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It's clear from the opening episodes of its third season that Farscape has developed into a grown-up show. There's a new self-confidence and maturity here that's entirely welcome after the often wildly erratic tone of the second season. The production design and high-quality effects remain true to the show's original quirky style, although both the look and the more adult-themed scripts have become progressively darker. It's also clear that anyone who has not followed Farscape extremely closely from the very first episode of Season One will be utterly baffled by the convoluted plotting and complex character interactions. This is not the best place to begin your interstellar journey.
All the principal actors know their characters inside and out by now, and delight in showing off their many weaknesses and flaws. Refreshingly, the crew of Moya are a squabbling, bickering, selfish bunch most of the time, who somehow and against expectations manage to pull together (just) at the crucial moment. The writing has matured, too, remaining as witty as ever but equally unafraid to push both genre and censorship boundaries as villains bloodily torture their victims (usually Crichton) and the main characters become more and more obsessed with their sex lives (or lack thereof). Farscape is a whole galaxy away from the clean, cozy world of Star Trek. With a number of key personnel changes on the horizon, these first four episodes are evidence that Farscape knows where it's going even as it delights in keeping the audience guessing. Will Aeryn survive? If so, at what cost to her crewmates? What will D'Argo do when he discovers that Chiana and his son are having an affair? Can Zhaan really be dying? Just who is Neeyala? And can Crichton keep one step ahead of S&M fetishist Scorpius, various Skarrans and sundry other bloodthirsty aliens all intent upon getting into his mind, sometimes literally? Episodes include, "Season of Death," "Suns and Lovers," and the two-part "Self Inflicted Wounds." --Mark Walker
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