Rapid Reviews - Exercise Shows

Farscape [1-05]: Back and Back and Back to the Future: Sci-fi cliche this time: a character gets "unstuck" in time and can see future events. I seem to recall Red Dwarf doing this one particularly well. And this version was pretty good, too. I like how Crichton dealt with each change, although I'm not entirely sure why he stepped on the mask like that. A pretty cool version, nicely done.

Farscape [1-06]: Thank God it's Friday. Again.: The crew gets stuck on a planet where it's always the day before "rest day". Science fiction cliche: the population is drugged by evil aliens who are using them to harvest plants which are also destroying the local ecology. This one is less of a cliche, I suppose. I could come up with other similar works if I thought about it long enough, but it isn't so common, and it was well done. There are always enough original elements in this show that, even though I'm feeling like the plots are retreads, I'm still enjoying it overall.

Farscape [1-07]: PK Tech Girl: I just didn't see it. I mean, there was supposed to be a whole chunk o' chemistry between John and this new gal, but there was nothing there. The actors went through the motions, but that's what it looked like to me... going through the motions. And when the drama of the episode really hinges on the relationship between the two characters, that means that a lack of chemistry really impacts the show heavily. Oh well. I guess the alien menace in this one made up for it to some degree.

Farscape [1-08]: That Old Black Magic: As opposed to the last episode, which lost something due to lack of chemistry, this one had it all. Including a grave robber (of sorts). Crais and John work well together, with perhaps only Crais' slight resemblance to Blackadder as a distraction. The whole mysticism thing is interesting to see in such a show, but it definitely worked in this episode. This is also the first episode to end on an unsettling finish, almost a cliff-hanger. Until I see the next episode I won't know if it actually is a cliff-hanger, but that's what it appears to be.