Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 2, August 2001 | Page 106
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Popular Culture Review
spunky Colonel Wilma Deering (Erin Gray) to the endearing midget drone Twiki
(Felix Silla).
Not until 1998 would Buck Rogers resurface again in the form of a new
television series produced for the Sci-Fi Cable Channel by Rockne S. O ’Bannon.
Promising to be the one of the most unique programs of the sci-fi genre, Farscape
would lift a variety of elements from its predecessor, including its initial story line.
Another astronaut by the name of John Crichton (Ben Browder) encounters a wormhole anomaly that catapults his Farscape One craft into a future timeline popu
lated by strange aliens, including the Luxan warrior Ka D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe),
a Delvian priestess Pa’u Zhaan (Virginia Hey), and Hynerian royalty Rygel the
XVI (John Eccleston). Like Buck, John finds himself in an interstellar war in which
he sides with the underdogs (namely, the aforementioned creatures who have con
fiscated the biological ship Moya) against the Nazi-like forces of the Peacekeepers
headed by Captain Bialar Crais (Lani John Tupu) who want to dominate the gal
axy. As sci-fi series analyst Resa Nelson reports, the only way John holds onto his
psyche in this insane universe is “by making constant references to Earth (mostly
American) culture. Apparently, none of the other characters understand what he’s
talking about—but Crichton does.. .[This becomes] the perfect protection mecha
nism in a world gone topsy-turvy” (67). Interestingly, Gerard’s Buck Rogers was
also known for his colorful, twentieth-century slang throughout the show’s first
season. His interactions with Twiki became just as memorable as those between
Browder’s John Crichton and midget alien Rygel (dubbed “Sparky” by the Farscape
astronaut).
Besides the overall thematic similarities, both Buck Rogers and Farscape
share other salient features that will be the focus of this manuscript. In the pilot
episodes of each series, astronauts Buck Rogers and John Crichton are suspected
of being spies for, respectively, the Draconian Empire and the Peacekeeper Sebacean
Regime. They have to convince the “good guys/aliens” of their innocence, in par
ticular the headstrong female Colonels Wilma Deering (Gray) and Aeryn Sun
(Claudia Black). Because the Draconians and Sebaceans closely approximate the
humanoid form, it is no easy task for our Heroes, so lengthy interrogations pro
ceed. Ultimately, actions on the part of the astronauts speak louder than words.
Starlog magazine writer David Hirsch explains in detail within the series’ Episode
Guide what Buck has to do: namely, penetrate the Draconian flagship without
being detected, drug Princess Ardala in her bedchambers, manage to access the
hidden flight decks, and prevent the Draconian forces from attacking the Earth by
blowing up their ships before they traverse the same route he took in his Ranger III
to the Terran Defense Headquarters (39). Likewise, in the Farscape premiere, John
has to escape his prison cell aboard Moya with a confiscated eating utensil, free Ka
D ’Argo and Aeryn from the clutches of Captain Crais by using one of the