Farscape
faced the very real threat of cancellation halfway through its first season when its production location, Fox Studios Australia,
"forced" them out to make way for another production: "Star Wars: Episode 2." The logistical problems of moving the large
and expensive sets to a Stateside location would have been too cost-prohibitive. Fortunately, another studio was found nearby
that was able to house the production, and the series was renewed for a second season.
At one
point the show was re-named to Far Horizon before switching back to Farscape.
Crichton's
nickname for Chiana, "Pip," came from Ben Browder. It was originally Browder's nickname for Gigi Edgley, who plays Chiana.
Crichton
calls the Scorpius clone that resides in his mind "Harvey",
after the invisible rabbit in the classic Jimmy Stewart film. The name was suggested by a fan website.
Crichton
makes references to numerous movies and television shows throughout the series. Some of these include:
1. He
bemoans the fact that Buffy the Vampire Slayer might be dead by the time he gets back to Earth.
2. He
refers to Moya as "the Federation Starship Buttcrack".
3. He
quotes lines from "Apocalypse Now" and "Blazing Saddles".
In "...Different
Destinations", the cowboy boots worn by Scorpius have the word "ANDY" on the bottom soles. A reference to the movie Toy Story.
The
character of Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan had to be written out of the show because Virginia Hey, could no longer wear the contact lenses
required due to eye deterioration.
Ben
Browder's wife, Francesca Buller, has played three different guest starring roles to date on Farscape (M'Lee in Bone to Be
Wild, Ro-Na in Look at the Princess and Raxil in Scratch 'n' Sniff), all three as antagonists to John Crichton. Won't Get
Fooled Again is the only episode to date with no scenes on board either Moya or Talyn. Chiana was originally supposed to die
at the end of Durka Returns, but Producer David Kemper enjoyed her performance so much that he rewrote the ending of the episode
and eventually made her a main character.
The
only actor to appear in all 88 episodes was Ben Browder, who portrayed Commander John Crichton.
The
character of DK is named after Farsape writer and producer David Kemper.
Virginia
Hey was originally required to shave her head for the full-body makeup needed for Zhaan. In later episodes, the makeup was
modified to include a skullcap, allowing her to grow her hair back. Besides her problems with contact lenses, the make-up
itself also negatively impacted Hey's health and was a factor in her decision to leave the series.
The
season two premiere was supposed to be the episode 'Re:Union'. However, the episode would not have involved John, D'Argo or Aeryn, and it was determined that
people would not want to wait another week to find out what happened to those characters. So the second episode, "Mind the
Baby", was aired first and "Re:Union" was retitled "Dream a little Dream" and also had bookend sequences made so the episode became a flashback.
In August
2002, the cancellation of Farscape was leaked by David Kemper, Richard Manning and Ben Browder in an online chat at Scifi.com.
Fans began a campaign to save the series and have hopes that a fifth season will follow, especially since the fourth season
finale was written with the fifth season in mind. After more than a year of rumors of a feature film or revived series being
produced, plans were announced for a series-ending mini-series for 2004.
Lani
John Tupu, who appears regularly as Captain Crais, also provides the voice of Pilot.
In "PK
Tech Girl", Crichton has the line about the Zelbinion: "Just ask Leonardo DiCaprio. Even the big ones go down." The first
time the scene was filmed, Ben Browder ad-libbed Bill Clinton's name in the place of Leonardo DiCaprio. They were forced to
shoot it as written because it was unsure whether such a line would be appropriate.
Ranked
#4 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Top Cult Shows Ever!"
The
character John Crichton was ranked #20 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).
The
4th season Trilogy series "We're so Screwed" was transmitted only with their subtitle captions on BBC2. ie "Fetal Attraction,"
"Hot to Katratzi," and "La Bomba" in the UK. The BBC didn't approve of the trilogy title and refused to broadcast it..
The
end credits of "Crichton Kicks" is accompanied by Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture instead of the regular theme.
The
DVD and single VHS releases of Farscape episodes each include approximately 5 extra minutes of footage not used in the North
American broadcasts. The extra footage is not cut from European airings of the show. Some of the cut footage includes:
1. Zhaan
giving Crichton a "Delvian ear kiss" in “Premiere”
2. Scenes
of D'Argo and Aeryn interacting during "downtimes" in “I, E. T." and "Throne For A Loss".
Several times during "Premiere" Anthony Simcoe's real nose can be seen beneath his prosthetic facial
makeup.
In "Dog
with Two Bones" when Chiana (played by Gigi Edgely) is thrown backwards against a table, John Crichton mistakenly calls her
"Gigi"