Rating: 
Summary: Two early in Season 1 for these two "Farscape" episodes
Review: I started watching the first season of "Farscape" on DVD without ever having seen the show on television (I knew it was the show with the blue skinned woman and that was about it). My assumption is that nobody is going to come to Volume 2 of Season 1 without having watched Volume 1. Consequently, I get to engage more in commentary than description for this review of Episodes 3 and 4 from the debut season."Exodus from Genesis" is a story designed to have Crichton (Ben Browder) earn the respect of his crewmates. Moya is invaded by aliens who are able to assume the form of the crew. If that is not enough fun a squad of Peacekeepers boards the ship as well. Like the previous episode, "I, E.T.," this is another instance where "Farscape" is getting ahead of itself. Episode 3 is too soon to be doing a story where the actors play reproductions or possessed versions of their characters. We still have so much to learn about these characters, which means details like the problems Aeryn (Claudia Black) has with high temperatures is of more interest than how many copies of Crichton can show up in one room. "Throne for a Loss" find Rygel kidnapped and held for ransom. Crichton, Aeryn, and D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe) go off to rescue the floating puppet. Their efforts are compromised by the acquisition of a gauntlet, the weapon used by the bad guys. Unfortunately, the gauntlet tends to make its user a bit psychotic, as each of the trio of rescuers discovers. However, Crichton wants to rely on good old human honesty to save the day rather than alien technology. The most interesting part of this episode is back on Moya, when Zhaan (Virginia Hey) is trying to help their prisoner deal with the loss of his gauntlet and the addictive chemicals it provides its user. Of course Zhaan is the most fascinating character on the show and every new revelation about her becomes another piece of the puzzle. One thing that is already clear to me by this second disc from the first season is that "Farscape" is extremely fan friendly when it comes to putting the episodes out on DVD. First, the episodes contain previously unbroadcast footage, which means all the stuff they cut to show "Farscape" on American television (apparently we have 3-4 minutes more commercials than the rest of the civilized world). Second, all of the episodes feature commentary by a pair of cast and crewmembers: Brian Henson and Virginia Hey on Episode 3 and Ben Browder and Claudia Black on Episode 4. I assume future DVDs will continue to mix and match these people in various combinations. Having two people engage in a conversation works well and all the participants tend to talk about not just the particular episode but also their characters and the series overall.
Rating:
Summary: Two early in Season 1 for these two "Farscape" episodes
Review: I started watching the first season of "Farscape" on DVD without ever having seen the show on television (I knew it was the show with the blue skinned woman and that was about it). My assumption is that nobody is going to come to Volume 2 of Season 1 without having watched Volume 1. Consequently, I get to engage more in commentary than description for this review of Episodes 3 and 4 from the debut season. "Exodus from Genesis" is a story designed to have Crichton (Ben Browder) earn the respect of his crewmates. Moya is invaded by aliens who are able to assume the form of the crew. If that is not enough fun a squad of Peacekeepers boards the ship as well. Like the previous episode, "I, E.T.," this is another instance where "Farscape" is getting ahead of itself. Episode 3 is too soon to be doing a story where the actors play reproductions or possessed versions of their characters. We still have so much to learn about these characters, which means details like the problems Aeryn (Claudia Black) has with high temperatures is of more interest than how many copies of Crichton can show up in one room. "Throne for a Loss" find Rygel kidnapped and held for ransom. Crichton, Aeryn, and D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe) go off to rescue the floating puppet. Their efforts are compromised by the acquisition of a gauntlet, the weapon used by the bad guys. Unfortunately, the gauntlet tends to make its user a bit psychotic, as each of the trio of rescuers discovers. However, Crichton wants to rely on good old human honesty to save the day rather than alien technology. The most interesting part of this episode is back on Moya, when Zhaan (Virginia Hey) is trying to help their prisoner deal with the loss of his gauntlet and the addictive chemicals it provides its user. Of course Zhaan is the most fascinating character on the show and every new revelation about her becomes another piece of the puzzle. One thing that is already clear to me by this second disc from the first season is that "Farscape" is extremely fan friendly when it comes to putting the episodes out on DVD. First, the episodes contain previously unbroadcast footage, which means all the stuff they cut to show "Farscape" on American television (apparently we have 3-4 minutes more commercials than the rest of the civilized world). Second, all of the episodes feature commentary by a pair of cast and crewmembers: Brian Henson and Virginia Hey on Episode 3 and Ben Browder and Claudia Black on Episode 4. I assume future DVDs will continue to mix and match these people in various combinations. Having two people engage in a conversation works well and all the participants tend to talk about not just the particular episode but also their characters and the series overall.
Rating: 
Summary: It's the extras that really make this DVD!
Review: If you buy this DVD mainly just to watch the show, you won't be disappointed. The quality is excellent! However, you'll miss a lot if you don't look at the Extras on the disk. I particularly got from the Extras an understanding and appreciation for how Farscape has developed. For example, Brian Henson mentioned that the 3-D tactical display table arose out of a desire not to repeat the Star Trek viewscreen and that there were problems in achieving this special effect. This is stuff you can't get elsewhere! There's lots more intriguing info on this disk!
Rating:
Summary: It's the extras that really make this DVD!
Review: If you buy this DVD mainly just to watch the show, you won't be disappointed. The quality is excellent! However, you'll miss a lot if you don't look at the Extras on the disk. I particularly got from the Extras an understanding and appreciation for how Farscape has developed. For example, Brian Henson mentioned that the 3-D tactical display table arose out of a desire not to repeat the Star Trek viewscreen and that there were problems in achieving this special effect. This is stuff you can't get elsewhere! There's lots more intriguing info on this disk!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Treat for SF Fans!
Review: One of the strengths of good sf on television is that it takes the characters and basic elements of its "universe" and adds to and develops them. FARSCAPE is no exception to this rule, and does it quite wonderfully in this pair of episodes. "Exodus From Genesis" is about a bug infestation on Moya, and the surprising truth of what is behind it. With a commentary track version of the episode by Brian Henson and Virginia Hey, the episode has some very good character interaction, and the extra footage on the disc presents some rather intriguing material for fans of Zhaan. Solid episode, good story, with some neat visual effects. "Throne for a Loss" is an episode that deals with an attempt on Moya's crew to trade with beings called Tavleks that takes an unexpected turn when Rygel is kidnapped for ransom. Excellent sense of humour in this episode with some great lines from various cast members, and the extra footage here makes the episode worthwhile. However, when one adds the commentary track with Ben Browder and Claudia Black, one has an episode version that offers all kinds of insights into the episode and how it was made (among other subjects discussed by the two actors). Overall, a marvellous DVD and well worth adding to any collection of sf discs - but even better that it's a FARSCAPE one!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Treat for SF Fans!
Review: One of the strengths of good sf on television is that it takes the characters and basic elements of its "universe" and adds to and develops them. FARSCAPE is no exception to this rule, and does it quite wonderfully in this pair of episodes. "Exodus From Genesis" is about a bug infestation on Moya, and the surprising truth of what is behind it. With a commentary track version of the episode by Brian Henson and Virginia Hey, the episode has some very good character interaction, and the extra footage on the disc presents some rather intriguing material for fans of Zhaan. Solid episode, good story, with some neat visual effects. "Throne for a Loss" is an episode that deals with an attempt on Moya's crew to trade with beings called Tavleks that takes an unexpected turn when Rygel is kidnapped for ransom. Excellent sense of humour in this episode with some great lines from various cast members, and the extra footage here makes the episode worthwhile. However, when one adds the commentary track with Ben Browder and Claudia Black, one has an episode version that offers all kinds of insights into the episode and how it was made (among other subjects discussed by the two actors). Overall, a marvellous DVD and well worth adding to any collection of sf discs - but even better that it's a FARSCAPE one!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Treat for SF Fans!
Review: One of the strengths of good sf on television is that it takes the characters and basic elements of its "universe" and adds to and develops them. FARSCAPE is no exception to this rule, and does it quite wonderfully in this pair of episodes. "Exodus From Genesis" is about a bug infestation on Moya, and the surprising truth of what is behind it. With a commentary track version of the episode by Brian Henson and Virginia Hey, the episode has some very good character interaction, and the extra footage on the disc presents some rather intriguing material for fans of Zhaan. Solid episode, good story, with some neat visual effects. "Throne for a Loss" is an episode that deals with an attempt on Moya's crew to trade with beings called Tavleks that takes an unexpected turn when Rygel is kidnapped for ransom. Excellent sense of humour in this episode with some great lines from various cast members, and the extra footage here makes the episode worthwhile. However, when one adds the commentary track with Ben Browder and Claudia Black, one has an episode version that offers all kinds of insights into the episode and how it was made (among other subjects discussed by the two actors). Overall, a marvellous DVD and well worth adding to any collection of sf discs - but even better that it's a FARSCAPE one!
Rating:
Summary: Even Better Than The First
Review: The first episode on this disc "Exodus from Genesis" is one of the those infestation episodes. While Moya trys to dodge detection from a Peacekeeper Marotor, a swarm of bugs get on Moya and start increasing the heat and creating clones of the crew. After some complications, the crew talks to the host of these creatures via Zhann and work out an agreement. The creatures can stay on until they complete their Genesis. However, this means that Moya will have to shut down her systems leaving her vulnerable to Peacekeepers. The heat from the ship causes the Peecekeepers to suffer and they leave and everything works out. In "Throne For A Loss" Rygel is captured by the Tavleks and he has a jem with him that is vital for Moya to escape. While Zhann works out her differences with a captured Tavlek, Aeryn, John and D'Argo go down to the planet with one of the Tavleks special weapons. An arm brace that injects a stimulant into that person. After some hard fighting and some nice rock music, a negotiation is astablished. The extras on the DVD are pretty much the same except for a screensaver which is obviously a DVD-Rom extra. The conceptual art desgins still remain my favorite however. There is a little easter egg in the extras menu. Highlight the commentary track for the first episode and press up. Your cursor should be on the sparkle. Press enter and you can see the DVD credits. Overall, these episodes are pretty above average for the series and play well later on in the story. A must have.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have!!
Review: There's not much to say when it comes to this DVD except for this: it's incredible! I thought, or well, expected, that after the first disc came out the others would just kind of slip in terms of extras and that each one would just contain the episodes. This one proved me wrong and I hope the others to come do so as well. The Claudia Black profile was well made, though some of the clips were on the first disc during the behind-the-scenes featurette. It gave more information on the character of Officer Aeryn Sun, as well as how Claudia Black was cast. It was very cool and so is the photo gallery of Aeryn shots. The commentaries are the absolute best! Virginia Hey and Brian Henson were very informative during "Exodus From Genesis" and Virginia Hey made great jokes about most everything, including having to shave her head and eyebrows for the role. "Throne For A Loss" features commentary from Ben Browder and Claudia Black and this is just one laugh after another. Both had stories about every scene and it's wonderful to hear actors making each other laugh about the things they did. I must insist that any Farscape fan hear these commentaries. Of course, the episodes themselves are excellent and both really show character development as they are the third and fourth episodes in the series. All around, it seems Farscape, so far, can do no wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Aliens That Dare To Be Alien
Review: These two episodes, "Exodus from Genesis" and "Throne for a Loss" are both quite good. Both feature the great writing and fine acting that fans have come to expect from FARSCAPE. The real standout of these episodes, however, is the outstanding work by Henson Studios. FARSCAPE is the rare breed of science fiction series that dares to feature inhuman aliens. FARSCAPE regularly features strange creatures thanks to the amazing work of Henson's Creature Shop. These episodes feature some of their best work, the creepy crawly Drak that infest Moya in "Exodus from Genesis" and the giant mantis-like prisoner in "Throne for a Loss". It is a sign of the quality of their work that they strive to make the "guest" aliens as interesting as the series regular puppets/animatronics Pilot and Rygel. FARSCAPE is an excellent series that is quickly setting the standard for all other science fiction series that follow.
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