Scratch & Sniff
Nitcentral's Bulletin Brash Reflections:
Farscape:
Season Three:
Scratch & Sniff
"Your story makes no sense."
-- Pilot to Crichton
PLOT SUMMARY:
Moya and Pilot are sick and tired of listening to the insesent bickering of Crichton and D'Argo so Pilot banishes them both from Moya for 10 days to a pleasure planet called LoMo. Since it's a cool place, Jool and Chiana tag along willingly.
2 days later, they all return. This does not sit well with Pilot. Why did they return 8 days early? Crichton tells the story.
Down on the planet, the fab four are gettin' down at an alien party. Crichton and D'Argo get a little too much booze and the next thing ya know they wake up in a display window with Crichton in his skivvies (Farscape's female fan base squeals in delight) and they've both been robbed.
In all their situations they see this annoying short alien named Raxil. They catch her. She tells them that their friends are in grave danger.
They go to meet a Hangi, a giant praying mantis that can take out his eyes and use them as video cameras. (Only on Farscape!) He shows them that Pip and Jool were drugged and taken by some evil guy named FeTor. D'Argo infiltrates FeTor's mansion and finds Pip and Jool having a good time. D'Argo tries to get Pip and Jool out so the guards escort him out at gunpoint.
He goes back and takes out his frustration on Raxil. She sprays him with a sexual spray that makes him very attractive to the females and vice versa. He starts dancing around like an idiot. According to Raxil, FeTor makes this stuff by sucking it out of attractive women (this aspect strains credulity a lot. More on this later). She'll help John and D'Argo get the girls back just as long as they get her Favio-like boyfriend out with them.
But FeTor's cronies know D'Argo now. So Raxil gives him a special potion that makes him appear to be some kind of strange creature (strange is a relative term on Farscape, though). They go to this auction in order to buy back Chiana, Jool, and Favio. When they can't outbid a very wealthy womanizer, they shoot out the lights and go a killin'. They escape but Favio is dead.
Pilot thinks the whole story is krap. He sends them away on another banishment for another ten days. Crichton and D'Argo exit his chambers arguing even more.
ANALYSIS:
>> Funny Funny stuff.
>> I like the return to more lightheartedness. It is well overdue.
>> D'Argo meets Harvey (the Scorpie in Crichton's brain) for the first time. Funny stuff again.
>> The shifting of time was really irritating in the beginning but they started to lay off of it as it went on.
>> Pilot was in rare form this time. He kept breaking in with his own commentary and nitpicks which usually coincided with my own.
>> Raxil was really annoying. Half the time I couldn't understand what she was saying.
>> I love the Crichton/D'Argo dynamic. I've missed it a lot.
>> Wonderful and Funny episode.
FARSCAPE FACTOID:
>> Farscape's seasons coincide with actual cycles and Earth years since Pilot says that they've all known each other for 2 and a half cycles (Farscape's run so far)
NITS:
>> How does one milk a woman like that? First of all, where do women create this stuff? How do all these different species of women seem to have it? And as Pilot says, if so much fluid was drained, how could they still be alive?
>> Is it really believable that Crichton and D'Argo's reputation is as widespread as Raxil makes it out to be? Most of the stuff that they do is pretty secretive since they're trying to avoid PKs.
NEXT WEEK:
Infinite Possibilities Part 1: Daedalus Demands. Some guy says he can get Harvey out of Crichton for good.
By scott mcclenny on Saturday, July 21, 2001 - 11:10 am: Too weirdly MTVish in style to really understand
what's going on at times.
By cstadulis on Monday, July 23, 2001 - 11:43 am: I LOVED this episode. John's little squeal and dance to hide behind the wall after seeing everyone looking at him in his skivvies in the beginning was priceless. A very welcome return to silliness, even if it seems to be short-lived (if the teaser for next week's episode is any indication).
I do agree with the nit about the "milking" machine. I find it hard to believe that you can take that much stuff out of a person and still have them live. By the way, did they "milk" Rexil's boyfriend, too? Is that why he died? I couldn't figure out why he was dead, if only females were milked.
By Merat on Monday, October 15, 2001 - 8:57 pm: Was John in his skivvies or in pantyhose?
By Spottedkitty on Saturday, November 24, 2001 - 4:24 pm: Haven't even got past the tites yet and already I know this is gonna be a GOOD episode. ^_^
By Spottedkitty on Saturday, November 24, 2001 - 5:07 pm: This ep was too bizzare (even for Farscape) for comment. I think I've found a new fave ep. Now I'm going to bed cos I had a long day traveling...
By Merat on Sunday, November 25, 2001 - 2:30 pm: Ok, I just reviewed the episode, and I'm pretty sure that John WAS in pantyhose in the window!
By Callie Sullivan on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 3:02 am:John was definitely wearing tights/stockings!
Was Raxil played by the same actress who was in Suns and Lovers, the one who was attracting the storm and who was eventually shot out of Moya? She looked very similar, even though this time she seemed to be making a very poor attempt at a Cockney/Aussie hybrid accent!
By Harvey Kitzman on Sunday, December 09, 2001 - 5:10 pm: OK you tech-heads: In the spirit of the Dancing Baby, someone needs to make a screen saver of Dancing D'Argo and his chicken neck dance! Anyone up to the challenge? BOOGIE OR DIE!!!!!
By SpottedKitty on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 7:11 pm: Just watched this ep again on DVD and would just like to update my previous posting that this ep is what makes Farscape, Farscape.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, no other show would come close to doing this kinda thing.
By Douglas Nicol on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 4:10 pm: I think this episode was wierd...even for Farscape.
By Merat on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 7:45 pm: The actress who played Raxil is Francesca Buller, Ben Browder's (Crichton) wife. She has also played ro-NA in "Look at the Princess" and M'Lee in "Bone to be Wild." Yes, Raxil is the nasty little bone-sucking monster. Yikes.
By Josh M on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 10:59 am: Great ep. I loved it.
Many of the flashes to different scenes were good. I especially liked Raxil's mention of the "great Crichton and D'Argo" and a cut to the two slapping hands.
Is this the first time Pilot calls Crichton John?
By Gordon Lawyer on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 6:46 am:You know, I used to think that Crackers Don't Matter and Won't Get Fooled Again were totally bonkers. Then I saw this episode.
The two brief shots where Crichton and Dargo high five and where they're arguing who pi$$ed off Pilot were from the original ending of the episode, which was quite different.
By Gordon Lawyer on Monday, January 26, 2004 - 5:48 am: You know, I'm surprised that Crichton didn't make any cracks about Soylent Green.
By Merat on Sunday, October 07, 2007 - 9:54 am:Watching this episode years later and it really holds up. Absolutely great to watch.