1.02: I, E.T. - Page 2 - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

Mysterious Stranger · 31st March 2003, 03:13 PM

Translator Microbe Theory? That could actually apply to another episode in S4 that I'll post in later.

Good catch Plethora! I didn't notice that until reading this now. And it is kinda funny that in the second episode they've already "contradicted" themselves with established technology stuff. But hey! It's Farscape and they can contradict themselves all they want as far as I'm concerned.

Plethora · 31st March 2003, 03:43 PM

Thanks..

Quote:

Crichton talking to the people on the planet, yeah that "problem" was discussed on the skiffy bboard back in 1999, and again in 2000, and again in 2001, just about every time someone thinks to bring up Translator Microbe Theory.

I apologize for bringing up old stuff.. but im a newbie.. gotta start somewhere right..??

Anyhow.. this one is one of my fave farscapes.. cause Critchon can understand why theyre so afraid of him.. but it also raises some questions.. what would our (or any other countries) military do if Aliens ever landed ?? Or maybe theyve already landed.. :alienooh: :iiworry:

pkgrl · 1st April 2003, 12:16 PM

Have you seen "A Human Reaction" yet? Check out that thread for a fairly realistic scenario of what would happen if Americans (or Australians) "found" alien life on Earth.

Yeah, MS, the Translator Microbe Theory came up a LOT in the fourth season. Best explanation I heard was confirmed in the fourth season and included stuff like Crichton hears what each character is saying in their own native language, but the microbes instantly translate it to English. It came up in AHR, too.

Hope that helps.

Plethora · 1st April 2003, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Have you seen "A Human Reaction" yet?

Indeed i have, should have thought of that one..

How could i have not seen it?! its pretty crucial to ALL of what happens on farscape later..

Texane · 7th April 2003, 11:52 PM

I'm sure enjoying this new round of Farscape discussions for Season 1!:rolly2:

Plethora · 8th April 2003, 05:07 PM

Well.. its the logical place for a newbie to start.. right?!

Ive goteded myself an alien thingy.. *feels real proud*

Anyhow.. Sci-fi have just started repeating the whole first series in the Uk (where i live) so i get to watch them all again, and then you notice little things.. then you fear your a geek..

But, i have embraced my geekyness.. being a geek is cool..

Texane · 11th April 2003, 07:13 AM

it also appears all the geeks are the people who understand computers . . . which means geeks are running the world . . .

Mysterious Stranger · 4th September 2004, 11:40 PM

For a second episode, I think this one works. We already know that John is lost in distant space with a bunch of aliens. It hasn't really sunk in that it's all real and this episode I think does that for him. Had this come later in the season I don't think the story arcs that follow would have worked as well. We needed to get John established in the universe and he had to realize just how alien everything is and what exactly his situation is. By taking the original concept of human in alien environment and then flipping that around again to make John the alien appearing to a human like species does just that. You can see it in his face when he speaks with the alien boy (I forget his name) and they talk about their wants to meet aliens. It's really poignant and although not the best episode, I, E.T. accomplishes it's goal.

Just one thing that bothered me though. The aliens on the planet could understand John's language even though they had never had any contact with aliens. How is that possible? Did they have translator microbes genetically or is this just a continuity mistake by the writers? I think it's the latter because these first few eps were all shot really quickly and so some things slip through the cracks. Like D'Argo's changing eye color. You can see that in this ep. In one scene he's got bright green eyes and in another they're blue (his natural color). But if that's all you notice then I think they did a great job.

pkgrl · 5th September 2004, 05:08 PM

Just watched this one yesterday, myself. The continuity things always bothered me. Remember, my first FS eps were DNA Mad Scientist and They've Got a Secret, then I saw the rest of season one before this one, so I already saw John behaving, for the most part, like he knew what he was doing. He made some mistakes, but he wasn't nearly as "golly gee" as he was in this eppy.

I did like that this one reminded John of exactly what he had lost. His "this stuff coulda been made on Earth" line and his interaction with the kid were desined for that. And his last shot in the tag, too, when Aeryn says, " Don't tell me you're going to miss that rock." He says, "No, not that rock." You can just see in his face the ache to go home. He was just reminded of our scientists, our military, our dreams as a planet-bound people, and it makes him miss his home.

Watching these early eps again, made me realize just how many writers they had back then... when each new ep was written by someone different. I think the continuity was looser because of that and the fast pace the crew tried to maintain for the network.

The things that bugged me the most was the "alien" characters use of language like damn, hell, minute, year, hour, etc. Once, later in the season, their individual languages were established (when I started watching) it was just jarring to hear them use English for these things. (Now, it's fun to hear them attempt to use English.)

Texane · 9th September 2004, 05:56 AM

hey . . . I never did find out how a guy going on a test run of a small ship ended up on Moya with Calvin's,a jumpsuit, khaki pants, a khaki jacket (complete with IASA patch), duct tape, Wynona, white t-shirt, hair accutriments, a black t-shirt, and an additional pair of darker khaki-looking cargo pants.

pkgrl · 9th September 2004, 12:53 PM

In Premiere, didn't you see him wearing most of that under the flight suit? I did.

Not sure that he brought the brush... might have found it onboard Moya.

And ALL men bring electrical or duct tape with them... everywhere! lol Just kidding. Seeing as how he had that bag stowed away somewhere on the FS 1 module, I'd say that he had the electical tape with him, 'cause you never know with American inventions. :naughty:

31st March 2003, 03:13 PM	#16 (permalink)
Mysterious Stranger Gigi's "Spark" Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: In my dark corner, waiting... Posts: 842	Now I don't want to get off on a rant here but... Translator Microbe Theory? That could actually apply to another episode in S4 that I'll post in later. Good catch Plethora! I didn't notice that until reading this now. And it is kinda funny that in the second episode they've already "contradicted" themselves with established technology stuff. But hey! It's Farscape and they can contradict themselves all they want as far as I'm concerned.

7th April 2003, 11:52 PM	#20 (permalink)
Texane Frelling Wicked Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Texas (of course!) Posts: 3,877	wwwwwwwwwwoooooooohhhhoooooooooooooooo I'm sure enjoying this new round of Farscape discussions for Season 1!:rolly2:

1st April 2003, 12:16 PM	#18 (permalink)
pkgrl Ultimate J/A shipper! Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Southern California Posts: 2,423	Have you seen "A Human Reaction" yet? Check out that thread for a fairly realistic scenario of what would happen if Americans (or Australians) "found" alien life on Earth. Yeah, MS, the Translator Microbe Theory came up a LOT in the fourth season. Best explanation I heard was confirmed in the fourth season and included stuff like Crichton hears what each character is saying in their own native language, but the microbes instantly translate it to English. It came up in AHR, too. Hope that helps.

8th April 2003, 05:07 PM	#21 (permalink)
Plethora Crestfallen Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Wales Posts: 78	Well.. its the logical place for a newbie to start.. right?! Ive goteded myself an alien thingy.. feels real proud Anyhow.. Sci-fi have just started repeating the whole first series in the Uk (where i live) so i get to watch them all again, and then you notice little things.. then you fear your a geek.. But, i have embraced my geekyness.. being a geek is cool..

11th April 2003, 07:13 AM	#22 (permalink)
Texane Frelling Wicked Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Texas (of course!) Posts: 3,877	it also appears all the geeks are the people who understand computers . . . which means geeks are running the world . . .

4th September 2004, 11:40 PM	#23 (permalink)
Mysterious Stranger Gigi's "Spark" Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: In my dark corner, waiting... Posts: 842	For a second episode, I think this one works. We already know that John is lost in distant space with a bunch of aliens. It hasn't really sunk in that it's all real and this episode I think does that for him. Had this come later in the season I don't think the story arcs that follow would have worked as well. We needed to get John established in the universe and he had to realize just how alien everything is and what exactly his situation is. By taking the original concept of human in alien environment and then flipping that around again to make John the alien appearing to a human like species does just that. You can see it in his face when he speaks with the alien boy (I forget his name) and they talk about their wants to meet aliens. It's really poignant and although not the best episode, I, E.T. accomplishes it's goal. Just one thing that bothered me though. The aliens on the planet could understand John's language even though they had never had any contact with aliens. How is that possible? Did they have translator microbes genetically or is this just a continuity mistake by the writers? I think it's the latter because these first few eps were all shot really quickly and so some things slip through the cracks. Like D'Argo's changing eye color. You can see that in this ep. In one scene he's got bright green eyes and in another they're blue (his natural color). But if that's all you notice then I think they did a great job.

5th September 2004, 05:08 PM	#24 (permalink)
pkgrl Ultimate J/A shipper! Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Southern California Posts: 2,423	Just watched this one yesterday, myself. The continuity things always bothered me. Remember, my first FS eps were DNA Mad Scientist and They've Got a Secret, then I saw the rest of season one before this one, so I already saw John behaving, for the most part, like he knew what he was doing. He made some mistakes, but he wasn't nearly as "golly gee" as he was in this eppy. I did like that this one reminded John of exactly what he had lost. His "this stuff coulda been made on Earth" line and his interaction with the kid were desined for that. And his last shot in the tag, too, when Aeryn says, " Don't tell me you're going to miss that rock." He says, "No, not that rock." You can just see in his face the ache to go home. He was just reminded of our scientists, our military, our dreams as a planet-bound people, and it makes him miss his home. Watching these early eps again, made me realize just how many writers they had back then... when each new ep was written by someone different. I think the continuity was looser because of that and the fast pace the crew tried to maintain for the network. The things that bugged me the most was the "alien" characters use of language like damn, hell, minute, year, hour, etc. Once, later in the season, their individual languages were established (when I started watching) it was just jarring to hear them use English for these things. (Now, it's fun to hear them attempt to use English.)

9th September 2004, 05:56 AM	#25 (permalink)
Texane Frelling Wicked Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Texas (of course!) Posts: 3,877	hey . . . I never did find out how a guy going on a test run of a small ship ended up on Moya with Calvin's,a jumpsuit, khaki pants, a khaki jacket (complete with IASA patch), duct tape, Wynona, white t-shirt, hair accutriments, a black t-shirt, and an additional pair of darker khaki-looking cargo pants.

9th September 2004, 12:53 PM	#26 (permalink)
pkgrl Ultimate J/A shipper! Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Southern California Posts: 2,423	In Premiere, didn't you see him wearing most of that under the flight suit? I did. Not sure that he brought the brush... might have found it onboard Moya. And ALL men bring electrical or duct tape with them... everywhere! lol Just kidding. Seeing as how he had that bag stowed away somewhere on the FS 1 module, I'd say that he had the electical tape with him, 'cause you never know with American inventions. :naughty: