"Farscape" Premiere (1999)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Andrew Prowse

Writer:

Rockne S. O'Bannon (writer)

TV Series:

"Farscape" (1999)

Original Air Date:

19 March 1999 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Astronaut John Crichton's "Farscape-1" space module is swallowed by a wormhole and spat out on the other...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Space | Technology | TV Series Pilot | Made For Cable TV

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ben Browder	...	John Crichton
Claudia Black	...	Officer Aeryn Sun
Virginia Hey	...	Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan
Anthony Simcoe	...	Ka D'Argo
Kent McCord	...	Jack Crichton
Lani John Tupu	...	Pilot / Capt. Bialar Crais (as Lani Tupu)
Murray Bartlett	...	D.K.
Greg Blandy	...	Peacekeeper Guard #1
Colin Borgonon	...	Peacekeeper Weapons Officer
Christine Stephen-Daly	...	Lt. Teeg
Damen Stephenson	...	Bio Isolation Man #1
Lawrence Woodward	...	Bio Isolation Man #2
Jonathan Hardy	...	Dominar Rygel XVI (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sandi Finlay	...	Escort Alien (uncredited)

Directed by
Andrew Prowse

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Rockne S. O'Bannon		writer

Produced by
Matt Carroll	....	producer
Richard Clendinnen	....	line producer
Kris Noble	....	executive producer
Rockne S. O'Bannon	....	executive producer
Naren Shankar	....	co-executive producer

Original Music by
Braedy Neal		(as Subvision)
Chris Neal		(as Subvision)
Subvision

Cinematography by
Craig Barden		(director of photography)

Production Design by
Tim Ferrier

Art Direction by
Tom Brown
Julian Parry		(supervising art director)
Charlie Revai

Makeup Department
Adam Johansen	....	special makeup effects artist
Shane Thomas	....	makeup artist
Colin Ware	....	creature designer and prosthetic makeup artist

Production Management
Ralph Belcher	....	assistant unit manager
Matt Jones	....	unit manager: second unit

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tigger Carroll	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Marco Bittner Rosser	....	draughtsman
Peter Cunningham	....	art department electrician
Diana Freeman	....	art department coordinator
Peter 'Babylon' Owens	....	vehicle builder
David Russell	....	storyboard artist
Kerrie Van Lambaart	....	assistant to set designer

Sound Department
Christian Bass	....	dialogue editor
Rodney Berling	....	adr & dialogue editor
Nick Breslin	....	dialogue editor (as Nicholas Breslin)
Damian Candusso	....	dialogue editor
Ella Fairbairn	....	assistant sound editor
Linda Murdoch	....	sound editor
Alicia Slusarski	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Billy Aziz	....	special effects technician
Richard Darwin	....	animatronic model designer
Chris Fitzgerald	....	creature effects designer
Chris Murray	....	special effects supervisor
Ronald Rametta	....	special effects technician
Conrad Rothmann	....	special effects technician
David Trethewey	....	special effects senior technician

Visual Effects by
Emmanuel Blasset	....	visual effects: Animal Logic
Felix Crawshaw	....	visual effects coordinator
Diego Guerrero	....	animator
Andrew Jackson	....	digital artist
Steve James	....	Co-3D Creative Director
Simon Maddison	....	visual effects artist
Dave Morley	....	senior compositor
Robert Nicol	....	technical director
Alex Scollay	....	3D animator
Glen Sharah	....	systems administrator
Josh Simmonds	....	digital effects artist
Andy Tamandl	....	animator
Ben De Luca	....	systems administrator (uncredited)

Stunts
Ashley Fairfield	....	stunts
Alex Kuzelicki	....	stunts
Angela Moore	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Jonas Juhanson	....	additional grip (as Jo Juhanson)
Adam Kuiper	....	best boy grip
Peter Stott	....	focus puller: main camera

Animation Department
Graham Binding	....	animator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Julie Barton	....	set costumer
Jo Thorpe	....	costume cutter

Editorial Department
Alicia Gleeson	....	assistant editor
Alan Hansen	....	colorist
Noelleen Westcombe	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Aaron Symonds	....	assistant to composer

Other crew
Royce Dunn	....	script supervisor
Jonathan Hardy	....	puppetry
Karen Mansfield	....	script supervisor
Arwen Munro	....	assistant production coordinator
Christine Robson	....	production accountant
Oksana Sokol	....	script supervisor
Victoria Sullivan	....	script supervisor
Emanda Thomas	....	assistant to producer
Dama Claire	....	production consultant (uncredited)
Martin Kosinar	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Directed by
Geoff Bennett		(episode "Perfect Murder, A")
Tony Tilse		(episode "Look at the Princess, Part I: 'A Kiss is But a Kiss'") (episode "Look at the Princess, Part II: 'I Do, I Think'") (episode "Look at the Princess, Part III: 'The Maltese Crichton'") (episode "Til the Blood Runs Clear")
Ian Watson		(episode "Into the Lion's Den: Part 1 - Lambs into the Slaughter")

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Rockne S. O'Bannon		creator

Produced by
Doug Heyes Jr.	....	consulting producer
Richard Manning	....	executive producer (2003) (episode "Self Inflicted Wounds. Part I Could'a, Would'a, Should'a")
Sue Milliken	....	consulting producer (episode "Self Inflicted Wounds. Part I Could'a, Would'a, Should'a")
Justin Monjo	....	co-executive producer (2003)
Justin Monjo	....	supervising producer (episode "Self Inflicted Wounds. Part I Could'a, Would'a, Should'a")
Lesley Parker	....	line producer (episode "Self Inflicted Wounds. Part I Could'a, Would'a, Should'a")
Andrew Prowse	....	co-producer (episode "Self Inflicted Wounds. Part I Could'a, Would'a, Should'a")
Andrew Prowse	....	producer (2003)
Mark Saraceni	....	supervising producer (2003)
Emily Skopov	....	consulting producer (2001-2002)
David Willis	....	consulting producer
Tony Winley	....	producer (episode "Self Inflicted Wounds. Part I Could'a, Would'a, Should'a") (as Anthony Winley)

Film Editing by
Martin Connor
Nicholas Holmes		(2000-2002)
Wayne LeClos
Mark Perry

Casting by
Ros Breeden		(as Rob Breden)

Makeup Department
Jennifer Lamphee	....	hair styles supervisor
Jennifer Lamphee	....	makeup supervisor
Paul Pattison	....	hair stylist supervisor
Paul Pattison	....	makeup supervisor
Annie Single	....	makeup supervisor (season 4)

Production Management
David Birrell	....	post-production supervisor
Paula Jensen	....	production manager
Deborah Peart	....	post-production supervisor
Sam Thompson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mark Boskell	....	second assistant director
John Cole	....	second assistant director: second unit (1999-2001)
Alison Meir	....	second assistant director
Daniel Palmisano	....	assistant director
Adrian Pickersgill	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Damien Drew	....	draftsman
Paul Matthews	....	art department electrician

Sound Department
Cate Cahill	....	sound effects editor
Phil Judd	....	sound mixer
Jo Mion	....	sound assistant (season 1)
Angus Robertson	....	post-production sound
Angus Robertson	....	sound editor
Fabian Sanjurjo	....	adr editor
Fabian Sanjurjo	....	dialogue editor
Michael Thompson	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Stephen Bettles	....	special effects technician
Kriselle Gardiner	....	creative supervisor
Chris 'Flimsy' Howes	....	model maker
Guy Stephens	....	creative supervisor

Visual Effects by
Vaughn Arnup	....	digital compositor (third series)
Marten Blumen	....	digital compositor
Marcus Bolton	....	lead compositor
Chris Cooper	....	lead animator
Sarah Dowland	....	visual effects producer
Stefan Litterini	....	digital artist
Gregory W. McKee	....	animatronics
Sunit Parekh	....	animator
Matt Town	....	assistant visual effects editor
Paul Kirwan	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Brendan Lonergan	....	creature finisher/painter (uncredited)

Stunts
Glenn Boswell	....	stunt coordinator
Daniel Stevens	....	stunts
Glenn Suter	....	stunt rigger: decelerator, ratchets

Camera and Electrical Department
Gary Burdett	....	key grip
Ian Freeman	....	key grip
Henry Pierce	....	camera operator
Luke Thomas	....	focus puller

Animation Department
Chris Cooper	....	lead animator

Casting Department
Sharon Kune	....	casting: USA

Editorial Department
Alan Green	....	post-production
Margi Hoy	....	post-production
Mark Spessot	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Honor Bannister	....	script supervisor
Damian Bradford	....	puppetry
Jo Carter	....	first accountant
Jo Carter	....	production accountant
Dave Cullins	....	puppetry
Dave Elsey	....	creative supervisor
Kerry Fetzer	....	caterer
Lou Grant	....	script supervisor
Jackie Hallatt	....	creative supervisor: Costuming
Piers Hampton	....	project producer: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Joyce Hsieh	....	production accountant
Karen Jacobson	....	voice artist
Richard Manning	....	executive consultant
John May	....	production accountant
Reza Mokhtar	....	caterer
Justin Monjo	....	creative consultant
Andrew Prowse	....	production consultant
Sophie Siomos	....	production accountant
Sandy Stevens	....	production coordinator
Suzy Vaughan	....	clip clearance
Suzy Vaughan	....	script clearance
Mak Wilson	....	puppet master
Jonathan Wolf	....	studio representative
Megan Worthy	....	assistant to producer
Robert E. Wozniak	....	production executive

Production Companies

• Hallmark Entertainment
• Jim Henson Television
• Nine Network Australia
• Sci-Fi Channel, The

Special Effects

• Animal Logic
• Garner MacLennan Design
• Jim Henson's Creature Shop

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Hallmark Entertainment

Trivia:

Crichton was originally going to take off from NASA. NASA was approached, and they agreed, but NASA insisted on approving/reviewing the ENTIRE script for the episode, even though they were only going to be in the first few scenes. Producers declined, and they came up with IASA instead.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Anthony Simcoe's real nose can be seen beneath his prosthetic facial makeup several times.

Quotes:

Crichton: Don't move! Or I'll fill ya full of... little yellow bolts of light!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Random Acts of Violence (#3.13)" (2003)

A real breath of fresh air.

In Canada, 'Farscape' is only aired on the children's television network, YTV, which has alienated many science fiction fans. I feel that this does not do the show justice. Excellent characters made real by near perfect (if not necessarily brilliant) acting, high quality special effects, and exciting plots come together to make one of the most exciting science fiction series of it's kind in a long while. If they were to kill off a permanent cast member this season, I would actually be upset, as opposed to a 'Star Trek' series where I constantly find myself wishing the annoying characters to die. I rate it highest in terms of atmosphere and makeup; it's been a long time since a mainstrean show maintained as much power to frighten me, and the use of Jim Henson's fabulous puppets and the amazing alien makeup jobs put the show's realism in another level entirely from the pitiful aliens of 'Star Trek.' So I'll continue to watch 'Farscape'; it may be on a children's station, but it's still infinitely better than 'Lexx,' 'First Wave,' 'Stargate,' or any other of the pathetic sci-fi offerings this decade.