Best 6 Episodes to Indoctrinate Someone With

[kre]

So, my wife, after years of dealing with my Farscape obsession has relented. She's willing to watch 6 episodes. If she's hooked after that, then she's a fan, if not, no more of me telling her how great it is.

Your mission, fellow Farscapians, if you chose to except it, is to give me recommendations on just which 6 episodes will win this person over.

She's very intelligent, kinda likes SF, but only in certain forms. Likes Star Trek, but not Star Wars. Has a great sense of humor, likes mysteries and LOVES cartoons, especially old Warner Bros.

So, I'm leaning towards humorous episodes that are pretty much stand alone ones. I think that it would be best to keep away from eps that lean too much on backstory.

Remember, this doesn't need to be a "Greatest Hits" of Farscape. It doesn't need to be all-encompassing. It only needs to get someone hooked.

With all this in mind, here's the first pass at my six:

Premiere
I, E.T
A Human Reaction
Crackers Don't Matter
Won't Get Fooled Again
Revenging Angel


Looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say.

[kre]

Also, after talking to my wife, I cannot count multi-episode stories as one episdoe. drat. I'd have to take each one as a seperate entity. I might pick Hidden Memory or Family ties from season 1 or Die Me, Dichotomy from season 2 as a stand alone ep, but should I take Kansas? Or Terra Firma?

tough questions for a tough world

[Nicola]

I agree with "Premiere" (I mean - yeah... gotta set up the characters!).

Not I. E.T. (Not a strong episode IMO). Might want to subsitute "PK Tech Girl" or "DNA Mad Scientist".

"A Human Reaction" is good - but a better choice would just give her the back story of AHR and then show "Nerve", "A Hidden Memory" and "Family Ties" in a quicky marathon.

"Crackers" is very dark and the audience really has to understand the characters very well before they will get the humour or the significance of what happens (John's almost rape of Chiana? :eek: )

If you are looking for straight up comedy without lots of backstory you would be better off with "Out of their Minds".

I love "Won't Get Fooled Again" - but once again a very dark episode and very disturbing. Not really funny (Oedipus anyone? And John's dying Mom in the bar? :eek: So not funny.)

"Revenging Angel" is good - but for newbies who aren't really familiar with the pace and insanity of Farscape - RA can be enormously confusing.

I think if you stick to the best Season One episodes to addict your wife, you are better off. (Plus "Out of Their Minds" for the hilarity.)

JMHO of course. ;)

[kre]

you don't think WGFA isn't funny? with all the characters as different people and the strange sense of deje vu that John has? i laughed my ass off.

and i agree about RA, but since it's got the cartoon stuff, i think it could work.

i agree about PKGirl instead of I, E.T. DNA, though one of my fav's is a little...medically disturbing.

OOTM is good. that is funny.

so, you're thinking about the end of season 1, huh? that's interesting. they are good!

thanks for the input.

[Snoogans]

My 2 cents:

Premiere - It's a given
Cracker's Don't Matter - My favorite episode
Revenging Angel - 2nd favorite episode
Out of Their Minds - Disturbingly funny... D/Chiana and John/Rygel
The Locket - The scene where they are walking together and laughing... heart warming
Scratch n Sniff - Classic!

It all comes down to personal preferences. Show her your 6 favorite episodes and hopefully she will get hooked too :)

[buckwheat the 16th]

I'd go with "throne for a loss" instead of I, ET because it has better creature shop stuff and has more funny moments than I, ET. "Won't get fooled again" is a must, since it will leave her with wanting to know what the frell is going on and wondering what will happen in the future however you will need to show one that introduces scorpy first.

I personally like "I shrink..." but would need too much back story for the whole working with scorpy thing and "John Quiote" but has too much charactor backstory but is a good ep for originality.

[AerynSunsGun]

Premier
DNA Mad Scientist (or PK Tech Girl)
A Human Reaction
Nerve
The Hidden Memory
Family Ties

[TheEeshew]

"Premiere" - like others have said
"DNA Mad Scientist" - shows these characters aren't always so nice
"They've Got a Secret" - shows Moya's sentience
"A Human Reaction"
"Through the Looking Glass"
"Family Ties" - it's good to end the marathon with a cliff-hanger; that way, there's a good chance of your getting snatched into these Uncharted Territories

[Zhylka]

Some friends of mine were actually talking about this very subject. I hope this helps ya!

It's a given to start with the first, so roll with that. I'd then pop in "The Flax" This is where it starts to get weird, the romance between John and Aeryn start to build and it still shows John adapting himself to this strange universe. Id then move to "A Human Reaction", since this is when John "gets" the wormhole tech. Although "The Nerve", "Hidden Memory", "Bone to be Wild" and "Family Ties" are awesome season closer's I think you won't benefit from it since, imho, you'll need to see all 4 back to back, and that's time not spent well.

I'd then jump to season 2 for "The Locket". Still playing on the romance chords and you can always set up the reason for the new characters in a brief synopsis .

Jump to season 3 with "Wait for the Wheel". Although this is a 2 parter, one of the benefits of watching Farscape is that it always has a "Previously On..." right before they start. That'll catch her up to part 2, and it's still considered part of the episode....bonus.

For Season 4 I'd go with "Bad Timing". Again, we have the "Previously On" right before. It'll close out your 6 episode marathon, leaving her to watch the PKWars if she so chooses. That's when you convince her to go back to the beginning and watch the whole thing.

Of course there's always watching the 1st 6 episodes back to back. Or start at "Durka Returns". That'll get you through to "Hidden Memory" which is where I got hooked on the show. Now, look at me....I'm Cookoo for Crichton!

[Natira]

Premiere
I, E.T
A Human Reaction
Crackers Don't Matter
Won't Get Fooled Again
Revenging Angel
Hmmm, I would'nt take two Episodes with the same Background, instead of "A Human Reaction", I would take "Through the Looking Glass" its a great episode to hook up someone new.

Revenging Angel is a good choice for someone who likes cartoons :)

Maybe you should choose one of the Double or Triple Episodes, "Liars, Guns and Money" for example. I think its better to show something really bound together.
Especially the end is so heart-rending, and this arc has such a thrilling and perfect story.

[Nutty_Angel]

She's very intelligent, kinda likes SF, but only in certain forms. Likes Star Trek, but not Star Wars. Has a great sense of humor, likes mysteries and LOVES cartoons, especially old Warner Bros.


hmm sounds like me, :D I haven't seen any of the StarWars films :scare: but have seen most if not all of the Startreks.

Ok so to add my 2 pennies worth, I got hooked on the 'into the lion's den' eps. I wanted to go back and see why the characters felt they had no other choice. it only took one ep for me but if i had to think of a few (and they're mostly season 1) I'd agree with the others and say 'Pemire' (I know I can't spell), 'DNA mad scientist', 'They've got a secret', 'out of their minds', 'the way we weren't' and 'the ugly truth'
:box:

[TalynLives]

"Look at the princess" trilogy is a good one.
So is "Infinite possibilities"

[Moya's Starburst]

Premiere then
I ET
Crackers don't matter
The Flax
A Human reaction
Won't get fooled again(N.b The Who track any one..?)

[kre]

thanks for all your suggestions, they're all great! it's been very helpful and fun to see what others are thinking.

my big decision is whether to slip in a multi-episode story. hmmmmm.

of course, i wouldn't have to do this if she would just watch them all!

[rylett]

"premier"
"dna mad scientist"
"a human reaction"
"nerve"
"the hidden memory"
"family ties"

these episodes will reel in anyone.

[Emeraldcity]

You should throw in "The Way We Weren't"

[blue]

I have strong opinions about this. I think THE FLAX is for sure one of the best, also THE WAY WE WEREN'T. Maybe the premiere, although it's mostly set-up, and hasn't always interested new people with resistance to wanting to watch the show, in my experience, at least not as a first episode to watch. I would start by saying, you want to start with a funny one or a serious one? and then start with either the Flax or The Way We Weren't, then show the second of those, depending on what she chose first. Then maybe Premiere, saying, want to see how it starts? Then maybe one of the early fun ones, like Til the Blood Runs Clear, or maybe Through the Looking Glass. So that's four already. Then I would end the six with the two that show the climax of season 1 and the intro to Scorpius--Hidden Memory and Family Ties, with a little explanation just before Hidden Memory to tell her that he has previously had an encounter and conversation with a powerful alien who knew a lot about wormholes, and that in the previous episode, Aeryn has been wounded and will die unless John can go into Peacekeeper territory and get the cure she needs.

I would NOT include many of the fan favorites, like Crackers, or Out of their Minds, because you have to already know the characters well to appreciate what's going on--they are not a good introduction--too much would just not be noticed without a good familiarity. I also would not include the more surreal ones, since they also come off more confusing than delighting if you aren't already familiar with the characters.

[blue]

So in short --my suggestions -- let HER choose the first:

either The Flax
or The Way We Weren't

then the other of those two

then Premiere

Then Blood Runs Clear ----- or Looking Glass (maybe let her choose again--say want to see an early one where John and Dargo start to bond, or a later one in the first season where the whole crew starts to bond?)

then the double whammy -- Hidden Memory - Family Ties

[blue]

So Kre, how about a report back? How did it go? What did (or will) you show her?

[kre]

first, i'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions! they've been very helpful and entertaining. it's been fun to compare the various episodes and reasoning behind them.

i have not shown them to her yet, and it probably won't be for a couple of weeks as i'm going out town next week for 5 days and then when i get back i have to get the disks from a friend (no, i don't have them all!) and blahblahblah...

the hard part is balancing the logic behind the choices with what her tastes are. i'm kinda comparing this to the making of a music mix tape. it's good to gauge what they like, but you also need to put some of what you like on and then throw in others that might interest the other person.

so, the one thing i know is that i HAVE to have Revenging Angel. so, in some ways i'm working up to that.

loved the idea of letting her decide on some, but decided against it...

interesting how people really wanted to show the ending of season 1.

right now, here is my list:

Premiere (she likes to see the start of things)
Flax (funny w/character development)
Through The Looking Glass (funny and it shows the group dynamics)
Nerve
Hidden Memory
Family Ties
(what can I say about the ending? it works and it needs to be shown which leads to my next decision...)
Revenging Angel

i know that i'm cheating! it's 7! my thought is that i'll put the end of season 1 in then, with her knowing that there's still the one with the cartoon, she'll have to stick around for another episode. it's kinda my own little cliff-hanger. it's like a little payoff to Family Ties. things turn out ok, but not for long!

i'll let everyone know how it turned out!

[Mike@Pilots Chamber]

Hmm... I'm tempted to be ultra-evil here...

I would say, and in THIS order -

1 - Premiere - just because

2 - PK Tech Girl - a bit of romance, although at lengths, Sheyangs (so we can introduce one lot of characters later) and just enough time for her to think Durka's dead (it'd be great if you could get in Durka Returns - just make sure she doesn't see the title on the DVD if you're using DVDs)

3 - Nerve/The Hidden Memory - it'd be great if you could get both of these in, but perhaps just giving a taster of Nerve would be an idea. Scorpy comes along, as well as Stark, and gives us a quick taste of things to come.

4 - Liars, Guns & Money part 1 - just setting things up for the next one, ooh and we've got Harvey along for the ride now, although we don't know so much about him...

5 - Liars, Guns & Money part 2 - some cool new characters, and if she's into it by now she'll just HAVE to see the firefight in part 3...

6 - Scratch 'n' Sniff - we'll fast-forward a bit, making her wonder where various characters have gone, who various characters are etc

If she enjoys these episodes, she'll probably be wondering what the hell's going on. Good thing you've got the rest of them, isn't it?

[jason1976]

OOO there's so many. If I can only pick 6, here are a few of my very favorite episodes.

Premiere
A Human reaction
The locket
Liars, guns and money. Part 1
Liars, guns and money. Part 2
Liars, guns and money. Part 3

Then again, those give quite a bit away, to a newcomer. Heck, just show them the first 6 episodes, and if their not hooked buy then, well then their hopeless. lol

Actually most of my favorites were in the first 2 seasons, but there were great episodes throughout the hole show

BTW, I'm so glad I found everyone. I was still over at the old forum, and didn't know way anyone hadn't posted in a really long time. :lol So, today, I finally found the new place. :)

Jason

[I-am-so-Johns-girl]

Welcome jason1976! :hi: Glad you found us. :D