Ratings
1.3 (US)
3.01 (UK)

Gigi Edgley................Chiana
Kent McCord................Jack Crichton
Phillip Gordon.............Wilson
Richard Sydenham...........Cobb
Frankie Davidson...........Newsstand Guy
Albert Mensah..............Dialectic
Andy Cachia................Technician
Selina Muller..............Woman On Beach

Wassup?

You really can't go home again.

John can't pass up the chance to go home when a wormhole opens up near Moya...but he's less than pleased with the reception he gets back in Australia. And, when Aeryn, D'Argo, and Rygel get pulled in after him with disastrous effects, he starts to question his own loyalties to Earth.

Backstory

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John: "Who won the Super Bowl, Cobb?"
Cobb: "I don't know."
John: "I know you're Australian, Cobb, but you gotta know who won the Super Bowl. You know who Ty Cobb is, Cobb? No? How 'bout...how 'bout Babe Ruth? You know who Babe Ruth is?"
Cobb: "Some fat guy that played for the Yankees."
John: "Good. Fat guy. At least you know something."

The Super Bowl is the big game of the American football season, played in January to determine the National Football League championship team.

Ty Cobb (see also fan site) and Babe Ruth were two of baseball's greatest players. They were the subjects, respectively, of the films COBB, starring Tommy Lee Jones as Cobb, and THE BABE, starring John Goodman as Ruth.

Wilson: "Who is it?"
John: "Who's on first? What's on second? I don't know! I can't see 'em!"

"Who's on first?" is probably the best known vaudeville routine of the comic duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The complete routine, as done in the 1945 film THE NAUGHTY NINETIES, can be found at http://us.imdb.com/Quotes?0037939

Translator Microbe Report

Quotables

Comments from Cast & Crew

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

• Moderator: <MAO369>: To both Anthony and Claudia: What aspect(s) of your character do you find the most "alien"?
  

  ChickwithGun: Wait until you hear Aeryn speak in her native tongue!

• Moderator: I'll repeat that last question: <Sparrowhwk>: which episode did both of you enjoy making or was just your personal favorite?
  

  ChickwithGun: Favourite Episode: 13 Got to kiss Ben Browder Whoooohoooo!!!!! Oooooooh Baby
  ChickwithGun: Seriously, fav. ep so far was Back and Back to the Future, PK Tech Girl, and DNA
  

  Ploppy: My favourite episodes are 5, 9, 16 and 21. I had the most time in ten because D'Argo went through and incredible journey
  Ploppy: Most "fun" time in 10 that should have been

Ben Browder, July 29, 1999

• baby789_99: I was just curious as to what your favorite episode is and why?

  Browder: My favorite episodes come in batches...of the first third of the season Back and Back and Back to the Future. Of the middle third...DNA Mad Scientist. Of the latter third... A Human Reaction and Nerve.

David Kemper (& Ben Browder), September 23, 1999

• Moderator: <davron> to <Moderator> Is there really a John and Aeryn thing going on?<davron>
  

  DavidKemper: John and Aeryn represent two real people (one Sebacean, albeit), and their relationship is complex and multilayered.
  DavidKemper: Whether or not that actually become an "item," or get "married," or have children is something that evolves slowly, as it does in most bars.
  

• Moderator: <Gmmas> to <Moderator> David: was the Aeryn in A Human Reaction always the REAL Aeryn?
  

  DavidKemper: Completely. When John disappeared, she went looking to see what happened and got sucked into the manufactured wormhole.
  

Richard Manning & Andrew Prowse, January 6, 2000

• Moderator: <JTMarechal> to <Moderator>: Mr. Manning, if you know "everything" about the Farscape universe, what DID Aeryn say to Jack Crichton in "Human Reaction"? Inquiring minds want to know! :-)
  

  Ricky: "Gneep n'watzi glros wlk8 q8hbaisug bvbasoiud."
  Ricky: Or words to that effect.
  

• 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
  

Rockne S. O'Bannon, January 13, 2000

• Moderator: <Ooshati> to <Moderator>: Was the "hidden memory" footage not used in Human Reaction because of time constraints?
  

  Rockne: Nope. We shot that special, knowing what we had up our sleeves for "Nerve". We writers may not be able to balance our checkbooks, but we're keeping several story threads going (but it takes all of us!)...
  

• Moderator: <UCSBdad> to <Moderator>: What exactly did Aeryn say to the Alien "Jack Crichton" at the end of Human Reaction?
  

  Rockne: "Can you get me Martin Milner's autograph...?".....
  

  Moderator: (insert rimshot here)
  

  Rockne: Obviously, neither Ricky nor I nor anyone else on the show is ready to reveal this............yet.......
  

Gigi Edgley, January 20, 2000

• Moderator: <babymoya> to <Moderator> Did Claudia Black's alien voice scare you when you first heard it coming out of own her mouth live and in stereo? Do have an alien voice that you do as well?
  

  GigiEdgley: I didn't see it until I saw ep 16, about a week ago.
  GigiEdgley: And I thought it was done in post-sync. And I asked Ben about it, and he told me no, it's her real alien voice.
  GigiEdgley: I was very impressed.
  GigiEdgley: Yes, Chiana has a few different lingos that she slips in and out of now and then.
  

Claudia Black, January 26, 2000

• Question: Claudia: Will we ever find out how Aeryn and Crichton spent their night together in "A Human Reaction"? Not doing old crossword puzzles, we hope.
  

  Claudia Black: It depends what you're wearing when you're doing the crosswords. As far as we're concerned, Crichton and Aeryn have been taking every opportunity they can!
  

Justin Monjo & Rowan Woods, May 11, 2000

• Moderator: <MALar> to <Moderator>: Hi Justin and Rowan. How about a straightforward answer to the topic that refuses to die on the bboard. In A Human Reaction, what happened between Aeryn and John in the motel room? Was Aeryn in league with alien-dad or as clueless as John?
  

  JustinMonjo: No Aeryn was not in league with alien-dad.
  JustinMonjo: no way, ask Rowan more about that later.
  JustinMonjo: As to what happened in the hotel room ...... what could have happened in a hotel room??????
  JustinMonjo: checkers?
  JustinMonjo: scrabble?
  JustinMonjo: perhaps there was a scene on the cutting room floor????????
  

• Moderator: <Gmmas> to <Moderator>: Rowan: when A Human Reaction was first on, there was a rumor that you were one of the gentlemen in the mens room, as Crichton begins to discover he's been fooled. Was that you?
  

  JustinMonjo: I'll leave that one for Rowan but he does have Alfred Hitchcock tendancies.
  

• Moderator: <UCSBdad> to <Moderator>: Please thank all the cast and crew of Farscape for creating a program that treats it's audience like adults, for once. That said, tell me what Aeryn said to Alien Dad in A Human Reaction, or I'll hold my breath until my face turns blue.
  

  JustinMonjo: I will do that for sure, we are going to keep treating you like adults and making it more exciting and compelling.
  JustinMonjo: Well Zhaan (blue faced)...... she said something about John Chrichton and what a good son the father had sired but I think Rowan needs to answer that one
  

• Moderator: <AMuse> to <Moderator>: To Rowan: Welcome to #auditorium! Can you share the most difficult Farscape scene you've had to direct yet?
  

  RowanWoods: Hey gang! Thanks for having me.
  RowanWoods: Sixteen was full of 'em.
  RowanWoods: because basically that journey for Crichton was everything to the episode, so those scenes -- for example the 1st with his father, the "Sawy'res' Mill scnee"
  RowanWoods: and the scene later on, when he sees Rygel
  RowanWoods: (Sawyer's Mill, that probably should've read)
  RowanWoods: ...Rygel on the slab -- those sort of moments in 16 took himi to an emotional place he hadn't been before.
  RowanWoods: And Benny did a great job, as did Kent McCord.
  

• Moderator: <Loki> to <Moderator>: how much improvising are the actors allowed, if any to do? If allowed, can you give us an example?
  

  RowanWoods: I think, as series 1 and series 2 has progressed, during the preliminary blocking of the scenes, there's a degree of improvisation about how people say things.
  RowanWoods: But it's fairly restricted -- we try not to mess with the structure of things.
  RowanWoods: But there's no stopping Ben Browder when he gets on a roll!
  

  JustinMonjo: ben has a real good ear for improvisation which really enlivens things...some of those things are just pure Ben Browder
  

  RowanWoods: One of the things that impresses me about Ben on the floor is that when he respectfully throws in a piece of improvisation or a line change,
  RowanWoods: he often does it with a very solid grounding of the script and the story.
  RowanWoods: so I'm not worried as a director, as I usually am with actors improvising,
  RowanWoods: because I know he's not going to mess with the story -- he's just going to add to it.
  RowanWoods: There's a little interesting thing here in relation to improvising which came out of logistical necessity in ep 16, going back to last year.
  RowanWoods: What happened -- it was actually written in anticipation of sunshine and babes on an Australian beach, and all that angle when coming to Earth.
  RowanWoods: In other words, Crichton was immediately impressed and feeling great about the beach and the sunshine.
  RowanWoods: Unfortunately, that sunshine only lasted for the first day, which was his arrival.
  RowanWoods: and for the rest of that shoot, we were raining.
  RowanWoods: so Ben, in consultation with Justin and I, had to very quickly shift all the sunshine references to cloudy, raining references.
  RowanWoods: and there's some beautfiul, lyrical changes we had to make on the floor which Justin was very happy with.
  RowanWoods: one example of that is Ben's line, as he's staring forelornly out of the bedroom window.
  RowanWoods: "earth...minus the sunshine."
  RowanWoods: another example is Aeryn Sun's line when she was walking through the rain, where she opens her mouth and sucks in some rain.
  RowanWoods: "is this what they call it...I like it" was also on the spur of the moment.
  

  JustinMonjo: yep that was a great line improvised at the time
  

  RowanWoods: I think the thing that is important in all of that is that you only really allow improvisation -- and I include my own in that --
  RowanWoods: if you're absolutely certain you have a hold on the story and you're not messing with the structure.
  RowanWoods: otherwise the whole process is a retrograde one.
  

• Moderator: <Rodlox> to <Moderator>: Are Sebacean society and language based on any Earth languages or cultures?
  

  RowanWoods: Claudia had a lot of fun time mucking around with how Sebaceans sounded in ep 16.
  RowanWoods: I don't think the mythology of Sebaceans has anything to do with Earthlings in a story sense.
  RowanWoods: But what Claudia came up with sounds a bit like backwards-speak.
  

  JustinMonjo: but who knows... maybe in season 5 and 6 there might be a dark link between humans and sebacean's on earth
  

  RowanWoods: As a director, as you can see, I'm always in the dark! (laughs)
  RowanWoods: UCSBdad: I've seen a million times on the BBoard about what Aeryn said to John's alien-father.
  RowanWoods: It was a strategic story move that made Aeryn's presence on planet "earth" ambiguous.
  RowanWoods: Was Aeryn there to make love to Crichton? Did she understand what alien-dad was saying? Why wasn't she in the containment room with
  RowanWoods: Rygel and D'Argo at the end.
  RowanWoods: That whole question mark over Aeryn's role in it makes the episode stronger, I must say.
  RowanWoods: It was a somewhat controversial point when we were putting the whole episode together, but I'm very happy with the way it turned out.
  

Richard Manning, June 1, 2000

• Moderator: <UCSBdad>: Traditional question from UCSBdad, Please, please, please, Exactly what did Aeryn say to Alien Dad in A Human Reaction? Er, want a tall, cold one?

  FrooniumRicky: LOL!
  FrooniumRicky: I'm trying to recall if the Great Monj (HAIL MONJO!) wrote actual dialog for that or not.
  FrooniumRicky: He may have written the lines in English just so Claudia knew (generally) what it was she was SUPPOSED to be saying when she did her Sebacean-speak.
  FrooniumRicky: But I can't give you the definitive answer; sorry.
  FrooniumRicky: Bug Monjo when he does HIS next chat!

Ben Browder, July 27, 2000

• Moderator: <Tenebrae> to <Moderator>: Ben, you like the big arc eps or the single shot ones?

  Ben: I admit a fondness for the ARCS in general.
  Ben: however at the end of the day... many of my favorite eps are essentially NON arc eps
  Ben: TWWW.
  Ben: Human reaction
  Ben: ect.

• Moderator: <AutumnH> to <Moderator>: Is there a scene that has been cut that you really wish had made it into an episode?

  Ben: many...
  Ben: picking one...
  Ben: the morning after scene.
  Ben: and the inbetween scene we NEVER shot.
  Ben: by I reheasred it in my mind.
  Ben: it was a CORKER>
  Ben: !

• Moderator: <Tahji> to <Moderator>: Hey Ben, what scene took the longest to shoot? Such as doing and redoing, etc... ;)

  Ben: the one i rehearsed in my mind... over and over again.

David Kemper, with Richard Manning & Ben Browder ("Bruno"), August 17, 2000

• Moderator: <Adriana> to <Moderator>: Regarding AHR and the whole wormhole technology area: Why did the Ancients choose Crichton?? Why did they implant the knowledge in his brain (you know, apart from enabling Scorpius to enter the playfield <g>)??

  Kemper: Because Crichton had actually BEEN through a WH.
  Kemper: He was a perfect candidate.
  Kemper: They didn't KNOW about Scorpius.

Justin Monjo, February 08, 2001

• Moderator: <ChicagoKid> to <Moderator>: Justin, was A Human Reaction a 'dream' ep? and why do you writers hurt 'our heroes'--especially Crichton--so much?

  JustinMonjo: Well, we are not actually trying to hurt Crichton we are trying to hurt Ben, and if you knew him the way we know him, you'd understand. Because Ben is the type of guy he is, he likes to hurt himself too.
  JustinMonjo: Human Reaction was real but everyone in it was created from Crichton's memories other than, Aeryn, D'Argo and Rygel.
  JustinMonjo: The world was created for Crichton and his crew to test a theory by the ancients, to see if they could cohabitate earth.

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

• Moderator: <Riddley> to <Moderator>: was the autopsied Rygel from A Human Reaction recycled as the cut-open one in Relativity?

  Puppeteering Team: No.