TNMC
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Greetings Scapers!
Well, this one was doomed from the start. Coming off of two straight fantastic episodes in "Relativity" and "Incubator", any episode would be hard-pressed to keep the momentum going, and a filler story with no long-term repercussions or meaning just wasn't going to get the job done. Having said that, it's not a bad episode, and still has some merit.
"Meltdown"
Season III, Episode XII
Directed by Ian Barry
Written by Matt Ford
This one starts off promisingly enough, with John re-creating in his mind a situation where Crais let Xhalax live, so that he may turn in the crew and rejoin the PK elite. Of course, Crais denies it, but who really knows for sure, right? Anyway, their argument is cut short by the distressing observation that Talyn's about to do a nosedive right into a star, for no apparent reason. Talyn stops short, but maintains an orbit around the star, and is unresponsive to the crew. The close call has damaged Talyn, and now he's leaking a chemical called drexin, which is having various effects on the crew. Rygel can't stop eating. John and Aeryn can't keep their hands off each other. And Crais is getting ultra-violent. Meanwhile, Stark promises to save an alien woman called Sierjna that no one else can see or hear, and a demon-looking alien stops by to say they need to jump ship stat, or else the leviathan will eventually lose the battle and fly right into the siren star. Which leaves the questions: Can the crew figure out how to free Talyn? Is the devil-dude responsible for the beacons? Is Stark really seeing an alien, or is he just nuts? And can Rygel possibly stop burping and farting before all hell breaks loose?
Honestly, I think Farscape has spoiled us. It can be such an epic saga when it's hitting on all cylinders that when an episode is pretty much inconsequential, we get upset. I really don't know if there's been an episode this meaningless since early season one. But on the flip side, you really can't ask for more in terms of John/Aeryn shippiness. And it was pretty damn funny, too. I'm not sure if Rygel's ever been better.
But one thing that's actually surprised me is that all of a sudden I find myself longing for the re-uniting of the crews. Not that it hasn't been a pleasant diversion, but I think the Talyn crew is just...not as much fun as Moya's crew these days. I found myself relieved to know that next week's ep is back on Moya. I've come to realize that grouchy D'Argo and spunky Chiana are pretty vital to the show. I've even started to like Jool. But over on Talyn, things are just becoming a little tired. John and Aeryn are together now, and honestly, I find it less interesting each week. It was better when it was just sexual tension, but who didn't see that coming? And Rygel and Stark? Well, they make a funny pair, but I think Stark has been getting to much air-time these days. To me, he's more of a background character. Better when he's mysterious and in the shadows. And lastly, there's Crais. I might be in the minority on this one, but I've never really cared for Crais. I wish they'd kill him off. I guess it doesn't need to be that drastic, but I think we've seen too much of him lately as well.
Like I said though, it had some merit -- the writing was sharp, and there were plenty of laughs to be had. Matt Ford's scripts tend to have some of the best lines. Don't believe me? Then check these out:
Aeryn: (while making out with John): "Frell."
John: "Yeah..."
Aeryn: "No, no, no...I mean bad frell."
John: "I'm telling you -- Mu-Quillus is generating that beacon."
Crais: "How?"
John: "Orbiting boombox...or he's whistling out his butt...how the hell should I know?"
Aeryn: "I can manually prime the cannon."
John: "I'd love to see that."
Aeryn: "Talyn's Cannon..."
John: "I'm stoked, not stupid."
John: "God-like aliens...man, do I hate God-like aliens. I'll trade a critter for a God-like alien any day."
The main failing here is really the same complaint I had about "Losing Time." While that episode seemed like a pale imitation of "A Bug's Life," this one can't help but recall the classic "Crackers Don't Matter." At least Matt Ford is aware of it, as John quips early on, "Before we all go crackers, maybe we should..." Hmm...what was it he said? Oh yeah -- "maybe we should stop recycling our own ideas." Yes, I think that was it.
Episode Rating: 6 out of 10
- your resident Farscape guru, Ultra Magnus
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