Farscape:S3 V3.1

Episode 301, "Season of Death" (Written by Richard Manning, Aired March 16, 2001) has the good news that Scorpius' neural chip has finally been removed from Chrichton outweighed by the fact he can not speak, a "clone" of the personality of Scorpius remains in his mind, and Aeryn is dead awaiting a Peacekeeper's funeral. Although Moya's crew makes a series of touching farewells to Officer Sun, Zhaan (Virginia Hey) has an idea. On the one hand bringing back the leading lady of the series from the dead was a bit too easy, but on the other it is clear in retrospect that we are being set up for a series of much more permanent demises by the end of the season (Four Wormholes).

Episode 302, "Suns and Lovers" (Written by Justin Monjo, Aired March 23, 2001), as the title indicates, is a pun on the infamous D.H. Lawrence novel and on target because the lovers end up being Chiana (Gigi Edgley) and Jothee, son of D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe). The main plot has to do with Moya's crew heading to a Commerce Station to spend their spoils, but a violent storm of unnatural origin hits the station. This episode strikes me as more clearing of the decks in terms of stamping out D'Argo's brief period of happiness, which does not strike me as being particularly necessary, although Chiana's motivations for the betrayal are a nice character touch (3 Wormholes).

Episode 303, "Self Inflicted Wounds, Part 1: Could'a, Would'a, Should'a" (Written by David Kemper, Aired March 30, 2001) sets up a new problem for the crew when an alien vessel collides with Moya and the two ships sort of merge with each other. However, the more important concern is for Zhaan: it seems that bringing back Aeryn from the dead by performing Unity is costing the priestess her own life. Her only hope is to buried in special soil, which means finding the right sort of planet. Meanwhile, Crichton's hopes are raised by the "appearance" of the Three Stooges (4 Wormholes).

Episode 304, "Self Inflicted Wounds, Part 2: Wait for the Wheel" (Written by David Kemper, Aired April 6, 2001), picks up with Zhaan dying, Moya dying, and Pilot in a coma. Breaking away from the wormhole has not solved all of their problems. This becomes a pivotal episode in the "Farscape" series, which no doubt caught many viewers by surprise since it was only the fourth episode of the season and we have a major shake up in the cast of the series. I have to admit, I did not think this was a permanent event until I was about halfway through the third season. A memorable episode in a season that will be providing even bigger changes (5 wormholes).

These early episodes from Season 3 are transitional stories that resolve or reset many of the elements from the previous season. But they also set the stage for the two dominant themes of this third season, both of which will be brought home with some of the show's most powerful episodes.

I'd have to agree that Season of Death is one of the show's strongest opening episodes. It manages to build on the established story arcs of both seasons 1 and 2. The writing became more consistent as the character's backstories finally stablized. That also gave the actor's considerably more confidence in their roles as well. The visuals are, as always stunning.

The arrival on the production staff of a number of Next Generation and DS9 vets (including Richard Manning and Naren Shanker) also brought considerable depth and experience to the production side. While staff writers like Andrew Prowse have done a terrific job with the series, the Next Gen folks provided a different perspective that allowed the conflicts and emotional attachments of the characters additional depth.

The DVD's have been improving since the season one batch. Season two still had a number of great extras and the main issue--the DVD menu--has been improved somewhat as well. My only complaint is the focus on a bit too many bottle shows during season three. I realize it's a way to save money and budget out for the bigger episodes but, well, Moya's confined space makes it a bit difficult to continue to come up with strong story ideas. Still, to their credit, the Farscape production crew, staff and actors manage to pull it off.

If you're checking out the series for the first time, I'd suggest going back to the highlight set for season one (or better yet pick up the entire boxed set) and then move forward. There's a number of loose plot ends that are tied up in both seasons 2 & 3.