Farscape Rewatch: A Bug's Life (1.18.)

[selenak]

Wiki summary: When a group of Peacekeepers from a damaged Marauder board Moya, the crew pretend to be a Peacekeeper prison vessel. The Peacekeepers' secret cargo presents a serious threat when Rygel and Chiana open the container.



Aaaand we get Crichton in leather for the first time. Albeit not yet in all in black but with red stripes. I must say that later episodes have spoiled me in terms of the versatility of our cast when possessed by someone else; John with the virus doesn't feel much different than John impersonating a peace keeper, Chiana with the virus isn't much different than (early) Chiana in general, and so forth. This being said, the virus is just a Macguffin here to enforce a team-up between our Moyans and a group of Peacekeepers, who for all that they're one-shot characters and redshirts to boot, getting picked off one after another, come across as individuals, not an uniform group.

One particular highlight in this regard being the Aeryn and Captain Larraq scenes. They do have chemistry, but even that aside he's the first PK commander who doesn't come across as insane somewhat unhinged, sadistic or both, and you can tell that Aeryn while trying to get information out of him does warm up to him. Partly because it's yet another glimpse at the life she's lost, presented in an attractive package; if she'd met him a year earlier, she'd probably gone for that date. Otoh, the show doesn't forget he's still part of a authoritarian army that goes for orders above ethics; Larraq might have doubts about his mission of bringing the virus to Gammak Base, but he still would have done it if not for that chance encounter with our heroes.

Rygel and Chiana hold the idiot ball this episode for opening the box without any safety preparations whatsoever in order to keep the plot going; I wish the script would at least have made them wear masks and gloves and then exposing themselves by accident. This being said, Zhaan is amazingly indulgent with Rygel afterwards when he's defrosted; earlier this season she'd just have snapped at him. And we do get to see some more of John's big brother attitude towards Chiana.

How likely is it that Zhaan's antidote would work on three different species (Delvians, Sebaceans, Luxans) at the same time? This asked for most of my inner handwavium upon rewatch.

John using his scientific knowledge to kill the virus (and Larraq with it) via making Moya igniting the Caesium: it's another glimpse of what's to come, especially the cold rage in which he does it. Or maybe I'm reading with hindsight, but this is the episode that first establishes the existence of the Gammak Base and PK scientic research. We've had a (dna) mad scientist before, but John's own use of his science background has always had positive connotations, and he's used it for our gang to escape, mostly. But, to quote a later season, "it's never just science", and next week we're going to meet his shadow self, our big antagonist, so I'm going with foreshadowing here. John's days of leftover innocence are rapidly coming to a close.

The Other Days

Comments

[neuralclone]

Rygel and Chiana should always be a team. *g* I'd happily watch a spinoff where they travel the universe together, snurching, conning people and bickering. Their greedy and incompetent little burglary was a light spot in a dark little episode, even though it ultimately lead to disaster.

John clearly got the memo from Hollywood that villainous = (pseudo) British accent. Correction, upper class British accent--he wouldn't have been nearly as effective if he'd broken out into Cockney or broad Yorkshire. Scorpius appears to have got the same memo, though come to think of it, since all our characters' speech is mediated through translator microbes, who'd notice an odd accent or two? (Something I've wondered for years: do all Peacekeepers speak the same language, or, since some are recruited from outside the service, do they babble in a medley of tongues?)

I think this is the point where we start to see Early Crichton slipping away: he dons the Peacekeeper facade fairly easily along with the leather, and he kills Larraq and the virus without hesitation or remorse. Somehow I think that earlier in the season he would have worked harder to find another solution, even if end the result was the same.

Lastly, "A Bug's Life" looks like a self-contained episode, but it sets things up so John goes the Gammack base and encouters Scorpius--thus setting up the over-arching plot for the rest of the series!

[kernezelda]

He uses up the episode's remorse quotient for Hassan (blonde PK female scientist, the man does have a type!). It was the virus, but Chiana's pointing this out doesn't ease much the emotional impact.

[selenak]

John clearly got the memo from Hollywood that villainous = (pseudo) British accent.

That's because John couldn't fake a German accent, which would have been even better by the laws of Hollywood. :)

Something I've wondered for years: do all Peacekeepers speak the same language, or, since some are recruited from outside the service, do they babble in a medley of tongues?

I'm assuming the later. What I've been wondering: if babies in this galaxy are already injected with the translator microbes, how do they learn any language?

Somehow I think that earlier in the season he would have worked harder to find another solution, even if end the result was the same.

Probably, though in that scenario he was pressed for time, and the virus let loose on billions of beings in the galaxy truly was a frightening prospect. Otoh, you can bet that if it had been Aeryn the virus had possessed, even late John would not have killed her.

[neuralclone]

I'm assuming the later. What I've been wondering: if babies in this galaxy are already injected with the translator microbes, how do they learn any language?

Hah! I've been wondering the same thing. Wouldn't it be amusing if they were all just babbling baby noises at each other?

[jesuswasbatman]

Also to my English ears John's fake accent is ridiculously awful, which is the start of a running joke whenever John tries to fake a different Earth accent.

[kernezelda]

In passing, it's interesting that we get a lot of strong female characters during the first seasons, or rather, individual female characters whose sex isn't deteminant of their roles. Zhaan (priest) and Aeryn (soldier) and now Chiana (thief) form half of the mobile crew members, when most sci-fi shows have maybe one to two women per several men. Moya and Pilot, again are equal halves of the non-mobile crew, and although Moya's ability to bear offspring is hugely important to her personal arc, and that of the crew, for day-to-life, neither her gender nor Pilot's affect function.
We also get Lyneea, Gilina, Hassan (blonde-ish women, scientists), the Queen from EFG, the Tavlek soldier that Aeryn fights. We also have Volmae and Tanga from TGIFA, whose roles don't require either character to be female, as well as Kornata in DNAMS (another scientist). We're told that Rorg, as a female, is a better scent-tracker, and that females are subservient, and that affects the plot in how John plays a role with Aeryn; Staanz's being a female as a potential incentive for D'Argo is only brought up when D'Argo isn't interested in a proposed romantic/business partnership.
Matala as a spy (also a scientist or science tech) purposefully uses her female charms on D'Argo and John, but not on Verell, who sees her as a fellow professional, so I think the role as written is specifically femme fatale. A male spy would use different distractions for D'Argo and John. Might still spar with Aeryn, though. :D
We know very little of Lo'Laan (and the use of a different actress in S4 bothered me quite a lot), but a woman who left her essentially Nazi background to marry an overt alien (at least for Aeryn, John looks Sebacean--he can pass) and bear an alien-appearing child, and love and support her alien husband even when he becomes involuntarily violent, even against the fervent protests of her own brother--that's a strong woman. I don't know that Lo'Laan's sex determines her role, though--if D'Argo and Macton's brother were lovers, could they have married and adopted a child, resulting in the same family dynamics?
The Delvians seem not to take gender into account at all. I really liked the un-used backstory that would have had Delvians able to reproduce with just about any species, with the offspring appearing like their other-parent race, but blue. Alas.
Lishala and Neera, hm. The society is so sketched-in that we can't assume we know its ins and outs, but based on its apparent template, Lishala's role is completely determined by sex. Rokon can only become grondeer if he marries her, implying she won't be grondeer herself. If she were a son, her friendship with John might be disturbing, but it wouldn't necessarily dis-arrange the existing political structure. Neera's role as priest seems to be determined by lineage, and Rokon could be more than the hunter he is, so gender isn't an issue for that line of work.
That brings up us to TTLG and ABL, where one alien female protects boundaries between planes, and the intellent virus is first housed in a female victim, whose species is unknown but maybe-recognized as sentient by Hassan, who at least refers to her as 'she' rather than 'creature' as Larraq does.
Niem, we don't see a lot of, but she's a visually distinctive PK tech/assistant to Scorpius, to a greater degree than Nurse Froy in a later season, and less so than Commandant Grayza. I think Niem could have been male without any changes in action or dialogue. Same goes for M'Lee, practically, although I think the young girl aspect pre-spiking had a stronger sympathetic affect than a young boy might have.
Wow, I haven't talked online this much in a while (since last week's FS post!), but yeah, a lot of good roles, a lot of individual women, no cookie-cutter Writing Women (with the exception of Jeremiah Crichton).

[selenak]

I really liked the un-used backstory that would have had Delvians able to reproduce with just about any species, with the offspring appearing like their other-parent race, but blue. Alas.

Hadn't heard about this one before. BTW I forgot why Virginia Hey left (and with her potential Delvian stories) - was the body make-up too much? (I know this happened to some B5 actors playing Narn.)

Re: your point about women, very true. And it's worth pointing out that the new regular crew members in future seasons will be female, too, not male. When you look at the gender ratio in Farscape's contemporary genre tv shows, this is really bucking the trend. Go Australians!

[kernezelda]

The Delvian theory is from the commentary for EFG on the FS Season One box set. VH had a lot of issues from the full-body make-up, and wearing it for hours and hours daily.

[jesuswasbatman]

That was used for a species in the computer game Mass Effect, which some people think was influenced by Farcape.

[jesuswasbatman]

I was quite surprised in this when Larraq on first meeting Aeryn sneers at her for her gender and tries to intimidate her with his masculinity, which seems out of character for what we are told elsewhere about Peacekeeper attitudes.

[kernezelda]

Yes, I don't recall seeing any particular sexism from the Marauder crew in EFG, or on the command carriers, either Crais', Scorpius', or Grayza's. It was a way to measure her up, to figure out from the get-go how much resistance he'll face. Go in hot and hard, see who flinches first? "Little girl" and "big gun" and "I've seen bigger" are so stereotypical! Later, after Larraq takes command and establishes order aboard Moya, the rough-tough front softens considerably, and he's very likeable. I mean, who doesn't enjoy the getting-to-know-you conversation over a meal, with Aeryn's childhood too-short legs, and Larraq's appreciation for her abilities? Aeryn, after all, matches him gun-to-gun from the beginning. Hassan seems like a tough customer, too. She's a scientist like Velorek, but both are officers, unlike Gilina, who makes herself seem small on Durka's vessel and later on the gammak base, where she and her fellow techs wear drab, un-armored coveralls instead of Velorek's leather uniform or Hassan's field gear.

[jesuswasbatman]

Most of what I might have said has already been stated, but I like the Rygel-Chiana relationship already developing. (Although isn't the implication that Rygel is sexually attracted towards Chiana's body a bit odd given his very opposite reactions to Zhaan?)

Also, I wonder if Claudia Black or the writer and director already knew that Aeryn was secretly dying when she did the final scene.