Where the Star Goat was Bled
Farscape's late introduction stylistic characteristics, like overlapping dialogue and unemphasised extreme reactions, find very suitable material in an episode about hallucinations at an archaeological dig.
Season Four, Episode Two: What Was Lost, Part I: Sacrifice
Still aboard the dying Leviathan, Crichton (Ben Browder), Chiana (Gigi Edgley), Rygel (Jonathan Hardy), and Sikozu (Raelee Hill) travel to a dangerous world find Jool (Tammy MacIntosh), Noranti (Melissa Jaffer), and D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe). The shipmates reunite amid ruins on a mostly uninhabitable planet. There are lifeforms--some little one legged insects and a fellow Crichton inevitably compares to the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Though this fellow, Oo-Nii (Steve Le Marquand), has much prettier colouring than the Creature.
Also on hand are two members of Jool's species which, if you'll remember from the beginning of Season Three, are remarkably close to human, genetically. These two happen to be archaeologists, and with them Jool is trying to discover how the long extinct sentient inhabitants maintained peace with the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans. But the best part of the episode is Crichton wandering around having visions after Noranti blows some kind of sand in his face. I love the brief glimpses he has of the ancient, red robed priests.
I really love that the Creature Shop designed and built this alien "goat" just for it to be sacrificed in this brief shot. The episode has a wonderfully striking colour palette.
We also see the return of Scorpius (Wayne Pygram), on his way to switching sides in the great Farscape chase as he's now placed in his own Aurora Chair by Grayza (Rebecca Riggs). She wants to find Crichton under a vague idea of befriending "the enemy of my enemy". It turns out her dramatic cleavage is more than just window dressing, too, as her favoured technique with men is to seduce them with her psychoactive sweat. I feel like nowadays we don't see enough succubi femmes fatale.
Between Grayza's sweat and Noranti's sand it's a wonder Crichton hasn't completely lost his marbles. Though he certainly has plenty of experience with maddening stimuli at this point.
. . .
Farscape is available now on Amazon Prime.
This entry is part of a series I'm writing on Farscape for the show's 20th anniversary. My previous reviews can be found here (episodes are in the order intended by the show's creators rather than the broadcast order):
Season One:
Episode 1: Pilot
Episode 2: I, E.T.
Episode 3: Exodus from Genesis
Episode 4: Throne for a Loss
Episode 5: Back and Back and Back to the Future
Episode 6: Thank God It's Friday Again
Episode 7: PK Tech Girl
Episode 8: That Old Black Magic
Episode 9: DNA Mad Scientist
Episode 10: They've Got a Secret
Episode 11: Till the Blood Runs Clear
Episode 12: Rhapsody in Blue
Episode 13: The Flax
Episode 14: Jeremiah Crichton
Episode 15: Durka Returns
Episode 16: A Human Reaction
Episode 17: Through the Looking Glass
Episode 18: A Bug's Life
Episode 19: Nerve
Episode 20: The Hidden Memory
Episode 21: Bone to be Wild
Episode 22: Family Ties
Season Two:
Episode 1: Mind the Baby
Episode 2: Vitas Mortis
Episode 3: Taking the Stone
Episode 4: Crackers Don't Matter
Episode 5: Picture If You Will
Episode 6: The Way We Weren't
Episode 7: Home on the Remains
Episode 8: Dream a Little Dream
Episode 9: Out of Their Minds
Episode 10: My Three Crichtons
Episode 11: Look at the Princess, Part I: A Kiss is But a Kiss
Episode 12: Look at the Princess, Part II: I Do, I Think
Episode 13: Look at the Princess, Part III: The Maltese Crichton
Episode 14: Beware of Dog
Episode 15: Won't Get Fooled Again
Episode 16: The Locket
Episode 17: The Ugly Truth
Episode 18: A Clockwork Nebari
Episode 19: Liars, Guns, and Money, Part I: A Not So Simple Plan
Episode 20: Liars, Guns, and Money, Part II: With Friends Like These . . .
Episode 21: Liars, Guns, and Money, Part III: Plan B
Episode 22: Die Me, Dichotomy
Season Three:
Episode 1: Season of Death
Episode 2: Suns and Lovers
Episode 3: Self-Inflicted Wounds, Part I: Would'a, Could'a, Should'a
Episode 4: Self-Inflicted Wounds, Part II: Wait for the Wheel
Episode 5: . . . Different Destinations
Episode 6: Eat Me
Episode 7: Thanks for Sharing
Episode 8: Green Eyed Monster
Episode 9: Losing Time
Episode 10: Relativity
Episode 11: Incubator
Episode 12: Meltdown
Episode 13: Scratch 'n Sniff
Episode 14: Infinite Possibilities, Part I: Daedalus Demands
Episode 15: Infinite Possibilities, Part II: Icarus Abides
Episode 16: Revenging Angel
Episode 17: The Choice
Episode 18: Fractures
Episode 19: I-Yensch, You-Yensch
Episode 20: Into the Lion's Den, Part I: Lambs to the Slaughter
Episode 21: Into the Lion's Den, Part II: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Episode 22: A Dog with Two Bones
Season Four
Episode 1: Crichton Kicks