Reminder: Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars & Starburst Vol 2 release on Tuesday 1/18/05 (1 Viewer)

[Greg S]

I have emailed ADV about the release schedule on these and they couldn't tell me anything since other than the other Starburst editions were being worked on.

Volume 1 was released November 16th actually and VOlume 2 on January 18th. Based on this you may see a Starburst set every 2 months. This I am sure depends on what additional material needs to go on the discs.

Personally I would sell of the Season 1 set and replace them with the Starbursts considering that Season 1 should be complete in the next few months. I would then sell replace the other Seasons as the new ones come out.

I expect all of Season 1 and 2 will be out on Starburst editions by the end of the year leaving Seasons 3 & 4 for release for 2006.

Greg

EDIT: Here is your answer about Volume 3 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....&type=product. This should mean Season 2 Vol 1 in May, Vol 2 in July, Vol 3 in September, & then Season 3 Volume 1 in November.

 

[Will_B]

No. If it doesn't look damaged, then it isn't.

 

[Daniel Kikin]

Got my PK Wars DVD in the mail today. Since I can't say who it's from yet, I'll just a give a little hint, mine also came with a D'Argo photo signed by Anthony Simcoe. Just flipped through the discs, it's good to finally see PK Wars in true 16x9 on my widescreen TV, although strangely the menus are 4x3. The extras are really skimpy , there's a half-hour behind the scenes, and some galleries and that's it, even though on the back of the DVD case it says "and much more". I'm guessing the "much more" will only come in a second release for PK Wars but for now I'm really pumped to have the mini on DVD.

 

[Greg S]

Yep I know who ya got it from.

The Region 2 release (Feb 15th I think) has quite a few more things on it including some interviews with the main cast and deleted scenes.

Once again Region 1 takes it on the nose!

Greg

 

[Greg S]

Also here is the transcript of a chat on ADV Films with David Kemper & Chip Schneider(producer of the Starburst DVDs) about what will be on some of them. Looks very good. ADV Link -- http://www.advfilms.com/chat/chat_farscapetrans.asp


Greg

 

[Daniel Kikin]

Amazon.com has March 15 as the date for the Season 1 Volume 3 Starburst Edition, so it looks like we're going to get another volume every two months if the pattern holds through the next three seasons.

 

[BrandonJF]

I'm not so sure these double-dips are that evil. They had explained in an online chat that was posted at one of the Farscape sites the reasoning behind the new editions and it made alot of sense.

The Farscape releases - and I imagine many of the other double and triple dips - are done to keep the title on the shelves at retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, etc... where shelf space is more limited than, say, Best Buy and Circuit City. While you'd be hard pressed to find any of the older Season 1 Farscape releases on the shelf at Wal-Mart even though they are still in print, you've got a good shot of finding the Starburst edition. The reason is because it's viewed as "new".

Yeah, it's about making more money, but I don't think it's a bad idea at all. They have to get stores to put the product on the shelf in order to sell it and if they have to keep making "new" releases to keep it on the shelf, so be it. They really didn't have to put any additional content on these discs - the repackaging would have been enough to get it back on the shelf at Wal-Mart. There's been a decent amount of time between the first release and the Starburst editions (almost 4 years) - this isn't like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which really was blatant.

 

[Jason_V]

I've double dipped precious few times (Deep Impact and Top Gun) but I got the first Starburst edition last night. It's basically win-win all around. More exposure means more potential fans means more sales means more (?) mini's or whatever. Benefits ADV, Henson and the fans.

Add into that these new releases taking up less room, being less expensive and having more material...benefits the fans.

It's easy enough to pawn off the season sets or single/double disc releases. Use that money to finance the Starburst's. I'm not holding it against anyone these editions are out...much rather have the material than ADV saying "the fans will be upset so we won't release them". That's just stupid.

 

[Greg S]

Jason excellent point!!

For me it was an easy decision as I didn't own the original releases ... Why you ask?? For exactly the reasons mentioned here 1) COST - man the original ones were/are expensive 2) shelf space -- the originals take up way too much room.

With the Starburst editions they are perfect and a justifiable rerelease. Sure original purchasers should be upset but as was mentioned its been 4 years since it was released. How many other rereleases can say that??

Personally I am thrilled to be owning these new sets with the new extras as I love the show and want to support it any way I can. I hope they do more Farscape but if not I will be proud to sit back and watch what I have when I want. The rewatchability factor on this show is very high for me.

Greg

 

[Will_B]

I've watched the first 4 episodes and I know people say to stick with this until it finds its footing in season two, so I will.

So far it looks like:

Andromeda - $$$ + puppets + "some Xena/Herc vibes" = Farscape

or maybe

Firefly - Joss Whedon + "some Stargate vibes" - $$$ + puppets = Farscape

 

[BrandonJF]

I'm surprised at the $$$ part of that equation. To me, one thing that set Farscape apart from other sci-fi shows was the incredible production values. I never thought the show looked "cheap", even from episode one. They did alot with what they had and some of the episodes rival some feature films I've seen.

That being said, I almost bailed on it by the time the 4th DVD rolled around and debated whether or not I would order any more. I'm glad I didn't. For me, the show picked up around the 9th or 10th episode and became one of my favorite shows ever around season 2.

I think one of the things that put me off on it in the beginning was that, unlike other sci-fi shows of this nature, this was a group of people that just didn't like each other. For about half of season one, we're watching a group of characters stuck together who just don't really "click". But, things do develop and progress from one episode to the next, and I think the slow move towards friendship (and more) makes all the relationships pay off that much more.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

True to the nature of their characters, they redefined "friend." Can you think of anyone who wouldn't turn on anyone else? Not in an evil malicious way, but just because they're all different people and races with different goals. These people basically came to like each other, but they mostly stayed true to their own agendas.

I never watched a single episode of this broadcast. After watching it on DVD, I became hooked and quite impressed with the character development. It's such a contrast to the homogenized character development in Star Trek (which was always my primary SciFi vieweing).

I also thought the production values were just fine. And I don't think of Rygel as The Puppet.

 

[Will_B]

Maybe the reason the budget looks relatively cheap to me (compared to a show like Firefly) is because I'm watching on a big projection screen now so the smaller things are hard to miss.

The large sets look great of course, and the makeup and costumes are wonderful.

But little things that are out of place in an alien universe really pop out when you're watching on a big screen - like a consumer halogen desk lamp on the alien ship in the premier episode (recognizable because it even had the little mandated metal drop-down bar near the bulb which keeps halogen desk lamps from coming in to contact with flamable papers!), or the way they recycled the Galaxy Quest "squid octopus" alien for the ransom episode, or the way half of a metal crutch became a futuristic stun gun in the (terrible) "I, E.T." episode soley on the strength of the actors holding it as if it might be a gun.

These details keep breaking the illusion (an illusion which already takes some active effort on the viewers part due to the puppets being puppets). But I'm sure as I get into the characters and story they will be less distracting.

So far I like the character of the (former) Peacekeeper the best.

 

[Greg S]

That would be Aeryn Sun played by Claudia Black.

All I can say is DO NOT give up on the show. The episode DNA Mad Scientist is what started my hook but it wasn't until just before Season 1 ended that I was COMPLETELY hooked. Then Season 2 just rolls as the show REALLY hit its stride!! Season 3 is my favorite but it is also very dark. It has some of the best performances by the cast and excellent stories.

Stick with it and I think you will be pleased. If by the end of Season 1 you are not into the show than its just not something for you IMHO.

Good Luck and keep us posted and if you have questions I am sure you can find plenty of us willing to help.

FYI I have also been watching the episodes on an 8 1/2 foot screen so I have noticed a few things but its not a big deal as the characters are most important to me. Also production values get even better after the beginning half of Season 1 but IMHO this show has/had better production values than a lot of other shows.

Greg

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Aeryn Sun.

Yes, the whole show requires a bit of suspension of disbelief. For instance, John Crichton as a populace Astronaut gave me a momentary eye-roll experience. He's the star, but probably the least favorite of the characters to me. It's just not believable to me that someone would be so versed in science, but have so much time to spend on pop culture.

Still, Crichton serves a purpose, as do they all. He's us, and helps us connect to these strange people. He grew on me.

There's no debating realism since it is so subjective. I can only say that while the show irritated me at times, I simply let go and went along for the ride after awhile because the payoff was worth the suspension of disbelief.

I'm sorry it ended when it did.

 

[TheLongshot]

You haven't been to too many Sci-Fi Conventions, have you?

I've met a lot of guys who are quite sharp, but are also into certain aspects of pop culture. I actually think it is more likely with a young astronaut, because it is probably that pop culture that got them there in the first place.

Course, there are a lot of people who think the amount of pop culture references are unrealistic, but I just think that's John's thing.

Personally, I can see people kinda upset about the Starburst editions. The original versions were pretty pricey. Considering they followed with box set collections, there wasn't any reason to believe that a double-dip would be comming. I know I was kinda caught on that, because I bought the second season before the Starbursts were announced. It means now that I'm not buying any more now until the Starbursts catch up.

I kinda understand the reasoning, but kinda sad that they have to do things that way to keep things on the shelves.

Jason

 

[David Williams]

Understatement of the decade! S3 is when the show and I parted company. I was a fervent fan from Day 1 (when USA showed the sneak peak ep 'PK Tech Girl'), but I couldn't really handle the radical changes the show went through in S3. I will admit that I like my Sci-Fi crews to get along generally, so I had some real problems with certain crew member(s) selling the others out (The show almost lost me during S1 with the maiming of crew member by others in the crew... This could also explain why I'm having so much trouble getting into the new Battlestar Galactica aka The Anti-Prozac). Also, the death of my favorite character during S3 didn't help matters, even though it wasn't really planned. I'm planning to give the show a second chance with the Starburst Editions, though. It's hard to deny the charm of a character like John Crichton.

 

[Greg S]

David,

Understandable. I encourage you to give it a shot because Season 3 really is excellent. The performances are spot on and they do some very good stuff (and important). Many events in Season 3 lead directly to S4 and PKW. I think if you hang in there through S3 and on into S4 and PKW I think you will be pleased with the arc(s) and ending.

Many people complain about S4 losing its way and think its the weakest of the 4 but would say that S1 was the weakest. S4 was very different and thus some did not care for it but it is very important to the overall story line.

Rankings for me would (best to worst) -- S3, S2, S4, S1. PKW probably would be tied for first -- its a slightly rushed mini (you can tell more time was needed for it) but it just had so much going for it that I loved it.

Anyway keep watching as you are missing some good stuff there.

Greg

EDIT: Also the pop culture references are important to the John Crichton character. You have to remember that he is a "fish out of water" and these references help to reflect that (as well as provide humor). And just because someone is a smart scientist/astronaut doesn't mean they don't have a clue about what's going in society.

 

[Will_B]

They also could be seen as his way of grieving for having lost touch with Earth (something which doesn't seem to bother him much on the surface). He could be seen as overcompensating with the pop culture references in an effort to stay familiar with the world he left.

Not that he appears to be that deep.

But that theory works for me.

 

[Greg S]

Wil,

Actually thats a very good thought. I hadn't actually thought of that way but it makes sense!

Greg