"Farscape" I, E.T. (1999)

Director:

Pino Amenta

Writer:

Sally Lapiduss (writer)

TV Series:

"Farscape" (1999)

Original Air Date:

7 May 1999 (Season 1, Episode 7)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The removal of Moya's control collar activates a homing signal. Pilot manages to mask it by landing Moya in a swamp...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Space | Fugitive | Technology | Villain

Cast

Ben Browder	...	John Crichton
Claudia Black	...	Officer Aeryn Sun
Virginia Hey	...	Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan
Anthony Simcoe	...	Ka D'Argo
Mary Mara	...	Lyneea
Cayde Tasker	...	Fostro
Boris Brkic	...	Ryymax
Mark Shaw	...	Alien Soldier #1
Dominic Bianco	...	Alien Hunter #1
Heath Wilder	...	Alien Hunter #2
Jonathan Hardy	...	Dominar Rygel XVI (voice)
Lani John Tupu	...	Capt. Bialar Crais (as Lani Tupu)
Cameron Smith	...	(voice)

Goofs:

Plot holes: While Crichton should be able to understand the unnamed inhabitants of the planet well enough because of the translator microbes, they do not have them and so should not understand Crichton.

Quotes:

John Crichton: You okay?
Dominar Rygel XVI: Okay? No I'm not okay. We're in mud.
Aeryn Sun: You're Hynerian. You're aquatic, what's your problem?
Dominar Rygel XVI: Aquatic? That's water, not mud. Mud is... mud. You can't breathe in it, you can't move in it. It holds you, it grabs you, it sucks you down. You want to know about mud? I know about mud.
John Crichton: Guy knows mud.

Pleasantly Underdone

"I, E.T." opens with the blaring sound of a distress signal, which had been activated by the absence of Moya's control collar. Pilot lands Moya on a swampy planet, the home of the Deneans, in the hopes that the water can prevent the sound from alerting a nearby Peacekeeper ship of their presence. Unfortunately for Moya, the beacon is in small, sensitive location. Removing the beacon will be very painful, leading to Aeryn, D'Argo, and Crichton searching the planet for an element called clorium, which could numb Moya from the pain.

Many mistakes were made in the filming of "I, E.T.", but nevertheless the episode succeeds with its beautiful visual effects and simple, enjoyable premise. "I, E.T." is far from a fan-favorite, but it deserves credit for competently relating its basic plot line. The background interaction is much more interesting, especially in the scenes involving Zhaan and Rygel.

The main plot line concerns Crichton's capture by a Denean mother and her son. The Denean's are yet to encounter extraterrestrials, and a menacing military chief nearby seems especially xenophobic. Crichton, after being convincingly zapped by a somewhat unconvincing zapper-thing, convinces the family to hide him from the military.

The makeup used for the Deneans is underwhelming to say the least. Only three Deneans are ever shown in full makeup; other's are conveniently wearing masks or are obscured in shadows. The Deneans that we do see look just like people with the exception of a strangely-shaped ear. Wild, original, and impressive alien makeup has consistently been a trademark of Farscape, but he aliens in "I, E.T." are unusually unimpressive.

As mentioned above, Rygel and Zhaan have the best scenes in the episode. Zhaan, apparently, has the ability to absorb another's pain, which she uses on Moya while Rygel tries to remove the beacon. Rygel is very convincing in his scenes, and the other cast members successfully treat him like a person rather than a prop. Even earlier episodes like "I, E.T." manage to bring puppet/animatronic/digital characters like Pilot and Rygel to life, one of Farscape's greatest strengths.

D'Argo is less fortunate. He fulfills his typical function in early Season 1 of Farscape: he gets beaten/captured/proved wrong/rescued. Aeryn is in the background of the episode, but she and Crichton get some good dialogue. Ben Browder is as good as ever as Crichton. Crichton is a little less confused than he usually is in early Season 1, perhaps due to the simplicity of this episode's plot. He has some great references to pop culture, especially his "Dagobah" comment.

The visuals, water effects, and sets are impressive in "I, E.T.", but it is the storyline, makeup, action, and pacing where this episode disappoints. By no means is it a total failure, or even a bad episode at all; it's just that little in it excels or is particularly interesting. The episode is peaceful and refreshing, but, unlike the "Premiere" it is totally unambitious. "I, E.T." seems content with mediocrity. I don't mean to sound harsh, because "I, E.T.", is a good episode, better than much of what's on television, with some interesting character interaction and dialogue. Despite its drawbacks, "I, E.T." is a worthy entry in the Farscape series. 2.5/4