Ratings
1.2 (US)
2.06 (UK)

Lani Tupu..................Bialar Crais
Dominique Sweeney..........Yoz
Angie Milliken.............Voice of Yoz
Thomas Holesgrove..........Tak
Nicholas McKay.............Voice of Tak

Wassup?

This is as good as it gets, Sluggy

Okay, so body-swapping has been done before on television...but trust us, it has never been done like this. An attack by a Halosian ship knocks everyone one body to the left, and the crew has to defend Moya while discovering just what it's like to walk in one another's shoes...and pants. If, by the end of this episode, you aren't laughing so hard that you're crying, you need therapy.

Backstory

The Zelbinion defense screen, blown to smithereens by Talyn, has been patched back together and is again functional.

Talyn and Crais have recently been in the same sector of the Uncharted Territories as Moya and the crew.

The Halosian ship ("Halos-One") carried a crew of 32, of whom 30 were killed when Talyn fired on them, 20 arns before Moya's arrival.

DRDs can double as Polaroid cameras.

Pilot's Den is a lot deeper than we previously realized, with an open pit-type center that goes down for many, many tiers.

According to Aeryn, Moya has hundreds of quadrants, and she had to learn them all (presumably, during the era of "The Way We Weren't").

Pilot seems less able than the rest of the crew to adapt to the transferring of his mental essence. He can handle switching to Chiana's body only by keeping himself calm, and passes out when he's switched again to D'Argo's body.

Judging by his need for instruction in the art of peeing, Rygel's plumbing must work quite differently than a human male's.

Crais and Talyn are apparently pursuing peaceful interests, but clearly have not yet developed any patience in resolving misunderstandings -- they immediately retaliate when attacked.

To "evolve", Halosians must register as many hostile kills as possible. If a Halosian Lord fails, another Halosian has the right to replace him.

Rygel's hope of regaining his throne and executing his usurper cousin is what keeps him alive; his anxiety about being restored to his own body stems from the knowledge that only a Royal Hynerian can claim the throne.

Zhaan is able to deliberately crush her hand in order to free herself on the Halosian ship.

Rygel once more shows his softer side to Zhaan, by inquiring about her crushed hand.

D'Argo and Chiana apparently have decided to consumate their relationship.

Reactions

Questions (none)

Observations

1. The hysterical laughter lasted at least four straight hours in the chatroom during/after this episode. This episode was a major hit, an instant classic, the best therapy since the discovery of chocolate, and simply the funniest thing you've ever seen.
2. Once we had reduced the hysterical laughter to uncontrollable giggling, the conversation turned to a fascinating discussion of male vs. female reactions to the ep. Most guiltily confessed that they would, in fact, check out the equipment, if they were in John's or Aeryn's place.

Bloopers (none)

Annotations

[The characters are listed below with the first name designating the mind, and the second name designating the body.]

John/Aeryn: "Oh, that's great. It's the Three freakin' Stooges! I'm hitting myself."

Another reference to John's favorite comedy team, the Three Stooges.

Rygel/John: "Are these really necessary? Can't you remember who we are?"
John/Aeryn: "No, I can't, Einstein. If these guys attack again, I gotta know who I'm talking to."

Famed mathematician Albert Einstein has long been thought of as one of the world's greatest geniuses; his name is sometimes used to refer to someone who displays genius, but more often used ironically to refer to someone who displays stupidity.

John/Aeryn: "Show us."
Rygel/John: "What?"
John/Aeryn: "Show me the pavement pizza."
Rygel/John: "You want to see vomit, Crichton? Nobody wants to see vomit."

To Americans ears this is an odd use of the colloquialism; in the U.S., "pavement pizza" is typically used to describe the remains of animals on the road who've been run over, and sometimes, macabrely, the remains of someone who's leaped or fallen from an upper floor or roof of a tall building. However, in the U.K., the phrase is quite commonly used to refer to vomit on the pavement, usually deposited on a Saturday night after the pubs have shut.

John/Rygel: "All right, let's try this: we power the screen to 62%, get in the same position we were in the first time the beam hit. Then we moon the Halosians and hope they'll shoot us again."

Mooning is the practice of pulling down your pants, and flashing your backside at someone as a sign of contempt.

Translator Microbe Report

Quotables

"Have we sent the "don't shoot us, we're pathetic" transmission yet?" - John Crichton

"It's the three freaking Stooges, I'm hitting myself!" - John Crichton (Aeryn's body)

"But why...why would they want us to switch bodies, why?"
"I don't know, but if this is some kind of sick experiment, I'm billing 'em for the therapy."
- Rygel (John's body), John Crichton (Aeryn's body)

"D'Argo, close your eyes. Now, listen. Listen through all the sounds in your head. Beyond them, there's a high-pitched sound, very faint. I sometimes see it as a, a sort of color, a dark red."
"Yes, I think I see it."
"Good. Now, push all the other noises to the side. Concentrate on the red one. That's Moya's life support functions. Keep that in your brain at all times. Moya's other tasks will hang off that sound, like it's a rope."
"I'll try."
- Pilot (Chiana's body), D'Argo (Pilot's body)

"I have to pee."
"Now?"
"Yes, now, right now, yes, mmhmm."
"You can't go now, you have to hold it."
"I don't know how to hold it, Chiana, I don't know this body!"
"Then, go...just, just go."
"What, here?"
"Get...over there, now."
"Right."
"Go."
"There. Now."
"Hmm."
"D'Argo, is this guy here yet?"
"He should be there, any microt."
"Uh, Crichton?"
"What?"
"Uh, can you show me how to do this?"
"Oh, my god. Unzip."
"Umm right."
"Pull it out."
"Mmhmm."
"Point it like a gun."
"Eheh."
"And shoot."
"Aimed the right way?"
"Yes, that's fine."
- Rygel (John's body), John Crichton (Aeryn's body), Chiana (D'Argo's body), Aeryn Sun (Rygel's body), D'Argo (Pilot's body)

"Face the wall and spread your feathers, big guy." - Chiana (D'Argo's body)

"What are you up to, Rygel?"
"Nothing. And my own body shouldn't be suspicious of me, so rack off. Phff!"
- Aeryn Sun (Rygel's body), Rygel (John's body)

"Oh, MAMA!"
"Crichton?"
"What are you doing?"
"Oh...."
"Oh, come on, man! I'm... They're here. They're right here. They've been here for a couple of arns, and I just had to..."
"You are mentally damaged."
"No, I'm a guy. A guy. Guys dream about this sort of thing."
"I'll tell you one thing, Crichton, if I find you've been dreaming anything else to my body, I'll break your legs...even if they are mine."
- John Crichton (Aeryn's body), Aeryn Sun (Rygel's body), Chiana (D'Argo's body)

"Go on. Go on. Let it all out."
"Excuse."
"Uhuh, that's all right, we do that sort of thing all the time here on Moya. I just peed in the maintenance bay."
- Tak, Rygel (John's body)

"On Moya you don't have much competition, but, ah, this is as good as it gets, Sluggy."
"But this body is so...white..."
- Chiana (D'Argo's body), Rygel (John's body)

"Normally, you have to rub my eyebrows to make me feel like this." - Rygel (John's body)

"Show me the pavement pizza."
"You want to see vomit, Crichton? Nobody wants to see vomit."
- John Crichton (Aeryn's body), Rygel (John's body)

"Yotz. Creeping vomit."
"How the...how the bizdec did it do that?"
- Rygel (John's body), Chiana (D'Argo's body)

"Oh, no. I'm Aeryn. Who's Crichton?"
"Bzzzt. I am."
"Yotz!"
- Aeryn Sun (John's body), John Crichton (Rygel's body), Rygel (Aeryn's body)

"Look, except for me being stuck in this disgusting, smelly, ugly thing..."
"My body is Royal, not smelly."
"Rygel... Except for me being in here, things are lookin' up!"
- John Crichton (Rygel's body), Rygel (Aeryn's body)

"All right, let's try this. We power the screen to 62%, get in the same position we were in the first time the beam hit...then we moon the Halosians and hope they'll shoot us again."
"Are you sure about this, John?"
"Nope."
"Another blast could kill us."
"Yup."
- John Crichton (Rygel's body), D'Argo (Chiana's body)

"She wants me?"
"Yeah. Zhaan wants to hear it from you. She won't listen to Rygel."
"I told you! You all say I'm paranoid, but it's true: no one ever frelling listens to me!"
"Can it, furball."
"Great! Now I'm getting yotz from my own body!"
- John Crichton (Rygel's body), Aeryn Sun (John's body)

"Oh, yes, I'm back, too. Thanks for asking. Back to being me. Back to being ignored..." - Rygel

"Well, they certainly seem to be readjusting well."
"Uh, huh... well, they say you have to walk a mile in someone else's shoes to really understand them."
"Well, I certainly know what you were doing when you were in my shoes, Crichton."
"Gimme a break."
"It's okay...it's okay, you know? You were in my shoes, I was in your pants..."
"Excuse me?!"
- Aeryn Sun, John Crichton

Comments from Cast & Crew

Justin Monjo & Rowan Woods, May 11, 2000

• Moderator: <MarylandJKoba> to <Moderator>: Justin, we all enjoyed "Crackers Don't Matter". How much of that was your brilliant writing, and how much was the actors ad-libbing?
  Moderator: <LittleLeviathan> to <Moderator>: Not to be too effusive, but I LOVED CRACKERS DON'T MATTER. Just a question though...was it as fun to make as it was to watch?
  

  JustinMonjo: It was fun, great to be able to just go crazy....if you liked that one we go that way again in episode 9 this year then ep 14 or 15 tops the lot... you'll love it!!!
  

• Moderator: <MrSurreal> to <Moderator>: Which episode did you feel was the most fun of all the ones you have worked on
  

  JustinMonjo: I think episode 9, which is coming in a few weeks
  JustinMonjo: the entire cast had great stuff to do, really challenging for them... I know you are all going to love it.
  JustinMonjo: Directed by the same person who did Crackers Don't Matter
  

Farscape Season Two Wrap, June 15, 2000

• Moderator: <Enigmatic-Scully> to <Moderator>: Hey David! Now that season 2 is over, what would you say was your favorite moment of the season?

  Kemper: Tricky, tricky, you are. Several per episode. But I will reveal nothing to spoil.
  Kemper: Something in Ep. 10. One big one in 11. End of 11. All of 14. All of 9. 12. Tension in 13. All the sex in... wait I'm not gonna tell you THAT. You have to WATCH.

Pilot, with Sean Masterson (Puppeteer) & Lani Tupu (Voice of Pilot), July 13, 2000

• Moderator: <PhantomComputer> to <Moderator>: Sean, where the Halosians in "Out Of Their Minds" really just recycled Skesis (however you spell it).. or is that just a rumor?

  SeanMasterson: Distant cousins....
  SeanMasterson: ; )

• Moderator: <QuietI> to <Moderator>: A question for Pilot: When you inhabited Chiana's and D'Argo's bodies in Out of Their Minds, did you "remember" any of *their* memories?

  Pilot: Not specifically... I did, however, come away from the extraordinary experience with certain sense impressions.
  Pilot: Their bodies were... quite different from mine...
  Pilot: Much harder to control, although I suppose practice would have helped.
  Pilot: Very compact, but very... limited. So few senses.

• Moderator: <Wyrwulf> to <Moderator>: Lani, did you like it better when crais was hunting Moya, or now that he is a fugitive?

  LaniTupu: I like playing Crais now that he is a fugitive. It extends the palette, I play with.

Ben Browder, July 27, 2000

• Moderator: <Jedi-Aeryn> to <Moderator>: In the Episode "Out of Their Minds", you got to act the roles of Aeryn and Rigel as well as your usual. What was that like and did you enjoy it?

  Ben: That episode was tremendous fun and very scary for the whole cast
  Ben: what was fascinating was collorborating with the others on how to play them
  Ben: we would turn to each other and say...
  Ben: what would yould you do here?
  Ben: how would you stand?
  Ben: any improv ideas?
  Ben: fascinating.

• Moderator: <Epona> to <Moderator>: Greetings from Nashville! Tell me, how many takes did you and Anthony need to do that "seduction" scene in OOTM before you could do it with straight faces? And how much would you charge for the outtake reel from that scene?

  Ben: I have burned all out takes
  Ben: I was pissing myself all through the rehearsals
  Ben: But for the sake of NOT having to put ourselves through TOO many takes... Anth and I held it together for the shooting
  Ben: Ian Watson however seemed to need a LOT of coverage.
  Ben: But maybe even ONE take seemed like a lot for me.
  Ben: And Anth just kept on wanting to do it AGAIN.
  Ben: ... sorry Anth

• Moderator: <AngelzGurl> to <Moderator>: Ben: So far, what has been the funnest ep to do and why?

  Ben: OOTM
  Ben: Out of their minds.
  Ben: watching the others do the others was a cack.
  Ben: And the puppeteers affecting a southern accent was more than worth the price of admission.

• Moderator: <Jedi-Aeryn> to <Moderator>: in OOTM, do you feel that Claudia Black did an accurate interpretation of John?

  Ben: She definines John.
  Ben: I have taken to playing him the way she does.
  Ben: Now if I could just play Aeryn.

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

• Moderator: <PhantomComputer> to <Moderator>: Mr. Kemper, will Rygel ever get back in the good graces of the crew or will he forever be their favorite "kick toy"? I don't see how he can ever be forgiven...

  Kemper: Awww, give the slug a break.
  Kemper: Don't you know people who are more selfish than you?
  Kemper: Rygel is selfish.
  Kemper: It's his first instinct.
  Kemper: Thinks of himself.
  Kemper: Then, on reflection, he quite often finds the "better angels" within
  Kemper: himself.
  Kemper: And even when he doesn't
  Kemper: he is smart enough to get out of the jam.
  Kemper: Let me say this to you...
  Kemper: As Exec Prod, for whatever that counts in your eyes --
  Kemper: I think Rygel is the smartest -- intuitively smartest -- creature on the ship.
  Kemper: He has ruled billions.
  Kemper: He has kept peace.
  Kemper: He has forged their escape.
  Kemper: He can negotiate, cajole, strongarm --
  Kemper: and is a winner.
  Kemper: He is very real to me.
  Kemper: I have worked for people like him.

• Moderator: <kitsah> to <Moderator>: We've seen little bits lately where Rygel is lamenting how the others ignore him or put him down, which they do. How motivated can Rygel--who's been so beaten down by torture--be for his crewmates? And is he capable of heroism because of it?

  Kemper: Rygel is capable of great heroism.
  Kemper: He healed Moya as early as "I, E.T."
  Kemper: He is smart. That's his card.
  Kemper: If the others would learn to use THAT
  Kemper: and ignore the rest, they'd be okay.

• Moderator: <Solanio> to <Moderator>: I really enjoyed the episode "Out of Their Minds" for the simple reasons that it seemed to have a different "feel" to it. Then I discovered that a freelance writer had contributed this piece. Do you intend to bring in other writers to occasionally stir things up and change the dynamics of your universe with new ideas and directions?

  Kemper: Freelancers often provide a "bed" upon which

  FrooniumRicky: which?

  Kemper: we then take a script "inside" and do a fair amount of work.

  FrooniumRicky: oh, that was my second guess

  Kemper: The freelancer in this case was my very good friend, Michael Cassutt, and
  Kemper: he has written in a column on the web already that we
  Kemper: remodled the script.
  Kemper: If you like the deep insanity of OOTM, then all hail the great Monj!
  Kemper: More fodder for your websites.

  FrooniumRicky: I would just add here
  FrooniumRicky: that today's freelancer can be tomorrow's staffer
  FrooniumRicky: MY first script for Farscape was a freelance.
  FrooniumRicky: Guess they liked it.

David Kemper & Ben Browder, November 12, 2000

• Moderator: VelvetGlove: A question to Ben: in the episode where you all swapped bodies
  Moderator: who did you enjoy playing the most & why

  Ben Browder: Rygel
  Ben Browder: cause he's such a nasty person
  Ben Browder: now... if I could really swap bodies
  Ben Browder: I'd go with Aeryn... Hands down

  David Kemper: Careful, Ben--
  David Kemper: Careful with the hands, Ben.

  Ben Browder: glad you caught that
  Ben Browder: you're smarter than you look

  David Kemper: I don't look smart...

• Moderator: Blue_Dragon: what's been the hardest episode to make?

  David Kemper: Whooo. They're all tough. Ben?

  Ben Browder: The next one
  Ben Browder: always the next one

  David Kemper: If pressed, from a script point-of-view, I'd say "Out of Their Minds." From a production point-of-view, I'd say the

  Ben Browder: That was easy...

  David Kemper: huge four-part arc (upcoming) that ends the second season. ga

Justin Monjo, February 08, 2001

• Moderator: <Sorlk-Lewis> to <Moderator>: DK has mentioned that you were the one responsible for the end result in 'Out of Their Minds'. When "working on the kinks" in it, how did you balance out the original freelancers script, yet let it "be more" than it originally was?

  JustinMonjo: Because it was a script that really needed someone that knew our characters inside out, most of the work went into getting the voices of the chracters right.

Anthony Simcoe, May 01, 2001

• vacush: In the commentary for TFAL, Ben and Claudia mentioned you got chems in your eyes. Have there been any long term effects?

  Anthony_Simcoe: No, I have had 2 major disasters on Farscape.
  Anthony_Simcoe: One was the chemical in my eyes, and 2 was I was rushed to the hospital during shooting of season 2.
  Anthony_Simcoe: The heat combined with the irregular breathing patterns of Chianna caused me to have an attack.

Dave Elsey, July 19, 2001

• Moderator: <ceallaig> to <Moderator>: hey Dave, welcome to the insanity. In Out of Their Minds, the Halosians were rather reminiscent of the Skekis from Dark Crystal. Was this intentional, a 'nod' to Henson, or just the way it turned out?

  DaveE: Another good question
  DaveE: Originally in the script, the Halosians were described as 'bird-like' and the first thing that jumped into my head were the Skeksis form the Dark Crystal.
  DaveE: One of my best friends in the world is a guy called Lyle Conway who designed the Skeksis and also the plant from the Little Shop of Horrors and at the very beginning of when the creature shop was formed, had basically my job in London.
  DaveE: I still think that these were some of the best things the creature shop has ever done.
  DaveE: They are a cheeky nod to these characters and I never thought for an instant I'd get away with it!!

Farscape Wrap Day Extravaganza, July 26, 2001

• Moderator2: <cebix> to <Moderator2>: Marusha, what was the creeping vomit in "Out of their minds" actually made of?

  MarushaKushnirukXeros: Some of it was a mixture created by Chris Murray in Special Effects and we matched that in 3D for a couple of shots that couldn't be done practically.