Hey for those new to the series, the science fiction channel whom aired Farscape accidentally released this episode IN THE WRONG ORDER. It is in fact supposed to be the second episode!!
I, E.T. makes a lot more sense there, doesn't it? :)
6 Reviews
Landing Moya on an alien planet
Tweekums29 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Listed as episode seven here and as episode four on the UK DVD; this is in fact episode two according to the official Farscape website... this makes sense as the events are closely linked to those in the premier. In that episode Moya's control collar was removed and as this episode begins an alarm is ringing; this is a beacon that was activated shortly after the collar was removed. There is no immediate way to silence it so John suggests submerging it. They land on a boggy planet where Moya immediately starts to sink. They still have several problems; the beacon has a self defence system that won't allow anything metal to approach and it is in a compartment that only Rygel can access; to make matters worse it is located at the heart of Moya's neural systems so will cause great pain if removed. John, Aeryn and D'Argo set out to find the necessary painkilling chemical while Zhaan helps by sharing Moya's pain as Rygel starts cutting out the beacon. While outside they run into a local search party and split up; this leads to John being captured by a local boy and his mother; he must persuade them to help him and not inform the military if Moya and her crew are to leave the planet.
This was a good second episode; while it had a good stand alone story it did follow on from previous events and helped us to get to know the characters a little better. Rygel clearly considers himself better than everybody else but underneath his bluster he does seem to care and Crichton continues to amuse; I loved it when he said the planet they'd landed on reminded him of Louisiana or Dagobah! Often when one work of fiction references another of the same genre it breaks the suspension of disbelief but it didn't here; in fact it strengthened it by making it clear that Crichton shares the same terms of reference as the sci-fi watching viewer. For a series that has given us many exotic aliens the natives of the planet are very human; they are more like the aliens of 'Star Trek' where some are people with funny noses, others have spots and others, like the ones here, have different ears... this isn't a bad thing though; it means they can express surprise that Crichton is so like them and be impressed when they see the more alien Pilot.
This was a good second episode; while it had a good stand alone story it did follow on from previous events and helped us to get to know the characters a little better. Rygel clearly considers himself better than everybody else but underneath his bluster he does seem to care and Crichton continues to amuse; I loved it when he said the planet they'd landed on reminded him of Louisiana or Dagobah! Often when one work of fiction references another of the same genre it breaks the suspension of disbelief but it didn't here; in fact it strengthened it by making it clear that Crichton shares the same terms of reference as the sci-fi watching viewer. For a series that has given us many exotic aliens the natives of the planet are very human; they are more like the aliens of 'Star Trek' where some are people with funny noses, others have spots and others, like the ones here, have different ears... this isn't a bad thing though; it means they can express surprise that Crichton is so like them and be impressed when they see the more alien Pilot.
Close Encounters
craybatesedu18 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The Farscape take on the First Contact scenario is its Star Trekkiest episode yet. Elements of the humans-as-aliens sci fi trope from Who Watches the Watchers through A Piece of the Action are evident in this episode charmingly set in an alien backwater when the ship emergency-lands near the home of a local UFO nut belonging to a pre-alien contact race.
There is a predictable game of cat-and-mouse with the snarling paranoid military types, while Zhaan spends most of her screen time sighing and looking concerned. The setup and the resolution are both mere filler for the real goal of the story, which is to put Crichton on the other end of wonderously gazing at alien visitors - and immediately trying to abduct them.
There is little to remark upon one way or the other in terms of special effects. The "aliens" are slant-eared humans; it isn't immediately obvious they are nonhuman at all until an alien child tells us as much with a stupefied response to Crichton's appearance that turns from curiosity to terror without much explanation.
The child's alien mother first strikes us as a friend, the kind of First Encounters hopeful enthusiast many Farscape viewers likely identify with. Her turn to terror, too, is sudden and mostly without provocation.
The episode proceeds more or less as we'd expect, with a modest twist ending Star Trek viewers may recognize as the Farscape equivalent of Chicago Mobs of the Twenties. Where it will lead we don't know, nor do we particularly care because the alien race we met is somewhat bland and predictable.
The action sequences are few but are well executed. This is a competently drafted episode that only fails because it couldn't decide whether to put the gang in the position of making first contact with an alien race, or putting them in the position of escape from alien Alcatraz. It tried to do both, leaving us with inconsistent motives and personalities in the alien characters that changed on a dime. Good humor and overt homage make this an otherwise watchable episode.
There is a predictable game of cat-and-mouse with the snarling paranoid military types, while Zhaan spends most of her screen time sighing and looking concerned. The setup and the resolution are both mere filler for the real goal of the story, which is to put Crichton on the other end of wonderously gazing at alien visitors - and immediately trying to abduct them.
There is little to remark upon one way or the other in terms of special effects. The "aliens" are slant-eared humans; it isn't immediately obvious they are nonhuman at all until an alien child tells us as much with a stupefied response to Crichton's appearance that turns from curiosity to terror without much explanation.
The child's alien mother first strikes us as a friend, the kind of First Encounters hopeful enthusiast many Farscape viewers likely identify with. Her turn to terror, too, is sudden and mostly without provocation.
The episode proceeds more or less as we'd expect, with a modest twist ending Star Trek viewers may recognize as the Farscape equivalent of Chicago Mobs of the Twenties. Where it will lead we don't know, nor do we particularly care because the alien race we met is somewhat bland and predictable.
The action sequences are few but are well executed. This is a competently drafted episode that only fails because it couldn't decide whether to put the gang in the position of making first contact with an alien race, or putting them in the position of escape from alien Alcatraz. It tried to do both, leaving us with inconsistent motives and personalities in the alien characters that changed on a dime. Good humor and overt homage make this an otherwise watchable episode.
The X-Files in the Uncharted Territories
XweAponX1 July 2017
This was supposed to be the 2nd episode, but it was shown a few Eps in during the original run of the series. Usually only Fox channels do this, but it was of course Scifi (before the "y"). The events occurring right after the "Pilot".
A PK (PeaceKeeper) gadget is making a racket and Moya finds a conveniently placed Bog planet to hide in the Soup. Moya had never taken a bath, but she's holding up while Crichton and D'Argo try to find Leviathan-Dope so that Rygel can squish in and chop off some connections from Moya's Neural Nexus without it causing too much agony. Zahn can help Moya by absorbing the pain, but Moya is slightly larger than Zahn.
But- They happen to have landed near that planet's version of S.E.T.I. - And the Scientist running it, "Lyneea" (Mary Mara) is not stupid. Pilot had identified a substance that would knock Moya out while Rygel uses Saws and other sharp tools, and it's in Lyneea's kitchen. So... SALT can knock Moya out? Except it's called something else, but my Translator Microbes stopped working. Take note! Later in the Series, this substance shows up, to the detriment of a Leviathan.
Crichton's interaction with a child is a lot like Reverse-ET, and the Authorities on this Bogplanet are akin to a bunch of Alex Joneses running amok with impunity. Not good.
But this planet - So much like Earth, so much like Earth's people. How would we react if Moya were to land next door? Some people would walk right up and be fascinated, other people would call the Army and the Army would start shooting.
All I know is, I'm glad that we've had a secret base on Mars for years, and that they serve Pizza there. But Crichton has to do with Food-Cubes.
A PK (PeaceKeeper) gadget is making a racket and Moya finds a conveniently placed Bog planet to hide in the Soup. Moya had never taken a bath, but she's holding up while Crichton and D'Argo try to find Leviathan-Dope so that Rygel can squish in and chop off some connections from Moya's Neural Nexus without it causing too much agony. Zahn can help Moya by absorbing the pain, but Moya is slightly larger than Zahn.
But- They happen to have landed near that planet's version of S.E.T.I. - And the Scientist running it, "Lyneea" (Mary Mara) is not stupid. Pilot had identified a substance that would knock Moya out while Rygel uses Saws and other sharp tools, and it's in Lyneea's kitchen. So... SALT can knock Moya out? Except it's called something else, but my Translator Microbes stopped working. Take note! Later in the Series, this substance shows up, to the detriment of a Leviathan.
Crichton's interaction with a child is a lot like Reverse-ET, and the Authorities on this Bogplanet are akin to a bunch of Alex Joneses running amok with impunity. Not good.
But this planet - So much like Earth, so much like Earth's people. How would we react if Moya were to land next door? Some people would walk right up and be fascinated, other people would call the Army and the Army would start shooting.
All I know is, I'm glad that we've had a secret base on Mars for years, and that they serve Pizza there. But Crichton has to do with Food-Cubes.
Pleasantly Underdone
BSHBen7 April 2007
"I, E.T." opens with the blaring sound of a distress signal, which had been activated by the absence of Moya's control collar. Pilot lands Moya on a swampy planet, the home of the Deneans, in the hopes that the water can prevent the sound from alerting a nearby Peacekeeper ship of their presence. Unfortunately for Moya, the beacon is in small, sensitive location. Removing the beacon will be very painful, leading to Aeryn, D'Argo, and Crichton searching the planet for an element called clorium, which could numb Moya from the pain.
Many mistakes were made in the filming of "I, E.T.", but nevertheless the episode succeeds with its beautiful visual effects and simple, enjoyable premise. "I, E.T." is far from a fan-favorite, but it deserves credit for competently relating its basic plot line. The background interaction is much more interesting, especially in the scenes involving Zhaan and Rygel.
The main plot line concerns Crichton's capture by a Denean mother and her son. The Denean's are yet to encounter extraterrestrials, and a menacing military chief nearby seems especially xenophobic. Crichton, after being convincingly zapped by a somewhat unconvincing zapper-thing, convinces the family to hide him from the military.
The makeup used for the Deneans is underwhelming to say the least. Only three Deneans are ever shown in full makeup; other's are conveniently wearing masks or are obscured in shadows. The Deneans that we do see look just like people with the exception of a strangely-shaped ear. Wild, original, and impressive alien makeup has consistently been a trademark of Farscape, but he aliens in "I, E.T." are unusually unimpressive.
As mentioned above, Rygel and Zhaan have the best scenes in the episode. Zhaan, apparently, has the ability to absorb another's pain, which she uses on Moya while Rygel tries to remove the beacon. Rygel is very convincing in his scenes, and the other cast members successfully treat him like a person rather than a prop. Even earlier episodes like "I, E.T." manage to bring puppet/animatronic/digital characters like Pilot and Rygel to life, one of Farscape's greatest strengths.
D'Argo is less fortunate. He fulfills his typical function in early Season 1 of Farscape: he gets beaten/captured/proved wrong/rescued. Aeryn is in the background of the episode, but she and Crichton get some good dialogue. Ben Browder is as good as ever as Crichton. Crichton is a little less confused than he usually is in early Season 1, perhaps due to the simplicity of this episode's plot. He has some great references to pop culture, especially his "Dagobah" comment.
The visuals, water effects, and sets are impressive in "I, E.T.", but it is the storyline, makeup, action, and pacing where this episode disappoints. By no means is it a total failure, or even a bad episode at all; it's just that little in it excels or is particularly interesting. The episode is peaceful and refreshing, but, unlike the "Premiere" it is totally unambitious. "I, E.T." seems content with mediocrity. I don't mean to sound harsh, because "I, E.T.", is a good episode, better than much of what's on television, with some interesting character interaction and dialogue. Despite its drawbacks, "I, E.T." is a worthy entry in the Farscape series. 2.5/4
Many mistakes were made in the filming of "I, E.T.", but nevertheless the episode succeeds with its beautiful visual effects and simple, enjoyable premise. "I, E.T." is far from a fan-favorite, but it deserves credit for competently relating its basic plot line. The background interaction is much more interesting, especially in the scenes involving Zhaan and Rygel.
The main plot line concerns Crichton's capture by a Denean mother and her son. The Denean's are yet to encounter extraterrestrials, and a menacing military chief nearby seems especially xenophobic. Crichton, after being convincingly zapped by a somewhat unconvincing zapper-thing, convinces the family to hide him from the military.
The makeup used for the Deneans is underwhelming to say the least. Only three Deneans are ever shown in full makeup; other's are conveniently wearing masks or are obscured in shadows. The Deneans that we do see look just like people with the exception of a strangely-shaped ear. Wild, original, and impressive alien makeup has consistently been a trademark of Farscape, but he aliens in "I, E.T." are unusually unimpressive.
As mentioned above, Rygel and Zhaan have the best scenes in the episode. Zhaan, apparently, has the ability to absorb another's pain, which she uses on Moya while Rygel tries to remove the beacon. Rygel is very convincing in his scenes, and the other cast members successfully treat him like a person rather than a prop. Even earlier episodes like "I, E.T." manage to bring puppet/animatronic/digital characters like Pilot and Rygel to life, one of Farscape's greatest strengths.
D'Argo is less fortunate. He fulfills his typical function in early Season 1 of Farscape: he gets beaten/captured/proved wrong/rescued. Aeryn is in the background of the episode, but she and Crichton get some good dialogue. Ben Browder is as good as ever as Crichton. Crichton is a little less confused than he usually is in early Season 1, perhaps due to the simplicity of this episode's plot. He has some great references to pop culture, especially his "Dagobah" comment.
The visuals, water effects, and sets are impressive in "I, E.T.", but it is the storyline, makeup, action, and pacing where this episode disappoints. By no means is it a total failure, or even a bad episode at all; it's just that little in it excels or is particularly interesting. The episode is peaceful and refreshing, but, unlike the "Premiere" it is totally unambitious. "I, E.T." seems content with mediocrity. I don't mean to sound harsh, because "I, E.T.", is a good episode, better than much of what's on television, with some interesting character interaction and dialogue. Despite its drawbacks, "I, E.T." is a worthy entry in the Farscape series. 2.5/4
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