The Speculist

Farscape, the award-winning creation of the Jim Henson company (Brian Henson is executive producer) ran for four seasons on Sci-Fi before being cancelled in 2003. Now it's back, both in the form of an 8-hour-a-day, 11 day marathon in which Sci-Fi is showing every episode and (more importantly) the debut of a new mini-series, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, on October 17th.

What makes Farscape so great? Several things. It has a look and feel that's all its own. It isn't a Star Trek or Star Wars rip-off, nor would it want to be. The cast is wonderful, both human and animatronic. The stories range from comedy to fast-paced action to intense drama. The story arc is complex; I can't remember another TV show with so many bad good guys and so many good bad guys. But good or bad, the characters are all engaging; their relationships grow over time. They truly change and grow, and not always for the better.

If you've never watched, do yourself a favor and catch an episode or three over the next few days. If you want some background, try the FarWhat? or Save Farscape fan sites. There's also lots of good information on the official Sci-Fi Farscape site.