Eat Me

Ratings
1.4 (US)
1.85 (UK)

Tammy MacIntosh............Jool
Shane Briant...............Kaarvok
Lisa Griffiths.............Belima
Sean Masterson.............Voice of Rovhu's Pilot

Wassup?

Let's have the neighbors for lunch.

After Jool damages the transport pod, she, John, D'Argo and Chiana are forced to land on a damaged Leviathan. As they scrounge the ailing ship for parts, they discover it's not so abandoned as it initially appeared. Meanwhile, an unexpected starburst by Moya brings Aeryn and the remaining crew to a horribly wounded Talyn and Crais.

Backstory

Transport pod are apparently easy to disable, from the inside; whatever Jool did to damage the pod, she did by grabbing the controls when Chiana looked away for a moment. Telemetry, comms, and neuro status were all disabled, and the pod began leaking atmosphere. The components required to repair it included threekay wire, narium coils, and a new external gyrosensor.

The leviathan they happen across, Rovhu, appears to have been hit with some variety of biochemical weapon, and is now slowly dying, oozing puss and smelling, as John says, "worse than Rygel".

Only tertiary systems remain functional when a Leviathan is unconscious; this does not seem to include normal door controls.

John and D'Argo initially say that threekay wire and narium coils can be found on Tiers 3 and 4; however, D'Argo later says that narium coils are on Tier 7. Eventually, John and D'Argo pull threekay wire from a duct leading to the klestron filters; D'Argo happens across an external gyrosensor and discards it, where Chiana later picks it up; and Chiana finds narium coils in the cell where D'Argo is held prisoner.

Sebacean skeletons appear identical to human skeletons.

According to Jool, her home planet has no weapons, war or violence. She doesn't know how to use a pulse rifle.

Kaarvok's mechanical "enhancements" enable him to directly interface with Rovhu, and control a variety of the ship's functions, including atmospheric venting and the doors. He is able to fire it like a weapon. It also extrudes a long spike, which he inserts into the brains of his victims to suck material out of their cranial cavities (incidentally killing them); he then inserts the spike, and thereby the material, into his own head, apparently as a food source.

Leviathans must have a standard layout; the crew has no trouble navigating Rovhu's corridors, based on their knowledge of Moya.

The feral Sebaceans will eat any food source they can locate, including the Pilot's arms, each other, and the ship itself.

Talyn was apparently able to send out a distress call, which Moya was able to detect, before becoming comatose. While he appears whole from the exterior; however, there is significant internal damage, and Crais is also unconscious.

Nebari perform death rites when someone they care about dies. This includes the use of some kind of self-igniting powder, which Chiana carried with her.

Jool's parents were apparently quite supportive, and told her she could do anything.

Rovhu was a prison ship for the criminally insane, but there was only one prisoner aboard. Per Pilot, Kaarvok was considered an important prisoner because of "his power".

Scarrens and Peacekeepers have been engaged in open conflict in this region of the Uncharted Territories. Scarrens ambushed Rovhu while she was in a PK convoy.

The Peacekeepers were either unable, or considered it unnecessary, to evacuate Rovhu's crew. Unable to starburst because of her control collar, Rovhu was stranded. Although all escape craft are missing from the docking bay, presumably used to evacuate the crew, there were still Peacekeepers left aboard.

The link between Crais and Talyn may be more critical than previously realized. Both Crais and Talyn are unconscious, but removing Crais' transponder still caused Talyn to beginning to shut down completely.

Initiating starburst while a Leviathan is in a control collar will destroy the ship.

Kaarvok specifically says his device does not clone people, but rather, "twins" or doubles them, creating two "equal and original" beings.

Kaarvok had never twinned a Luxan before D'Argo.

Kaarvok calls the feral Sebaceans Xarai, because he once had a tame vangern by that name.

After being twinned 20 or 30 times, an individual shows signs of mental degradation.

While towing Talyn, Moya can not travel faster than hetch three.

Chiana has the technical skills to repair the transport pod without help from John or D'Argo.

Despite her upbringing, Jool would rather commit suicide than be attacked and murdered.

Kaarvok's device can be overloaded (in this instance, by imbedding it into Pilot's console); overloading it causes it to initiate the twinning process.

Individuals don't remember the actual experience of being twinned. In fact, the two Johns didn't realize what had happened until they met in the docking bay.

Reactions

Questions

1. Why are there no DRDs on Rovhu?
2. The twinning process includes the subject's clothing. Was D'Argo's Qualta blade duplicated as well?
3. Does Kaarvok's "sippee straw" (as John calls it) drill, or just impale?
4. When the twinning process is used, does it create an exact copy of the original, or destroy the original to create two copies?
5. How many times can a subject be twinned before mental degradation occurs?
6. How was Talyn so badly injured?

Observations

1. D'Argo accuses John of leading them to their death by landing on the Leviathan, but he goes along, anyway.
2. Chiana and D'Argo are both rather freaked by the experience of seeing their twins killed, and question their self identities as a result. Chiana seems more deeply affected; while D'Argo merely saw his dead twin, Chiana actually ran away from hers, when the twin was reaching out to her for help.
3. The actor portraying Kaarvok (Shane Briant) previously acted in horror films made by Hammer films. Hence, it's an inside joke when Crichton calls him a "sick Hammer Horror son-of-a-bitch".
4. Belima sounds like a monkey.
5. Even if they are perfect duplicates, it's statistically impossible that the two Johns, playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, would tie every time.
6. Kaarvok considered the Xarai food and family. They apparently just considered him food.

Bloopers (none)

Annotations

D'Argo: "It's gone."
John: "Burnt, battered, busted. Ding dong, the pod is dead."

A reference to the well-known Munchkin song from THE WIZARD OF OZ, "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead".

John: "Abbott and Costello in THE HOUSE OF HORROR."

Abbott & Costello never made a film called THE HOUSE OF HORROR (the only film by that title was a 1929 horror-comedy). However, this comic duo did star in several movies in which they crossed paths with several of Universal Studios's classic monster stars:

John: "And what if we're dying? What if we've been exposed to some radiation, or some virus is going to mutate us into the Night of the Living Dead?"

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is a classic low-budget horror film by George Romero. In it, radiation from a fallen satellite causes the dead to rise from their graves and feed on human beings. Romero made two sequels, as well as a remake of the original.

Rovhu Pilot: "Please. Kill me."

Given the combination sf/horror nature of the episode, this is a possible reference to the ALIEN film series. In a deleted scene from Ridley Scott's ALIEN, Ripley finds Captain Dallas cocooned, and he pleads with her to kill him so he doesn't suffer when the alien bursts from his chest. In James Cameron's sequel, ALIENS, the Marines come across a colonist who makes the same plea.

John: "He controls the whole ship, Chiana! He's got the Maintenance Bay, he's got the doors, he's got the windows, he's got the smoke on the water."

What Crichton means by that is a mystery to me, but the phrase "smoke on the water" originates from the song of that title written by Roger Glover and performed by the rock band Deep Purple. An explanation for the origin of the title, and the meaning of the song itself, is available on the web.

John: "Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, I can feel it. That sick, Hammer horror son of a bitch...he's going to be sucking my brains through a sippy straw, and it ain't makin' me feel comfortable!"

John is likening Kaarvok to the monsters of the movies from Britain's Hammer Films. Hammer was best known for their series of Dracula films starring Christopher Lee and Frankenstein films starring Peter Cushing. An extra layer of in-joke comes from the fact that Shane Briant, who plays Kaarvok, had actually appeared in some of Hammer's movies:

• STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING
• DEMONS OF THE MIND
• KRONOS
• FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL

John: "Hey, kids! It's dinnertime. And it's finger-lickin' good."

"Finger-licking good" was an advertising slogan for Colonel Sanders' Kentucky Fried Chicken.

(see also www.crichtonisms.com)

Translator Microbe Report

Quotables

"Maybe there's a pilot keeping it closed...or a host of peacekeepers...or thousands of feral hippie boys, friends and relatives..." - John Crichton

"Abbott and Costello in the house of horror." - John Crichton

"Whoa! Oh, man, that smells worse than Rygel!" - John Crichton

"This was meant to be a hit-and-run mission, so we get the parts that we need."
"And what if we're dying? What if we've been exposed to some radiation, or some virus is going to mutate us into the night of the living dead?"
- D'Argo, John Crichton

"There's a, there's a pulse-rifle on the transport pod. How do I open this door?"
"You know, we don't have weapons on our planet, we don't have violence, we don't have war --"
[Chiana slugs her]
"What the frell?"
[Chiana slugs her again]
[Jool slugs back, then clutches her bruised knuckles]
"Ohh, frelling hezamana!"
"See? Violence. You'll get the hang of it."
- Chiana, Jool

"They cut your arms, and when they grow back, they hack 'em off again. Why the hell would they do that?"
"Because, because, because they're eating meeee!"
- John Crichton, Pilot

"Okay, okay, I can do this. I can, I can do anything. That's what my father told me, that's what my mother told me, and I never doubted them before...[shriek]...maybe once or twice...but I shouldn't doubt them. I should believe in them. And I should...believe in myself. [shriek] Oh, I don't think this is right, I shouldn't be here. I'm a civilized being. There's got to be someone here who recognizes that. I just need to find them..." - Jool

"He controls the whole ship, Chiana...he's got the maintenance bay, he's got the doors, he's got the windows, he's got the smoke on the water!" - John Crichton

"They had a whole prison ship for one prisoner?"
"What about all this other vermin we're seeing? The hungry, hungry hippies?"
- Chiana, John Crichton

"Listen, you bartantic bitch, Talyn's supposedly the meanest, deadliest, all-time yave-of-the-yuvo fighter ship. But somebody, something, beat the yotz out of him." - Rygel

"D'Argo's dead. Chiana's dead. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, I can feel it. That sick Hammer Horror son-of-a-bitch, he's gonna be sucking my brains through a sippee straw and it ain't making me feel comfortable!" - John Crichton

"Oh, do settle. You're being very angry." - Kaarvok

"You cloned me."
"Not the word "clone". Please. I doubled you. I...twinned you. Two D'Argos, equal and original. And tasty. I've never twinned a Luxan before."
"Why me?"
"We're going to make babies."
- D'Argo, Kaarvok

"Chiana in two. Two, two me. Two...forked! He copies you, that's what he does." - Chiana

"All I need is more...what? Food? Family? Is there a difference?" - Kaarvok

"D'Argo, meet Belima. I'm sorry, I think I twinned her a little too often." - Kaarvok

"If you try anything when I'm gone, whatever you have in the place of mivonks, and wherever they are, they will be gone when I get back." - Aeryn Sun

"Talyn will recover. Crais may not. I suspect that now is not the right moment to abscond." - Stark

"Hey, Kaarvok, it's just you and me now. What do you say we meet for some coffee or something, I'm sure we got lots of stuff we could talk about. We'll cook you up something special, K-man, it's gonna take a little while, we're gonna hit you with some starburst supreme!" - John Crichton

"Schmick light show, baby. You want to try that again? Bring it on!" - John Crichton

"Okay...this is the best way. At least it's going to be quick, and it's going to hurt a lot less than being eaten."
"Still haven't learned how to use it."
"I nearly shot myself with a pulse rifle!"
- Jool, Chiana

"I don't think so, brain-sucker. I can arrange my own death." - John Crichton

"Hey, kids! It's dinner time! And it's finger lickin' good!" - John Crichton

"It was just a copy...a fake."
"I keep telling myself that, but then, there's Crichton...and Kaarvok, he said that he'd created two equal and original."
"Boll-yotz. Kaarvok was full of it."
"How do you know that I am not the copy? Maybe the real D'Argo is dead."
"Because you just know. You know. Frell."
- Chiana, D'Argo

"How is...he?"
"Still tied."
- Aeryn Sun, Rygel

Comments from Cast & Crew

Anthony Simcoe, May 01, 2001

• Ka_Leo: The show has taken a very dark turn this season, I know you cant give any specific plot points away, but is the show going to continue on this dark road, or take a turn for some lighter episodes?

  Anthony_Simcoe: Episode 13 is the funniest episode of Farscape we have made yet. So there are moments of light!
  Anthony_Simcoe: However, we are very happy with the dark road this season is taking.
  Anthony_Simcoe: We much rather create a world of chaos then of order.
  Anthony_Simcoe: Simply becuase it's more interesting and more daring dramatically.

Richard Manning, May 02, 2001

• Xenajules2: Ricky, Anth told us last night that season 3's ep #13 was the "funniest ever". Do you agree?

  Ricky_Manning: Funnier than episode 306??? Hmmm I would have to get back to you on that one.

• idiclady: Are you and TPTB pleased with fan reaction to season 3 so far?

  Ricky_Manning: Fan reaction?
  Ricky_Manning: We're very happy that we dont seem to be boring very many watchers.

Gigi Edgley, May 3, 2001

• Akula18: Question for ya Gi - Do you see Chiana getting to be friends or enemies with Jool??

  Gigi_Edgley: I think we are all intending to leave the relationship between Jool and Chiana as a bit of a wildcard.
  Gigi_Edgley: Tammy and I are trying to avoid the usual sort of female against female in an inclosed space in a a relationship.
  Gigi_Edgley: To our experiments we have come up with some interesting alternative choices some of them didnt make the cut!

Paul Goddard, May 10, 2001

• Moderator: <ShipperShan> to <Moderator>: We have had a ton of dark episodes so far... at least one person has died in each one!! Are we gonna be getting any episodes like Crackers Don't Matter, or Beware of Dog anytime soon?

  PaulGoddard: Yes.
  PaulGoddard: There are zany times ahead

Guy Gross, May 15, 2001

• Moderator: <RydraWong> to <Moderator>: What's been the hardest scene to score?
  Moderator: <QBall> to <Moderator>: What was the most difficult / challenging ep you've done, and why?
  Moderator: <stargatetravler> to <Moderator>: Hi Guy! Which one of the eps have been the easiest to score for, which the hardest and which one your favorite?
  Moderator: (three similar questions, all in one shot)

  Guy: The work I'm most proud of is on Die Me Dichotomy, particularly the dog fight and Aeryns death scene and of coarse her funeral
  Guy: the hardest was that ep that took place on earth
  Guy: forgot the name
  Guy: mad??
  Guy: mod?

  Moderator: Not Human Reaction...Won't Get Fool Again, that's the one.

  Guy: yah, that's it.
  Guy: there was styles that were really out of my confort zone
  Guy: I was also really happy with Eat Me. I recorded a whole bunch of new samples for that one. Tenor Horn, Shakahatchi and violin.
  Guy: Also the locket was great too do. Real human emotion is terrific to work with.
  Guy: I'm actually stumped to find my best episode musically to submit for awards. I'm open to suggestions.

  Moderator: What's a "shakahatchi?"

  Guy: it's a japanese bamboo flute
  Guy: I taught myself to play it
  Guy: it's really erry

• Moderator: did you leap up when you read EAT ME and think, "great, a horror ep!"?
  Moderator: (or "oh no, a horror ep!")

  Guy: Absolutly!
  Guy: great a horror ep
  Guy: I'd just scored a horror feature called CUT starring Molly Ringwald
  Guy: and wasn't too impressed with my result
  Guy: so another bite at the cherry was nice
  Guy: I loved that ep

• Moderator: <GutPageant> to <Moderator>: Do you ever shake your head in amused disbelief at some of the scenes you need to score?"Look at the Princess" for example--'Hey! We need some alien lounge music here!'

  Guy: Absolutly!
  Guy: That's the great thing about FS
  Guy: you never know what's next
  Guy: look at the eat me cliffhanger for instance
  Guy: who'd have thought!!!!!

Ben Browder, Mat McCoy (w/Fiona Gentle and Tim Mieville), Lily Taylor, & Richard Manning, July 12, 2001

• Moderator: <SunAeryn> to <Moderator>: Fiona, what's Pilot's shellhead feel like...on top. It's so shiny. I just want to give it a rub! :)

  Puppeteering Team: Not nearly as good as the soft tissue underneath his claws.
  Puppeteering Team: Matt says there's good eating in a pilot.

• Moderator: <birthsister> to <Moderator>: froon, did you guys ever figure out who screwed the pooch on the whole wynona thing....how could john have taken wynona if they were both duplicated?

  FrooniumRicky: I'd have to look at the ep again...
  FrooniumRicky: But I remember that this WAS discussed in the story stage
  FrooniumRicky: and if I remember correctly
  FrooniumRicky: (which I may not,
  FrooniumRicky: or the editing may have obscured or removed the point...)
  FrooniumRicky: He didn't have Wynona ON him when he got duped
  FrooniumRicky: he'd lost it earlier
  FrooniumRicky: and then one of 'em (or was it D or Chi?) found it
  FrooniumRicky: but I think if he'd had it during his big confront with Kaarvok, he'd probably have used it

Farscape Wrap Day Extravaganza, July 26, 2001

• Moderator: <phepup> to <Moderator>: Tim, how often are sets reused? Were parts of "Moya" used for the diseased Leviathan in Eat Me?

  TimFerrier: Yes. It was a big redress for us. There was lots of licorice, the painters did a great job.
  TimFerrier: And Russell Bacon, our terrific DOP, created a totally different feel through lighting changes.

• Moderator: <CraisLover> to <Moderator>: Tim, was the parts of Moya used in "Eat Me" the same parts that were involved in the fire at the studio?
  Moderator: (or if not used, did they provide a little "inspiration?")

  TimFerrier: We can always use inspiration from any source.. but those sets were in a different studio.

• Moderator: <birthsister> to <Moderator>: welcome froonie, i must apologize for my questoins last time...after rewatching Eat Me i was able to notice wynona wasinthe same locker with the qualta blade...subtle but distinct when you knew what to look for. so sorry

  FrooniumRicky: no prob, birth
  FrooniumRicky: I'm just glad we didn't drop the ball there