In 1999, Australian-American sci-fi fantasy drama, Farscape, aired in the US via the Sci-Fi Channel. The show followed the story of astronaut John Crichton, who finds himself stranded in an unknown part of the Milky Way, and becoming part of the crew of a living spaceship.
Due to popularity of the first season of Farscape, the show was recommissioned for further seasons. Each new season expanded Crichton’s story, as well as the story of his fellow crew members (Aeryn Sun, Ka D’Argo, Rygel, etc), helped Farscape to build up a loyal fanbase, and resulted in a mini-series too.
But if you’re not familiar with Farscape you might be asking yourself how many seasons are there, how many episodes are available to watch, and when should you watch the mini-series?! Well, don’t worry, because in this post I am providing you with all those answers, in one easily accessible post.
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Understanding Farscape and Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
As noted above, Farscape began in 1999 when the first episode, ‘Premiere’, made its debut. This episode introduced various key players in the series, including John Crichton (as played by Ben Browder) and Aeryn Sun (as played by Claudia Black).
Despite the erratic broadcast of the first season, with some episodes being shown in the wrong order, Farscape was a hit with viewers and the show finished its initial run of 22 episodes by early 2000. While the show was on air it picked up a strong following, which convinced the powers that be that a second season was required.
In March 2000, season two of the show began airing, with another 22 episodes being broadcast. Once again, the season proved successful, so a third season went into production, airing from March 2001 onward.
In 2002, a fourth season made it onto screens, with plans for a fifth season to go into production the following year. But unfortunately, Farscape was abruptly cancelled following the conclusion of the fourth season, leaving fans more than a little disappointed.
Fans were not only disappointed because the plug had been pulled on their favourite show, but also because the final episode of Season Four ended on a cliff-hanger. Had the show been intended to end with the fourth season, then the writers would have come up with an appropriate finale.
However, due to a significant outpouring of support (and frustration) from fans, as well as co-producer Brian Henson being able to secure the rights to Farscape, this wasn’t the end of the road! In October 2004, Farscape was thrown a lifeline, when the show was briefly revived for a two-part mini-series, called Farscape: The Peackeeper Wars.
The mini-series – written by Rockne S. O’Bannon & David Kemper, and directed by Brian Henson – was designed to provide a resolution to the cliff-hanger, and give Farscape the send off it required. The mini-series aired over two nights, and essentially concluded the show.
In total, between 1999 and 2004, Farscape clocked up two different shows, five seasons of television, and 90 episodes. This broke down as follows:
- Farscape: 88 episodes (four seasons)
- Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars: 2 episodes (one season/mini-series)
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Watching Farscape in order
If you have never watched any of Farscape before, and you are only now just finding your way into this little universe, hopefully the following show/season list will ease you in nicely. As you will see, it is very simple to follow, so it shouldn’t be difficult for you to navigate your way through.
- Farscape – Season One (1999 – 2000)
- Farscape – Season Two (2000)
- Farscape – Season Three (2001 – 2002)
- Farscape – Season Four (2002 – 2003)
- Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (2004)
Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about Farscape. For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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