FARSCAPE Complete Season 4  (1000 mins) $119.99
1999 ADV Films
Region 1
Video: Full Frame (1.33.1)
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1; 2.0
Subtitles: English CC
Chapter Stops: 
Packaging: Keep Case
ADV Trailers
Documentaries
Audio Commentary
Photo Gallery

 

Created by Rockne S. O’Bannon
Produced by Robert Halmi, Jr., Sue Milikin, Brian Henson, Rockne O’Bannon, Rod Perth, Kris Noble, David Kemper
Starring Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Virginia Hey, Anthony Simcoe, and Lani John Tupu

For those not who have not yet discovered FARSCAPE, it is one of the hottest science fiction franchises to come down the pike in quite some time. This American/Australian co-production is the brainchild of writer/producer Rockne S. O’Bannon, whose creative juices fueled such high profile TV series as SEAQUEST DSV, ALIEN NATION, and AMAZING STORIES. Joining him in bringing FARSCAPE to the small screen each week is producer Brian Henson, whose Jim Henson’s Creature Shop provides all the unbelievable aliens and monsters for the series. The cast is fairly good too, considering that many of them are buried under layers of makeup. FARSCAPE debuted in North America on the Sci-Fi channel in 1999, and has quickly garnered a cult following of STAR TREK and BABYLON 5 proportions. One of the keys to the series success is that it is so different in style than anything we have seen on cable TV. The creature works, digital effects, and production design, are superior to anything on American TV, and they all blend together seamlessly to take the viewer into the escapist universe of FARSCAPE. Though the entire two seasons of the show have been available on DVD in Region 2 for some time, animation merchants ADV Films secured the DVD rights in 2000. They released the first two episodes of FARSCAPE on DVD in first quarter 2001, incorporating bonus footage not seen on the Sci-Fi channel.

The DVD box set contains the following episodes:

  • Season of Death Part 2
  • Suns and Lovers
  • Self Inflicted Wounds Part 1
  • Self Inflicted Wounds Part 2
  • Different Destinations
  • Eat Me
  • Thanks for Sharing
  • Green Eyed Monster
  • Losing time 
  • Relativity
  • Incubator Meltdown
  • Scratch N Sniff
  • Infinite Possibilities Part 1 
  • Infinite Possibilities Part 2
  • Revenging Angel
  • The Choice
  • Fractures
  • I-Yensch You-Yensch
  • Into the Lions Den Part 1
  • Into the Lions Den Part 2
  • Dog With Two Bones

FARSCAPE, being a TV series, is filmed full frame (1.33.1). In their DVD presentation, ADV recreates the stylish visuals of FARSCAPE with clarity, color and detail you just cannot get from Cable TV. By having only two episodes on this disc, it allows for the highest bitrate available, and the picture looks very slick and film-like. It’s almost too good, and reveals some limitations that are mostly noticeable on the interior sets of Captain Crais’ ship. On the other hand, the biomechanical interiors of the Moya ship are unique, colorful, and believable in their depiction. The digital special effects sequences help drive the show, but don’t forget about Henson’s critters. Many of them are puppet-like, but they still are full of charm. Many of them (such as the character Pilot) are part mechanical in design, with lots of great detail that shines through in the transfer. The black levels are truly deep, and the star fields make for a perfect canvas for the colorful starship creations (like Moya) to do their thing in the foreground. Flesh tones are very full, and shadow detail is excellent. These first couple episodes of FARSCAPE (especially the pilot) look very cinematic for a TV series. There is no shimmering, bleeding, or compression artifacts in ADV’s transfer.

ADV includes the original Dolby Surround track, as well as a newly remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. If its one thing ADV does well it’s produce a superior audio track for DVD. This DD 5.1 track is no exception. Though the soundfield does not quite put out the power of an ARMAGEDDON or CON-AIR, it is a very dynamic presentation for a TV show. The sound field envelops you with the zooming fighters buzzing around you, or the massive command ships flying overhead. The bass response for these scenes is excellent. The halls of the alien ships resonate with quirky aural acoustics while the theme music beckons. When the characters are on a swamp-like planet, the sound field is filled with the chirping of alien crickets. The dialog is natural and clear, and there is no distortion anywhere.

It would be impossible to document all the supplements on FARSCAPE COMPLETE SEASON 3 without maxing out all the space on our Web server. Suffice to say that each disc in this collection has the same extras as on the respective single disc editions. From the extras menu, you can view the:

  • Image Gallery
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Cast Interviews
  • Audio Commentaries
  • Character Histories
  • TV Promos
  • Set, Prop, and Costume Galleries
  • FARSCAPE Facts (courtesy of FARSCAPE author Paul Simpson) 

ADV’s DVD authoring is very good. The disc features some nice menu navigation with graphics and music from the show. ADV’s DVD presentation of FARSCAPE COMPLETE SEASON 3 re-unites the cast and crew of one of televison's greatest science fiction franchises. Things in the FARSCAPE franchise really heat up in Season 3 and this package compiles all the important happenings in the FARSCAPE universe. The quality of the unique visuals are well presented, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundfield is better than many theatrical features I’ve heard. Nice job by ADV Films!

 

                                                 Rating (out of 5):

Movie: 4.0
Video: 4.0
Audio: 4.0
Extras: 3.0
Overall:

3.5

- 

BACK TO REVIEW INDEX