Months ago, a friend asked me over lunch if I was excited about the return of Farscape. With some embarrassment, I had to admit I had no clue or care, but boy, did those Farscape fans have dedication. As excited as I was once to get the Sci Fi Channel, I find myself rarely watching it, and I'd never ever been home when Farscape was on. Even though the complete series has been available on DVD, it just never caught my attention.

So my friend (a forgiving Farscape fan) rolled his eyes and we changed the topic. Then A.D. Vision released Farscape: The Starburst Edition on DVD. Actually, so far it's just Season One, Collection One, not the whole series, but it is very obviously exactly what fans would want, short of being personal friends with show lead Ben Browder. This is how a series should be collected and released on DVD, done right in obeisance to a fanbase that has kept it alive (literally).

Telling the story of an Earthman stuck in another part of the galaxy, the series follows a few conventions. Conveniently in his arrival, John Crichton (Browder) accidentally killed the brother of an evil military commander. He and the crew of the living ship that rescued him try to outrace the Peacekeepers while dealing with the problems of all being aliens to each other.

Outsiders might best know the show as looking like it has muppets in it. In fact, Brian Henson and the Creature Shop play an integral role in the design and characters, following in the footsteps Jim Henson started with films like The Dark Crystal. Puppetry mixes fairly seamlessly with actors in heavy make-up to create a somewhat convincing alien landscape. What captured fans' attention, though, was complex plotting (newbies coming in late to the series might call it confusing) and heavy attention to detail.

From the beginning, the series seems willing to delve deeply into its own characters' assumptions. The second episode, "I, E.T." forces Crichton to see himself through alien eyes when his living ship crashes on a backwater world. This challenge of Crichton's assumptions comes right after his own forced acceptance that there is life elsewhere in the universe. (Crichton was swept up in a wormhole during a test of a small craft trying to escape Earth's gravitational pull. Farscape takes place in the very near future, just in a galaxy far, far away.)

The show also has a lot of humor, with Crichton dropping a lot of pop culture references that of course his alien hosts do not understand. Henson and series creator Rockne S. O'Bannon also made their aliens very alien, playing with our concepts of age and sexuality from the very beginning. Some of the conflicts get laughs; some are just disturbing.

Loaded to (star)bursting with extras, the two-disc set features only seven episodes. However, they are lovingly transferred to DVD. All the episodes also have commentary tracks, something you don't usually see so extensively on a television collection. Key players from the series, both in front and behind the scenes, lend their thoughts. In the extras, too, are several text features that fill in background on the production and can guide you through the characters.

If, like me, you felt that Farscape had grown too close-knit a following for you to even try to watch it (the most recent mini-series was financed by fans), this "Starburst" edition provides an excellent way. Maybe you're already a fan; then you have this. But if it just looked interesting, take a shot. You may find yourself thinking it's frelling dagyo.

Farscape - Season 1, Collection 1 (Starburst Edition)

Derek McCaw