The first series of Farscape was a revitalising tonic for TV SF. An ambitious coproduction of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, Australia's Channel 9 and Hallmark Entertainment, Farscape launched itself with a refreshing mix of CGI, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry to take a visual leap beyond other genre shows. The witty scripts, too, peppered with double-entendres and pop-culture references, are light years away from the staid style of Star Trek. Admittedly, the first season's basic premise is simply Buck Rogers updated (American astronaut John Crichton, played by Ben Browder, is catapulted to a far-flung galaxy populated by strange aliens), while the crew initially have something of Blake's 7 about them (a motley bunch of escaped convicts pursued by a relentless foe), and ideas like the living ship are borrowed from Babylon 5, but the Farscape concept has a freshness that makes it all look and feel completely original. --Mark Walker

Farscape is genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5 and the continuing success of the Star Trek franchise, but taking a visual and conceptual leap beyond those shows. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the Farscape concept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. The production design is all bio-mechanical curves and the script, which is peppered with post-modern pop culture references and movie in-jokes, never takes itself too seriously. It may be expensive to make, but it certainly looks (and sounds--in Dolby Digital 5.1) like every penny made it to the screen. Ben Browder plays leading man John Crichton as a latter-day Buck Rogers but with an entirely believable sense of bewilderment, not to mention loss; the rest of the living ship Moya's crew also has plenty of difficult issues to deal with, allowing Farscape's writers licence to develop their characters in often unexpected ways. The result is episodic TV sci-fi that continually pushes at the accepted boundaries of the format.

Box Set 6: after the nail-biting cliffhanger at the end of the first, the second series gets off to a shaky start in "Mind the Baby", as all the loose plot ends have to be gathered and resolved. Crais apparently has a change of heart, and Scorpius takes his place as Crichton's new nemesis. In "Vitas Mortis" D'Argo falls for a lonely Luxan, with catastrophic and barely plausible results for Moya. "Taking the Stone" showcases Chiana's grief in an episode that manages to be even more confusing. Fortunately by the fourth episode, "Crackers Don't Matter", the show has really hit its stride once again: the crew slowly succumbs to a state of paranoia-fuelled madness, fighting and trying to kill one another thanks to the presence of an odd light-seeking alien. Crichton has a string of great lines ("I hate it when villains quote Shakespeare") and much fun doing an impersonation of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. In "The Way We Weren't" there are shocking revelations about both Aeryn and Pilot's past lives and the show's gift for surprising as well as emotionally convincing character development is once more brought to the fore. Extra features on the DVD include a handful of deleted scenes, cast biographies, a picture gallery and TV trailer. --Mark Walker

The second season of Farscape expands upon and develops the characters introduced in the ambitious first season. John Crichton's new nemesis is the deadly Scorpius, replacing Crais who has taken the living ship Moya's offspring on a voyage into the unknown. Moya's regular crew--Aeryn, Zhaan, Chiana, D'Argo and Rygel--remain as divided and suspicious of each other as ever, yet somehow manage to pull together at times of crisis. After revelations about Pilot's introduction to Moya in "The Way We Weren't", the writers continue to exploit the show's gift for surprising as well as emotionally convincing character development. The CGI effects, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, continue to make Farscape the most original looking sci-fi show on TV. The witty scripts, peppered with post-modern pop culture references and movie in-jokes, are also a breath of fresh air. The result is episodic TV sci-fi that continually pushes at the accepted boundaries of the genre.

On the DVD: the four episodes included here are all distinguished by ambitious storytelling, somewhat let down in the execution. In "Picture if You Will", an old enemy returns with a truly bizarre and barely comprehensible scheme to imprison Moya's crew inside a picture (shades of Dorian Gray maybe?). "Home on the Remains" has a contrived plot that harks right back to classic Star Trek, with Crichton even quoting Jim Kirk (the highlight, though, is Zhaan's transformation, which gives a whole new meaning to hay fever). Both "Dream a Little Dream" and "Out of Their Minds" play around with the crew's perceptions of reality--the former is a curious flashback episode set in between the first and second season, as Zhaan is put on trial for murder on a dystopian planet run by lawyers; the second plays body-swap with the crew, with everyone obviously having fun pretending to be everyone else (the aliens, however, look like leftovers from The Dark Crystal). DVD extras include a handful of deleted scenes, a DVD-ROM screensaver and yet another photo gallery. --Mark Walker

The second season of Farscape expands upon and develops the characters introduced in the ambitious first season. John Crichton's new nemesis is the deadly Scorpius, replacing Crais who has taken the living ship Moya's offspring on a voyage into the unknown. Moya's regular crew--Aeryn, Zhaan, Chiana, D'Argo and Rygel--remain as divided and suspicious of each other as ever, yet somehow manage to pull together at times of crisis. After revelations about Pilot's introduction to Moya in "The Way We Weren't", the writers continue to exploit the show's gift for surprising as well as emotionally convincing character development. The CGI effects, prosthetics and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, continue to make Farscape the most original looking sci-fi show on TV. The witty scripts, peppered with post-modern pop culture references and movie in-jokes, are also a breath of fresh air. The result is episodic TV sci-fi that continually pushes at the accepted boundaries of the genre. --Mark Walker