Ratings
0.9 (US)
2.75 (UK)

Angie Milliken.............Volmae
Ken Blackburn..............Hybin
Tina Thomsen...............Tanga
Selina Muller..............D'Argo's Girlfriend
Mark Slocum................Sykaran Male #1
Peter Baroch...............Sykaran Male #3

Wassup?

Is it Tomorrow yet?

When D'Argo decides to get away from it all, he winds up in a worker's paradise, and the crew must adjust to the possibility of saying goodbye to one of their number. But first, they want to know where all that tannot root is going...and why in D'Argo's new home, tomorrow is a Rest Day, but tomorrow never comes.

Backstory

Luxan males are prone to fits of "hyper rage", which do not dissipate quickly; Zhaan says that John was the target of D'Argo's because he was a fellow male.

Sykar, or at least the portion of it where D'Argo landed, experiences "white night"; even during this nocturnal period, the temperature is high, and during the daytime hours it is too hot for Aeryn to tolerate.

The Sykarans are distant cousins of Sebaceans, apparently able to deal with the heat that Peacekeepers cannot.

The potables in the bar lose their potency if not drunk swiftly.

Rygel's body fluids are turned explosive by whatever he consumed on the planet.

The worm given John is considered worth killing for. It causes intense pain, which can be relieved by consuming tannot root; in exchange, the worm negates the tannot root's mind-altering effects, thriving on its toxins.

Zhaan's decision to follow the Delvian Seek came upon her in the blink of an eye, while she was laying in her cell.

We see Zhaan's subjugation to the tannot root occur in the fields: she questions D'Argo's change of heart while eating, and only a few minutes later is commenting on how enjoyable the work is.

The medical scanner is ancillary to Moya's central systems; Pilot cannot operate it directly.

Some Sykarans are naturally immune to the root. Immunity, whether natural, or caused by the worm, is grounds for execution.

Pilot has difficulty with complex sciences; analyzing scientific data does not come naturally to him, and he studies every chance he gets. He prefers that the others not know, but somehow feels that he can trust Aeryn with this information.

The tannot root was brought to Sykar by Peacekeepers, who forced them to cultivate it. Once the population ate it, they became enslaved by it, doing and believing whatever they were told. The Peacekeepers return twice a cycle to collect the crop; they chose Volmae at random as the Sykarans' leader, and gave her the worm, which is very rare.

John was given the worm because he has a ship, and might be able to bring help -- weapons and assistance to free the planet.

Volmae is interested in John because he has a ship, which she can use to escape with a shipment of tannot root. She does not know what the root is used for, but reasons that it must have value, since the entire planet is being forced to grow it.

Tannot root is used to manufacture chakan oil, which fuels Peacekeeper weapons. Rygel's digestive system evidently processes the tannot root in a similar manner, which is why his excretions became explosive.

D'Argo would have approached Zhaan at the next celebration, and she would have accepted.

D'Argo, as a youth, wished both to be a magnificent, fearless, merciless warrior, and to lead a simple life, with family, children, and a frotash garden planted with his own hands.

Reactions

Questions

1. If D'Argo's rage is naturally directed at males, why doesn't he go after Rygel or Pilot when he can't find John? Is it only potential rivals that evoke this aggression?
2. If Volmae is a native Sykaran, why are her skin tone and speech patterns so different from the others'? Her translucent skin looks unlikely to tan so darkly as that of the laborers.
3. Several Sykarans state that the tannot root is killing their planet, but not how. Did they mean culturally? Or is the crop actually depleting their natural resources?

Observations

1. D'Argo practically looked right at John when he was hiding in the maintenance bay; evidently, hyper rage does not heighten a Luxan's visual acuity.
2. The "1984" style loudspeakers constantly going in the background were a nice touch.
3. Volmae's makeup was wonderful, especially the translucent skin effect.

Bloopers (none)

Annotations

John: "Oh, yeah, I think I've seen this one. Mel Gibson, Tina Turner...cage match."
Rygel: "What?"
John: "Oh, don't worry. Nobody saw the third one anyway."

He's referring, of course, to the 1985 film MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME. For an interesting analysis of the film, check out http://www.transparencynow.com/maxintro.htm or for a mythological analysis of the series as a whole, http://web.1earth.net/~postmodm/m/text/madmax.html

John: "My boy D'Argo, into the Promised Land..."

A reference to the Biblical concept of a "land of milk and honey".

John: "Look, Woodstock has done something to his head..."

Reference to the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival, using it as a metaphor to describe Volmae's drugged-out, "hippy"-like personality.

Aeryn: "Where's Zhaan?"
John: "Look, she's with D'Argo, OK? Dancing with the Grateful Dead."

Another metaphor, referring to the rock band that's generally perceived as a favorite with druggies.

John: "I know -- and we're all grateful that you did the Madame Curie thing, but..."
Aeryn: "What? Who?"
John: "Madame Curie. She's...she's a scientist."

And discoverer of radium. An excellent biographical drama about her was filmed in 1943, starring Greer Garson as Marie and Walter Pidgeon as her husband Pierre. See also http://www.physics.purdue.edu/wip/herstory/curie.html

John: "Oh, give it a rest, Snow White."

The famous character, from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, who played Den Mother to a bunch of vertically challenged working class guys.

Translator Microbe Report

Quotables

"This is the end of hyper rage? I get hugged to death?"
- John Crichton

"My boy D'Argo, into the Promised Land..."
"Yes, and he's left his brain behind."
- John Crichton, Aeryn Sun

"She gives me a woody...[strange look from John]...'Woody', it's a human saying. I've heard you say it often. When you don't trust someone or they make you nervous, they give you --"
"Willies! She gives you the willies!"
- Aeryn Sun, John Crichton

"Definitely a simple people. They never heard of the last call."
- John Crichton

"Nobody knows you here. It's only people who know you who want to kill you."
- Aeryn Sun

"Peacekeepers are trained only to kill."
"Mmmm...so, don't forget that this Peacekeeper just saved your life."
"Oh."
- Rygel, Aeryn Sun

"Crichton."
"Damn. Why can't you come in the front like regular people?"
- Aeryn Sun, John Crichton

"Aeryn, not today, okay? I have been out in the sun, all day long, picking up magic turnips. I got...I got a worm in my gut, crawling around down in places where the sun don't shine. And I'm sick of it, okay? So, for the moment, would you just shut up and help?"
- John Crichton

"This is great! You, trading in your pulse rifle for the junior chemistry kit."
- John Crichton

"Oh, give it a rest, Snow White."
- John Crichton

"If I were warmer, I would have an appropriately venomous reply. Be warned: I owe you one."
- Rygel

"It was nice for once to triumph using my mind."
"It doesn't just have to be this once, Aeryn."
- Aeryn Sun, John Crichton

"There are no guarantees, D'Argo. We take each breath as if it is our last, and hope that the air is sweet."
- Zhaan

Comments from Cast & Crew

Claudia Black ("ChickwithGun") & Anthony Simcoe ("Ploppy"), July 28, 1999

• Moderator: <BudFrogs>: Claudia and Anthony. What is one thing you would like to have included on one of the shows?
  

  Ploppy: I would love to have a had a steamy love scene with D'Argos girlfriend down on Sykar in ep 6. LOL

  ChickwithGun: Was that Anth or D'Argo?
  

  Ploppy: Why haggle - it can be both
  

Sean Masterson & Tim Mieville (Farscape Puppeteers), December 20, 1999

• Moderator: <thetas> tim,do you feel that making rygel urinate in one episode makes people realize one reason that puppets like the muppets aren't just for children?
  

  TimMieville: Yeah. I'd have to say that we are very happy to do scenes like that
  TimMieville: It gives our alien a human quality.
  TimMieville: He's waiting for his big love scene though...and waiting...and waiting
  

Richard Manning & Andrew Prowse, January 6, 2000

• Moderator: <Korban> to <Moderator>: What are your favorite FarScape episodes you did *not* direct/write?
  

  Andrew: good question!
  Andrew: Thank God it's Friday, Human Reaction, and the 4 you're about to see