Sometimes you find a heist, sometimes a heist finds you. The heroes of Farscape stumble onto a stockpile of hot merchandise on a lava planet of all places, giving us one of the more magnificent episode titles.
Season Four, Episode Four: Lava's a Many Splendoured Thing
Stuck on D'Argo's (Anthony Simcoe) little ship, Lo'la, everyone's hungry and impatient. Everyone but Sikozu (Raelee Hill) is persuaded to eat something Noranti (Melissa Jaffer) vomits up necessitating a quick trip to a nearby lava planet so everyone can puke.
According to the Wiki, this episode was a particular challenge for the set designers. They don't really pull off realistic lava but I kind of like the groovy Star Trek: TOS quality of the lumpy pink goo.
More impressive is the prosthetics for the villain, Raa'Keel (John Adam), head of a gang of thieves. It looks like his brain is trying to get out.
The gang wear personal shield systems that power down when not being shot at. This ends up creating an opportunity for Crichton (Ben Browder) to show ingenuity by shooting at himself to activate the shields so he can swim in lava.
Sikozu and Chiana (Gigi Edgley) get stuck outside and have to learn to operate the craft keyed to D'Argo's genetic code. Chiana's idea to use D'Argo's conveniently located vomit adds some extra flavour to the amusing bickering between the two.
Meanwhile, it's back to routine humiliation for Rygel (Jonathan Hardy) who spends the episode encased in amber, trying desperately not to soil himself. What splendour indeed.
. . .
Farscape is available now on Amazon Prime.
This entry is part of a series I'm writing on Farscape for the show's 20th anniversary. My previous reviews can be found here (episodes are in the order intended by the show's creators rather than the broadcast order):
Season One:
Episode 1: Pilot
Episode 2: I, E.T.
Episode 3: Exodus from Genesis
Episode 4: Throne for a Loss
Episode 5: Back and Back and Back to the Future
Episode 6: Thank God It's Friday Again
Episode 7: PK Tech Girl
Episode 8: That Old Black Magic
Episode 9: DNA Mad Scientist
Episode 10: They've Got a Secret
Episode 11: Till the Blood Runs Clear
Episode 12: Rhapsody in Blue
Episode 13: The Flax
Episode 14: Jeremiah Crichton
Episode 15: Durka Returns
Episode 16: A Human Reaction
Episode 17: Through the Looking Glass
Episode 18: A Bug's Life
Episode 19: Nerve
Episode 20: The Hidden Memory
Episode 21: Bone to be Wild
Episode 22: Family Ties
Season Two:
Episode 1: Mind the Baby
Episode 2: Vitas Mortis
Episode 3: Taking the Stone
Episode 4: Crackers Don't Matter
Episode 5: Picture If You Will
Episode 6: The Way We Weren't
Episode 7: Home on the Remains
Episode 8: Dream a Little Dream
Episode 9: Out of Their Minds
Episode 10: My Three Crichtons
Episode 11: Look at the Princess, Part I: A Kiss is But a Kiss
Episode 12: Look at the Princess, Part II: I Do, I Think
Episode 13: Look at the Princess, Part III: The Maltese Crichton
Episode 14: Beware of Dog
Episode 15: Won't Get Fooled Again
Episode 16: The Locket
Episode 17: The Ugly Truth
Episode 18: A Clockwork Nebari
Episode 19: Liars, Guns, and Money, Part I: A Not So Simple Plan
Episode 20: Liars, Guns, and Money, Part II: With Friends Like These . . .
Episode 21: Liars, Guns, and Money, Part III: Plan B
Episode 22: Die Me, Dichotomy
Season Three:
Episode 1: Season of Death
Episode 2: Suns and Lovers
Episode 3: Self-Inflicted Wounds, Part I: Would'a, Could'a, Should'a
Episode 4: Self-Inflicted Wounds, Part II: Wait for the Wheel
Episode 5: . . . Different Destinations
Episode 6: Eat Me
Episode 7: Thanks for Sharing
Episode 8: Green Eyed Monster
Episode 9: Losing Time
Episode 10: Relativity
Episode 11: Incubator
Episode 12: Meltdown
Episode 13: Scratch 'n Sniff
Episode 14: Infinite Possibilities, Part I: Daedalus Demands
Episode 15: Infinite Possibilities, Part II: Icarus Abides
Episode 16: Revenging Angel
Episode 17: The Choice
Episode 18: Fractures
Episode 19: I-Yensch, You-Yensch
Episode 20: Into the Lion's Den, Part I: Lambs to the Slaughter
Episode 21: Into the Lion's Den, Part II: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Episode 22: A Dog with Two Bones
Season Four
Episode 1: Crichton Kicks
Episode 2: What was Lost, Part I: Sacrifice
Episode 3: What was Lost, Part II: Resurrection
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