Farscape
"A Clockwork Nebari"

Airdate: September 15, 2000

Crichton's pop culture references fly fast and furious in this tale that reveals just how scary the mind-cleansing-happy Nebari are. They aren't content to just make their own people Stepford-like. Nope. Nuh uh. They want the entire frellin' universe to act like a bunch of spaced-out hippies.

Chiana: Moya's equivalent of Miss Kitty and Princess Leia. Sort of.

Oh, and they want Chiana. Bad.

Why?

Remember her brother Neri, the one who supposedly died at the beginning of "Taking The Stone"? Well, it turns out he isn't dead. And not only is he not dead, but he's the leader of the resistance. "Resistance to what?" you might ask. Why, the resistance against the nefarious Nebari plan to take over the universe one way or another, of course! Anyway, they want Chiana so they can lure Neri out of hiding and put a stop to the silly rebels dreaming of a universe without mind-cleansing.

Okay, so it's not like we don't already have two other races with their hearts of glass set on universal domination, but while the Peacekeepers use brute force, and the Scarrans prefer political machination -- with a hint of brute force --, the Nebari are all about mind control, baby. They want to screw you over and then, afterwards, have you thank them for it. Profusely. It's kind of frightening, but if there's one thing you can say about the Peacekeepers, it's that at least they are honest and up front about their plans.

Luckily for everyone involved, the little chip that kept John from losing it in "Won't Get Fooled Again" saves his hiney once more. It is these flashes of Scorpius urging him to fight the drug induced euphoria that allow Crichton to retain all his nasty thoughts and -- with the help of a reluctant Rygel, a pissed-off Pilot, and a woefully abused Chiana -- outwit Varla, the surviving senior officer aboard the Nebari Star Runner and interestingly enough, Debbie Harry's evil twin.

Rygel XVI, Dominar of Self-Preservation.

Okay, so maybe not that last bit.

You'd think that with Zhaan and Aeryn rapture-ing out "A Clockwork Nebari" would be little more than a testosterone-fest, but Chiana proves herself more than worthy of the title of kick-ass chick by not only refusing to give in to the excruciating pain being forced upon her by the equally kick-ass -- and intensely evil -- Varla, but also by stepping into the fight when John is at a disadvantage. Chiana is no damsel in distress, ladies and gents. Even when she's in irons she finds a way to dole out a little whup-ass.

Although the episode might just be a set up another juicy threat to the well-being of Moya's intrepid crew, it also seems to function as a metaphor for the religious right movement in the United States. While the Nebari -- and their conservative Christian counterparts -- preach love and brotherhood, but practice hatred and intolerance. The ends are supposed to justify the means, but that all depends on your point of view, doesn't it? I suppose it could also be a lovely metaphor for colonialism that brought only savagery when it claimed to want to civilize the barbaric natives. Then again you could call it a condemnation of the U.S.'s policy in South America and Asia of illegally aiding insurgents against evil communist governments that used the excuse of wanting to save democracy by merely substituting a U.S.-friendly despot for a U.S.-unfriendly one.

Then again it I could just be watching too much CNN, A&E and The History Channel as a result of the lack of reruns of Now and Again on CBS and The Others on NBC this summer. (Bastards!)

In many ways "A Clockwork Nebari" gives Chiana the role that Crichton inhabited in the first season and happily -- well, for the viewers anyway -- the parallels between the two are not ignored. When Chiana demands to go and fight with Neri, it is John who voices what she already knows: she cannot go to him and compromise all her brother has worked for. And because Crichton knows the same pain of separation, he is the only one who can offer comfort.

"A Clockwork Nebari" managed to be both humorous and touching, but it was its smooth, believable transition of the Nebari into a more threatening role that really put this episode over the top and made it a truly great example of the excellence that Farscape has achieved in its second season.

-- Linda M. Najera

Farscape airs at 9pm EST, Fridays on The Sci Fi Channel.

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