Stop me if you have already heard this one: Once upon a time, in the unexplored territories of deep space, a group of misfit ragages has united its forces to help the inhabitants of the Galaxy resists a force of fascist and oppressive peacekeeping. These unsuitables are made up of a lively man kept from his native planet of the earth, a militarist warrior woman on which he has a crush (and the feeling is mutual), an extraterrestrial collate with healing properties that even the other extraterrestrials find bizarre, deeply muscular, loyal of gold.

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If you have already asked me to stop and said “they are the guards of the galaxy”, hold your friction horses well, my friend: I’m talking about the crew of Moya, the living ship, the television series “Farscape”. The series, produced by Jim Henson Company, was broadcast on the Syfy channel (originally the science fiction chain) from 1999 to 2003, and although it has never become a success in the level of “Star Trek” or “Battlestar Galactica”, it aroused a small but intensely passionate.

One of the fans of the show was none other than James Gunn, who, when Marvel Studios typed him to co-write and direct “Guardians of the Galaxy” of 2014, was inspired by the Rockne S. O’bannon series. Although Gunn was shy to citing his influences in the past, he fortunately admitted to having sought “Farscape” to inspire during the making of “Guardians” films, Publication on Twitter in 2017: “People always evoke a million films asking me if they are inspirations. Usually, the answer is no. In the case of #farscape, it’s certainly yes. (Sic)”

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Gunn’s “Guardians” trilogy is three The most loved films in the Marvel cinematographic universe, and rightly so. They are a remarkable mixture of space opera, bodies of comics and irreverent humor. This mixture is also present in “Farscape”, so if you are a fan of “Guardians” films, you have to discover the adventures of John Crichton in the Uncharted territories. Here are some reasons why.

AS I Cheekily Pointed Out Earlier, Both “Farscape” and the “Guardians” Films Share A Cast of Similar Characters, with the training included of Astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder), Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), Delvian Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan (Virginia Hey) (Anthony Simcoe) and the Hynerian Dominar Rygel XVI (Voiced by Jonathan Hardy). Meanwhile, the guards of the galaxy include the original scoundrel on the land Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Mantis (Pom Kelétieff), Drax the Destructur (Dave Bautista) and Rocket (expressed by Bradley Cooper). Various other characters join the two teams along the way, but it is clear by watching the “Guardians” films that Gunn was interested in using a similar mixture of archetypes and personalities that had been seen in “Farscape”.

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This is because “Farscape” and “Guardians” adopt a refreshing and unique approach to their equipment, especially when it comes to overthrowing the high dramatic issues of the space opera and the comic film. Spatial operas like “Star Wars” have a sense of humor, but of a type more handle and an exploratory / allegorical series like “Star Trek” is more cerebral in their irreverence. There are tons of comics films that make fun of their premises – Heck, Snark was a pillar of the MCU, from the sarcasm of Tony Stark to Deadpool breaking the fourth wall. However, “Farscape” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” make an intelligent meal from the way their oppressive characters throw zigter when people expect them to Zag. There is a direct descent line of Crichton confusing his enemies (and his friends too) with an endless channel of American pop-culture references for a animated moment for Star-Lord insisting that Ronan the accuser (Lee Pace) beat him via a dance.

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It is the secret sauce which gives both “Farscape” and the “Guardians” films such a winning tone. It is one thing for a character to make references of pop culture at inappropriate moments (again, see the “Deadpool” films). This is another thing that this character is the only one on the screen to have an idea of ​​what they are talking about. This makes not only their love of pop culture more serious, but allows us, the earthly public, to better identify with them. It highlights the cultural contrast between what we know and in which strange world the character is. This is partly why the soundtracks for the films “Guardians” were such successes: Not only did they contain classic banger tunes, but the songs were very hot and nostalgic when they were put in a literally extraterrestrial backdrop.

“Farscape” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” present a romance condemned to their center. For John and Aeryn, and Peter and Gamora, the attraction is not only the “opposite attracts” aspect of a hot character against cold (although it is an important factor), but the way in which the crazy circumstances surrounding the couples continuously thwart their emerging feelings for each other. During four seasons and the conclusion of the mini-series of “Farscape”, these obstacles went from missed social indications to Crichton cloné (or rather “twinned”, facing Aeryn an impossible situation). In “Guardians”, Peter and Gamora are trying to find common ground through wild events like their respective megalomaniac dad problems, only to connect to the worst time possible when Thanos (Josh Brolin) uses Gamora for a soul stone negotiation chip in “Avengers: Infinity War”.

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There are not only tonal and stylistic connections between the series and the films. There is also a direct tribute, thanks to the actor of John Crichton, Ben Browder, appearing in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.” “As a sovereign amount. According to an interview with Browder (Via Syfy), he and Gunn shared a laugh of the last debt at the old spectacle of the first:

“I would have been surprised if I had not seen” guards “before meeting him. When I met him, I introduced myself and I said:” Hey, James Gunn … I am Ben Browder. Huge fan of “Guardians”. And he says: “Yeah, I know who you are.” And I said: “I thought you did it!

Of course, the show and the films are not exactly the same, and it is simply a case of an artist performing a real tribute to something he loves. But if you like “Guardians” films, it’s a good bet that you will also find a lot to love in “Farscape”. Of course, there are far fewer pop songs (the show did not have the budget for them), but the various incredible extraterrestrial and animatronic makeup (graciousness of the Wizards of the Jim Henson Creature Shop), the endearing characters, and the daring writing that the series boasts are enough to compensate. Give a shot “Farscape”, then join me to hope that one day, the Milano crew could one day meet the crew of Moya somewhere in the stars.

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