The Maltese Crichton (Look At The Princess 3)

Ratings
1.6 (US)
2.92 (UK)

Matt Day...................Tyno
Wayne Pygram...............Scorpius
Jonathan Hardy.............Kahaynu 
Tina Bursill...............Novia
Bianca Chiminello..........Jenavian Charto
Felix Williamson...........Clavor
Aaron Cash.................Dregon Carzenonva
Nicholas McKay.............Voice of Cargn
Thomas Holesgrove..........Cargn
Felicity Price.............Princess Katralla
Rose Klemp.................Unspecified

Note: The "Look at the Princess" trilogy was initially intended as a two-parter, carrying the production numbers 210 and 211. When the decision was made to expand it into three parts, it resulted in the middle episode receiving an out-of-sequence production number, 221.

Wassup?

Losing your head over politics is never a good idea.

After Cargn decapitates Crichton's statue, the search for the missing body part turns the royal world upside down, as the Empress threatens all off-worlders with death. Jenavian shows a strong pragmatic streak...and so does John. Even the Empress sees the value in solutions that work but break the rules. Meanwhile, Aeryn's attempt at dating a Sebacean from the Empire doesn't go well.

Backstory

As statues, John and Katralla can hold conversations with others through special headsets.

In the statue form, each cell is separately encapsulated. A piece that is cut off can be reattached by positioning it exactly right before re-animating the subject.

Aeryn enjoys rock-climbing.

Scorpius sampled John's DNA while he was in the Aurora chair.

Zhaan has some mechanical aptitude; with the aid of the DRDs, she was able to turn the rocket engines of John's pod into a vacuum cleaner, as a trap for the Builders.

The Builders are either capable of inducing a coma in Leviathans and Pilots that is indistinguishable from death, or able to revive both from actual death.

Scarrans have respect for warriors.

The Builders charge Zhaan with keeping Moya safe, and preventing another gunship offspring.

The Scarrans and the Peacekeepers both value access to the Uncharted Territories.

Passing helium is not the only Hynerian physiological reaction to nervousness and fear. They also get the hiccups.

The Scarran ability to elicit truthful responses to questions can also kill, apparently through heat.

The animals on the royal world are carnivorous after dark.

D'Argo can readily identify others through smell.

John makes the most of his opportunity for intimate relations with Jenavian.

Aeryn is trained to deal with physical pain. Dregon speculates that Aeryn doesn't express her feelings for John because she's afraid of emotional pain.

Scarrans love heat, while Sebaceans can't tolerate it. Scorpius has both characteristics, and his suit regulates his temperature, keeping the genetic tendencies balanced. The suit is able to handle great extremes of heat, though Scorpius takes care to hide this from his enemies. The rods inserted into Scorpius' brain are for cooling. The suit is also highly resistive to corrosives.

Luxans can leap pretty far when necessary.

John was not able to kill Scorpius when he had the chance, though he could not figure out why.

John has a very strong paternal instinct and sense of honor. When he learns that Katralla was impregnated before they were transformed into statues, he's willing to become a statue again.

The process that turns people into statues will only work on any given Human once; any additional use of the machine would be fatal.

In about 80 cycles (plus the Sebacean gestation period), John will have a daughter.

Zhaan and Pilot do not tell the others about the visit to the Builders.

John and Aeryn are genetically compatible.

Reactions

Questions

1. Where, when, and how did Aeryn learn how to rockclimb? It seems an unlikely skill for a space-based commando.

Observations

1. Some of the best lines of the episode were unspoken: Aeryn holds up a vial of the compatibility test. John and Aeryn use it, then kiss. They slowly pull back. Aeryn turns around. Aeryn smiles. John tries, unsuccessfully, to keep any indication of delight from his face. The episode aired during ScaperCon 2000 in St. Louis, where the gathered Scapers went wild after this scene.

Bloopers (none)

Annotations

The title is a reference to the 1941 John Huston film noir, THE MALTESE FALCON, in which private detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) gets involved in a hunt for a valuable statuette. The film was based on a novel by pulp writer Dashiell Hammett, and was actually the third filmed version of Hammett's book (so much for remakes being inferior), the previous two being THE MALTESE FALCON (1931) and 1936's SATAN MET A LADY.

John: "How Batman was that!?"

D'Argo's leap to catch the falling Chiana before she hit the pool of acid obviously reminded John of the way the comic book hero Batman would swing by to catch people falling from Gotham City rooftops.

Translator Microbe Report

Quotables

"If I do this right, your current state is not terminal."
"And if not done right?"
"Terminal."
"Get experts."
"We're beyond that now, don't you think? You're way too vulnerable in this state; see Exhibits 'A' and 'B'."
- Jenavian Chatto, John Crichton

"That is either the most pathetic fabrication I've ever heard, or the most pathetic life I could ever imagine. Either way..."
"Oh, like there aren't some whacked out antecedents to a chick with a stiletto in her wrist."
- Jenavian Chatto, John Crichton

"You know, things never work out like you plan."
"That's what makes it fun."
- John Crichton, Jenavian Chatto

"I know, it hurts. You want it to not hurt? Well, next time, hold on to the frelling wall!"
- Aeryn Sun

"The last time the Empress threatened to execute off-worlders, she did!"
- Rygel

"But he can hear. He can see. He'll know, Aeryn. At least he'll know."
- Dregon Carzenonva

"You always know just what to say."
"Not always. Just sometimes I know who to say it to."
- Jenavian Chatto, John Crichton

"How Batman was that!"
- John Crichton

"Well, there you go. Good guys win for once. And, I have a child that I'll never know."
- John Crichton

Comments from Cast & Crew

David Kemper, January 27, 2000

• Moderator: <Demosthenes>: I know you're not going to answer everything regarding Leviathan origins, but could you at least tell us if Leviathans are natural space-dwelling creatures engineered for habitation or genetically built from the ground up (assumedly by Pilot's race).
  

  DK: Just wrote the 2 parter on that. Eps. 10 and 11, 2nd season.
  DK: Moya's kind started as a mechanical ship. Then, a race known as The Builders
  DK: tinkered with things and gave Leviathans a soul and sentient intelligence.
  DK: Want to meet a Builder?
  DK: You just might.
  

• Moderator2: <LadyJade> to <Moderator2>: Will there be an episode, on Aeryn Sun. I mean to give us information of her life before she came aboard Moya?
  

  DK: Ep. 2 next year. And 7. And 10. And 11.... You get the idea.
  

• Moderator: <valleyofstags>: Now that you are "Executive Producer" will we be seeing any episodes in Season 2 "written by David Kemper"?
  

  DK: Tech correction: I've been Ex. Prod. since Ep. 7, first season.
  DK: To answer: Just finished writing the ep 10/11 2 parter. Will also script the season-ender.
  

• Moderator: <Circa> : David, does the 2nd season also hold a more developing relationship between John and Aeryn?
  

  DK: As for the J and A relationship....
  DK: I just finished to 2 part episodes for 10/11 and... Yeah, you know what I mean.
  

Richard Manning, June 1, 2000

• Bouncer: a pair for you:
  Bouncer: *dionisio* Will Scorpius be back any time soon? ...
  

  FrooniumRicky: Oh, you can count on Scorpius...
  FrooniumRicky: He's not letting Crichton off THAT easily.
  

• Bouncer: *Elflore* Are there any upcoming eps that shippers in particular should look forward to? (Not that we don't look forward to all of 'em, of course.)

  FrooniumRicky: OOOOhhh, yeah.
  FrooniumRicky: There's a little epic entitled "Look at the Princess" by David "Boom Boom" Kemper himself...
  FrooniumRicky: Where more than ONE relationship on Moya undergoes a bit of a change.

• Bouncer: *DaniRoyer* A question from my mom: Where the titles of the individual "Look at the Princess" episodes inspired from Humphry Bogart [sp?] movies? Or is it a big coincidense?

  FrooniumRicky: Hi, DaniRoyer's Mom!
  FrooniumRicky: I've had a brain freeze and can't even remember what they ARE at the moment...
  FrooniumRicky: Lessee... "I Do, I Think"... that's not a Bogart movie that pops to my mind...
  FrooniumRicky: (but then, nothing IS popping to my mind at the moment...)
  FrooniumRicky: Hang on a second whilst I go jog my memory.
  FrooniumRicky: (Talk quietly amongst yourselves.)

  Bouncer: *Gmmas* A Kiss is but a kiss is one; another is the Maltese Crichton
  

  FrooniumRicky: Oh. (duh!) Thanks. Yeah, I suspect David took a bit of inspiration from two wonderful Bogart films there.
  FrooniumRicky: As you may've noticed from the titles of other eps, we're certainly not above "borrowing" a title here and there...
  FrooniumRicky: or, worse yet, punning on a title.
  

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.

• Moderator: <QARC> to <Moderator>: Virginia, what is your favorite episode this year, and WHY?

  Virginia-Hey: You haven't seen it yet....Zhaan, Pilot and Moya have a little adventure of their own, can't tell you any more... XXX

Ben Browder, July 27, 2000

• Moderator: <valleyofstags> to <Moderator>: Hey Ben. If there was one thing about John you could change, what would it be?

  Ben: my hair
  Ben: uh
  Ben: he would be taller
  Ben: uh
  Ben: he would get LUCKY.

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

• Moderator: <Leonard> to <Moderator>: I have noticed a number of episodes, this season more than last, where internal consistency (or "realism" if you will) was ignored. Example: why did they not ask Katralla-the-statue whodunnit? What steps do you normally take to prevent this sort of thing, and why did it fail in LatP (all three) so badly?
  Moderator: (harsh, eh?)

  Kemper: Fail?
  Kemper: Ah.....
  Kemper: It is a good catch you have made young Leonard.
  Kemper: Then, again, perhaps, if we ever go back to that planet --
  Kemper: and perhaps we might seeing as Crichton has a "child"
  Kemper: there --
  Kemper: you may learn of a conversation that took place between the Empress and
  Kemper: the lovely Bronze Princess.
  Kemper: However -- an EXCELLENT reading of the facts as you
  Kemper: have them before you.
  Kemper: I appaud.
  Kemper: It is those types of questions that we contiually
  Kemper: ask one another in the writing room.\
  Kemper: You are an honorary guest for the day.

• Moderator: <Scapegrace> to <Moderator>: Hi, David. *Why* did John have a fling with the PK spy in "Look at the Princess"? Did he really consider his relationship with Aeryn that unimportant to him at the time?

  Kemper: These a GOOD questions...
  Kemper: 1) He did not know where Aeryn was, or even if he'd see
  Kemper: her again.
  Kemper: 2) John had to deal with an assassin that was not particularly
  Kemper: on his side at the moment.
  Kemper: 3) It was probably NOT an awful experience.
  Kemper: 4) John and Aeryn are not married, and sometimes people
  Kemper: "love the one they're with."

• Moderator: <valleyofstags> to <Moderator>: Hey David. Was Scorpius' flick of the acid at the end of the ep an indication that the acid wouldn't have hurt him, or a sign he was never afraid of John in the first place?

  Kemper: Both.
  Kemper: That magnificent gesture was the brainchild of Andrew Prowse
  Kemper: (director extraordinare) and Wayne.
  Kemper: We debated whether or not to use it, wondering how much of
  Kemper: Scorpius' control over the situation to reveal.
  Kemper: Then, as always, the best moment wins, and we didn't want to
  Kemper: keep it from you.
  Kemper: Furthermore, it shows you how "on top of things" that evil half-breed
  Kemper: abomination really is.

• Moderator: <aughra> to <Moderator>: Hullo Mr. Kemper. Sometimes doing a three-part, cliff-hanging story arc can be a risky move in the middle of the season. What were your hope and fears for the Princess trilogy, as distinct from the "average" one-off story?

  Kemper: We were hoping to push the
  Kemper: "personal" stories of our people forward a bit.
  Kemper: We wanted to get "outside." Literally.
  Kemper: See sky, "earth," water.
  Kemper: We wanted to have the time to let EMOTIONS rule the day for awhile.
  Kemper: We wanted to have time to use silence as a musical instrument.
  Kemper: We wanted the time to let the characters breath and experience
  Kemper: and say things they often can't say on the run
  Kemper: when a monster or bad guy is chasing them at breakneck speed.

• Moderator: <Ripley9> to <Moderator>: O Daily Overseer of the Farscape realm, regarding your answer to ScapeGrace's Q re LATP3 and John's fling with that PK assassin wh**e (um, I mean Jena) -- John WAS technically married to Katralla, was he not? (Geez, an adulterer after just one day!)

  Kemper: Good catch. I'm smiling.
  Kemper: But was that a real marriage?
  Kemper: And did he even think he'd see her again?
  Kemper: And didn't this woman just save his life twice?
  Kemper: And isn't there some kind of adrenaline rush and attraction between them?
  Kemper: And don't people sometimes do things that they maybe shouldn't?
  Kemper: And didn't he know enough later to tell her that they "weren't compatible?

• Moderator: <RhayleRihannsu> to <Moderator>: Hi Ben and David, thanks for everything. How many times did you have to shoot the ending scene with Aeryn and John for Princess 3?

  Kemper: Ben?

  Bruno: not enough.

  Kemper: Oooh. Good answer. Was that because the little vial had honey in it, or because
  Kemper: it's fun to kiss Claudia?

  Bruno: I paid the focus puller to keep screwing up.
  Bruno: I'm broke.
  Bruno: But it still wasn't enough

• Moderator: <CraisLover> to <Moderator>: Okay guys, can you tell us why Dargo never wins a fight. He's supposed to be this bad warrior that the PKs had to chain up? Why is it that he can't fight?

  Kemper: Again, keep watching.
  Kemper: However, sometimes "people" fight by the rules they were taught,
  Kemper: which are not always the rules that the enemy is playing by.

  FrooniumRicky: There's a Planet of Tiny Armless Beings we're about to encounter
  FrooniumRicky: and we're pretty sure D'Argo can take one or two of 'em.

• Moderator: <Boo-Two> to <Moderator>: Why do you think D'argo is attracted to Chiana? They seem like two very different characters, d'argo is a very world weary crusader type and Chi is really just a scared little girl.

  FrooniumRicky: My wife chimes in here with "opposites attract"

  Kemper: Sometimes opposites attract.

  FrooniumRicky: Must be true, because she's smart and gorgeous.

  Kemper: See folks. There it is --
  Kemper: the Farscape synergy. Ricky and I just gave the same
  Kemper: answer simultaneously.
  Kemper: How many of us are married to
  Kemper: in relationships with
  Kemper: or even desire to be in a relationship WITH
  Kemper: someone who's exactly like ourselves.
  Kemper: Bad mo-jo, if you ask me.
  Kemper: If my wife was like me, I'd have to get rid of her.

  FrooniumRicky: So would we

Guy Gross, May 15, 2001

• Moderator: <Cush> to <Moderator>: Do you assign certain "sounds/scores" the different characters/species?

  Guy: Only scopy
  Guy: he has a weird synth sound
  Guy: it's not even really musical
  Guy: I use is under what ever the score is doing
  Guy: I don't really like using recuring themes in TV work.
  Guy: I find it monotonous
  Guy: each ep has it's own feel whist still staying within that FS sound
  Guy: It's OK for features where you've got 90 mins

  Moderator: (scorpy, he meant....we'll fix that in post.) ;^)

• 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

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

• Moderator: <CaptainHornblower> to <Moderator>: ricky, any chance jena the Peacekeeper spy from Look at the Princess might return?

  FrooniumRicky: There's always a chance
  FrooniumRicky: Right now, however, I think Jena's off with Gilina
  * FrooniumRicky shudders to think of the fanfic he might just have inspired