A Prefect Murder

A Prefect Murder
Written by Mark Saraceni
Directed by Geoff Bennett

Original Airdate: August 9, 2002

Plot: Seeking supplies for Moya, the crew travels to a planet on the verge of unifying several clans after years of internal warfare. While there, Aeryn experiences hallucinations of a massive slaughter of people and the planet's leader, only to be horrified when these visions become a reality--and she is the shooter.

Review

Warning: There are no bugs here causing you to have crazy visions of what could be. There are major SPOILERS just ahead for the latest episode of Farscape, "A Prefect Murder." If you've not yet seen it and want to go in unaware of how the storyline progresses, I suggest you turn back now.

In short: Is it just me or did something feel like it was missing?

The last time we saw Moya and her crew, they were headed into Tormented Space--a region of the Uncharted Territories that was supposed to be far worse than anything the crew had ever faced before. That was at the end of the last new episode we saw "I Shrink Therefore I Am" (review coming soon). Now, in "A Prefect Murder" we see the crew actually in Tormented space...or to put it more succulently, we see them after having been in Tormented Space for some time.

Let me be the first to say--huh?

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like we're having large chunks of exposition and backstory left out here? I almost feel as if the stories, of late, are being run out of production order and we, the viewers, are left to try and put the pieces back together. And while Farscape is one of those shows that assumes that viewers are intelligent and will pay attention to what's going on, it's also never been one of those shows to leave out large chunks of the story and then just act as if we, the viewers, should know what the frell is going on.

If anything "A Prefect Murder"'s backstory felt as if it was forced into the idea of going into Tormented space as an after thought. After all, there is nothing saying this one couldn't have aired before "I Shrink, Therefore I Am" and we were seeing Moya's crew on their continual struggle to find supplies for the ship. Heck, based on how hard Commandant Grayza is pursing the crew, it wouldn't be a big shock to see them having to resort to new ways to find supplies as previous sources might be drying up.

It's almost as if the writers this year are picking certain on-going storylines to play with--the Cricthon/Aeryn relationship, the on-going flight from the Peace Keepers and now the Scarrans--to play with and leaving out other on-going plotlines--just who is Sikozu and what are her loyalties, just where were Pilot and Moya during the whole time Cricthon was gone and just why did Aeryn become an assassin. All of this is leading to a lot of frustration with the series because it's been really good in the past about taking the time to answer these questions and answer them in a way that satisfies the audience. Now, before some of you jump and should that we're only halfway through the season and the answers might start coming fast and furious as the next 13 or so episodes come along, I would like to say that I do have patience. But to quote Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers movies--"Throw me a freakin' bone here!" A hint or something like that would go a long, long way at this point toward making me feel a lot better about where the series was going as we make the turn into the long, Sci-Fi enforced hiatus.

The other thing that really bugged me about this episode was the feeling that I'd been plopped down in the middle of a two-part story and I'd missed part one. It starts off with Chiana being exiled from the planet for using her usual charm on the native population. Then, before you can say "Uncharted Territories" we see Sikozu with the prefect's son, seducing him and hinting at a bit more of a long-term relationship/connection to him. But if the planet is as insular as we see from Chiana's exile then just why is the son so willing to jump into something with Sikozu. Yes, we get the explanation that he's been off planet and knows what aliens are like. But that doesn't really seem like enough. Also, why is Sikozu doing this? Is there some purpose to it? Does she care about the boy or is she just doing what Chiana would do and satisfying her own needs and lusts? It's never really explained or given much backstory and, as such, it comes off as really no different than just about romantic subplot on the original Star Trek--the woman was there for Kirk to kiss and whisper sweet nothings to, but she was either dead or left behind at the end of the story. Indeed, I found myself wondering if this wasn't some desperate ploy by the producers to try and titillate us with the possibility of seeing Raelee Hill's breasts in the scene in the field.

They certainly did a lot of teasing about that. And I'm not such a prude that I'm saying it's a bad thing. But it's got to serve the plot really and it didn't really seem to have much to do with the overall plot, unless the point is that our young prefect to be is becoming a man--first by seducing Sikozu and then by being forced into a leadership role when his father is killed.

So, there was a lot of frustration with "A Prefect Murder" on a lot of levels.

There was also a lot of things that did work.

I have to admit the first 20 or so minutes of the story were confusing as hell, though in looking back, you can see why. It was to make the audience just as confused as Aeryn and Crichton were. Also, since this is a murder-mystery at its heart, it gives us varying view points and perspectives on the crime at hand. Indeed, we're given most of the clues to solve the mystery in the first twenty minutes. But I was so caught up in the "what the hesmana" is going on here aspect that I missed most of them. We're also given the motive for the murder, though it's not as obvious that you're seeing it until far later in the storyline.

As for the overall politics of the planet and why it lead to the murders, I found myself thinking that this plotline was really nothing more than a watered down version of the Princess trilogy from season two. In both cases, there are those who wish to avert the usual transfer of power and bring in outsiders to do it. In this case, the storyline is no where near as complex simply because it has to be packed into one episode rather than told over three. In the end, I got the feeling of "been there, done that" from the plotline. That, coupled with a lack of coherent answers based on the long-term story arcs, left me feeling wholly unsatisfied with "A Prefect Murder" as a whole.

But there were some isolated things I did enjoy.

I liked seeing how some of Moya's crew aren't too thrilled with D'Argo being captain. Hearing Chiana voice this opinion certainly worked well--and it makes you wonder if this isn't some type of resentment that is coming from her break-up with D'Argo as well.

And as I said before, I liked the way the first twenty or so minutes unfolded with the feeling of "what the hesmana" is going on here. Seeing bits and pieces of the story and then watching them all come together was certainly interesting. And it was interesting how certain lines got more and more meaningful as we found out the exact context in which they were uttered.

Another thing that worked was the fact that we acknowledge that Moya and her crew do need to stop from time to time to pick up supplies. This is certainly something that shouldn't be addressed in every episode--or else the series, as a whole would be nothing more than Farscape--The Search For Food. But it's something that realitistically should be dealt with and I'm glad they touch on it from time to time.

Finally, I loved the location shooting. It all worked very well and director Geoff Bennett is to be commended for making the location shooting look as good as it did and making it fit seamlessly in with the studio footage.

But all that said, I came away from "A Prefect Murder" less than satisfied.

It had potential to be more, but yet it never took advantage of it. I'm hoping they right the ship quickly. After the season high-point of "John Quixote" a few weeks ago, we've had two less than stellar episodes back-to-back. I'm hoping that the next two episodes right the ship and send us into the long hiatus with good thoughts of the show and really make me look forward to seeing it come back when January rolls around.

So, I guess that's about it for now, except a few small things...

--I loved hearing Cricthon do his Scotty impression to D'Argo.

--Aeryn trying to use English slang is always good for a grin.

--So, John is still hooked to the wacky solution from Granny to get him to forget his pain with Aeryn. It's interesting that he didn't want to use it in front of her, but yet we can plainly hear him over the Comm Link using it. Makes you wonder just how well he's hiding his new found addiction from his crew mates.

--No Granny is always a good thing by me.

--So when Crichton is asking D'Argo to knock him out why doesn't D'Argo use his tongue?

So, I guess that's about it for now. Overall, "A Prefect Murder" wasn't all I'd hoped it would be. Again, I feel as though I came late to the party and missed a lot--though I'm sure I saw the entire episode.

My rating: 4.5 (out of 10.0)

Next up: The crew is captured and only one person can save them...and it's really the last person you'd want to save you.

"You should see her mother."

--Crichton