Why Was Farscape Cancelled and Should It Be Revived/Rebooted?

Farscape was cut short by The Sci Fi Channel after four seasons, and even though it was allowed a mini-series wrap up, it still had plenty more stories to tell.

[Updated]

What Is It?

Astronaut John Crichton is caught in a wormhole that sends him to a distant part of the universe. He joins up with a group of alien refugees on the living ship known as Moya, and together they find themselves on the run from the militaristic Peacekeepers who keep a tight grip on the planets under their control.

Aired: 1999-2004, 4 Seasons Totaling 88 Episodes Plus One Mini-Series

Starring: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Virginia Hey, Anthony Simcoe, Gigi Edgley

Created By: Rockne S. O’Bannon, Brian Henson

Why Was It Cancelled?

Farscape arrived on the scene in 1999 when Star Trek: DS9 was just wrapping up and Star Trek: Voyager was well into its seven-year run (and Enterprise was only a few years away). So grand space dramas were not uncommon on television at that time, though this new series offered a very different take than that delivered by the Trek spin-offs. It combined science fiction and fantasy and was populated with a myriad of alien races, many of which were brought to life by the Jim Hensen Creature shop. It was created by Rockne S. O’Bannon (Alien Nation, seaQuest DSV) and produced by the Jim Hensen Company with Brian Hensen (Jim’s son and torchbearer) closely involved. The series debuted on the Sci Fi Channel to much acclaim and aired there for three seasons before it started to run into some trouble.

Work on a fourth season of the show had already begun, but Sci Fi had lost faith in Farscape due to declining ratings in its third year and its high production costs (according to IMDb.com, the series cost $2 million per episode to produce which was very high for a cable series at that time). The network was already committed to airing the fourth year, but word broke that it had cancelled the show before the season began and would not continue it to the planned fifth year (which would leave the audience on a very big cliffhanger). The show had a very loyal following, though, and fans immediately put out a call to action to save the series.

They mounted a campaign that launched letters, phone calls, and emails at the network demanding that they reverse their cancellation decision. The comic strip Fox Trot even jumped in as uber-geek Jason Fox directed his ire at the Sci Fi Channel and petitioned for them to change their mind. The campaign brought significant attention to the show and ultimately several European backers agreed to help with the finances which allowed the Jim Henson Company to produce Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, resolving many of the storylines from the series. Fans were still miffed at the network for not delivering a full fifth season, but at least the mini-series wrap-up left them with some semblance of resolution.

Should It Be Revived/Rebooted?

The story of Farscape continued in comics with multiple series running through 2010, and several novels based on the series were produced as well. In 2007, it was announced that a ten-part web series was in the works with Ben Browder onboard. They apparently had trouble getting funding for that, though, and it ended up never happening. There have been talks of a movie over the years, possibly focusing on the son of John Crichton and Aeryn Sun, but nothing has come of that.

And I will say that this property is definitely ripe for a revival as long as they don’t go the complete reboot route. The original counts as one of the greatest sci fi TV shows of all-time (more on that at this link), and it would be a shame to start it over from the ground up. And several of the cast members, particularly Ben Browder, have expressed an interest in returning to the show, so picking up twenty years or so later makes some sense. Perhaps they could kick it off with a movie that brings back most of the original cast, then continue into a series that focuses on some newer characters. The son of Crichton and Sun might make a good lead, and we were already introduced to Ka D’Argo’s son during the original series, so perhaps he could join the crew as well. Zhaan was always a favorite of mine, so perhaps a relative of hers or just another Delvian could come onboard as well as they assemble a New Generation of sorts.

Rockne S. O’Bannon and Brian Henson have both expressed an interest in returning to Farscape, so perhaps the fans just need to make some noise and let the creatives know they would support a revival. The show was cut short, and it had also developed quite an expansive universe, so there are plenty of opportunities to continue it, especially while the original actors are still active in the business. And the entertainment industry loves name-recognition, so surely one of the streaming services would be interested in a new Farscape series. I say “this is where the fun begins”, and full speed ahead on a revival!

Where Can You Watch It?

The entire series has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, and the Peacekeeper Wars mini-series has also been released on DVD and Blu-ray. Both the series and the mini-series are available for streaming on Peacock as well as several of the free services like Tubi TV and The Roku Channel.

Did you watch Farscape and do you believe that a revival of the show is a good idea? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.

Keep up with the status of all the current sci fi and fantasy shows as well as news and updates on new and upcoming shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

Cancellation Watch: Status updates and breaking news on renewals and cancellations

Sci Fi TV Highlights: Listings for the upcoming week along with the latest sci fi TV news and trailers.

Sci Fi TV Production Report: News on which sci fi TV shows are moving into production.

And be sure to follow us on social media: Blue Sky | Facebook | Mastodon | Twitter.