Filippo Incorvaia : Here we are at Sant'Angelo Medieval Cloister in Licata, with Giovanni Casano, FarScape Italian Club Dominar, and Salvatore Tringale, Peacekeepers' General. Yesterday we attended here in Licata to a special topic evening, devoted to the diffusion of Farscape in Licata. Let's start asking to the Dominar: Why did you choose Farscape, and which are the differences with others Sci-Fi series.
Giovanni Casano: We have chosen Farscape basically because it's a very innovative series. First of all because of the relevance that's been given to puppets into the story. Farscape has been realized by The Jim Henson Company and by Sci-Fi Channel. The Jim Henson Company, (as many people know), is the same production company who realized The Muppets Show, one of the most famous series dedicated to a youth audience. Farscape has a lot of puppet characters, many of them acting a leading role, such as Rygel XVI or Pilot. The most important thing in the show is that after a while you forget they are puppets, considering them as real actors; this is one of the reasons why Farscape is quite different in comparison with other classical Sci-Fi series. Furthermore, we soon discover there isn't a clean separation between good ones and bad ones, like in other classical series, and that this difference is sometimes a matter of shading, and sometimes absolutely nonexistent; as a matter of fact often the audience really supports the series' greatest villain, Scorpius, and many times it is possible to see the series' hero having a despicable conduct. Another thing absolutely different is the use of a trivial language, often camouflaged in alien terms, such as Yotz or Frell. There is another truly intrigant thing in Farscape, and it's the chance to see characters always evolving in time, but still keeping a relationship's continuity each to another, specially with very intense events, fondness and friendship's plots, but mainly love stories and romances, between the main characters: between John Robert Crichton and Aeryn Sun, and between Ka D'Argo and Chiana. And many times our heroes behaviour is completely different from classical series such as Star Trek: there is no warranty that at the and of the episode everything will go for the best, and no evidences that everything is ready, stated in hierarchies in which everyone knows what to do. Farscape is different for its anarchy, and most of the times each episode is leaded by a different character, often involved without any specific rule or occasion. This is the strength of Farscape, and this is the reason why we love it, episode after episode.
Filippo: Good.When was Farscape born, and when has it been aired in Italy for the first time?
Giovanni : Farscape was born in 1998, as I said before, thanks to Jim Henson Company and to Sci-Fi Channel, it's been created by Rockne O'Bannon and it's basically an Australian series; completely filmed in Australia. Farscape lands in Italy late in time, in 2006, after 8 years after its beginning.
Filippo: But why such an innovative and appreciated series arrives in our country after so much time?
Giovanni: It's just this innovation that gave Farscape a penalty. The trivial language, and the unconventionality. There are also quite explicit sex scenes between characters involved in romantic relationships; and remember I told you that many characters are not strictly linked to a "good" or "bad" role. And eventually, the series hasn't a real finale 'til 2004. This finale has been created in October 2004, when Peacekeeper Wars has been aired. This mini series has been created because Farscape Fan clubs in every part of the world joined together and asked in a loud voice to the producers to go on with this series. We also joined this "Savefarscape" community, and in the end we succeeded in convincing the producers to give Farscape a temporary finale, which is Peacekeeper Wars. Unfortunately, all these thing contributed to delay Farscape arrival in Italy. Then, with our club's support, and with the help of Giusto Toni (Jimmy on Sky Italia, who is also a great Sci-Fi fan, and who strongly believed in this series) it's been possible to bring Farscape in Italy; it's on satellite now, but who knows...
Filippo : Good. Salvatore, I know you are the www.farscape.it webmaster; the site won the Premio Italia 2007 as best non-professional website. What's the purpose of your site and what kind of technology did you use to develope and manage it?
Salvatore Tringale : Farscape Italian Club is an association, a Fan club born on Internet, and that has Internet as its main home. This site is the meeting point of the Italian Farscape Community, our Scapers. And this is the word that still our associates have to familiarize with. We wanted our site to be innovative, and for this reason we have chosen forefront technologies, and a nice graphic impact to surround the contents. We decided for a dynamic site - server and php based. This is technobabble, but it helps to understand our interest for dynamic content. We also decided to include multilingual podcasts, and give something new even to an international audience.
Filippo : How many members does your club count, and why should someone become an associate?
Salvatore : The Club has actually about two hundred members. Our Club was born when Farscape wasn't aired yet, and we had our difficulties in propose it to the public. It was hard to convince someone to enter the club, and explain them what Farscape is without any episode seen. At the beginning was very frustrating, but now it's simpler because Farscape has been aired on satellite, on satellite, reaching people really loving such things. We decided at the beginning to introduce the position of the Associated, someone like an "unpledging member", who still had to fully comprehend what Farscape was, before joining the Club. The regular members have different privileges, including gadgets and other services. We also decided to distribute our fanzine via Internet only, downloadable and printable in .PDF format. we also offer a variety of different gadgets related to Farscape, because in Italy there is no way to find international merchandise, and you have to order it abroad.
Giovanni : And our club also produces original gadgets.
Salvatore : Yes, a Farscape based production, involving every character. Joining the club means also supporting the club, and taking part in the convention, promoting the club, bringing fans and new members; if we want Farscape actors to attend a convention, we need to have the small financial support that every member of the club can give by joining the club.
Filippo : Gianfranco, tell us a short plot of Farscape story.
Giovanni : Farscape is the story of John Crichton, a IASA astronaut. During an experiment with his space module, a small shuttle called Farscape One, which gives its name to the series, he is launched into a wormhole by an electromagnetic wave. He found himself in a distant part of the galaxy, just in the middle of a space battle between a Leviathan Ship, Moya (we'll see her from the beginning to the end of the series), and a military contingent, the Peacekeepers. He is brought aboard Moya, and soon we'll begin to know the part of the galaxy that is called The Uncharted Territories. These territories are contested by three principal races: the Peacekeepers, a militarized race who looks like human race; a very powerful race, looking like giant lizards with psychic gifts, called Scarran, and another grey-skinned race, called Nebari. Inside the Leviathan Moya, Crichton finds some runaway prisoners; he joins them... and so here is the beginning of these wonderful and incredible adventures that I will not reveal in this interview, for I don't want to spoil you all the episodes, and I want to avoid that some new or future member of our club could know in advance the plot of the story, and hit me on the head with a tile. The amazing thing about Farscape is its continuing evolution, the changing of the baton, passing by from Ben to Aeryn, to Ka D'argo, and so on...