Rating: 
Summary: Great sci-fi series
Review: I began watching Farscape about halfway through the first season. I was glad to see this DVD released with the initial episode so I could find out how all the characters got together. I understand that the DVD has additional footage not seen on tv. I especially liked the additional features such as the audio commentaries prov ided by the stars. Farscape is a great series with amazing characters and great actors. In some ways I think it is better than any of the Star Trek series. I hope that eventually all of the episodes will be available on DVD. It appears that will happen although slowly. This DVD is well worth the money for any sci-fi aficionado.
Rating: 
Summary: Great feature. DVD a little unfulfilled.
Review: I gave this DVD 4-stars, but that's only because the disc contains just 2 episodes. As with just about all TV series DVD presentations, it's under-utilized, to collect greater revenues, I can only conclude. The storage capacity of the DVD is so great, there's really no fair reason for not including more of the series on each DVD. (This is a fair grievance with most film DVD's as well. A double-sided, dual-layer DVD can hold up to 8 hours of high-quality video, or 30 hours of VHS quality video. I've seen very few double-sided DVD's, most giving up capacity for artwork. !?!) That issue aside, the Farscape episodes are great. I don't believe I ever saw the beginning of the series on the air, so it was great to be taken back to the start. The series is one of the most inventive and engaging Sci-Fi sagas I've ever been sucked into. I only hope all the seasons make it to DVD.
Rating:
Summary: What the Frell?
Review: A wormhole--something unproven--not anymore it isn't. Astronaut John Crichton quickly realizes this when he's sucked down one, and spit out into the middle of an intergalactic space battle between escaping prisoners and the Peacekeepers. John's module incidentally collides with a Peacekeeper Prowler, whcih turns out to be Bialar Crais' brother, who becomes John's enemy for the rest of season one. The first episode quickly introduces the characters, and puts a slight emphasis on how that character is going to act through the series. The premiere definitely should of been made into a two hour to allow for more characterization and more time to do everything.
The second episode I still wonder why it is episode one. Not much of anything happens in it. There's good acting, and Rygel gets a chunk out of Aeryn's arm. Wasn't a bad episode compared to most series, but for farscape, it's below average.
The DVD features are descent, with footage not seen in the U.S. and with commentarys on both of the episodes. A great collection.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth It
Review: I came to Farscape through the Sci-Fi channel, like most of the world. It was fun, it was kooky, and...it grows on you. The dialogue and characters are fun and witty, and the setting's unique; here on DVD it shines. You get to see exactly how crisp these effects are, you get to hear the surround sound, and see the Delvian blues and the Peacekeeper reds in all their glory. The extras: The commentaries are fantastic. Browder's surprisingly articulate and makes incisive comments along with Henson and O'Bannon; Claudia Black and Anthony Simcoe on episode 2 provide you with lots of behind-the-scenes actors' minutiae which are also interesting. The documentary is fun (you get to see D'Argo (Simcoe) sans makeup!) and illuminating. All in all--definitely worth it to fans of the series, and worth it as well to general sci-fi fans. Star Trek could take an example from the extras here; I look forward to other volumes in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent disc! Must have for any home theater.
Review: I must admit, this is the best DVD I purchased based on a TV show. I was quite suprised and pleased to find out that not only did the quality of the video rival the broadcast on digital satelitte TV, but they had also redone the audio in full Dolby Digital! The audio effects are now more on par with the show's incredible video effects. It is so much better to experience Farscape all over again in full Dolby Digital. I've been an advid watcher since the original preimer episode on SCIFI, and I must say they did an excelent job on the DVD release! This disc is a must buy, especialy if you have a Dolby Digital home theather setup and appreciate excellent sci-fi. I plan to purchase the entire series. My only complaint is that I wish ADV would release season box sets instead of two episodes at a time. ADV, take a hint from the X-Files and Stargate SG-1 which both are being sold in season box sets. I'd rather buy the whole Farscape seasons 1 and 2 right now, so I can quickly rewatch them all in Dolby Digital.
Rating:
Summary: See How Far the Worm-Hole Goes
Review: Farscape is one of the most fascinating shows (not just sci-fi) to grace the airwaves. It's a shame that the series was cancelled, but the DVD's will leave a wonderful legacy. Pilots are akward for any show since, in the span of an hour, they must introduce the main characters and their relationships to each other as well as create the environment in which they live. Science fiction pilots have the added burden of establishing where in the universe (and when in time) the stories occur, showing how technology has advanced (or in some cases retreated), sketching out new cultures and basically setting forth what are the new rules. "Pilot" does an admirable job all around. Not only do we become familiar with all six major characters (seven if you include Moya), but it also sets up the wonderful paradox that makes the series so compelling in the first season: namely that each character has his/her own agenda but they must work together to survive. This definitely ain't Star Trek. "I, E.T." is a neat bit of storytelling in that it turns a cliched story on its head: this time we are the invading aliens. Not a major story, but still enjoyable in the way it evokes a sense of wonder. Both episodes feature commentaries and while they are both enlightening into the way Farscape first came into being, Claudia Black's and Anthony Simcoe's banter during I, E.T. is definitely the more fun of the two (would love to see them at a con!) Two featurettes are offered. First is a "behind-the-scenes" documentary, which acts more as a primer for the uninitiated than a behind the scenes, though there is a fascinating segment on the process used to make D'Argo's costume (Plus seeing Anthony out of make-up. Yikes!). The second featurette is less a "Video Profile" of John Crichton and more Ben Browder's persepective on the series as a whole, which is more interesting anyways. Of the two still galleries, I prefer the Conceptual Drawings which include some early ideas of Peacekeeper weapons and Pilot's den over the Crichton Gallery, as many of those pictures are either a) taken from the DVD covers, b) awash in a garish red light, or c) both. Any complaints I may have, though, are small and pale beside the strengths of the rest of the disc.
Rating:
Summary: Great everything...
Review: Farscape has cool special effects, good actors who play great characters, action, humor, amazing stories and everything you could want in a science fiction triller.
This DVD has the first two epsiodes AND lots of extras, including drawings, weblinks, commentary, actor profile on Ben Browder and a 'making of' documentary.
The only problem that pops up with the DVDs is I noticed by the fourth one many of the extras are gone, like the commentaries, and I also realized that to get the first season, 22 episodes, you need to get 11 DVDs. That seems like a lot of DVDs or, should I say, few episodes per the DVD. Most series on TV put four to five episodes per DVD, which means with Farscape you end up spending a lot more and end up taking up a lot of space for one show.
If I had the money or space it would be worth it. But for right now I think I will focus on other shows. It is just a case of a great show but bad packaging. Try to get it used.
Rating:
Summary: Best show I've seen in years, by "far"
Review: This volume is the launch of an epic series. Even those who are not especially into science fiction can enjoy the amazingly refreshing characters and plot(s). The talented cast manages to bring greater dimension to their characters than that of any other series I can think of (and this is truly a 'series', so episodes are best viewed in chronological order). The costumes/makeup and special effects are generally very good, but they are never compelled to carry the show, as is too often the case in this genre. The series is built on layers of twisting, intertwined plots, held together by a balanced equation of romance, sex, horror, drama and comedy, and it 'works'. It's an intelligent show that demands a little more attention than most; unpredictable plot turns and references to past episodes can leave the uninitiated a bit confused. A little patience pays off; this show trumps anything you'll see on network TV, by far. Buy it, watch it, get hooked on it. Then wonder why the Sci-Fi channel dumped it, instead of advertising their Friday night gem on 'mainstream' TV....
Rating:
Summary: Our introduction to the fan friendly Farscape Galaxy
Review: In my continuing quest to catch up with all the shows I have managed to miss in the past couple of years I am now working my way through Season 1 of "Farscape." This first DVD offers up the first two episodes, including the pilot, "Premiere." Basically, creator Rockne S. O'Bannon takes the old Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century idea and gives it a few significant twists. As we are reminded each week in the title sequence, Commander John Crichton (Ben Browder) is sent through a wormhole during an experimental test flight into a galaxy far, far away where he ends up on Moya, a living spaceship with aliens on it. The aliens in question are escaped prisoners fleeing from the fascist Peacekeepers. Of course, as far as they are concerned, it is Crichton that is the alien. Because of one of those accidents that tend to happen when a spacecraft is hurtled through a wormhole into a galaxy far, far away, Crichton is also a fugitive from the Peacekeepers, as is one of their number, Officer Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black). When you toss into this mix the hulking warrior D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), the bombastic Rygel (Henson puppet voiced by Jonathan Hardy), and the exotic blue skinned priestess Zhaan (Virginia Hey), you have the potential for extended interpersonal conflict in each and every episode. These crewmates might not kill each other, but they are not averse to punching each other out. The pilot episode is certainly functional in terms of laying out the possibilities, but obviously what is going to make this series is how well future episodes work off of these premises. At this point it is clearly the aliens that are more interesting to us than Crichton's situation, but it is clear as soon as you see her that Zhaan is going to be a fascinating character. "I, E.T." is a great idea for an episode considering Crichton's plight, but having it be the second episode in the series is way too early as far as I am concerned. With all of his science fiction/pop culture references, there should be an episode where Crichton realizes he is in caught in a classic science fiction film plot. However, flipping his own first contact experience from "Premiere" is something I would have saved for the second half of the season and not the second episode. Having it this early makes the story lose a lot of its potential poignancy. Besides, at this point we are really more interested in learning more about Zhaan and D'Argo than in the fact that Crichton wants to go home. I especially appreciated the involvement of the cast and crew in doing commentary tracks on (apparently) all of the episodes on these DVDs. Having two people talking per episode works well, as they engage in dialogue and talk about not just the particular episode but the characters and the series overall. My only serious complaint about the DVDs of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" have been the approach of letting each writer comment on one show per season. My current line of thought is that cast and crew commentary on all episodes is as fan friendly as a cult television show can get. There is also a video profile for the character of John Crichton and a 22-minute documentary on the making of the series, along with an image gallery, conceptual gallery, and web-links. As I said, this is a high end fan friendly DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Deaf? Don't bother! UPDATED!!
Review: I'll make this short and sweet. This DVD is not closed caption encoded and lacks the subtitle option as well. UPDATES: I contacted the distributor of this DVD and the VERY polite customer service person who responded informed me that this DVD does have the subtitle option. Unfortunately this option isn't listed on the menu of the DVD and can only be accessed via the "Subtitle" button on the DVD player remote.
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