Farscape
"Liars, Guns and Money Part One -- A Not So Simple Plan"

Airdate: December 4, 2000

It seems Zhaan has gone loco when she insists on following orders from Stark's mask in order to meet her dead friend at a rendezvous in space. The others would much rather return to the slave auctions and try to save Jothee. However, when they too see the mask talking they change their minds.

Are Zhaan and Chiana planning on establishing the UT's first made-to-measure potty business? Or is this all part of some not-so-simple plan?

So, Stark comes aboard Moya with a bold and daring plan to raid a shadow depository in order to get enough currency to buy the lot of 10,000 slaves that includes D'Argo's boy. It seems an impossible feat, and when D'Argo finds he's the only one who wants to take the risk he goes off alone.

Aeryn and John follow him down and witness his capture by the folks who run this criminal's 1st Universal Bank of the Uncharted Territories (Or whatever it's really called). Upon returning to Moya they find out from Stark that this was all part of the plan, and in order to retrieve their friend they have no choice but to follow through. (Isn't it just the pits being forced into a bank raid when you've not had time to review the getaway plans? -- er... not that I'm talking from experience or anything here you understand... I just watch a lot of TV.)

Things start to get even more complicated though, when Scorpius shows up to claim some valuables he has stashed there. This causes John to start having more conversations with the guest in his head and of course, the plan ends up going just a little bit awry.

However, in the end Moya's crew manage to get away with the contents of Scorpy's safe deposit box and everyone -- just about, intact.

Throughout this episode it's not just John who's having trouble holding it together. First Zhaan seems to have gone completely ga-ga over the supposedly dead Stark, then when he re-joins the ship, he seems to be far from stable himself. The only ones with their heads screwed on straight are Aeryn, Chiana and (this one's a big surprise) Rygel. For once, I was actually in agreement with poor 'ole Sparky on a lot of stuff. Even D'Argo seems to be fixating on his son to the exclusion of all else, but OK -- that I can understand.

As usual, the writers do a darn good job of keeping the pace hot, the dialogue snappy and the twists in the plot fairly well hidden, though I don't for one moment believe we've seen the last of Scorpius.

Of course, the cast do a wonderful job with the script, each one managing to convey the angst of the episode wonderfully. There are some nice moments of interaction, both of tension (most noticeably between John and D'Argo, though also from John and his imaginary friend) and two wonderfully evocative scenes between John and Aeryn.

Now however, it remains to be seen how our misfit crew are going to rescue Jothee from the slavers, and just what they're going to do about the chip Scorpy left in John's head.

-- Muriel 'Mogs' Moore

Farscape airs at 8pm GMT Sundays on Sci Fi in the UK and Fridays at 9pm EST on the Sci Fi Channel in the US.

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