Sci Fi Channel made a lot of fans unhappy when Farscape disappeared last year. But the network has a chance to appease them, if only for two nights, with its new event, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars.
Since the show’s departure, Sci Fi has used the money it has saved from the expensive series on the Stargate franchise; epic miniseries like Taken and the upcoming Earthsea; and a bunch of cheaply produced modern-day B movies. While Taken was a tremendous success, Sci Fi still lacks a strong non-Stargate anchor. Now Farscape is about to return to the small screen, and the resulting telepic should help heal some of the wounds from the show’s exit.
The four-hour miniseries picks up where the series left off, after John Crichton (Ben Browder) and Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black) have been blasted into hundreds of tiny crystals.
Crichton — who has been hunted by aliens who want the wormhole knowledge other aliens implanted in his head — had just learned that Aeryn was pregnant with his baby and had just proposed to her.
Since their “demise,” the reptilian Scarrans and the Peacekeepers have moved to the brink of war.
The pair is reconstructed by an alien doctor and are ready to get married, have a child and settle down in a peaceful corner of the galaxy. But when Scorpius (Wayne Pygram), the Peacekeeper who had hounded Crichton during the Farscape series, fires the first shots in a war that could have devastating consequences for the galaxy, Crichton’s and Aeryn’s chance for a peaceful life seems doomed.
When Scorpius and the Scarran Staleek (Duncan Young) learn Crichton is alive, they break off and chase him down.
All the major characters are back for this final adventure: D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe), Chiana (Gigi Edgley), Rygel (Jonathan Hardy), Pilot (Lani Tupu) and the living spaceship Moya.
Peacekeeper Wars has all the elements that made the original series a fan favorite: an intricate yet solid plot, engaging characters, exciting action, humor and amazing special effects. It seamlessly supplies background information without tripping up the story. That blend should please hardcore Farscape fans and intrigue both casual fans and first-time viewers.
The movie is a great chance for fans to say one last goodbye to their favorite characters and provides a satisfying, if bittersweet, ending fans were deprived of in the series finale.
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars premieres Sunday, Oct. 17, at 9 p.m. and concludes Monday, Oct. 18, at 9 p.m. on Sci Fi Channel.
