Tweekums
When season four of Farscape ended it looked as if that would be the last we were going to see of Moya and her crew despite the '... to be continued' ending. If that had been the case it would be a pretty grim conclusion as the last thing we saw was the protagonist and the woman he loved getting blasted into thousands of pieces by an unknown alien! Thankfully even though the fifth series never materialised we got this three hour miniseries to rap up most of the loose ends. After a couple of months they have been able to find all the pieces of John and Aeryn and find a Diagnosan to put them back together again. There is a small problem though; Rygel collected all the parts in his mouth and obviously didn't regurgitate them all... Aeryn's baby is now inside Rygel! It turns out the water planet they are on is the home of the Eidelons; descendants of the race of peace makers encountered in a previous episode. These ones have lost their peacemaking ability though so they agree to take one back to their ancient home to learn the lost art. Needless to say things don't go according to plan and they end up caught in a war that is raging between the Scarrans and the Peacekeepers. Before the galaxy can be safe again they will encounter old friends and enemies and Crichton will have to do something he has spent most of the series trying to avoid; creating a wormhole weapon!While it is a shame that the events shown here couldn't have been spread over a full season this miniseries still provides the conclusion that Farscape deserved and its fans demanded. Crammed into the three hours we get lots of spectacular action where regular cast members appear to be in genuine danger; there is also the usual brand of Farscape humour... sometimes the two are at the same time; seeing Aeryn blasting away with a pulse rifle as she went into labour was hilarious. It was great to see all everybody back again although not everybody was as they were before; Chiana had replaced her eyes so could see again and Sikuzo had radically changed her appearance. By the time the ending comes most of the series questions have been answered although one new one is raised... Grayza is now pregnant but there was no indication as to the father or plot reason I could see... I guess it is just one of those mysteries that keep you thinking about it after it is over! As always the acting was solid, the dialogue sharp and the action impressive... it is something for the fans though; if you've not watched Farscape before you are unlikely to figure out what is going on as no time is wasted introducing characters or their various relationships.
mstomaso
NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN "BAD TIMING" DO NOT READ THIS!!!!! Unlike many of my fellow fans, I don't consider Peacekeeper Wars to be among Farscape's best episodes. It is not as rushed as the series' ender - Bad Timing - and it is certainly cathartic to see the final story arc played out and all the original cast members returned to their posts. However, "Peacekeeper Wars" still has a '4th Season' feel to it, and although not as silly as some 4th season episodes, often presents problems for believability. Also, some of the characterization is a little inconsistent with the series..Remarkably, every major character the fans wanted to see is reprieved for at least a couple of scenes with the exceptions of those who have died (Zahn and Krais). The problems with characterization derive from the script. Crichton - as is true for much of the 3rd and 4th seasons - is written as a manic but chronically aggravated fruitcake who just happens to be carrying around the ability to unravel a significant piece of the universe in his head and who deals with it by cracking corny jokes about pop culture on earth which nobody understands. Aeryn, whose character was written very inconsistently in the fourth season, returns to character about half way through this mini-series, and thankfully does not return to the pleasant but somewhat weak-kneed nice girls she briefly became in the 4th season. Scorpius, though nicely played by Wayne Pygram, is not the ruthless, dominating monster we have come to love and despise in this one, and there are a couple of loose ends involving him that are left loose. Sikozu changes more than her hair style but reaches satisfying conclusions nevertheless. D'Argo and Chiana are very consistent, as is Stark, the brief appearances of Noranti and Jool and the somewhat more elaborate returns of Bracca and Grunchlik.In terms of acting, Paul Goddard's Stark, David Franklin's Bracca, Anthony Simcoe's D'Argo and Gigi Edgley's Chiana are the stand-outs for this one.Acting can only be as good as the script and the directing, and there are a few times during Peacekeeper Wars when all three fail to reach the usual Farscape standard. Thankfully, these times are few and far between. There are a couple of rock video scenes involving unnecessary visual clichés and impossible streaks of luck which are the most egregious examples of this. Thankfully, by the time John develops the solution he needs in order to see this thing through to the end, we're back to the show's usual brand of weird, but excellent drama.Warning - Peacekeeper Wars can not be appreciated without a strong background in, at least the 4th season of Farscape. Without this background, watching it would be a waste of time.Here is a quick run-down of the situation: John and Aeryn are reconstituted on the water planet where they were crystallized during "Bad Timing", only their unborn child reconstitutes inside of Rygel, instead of Aeryn. It turns out that the humanoid species on this planet are a long-lost race of negotiators known as the Eidelons - legendary for their peace-making abilities and somehow deeply connected to the ancient history of the Peacekeepers. Nearby, the Scarrans and Peacekeepers, lead by Staleek and Grayza, are at war in space. John is presented with basically two alternatives - give peace a chance or end the conflict decisively by doing something merciless which he isn't even sure he can pull off. Meanwhile, he is conflicted by the seemingly opposing goals of saving the universe for its own sake or the sake of his unborn child.The cinematography is as good if not better than the series' very high standards. The special effects are great,and not at all over-bearing. The script and story founder early on, but tighten up and become very excellent after the first half. And the acting is, as usual, good throughout.Recommended, but only for those who have followed and understood the show's many story arcs.
junk-monkey
Be warned people.There is a much cut version of the Peacekeeper Wars out there. I'm a bit of a Farscape fan and was looking forward to seeing this for ages. So when it was shown (on Channel 5 in the UK) recently I taped it and watched it. I was appalled. It was plain AWFUL. Characters appeared and disappeared, jumped from from place to place, did things for no apparent reason, seemed to have developed strange new powers with no explanation. It was, not to mince words, total and utter crap. No rhythm no humour just action action action all the way through. This was not the Farscape I knew. What had gone so horribly wrong? Then I realised the version I had watched had been hacked to get it into a 2 hour time slot. 182 minute chopped down to 120 minutes, then, minus advert breaks and the News half way through - call it 110 (and I'm being generous) That's 70+ minutes removed. What was left was a mess.Check running times before sitting down to watch.
Natira722
A wonderful gift from the Farscape production cast and crew! After being left in the lurch by a back stabbing network (and the mother of all cliff hangers!), fans were finally able to have some closure to this brilliant story.The CGI is movie theater quality from the get go. Brilliant space battles with wonderful detail. Aliens and critters done by award winning Image Creative partnership.The acting Emmy worthy; Ben Browder and Claudia Black lead a magnificent cast. Australia's representation is solid with the likes of Black, Simcoe, Edgely, Goddard, etc.Sets and costumes lovely.Next stop...feature film!
