John Quixote (26 Jul. 2002)

Crichton and Chiana get stuck in a video game where they encounter strange/twisted versions of their friends. They must figure how to beat the game, or they'll be stuck inside forever. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Tony Tilse

Writers:

Rockne S. O'Bannon (creator), Ben Browder

Stars:

Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Ben Browder	...	John Crichton
Claudia Black	...	Officer Aeryn Sun
Anthony Simcoe	...	Ka D'Argo
Gigi Edgley	...	Chiana
Wayne Pygram	...	Scorpius / Harvey
Raelee Hill	...	Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu
Lani John Tupu	...	Crais the Ogre / Pilot (voice) (as Lani Tupu)
Melissa Jaffer	...	Utu-Noranti Pralatong
Tammy Macintosh	...	Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis (as Tammy MacIntosh)
Paul Goddard	...	Stark
Rowan Woods	...	Male Zhaan
Alyssa-Jane Cook	...	Gilina Renaez
Virginia Hey	...	Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan
Jonathan Hardy	...	Dominar Rygel XVI (voice)

Storyline

Crichton and Chiana get stuck in a video game where they encounter strange/twisted versions of their friends. They must figure how to beat the game, or they'll be stuck inside forever. The game shows Crichton how dangerous/distracting his feelings for Aeryn are, leading him to a dark path to deal with his feelings

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Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 2002 (Australia)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

46 min 46 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Elevator John's speech about how boring it is to go up and down all day is an allusion to Douglas Adams' book "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe".

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Quotes

Officer Aeryn Sun: [Said to Crichton by the princess] Oh, good. I can see who wears the pants in your family.

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Connections

References Max Headroom (1987)

User Reviews

Caught in a game

While out in the pod with Crichton Chiana tries to get him to pay some sort of immersive game; he declines and when she starts to play he can get no response out of her. He gets a message from Moya alerting him to some sort of problem with Scorpius but before he can hear the whole message Chiana grabs his hand and pulls him into the strange game.

Inside the game they encounter several familiar characters, including versions of themselves and characters we haven't seen for some time such as Gilena, Stark and Zhaan. If the game was working properly exiting would be easy; inevitably something has gone wrong though so they will have to win the game to get out. A version of Stark explains the rules to Crichton and Chiana; to win Crichton must kiss the princess or exit through a green door. Eventually John gets out but Chiana is left trapped inside leaving him with two problems; getting her out and regaining control of Moya from Scorpius who appears to have taken over while they were in the game! Something isn't quite right though.

Having people trapped in an artificial reality is hardly an original idea; that doesn't mean it isn't good if well executed though... I think it was in this case. The vividly designed world John and Chiana spent most of their time in was bright in a way that made a nice change; it helped that Chiana's jester outfit was so much more colourful than her usual attire. She is always a playful character but this look just increased that; Gigi Edgely did a fin job in the role. I really liked how the setting provided an excuse to show so many departed characters again; most obviously Zhaan who was such an important character in the series for so long. It was just as good to see fairly minor characters like Gilena again though. When it first looked like John had escaped from the game it crossed my mind that he might still be in there some how but I was never certain until it was revealed... even though there were clues to the fact for those observant enough to spot them! Overall this surreal episode is a treat for fans but might be a little too weird for people who aren't long term viewers of the series.