TV.com

Farscape Season 4 Episode 22

Bad Timing

Favorite

Watched It I've Watched This 0

Next
Episode Previous
Episode

9.8

User Rating

252 votes

Your Rating: 10
Your Rating: 9.5
Your Rating: 9
Your Rating: 8.5
Your Rating: 8
Your Rating: 7.5
Your Rating: 7
Your Rating: 6.5
Your Rating: 6
Your Rating: 5.5
Your Rating: 5
Your Rating: 4.5
Your Rating: 4
Your Rating: 3.5
Your Rating: 3
Your Rating: 2.5
Your Rating: 2
Your Rating: 1.5
Your Rating: 1

Rate Now

EPISODE REVIEWS
By TV.com Users

Write A Review

Episode Summary

EDIT

AIRED: 3/21/03

With their Crystherium stores low, the Scarrans must travel to Earth through a wormhole to replenish their supply, as those flowers grow there. With Pilot's help, Crichton tries to collapse the wormhole leading back to Earth.

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

The Scarrans have found the wormhole to Earth. They're on their way. Crichton must close the wormhole permanently to stop them. Aeryn tells him the baby is his. He proposes, she accepts and they get crystallized.moreless

9.6

By Entilzha37, May 15, 2011

What a way to end the series. Our hero finally manages to get the girl, and then get himself crystallized. It was a great episode showing how far Crichton has come, and how far all the characters have developed over the course of the series. The episode begins with four frames from each of the preceding 87 episodes from the series. All this time he was searching for home, and he finally found it in the Uncharted territories. The pain comes from seeing the end of a brillant entertaining series, but fans were comforted when they made the mini-series.moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
6 0

Flag
Share Hide
What a way to end a series. What a very special show. What a way for a channel to treat its viewers.

10

By BadgerBorg, May 15, 2011

NB This review was written for the BBC website just after the initial showing of the episode. At that popint no one knew if it was to be recommisioned or if that was it.

What can you say? The last ever. Brilliant to the end. The programme has been unique in so many ways, and challenging always. Looking back at the bad episodes I’m just resentful that the time was wasted. As for this one? Well, the opening section when the boys and girls talk separately about what was meant by "commitment" was as well done as any drama, let alone a sci-fi programme. The quick cutting both between and backwards was, at the risk of sounding clichéd, beautifully done by a programme at the height of its powers. The effect of Scorpius, Braca and JC finishing each others' sentences as we cut between them also showed a confidence in the production that was fully justified. In fact, it is impossible to fault this episode at all. Even the soft moments (JC talking to his Dad from the moon, and the proposal scene) were moving without being maudlin. This was especially so with the latter, with a blind Chiana asking what was happening and being the only one who really understood the significance. See, all that time on Earth watching daytime TV wasn’t wasted. Witty, subversive, impressive, thoughtful, and different. A real jewel of a programme that leaves a hole that is almost impossible to fill. And in the end, a programme that puts one of the most scheming, hard-edged villains ever in a bunny suit has to get full marks, doesn’t it?moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
2 0

Flag
Share Hide
Farscape - out with a bang.... well, at least for a little while.

9.9

By RezW, May 15, 2011

Ok, this show ended a while back. But I’m reviewing it in 2007. This fact will have relevance very soon.

Anyway, I just watched it and i love it. But its the fact that i KNOW i would have had a much different reaction to it all those years ago, not knowing that there would be a mini-series to follow it.

I'm going to try not to give too much away (although I assume anyone who is reading this will have probably already seen the ep). If they had had ended the episode 2 minutes before they did, it would have been an acceptable series finale... but oh no, that wouldn't be right: not for Farscape. So they create this HUGE cliff-hanger, where the audience is left thinking "WTF". And I loved that about it.

It was so so so so very Farscape. I grinned at the end. Knowing what I know. But back when it originally aired, I just know I would have been throwing thing at the TV..moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
2 0

Flag
Share Hide
The end of Farscape well until the Peacekeeper Wars at least.

10

By farscapefanuk, May 15, 2011

Only Farscape would chose to go out like this. This episode even thought it was the end felt like so much more could be done. You can see that the writers tried desperately to wrap up all the loose ends, and i think for the most part they did.

There was so many touching scenes in this episodes, the scene between Crichton and his father and the scene between Aeryn and Crichton where he proposes to her. I think they done there best with the time they had. So Crichton manages to seal up the wormhole which connects him to earth but at a high price, he may never be able to return home.

I also liked how Crichton warned his father that soon the Scarrens will get to earth even without a wormhole and they must be ready. I totally loved every moment. This episode truely was the best so far in the whole series. And when the episde said finally on Farscape i felt so sad. You can really see from this episode that if season 5 was made it would have been so great. But why did they chose to end the season with John and Aeryn dying? Are they really dead? I think not. I just hope the Peacekeeper Wars does it's best to wrap up the story. But wow Farscape does not get much better than this, and this episode never played it safe. I really will miss this show, it has been a wonderful journey to see Crichton on his adventures. Goodbye...moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
2 0

Flag
Share Hide
Studio executives, in their "infinite" wisdom think they know what WE want????

10

By mingo59, May 15, 2011

Well, this was one humdinger of an episode! The Farscape phenomenom, a exceedingly well oiled machine by S4, served us up a whole whack of resolution and an equally enticing dose of "I can hardly wait to see what happens next!"

To finally go, where no sci fi show had ever gone before, (my one example is John and Aeryn proclaiming and solidifying their relationship) is perhaps Farscape's endearment to the die hard fan, and downfall to a studio that wants "conformity" and "mass appeal" in it's productions. Farscape was NOT your father's sci fi show - and thank the production Gods for that!

I fear there will never be another series with such innovation, risk, sweat and tears, cast chemistry, and all out dedication to giving the viewer so much more than what they thought they wanted!moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
2 0

Flag
Share Hide

See All Fan Reviews

Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

Ben Browder	John Crichton
Claudia Black	Aeryn Sun
Anthony Simcoe	Ka D'Argo
Jonathan Hardy	Voice of Dominar Rygel XVI
Gigi Edgley	Chiana
Wayne Pygram	Scorpius/"Harvey"

See All Cast & Crew

Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

EDIT

John Adam	Pennoch	Guest Star
Raelee Hill	Sikozu	Recurring Role
Melissa Jaffer	Noranti	Recurring Role
Paul Goddard	Stark	Recurring Role

See All Cast & Crew

Watch Online

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

FILTER BY TYPE

TRIVIA (9)
ADD TRIVIA
- Goof: When John, Scorpius, and Sikozu close the helmets of their space suits, it's obvious that the face shield does not seal their faces from space underneath their chins. Perhaps Sikozu and Scorpius don't need them sealed, but John would experience explosive decompression and die within a few minutes upon being exposed to space without that protective seal.
  EDIT SHARE
- Nitpick: The Scarrans decide to go to Earth, supposedly to replace the Crystherium flowers that Crichton destroyed. But there is absolutely no reason to believe that Earth's bird of paradise flowers have the same properties as the Crystherium- humans look exactly like Sebaceans, but are very different in their physiology. Either they are grasping at straws, looking for leverage to gain John's wormhole knowledge, or it's just revenge.
  EDIT SHARE
- Goof: In a wider shot of the end scene the engagement ring is lying down on top of the crystals, but in the very last frame (with "to be continued") it's standing up.
  EDIT SHARE
- Sikozu's comment to Crichton of "Weak species" echoes her earlier statement in "Unrealized Reality".
  EDIT SHARE
- Scorpius asked Braca to have Noranti brought aboard, but his reasoning is unknown.
  EDIT SHARE
- Commandant Grayza is in confinement on the Command Carrier, and is under sedation at the last check.
  EDIT SHARE
- Stark references his time as a pilot, talking of his taking control of Talyn in season three's "Meltdown".
  EDIT SHARE
- Chiana is blinded after her slowing down Pilot's controls, but this time it's taking so long to go away that she believes she may be permanently blind.
  EDIT SHARE
- Aeryn tells Crichton that the baby is his, and then he proposes. She agrees, so they're engaged, and he gives her his mother's ring that his sister gave him on Earth (in "Terra Firma").
  EDIT SHARE
QUOTES (16)
ADD QUOTES
- Sikozu: (trying to persuade him to accept Scorpius' help against the Scarrans) Crichton, he is not wrong. You must trust him!
  Crichton: Goldilocks, it's a bad choice. When you figure that out, call our 1-800 number for counseling.
  EDIT SHARE
- Stark: (panicking) No no! Scarrans! Scarrans torture! Scarrans kill! TORTURE, KILL! TORTURE, KILL!
  Chiana: STARK!
  Stark (calmly) I think I'm okay now.
  EDIT SHARE
- Pilot: Ahh... Dominar.
  Rygel: (referring to Crichton's plan to use Moya to collapse the wormhole) You should do it.
  Pilot: Would you?
  Rygel: No. But I'm not you.
  EDIT SHARE
- Crichton: (into a tape recorder) My name is John Crichton...an astronaut. Four years ago, I got...shot through a wormhole to a distant part of the galaxy. I ending up on this ship...this living ship, populated by escaping prisoners...who became my friends. I made enemies...
  EDIT SHARE
- Harvey: (wearing bunny suit) Curious holiday, Easter. A religious leader dies, comes back from the dead, and you end up celebrating like this.
  EDIT SHARE
- Chiana: Why are you doin' this? Why would you sell your own people out?
  Crichton: Because I am proud to bring Peacekeeper protection to my backward ass little planet.
  (Chiana punches him in the stomach)
  Chiana: Then don't do it. Pop the frelling bubble. Make the wormhole collapse.
  Crichton: Pip, I can't do it.
  Chiana: Yes, you can.
  Crichton: I'm not smart enough...
  Chiana: Yes, you are.
  Crichton: I'm not fast enough...I am not alien enough, and you know what? There are people in the Universe who don't like me. I'm only human.
  EDIT SHARE
- Crichton: We've got a little problem.
  Jack: Worse than a $300 clipboard that you can put paper in when it's upside down?
  Crichton: Yes. The Scarrans have located Earth. And, they're on their way.
  Jack: What can we do?
  Crichton: Nothing. I gotta do it.
  Jack: What the hell does that mean? Why do you have to do it? You've already done enough, son.
  Crichton: I'm gonna seal up the wormhole. That'll isolate Earth, but it should protect it.
  Jack: Then how do we get into deep space?
  Crichton: The old-fashioned way. You build the rocket. I've left you...technology and navigation information...here at your flagpole.
  (sets a tape recorder by the flagpole)
  Jack: How long do we have?
  Crichton: Not long.
  Jack: Then take me with you. Take us all...we're ready. Five hundred of the world's best. We can help.
  Crichton: There's no time.
  Jack: What do you mean, there's no time? For Moya to get from the Moon to the Earth, what's it take? A blink of an eye? Two seconds? Come on, son.
  Crichton: We're down to minutes...Dad. How do you want to spend 'em?
  EDIT SHARE
- Jack: Son...listen...the...the Secretary General of the UN is...he speaks for the planet on all space matters now. We're starting to come together, just like you wanted.
  Crichton: That's good. Keep that up.
  Jack: I was looking forward to coming with you, boy.
  Crichton: Well...sometimes things don't happen quite the way you imagine 'em. Tell Susan and Liv that...I love 'em . And I'll contact ya if I can. Tell everyone.
  Jack: I will, son. You tell my grand-kids about me.
  Crichton: Come on, that's a no-brainer. They've got to know who my hero is.
  Jack: You're going to find, when you have your own, that you want them to pass you. Be better, climb higher. I guess if that's the measure, I'm...the greatest dad on Earth.
  Crichton: I love you, Dad.
  Jack: You're the heart and soul of my life, son. I love you...Good-bye.
  EDIT SHARE
- Aeryn: So I'm having a baby.
  Crichton: Are you okay? And the baby?
  Aeryn: It's yours. I just wanted to tell you. Hope it doesn't change anything.
  Crichton: Um, well, it changes everything. (stands up and starts yelling) We are having a baby! Yeah! Frell you! We are gonna have a BABY!
  EDIT SHARE
- Crichton: That scares the hell out of me... From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I could never see the end
  Aeryn: What scares me is I always could.
  EDIT SHARE
- (Crichton begins to propose to Aeryn)
  D'Argo: Crichton's gone down onto his knees.
  Chiana: Why...?
  Rygel: I think he's hurt himself.
  EDIT SHARE
- Crichton: What did you imagine for your life?
  Aeryn: Service, promotion, retirement, death. You?
  Crichton: This is exactly what I imagined... and a couple of kids.
  EDIT SHARE
- Crichton: Will you marry me?
  Aeryn: Yes.
  EDIT SHARE
- D'Argo: I think you should concentrate on your training with Katoya.
  Crichton: Katoya's a frelling fruit loop.
  D'Argo: Focus on your inner strength.
  Crichton: It's here. I just can't find the Rosetta Stone.
  D'Argo: Katoya.
  Crichton: Fruit loop.
  Chiana: Sex.
  EDIT SHARE
- Chiana: Sex does it.
  D'Argo: For you.
  Chiana: For everyone. (looks to Crichton) Sex.
  Crichton: With you, or with him?
  Chiana: Whatever.
  EDIT SHARE
- Rygel: Hmm... Proposed what?
  Chiana: Marriage.
  Rygel: Marriage? Idiot!
  EDIT SHARE
NOTES (8)
ADD NOTES
- This episode was originally titled "No Turning Back", but they changed it after it was announced that the show was being cancelled.
  EDIT SHARE
- Ben Browder voiced the alien pilot that strafes Crichton and Aeryn in the final scene. The alien who speaks over the radio to that pilot is voiced by the episode's assistant director Michael Feranda.
  EDIT SHARE
- The cast and crew did not find out about the show's cancellation until the last day of shooting.
  EDIT SHARE
- At the show's wrap-up, Rockne S. O'Bannon stated that the show was 80% done. This would suggest that they planned to end the show after its ill-fated 5th season.
  EDIT SHARE
- Jack's half of the phonecall conversation between him and Crichton was filmed way earlier in the season, at the same time as "Kansas" and "Terra Firma". Ben Browder then filmed his half later on, with someone shouting Jacks lines at him so he could hear them through his helmet.
  EDIT SHARE
- Ben Browder (John Crichton) is the only actor to appear in every episode of the series.
  EDIT SHARE
- For this episode, the "previously on" segment is made up of four frames from each of the 87 episodes that have preceded this, and the narration ends with "And finally, on Farscape". This episode was shot before Sci-Fi's decision to cancel the show. The "previously on Farscape" featuring clips from all of 87 of the episodes was added later.
  EDIT SHARE
- There was no music on the end credits.
  EDIT SHARE
ALLUSIONS (3)
ADD ALLUSIONS
- Crichton: Dear God... don't let me screw this up.
  
  This is a variation of what Astronaut Alan Shepard said while waiting for the launch of Freedom 7. This phrase became known among aviators as "Shepard's Prayer."
  EDIT SHARE
- Crichton: I'm not smart enough...I'm not fast enough...I am not alien enough, and you know what? There are people in the Universe who don't like me.
  
  This is a reference to the Saturday Night Live skits featuring Al Franken as Stuart Smalley, where at the end of the fake talk show he looks in a mirror and says "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!"
  EDIT SHARE
- Dr Strangelove:
  
  Crichton writes "Dear John" on the fission bomb he straps to Scorpius. The two (fission) bombs in the movie Doctor Strangelove have "Dear John" and "Hi There!" written on them. In the previous episode, "We're So Screwed, Part 3: La Bomba", Crichton writes "Hi There!" on another fission bomb.
  EDIT SHARE