The makers of this series are either frighteningly intelligent or frighteningly stupid. I’m leaning towards the former, but I’m not sure yet.
The series is set ’’somewhere’’ on the other side of the Galaxy. Luckily they avoid falling into the trap of so many sci-fi series’ of trying to justify where they are and how they got there. The crew is onboard Moya, a living ship. This in itself is an interesting idea, further enhanced by the fact that it has no weapons, so any fighting is pretty much impossible in space. The crew are a bunch of misfits who, thank God, do not bond together to overcome adversity. Although they are becoming generally closer as the series goes on, the 5 lead characters still fall out over petty things and pursue their own concerns more than they work together.
There is a loose overall story of the lead character, John Crichton, being chased by a freakish alien (vaguely reminiscent of a Star Trek Borg but actually scary) who wants knowledge Crichton has buried within his mind. His shipmates are also being hunted by the dominant military power in the region, known as Peacekeepers. This organisation is massively powerful and single minded, and rules much of the region they are in. The other leads are all running from the Peacekeepers for one reason or other, and make an interesting mix. The only other human-looking character is a female Peacekeeper who rebelled against her own people because of their harsh rule. There is also a two foot creature with some kind of jetpack, who is insufferable due to his earlier position as a member of the royalty of his world. Also onboard is a female plant, humanoid in shape, but actually, as I said a plant. She has some powerful mental abilities, and loves to sunbathe. There is also, for lack of a better description, a grey, humanoid whore, and a warrior with an odd head.
The characters are united in their attempts to avoid recapture by the Peacekeepers, but very little else. Occasionally this story is brought to the fore, but like other sci-fi series’, most of the episodes are stand alone adventures based in this universe. There are two things that make this series stand out. First is the fact that it is almost the only series to feature lead characters that bicker more than children do. Not only is it entertaining on its own, but it also changes the typical ’’overcoming adversity’’ stories to ’’overcoming each other and adversity’’. It is an extra twist that keeps the series fresh. The other is some truly inspirational script ideas. The episodes are more often than not so twisted that they are just about clear enough to follow, if you think about them. It is a very engaging series, and is quite witty in understated and almost throwaway moments.