Intro:

Because my Farscape knowledge is not that of Babylon 5, Star Trek: DS9 or the Stargate shows, I asked Angela, who manages @FarscapeNow & FarscapeNow.net to write Farscape's 25th Anniversary! She of course is a HUGE Farscape fan, and I am happy to say she wanted to do it! It is a story with a personal touch, which are always my favorite ones. I hope you like this read, I know I did!

2024/03/18

It is hard to believe it has been 25 years since Farscape debuted. I missed the first episode as I knew a new show was coming but you know puppets ;) I got a surprise call from my Dad on Saturday (usually I saw him when we would visit my parents who lived nearby-- my Mom called never my Dad!) asking if I watched the new show on the SciFi Channel. I said no and he said it was really good and I would like it. Still a bit shocked at his response I looked in the TV Guide (it was still a dial up world and online info was not updated like today!). I caught the repeat the next Thursday and I,ET on Friday as it aired. I was intrigued. I was already doing online fandom for The X Files so I searched out Farscape and The Dominion Board on the SciFi Channel website was where discussion was going on! I have never looked back. At the end of season 1 an ad ran after the episode advertising the first Farscape convention. I went (and to all the subsequent ones!).

I think besides the great fans I have met the biggest gift Farscape has given is the cast and crew. I grew up mostly in southern California, first with friends who had parents/family in the entertainment industry. The Industry as it is known is one of the biggest employers in the area. This includes not just actors,writers and directors, but the building trades,accountants and more. You get a bit jaded and accept that "stars" are people. The early cons I attended often featured actors who were a bit bored and embarrassed to be on stage at a convention. The commercialization of San Diego Comic Con has changed that . Back to August 2000. The audience was pleasantly surprised to find there was none of that attitude by anyone from Farscape!. The producers, writers, directors and actors were excited and proud to taljk about the show and all it's nuances! They asked questions back as well. Fast forward to December 2023 and Wintercon in New York City. Creator/writer Rockne O'Bannon, actor/writer Ben Browder, actors Claudia Black and Gigi Edgely all displayed this same pride and love as they answered questions, realizing that there are new fans being made daily. Personally I love that I still hear new things in among the anecdotes and answers.

Farscape was ahead of it's time. I love streaming but I will say I think was also well served by us having to wait a week or months for the next episode. Discussion boards and websites abounded. Karl's Web, Ultimate Farscape, farscapeworld, and of course the Farscape board on the Dom, the official SciFi Channel website. There was FarscapeFantasy run by DallasScaper for all your video needs. Chatting was new and the main chat was on mIRC. Cast or crew would drop by especially after episodes aired. Often 100 people or more from around the world would be there talking Farscape. Sometimes chat events were scheduled with writers and actors. Smaller chats could be found on other boards like the Romantics group on Ultimate Farscape.

I checked in the night Relativity aired. A friend in Burbank with the east coast feed called and saaid you have to watch the very beginning and hung up! I was cooking dinner for my family so went and checked in on the Romantics' chat ---- screen just read OMG! OMG! OMG!  on and on down! A very long 3 hours later I got my answer! Farscape again defied a television convention by putting the leads together in a relationship without it just being a gimmick episode for ratings. There were chats and groups for many niche groups like Crais Cohorts and Scorpeans. Now these convos are held among strangers at conventions in person which I love and sort of on various social media formats but are harder to find. Recently a Trek fan did a first watch on Twitter. It was irreverant and filled with all the emotions a new fan experiences. Thanks to @JenLRossman #Farscape trended for a few days!! Scapers are still here.

We were very close to getting a continuation of the adventures of the Moyans in 2019 and I wondered then (and still do) if there would have developed a "go to" place for Scapers to disect each episode and share our emotions ? I hope 2024 brings us more adventures on Earth with other fans and in the Uncharted Territories with our crew!

My first time meeting Ben 2001 and also the cast/crew 200 first con in Burbank.