electricland

Dear me, dear me.

John Doyle had this to say about Farscape today:

Farscape (tonight, Space, 9 p.m.) is a big deal, I am informed. A sci-fi show with a small but fanatical following (there are 19 Web sites devoted to it), it starts its fourth and final season tonight. The announcement that this was the final season brought mail from people who wanted my support to keep it going. Alas, I wasn't what you'd call intimate with it.

It's the darndest thing, actually. This astronaut fella Crichton (Ben Browder) accidentally moseyed through a wormhole, as so often happens. He found himself at the far end of the galaxy, in the middle of a war between factions of funny-looking people. He has many adventures.

Now, you probably know that all of these lost-in-space shows have a babe. (The Canadian show Lexx relied entirely on the boobs of a female character to generate interest and keep geeks watching.) Well, Farscape has three babes -- a blonde, a brunette and a redhead. Thus it has all the bases covered for keeping geeks enthralled. The blonde, a character named Chiana (the charmingly named Gigi Edgley), is the star. Oh, there are guys with three eyes, but Chiana is still the star. Farscape is idiotic, but if you've got a taste for sci-fi silliness, you should know about it.

(Full column posted here.)

As a result, he got this in his inbox:

Dear Mr. Doyle:

First, let me thank you for mentioning Farscape in your column. As you may know, Season 4 begins showing tonight on Space (U.S. viewers are further ahead) and there is a large campaign to save the show, so the attention this brings to the show is very welcome.

However, I was sorry to see that you seem to have formed such a poor opinion of Farscape based on what must have been a very small number (one? half? a trailer?) of episodes. Your dismissive take on it gives a very misleading impression of a show that has earned critical acclaim and devoted viewers as much for its writing and its performances as for its production values and attractive stars.

You mentioned that "Farscape has three babes -- a blonde, a brunette and a redhead. Thus it has all the bases covered for keeping geeks enthralled." Without going into any depth about who is, in fact, the star of the show (hint: it's not Chiana), I will just mention that this description makes Farscape sounds awfully like The West Wing. I'm sorry to confound your evident fondness for stereotyping, but I'm a 29-year-old woman; I'm a project manager for a multimedia company that makes medical training programs; and I don't watch the show because I'm a hormonally challenged geek with no life -- I watch it because it's smart, because it's funny, because it's exciting, because it's well-written, because it's sexy and because it's better than just about anything else out there.

I am very sorry to see a columnist whose opinion I respect falling into the trap of assuming that if a show features aliens, it must therefore have no brains. I urge you to learn more, either at the Save Farscape Canada site (http://www.savefarscapecanada.com) or at the campaign's online press kit (http://www.scaperoute.com/savefarscape/onlinekit/onlinemain.html). Then watch a couple more episodes (I'll be happy to suggest some). Then write another column. I'm pretty sure that after doing some research, you'll have changed your mind about Farscape. If not, it really is your loss.

Sincerely,

(me)

And if anyone else wants to join in the merriment, his email address is jdoyle@globeandmail.ca. Oh yeah. Is he ever gonna be sorry.

Contrast this with Basem Boshra of the Montreal Gazette, who wrote the following:

What else is on? Regular readers will know that science fiction isn't really my bag, but fans of the genre swear by Farscape (Space, 9 to 10 p.m.), a series that follows the escapades of a lost American astronaut (Ben Browder) as he lives on a spaceship with aliens in a galaxy far, far away and does battle with the Human-appearing Peacekeepers while he tries to figure out a way home. (The series features expensive-looking F/X and creatures designed by the Oscar-winning The Jim Henson Company, which needs no introduction.)

Problem is, Farscape -- which originates out of the Sci-Fi channel in the U.S. -- is slated for cancellation following this, its fourth season, which kicks off on Space tonight. Sci-fi fans are a hearty bunch though, and Farscape fans -- they call themselves "Scapers" -- around the world have launched far-reaching campaigns to save their favourite show. Check out www.farscape.com to track their progress.

Now there's a nice reasonable friendly column. To toss a few roses his way, email bboshra@thegazette.southam.ca.