Farscape - The Complete Series
New releases announced July 23:
Farscape - The Complete Series Megaset will be coming out November 17
Murphy's Law - Series 1 will be coming out October 6
Mystery Science Theater 3000 - XVI will be coming out December 1
Paradise Postponed/Titmuss Regained will be coming out October 6
Trial & Retribution - Set 3 will be coming out October 27
Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items.
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Question: I just wanted to let you know that, like you, I am also waiting for a Farscape movie. I think Farscape would translate brilliantly to the big screen. I haven't lost hope, but, like you, I am not holding my breath. Heck, I am still waiting for news about the Farscape webisodes! By the way, you wouldn't have heard anything about them, would you? It has been nearly a year since they were announced, and while I understand the writers' strike slowed things down a lot, we should be seeing/hearing something soon, right?
Answer: Not soon enough, I'm sure. I asked a Sci Fi Channel executive earlier this week, during a NBC-Universal party, if there was news to report on this front, and I was assured that the online Farscape project remains in active development. The problem, I'm told, is in getting all the creative players assembled to figure out the format, the content and to see who's available. No timetable on this one yet, I'm afraid, but don't lose hope. It's probably our las ...
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Question: I just saw that the amazing Farscape has just made its way onto iTunes. The first season is out there for everyone to download and enjoy. Whenever the strike ends and Farscape returns in webisode form, is there hope for Scapers like myself that, with enough buzz about the show, it may return to my TV screen?
Answer: Far be it for me to crush anyone's dreams, but after this much time, it does seem more and more like a long shot. The best-case scenario would be if these webisodes, whenever they occur, were to plant the seed for a movie-length Farscape special that Sci Fi could market as an "event." As dreams go, this isn't a bad one ...
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The Henson cult faves of Fraggle Rock and Farscape have been rescued from nostalgia and added to the modern era of iTunes accessibility. Thanks to a partnership between the Jim Henson Company and New Video, you can now do the "Fraggle Rock Rock" anytime, anywhere (if you dare) starting Jan. 28. For sci-fi fans, all 22 eps of Farscape's first season will be downloadable, as will the first 24 Fraggle shows, for subterranean puppet sing-alongs — no strings attached. — Anna Dimond
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Question: As one of the many Farscape fans eagerly awaiting the new webisodes, I'm wondering how the writers' strike will affect the project. I can only assume that it falls under exactly the type of material that writers are asking to be compensated for. If, as the networks claim, they don't make a profit from online content, why would the Sci Fi Channel even commission webisodes of a series as ambitious as Farscape? Not that I'm complaining! Just confused and worried that after three long years, any new Farscape will again come down to bad timing.
Answer: Not to worry. I've been told that Sci Fi is "very early in the development process" for the Farscape webisodes, and so the strike is having no impact on the project yet. Which means you'll have to remain patient (I have no timetable for when these will be made or shown), and I would think that however the strike negotiations turn out, anyone involved in producing these webisodes will be compensated for them ...
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Question: Should Bionic Woman fail to achieve network-television-caliber ratings on NBC, would NBC/Universal consider permanently moving the show to the Sci Fi Channel? Ratings expectations on a cable network are much lower. The smaller audience that tuned in to watch the show on NBC might be enough to keep the show alive on Sci Fi, assuming the viewers switch over. Furthermore, if we again assume that Universal airs reruns of Bionic Woman on Sci Fi like they did other NBC shows of the genre (Heroes, Surface) and if it does receive decent (cable) ratings, is that a good enough gauge to make a permanent move? I know this seems like a negative assumption about a brand-new show (sci-fi doesn't exactly have a good track record on network television), but I'm just curious if this is something studios ever consider. And if not, why wouldn't they?
Answer: A one-word answer: money. Bionic Woman is almost certainly too expensive a show to produce on Sci Fi's budget, although that's hard to
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Question: I'm not sure you actually get why we "greedy" fans are so upset about the Battlestar Galactica scheduling issues. Unlike all the long-hiatus shows you mentioned in your recent column, these episodes will have already been written and filmed, even gone through postproduction, and the Sci Fi Channel would be simply refusing to show them, just to package the DVDs separately and stretch the shelf life of their flagship show. Yes, patience is a virtue and we'll get the episodes eventually, but this would be a terrible marketing move. Heroes had a significant ratings drop after just a few weeks on hiatus, and the network responded with the exact opposite strategy: no midseason breaks at all. As you said, this meant a longer wait between seasons for Heroes fans, but that's the price for a full, unbroken run of episodes that hooks people and tells a complete story. Meanwhile, the way to send Galactica out with a bang is... to go off the air for eight months (already), then insert an ...
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Ben Browder and Claudia Black courtesy SciFi Channel
Whether or not Farscape stars Ben Browder and Claudia Black reprise their roles on the upcoming Scifi.com webisodes, the actors have plenty of other projects to keep them busy. Browder is writing and starring in Going Homer, Sci Fi Channel's just-announced six-hour miniseries. He’ll play the father of a 12-year-old boy who sees Greek and Roman gods walking among us. The actor/writer and his writing partner, Farscape’s Andrew Prowse, have also sold a movie script, Black Mountain, to MGM. In the flick, Browder will get his action hero on, playing a investigator trying to solve horrific murders in a small town. We hear shooting could start this fall. As for Black, she had to bow out of a role on the new NBC cop drama Life, in which she would have played star Damian Lewis’ former wife, because of a scheduling conflict. The Australian actress is due to give birth to her second baby in November. Life producer Rand Ravich says he hopes to find a role for her in the show late...
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Ben Browder and Claudia Black courtesy Sci Fi Channel
Last week Sci Fi Channel made the out-of-nowhere announcement that the dearly departed cult favorite series Farscape would be coming back with all-new webisodes. In an exclusive interview, executive producer Brian Henson gave TV Guide some scoop about the upcoming revival, and also indicated that bigger plans for the franchise lie ahead. A dozen new webisodes of the irreverent 1999-2003 live-action/puppet science-fiction adventure could launch as early as this fall on Scifi.com. Scripts have yet to be written, but Henson says the installments will be three to six minutes long, and “each one is a cool little cliff-hanger scene that takes you on a mind-twisting adventure." He expects some of the series’ actors and writers to return, but as of yet no deals have been signed. As to whether stars Ben Browder and Claudia Black will come back, Henson hints that their characters’ son, D'Argo Sun-Crichton, will likely be featured in the project. “The story will definitely ...
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Question: I don't know about you, but I was quite excited to learn that there will be new Farscape episodes, even if they'll just be shown on the Web. What is your opinion of these "webisodes”? I know Battlestar Galactica has done them in the past. Are they novelty items that are around just to promote a website? Or are they a legitimate storytelling medium?
Answer: For me, there's no downside in reviving the Farscape franchise, even if only for the webisphere in bite-size minisodes. It's not yet clear just how long each of these 10 installments will be, but they probably won't be more than a handful of minutes. They certainly won't be full-length episodes. The deal was brand-new when Sci Fi announced it over the weekend, and details are still scarce. I know Sci Fi hopes to use original core characters and actors, and you have to figure Ben Browder at the very least is a strong candidate to return, since he's still in business with Sci Fi, developing a future miniseries. The real issue
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