Farscape to Return? Is Sci-Fi Channel Redeemed?

Cyno01 writes "I was just watching Firefly and switching to Taken during commercials (i'm a thief i know), and I caught a commercial for Sci-Fi 2003. It looks like there's going to be a few new actual sci-fi shows, and some not. Tremors: The Series, Children of Dune and another talkshow-esq looking thing called The Dream Team with Annabelle and Michael. Also it looks like Stargate: SG1 and yes, Farscape, are still alive and kicking."

Comments

Tremors The SerieS!!!!

[puto]

Nooo lord please no.... I am puring kerosene in my eyes now.

Putp

possibly

[RobertTaylor]

Why no link directly to the latest farscape news? Or perhaps the Cancellation FAQ and get some real facts!

A novel concept for /. no doubt ;)

Farscape

[cat_jesus]

Is still canceled.

Re:Farscape

[Photon Ghoul]

Exactly. Just because they are still promoting the final episodes of the series does not mean that it is now back in production. They are simply trying to squeeze what they can out of the rest of their investment by promoting the last of the season.

*mumbles something about a Slashdot story based off of some guy's malinformed impression of a TV commercial he saw as he was swapping back and forth between two shows*

Re:Farscape

[Twirlip of the Mists]

The last two or three episodes have become interesting.

Interesting? Is that the best you can do? Did you even watch "War Stories?"

Zoe: Hold it, Jayne. This is something the captain's gotta do for himself.

Mal: (fighting, muffled) No, it's not!

Zoe: Oh. (everybody opens fire)

Re:Farscape

[Photon Ghoul]

Yes and it is probably the episode that got me to think that "okay this series will keep getting better". To me "interesting" is a very good compliment for television programming because I can't stand and do not watch it. Farscape was the only thing I watched regularly. I generally don't watch TV (I only wanted cable for Farscape) because not much of it is appealing enough for me to sit and stare at a box fed programming by people that only think of me as another set of eyeballs for their advertisers.

I like the character development of Firefly, as it's progressing *very* nicely. I like the humor and there is enough action to balance things out. There are also no punches pulled when it comes to the dirty and bloody things that they go through. And for the drooling-needs-sex-badly-"boobies!" set there was a great woman-woman kissing scene last night. Although you will be dissapointed because it was done in good taste (network TV and all that).

The western theme is a serious negative for me, though. So much, that when I hear the theme song I wonder if it's really a show I want to watch.

Re:Farscape

[edo-01]

Interesting? Is that the best you can do? Did you even watch "War Stories?" Zoe: Hold it, Jayne. This is something the captain's gotta do for himself. Mal: (fighting, muffled) No, it's not! Zoe: Oh. (everybody opens fire)

I *love* this show - the exact moment I fell in love was at the end of the first episode, when Mal kicked the bad-guy into the engines - my eyes bugged out and I literally nearly spat coke over the screen.

Firefly has excellent production values (look at 'Ariel' - that episode looks like a feature film for chrissakes), the VFX are exquisite, and I say that with all due jealousy and admiration:-)

I'm constantly delighted and surprised by every episode and have yet to see one I haven't enjoyed (and I *hate* westerns)

Farscape

[zaren]

Don't forget that they finished shooting the rest of hte shows for this seasn, and SciFi has stated that they will be releasing those shows starting in January. It's possible they're going to continue the series... then again, it's possible they're just using the material they have left, with no intention to continue the series past the new episodes they've shot.

Only the remainder of Farscape...

[CuriousKangaroo]

They're only going to be showing the still unaired last half of the fourth season of Farscape.

After that, it's over, ending in a helluva cliffhanger.

No Farscape for you!

I thought...

[Hawkeye_RC5]

That Sci-Fi was going to air the last few episodes of Season 4 somewhere in 2003. If this is what the original poster saw, then this is a non-event.

What would be really interesting, and my question for Santa Claus this year, is that SciFi is going for another Season of Farscape, and perhaps even more. I know, it costs a lot of money, but it's damn well the best (Sci Fi) series I've ever seen...

Great!

[DAldredge]

Now I can watch MUPPETS IN SPACE! again!

You linked to Farscape Page - BUT DID NOT READ IT!

[jackb_guppy]

A small clip from the SCIFI-FAQ:

Additionally, in past seasons, Farscape had built upon its lead-in program (i.e., had more viewers than the program preceding it - a standard industry indicator of a show's success). For example, during the summer of 2001, Farscape increased 44% in ratings and 51% in households over its lead-in, The Invisible Man. However, this past summer, Farscape lost 29% of its lead-in program in terms of ratings, and 27% in households.

Based on this FarScape lost market share when SciFi cancelled I-Man. Two great campy shows work better than one.

I guess I can not understand network programming.

PS: When you go to the FarScape page... A pop-up about the cancelation appears. My guess it is still cancelled.

Farscape

[edo-01]

Well, we wrap work on the VFX for episode 422 this week, and once that's done we're archiving everything to DLT and going our seperate ways... as far as I know it's still over.

I was at Animal Logic last week and asked our producer if she'd heard anything different from Andrew (one of the exec producers) - nada. It's all winding down - on Thursday we hit a local pub for the VFX wrap party then that's it :-(

Anyway, at this point I'm rooting for Firefly ;-)

Re:You linked to Farscape Page - BUT DID NOT READ

[puto]

I agree with you. I had been living in South America for the past few years and when I got home I was looking for some Sci_Fi goodness after two years of 10 channel cable and dial up acess. So i decide to start up on farscape and caught some episodes about the invisible man and fell in love with the show.

IT was campy sort of a mix between:

1.Max Headroom(Edison had the brit fiora chick as a controller always a little sexual tension, invisible man has brit chick doctor.

2. The Hulk - Ivisible man gets to much quicksilver in the system and starts bugging out.

Edge of Night(whatever that vampire show is with Skanky and the vampire is a cop) Just like the Invisible Man he was an asshole in the past and is atoning for his sins, using his power for good, but they both lapse into old ways sometimes.

And you know, I never really made it to Farscape, cause I liked the invisible man so much, and I didnt realize I was watching an old show.

Puto

Re:Dream Team

[Chanc_Gorkon]

Really. I mean Annabelle was kind of funny on Dinner and Movie, but be honest, we did not really tune into see the dinner being cooked. We tuned in to SEE THE MOVIE!! Dinner and a Movie has just turned into an extra ad now with the hosts holding up a bottle of Dasani Nutri-Water or the "product" of the week. It's not even so much about the dish. Although they did come up with some fun dish names like Hail to the Chef State of the Onion Frittata for the movie The American President, or Obi-Wan Cannelloni for Star Wars. Now it seems like they either advertise an ingredient or a beverage in addition to the commercials they show also. Also the Man Made Movie thing sucks too. Granted the movies are ok, but I would rather see a Geek Made Movie where the show would show you how to build a geek friendly, yet wife friendly house with cat 5 in every room bewteen breaks of movies like Hackers and The Matrix.

Re:Tremors?

[Photon Ghoul]

Farscape is far from a Star Trek rip-off. It may lift some elements of the classic science-fiction shows, but it's usually done as an homage or even a slightly under-the-belt punch. Star Trek was made fun of several times on the show.

How do I know you've never actually watched Farscape?

1. Star Trek is in a nice clean universe where everything turns out fine at the end of the episode. Crewmen wearing certain shirts die or when that practice stopped death became an almost avoided subject.
Farscape is in a dirty, grimy universe where everything is out to get you. Major characters die. Enemies become friends... or at least necessary to trust them for a while.

2. Star Trek deals with holographic sentience, space-time anomolies/fluxuations, omnipresent alien beings, transwarp confibulators, blah blah blah
Farscape deals with manslaughter, death of loved ones, bounty hunters, torture, s&m, farts, piss, sexuality, emotional pain, intense love, uncomfortable situations, insanity, drug use, outright murder, seduction, loss of life on a massive scale, weapons of mass destruction, spirituality and many other more 'human' topics.

3. Star Trek uses a little bit of makeup on every single alien actor. Thus a universe of bipeds all roughly the same body type.
Farscape uses this method along with elaborate makeup/costumes and 'muppets' which are used to bring to life non-bipedal alien life forms or short stumpy annoying stab-you-in-the-back crew members whose farts cause a helium-like effect to those that inhale it.

4. Star Trek's crew is composed of mostly a bunch of stuffy, by-the-book Federation employees who are all good folk working towards the good of the universe.
Farscape's crew is composed mostly of a bunch of escaped prisoners along with a bumbling <injoke>erpling</injoke> astronaut, former antagonists, and rejects of the universe. It takes serious time and shared experiences for bonds to solidify enough that trust can be built. Everyone is looking out for number one.

5. Star Trek is straight science-fiction historically with a political or social message to bring to the masses while having a heavy focus on the technology.
Farscape is a dark comedy and a tragic love story that happens in a science-fiction setting.

I could go on and on about how Farscape has innovated in the realm of television science-fiction and how it is different than Star Trek, but I won't.

Sci Fi now following the Comedy Central model

[frenchgates]

...imagine Comedy Central without the Daily Show: all Mannequin 2, all the time. A pageant of mediocrity and under-achievement.

They show cheap, mostly bad sequel films out of some library of second rate productions I assume they have some kind of generic access to...like Turner Classic Movies showing the films they already own.

Now they have canned the origial Star Trek (the only reason I watched Sci Fi) even though they have exclusive broadcast rights for the next several years.

Basically they suck.