Moving into the second set of episodes from Season 4, Farscape: Season 4 Collection 2 takes Moya and her crew on a series of strange, dangerous, and (for the viewer) entertaining adventures. Crichton, Aeryn, and the rest are still on the run from the Peacekeepers, and now the only option open to them is to venture into "Tormented Space": a region that's so dangerous that few travelers have even returned to tell of it.

The five episodes included in this set have a distinctly more episodic feel than the ones included in Collection 1. Each is more or less a self-contained story, and the larger story arc doesn't move forward significantly. About the only larger issues that develop here are character-relationship ones, specifically whether or not Crichton and the rest of the crew can trust Scorpius, and to a lesser extent what the relationship is between Crichton and Aeryn, if anything.

But even if the stories in Collection 2 fall more into the "adventure of the week" format, they're very well done as stand-alone episodes; each one has an intriguing and imaginative story. In "Natural Election," Moya is attacked by a strange space-going plant that threatens to consume her, while in "John Quixote" the danger is internal rather than external, as Crichton and Chiana become trapped inside a virtual-reality game, rendering them incapacitated while the ship may be in danger. "I Shrink Therefore I Am" has a crew of bounty hunters boarding Moya and taking the crew captive using unique technology to shrink them to a fraction of their original size. Crichton and Scorpius, the only crew members loose on the ship, are forced to come to some sort of terms in order to regain control of Moya. "A Prefect Murder" and "Coup by Clam" both involve the crew getting tangled up with local problems on planets they're forced to stop at; in one case, Aeryn is strangely drawn into assassinating a key political leader, and in the other, the whole crew runs afoul of extortion-through-poison in the midst of a burgeoning revolution.

Episodes like "John Quixote" and "A Prefect Murder" really show off Farscape's spare-no-expense approach to production: in the former, the bizarre virtual reality world encompasses a variety of unique sets, and in the latter, we see the designers come up with several grotesque, unique, and yet believable aliens.

If you enjoyed Season 4 Collection 1, Collection 2 will be sure to please as well. The episodes lack the gripping quality that comes from progressing the overall story arc, but the entertainment value of the individual stories here makes up for that. The one thing that really still doesn't work for me is the humor, which adds a jarring childish touch to an otherwise sophisticated show.

The DVD

Farscape: Season 4 Collection 2 contains five episodes (#406-410) over two DVDs, packaged in a double-wide keepcase.

Video

The image quality is excellent here, with the episodes presented in their original 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio, and anamorphically enhanced. Some edge enhancement and occasional grain is present, but on the whole it's a very attractive transfer, with strong, vibrant colors and a generally appealing appearance.

Audio

The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack does a nice job here of conveying the atmosphere of the episodes, with good use of surround and a satisfactory level of clarity for the sound overall. I still didn't find the dialogue to be as crisp as I'd like it, but it was reasonably handled throughout the episodes. A Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is also provided.

Extras

Fans of the series will be most interested in two interview featurettes, one on each DVD. "Behind the Scenes: Jonathan Hardy" is a 20-minute piece with the voice actor of Rygel, and "Inside Farscape: Villains" is a 15-minute piece that has short interview clips with many of the actors who play villains on the show (Scorpius, Grayza, and others). Both incorporate a fair number of clips from the episodes, but do offer some interesting thoughts on the series and characters.

Both DVDs also have an assortment of minor special features: "Cool Farscape Facts," which offer text blurbs giving various bits of trivia about the show; "Alien Encounters," with text information about various aliens on Farscape and clips of relevant scenes; about four minutes in total of deleted scenes from episodes in this collection; Farscape trailers; trailers for other ADV releases; and about 20 minutes of sketches and other artwork in the "Set, Prop, and Costume Gallery." Disc 2 also includes a nine-minute piece "From the Archives: "Revenging Angel" Animatics."

A booklet inside the DVD provides detailed episode synopses and background information on the characters of D'Argo and Chiana.

Final thoughts

Farscape: Season 4 Collection 2 offers five entertaining and polished episodes that are sure to please fans of the series, whether they're long-time viewers or ones who've just picked up the show. While these episodes are more of the stand-alone variety rather than contributing much to the ongoing story arc, they're very well done; considering the nice anamorphic widescreen transfer as well, Collection 2 merits a "highly recommended.'