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"Prepare for Starburst!" Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset DVD Review
Written by Jay Alvarez    Sunday, 15 November 2009 22:07    PDF Print E-mail

 

Farscape DVDFrom A&E Home Entertainment comes, Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset. A groundbreaking cult classic was born with the epic, adventure-filled TV series "Farscape". On November 17, the award-winning fan favorite show, which ran from 1999-2003 on Sci Fi and was named by TV Guide as one of television's best cult shows ever, will commemorate its 10th Anniversary with the very first complete packaging of the series. An imaginative fusion of live action, state-of-the-art puppetry, prosthetics and CGI, "Farscape," produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with RHI Entertainment, featured mind-boggling alien life forms, dazzling special effects, edge-of-your-seat thrills, irreverent humor and unforgettable characters all brought to rich life by the creative minds at Jim Henson's Creature Shop™. Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset delivers the venerated program to its legions of loyal fans and a new generation

When a freak accident during an experimental space mission catapulted Astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield, strap in and hold on tight for the extraordinary adventures as he finds himself surrounded by hostile aliens and soaring through the cosmos aboard Moya, a glorious living space ship. Hunted by the relentless Peacekeepers, he allies himself with Moya's crew - Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), Luxan warrior Ka D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), azure priestess Zhaan (Virginia Hey), spritely Nebari thief Chiana (Gigi Edgley), Dominar Rygel, the deposed royal ruler of the Hynerian Empire and Pilot - to search for a way out of this inconceivably alien world and return home.

The Verdict: Needless to say that this is a classic and a must have. Who knows if and when this will ever be released on DVD again especially all at once. Not to mention the massive amount of features, featurettes, documentaries, deleted scenes, photo galleries, behind the scene interviews, and original tv promos... yeah there's a lot packed in here. This is by far the most packed TV series set I've seen, guess thats why they called it a Mega Set, featuring all 88 episodes on 25 discs including over 15 hours of bonus programming. The series will be available Nov. 17 for of $149.95 SRP and as usual should be at local and online retailers for less.

In addition to the complete Megaset, on November 17, Farscape will also be available in single season sets. Each re-packaged DVD release in Farscape: The Complete Seasons 1-4 will feature over 18 hours of interstellar entertainment - 22 episodes on six jam-packed discs filled with hours of revealing bonus materials - for $44.95 SRP.

On to the Specs:

Cast:

Ben Browder as John Crichton
Claudia Black as Aeryn Sun
Anthony Simcoe as Ka D'Argo
Virginia Hey as Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan
Jonathan Hardy as the voice of Dominar Rygel XVI
Gigi Edgley as Chiana
Lani Tupu as the voice of Pilot
Lani Tupu as Bialar Crais
Wayne Pygram as Scorpius
Paul Goddard as Stark
Tammy MacIntosh as Jool
Melissa Jaffer as Noranti
David Franklin as Meeklo Braca
Rebecca Riggs as Grayza
Raelee Hill as Sikozu

DVD Special Features:

-29 Episode Commentaries, including "Premiere" with Rockne S. O'Bannon, Brian Henson and Ben Browder; "Jeremiah Crichton" with Claudia Black, Producer/Writer David Kemper, Browder and O'Bannon; "Bone to Be Wild" with Anthony Simcoe; "Relativity" with Lani Tupu (Crais/Voice of Pilot) and Director Peter Andrikidis; and, "Bad Timing" which features Browder, Black and Kemper discussing the series' final episode.
-Multiple featurettes and documentaries including "In the Beginning: A Look Back with Brian Henson"; "Making of a Space
-Opera" and "Inside Farscape: Save Farscape," on which fans, cast and crew discuss the fate of their beloved series.
-Multiple video profiles featuring archival clips and cast/crew discussing their characters and roles on Farscape.
-Over 90 minutes of deleted scenes.
-Slideshows and archival photo galleries, including character concepts and promo photos.
-Production design galleries featuring screenshots, rough drafts and concept slide shows.
-Behind-the-Scenes interviews with Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Virginia Hey, Gigi Edgley, Paul Goddard (Stark), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) and more.
-Original TV promos and trailers

Tech Specs:

Complete Series Tech Specs:

Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 25
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
DVD Release Date: November 17, 2009
Run Time: 4086 minutes

Complete Indvidual Seasons 1-4 Tech Specs:

Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 6
Rating: Unrated
Studio: A&E Home Video
DVD Release Date: November 17, 2009
Run Time: 1060 minutes