Sometimes you find a heist, sometimes a heist finds you. The heroes of Farscape stumble onto a stockpile of hot merchandise on a lava planet of all places, giving us one of the more magnificent episode titles.
Season Four, Episode Four: Lava's a Many Splendoured Thing
Stuck on D'Argo's (Anthony Simcoe) little ship, Lo'la, everyone's hungry and impatient. Everyone but Sikozu (Raelee Hill) is persuaded to eat something Noranti (Melissa Jaffer) vomits up necessitating a quick trip to a nearby lava planet so everyone can puke.
According to the Wiki, this episode was a particular challenge for the set designers. They don't really pull off realistic lava but I kind of like the groovy Star Trek: TOS quality of the lumpy pink goo.
More impressive is the prosthetics for the villain, Raa'Keel (John Adam), head of a gang of thieves. It looks like his brain is trying to get out.
The gang wear personal shield systems that power down when not being shot at. This ends up creating an opportunity for Crichton (Ben Browder) to show ingenuity by shooting at himself to activate the shields so he can swim in lava.
Sikozu and Chiana (Gigi Edgley) get stuck outside and have to learn to operate the craft keyed to D'Argo's genetic code. Chiana's idea to use D'Argo's conveniently located vomit adds some extra flavour to the amusing bickering between the two.
Meanwhile, it's back to routine humiliation for Rygel (Jonathan Hardy) who spends the episode encased in amber, trying desperately not to soil himself. What splendour indeed.
. . .
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: PilotEpisode 2: I, E.T.Episode 3: Exodus from GenesisEpisode 4: Throne for a LossEpisode 5: Back and Back and Back to the FutureEpisode 6: Thank God It's Friday Again Episode 7: PK Tech GirlEpisode 8: That Old Black MagicEpisode 9: DNA Mad ScientistEpisode 10: They've Got a SecretEpisode 11: Till the Blood Runs ClearEpisode 12: Rhapsody in BlueEpisode 13: The FlaxEpisode 14: Jeremiah CrichtonEpisode 15: Durka ReturnsEpisode 16: A Human ReactionEpisode 17: Through the Looking GlassEpisode 18: A Bug's LifeEpisode 19: NerveEpisode 20: The Hidden MemoryEpisode 21: Bone to be WildEpisode 22: Family Ties Season Two:
Episode 1: Mind the BabyEpisode 2: Vitas MortisEpisode 3: Taking the StoneEpisode 4: Crackers Don't MatterEpisode 5: Picture If You WillEpisode 6: The Way We Weren'tEpisode 7: Home on the RemainsEpisode 8: Dream a Little DreamEpisode 9: Out of Their MindsEpisode 10: My Three CrichtonsEpisode 11: Look at the Princess, Part I: A Kiss is But a KissEpisode 12: Look at the Princess, Part II: I Do, I ThinkEpisode 13: Look at the Princess, Part III: The Maltese CrichtonEpisode 14: Beware of DogEpisode 15: Won't Get Fooled AgainEpisode 16: The LocketEpisode 17: The Ugly TruthEpisode 18: A Clockwork NebariEpisode 19: Liars, Guns, and Money, Part I: A Not So Simple PlanEpisode 20: Liars, Guns, and Money, Part II: With Friends Like These . . .Episode 21: Liars, Guns, and Money, Part III: Plan BEpisode 22: Die Me, Dichotomy Season Three:
Episode 1: Season of DeathEpisode 2: Suns and LoversEpisode 3: Self-Inflicted Wounds, Part I: Would'a, Could'a, Should'aEpisode 4: Self-Inflicted Wounds, Part II: Wait for the WheelEpisode 5: . . . Different DestinationsEpisode 6: Eat MeEpisode 7: Thanks for SharingEpisode 8: Green Eyed MonsterEpisode 9: Losing TimeEpisode 10: RelativityEpisode 11: IncubatorEpisode 12: MeltdownEpisode 13: Scratch 'n SniffEpisode 14: Infinite Possibilities, Part I: Daedalus DemandsEpisode 15: Infinite Possibilities, Part II: Icarus AbidesEpisode 16: Revenging AngelEpisode 17: The ChoiceEpisode 18: FracturesEpisode 19: I-Yensch, You-YenschEpisode 20: Into the Lion's Den, Part I: Lambs to the SlaughterEpisode 21: Into the Lion's Den, Part II: Wolf in Sheep's ClothingEpisode 22: A Dog with Two Bones Season Four
Episode 1: Crichton KicksEpisode 2: What was Lost, Part I: SacrificeEpisode 3: What was Lost, Part II: Resurrection