the true nature of his crimes.

written by Sally Lapiduss
directed by Ian Watson
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Alison Fox (Lo’Laan), Grant Magee (Jothee)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Crichton and Aeryn take the Farscape One module out for a spin around a planet with massive solar flare activity. Crichton is delighted when his slingshot maneuver creates a proto-wormhole; less so when the resultant damage to the module forces Aeryn and him to land on the planet below and seek out the services of the local mechanic. Unfortunately, Crais has recently been in the area as well, sending a message beacon to advertise the bounties on Zhaan, D’Argo and Rygel, and a hidden offer for Aeryn. A pair of eager-to-collect bounty hunters suspect Crichton and Aeryn of having some link to the fugitives until Crichton bluffs his way into command of the entire hunting party. All goes well until Crais’ offer and an ill-timed solar flare combine to give Aeryn a very difficult time in seeing her own future, while an impatient D’Argo heads for the surface and is quickly captured, raising the stakes on Crichton’s bluff.

written by Doug Heyes, Jr.
directed by Tony Tilse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Magda Szubanski (Furlow), Jeremy Sims (Rorf), Jo Kerrigan (Rorg)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

When Aeryn takes Crichton out for a flying lesson in a transport pod, they become stuck in the Flax, an invisible energy net set up by Zenetan pirates. A scavenger boards Moya and offers to guide the ship past the Flax and help them find the pod – and secretly offers to help D’Argo board a derelict Luxan ship that was caught in the Flax, and which now sits disintegrating. But when the pirates board Moya and the pod is damaged, Rygel, Aeryn and D’Argo must all decide if they are willing to sacrifice some of their shipmates.

written by Justin Monjo
directed by Peter Andrikidis
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Rhys Muldoon (Staanz), John Bachelor (Kcrackic), David Bower (Goon)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Moya initiates a sudden StarBurst when she hears a distress call from another pregnant Leviathan. Upon arrival, however, the crew learns that the signal was actually sent by a Delvian sect seeking Zhaan’s help. In their efforts to develop the power needed to free their world from the Peacekeepers, they have unleashed their own darker impulses; their leader is already insane, and his daughter and successor Tahleen is soon to follow. Only Zhaan has the knowledge and power to restrain those impulses, and Tahleen implores Zhaan to join her in mental unity in order to share that knowledge. Shaken by the memory of the last time she entered such a unity, and against Crichton’s better judgment, she agrees. But Tahleen has no plans for a peaceful exchange, and her betrayal may trap Zhaan in a state of madness and the rest of Moya’s crew in a prison of illusions and false memories.

story by David Kemper and Ro Hume
teleplay by David Kemper
directed by Andrew Prowse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Darlene Vogel (Alexandra/Lorana), Kate Raison (Tahleen), Max Phipps (Tuzak), Michael Beckley (Hasko), Aaron Cash (Pa’u Bitaal), Grant Magee (Jothee), Robert Supple (Young Crichton)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

A frustrated Crichton takes the Farscape One module out for a drive to blow off steam – just as Moya’s pregnancy triggers an unexpected StarBurst that leaves him stranded. He makes his way to the planet Acquara, whose natives remain in a primitive state since something on the planet quickly drains all artificial power sources. He strikes up a friendship with the natives, although a few Acquarans fear that he is a threat to their ambitions. At D’Argo and Aeryn’s insistence, the crew of Moya spends months searching for Crichton. But when they find him, the Acquarans mistake Rygel for a long-awaited deity. Rygel realizes that the Acquarans were once Hynerian subjects – but can he make them understand the truth before they are all executed as religious imposters?

written by Doug Heyes, Jr.
directed by Ian Watson
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Natalie Mendoza (Lishala), Kevin Copeland (Rokon), John O’Brien (Kato-Re), Deni Gordon (Neera), Tania Mustapic (Maid)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

When Moya discovers a wormhole that appears to lead right to Earth, an overjoyed (if somewhat hesitant) Crichton attempts to make the journey home. His homecoming is not quite the happy event he anticipated, however, as the military doesn’t trust that he is who he says he is, or that he still has Earth’s best intentions at heart even if he is. Over time, and with some help from his father, he starts to convince his former colleagues and current captors that he can be trusted – until Aeryn, D’Argo, and Rygel show up looking for him. The military’s paranoia kicks into even higher gear, and when Rygel and D’Argo meet unfortunate ends, Crichton decides his loyalties lie with his former shipmates and tries to escape. Things aren’t quite right with the world outside the compound, either, and Crichton starts to wonder if he really made it home after all.

written by Justin Monjo
directed by Rowan Woods
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Gigi Edgley (Chiana), Kent McCord (Jack Crichton), Phillip Gordon (Wilson), Richard Sydenham (Cobb), Frankie Davidson (Newsstand Guy), Albert Mensah (Dialectic), Andy Cachia (Technician), Selina Muller (Woman On Beach)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

With Moya’s behavior becoming more unstable due to her pregnancy, the crew begins to wonder if it’s not time for them to find another home. Overhearing these remarks, Moya tries to prove herself and StarBursts before her systems are fully prepared. When the ship returns to normal, Rygel is missing, even though Pilot’s scans show him to be still onboard. Soon D’Argo and Aeryn disappear as well. Eventually, Crichton discovers that Moya has somehow gotten stuck in the border between dimensions, creating four Moyas all existing within the same space. The missing crew have each found their way onto one of the other Moyas, almost overwhelmed by the sensory distortions they encounter and being chased by some sort of clawed energy creature from beyond the barrier. Crichton develops a plan to try and reintegrate the Moyas, but time is of the essence. Not only is the creature still after them, but the Moyas themselves have begun to disintegrate.

written by David Kemper
directed by Ian Watson
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Gigi Edgley (Chiana)

Notes: This episode’s original title was The Fifth Reality.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

When a Peacekeeper special ops team experiences a fuel leak, its commander demands that Moya bring them aboard and take them to a secret Peacekeeper base nearby. The crew decides to bluff their way through the encounter, as Rygel, Zhaan and D’Argo return to their cells while Crichton and Aeryn don Peacekeeper uniforms. Fate – and the size of the captain’s uniform left aboard Moya – demand that Crichton pose as the ship’s commander, and the charade goes reasonably well at first. When Rygel and Chiana decide to find out what’s so precious about their guests’ cargo, however, they unleash a sentient virus capable of possessing its host. The virus leaps from host to host, trying to buy time until Moya arrives at the base and its spores are ready to release, at which point hundreds of worlds will fall victim to it. With their cover blown, the crew must work with the Peacekeepers to figure out who can be trusted and how to recapture the virus, before its latest host kills them all.

story by Doug Heyes, Jr.
teleplay by Steven Rae
directed by Tony Tilse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Gigi Edgley (Chiana), Paul Leyden (Larraq), Richard White (Thonn), Zoe Coyle (Hassan), Michael Tuahine (Rhed)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Crichton is surprised to learn that Aeryn has not fully recovered from her injuries at the hands of the Peacekeeper commandos. While the muscle damage has healed, her paraphoral nerve, which helps to eliminate toxins from her system, has been irreparably damaged. Without a graft from a compatible donor, she will soon die. Crichton decides to try to pose as a Peacekeeper one more time, and find a donor at the Gammak base. With help from Chiana and his old friend Gilina, he manages to get a synthetic graft. But just as he’s ready to make his departure, the base’s deformed commander Scorpius realizes his energy signature is distinctly not Sebacean. As he’s captured, Crichton manages to smuggle the graft to Chiana, who gets it back to Moya and Aeryn. Scorpius places Crichton in the Aurora Chair, a device that allows Scorpius to bypass a verbal interrogation and access the subject’s memories directly. Searching for Crichton’s true mission aboard the base, Scorpius learns of Moya and its escape from Crais, but encounters a neural block when he tries to access Crichton’s encounter with the wormhole aliens. Pushing past the block, Scorpius – and Crichton – learn that the aliens placed the equations for wormhole travel into Crichton’s subconscious, to help guide his research. This is quite a find for Scorpius, whose own research seeks to unleash wormholes’ potential as weapons. To help convince Crichton to give up what he knows, Scorpius summons Crais, but Crichton won’t budge. What Scorpius doesn’t realize is that it’s not wormhole information Crichton is trying to hide – it’s Gilina, who’s still hiding in the base as Scorpius places Crichton in the Aurora Chair for one more go-round . . .

written by Richard Manning
directed by Rowan Woods
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Gigi Edgley (Chiana), Lani John Tupu (Captain Bialar Crais), Alyssa-Jane Cook (Gilina), Kent McCord (Jack Crichton), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Paul Goddard (Stark), Imogen Annesley (Niem), Stephen Leeder (Commander Javio), Anthony Kierann (Lt. Heskon), Christian Bischoff (Bixx), Pete Walters (Crais’ Guard)

Notes: Gilina encountered Crichton and Aeryn aboard the Zelbinion in PK Tech Girl. Crichton’s encounter with the wormhole aliens occurred in A Human Reaction. Paul Goddard makes his first appearance as Stark in this episode; he would later join the cast as a regular crew member. This episode was considered the first of two parts, with a “To Be Continued” slug at the end, although unlike future multi-part stories, the title does not reflect this.

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

A barely-recovered Aeryn insists on leading a mission to rescue Crichton, while Moya’s labor shuts down all her propulsion systems. At the Gammak base, Crichton gradually befriends his cellmate Stark, while Gilina patches into the intercom long enough to tell Crichton that the next time Scorpius puts him in the chair, he should recall their kiss aboard the Zelbinion. Crichton is a bit confused by this, as that’s exactly the memory he’s been trying to hide, but Gilina insists that she trust him. When Crichton recalls the kiss, he triggers a flood of false memories that Gilina programmed into the chair – “memories” that implicate Crais in a conspiracy to use wormhole technology against the Peacekeepers. When Crais denies this, Scorpius orders him into the chair to prove his innocence. With help from Aeryn and company, Stark, Crichton and Gilina make their break. As they try to escape, Chiana and Rygel must try to survive the birth of Moya’s child – a Leviathan/Peacekeeper hybrid complete with weaponry that blocks the offspring’s exit from the birth canal. But the baby wants out, and if he has to fire on his mother to do it, so be it.

written by Justin Monjo
directed by Ian Watson
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Gigi Edgley (Chiana), Lani John Tupu (Captain Bialar Crais), Alyssa-Jane Cook (Gilina), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Paul Goddard (Stark), Imogen Annesley (Niem), Anthony Kierann (Lt. Heskon), Pete Walters (Crais’ Guard), Nicole Roma (Blonde Technician)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Scorpius accompanies Crais back to his Command Carrier to continue the hunt for Crichton, who along with the rest of Moya’s crew is hiding in an asteroid field. With their power shut down to escape detection, the crew faces two problems: they can’t navigate the asteroid field, and they have no idea if Moya’s offspring will ally with them or with the Peacekeepers. Aeryn boards the new ship to help Moya bond with her child, while Crichton, D’Argo and Zhaan follow a distress signal to one of the asteroids, hoping they can find someone with a map. They find M’Lee, the sender of the distress call, apparently on the run from a creature that she claims massacred the rest of her family. Crichton soon discovers that M’Lee is the actual predator, and the creature is in reality a botanist named Br’Nee. That does not necessarily mean that he’s the most trustworthy resident of the asteroid, however, as the botanist has an agenda of his own – one that centers on Zhaan, who, like all Delvians, is a sentient plant. The three quickly find themselves trapped between M’Lee’s hunger and Br’Nee’s curiosity…and all the while, Crais and Scorpius are closing in.

written by David Kemper and Rockne S. O’Bannon
directed by Andrew Prowse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Lani John Tupu (Captain Bialar Crais), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), Francesca Buller (M’Lee), Marton Csokas (Br’Nee), David Franklin (Lt. Braca)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer

Rygel decides that it’s time to save his own skin, and takes a transport pod to Crais’ Command Carrier to trade his life for the rest of Moya’s crew. Rygel quickly realizes he is dealing from a position of weakness – but so is Crais, who soon loses command of his crew to Scorpius. Crais and Rygel escape back to Moya, where Crichton and the others are decidedly less than thrilled to see them. Crichton decides to buy time for Moya to escape by piloting a transport pod full of explosives directly into the Gammak base, knowing that Scorpius won’t kill him before he has the chance to access the wormhole equations in Crichton’s mind. D’Argo chooses to assist Crichton, and while the crew hatches a plan to try and bring everyone back alive, they know it’s a long shot at best. When Crais takes Moya’s offspring – newly christened Talyn by Aeryn, in honor of her father – the odds get even longer.

written by Rockne S. O’Bannon and David Kemper
directed by Tony Tilse
music by Subvision

Guest Cast: Lani John Tupu (Captain Bialar Crais), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius), David Franklin (Lt. Braca)

LogBook entry by Dave Thomer