Ratings
1.3 (US)
2.57 (UK)

[none]

Wassup?

"You really don't want another me."

An alien attempt to collect a sample Human results in three versions of John Crichton -- one of whom must be sacrificed to keep the rest of the crew alive.

Backstory

Moya apparently has only a limited supply of propulsor control units (or the crew has insufficient parts & time to construct more), as Aeryn cannibalizes John's module in order to upgrade her Prowler.

Moya has more than one Maintenance Bay (Rygel states that the bottom half of the sphere is in the passageway directly below Maintance Bay #2).

The "evolved" version of John (Future John) is either missing external genitalia, or is substantially less endowed than his template; Aeryn implies that there is a noticeable difference when Future John first emerges unclothed from the sphere, and later grins when he comments that there are some obvious physical differences from John Crichton.

When the Farscape project was funded, John had a champagne celebration with his father, Alex, and DK; John argued with DK, when DK said that things were going too smoothly and something had to go wrong.

The Defense Screen can be used to contain dimensional portals, at least for short periods of time.

The alien vessel retrieves a targeted sample; if interfered with and deprived of its selected sample, it will retrieve all life within a metra of its radius. It communicates via brainwave pattern; only the three Crichtons are able to "hear" its message, even after Pilot and Moya filter the signal.

The Defense Screen cannot be recharged while it's active, unless more than one power cell is functional.

Reactions

Questions (none)

Observations

1. Chiana has some very nice character development in this episode, both in her compassion for NeanderJohn, and her calm forgiveness and support of John at the end.
2. Beautiful job by Ben Browder; standing over the body of his deceased replicant, he packs the single word, "Yeah," with a megaton payload. John Crichton has been gaining confidence and cockiness over the past year and half, but encountering his two variations has clearly shaken his understanding of himself.
3. Reactions from the alt.tv.farscape newsgroup (courtesy of Zeke, our hound in the field):
   • There were a lot of great subtleties with the directing in this episode...i know i'm going to catch more and more with each rewatching...things like some different camera angles of Pilot (almost from the console's pov), the shot of John as the sphere was growing and about to consume him being hauntingly reminiscient of the shots of John when he was communicating with the Ancients in Human Reaction (and interesting parallels considering how both had plots involved with John being studied by another alien). There was one shot where Rygel was in the background which would usually feature his thronesled hovering just at the level of the objects in the foreground, but it was actually hovering just above....very subtle touch that probably was more difficult to assemble, but a very nice effect.

     Loved the symbolism of how primitive John wrapped John's original Farscape flightsuit around himself (John's past), while modern John had his black t, PK vest mixture and Evolved John wore the fuller PK jacket

   • > What is up with this, anyway? This is one thing that really bugged
     > me. Apparently the less evolved we are, the more nobel. The more
     > evolved, the more selfish and evil. Bah!!

     It's an extrapolation of the pseudo-humanist philosophy that civilization and technology de-humanizes us. If you look only at surface data, this theory might seem accurate, but when you look deeper, it falls apart. The historical reality, of course, is that human society has always been made up of noble, caring individuals as well as greedy selfish bastards. The modern difference is that civilization and technology have made it possible for those greedy selfish bastards to affect far more people.

   • I especially liked the interplays between Cave-John and Chiana, then between Future-John and Aeryn. D'Argo didn't have much to do, but it was nice how one of his first thoughts was always to keep Chiana safe (awwwwwww). Just as Aeryn so immediately looked after John when she thought him hurt.

     Another thing, I liked how this episode again made clear one of the most attractive aspects of John's character--his genuine heroism, and the capacity for self-examination.

   • I wonder if this wasn't a conscious choice on the part of Browder and TPTB. Another chance to turn stereotypes upside down, maybe. In our current American culture, a Southern accent is not usually perceived as a sign of high intelligence - usually it's just the opposite. I'm not talking about specific individuals but overall perception. A number of my friends from various southern states have worked at losing the drawl because they believed - or were told by advisors - that it would be an impediment to advancement in the academic world. But here is Future John in full accent <g>. I liked it.
   • >>> (anyone else notice how Caveman John seemed to sound Asian
     >>> in parts?)
     >>
     >>With those fake chompers it's a wonder we could understand him at all.
     >
     >And Future-John had a more pronounced Southun accent - again, he had
     >enhanced, "perfect" teeth, and was probably over-enunciating. Still,
     >his voice was different - colder, deeper.
     >
     >So when we all evolve to the next level, we'll drink sweet tea and say
     >"y'all come back now, y'hear?" ;)

     Some of us are already there.

Bloopers (none)

Annotations

The title is a reference to the long-running sitcom MY THREE SONS, about widower Steve Douglas (Fred MacMurray) and his boys.

Chiana: "What happened to you?"
John: "Ah, that's the $64,000 question."

A reference to the famous 1950s quiz show THE $64,000 QUESTION.

John: "Chiana, I'm sick of it. It's bad enough being spat out of some green blob, now I got Quasimodo here saying he's me."

Quasimodo is the deformed bellringer from Victor Hugo's famous 1831 novel, NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS, a.k.a. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.

John: "I'm in Bill & Ted land here, so I'm open to suggestion."

He's referring to the movie BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE and its sequel BILL AND TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY.

John: "Good. Now let's see if we can get a message to these body snatchers."

John is likely referring to the 1956 film INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS or one of its two remakes, the 1978 version of the same title and the 1993 BODY SNATCHERS, all based on a novel, THE BODY SNATCHERS, by Jack Finney. The story concerns alien pods that duplicate human beings in order to replace them. John makes another reference to the same book/film(s) in the very next episode, "Beware of Dog".

Translator Microbe Report

Quotables

"What are you doing?"
"Prowler needs one of those Moya propulsor control units."
"From my module? I don't think so."
"It's a matter of priorities, Crichton, you know which ship is more important."
"Yes, I know which one is more important to you, but..."
"Yes, the one that can actually get us out of trouble if we come under attack."
"I know someone who will soon be under attack if they don't..."
"Crichton? Aeryn?"
"Yes, Mr. Bad News?"
"Moya's sensors have just picked something up...it appears to be actively tracking us."
"You were right. Put it in."
- John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, Pilot

"It was the creature."
"The creature?"
"You weren't the only thing to come out of that sphere. D'Argo's tracking it down now."
"Oh, god, another critter. Right, I better go help him."
"John, you're in no condition."
"No, no, I'm okay, I just need a gun."
"Frell me! What happened to you?"
"Well, that's the $64,000 question. Aeryn, you got a gun?"
- Aeryn Sun, John Crichton, Zhaan, Chiana

"God. Oh, god, I love this. OK, you want, you want to stick with that routine? You want to be the next to mess with me? Well, get in line!"
"No, Crichton..."
"Chiana, I'm sick of it! It's bad enough being spit out of some green blob, now I got Quasimodo here saying he's me."
- John Crichton, Chiana

"It's like he's got your memories."
"Chiana, half of this galaxy has my memories."
- Chiana, John Crichton

"I'm John. John Crichton."
"I don't think so. For start, John has more hair...amongst other things. Going to blame that on feeling cold?"
- Future John, Aeryn Sun

"Perhaps it would help if you think of me as an alternative version of yourself."
"I don't want to think of you at all."
"Well, you have that luxury. I don't."
- Future John, John Crichton

Look, I'm not entirely sure here, I'm just riffin' as I go. [...] I'm in Bill-and-Ted Land, here, so I'm open to suggestions." - John Crichton

"Listen to this! Double the Crichton, and you double the waste of time!" - Rygel

"No, I am widening my perspective. That is what I do, that's what makes me, me."
"Crichton, what's the alternative? I try and shoot at this thing again?"
"Aeryn, that is a bad plan, you really don't want another me."
"John..."
"D'Argo, you going to tell me I'm wrong? Since when do we take the easy way out?"
- John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, D'Argo

"You're very predictable."
"I prefer to think of it as reliable."
- Future John, John Crichton

"So you're the future. I'm glad I won't be here to see it." - John Crichton

"You did what you thought was right, John."
"And I did what I knew was wrong. The future Crichton...kind of makes you wonder if that's where we're headed."
"It's only one possible genetic path."
"Yeah, but it's possible. That's the problem."
- D'Argo, John Crichton

"I always thought I was the good guy, Chiana...but it was the least developed one of me, the one I thought least likely, who did the right thing. Somehow you knew."
"I know you."
- John Crichton, Chiana

Comments from Cast & Crew

Ben Browder (Interview Published April 20, 2000)

• What's coming up for him, then? "I think they're trying to kill me, I'm not sure," he laughs. "We're kind of way out there. I've gone into prosthetics for the first time, so some really interesting stuff there."

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.

Ben Browder, July 27, 2000

• Moderator: <Gmmas> to <Moderator>: Ben: can you tell us how you decided on the accent you used for the most evolved Crichton in My Three Crichtons?

  Ben: Good question!
  Ben: one... I was worried about the conversations between JC and Futuro sounding too alike.
  Ben: and two... can anyone say BILL CLINTON

• Moderator: <Tahji> to <Moderator>: A makeup question for you Ben! ;) What was it like to put all that makeup on for MTC? Did Gigi, Anth, and Virginia give you any pointers?

  Ben: Sit still and shit up!
  Ben: very hard advice for me to follow

  Moderator: "shut up," right?
  Moderator: (we'll edit that one in post)

  * Ben walks away from the keyboard *
  Ben: that's aussie slang
  Ben: I'm getting sooo foul mouthed
  Ben: sorry MOM
  Ben: serious wrap on the knuckles for me when I get to Carolina
  Ben: The wearing of Prosthetics is a liberating experience
  Ben: in fact I haven't stopped cussing since
  Ben: most of Neandro had to be edited out for obscenities
  Ben: I loved having the freedom to crawl around on the floor with Chiana

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

• Moderator: <DSKinLA> to <Moderator>: Ben, how much overtime did you rack up filming My Three Crichtons ? Great job btw :-)

  Bruno: lol
  Bruno: thanks...
  Bruno: A LOT.
  Bruno: But since I pretty much work all day every day it was the added make up time that was the killer.
  Bruno: I really admire Anth, Virge, Gigi,
  Bruno: and of course the little man who plays Rygel.