Rent Farscape: Series 5: The Peacekeeper Wars (2004)

Farscape: Series 5: The Peacekeeper Wars review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

When season four of Farscape ended on a massive cliffhanger, with the human John and the Peacekeeper pilot Aeryn literally in pieces after confessing their love, this would not stand. Fans rallied together to support the Sci-Fi Channel financing one last miniseries to close out the Farscape series with a proper ending. The series was by no means a cheap production, considering the massive wealth of work the Jim Henson Workshop put into the many alien creatures that populated the show. And yet enough interest and support grew for Farscape to have one last grand finale.

The miniseries wraps all the loose threads of the series. John and Aeryn are once more restored but take their relationship to the next level when a baby enters the picture. This comes about in an accelerated manner, most likely intended for a longer season, but the coming of Aeryn’s pregnancy amid Peacekeepers and Scarons pursuing them makes the miniseries all the tenser. Scorpios is still tailing John and still wants that wormhole technology for himself. As the war with the Peacekeepers continues to intensify, Scorpious does his best to reason with John that it may be the only thing that stops a never-ending war.

Even though it had apparently only been a year or two, the cast all perfectly slip back into their roles with ease. Ben Browder is still the cocky and wise-cracking hero who always finds himself making a joke even when bitterly frustrated with everyone and everything around him. There’s a particularly powerful moment where John, convinced to create a wormhole, asks Scorpious to beg for it. He’ll later explode on everyone who asks dumbfoundedly what Chrichton has done. John gives his most explosive rant of the season where everyone seemed to be begging for wormholes, not knowing what they were about to unleash. John knew and can now threaten all of existence with this knowledge.

Claudia Black is still her stern and humorless self who tries to do what’s right made all the more complicated when her body is now fighting for two. Anthony Simcoe still lumbers bout as the growling brute of D’Argo. Gigi Edgley is still the eccentric and seemingly breathless bad girl of Chianni. And extra credit needs to be given to Wayne Pygram for taking it upon himself once more to slather himself in the most elaborate of makeup and leather for the villain of Scorpius. All of them are in top form to provide the perfect series capper, seeming less like a reunion and more like season five.

The visual effects are also a step up in quality which is a good thing considering the new 16:9 aspect ratio was likely to show a whole lot more. The creature effects are still top-notch, with Rigel still looking like his toady self the way his greed drives every motivation. Pilot has that distinct and commanding performance for essentially being a puppet operated by at least four people. Considering how much of the story takes place in space, the computer-graphics have also been improved for the grand showdown of armada versus armada, with a wormhole thrown in to make things every more dangerous and flashy.

Watching The Peacekeeper Wars after it premiere is a bittersweet experience. I remember first watching the miniseries in my college dorm room with a room of like-minded geeks going bananas for everything that transpired, from the unexpected death to the rousing fight scenes. Peering back on the experience, I can’t help but think how much more effective a full fifth season would have been. All that being said, The Peacekeeper Wars is still a suitable end to the story, despite Brian Henson’s insistence that the show can return sometime in the future. If Farscape ends here, it’s a strong finale.