Production No.
112
Best Viewed As
1.12
Aired As
1.13 (US & UK)
Original Airdates
23 Jul 1999 (US)
13 Mar 2000 (UK)
Ratings
1.1 (US)
2.44 (UK)
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Rhapsody In Blue
Abbreviations: RIB
Alternate Titles: (none)
Wassup?
· Backstory
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· Microbes
· Quotes
· Cast & Crew
Wassup?
Insanity By Osmosis
Answering what they believe to be a distress call from another pregnant Leviathan, the crew discovers instead a Delvian colony. But, Zhaan's communion with the priests results in madness -- for herself and others -- and John risks his mind in the Delvian ritual of Unity to discover why.
Backstory
(none)
Reactions
Questions
(none)
Observations
(none)
Bloopers
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Annotations
The title is taken from what is arguably George Gershwin's most famous composition.
The painting in the archway of the Delvian Temple is taken from "The Old Glen Mill", by Maxfield Parrish.
John: "That's my underwear."
Aeryn: "What does this say?"
John: "Calvin."
Aeryn: "Well, then, they're not yours."
John evidently was wearing Calvin Klein boxers when he left Earth; Aeryn is looking at the tag in the back of the waistband, which carries the brand name.
Jenn & Alex's Crichtonisms site also suggests that this may be a "fantastic, subtle reference on the part of the writers to a scene in the 1985 movie BACK TO THE FUTURE."
John: "Is that what happened to Grandpa Looney Tunes?"
"Looney Tunes" is the series of cartoons from Warner Bros., successor to "Merrie Melodies". More recently, it's become an idiomatic expression to describe someone who's crazy, and that's undoubtedly the case here, rather than a direct reference to the cartoons.
John: "So what are you supposed to do? Serve as the poster child for the revolution?"
John is referring to the practice of selecting a representative client of a charity, whose image is then used on posters promoting the charity's work.
John: "The part of Tahleen in tonight's Unity will be played by John Crichton."
The standard practice in live theater, when an actor in a major role cannot appear, is to announce the name of the actor who will be portraying the character in his or her stead.
John: "It's like...Disney on acid."
John highlights the strange, contradicting duality of Unity, by describing it as a combination of the "squeaky clean" maker of animated films & amusement parks, and the powerful hallucinogenic drug LSD.
Translator Microbe Report
Altar of Essence |
Delvian religious altar |
Asteroid camp |
form of political prison camp; Zhaan's father was sent to one |
Goddess of Spiritual Renewal |
Delvian deity |
Grandpa Loony Tunes |
Crichton's name for Tuzak, the insane Delvian |
Holy Reaper |
Delvian religious title |
Missionary habitat |
Delvian ship which "lands" by heating a planet's surface to molten rock and then settling beneath it, leaving only a small portion exposed above ground |
New Delvia |
Tahleen's planet |
Pa'u |
Delvian equivalent of "Reverend" |
Sanctity root |
element of Delvian religion, around which the temple revolves; it is poisonous to the touch, and represents purity of thought and intent |
Seeker of the Flame |
Delvian religious title |
Tadesh, Fires of |
Zhaan references the Fires of Tadesh during her Unity ritual with Bitaal |
Tissue bile |
Delvian's eyes turn red as this substance migrates to the brain; it is either a symptom or a cause of madness |
Trigopod |
Crichton's name for the "untended renewable" food source on New Delvia; part animal, part plant |
Unity |
Delvian sharing of souls; a mental joining |
Quotables
(none)
Comments from Cast & Crew
Ben Browder, May 11, 1999
- BenBrowder: Before we get to the "underwear" question I can tell you that it will be reveal in Episode 12
Claudia Black ("ChickwithGun") & Anthony Simcoe ("Ploppy"), July 28, 1999
- Moderator: <agentgonzo-dw-m>: Claudia: John's boxers or briefs? <jk> "Seriously", who's a sexier scene partner: Ben or Pilot?
ChickwithGun: There was a big wooo har on the bboard about the Calvins in the Delvian ep...two words you guys....commerce planet
ChickwithGun: I personally like to wear Calvin BVD's that was the inspiration for the scene in the ep.
ChickwithGun: Ben wanted to go Commando...wrong time slot
Ploppy: I can vouch that Claudia does where Calvins
Ben Browder, July 29, 1999
Virginia Hey, August 19, 1999
- Moderator: <Ricks8> to <Moderator>: What are your favorite episodes?
VirginiaHey: That Old Black Magic, DNA Mad Scientist, Rhapsody In Blue...
VirginiaHey: Back and Back and Back to the Future.
VirginiaHey: They've Got A Secret.
VirginiaHey: ...it's so hard to chose because I'm in love with every single episode.
VirginiaHey: Through the Looking Glass is brilliant, watch out for that one coming up.
Richard Manning & Andrew Prowse, January 6, 2000
- Moderator: <Relayer> to <Moderator>: Like Ricky, I go ga ga over Farscape! Will we ever get to see the homeworlds of any of the other crewmates aboard Moya?
Ricky: We don't have any IMMEDIATE plans for that...
Ricky: As you can imagine, going to a world full of Hynerians or Delvians or Luxans would be a production nightmare.
Ricky: Unless we said they were all at the movies or something.
Ricky: And I don't think you folks would let us get away with that.
Ricky: Even the Delvian bunch we visited in "Rhapsody" took EIGHT makeup artists to create.
Ricky: Besides, going home for any of our characters MIGHT mean that they'd leave Moya... and you wouldn't want that to happen, would you?
- Moderator: <SciFiScribe> to <Moderator>: Mr. Manning, We've noticed that often plot elements are introduced whose significance may only be revealed until many episodes later. How far in advance are the story lines established and who does that?
Ricky: Stuff that's set up in "Nerve" pays off several eps later.
Ricky: In our heads, we know every moment of every episode through Season Twelve.
Ricky: No, I'm lying.
Andrew: we're still not sure of the storyline in rhapsody in blue
Andrew: the storylines are established well in advance and then changed completely before, during and after shooting
Ricky: We (the writers) block out general storylines in advance, under the guidance of the Farscape Gods (Rock O'Bannon and David Kemper, two swell guys to work for -- NOW can I have my raise?)...
Virginia Hey, April 27, 2000
Ben Browder, July 27, 2000
Justin Monjo, February 08, 2001
- Moderator: <EnochF> to <Moderator>: Question concerning my favorite character, Zhaan: Are we going to see Delvia this season? Are we ever? (And what's going on there? Wasn't it conquered by the Peacekeepers or something?)
JustinMonjo: The Peacekeepers did not take over Delvia, they were paid to take Zhaan away because she killed the high priest/lover.
JustinMonjo: So far we don't have plans to visit Delvia, but what a great idea.
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