List of Farscape characters
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The television series Farscape features an extensive cast of characters created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. The series is set aboard a living spacecraft named Moya of the Leviathan race. The physical, racial and species-specific cultural characteristics, as well as underlying mythological/sociological similarities and differences of the alien races portrayed in Farscape were conceptualised and created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.[1]
Main characters
John Crichton
John Robert Crichton, Jr. /ˈkraɪtən/, played by Ben Browder, is an International Aeronautics and Space Administration (most commonly referred to on the show as IASA) astronaut who, in the opening few minutes of the pilot episode, is accidentally catapulted through a wormhole across the universe, thus; setting the scene for the show as a whole. As the only regularly appearing human on the show, he is the main focus and is the main character as he narrates the weekly credits and is the only character to appear in every episode. Along with Michael Shanks' character of Daniel Jackson in Stargate SG-1, Browder's Crichton has been called one of the sexiest male characters in science fiction.[2]
Although Crichton is a heroic and unwaveringly loyal character, he is also a mischievously comical one, so much so that he is the primary source of humor for the series. The show derives much of its humor from Crichton's habitual (and extensive) use of Earth-related pop culture references, often used as witty mockery in the face of danger or opponents who, being unfamiliar with the references, are unaware that they are being insulted. Although an occasional reference will provoke curiosity or confusion to his friends, Crichton's fellow shipmates are largely unaffected by these comments because they simply assume them to be native Earth terms that cannot be interpreted by translator microbes and merely extrapolate the meaning from its context.
Information about John Crichton's life before the first episode is only revealed slowly over the course of the series. He was the middle child born to
In the first episode of season one, during a test flight designed to prove a scientific theory concerning the use of planetary gravity as a means for spaceship acceleration, a
Early in season two, Crichton learns that Scorpius has implanted a neural chip into his head, which causes hallucinations of a "neural clone" of Scorpius, whom he dubs "
Early season four leaves Crichton with nothing but time to work on his wormhole theories. He eventually reunites with the crew members of Moya, and Aeryn and Scorpius, who has fallen out of favor with Peacekeeper high command. Shortly, after arrival, Scorpius offers to remove Harvey. Due to the neural clone's longer presence within and increased familiarity with Crichton, Harvey's reaction includes persuasion and appeal to sympathy rather than threats. Crichton still agrees to allow Scorpius to remove the lingering neural spillover. Halfway through the season, Crichton finds his way back to Earth, but he voluntarily gives up the dream of Earth and returns to Moya. After a series of dangerous events (including Harvey's resurrection) Crichton and Aeryn find time alone together. Aeryn tells him he is the father of her child and Crichton proposes to her. The moment she accepts, an alien craft melts the two and ends the season.
Crichton and Aeryn are revived at the beginning of Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars mini-series, and Crichton uses his wormhole knowledge to successfully force a peace treaty between the warring Peacekeepers and Scarrans. The wormhole knowledge in his brain is finally removed by Einstein the Ancient. During the mini-series, Aeryn gives birth to their son, named D'Argo Sun-Crichton in honor of their late comrade.
Aeryn Sun
Aeryn Sun
However, Aeryn's prowler is caught up in the stream of Moya's
Aboard Moya, Aeryn learns to think beyond the strict, militaristic confines of her peacekeeper upbringing. Born in service aboard a command Carrier, it is the only life she has known and thus; is very well skilled in hand-to-hand combat and armed combat. She also becomes a valuable and important member of Moya's crew, and a companion and romantic interest of Crichton during the series. It is only after leaving the Peacekeepers that she can begin to find out about her parentage. She has discovered that her mother,
Aeryn evolves from a cold, detached soldier into a valuable friend and crewmate. Her relationship with John Crichton also evolves, and Aeryn ultimately becomes a compassionate wife and loving mother at the end of the series. They name their son D'Argo Sun-Crichton; after their dear friend who (apparently) lost his life in the Peacekeeper Wars.
Ka D'Argo
Ka D'Argo (called simply D'Argo), played by
Throughout the first half of the series, D'Argo's consuming desire was to find Jothee, his son by Lo'Laan. After Jothee was found, his plans to settle down with his son and Chiana scared the
The episode "Unrealized Reality" features a character from another universe who is a composite of D'Argo and Rygel.
The character appeared in other media. In Horizons, a story by creator Rockne S O'Bannon that takes place far in the future, and that was written before Peacekeeper War, D'Argo is still alive. However, he did lose his arm, which is now a clear prosthetic. D'Argo was also parodied by the character Teal'c in the Stargate SG-1 episode "200".
Zhaan
Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan, played by
As a Pa'u, Zhaan's spiritual abilities significantly improve upon achieving a new level. When first introduced, Zhaan is a level nine Pa'u, with the ability to lessen the pain of others by taking some portion of it into herself. Later in the series with Crichton's help, she gains a level, becoming a level ten Pa'u and gaining the ability to protect others from psychic attack with her own mind. In the episode "Bone to Be Wild" she shows that for short periods of time she can make herself invisible, although it is not stated whether or not this is only possible when surrounded by foliage.
Towards the beginning of the third season, Zhaan saved the seemingly dead
In real life, Virginia Hey left the show because of health problems related to the extensive makeup and demanding work schedule.[4] She still reappeared as Zhaan in two fourth-season episodes, "John Quixote" and "Unrealized Reality"; series director Rowan Woods also made an on-screen appearance as a male virtual reality incarnation in "John Quixote", and Zhaan appears in archive footage in The Peacekeeper Wars. Hey's voice was used in the Aeryn-focused episode "The Choice", the seventeenth episode of the third season.
Rygel
Dominar Rygel XVI (called simply Rygel) was once the royal ruler of the
Rygel has a long history. After ruling for an unknown number of years as Dominar of the Hynerians, he was overthrown by his cousin Bishan. After the overthrow, which occurred over 130 cycles (years) before the events of Farscape, he became a prisoner of the
A parody of him was in the Stargate SG-1 episode "200" as an Asgard with a Fu-Manchu beard and mustache; his only line was the Hynerian curse "Yotz", similar in use and meaning as the earth curse "Hell".
Chiana
Chiana, played by
Many episodes have demonstrated that she is a skilled fighter and is agile and acrobatic. She has a number of distinctive mannerisms such as cocking her head at times and crouching on objects rather than sitting or standing. Other Nebari do not exhibit the same style of physical movement, though her fluid movements and frequent situational appraisals suggest a lifetime of avoiding danger.
One of Chiana's other characteristic traits is her strong sense of individuality. She respects no authority and values her freedom more than anything or anyone else. This gives her the appearance of being promiscuous; she attempted to seduce Jothee, D'Argo's son, the present and past versions of John Crichton as well as others.
In Season 2, the writers created a backstory for Chiana, along with a family member. She has one named relative, her brother Nerri, three years her senior. Along with Nerri, she escaped Nebari Prime at a young age, and then the two traveled around for some years. Nerri decided to join the resistance fighting against the Nebari leaders, and split up with Chiana so she would not be endangered by his activities. In the third season of the show, Chiana harbours hopes of meeting up with her brother and joining the resistance to reunite with him.
In Season 3, the writers created a scenario in which Chiana developed a new ability. After her encounter with an Energy Rider, Chiana began to experience precognitive visions that left her with blindness and splitting headaches. These visions later evolved into being able to see the present and future in slow motion, and each time she used this ability, the following blindness would last longer than before until she ended up completely blind at the end of season 4. Shortly before the start of
In the episode, "Durka Returns", Chiana was a thief so slippery that she evades Moya's internal sensors. She proves to be resourceful in "Nerve", distracting the Peacekeepers from John, disguising herself as a tech, manipulating Gilina and delivering Talyn.
An alternate reality version of Chiana appeared in "Unrealized Reality" and "Prayer"; in the latter episode she is killed by Scorpius, an act that disturbs Crichton because, in the alternate reality of those two episodes, she resembles Aeryn (and is played by Claudia Black).
Pilot
Pilot is a member of a race known to viewers simply as Pilots or "Servicers". He is introduced in the "
Moya's pilot is only known by his species's name, which also describes his role on the ship. His real name, if he has one, is unknown. Pilots bond with biomechanical
The Pilot most commonly seen in the series is Moya's second pilot. The first, a female, was shot and forcibly removed by Peacekeepers when she refused to consent to experiments being done upon Moya. With her death, the more familiar Pilot took her place, seduced by his desire to travel the stars, something that had been denied him by the elders of his race because he was still young and immature. Unwilling to allow the slow gradual bonding of Pilot and Leviathan that is normal, the Peacekeepers forcibly grafted the new Pilot into Moya's systems, an action that allowed him control over the ship but at the cost of continuous pain, until Pilot pulled free from his connections with Moya and re-bonded himself to Moya at the natural speed. The second Pilot carried the guilt of his role in the death of the first for several years.
Pilot is effectively immobile in the heart of the ship, but plays a key role in numerous adventures, and the other characters come to rely upon him as a figure of wisdom and comfort. Early in the series he is attacked and mutilated by members of the crew, as a local scientist wanted Pilot flesh in return for giving them maps to their homes. Despite this, he did not hold a grudge as he considered serving the others, whatever their needs, to simply be his role. He was most happy when helping other crew members, although as his independence grew, he could sometimes become irritated with them and would order them out of his chamber and even off the ship altogether. In the series finale, Pilot experienced a conflict with Moya where he wanted to help Crichton destroy the wormhole linking Earth to Tormented Space and Moya did not want him to. Despite this and initially stating he could do nothing, Pilot joined the mission, leaving Moya for the first time in a long time to aid Crichton's plan. Though Pilot was left weakened by his separation from Moya, he succeeded in destroying the wormhole and saving Earth, inadvertently killing the crew of a Scarren Stryker in the process. He was later rebonded with Moya.
Other Pilot characters seen briefly in the series include that of the damaged and mutilated Leviathan named Rovhu, whose limbs were repeatedly eaten and regrown by carnivorous prisoners, and the ancient Pilot of Elack, who housed Crichton when he was separated from Moya and sacrificed her quiet death in the Leviathan's Burial Ground to help Crichton escape from the Peacekeepers. Moya's child Talyn did not need a Pilot by Peacekeeper design, but nevertheless could support one.
Scorpius
Scorpius, played by
Scorpius prides himself on his patience and his intellect. Scorpius is willing to do absolutely anything to achieve his goals, which he is very honest about when it suits him. He will (and does over the course of the series) lie, kill in cold blood, order the deaths of multitudes, torture innocents, and sacrifice those close to him to get what he wants. He is also willing to aid his enemies or humiliate himself if it will further his goals. He has returned from supposedly fatal situations more than once, which he credits to his "foresight and preparation". He manipulates others to do his work but does much on his own; his obsession with Crichton and his wormhole secrets is proof of that. He is highly educated and extremely intelligent, and exercises remarkable ingenuity. Only he knows how deep his schemes run and, while he claims his main desire is to eliminate the Scarran threat, protagonist John Crichton is loath to ever trust him.
His rank is never mentioned, and it is assumed that he does not officially hold one. Wayne Pygram seemed to confirm this during an interview on the Farscape DVD set[
Despite being an antagonist for the first three seasons, Scorpius joins the crew of Moya for the final season to protect Crichton after his Command Carrier is destroyed and he is hunted by the Peacekeepers. He becomes a more or less trustworthy crewmember though he looks for any chance to get Crichton's knowledge and forms a relationship with Sikozu. At the end of the series, he returns to the Peacekeepers and in The Peacekeeper Wars, instigates a war between them and the Scarrens. At the end of The Peacekeeper Wars he finally gets what he wants when Crichton uses a wormhole weapon on the Scarrens and Peacekeepers and is horrified, calling it "madness", finally understanding the danger of what he sought. He is last seen on Moya smiling as the Scarrens and Peacekeepers sign a peace treaty.
Harvey
Harvey is a neural clone of Scorpius and exists solely in the head of
Harvey's purpose is threefold: he is to unlock the wormhole knowledge stored somewhere in Crichton's brain, protect Crichton's life until Scorpius manages to retrieve the chip, and prevent Crichton from hurting or killing Scorpius. Harvey also has the ability to stop Crichton's brain functions for a short time, making him appear dead. He can control Crichton's memory and nervous system when the chip is in place, which he uses to hide his presence from Crichton. Eventually, the chip becomes strong enough to completely dominate Crichton's mind and body. Even after the chip is removed, Harvey is able to exert limited control over Crichton. After Scorpius reprograms him, Harvey has some type of mental link to Scorpius that allows Scorpius to track Crichton down after John is revived from his crystallization by the Eidelons. Harvey contains much of Scorpius' knowledge and intellect.
In Season 2, Harvey is discovered. He is basically a menacing hallucination of Scorpius that influences Crichton to become more erratic, unpredictable and similar to Scorpius. He is capable of killing Crichton and does his best to make sure that Crichton would not go against Scorpius's ideas. In the end of Season 2, Harvey dominates Crichton (resulting in a mixed personality with dark humor), murders his love Aeryn Sun (whom the mixed personality also is attracted to) and transmits a message to Scorpius. After that, Crichton regains control, the chip is removed and stolen by Scorpius.
In Season 3, Harvey discovers that even though the chip was removed, he has blended with Crichton's subconscious and is trapped there forever without any of his previous powers. He attempts to manipulate John to commit suicide, but fails. Crichton is rescued and the only thing Harvey can do is give advice. Everything goes "fine" until John is twinned by a madman, twinning Harvey as well.
Black Harvey, who goes to Talyn with his Crichton, advises to John to not trust the Ancient Jack. He also points out that Scorpius did not copy his module, but that it was Furlow who also had the sketchy wormhole data Crichton had in early Season 1. Talyn was quickly taken to Furlow's desert planet, but it was no longer inhabited. Charrids, the collaborators of Scarrans, had overrun Furlow's mechanic lab though. Furlow indeed had made progress and the Scarrans soon got the data. To destroy the Dreadnought, Jack began building a wormhole weapon. To make sure Harvey would not get the unlocked data, Jack decided to destroy him. Harvey angrily opposed, but was "mortally wounded" nonetheless. In his last minutes, he took control over the unconscious Crichton and attempted to manipulate Aeryn to shoot him, claiming Crichton was dead. He failed and his last words were: "A soldier must not be weak. Weakness means defeat."
Green Harvey faced death when John Crichton was attacked by Ka D'Argo in Luxan hyper-rage. John's reasons to live (Earth, dad, pizza, sex, cold beer, fast cars, sex, Aeryn, love) were not adequate so Harvey proposed revenge. To discover a reason to live, Crichton created a cartoon reality to oppose an illusory D'Argo. To combat him, Pilot proposed to run from him, Jool proposed to try to talk to him, Chiana proposed to fight him. All failed. Crichton went with Harvey's idea after being clinically dead for a time and it worked. But Crichton's idea, love, worked best. After that, Harvey unlocked Noranti's subliminal message: "Aeryn is pregnant". Crichton got the message after Aeryn left and at once decided to retrieve her. Unfortunately, after that, Moya was sucked down by a wormhole, leaving Crichton stranded. After Crichton returned to the ship, Scorpius asked for asylum. Harvey suggested killing him. Scorpius proposed to erase Harvey. Since this Harvey had been in Crichton far longer than his twin, Crichton hesitated, but eventually agreed. Harvey was removed. After Crichton and Scorpius had allied and Crichton broke the agreement and left the hybrid to die, Harvey was "resurrected" and improved to Harvey 2.0. He was loyal to Scorpius and had a connection with him so Scorpius would know he was alive. After Scorpius was rescued thanks to Harvey's lies, a war between Scarrans and Peacekeepers broke out and Crichton finally created the wormhole weapon. Harvey was deleted after his success, since his purpose was finally fulfilled. His last words were: "Goodbye John. Thanks... for your memories"
After the chip was removed, it was discovered by Scorpius that although his neural clone had blended into Crichton, the opposite happened in the chip. A neural clone of John Crichton existed within it. And since there were encryptions to the wormhole data, only he could unlock them. Scorpius showed him his violent past with the Scarrans and did everything to convince him, but the Crichton clone claimed he had already lost everything. After Crichton refused to give him the data he needed, his anger's Scarran heat destroyed the chip and killed him. His last words were: "You think that neural clones go to heaven? Well, wherever I wind up, when I see your mama, I'll be sure to give her your regards!" According to the show's executive producer
Bialar Crais
Bialar Crais, played by
Bialar Crais was born in a Sebacean farming community, but while still a boy, he and his younger brother Tauvo were taken from their family and conscripted into the Peacekeeper military. As they were hauled away, Crais' father charged him to look after his younger brother, which was a major burden for Crais. When the human
Crais makes a few appearances after his death. An alternate version of Crais appears in "Unrealized Realities". In this reality, Crichton is a Peacekeeper agent working for Crais, and after Crichton kills Moya's crew, Crais congratulates him for a job well done. In "John Quixote", Crais appears as an ogre in a virtual reality game. Crais also appears in The Peacekeeper Wars in archive footage.
Stark
Stark, played by Paul Goddard, is Stykera, a specialized subrace of the Banik. He is introduced to the series late in the first season and became a main character during the third season, before disappearing at the end of it and only returning at the end of the fourth season; he played a major part in The Peacekeeper Wars mini-series.
Stark wears a half-mask - strapped to his head by two separate buckles - of an unidentified metal, covering an incorporeal area that glows dark orange when uncovered, on the right side of his face (roughly his eye and cheek-bone) that he only reveals when he is taking away someone's pain or "crossing over" a soul—aiding or comforting a person in the moments prior to their death. However, in doing so, Stark absorbs a small fragment of the soul - and thus the knowledge and lingering emotions - of the person he "crosses over" into his own psyche, something which might explain his somewhat unbalanced mental behaviour (although his undergoing months of torture may have even more to do with it). In addition, by virtue of being a Stykera, Stark can ease the pain and suffering of others, one of the traits that made him sought after for
Stark initially came into contact with John Crichton while both were being held prisoner in Scorpius' first Gammak Base devoted primarily to wormhole research. Having been a prisoner for many years, Stark informs Crichton that his (Stark's) survival is due both to his resistance to the effects of the Aurora chair and his pretense of acting mentally unbalanced in front of the guards, which causes them to leave him alone more often. Stark assists Crichton in his escape to Moya and quickly forms a bond with Zhaan. During one of the crew's misadventures, they are put on trial for murder and Stark is executed by "dispersion" or the scattering of his molecules into atoms. He survives this because he is mostly made of energy, but his appearances thereafter show him as being more uneven in his personality.
After the crew robs the Shadow Depository and Zhaan confronts a lethal illness, he becomes genuinely disturbed and wrought with grief over her death. He joins up with the crew of Talyn but frequently is at odds with his desire to "save" others, which eventually alienates Aeryn and Crais. Feeling that Zhaan is calling out to him, he eventually parts ways with the crew to search for her spirit. He is later found a prisoner on Katratzi which had been part of the reason Scorpius held him prisoner: he was searching for it and Stark knew where it was from "crossing over" Scarrens. He is rescued by Chiana and Noranti and rejoins Moya's crew. During The Peacekeeper Wars, he is forced to "cross over" the Eidolon leader and thus gains his knowledge of the Eidolon powers, something that makes Stark almost crazy. He later transfers the knowledge and regains his usual personality. At the end of the series, Stark finds a measure of peace and leaves his mask with Crichton, revealing that the energy beneath it is now gone.
As the series progresses, three different alternate 'versions' of Stark are seen: as a not-quite-sane Gamesmaster in a twisted virtual-reality style game ("
Supporting characters
Jool
Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis, played by
While on vacation with her two male cousins—they were traveling around the galaxy to celebrate her birthday—they ran into some trouble. Her two cousins contracted a fatal disease, and they and she were frozen into stasis to be used for organ donation by a
Prior to Jool's first appearance one of her cousins, who was revived shortly before his death, referred to her as Jool rather than her full name.
The crew parted ways and Jool and
An alternate reality version of Jool, encountered in "Unrealized Reality" and "Prayer", was portrayed by Anthony Simcoe. This version is reluctantly shot dead by Crichton in "Prayer".
Moya
Moya is a
Like others of her race, Moya was captured by a
Moya was once a captive of the
Despite being only able to communicate through Pilot (with one exception), Moya has her own personality which can be seen to develop and change through the series. At the beginning of the series she is timid, starbursting to escape the slightest danger at a moment's notice. When she meets the Leviathan gods, the Builders, and they order her death for having produced Talyn, she is willing to die, and is only saved when the order is revealed to be a test for Zhaan. By the end of the second season, she is willing to join the effort to rescue Crichton from Scorpius despite her fears, and is severely damaged in the attempt. At the end of the third season, she asks the crew to kill another Leviathan who is disturbing the burial of her child's remains. And in "The Peacekeeper Wars", this previously timid and peaceful creature trusts the crew enough to allow Crichton to use her to launch the deadly Wormhole Weapon.
Noranti
Utu Noranti Pralatong (called simply Noranti), played by
An alternate reality version of Noranti appeared in the Season 4 episode, "Unrealized Reality", and was portrayed by Gigi Edgley.
Sikozu
Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu (called Sikozu), played by
She is extremely arrogant, a self-styled polymath who constantly belittles those around her. While her knowledge about technology, species, history, and the galaxy in general is vast, it is mostly academic. She is extremely naive and unknowledgeable about how things function outside a controlled environment (such as learning Leviathan physiology strictly via studying and not understanding that the floorplans of the biomechanoids vary as a result of passenger preference). Sikozu's sense of self-preservation is foremost in her mind, and so she is prone to switching sides in any conflict with no notice and seemingly no premeditation other than ad hoc judgments on who currently holds the greatest advantage. This makes her true loyalties (if any) uncertain.
Sikozu accompanies Crichton as he reunites with his crewmates from
Late in the war, it is revealed that Sikozu is a spy for the Scarran Empire in exchange for a promise from them to free her people from servitude. Scorpius assaults her after revealing his knowledge about her betrayal and leaves her to die on the
Talyn
Talyn is a
The Leviathan Moya was subjected to a hybridization experiment by the Peacekeepers while in captivity. A synthetic stimulant/conceptive was placed in her by a peacekeeper Leviathan expert called Velorek, leader of the experiment. It was accidentally released by
At times, Talyn could be emotionally unstable, even going so far as to deliberately attack Moya. He also panicked easily. It is unclear whether this resulted from his violent childhood, or from errors in his genome, perhaps the result of trying to create a warship from an essentially nonaggressive species.
Talyn was a very powerful ship when young, and had he achieved maturity he would likely have been one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy. He was young (and quite childlike) for much of Farscape, and was dwarfed by his mother Moya, although he did grow gradually over the series. It was theorized by Pilot that he might even have grown larger than a normal Leviathan.
At the end of season 3 Talyn sacrificed his life to save the crew of Moya. Captured and disabled while docked inside the Peacekeeper Command Carrier that had been following the crew for three years, Talyn
Unlike other Leviathans, Talyn does not have a
Recurring Peacekeeper characters
Peacekeepers are of the Sebacean race and were originally a
Sebaceans are externally similar to humans, and by inference are a genetic offshoot of humans artificially created some 27 millennia before the events of the series;[5] as a result of this genetic enhancement, Sebacean biology has several notable differences. Among the known advantages granted by their creators is a delay in the gestation of the fetus, eyesight significantly keener than that of humans,[6] and average lifespans at least twice that of a human from the 20th century (though it is unclear if this is due to their advanced medical technology).[7] A biological drawback is their inability to deal with extreme heat (due to their genetic loss of the gland required to regulate heat):[8] overheating leads to a state known as the heat delirium, a brain fever that leads to a permanent coma-state referred to as the living death. Until the onset of the final stage, the condition may be halted or even reversed by sufficiently lowering the sufferer's core temperature.[9]
Meeklo Braca
Meeklo Braca, played by
Braca's initial appearances focused on a nondescript, professional relationship to Bialar Crais, his commanding officer. As Crais continued his downward spiral into dereliction of duty in his ruthless pursuit of John Crichton, Braca slowly emerged as the voice of quiet dissent among Crais' officers and crew. While harboring serious misgivings about the pursuit, there was no way to act upon these doubts until the Command Carrier arrived at the Gammak Base where John Crichton had been captured. Braca quickly established himself as
Throughout season two, Scorpius mentored Braca, instructing him on strategy, planning, and politics both internal to Peacekeeper command and the galaxy at large. Braca emerged from this grooming with several promotions and quickly established himself as an increasingly efficient and dangerous extension of Scorpius' loyal following.
At the beginning of season four, Lieutenant Braca was promoted to Captain Braca by Commandant
Initially, it appeared that he had betrayed Scorpius to Grayza, but by the end of the season it was revealed that Braca was really Scorpius's spy.
When Grayza had a mental breakdown in the end of season four due to incompetent handling of a confrontation with the Scarrans, Captain Braca relieved her of command. By invoking an article of Peacekeeper doctrine he maintained his unwavering loyalty to the organization as a whole, removing Grayza from her duties in order to save the lives of the command carrier crew from certain death. Braca later welcomed Scorpius on board, though this was seen as a welcome change compared to Gayza's command structure. When he inquired where Grayza was, Braca said he threw her in the brig, under heavy sedation.
Later, in the "Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars" miniseries Scorpius had been made commander of an armada and used Braca's command carrier as his flagship, and Braca is once again at his side. Although he is wounded during the climactic ground fighting on the planet Qujaga, he is rescued by Scorpius and is able to return with the rest of the group to safety. Braca is last seen fully recovered at the signing of the peace treaty.
Due to Scorpius' often isolated lifestyle and history, as well as the generally impersonal nature of Peacekeeper culture, his relationship with Braca is often a mixture of mentoring, paternally guiding, and intellectually stimulating at the same time. It is clear that Braca idolizes Scorpius and hopes to emulate his meteoric rise through the Peacekeeper ranks. He is also, like Scorpius, a "true believer" in the Peacekeeper cause and willing to go to any lengths to ensure their victory over the Scarrans. Braca's complete devotion to Scorpius is clearly evident when he braves the wrath of Mele-on Grayza in order to remain Scorpius' spy amongst the Peacekeepers, at great risk to his own life and position.
Mele-on Grayza
Commandant Mele-on Grayza, played by
Grayza is first seen in "
However, she becomes intrigued by
Although reported by Braca to be under sedation in the brig at the end of the series, by the time of
Grayza eventually kills the Grand Chancellor when he tells her of his intention to surrender to the Scarrans, and she takes command of the Peacekeeper forces herself. When Crichton finally demonstrates the destructive powers of the wormhole weapon, she agrees to a truce with the Scarrans "for the sake of our children". She is last seen aboard Moya, signing the peace treaty alongside
Gilina Renaez
Gilina Renaez (played by
Gilina first encountered the crew of
After the Sheyang attack was repelled and the screen was installed on Moya, the crew decided that the best course of action would be to leave Gilina behind to be picked up by Crais. Gilina readily agreed not to inform her superior of their visit and appropriation of Peacekeeper technology: while her opinion of Aeryn had changed to one of quiet respect despite her status, she may have also been fearful of suffering Aeryn's fate - being deemed "irreversibly contaminated" by alien life-forms and banished from the Peacekeepers - as Aeryn herself pointed out. Reluctantly, Crichton and Gilina parted ways (in Crichton's words: "Life sucks.").
Some time later, Gilina was transferred from Crais' ship to
She spent her final moments on Moya. As she lay dying,
Almost three cycles after her death, Crichton and Chiana would encounter Gilina in another form, appearing in a neural-based, video game-like device of
Selto Durka
Selto Durka (played by David Wheeler) was a legendary Peacekeeper captain in command of the
During a Peacekeeper invasion of the
When Durka and his Nebari master later encountered the crew of Moya, he was recognised by Rygel who promptly tried to kill him with a makeshift bomb. However the explosion only succeeded in somehow negating the mind cleansing, and Durka was returned to his old violent self. In short order, he (allegedly) murdered his Nebari keeper and hijacked Moya, but the crew eventually succeeded in luring him into a trap. While he was powering up the weapons on the crippled Nebari ship on which he had arrived, it was jettisoned into space, leaving him stranded on board the derelict vessel.
About a cycle (year) later, Rygel discovered that Durka survived their last encounter and was then the leader of the Zenetan Pirates with which he was trying to negotiate. Durka tried to kill Rygel, but Rygel came prepared for his treachery and killed Durka instead, a surprisingly abrupt end for so prominent a villain in the series. For the next few days, Rygel carried Durka's severed head around on a stake, as a trophy of his final victory over the man who tortured him for so long.
Talyn Lyczac
Talyn Lyczac was a Peacekeeper soldier and the father of
Talyn is rare for a Peacekeeper in that he met and fell in love with another Peacekeeper,
Aeryn would later name
Teeg
Lieutenant Teeg, played by
Months after
Teeg's murder goes undiscovered until Crais is placed into the Aurora Chair by
Xhalax Sun
Xhalax Sun (played by
Xhalax is first seen in season three of the series, as the leader of a Peacekeeper retrieval squad sent to recapture
When her crimes were discovered via security camera when she secretly visited Aeryn when Aeryn was a child, in order to inform her that her life was not an accident or an assigned birthing to fill the ranks, Xhalax was forced to choose between killing Aeryn and killing Aeryn's father,
Decades later, when she was assigned to the Peacekeeper retrieval squad, she met Aeryn once again and explained what had happened after she'd visited Aeryn. She accused Aeryn of being sentimental and weak for having named the spaceship Talyn after the father she'd never met. That encounter ended with Talyn seriously crippled and Crais having claimed to have killed Xhalax to prevent her from completing her mission to capture Talyn for the Peacekeepers. In reality, he had allowed Xhalax to leave them because he knew that otherwise, the Peacekeepers would simply send another retrieval squad.
Aeryn encountered Xhalax once again later on, and a situation arose from which only one could escape alive. During a tense standoff, Aeryn managed to reason with Xhalax only to see Xhalax shot down by Bialar Crais who through no fault of his own misinterpreted the standoff as unacceptably dangerous to Aeryn. Dying, Xhalax told Aeryn that her true selfdom had been killed years before by her unyielding loyalty to the Peacekeepers. Her last request was for Aeryn to let her fall from the high ledge where their standoff had taken place. As a token of respect, Aeryn acquiesced.
Recurring Scarran characters
The Scarrans are large humanoids that are distinctly reptilian in appearance and display a noticeable variation in body types. Most members of this species are perhaps best described as tailless "lizard men" with extended necks and long muzzled faces that some have found reminiscent of a horse. A significantly smaller portion possess a slightly smaller and more humanoid face on a shorter neck. Finally there is a third and even rarer variety that are almost human in proportion though their faces retain a certain bestial mien. There have been examples of male Scarrans of all three types, but the only females seen to date have been of this last variety - a large sexual dimorphism exists between the large muscular males and the smaller svelte females. As these Scarran women possess breasts, it may be inferred that they give birth to and nurture live young; whether the same can be said of females of the other types is uncertain. Scarrans are known to reproduce in a manner physically compatible with humans and Sebaceans.[12]
By inference natives of a hot world,
It's revealed in Season 4[15] that Scarrans must routinely consume a type of flower known as "Crystherium Utilia" (described as a Strelitzia by Crichton), in order to maintain their sentience. According to Harvey,[15] failure to consume the flower results in their intelligence diminishing, and eventually turns them feral. Only a few planets possess the conditions necessary to support the flower's growth, which consequentially puts a limit on Scarran expansion. However, upon learning that the flower grows wild on Earth, the Scarrans prioritize conquering the planet,[5][16] forcing Crichton to permanently close the wormhole.
Scarran society is structured along imperial lines, with an Emperor in overall charge. This position's power is not absolute - an incompetent may be removed by a body known as the "Hierarchy". Though dynastic succession is expected, killing the current Emperor and taking power is a perfectly legitimate means of ascending to the throne which has no gender restriction on who may occupy it.[5][16] The position of War Minister is considered the third to the Emperorship in terms of power and prestige within Scarran society, though whether this is constitutional mandate or a result of the Imperium's inexorable mobilisation to war by the time of the Farscape series is unknown.
The Scarran Imperium rose to its current position as a major galactic power within the last 12,000 cycles
By the end of the Farscape series, hostilities between Scarrans and Peacekeepers escalate into an open conflict that lasts for a number of months; almost without exception, the Scarran war machine carries every battle, conquering many systems both within the Uncharted Territories, and under
Ahkna, War Minister
Ahkna is an upper-caste member of the Scarran race, played by
Several months before the war between the Scarrans and the
Ahkna is later at Katratzi with Emperor Staleek when
Within a number of days, Ahkna and Staleek have discovered that a large supply of crystherium flower exists on Earth. Staleek sends Ahkna's lover
Two months later, Ahkna helps lead the war effort against the Peacekeepers. With superior forces and firepower, the Scarrans win every battle against the Peacekeepers. Ahkna is stationed aboard Staleek's
Ahkna's final battle takes place on the ravaged surface of Qujaga. After prolonged ground combat between Peacekeeper and Scarran forces, Crichton and his allies try to move out from their fortified position and escape to
Pennoch
Captain Pennoch is a high ranking Scarran soldier and the lover of
Staleek
Emperor Staleek is the Scarran emperor, played by Duncan Young and is a major antagonist in both the series and the mini-series. He first appears in the "We're So Screwed" three-part story in season 4, holding a conference at the secret moon of Katratzi. It was there he first encounters
Staleek later takes an active role in the
Crichton mockingly calls him Emperor Sleestak, a play on his name and also a reference to Land of the Lost, a 1970s children's Saturday morning Sci-Fi TV show that featured lizard-like humanoid antagonists, presumably remembered from John Crichton's youth.
Captain Jenek
Captain Jenek is a Scarran freighter captain and a member of the Scarran ruling caste who serves as a major antagonist in the fourth season, played by Jason Clarke. Jenek serves as Aeryn's jailer while she is in Scarran custody, keeping her on board his ship and torturing her both physically and psychologically while his ship made its way to the Katratzi base. After forcing her to tell him that Crichton is the father of her child, he continues his path to Katratzi, intending to have scientists extract wormhole information from its DNA.
Jenek's ship stops at a border station that Moya's crew are also on, having disguised themselves as Scarran agents. While on the station, Noranti infects Rygel with a contagious Hynerian disease to have the station put into quarantine. Jenek becomes paranoid the disease will kill Aeryn and attempts to place her baby inside Chiana, as Nebari are immune to the disease. Moya's crew engaged in an operation to prevent this, and Scorpius lured him off ship. When Jenek caught onto his ruse, Scorpius attacked Jenek and was promptly beaten into submission by the Scarran captain and taken prisoner, though Aeryn and Chiana were rescued. Jenek arrived in Katratzi with Scorpius and attended the peace conference, serving as the chief security officer. Jenek is killed when Crichton's homemade nuclear bomb detonated, destroying the base.
Other recurring characters
Bekhesh
Bekhesh is the leader of a group of Tavlek mercenaries but later gives up his life of violence. He is played by John Adam. He wears a gauntlet weapon that injects him with a narcotic stimulant, giving him increased speed, strength, and aggression, but also resulting in addiction. The gauntlet can also fire short energy bursts with an output that is on par with a pulse pistol blast, able to kill a target in one hit, and can absorb blasts too. He is featured in the episode "Throne for a Loss" and the trilogy "Liars, Guns, and Money".
He is first encountered by the crew of
Almost two cycles later, Crichton seeks Bekhesh out, hoping to acquire the gauntlet to use it in an assault to rescue
Unlike other Tavleks, Bekhesh wears some type of masking shield over the top of his head. Its purpose is unknown but it is implied that it is due to injury.[22][23][24]
D.K. (Douglas Knox)
John Crichton's childhood friend who, along with Crichton, formulated the theory that was being tested by the Farscape project. Crichton helped D.K. cheat on his SATs, and helped get him his job at IASA. In the episode "Terra Firma" D.K. and his wife were killed by an alien named Skreeth. D.K. appears in the episodes "
Einstein
First introduced in Season 4, "Einstein" is an Ancient who has tremendous knowledge of wormholes, time and theoretical physics. His appearance is a
In Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, after considerable badgering by Crichton, Einstein removes the mental blocks preventing Crichton from turning a wormhole into a weapon. After Crichton builds such a weapon and uses it to coerce the Peacekeepers and Scarrans to negotiate peace, Einstein strips the knowledge from his mind even as he's shutting off the weapon.
He is played by John Bach.
Furlow
Furlow (played by Magda Szubanski) is a knowledgeable, yet somewhat arrogant, mechanic on the desert world Dam-Ba-Da. While her race is not known, she appears to be a rather short and stocky female, likely Sebacean.
The crew of
Two cycles later, one of the twinned Crichtons returned to Dam-Ba-Da aboard
Furlow's whereabouts thereafter remain unknown as she never again appears in the series.
Jack Crichton
John Robert "Jack" Crichton, Sr. is a retired astronaut who at one point had walked on the
During his time in the Uncharted Territories, the junior Crichton would often think of his father. In his first year, he would sometimes record his thoughts into a tape recorder, usually addressing Jack in his recordings.
A member of the
Around a cycle later, John would again encounter a false image of his father. This was the result of a Scarran interrogation device which presented Crichton with increasingly erratic and irrational imagery in order to break his mind.
A cycle after this incident, John again encounters the Ancient in the form of his father. Assumedly, this Ancient took the form of Jack to make Crichton more comfortable as they worked together to keep wormhole technology out of the hands of the Scarrans. "Ancient Jack" was eventually killed by
Crichton would finally see his real father again, about a cycle later, though this time he encountered Jack when he was younger in 1985. Crichton soon discovered that his presence in the past had altered history and that Jack was now to command the tragic final flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Crichton and his friends did what they could to fix the timeline, while John avoided any unnecessary contact with his parents. It seems, however, that Jack later caught a glimpse of his grown son shortly after he had rescued the younger 1985-John from a burning house.
When John and the rest of
Months later, Crichton would contact Jack one last time. With the Scarrans on their way to attack Earth, John decided to collapse the wormhole linking Earth to the area of the galaxy near the Uncharted Territories and Tormented Space. After landing a
Jothee
Jothee is the half-Luxan/half-Sebacean son of
As a result of his separation, Jothee was denied most of the Luxan upbringing and, after being the subject of abuse over his mixed heritage, mutilated his more Luxan features.
While on Moya Jothee had an affair with Chiana, who was his father's lover, which caused a rift between both D'Argo and Chiana, and D'Argo and Jothee. Jothee left Moya's crew at this point.
His whereabouts between his departure from Moya and PK Wars are unknown. Two cycles later, Jothee re-appeared as the "Kleeva" (a military strategist and officer) of a small Luxan commando unit during PK Wars. According to comic continuity later, Jothee's unique background helped him achieve the honor of becoming the youngest Kleeva in the history of the Luxan people. Jothee's skills are primarily tactic and mind based, unlike his father who quite often relied upon his brute strength, anger, and intimidating stature to get results.
Maldis
Maldis (played by
The crew first encounters Maldis while visiting a commerce planet early in their adventures. Taking the form of a clown named Igg, he demonstrates that he knows a lot about Crichton, and explains that he serves a benevolent old magician named Haloth (also Maldis). Haloth tells Crichton he has the ability to set up a meeting between himself and Bialar Crais, at which Crichton can explain to Crais the circumstances of his brother's death, which will end the Peacekeeper captain's pursuit. Then Maldis, as Haloth, also approaches Crais, offering him John Crichton for a price. When Crais agrees, Haloth reveals himself to Crichton, and unleashes Crais upon him within an arena of his own devising.
As the two fight,
Many months later, Chiana obtains a unique picture from a woman named Kyvan. She begins experiencing progressively more dangerous "accidents" seemingly predicted by images in the picture. After attempts to examine it end in Chiana's disappearance, the crew try destroying the picture to bring her back. The picture reassembles again and again, eventually causing
With more of his links to the physical world destroyed, Maldis is once again banished to an unknown region to conserve his energies until he gains enough strength for his inevitable return (although he does not manifest again in the series).
Grunchlk
Grunchlk is an unkempt and opportunistic swindler who runs a medical facility, played by Hugh Keays-Byrne. Grunchlk serves as the go-between for Diagnosans (to whom translator microbes are fatal) and patients, though he often overcharges the patients, occasionally against the Diagnosan's wishes. Grunchlk also keeps dying patients cryogenically frozen so that Diagnosans can use their parts in medical procedures, trapping them between life and death. On some occasions he freezes their family members as well, as seen with Jool and her cousins.
Grunchlk is first seen in "Die Me, Dichtomy", where Moya is brought to his facility to treat burn wounds she had sustained during the "Liar, Guns, and Money" three-parter. Grunchlk also agrees to have the Diagnosan remove the neural chip from John's brain. Scorpius, signaled by Harvey after the neural clone briefly took control of Crichton's body, formed a deal with Grunchlk that would have him give Scorpius the neural chip in exchange for payment. When Scorpius arrives alongside a squad of Peacekeeper commandos, Grunchlk sets a cryogenic pod containing a Scarran agent to thaw as insurance against Scorpius, planning to stop the pod from thawing should Scorpius live up to his end of the bargain.
After a Diagnosan opens the pod prematurely and is murdered by the Scarran, Scorpius places an implant in Grunchlk's brain that allowed him to take control of Grunchlk's body. The Scorpius-controlled Grunchlk encountered the Scarran, and the Scarran placed Grunchlk inside a cryogenic pod and froze him. Stark, who was horrified by Grunchlk's use of the cryogenic pods, reported him as dead to the rest of the crew and left him frozen.
In The Peacekeeper Wars, Grunchlk returns, having somehow escaped the pod, and now with another Diagnosan, who had given Chiana new eyes. Grunchlk and the Diagnosan accompany Chiana to Qujaga to treat Aeryn and Crichton.
Jack the Ancient
"Jack" is an Ancient who takes the form of Crichton's father Jack and serves as something of a mentor to John, played by Kent McCord. Jack is not actually his name, but rather a nickname Crichton gives him, as Jack's true name is pronounced through a series of incomprehensible sounds.
Jack first appears when he places John, Aeryn, Rygel, and D'Argo inside a simulation of Earth, so that he can determine if it would be a suitable home for the Ancients. Jack takes the form of Jack Crichton, as it was deemed suitable to get John to trust him. Crichton eventually uncovers the ruse, and Jack reveals the purpose of the experiment to him. Though Crichton is understandably angry over the manipulation, the two part on civil terms.
While Crichton is being tortured by Scorpius in the Aurora Chair, Scorpius uncovers a repressed memory of Jack. It is revealed that Jack, as an apology, implanted wormhole knowledge in Crichton's brain so he would be able to return to Earth faster, and erased the memory because the Ancients believe that if one does not discover the knowledge by themselves, they do not deserve it. This proves crucial to the rest of the series, establishing the central arc of the Peacekeepers and later the Scarrans pursuing John for his wormhole knowledge.
After discovering a Charrid using a replica of Crichton's module to fly through a wormhole, Jack is sent by the other Ancients to track Crichton down and see if he had given away wormhole knowledge. After Crichton makes it clear he did not, the two deduce that Furlow was the one using the wormhole knowledge. The two tracked her to Dam-Ba-Da, and found the Charrids and Scarrans has turned on her. With a Scarran dreadnought on the way, Jack and Crichton planned to destroy the ship and Furlow's equipment along with the ship itself, by building a wormhole weapon. Jack intends to activate the weapon himself, not wanting to endanger Crichton's life, but Furlow shoots and fatally wound him. Crichton comforts Jack in his final moments, and after he dies, Jack reverts to his true form.
References
- ISBN 978-1-90311-185-7.
- ^ "25 Top Cult Shows Ever!, #4 Farscape (1999-2003)". TV Guide (May 30-June 5, 2004).
Outraged when Sci Fi Channel cancelled the series, hundreds of female "'Scapers" mailed in their bras...
- ^ "Rhapsody In Blue". Terra Firma Farscape Transcript Archive.
- ^ Hey, Virginia (11 August 2004). "Why did I leave Farscape?". VirginiaHey.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "Crackers Don't Matter"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "The Locket"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "Exodus from Genesis"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "Promises"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "Premiere"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "That Old Black Magic"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: Subject: Scorpius : Appendix To Service Record". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- Look at the Princess Part I: A Kiss is But a Kiss".
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "Fractures"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ We're So Screwed Part III: La Bomba".
- ^ a b "Farscape Journey Logs: "Bad Timing"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "What Was Lost, Part 1: Sacrifice"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Farscape Journey Logs: "Bringing Home the Beacon"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Farscape Journey Logs: "We're So Screwed, Part 2: Hot to Katratzi"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Farscape Journey Logs: "We're So Screwed, Part 3: La Bomba"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Farscape Journey Logs: "Bad Timing"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "Throne for a Loss"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "Liars, Guns and Money, Part 2: With Friends Like These"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "Liars, Guns and Money, Part 3: Plan B"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Farscape Journey Logs: "Til the Blood Runs Clear"". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
External links
- "Farscape Journey Logs". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- "Farscape Characters". Scifi.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2017.