As a hardcore Farscape enthusiast with a knack for time-travel (okay, not really, but I wish!), I’ve had the privilege of witnessing Ben Browder’s transformation from the charming astronaut John Crichton to a talented scribe penning some of the show’s most captivating episodes.
Starring in a successful science fiction series is one thing, but writing it is an entirely different challenge. Actor Ben Browder, who played astronaut John Crichton on Farscape (available to stream here on Peacock!), experienced this dual role firsthand. While he held his position admirably in front of the camera, he also stepped into the writers’ room, a task that presented a unique set of sci-fi challenges.
Browder penned not just one, but two episodes of the popular science fiction series “Farscape”: Season 3, Episode 8, titled “Green Eyed Monster,” and Season 4, Episode 7, named “John Quixote.” In between these two episodes, he had a conversation with host Tony Tellado on Sci-Fi Talk, where he admitted that the unique and intricate storyline of the show (which included making the spaceships their own distinctive characters), presented some engaging challenges that increased his admiration for the series even more.
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For a long time, devoted fans of the show “Farscape” have recognized that the spaceships Moya and Talyn were unique in their origins. They weren’t merely human-engineered projects, but rather complex, sentient beings inhabiting space. These extraterrestrial vessels had lives of their own, even reproducing (with Moya giving birth to Talyn!). Each craft was intriguingly equipped with its own internal awareness and emotions, adding depth to the series.
Informing the process of expressing a spaceship’s emotions and intentions was by far the most challenging aspect for Browder when penning the “Green Eyed Monster” episode in Season 3, according to his discussion with Sc-Fi Talk.
The character I found the hardest to develop was Talyn, who communicates only through actions, as he doesn’t have a physical form and played a crucial role in the episode. Writing for him was challenging; in fact, writing for Talyn or Moya is the most difficult aspect of my writing process.
Human and alien characters modeled as humans, such as the recurring character Aeryn Sun from Farscape, portrayed by Claudia Black, were particularly effortless to understand and connect with – making them a breeze in the series.
In simpler terms, Browder stated, “I compose materials intended for Claudia, and I have a general idea of how she might utilize them. When I wrote for her, I anticipated that whatever I produced would be improved upon by her, as she consistently does. And indeed, this was the case. You could give Claudia the phone book to work with, and she’d turn it into something engaging and captivating.
Regardless of who was writing it, the space opera series, Farscape, was an essential watch as it unfolded across four seasons and a concluding finale, known as Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, spanning through all four seasons.
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2024-10-14 23:01