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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Farscape-Season 2 Box Set (Universal) (1999)

Farscape-Season 2 Box Set (Universal) (1999)

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Released 5-May-2003

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Science Fiction Menu Animation & Audio
Audio Commentary-Mind The Baby; The Way We Weren't; Won't Get Fooled Again
Biographies-Character
Biographies-Cast
Notes-Alien Encounters (10)
Notes-Farscape Lingo (+ clips)
Game-Bingo! Give Braniac A Fluffy Dog!; Match The Star
Notes-Weapons + Ships
Featurette-5.1 Surround Music Clip
Trailer-Farscape PC Game
Gallery-Costumes; Weapons; Ships
Audio Commentary-Die Me Dichotomy
Rating ?
Year Of Production 1999
Running Time 970:05
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Multi Disc Set (6)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Andrew Prowse
Rowan Woods
Studio
Distributor

Universal Pictures Home Video
Starring Ben Browder
Claudia Black
Virginia Hey
Ben Browder
Jonathan Hardy
Gigi Edgley
Case ?
RPI $144.95 Music Guy Gross


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Screen, not known whether Pan & Scan or Full Frame English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    The second season of one of the best shows ever placed on celluloid arrives on a set of discs that are light years ahead of the first season's offering. While there are still problems, they are not of the same magnitude as the first season.

    While I was impressed by the first season, the second season blew me away. Nearly every episode is great and even the couple that weren't great were still very good. The plot synopses of these episodes are going to be very hard to write without risking great spoilers. This is something the group doing the first commentary should have kept in mind, as they give away a spoiler for a later season, which is very naughty of them. Having said that, stay right away from the final commentary on this series of discs if you haven't seen Season 3, as they clearly outline the major plot elements for the first 5 episodes of Season 3! Maybe from their point of view, returning after the show is finished, they assume that everyone has seen all the episodes and are buying the DVDs on this basis. I am not sure that this is a particularly good assumption.

     Each episode has so many twists and turns that any coherent description is going to pose a risk, so if you haven't seen this season you might want to jump down to the technical review, although I will try to avoid letting anything out of the bag, either human or alien. This, in fact, is one of the many strengths of this show - every episode has you on the edge of your seat.

    One other great strength of this series is the depth of the characters, and not only the depth but the real believability of the characters. Another great thing is that the characters insist on being themselves. In many shows, once a character is established and the audience is getting to like them, they become soft and predictable. They avoid upsetting the audience, but not on this show! The characters stay right in character even as their actions might, and probably will, leave you wondering why you like that character. You feel very much what the other residents on Moya would feel if you were there.

    Note that on Disc 1, the Play All selection presents the episodes in a different order than they are listed in the chapter selection menu. Play All will play Episodes 1, 3, 2 and then 4.

Mind The Baby (44:05)

    We left the end of last season with Crichton and D'Argo floating in space, and Moya far away after the destruction of the peacekeeper Gammak base. Their only hope is Aeryn in her favourite fighter. The episode opens with Crichton and D'Argo in an abandoned industrial complex deep inside an asteroid belt. Aeryn is there but is acting a little strangely. Also present are Crais and the baby peacekeeper-augmented Leviathan, Talyn. In a desperate search for her child, Moya returns to the asteroid field but Scorpius and the remaining peacekeepers are still in the area. The ensuing entanglement of loyalties, confusion and drama make for some pretty riveting viewing.

Vitas Mortis (44:05)

    D'Argo talks the crew into searching out another Luxan that he has heard about. On arrival, they find a very old Luxan Orican, a greatly revered priestess. The Orican has been hoping to find another Luxan, a very strong one, to help her to pass over to the other side. Initially, she does not think that D'Argo is up to the task but he soon proves her wrong. During the ritual, the Orican senses great strength and uses this strength to make herself young again. All is going well until Moya starts to have some very serious problems and D'Argo is faced with a terrible choice.

Taking the Stone (44:05)

    Chiana is devastated when her 'life disc', one of a pair of discs that when embedded into two people links them for life, goes quiet. This can only mean that her beloved brother is dead. Torn by grief, she flies down to a planet, a royal cemetery planet. The inhabitants are all young and very carefree. They have a ritual where they jump into a very deep hole - if you are making the right sound (a yell) as you fall, you are cushioned by the sound waves. Chiana wants to lose herself in these people and take the jump. Crichton cannot understand this and tries to stop her, not understanding her deep need for a reaffirmation of life itself. This episode is extremely well crafted and explores Chiana's reaction to death and through her the other team members' reactions. It really has the impact of a Mack truck!

Crackers Don't Matter (44:06)

    A strange little man promises the crew that he can make the ship invisible to the peacekeepers, something that would be very useful with half the galaxy looking for them. He claims that it can only be done at his shipyards and gives them the co-ordinates. To get there, they must pass through a region of five pulsar stars. He mentions casually that some lesser species are affected by the light of the pulsars. It would appear that all the crew are 'lesser species', as they become increasingly paranoid and turn on one another.

Picture If You Will (44:05)

    Chiana and Rygel return from a little shopping trip with some souvenirs; Rigel with a cut price Hynerian tiara, and Chiana with a strange picture of herself. The picture changes to show her finding a missing necklace, which she subsequently finds. The picture then shows her with a broken leg, which also occurs. When it next shows her burning to death, she and the crew get more than a little worried. The picture goes on to show each of the crew and their demise. This is no ordinary picture frame!

The Way We Weren't (44:05)

    Here is another episode with the impact of a jackhammer. The emotions portrayed here by everyone - even by what is a large puppet - are simply amazing, and testament to the skills of all involved. Chiana discovers a recording of the death of the original pilot of Moya, the current pilot not being the original. It shows that one of the peacekeepers that destroyed the original pilot was Aeryn. The interplay and slowly expanding storyline, particularly between Aeryn and pilot will lock you in your seat for the next forty odd minutes.

Home on the Remains (44:05)

    Never forget to feed your Delvian - they do not take kindly to not being fed. An evolutionary defence mechanism means that when Zhaan is near starvation, her body starts to release toxins. In desperation, the crew heads to a mining colony that Chiana once inhabited, and which she left under less than auspicious circumstances. She hopes that her old boyfriend will forgive her and feed them all. In a race against time as Zhaan's toxins begin to threaten Moya, Crichton discovers that things are not as they seem on the mining colony.

Dream a Little Dream (44:07)

    Only an Aussie show could create a planet of lawyers; talk about the true image of hell! This episode is a flashback to what happened to Zhaan, Chiana and Rygel after star bursting away from the exploding Gammak base. While searching for Crichton, Aeryn and D'Argo, they end up on the aforementioned planet. Zhaan ends up in gaol for jaywalking but things get worse when, during an attempted escape, she encounters a dead body. Zhaan is now up on murder charges with only Chiana and Rygel willing to defend her in court, a court where the penalty for lying is death, and death for the defence lawyer as well.

Out Of Their Minds (44:05)

    Yet again Farscape goes where no sci-fi show has gone before, and has a ball doing it. While under attack, a strange side effect of the weapon that is fired at them when it interacts with their defence screen is that they all swap bodies. The ensuing comedy had me rolling around on the floor with laughter. In unfamiliar bodies, the crew race to repair the defence screen before the aggressor fires again. The aliens on the attacking ship bear an uncanny resemblance to the Skeksis in The Dark Crystal, another Jim Henson production.

My Three Crichtons (44:05)

    An inter-dimensional zoo wants Crichton for one of their exhibits, and a strange ship attempts to capture him but Aeryn damages the craft. It then releases a very confused Crichton. A short time later it releases another Crichton, but this time he appears to be a Neolithic version. While trying to work this out, yet another Crichton appears - this one a possible evolutionary path into the future. He is supposedly smarter, a later version. The alien ship demands that one of the Crichtons return or it will take Moya and everyone inside to its strange dimension. A coin toss is not going to decide this one.

Look At The Princess Part I: A Kiss Is But A Kiss (44:05)

    This is the first episode of a three part special - there are two of these three episode arcs in this series. Moya and passengers find themselves nearing a planet that turns out to be one of the 'Breakaway Colonies', an independent group of Sebations that wish to stay neutral. As the crew arrives, the colonists are preparing for a coronation, but there is a problem. The rightful heir to the throne cannot find a compatible partner. Unfortunately, Crichton turns out to be compatible, and to complicate matters, Scorpius and a rather nasty Scarran are on the scene.

Look At The Princess Part II: I Do, I Think (44:06)

    Crichton, while under threat, has agreed to marry the princess, but all is not going smoothly as the younger brother of the princess will inherit the throne if he can prevent the marriage. While this is all happening, Moya, with Zhaan on board, is drawn off to a strange rendezvous: a rendezvous with her creators. The creators are not happy that she has given birth to a gun ship for a son and decide to decommission her, despite the fact that she is a living being.

Look At The Princess Part III: The Maltese Crichton (44:06)

    This episode is a lovely tangle of three stories. The jealous younger brother is still trying to kill off the competition. Aeryn in a fit of jealous rage is off in the wilderness with a local he-man, but unfortunately they both end up injured and in trouble. And to top it all off, Moya is dying.

Beware Of Dog (44:06)

    The crew's latest supplies seem to be infested with something very strange. The planet where the supplies came from also has a solution, a strange little creature that Chiana takes quite a fancy to. The little guy also takes quite a fancy to Aeryn in one of the funniest scenes in this episode. Something bites D'Argo and the hunt is on to find the bug that bit him in the hope of synthesising an antidote. Chiana's little friend is the key to the mystery but no one seems able to work out what the real parasite looks like.

Won't Get Fooled Again (44:06)

    A replay of A Human Reaction from the first season, but with a wonderful twist. Crichton wakes up in hospital on Earth - his shuttle had not gone through a worm hole, but simply crash-landed back on Earth. This episode get stranger and stranger by the minute as the rest of the crew appear in some very unusual roles.

The Locket (44:06)

    Moya becomes stuck in a strange mist and Aeryn, who was out in her prowler scouting the mist, is missing. A strange hole appears in the mist and the prowler returns to Moya. Inside is Aeryn, a very old Aeryn who claims to have been down on the planet below for many years. Aeryn insists on returning to the planet. Crichton follows a short time later but himself becomes trapped on the planet. Time moves differently on the planet and when they next return to Moya they are both very old, a mystery that needs to be solved if anyone is to get out alive.

The Ugly Truth (44:06)

    A very strange offer from Crais, who still has control of Talyn, draws the crew of Moya to a meeting. Crais wants to disarm Talyn and install a defensive screen from the Plokavians, a race known for weapon production. They produce some of the galaxy's nastiest armaments. Something goes wrong during the meeting with the Plokavians and their ship is destroyed. Crais and Talyn escape but the crew of Moya are captured and put on trial. Someone is going to be executed for this crime, but who will be found guilty?

A Clockwork Nebari (44:08)

    Chiana's people, the Nebari, are on her trail again. They are adamant that she will return to her home planet for cleansing, their version of a mind wipe. The entire crew are temporarily cleansed and walk around very serenely and peacefully as Moya is directed to take the Nebari to their rendezvous. We discover the secret that Chiana has kept, the reason why her people are so desperate to get her back to their home world.

Liars, Guns And Money Part I: A Not So Simple Plan (44:05)

    This is the second three part story in this season. In fact, it is really a four part story as it leads directly to the final episode. Stark turns up with the location of D'Argo's son. He is about to be sold in a large lot of slaves. Stark suggests that they buy this lot - it also includes lots of his own race - and he has a plan to get the money required. He suggests they rob a shadow depository, a bank for criminals. The shadow depository has a defence system that is formidable and the crew are understandably sceptical. The robbery is going well until the ever-vigilant Scorpius turns up to make a withdrawal.

Liars, Guns And Money Part II: With Friends Like These… (44:05)

    While they get away with the robbery, they do not make it to the slave auctions in time. It appears that Scorpius has placed an order for the slaves and that they will be shipped to him at the shadow depository. In a very clever plot twist, Crichton decides that an assault on the shadow depository can only succeed with a range of talents - the range just happens to be a series of aliens that we have met in previous episodes; a Teurac (PK Tech Girl), a Tavlek (Throne for a Loss), a Blood Tracker (Till the Blood Runs Clear) and the Zenetan Pirates (The Flax). The costumes that the characters wear obviously cost a lot of time and money to produce, and this is a wonderful way of getting some extra mileage out of them. While the various crew members are off hiring the above mercenaries, things go awry on Moya and they return to a big problem.

Liars, Guns And Money Part III: Plan B (44:06)

    To save D'Argo's son, Crichton agrees to exchange himself for the hostage. This places him in Scorpius' grasp. The original plan to storm the shadow depository goes ahead with a different target, the rescue of Crichton. Things are not as they appear, and for some reason Crichton is his own worst enemy.

Die Me, Dichotomy (44:07)

    Two of the cast are in dire straights and need urgent medical attention. They head out to a doctor that they hope can help them. To say more would be very difficult as this is a wonderful episode but also a typical season ender with lots of very loose ends. (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) I loved the funeral scene - the music is just wonderful and very powerful, Zhaan's speech is also great and the reaction of the other crew to what is happening is very moving. The only part that jarred was the mix of religious metaphors; we have the pagan words from Zhaan, the wonderful requiem music and then the crew pipe in with 'amen', a word from the Judaeo-Christian faith. A wonderfully eclectic mix, though appropriate as amen means truth and fits in perfectly with Zhaan's words.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    A great transfer is a combination of many different variables; bit rate, high frequency filtering, compression levels and so on. The first season was one of the most bizarre transfers that I have ever reviewed. I have never seen a transfer that had its particular combination of bit rate, sharpness and compression. If we have a look at the first graph, which comes from the first season, you will see two lines. The yellow line is the bit rate over time. The X axis is in Mbps, so this transfer has an average (strangely almost a constant, which is very unusual) bitrate of about 4Mbps. The green line is the Q or compression that was applied to the video stream, or in rough terms, the amount that had to be thrown away to display that particular frame at that available bit rate. As you can see, the Q is very high in relation to the bit rate.

    The second graph is one taken from this season. As you can see, the yellow line indicates an average bitrate of between 5Mbps and 6 Mbps and shows much greater variation. The green Q line is below the bitrate line. In general terms, this means that much less was removed to fit the transfer into the available bit rate. This is not to say that this is a great transfer as it still has its problems, it is just that they are much smaller than the transfer problems that affected the first season. There are still frames that have a high compression rate, but they are nothing like those in the first season.

    This is another graph from Season 2 showing slightly higher compression but still nothing that is excessive. Also note the variation in bitrate showing that they were taking into account the complexity of the frame in question and saving bits for high movement frames.

 

    The transfer is presented at its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which is as it should be.

    The sharpness overall varies in direct inverse ratio to the speed at which the object or person on-screen is moving. Stationary and slow moving objects are very sharp and produce a very nice on-screen image. Objects that move start to lose definition and at a reasonable speed become nothing more than blurs. This goes a little further with fast moving objects where they start to leave smear trails behind them. There are multiple examples of this throughout the series, such as the food disc at Episode 1 - 5:09 which has a clear double image. Inspection of Episode 1 at 38:05 during the fight between Crais and Aeryn shows that Crais is heavily blurred and also pixelated - a few minutes later it is Aeryn's turn at Episode 1 - 38:08. Shadow detail remains good throughout and there is surprisingly little low level noise for this bitrate, probably mostly helped by the almost complete lack of visible grain.

    There is a wonderfully bright and full range palette used in this show. While there are dark moments, there are also scenes rich in colour. The only problem with the colours is that they suffer from streaking on moving objects.

    Overall, there are far less MPEG artefacts in this transfer than there were in the transfer of Season 1. They are still present and occasionally we again lose an entire frame to pixelization, such as at Episode 15 - 30:27. This is a fade to white and back again, and in particular as the image is reappearing it is completely blocked, looking for all the world like a patchwork quilt. There are some scenes with medium level blocking, such as the shuttle launch at the start of Episode 15. Scene changes suffer from the low bit rate and show compression artefacts, particularly at the first frame after the change. A clear example is at Episode1 - 5:42, particularly around Chiana's lips. I did not see any aliasing but there is at least one occasion where there is some serious shudder in the image. At 9:54 in Episode 15, where the camera pans from D'Argo's feet upwards, we see a very bad case of the shakes. Film artefacts are thankfully rare and not distracting.

    There are no subtitles on these discs.

    These are RSDL-formatted discs. The layer change is most probably between the episodes as I found no evidence of them while viewing.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The fantastic audio that accompanied the first season continues in season two.

    The default audio is English Dolby Digital 5.1. There is also a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded audio track on all episodes and a further Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack for those episodes that have an audio commentary.

    There are no problems at all with the dialogue quality nor with the audio sync.

    I think the music of this series is fantastic. To be honest, I did not pick the change in composer from episode 2.06 onwards - the music both before and after this change is all great. I particularly enjoyed the scoring of the final episode. It really has enormous impact and the episode certainly wouldn't have had the same impact without it. I also had a greater appreciation of the work that goes into a musical score after hearing the commentary associated with episode 2.06.

    The surrounds are used very well, including many split rear effects. The full capability of a 5.1 soundtrack is in use here.

    The subwoofer also gets a great workout in this series. Explosions and music all add a great solid foundation to the overall soundtrack.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Menu

    Very nice animated menus are on offer with lots of colour and action. Scenes from the series are presented as a montage in a window on the upper left of the screen along with the trader's shop explosion from Picture If You Will. Depending on the disc, there is a Play All selection and a Chapter Selection which has a sub-menu of chapters for each episode. On the relevant discs there is also a selection for the Audio Commentary and on the last disc a whole swag of special features. The menus are accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. One of the disc opening segments, the one from Universal, has MPEG audio, which is a little unusual.

Audio Commentary: Mind the Baby

    Lani Tupu (Crais and voice of Pilot), Andrew Prowse (Director, Associate Producer) and David Kemper (Executive Producer) talk through their recollections of this particular episode. As they have come back after a number of years have passed to record this commentary, their recollection is occasionally a little faulty. There is a spoiler for a later season in this commentary. Not too bad overall, but the last commentary is better. The commentary audio is Dolby Digital 2.0.

Audio Commentary: The Way We Weren't

    Guy Gross is the composer for Farscape from this episode onwards. He talks in some detail about how he scores the various scenes and other very interesting information. If you're interested in musical scores then this will be a favourite commentary. Unfortunately, the commentary does not work very well overall because the original audio track for the episode has been mixed in at a very low level. When Guy is talking you can't hear anything but his voice, but even when he does not talk and is quiet so you can hear what he is talking about, the level is very low, almost inaudible in places. This is a shame as what he is talking about is very interesting. The commentary audio is Dolby Digital 2.0.

Audio Commentary: Won't Get Fooled Again

    David Kemper (Executive Producer) and Rowan Woods, the director for this episode, talk you through one of the strangest episodes in Farscape so far. There is some interesting information but it is not quite as good as the last commentary by the same two people. The commentary audio is Dolby Digital 2.0.

Audio Commentary: Die Me Dichotomy

    This commentary also features David Kemper (Executive Producer) with Rowan Woods, the director of this episode. I really enjoyed this commentary. We get a look at how the season was built towards this episode, information on some of the interesting things that happened during production and much more. Well worth listening to but watch out for the major spoilers for season three. The commentary audio is Dolby Digital 2.0.

The Farscape Files

    This is a series of text pages describing many of the characters in Farscape. They are a combination of character profile, back story and plot synopsis. They make interesting reading, and range from one to four pages long and are bordered by pictures of the character in question. The listing includes Crichton, Aeryn, Zhaan, D'Argo, Chiana, Crais, Stark, Scorpius, Rygel, Moya, Pilot, Talyn and Jothee.

Alien Encounters

    This time we have a description of the various aliens that the crew have encountered on their travels. First up is a text page with a description, followed by a second text page, this time with a video clip of the alien in question that can be played, making this a nice simple little multimedia presentation. The races covered are The Builders, Nebari, Vorcs, Luxans, Scarrans, Sebaceans, Tavleks, Halosians, Vocarian Blood Trackers and Plokavians.

Game: Bingo! Give Brainiac A Fluffy Dog!

    There are about ten video clips here which play up to the point where Crichton is about to deliver one of his original comeback lines. The video play stops and you are presented with four multiple choice answers for what he is about to say. If you get it right they play the clip again but this time keep going and play the line in question. If you get it wrong, a text screen appears saying something like "I don't think so" and then you go on to the next video clip. They total your score up at the end with a witty comment.

Game: Match the Star

    You are presented with a picture of an actor on the right. On the left are three characters from the show - you need to pick which character the actor plays. This is far harder than it sounds due to the amount of latex used in this show. Once you make your selection, you are shown the correct match with some text telling you if you got it right or wrong.

5.1 Music Clip (10:52)

    The last episode contains a(SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) requiem, music for a funeral This runs for over 10 minutes, a daring thing for a sci-fi show. The music is very good and really captures the mood of what is going on. The video from this section of the episode plays as we listen but is uninterrupted by either the dialogue or special effects. As a demonstration of 5.1 audio it leaves a little to be desired. The Farscape music, as we learn in the commentary, is composed electronically and as such the soundscape is a little artificial. You do not get the spread of instruments across the front as you would in a live recording. That aside, I will be coming back to watch and listen to this again.

Costume Art Galleries

    There are three galleries here. The first is costumes, consisting of 32 images, mostly coloured pencil drawings of the concepts for various characters. There are also a couple of shots of Zhaan in makeup and of Pilot being constructed. The second gallery consists of the Ships from the series. There are 40 images ranging again from pencil drawings through simple computer models to complete 3D renderings. There are also some shots of the cockpit mock-ups used for shooting inside the various ships. The last section is Weapons. There are only 5 images this time, mostly of the peacekeeper hand weapon.

    Once you select a category, the image appears as an insert in the middle of the screen. Each image stays on screen for about 5 seconds and then moves on to the next.

Star Biographies

    Standard biographies for the stars of Farscape including: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Virginia Hey, Gigi Edgley, Lani Tupu, Jonathan Hardy and Wayne Pygram.

Trailer: Farscape The Game (1:38)

    An advertisement for the computer game based on Farscape, consisting of footage from the show intercut with renderings from the game. From time to time text banners give us details of the game. There seems to be more footage from the show than from the game.

Farscape Lingo

    An interesting little feature that explains some of the alien words that are used the Farscape universe. It breaks into three sections; How Much (measurement and currency), What is That (phenomena and substances) and Talk the Talk (intergalactic expletives). Each section has a number of words from the category with a description or explanation along with a button that will play a video clip from the series that contains the particular expression. There are seven words and clips in How Much, eleven in What is That and thirteen in Talk the Talk. The clips are presented at 1.33:1 and accompanied by a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. As mentioned in the comments below, I missed this special feature in my viewing of this material the first time through. Mea culpa.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    Region 1 does not have a direct equivalent to our box set. The release there is 5 separate sets with two discs in each, three with four episodes each and two with five. The special features are a little hard to directly compare but the biographies appear to be spread across the sets as are the conceptual art drawings.

    The Region 1 version of this set misses out on:

    The Region 4 version of this set misses out on:

    The quality of the transfer is reportedly better than ours as there are no MPEG artefacts, although I have not personally seen the R1 discs. This is a very difficult call - the transfer problems that we suffer from are comparatively minor, although annoying, but our special features seem to be slightly better.

Summary

    While I love all the actors in this series, including the puppeteers who do a marvellous job, I have to single out Chiana for special mention. She does not have much in the way of latex or other props to help her out in portraying an alien character (other than being blue of course), but what she does manage to do is to use body language to make her character seem very subtly alien. As this is is read by the audience almost subconsciously, it is very effective. This whole series is just fantastic. The fact that it has been cancelled by the Sci-Fi Channel is very disappointing. Considering some (sometimes I think nearly all) of the rubbish that seems to go on for season after season, this is very hard to understand.

    The video is greatly improved and not bad overall.

    The audio is fantastic.

    The extras are well worth browsing through.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Terry McCracken (read my bio)
Monday, May 05, 2003
Review Equipment
DVDSkyworth 1050p progressive scan, using RGB output
DisplaySony 1252q CRT Projector, Screen Technics matte white screen 16:9 (223cm). Calibrated with AVIA Guide To Home Theatre. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with AVIA Guide To Home Theatre.
AmplificationSony STR-DB1070
SpeakersB&W DM305 (mains); CC3 (centre); S100 (surrounds); custom Adire Audio Tempest with Redgum plate amp (subwoofer)

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