More good publicity! Please read the article and then send some of that famous 'Scaper love to Sean Twist. Looks like Sean is a dyed in the wool 'Scaper.

For the love of story, Farscape is back
SEAN TWIST, For the London Free Press

The love of story can make you do strange things. No one understands this better than science fiction fans -- who, one suspects, would do strange things anyway, but story does provide a plausible excuse. And, boy, does it have a lot to answer for.

In fact, "strange" seems a tad weak to describe some of the things science fiction fans do.

Standing outside for weeks to see a movie, full in the knowledge that they could simply rent it six months later. Spending a temporal and financial fortune to create homemade costumes of favourite characters (usually anime, for some undoubtedly psychologically fascinating reason), simply to show other fans. Spending countless hours labouring over websites and fanzines guaranteed to lose money. Of feeling a kinship towards fictional characters, and feeling a genuine loss when they die.

Definitely strange.

But sometimes, this love of story can cause fans to do other things. Like performing miracles. Of bringing back the dead. Of insisting that once a story has begun, it must be finished. And if that particular story was a television series, then not letting something as inconsequential as cancellation get in the way.

Which brings us to Farscape.

Farscape was one of those science fiction TV series that seemed determined to be cancelled, even from its first episode. Whereas most shows tend to lead you gently by the hand into their imagined world, Farscape hogtied and threw you across the galaxy, leaving you to fend for yourself. The producers assumed you would figure out things eventually. Either that or your head would explode.

Farscape told the story of astronaut John Crichton (played by Ben Browder), who gets up one morning to test his new theory on orbital acceleration, but instead ends up screaming down a cosmic wormhole.

Arriving at some distant part of the universe, Crichton manages to both kill the brother of his soon-to-be sadistic enemy and land on a living prison ship called Moya. There, not only are the very alien prisoners -- including a giant warrior, a blue-skinned bald woman and something that looks like a greasy Brussels sprout -- trying to escape from the local Peacekeeper military, they don't speak a word of English. Crichton is just as confused and lost as the viewer.

This was the first episode. In fact, this was the first half hour. Things just got stranger. As the series progressed, Farscape grew into a grand and challenging space opera that tackled the big issues of love and loyalty, while never forgetting the value of a good fart joke. (The alien Brussels sprout, Rygel, apparently farts helium, which left Crichton incredulous.)

For four seasons, viewers watched Crichton try to get home -- while falling in love with the beautiful leather-clad Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), being cloned, having another enemy move into his head, and briefly become a cartoon character. Farscape was by turns brutal, heartbreaking and extremely funny. And when it was unceremoniously cancelled in its fourth season, Farscape fans -- or Scapers, as we call ourselves -- were shocked.

Crichton's Story, you see, wasn't finished yet.

Scapers leapt to the Internet, creating a "save Farscape" website. While that was expected (such sites are almost reflex and usually last as long), what was surprising was the Scapers' passion in both creating and maintaining the community, which included letter-writing campaigns, rallies and an expensive front-page ad in Variety. Sure, this was strange, but it was a dedicated sort of strange.

And it worked. A financier was found. And the fans -- and cast -- got what they wanted: an end to the Farscape story, in a four-hour mini-series, titled Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars.

This weekend sees the Canadian premiere of Wars on Space, starting last night and continuing this evening. While also ending Crichton's wonderfully odd saga, it also stands testament to how important story is, especially when it involves star-crossed lovers, living ships, and the eternal importance of the smart-ass remark.

As for me, I'll keep satisfying my inner Scaper with my DVD collection and using any excuse to write about the glory that was the Scape.

But if my wife wants to dress up in Aeryn Sun's black leather, I won't complain.