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Farscape Rewatch: "Kansas" (4.12)
Wiki summary: Crichton and his friends find themselves on Earth in late October 1985. Unfortunately, Crichton discovers that in this alternate timeline, his father Jack is set to command the space shuttle Challenger on its final mission, which ended in the deaths of all seven crewmembers.
Turns out I'm as fond of this episode as I was years ago. (Though my favourite s4 episode was the next one back in the day.) Given the various nightmare scenarios John's mind came up for what would happen if he brought his friends to Earth, it's an irony that the very first contact (so to speak) of Team Moya with humanity happens in an episode of gentle fun. (Other than for the one cop whom Noranti didn't give amnesia, poor guy.) While the "this episode takes place on Halloween" premise is there so our heroes can walk among US humanity without a bother, it feels more like a Valentine to Back To The Future episode, as it were. On a Doylist on Watsonian level, I approve of easing the merging of worlds by putting this episode before the one where John and the gang are in the actual present. It's not that the past is all roses - the first thing adult John observes are his parents arguing with each other, and then his younger self argues with Jack - but compared with all the terrible events in the Unchartered Territories it all seems so harmless and fixable. Later, John sees his reconciled parents affectionately interacting as a couple, not as "Parents" (tm) in a way that his younger self was oblivious to. Young John and Jack reconcile as well. Jack remains on the ground and won't get blown up with the Challenger. (Unlike the poor doomed crew, but John definitely remembers his sci fi rules as handed down by Einstein, and also the Moyans have had an entire episode dealing with the terrible consequences of altering the past in s3. So no rescue attempt for real life people.) And young John loses his virginity to "Karen Shaw"/Chiana, which is the kind of inspired retcon that feels like it was intended canon from the start.
(No, it wasn't, I know. When Chiana was introduced, she could have been a one off character if the response hadn't been what it was.)
Mind you, it of course begs the question, leaving all Doylist considerations aside: if Chiana was always the one and only Karen Shaw, just when did John make the mental connection?
Also, I didn't remember young John and Kim were still an item in this episode, which means, btw, our angry teen John cheats on her with the grey girl out of nowhere. Tsk.
The episode has a lot of humor, and the gags, from Aeryn & Sesame Street to Rygel on a sugar high to D'Argo repeating the few English words Chiana taught him (yes, no, and bite me) still land for me. And there is a lot of heart - adult John's scene with his doomed to die of cancer mother and adult John kissing unconscious young John on the forehead being cases in point. (Only Farscape could pull that off without it coming across as narccistic. Au contraire.)
Of course, the "most memorable kiss of the episode" award is undisputably won by the other kiss, the one in the subplot on Moya. I don't ship Scorpius/Braca in the sense of reading fanfic about them, but that doesn't mean I don't see it, and indeed the way this episode stages its reveal that Braca's switching sides form Scorpius to Grayza has always been faked and that he and Scorpius were in cahoots from the get go is really brings on the homoreroticism. It's not just Scorpius kissing Braca on the forehead, it's Braca cradling Scorpius' face in his hands in return. I mean. Which ever character did that? Not even Natira.
I think I've said it before, but it bears repeating: cheers for David Franklin, who starts out as a nameless third Peacekeeper from the left and by virtue of excellent facial reactions convinced the writers to make him into a character. The old "There are no small parts" for actors cliché literally became true for him on this show.
One thing, though: leaving Sikozu and Scorpius on board Moya with NONE of the others to keep an eye on them (other than Pilot, yes, but still) doesn't really make Watsonian sense for me. Doylist-wise, it's clear they did this so everyone can be on Earth and no one can argue with Scorpius and Sikozu about the idea of letting Grayza on board so she can see Crichton isn't there (I don't think either D'Argo, Aeryn or Chiana would have gone for that; Rygel might, but even there I have my doubts). But given no one trusts Sikozu much and no one trusts Scorpius at all, it really feels somewhat ooc.
This said: I don't really mind, since I like this episode so much. Next week: my fave! (I hope.)
The other episodes
Turns out I'm as fond of this episode as I was years ago. (Though my favourite s4 episode was the next one back in the day.) Given the various nightmare scenarios John's mind came up for what would happen if he brought his friends to Earth, it's an irony that the very first contact (so to speak) of Team Moya with humanity happens in an episode of gentle fun. (Other than for the one cop whom Noranti didn't give amnesia, poor guy.) While the "this episode takes place on Halloween" premise is there so our heroes can walk among US humanity without a bother, it feels more like a Valentine to Back To The Future episode, as it were. On a Doylist on Watsonian level, I approve of easing the merging of worlds by putting this episode before the one where John and the gang are in the actual present. It's not that the past is all roses - the first thing adult John observes are his parents arguing with each other, and then his younger self argues with Jack - but compared with all the terrible events in the Unchartered Territories it all seems so harmless and fixable. Later, John sees his reconciled parents affectionately interacting as a couple, not as "Parents" (tm) in a way that his younger self was oblivious to. Young John and Jack reconcile as well. Jack remains on the ground and won't get blown up with the Challenger. (Unlike the poor doomed crew, but John definitely remembers his sci fi rules as handed down by Einstein, and also the Moyans have had an entire episode dealing with the terrible consequences of altering the past in s3. So no rescue attempt for real life people.) And young John loses his virginity to "Karen Shaw"/Chiana, which is the kind of inspired retcon that feels like it was intended canon from the start.
(No, it wasn't, I know. When Chiana was introduced, she could have been a one off character if the response hadn't been what it was.)
Mind you, it of course begs the question, leaving all Doylist considerations aside: if Chiana was always the one and only Karen Shaw, just when did John make the mental connection?
Also, I didn't remember young John and Kim were still an item in this episode, which means, btw, our angry teen John cheats on her with the grey girl out of nowhere. Tsk.
The episode has a lot of humor, and the gags, from Aeryn & Sesame Street to Rygel on a sugar high to D'Argo repeating the few English words Chiana taught him (yes, no, and bite me) still land for me. And there is a lot of heart - adult John's scene with his doomed to die of cancer mother and adult John kissing unconscious young John on the forehead being cases in point. (Only Farscape could pull that off without it coming across as narccistic. Au contraire.)
Of course, the "most memorable kiss of the episode" award is undisputably won by the other kiss, the one in the subplot on Moya. I don't ship Scorpius/Braca in the sense of reading fanfic about them, but that doesn't mean I don't see it, and indeed the way this episode stages its reveal that Braca's switching sides form Scorpius to Grayza has always been faked and that he and Scorpius were in cahoots from the get go is really brings on the homoreroticism. It's not just Scorpius kissing Braca on the forehead, it's Braca cradling Scorpius' face in his hands in return. I mean. Which ever character did that? Not even Natira.
I think I've said it before, but it bears repeating: cheers for David Franklin, who starts out as a nameless third Peacekeeper from the left and by virtue of excellent facial reactions convinced the writers to make him into a character. The old "There are no small parts" for actors cliché literally became true for him on this show.
One thing, though: leaving Sikozu and Scorpius on board Moya with NONE of the others to keep an eye on them (other than Pilot, yes, but still) doesn't really make Watsonian sense for me. Doylist-wise, it's clear they did this so everyone can be on Earth and no one can argue with Scorpius and Sikozu about the idea of letting Grayza on board so she can see Crichton isn't there (I don't think either D'Argo, Aeryn or Chiana would have gone for that; Rygel might, but even there I have my doubts). But given no one trusts Sikozu much and no one trusts Scorpius at all, it really feels somewhat ooc.
This said: I don't really mind, since I like this episode so much. Next week: my fave! (I hope.)
The other episodes
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