Bad Timing

Season 4, Episode 22, Aired
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Episode Summary

With their Crystherium stores low, the Scarrans must travel to Earth through a wormhole to replenish their supply, as those flowers grow there. With Pilot's help, Crichton tries to collapse the wormhole leading back to Earth.
9.8
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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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  • The Scarrans have found the wormhole to Earth. They're on their way. Crichton must close the wormhole permanently to stop them. Aeryn tells him the baby is his. He proposes, she accepts and they get crystallized.moreless

    9.6
    "Superb"
    By Entilzha37, May 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    What a way to end the series. Our hero finally manages to get the girl, and then get himself crystallized. It was a great episode showing how far Crichton has come, and how far all the characters have developed over the course of the series. The episode begins with four frames from each of the preceding 87 episodes from the series. All this time he was searching for home, and he finally found it in the Uncharted territories. The pain comes from seeing the end of a brillant entertaining series, but fans were comforted when they made the mini-series.moreless

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    6 0

  • What a way to end a series. What a very special show. What a way for a channel to treat its viewers.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By BadgerBorg, May 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    NB This review was written for the BBC website just after the initial showing of the episode. At that popint no one knew if it was to be recommisioned or if that was it.

    What can you say? The last ever. Brilliant to the end. The programme has been unique in so many ways, and challenging always. Looking back at the bad episodes I'm just resentful that the time was wasted. As for this one? Well, the opening section when the boys and girls talk separately about what was meant by "commitment" was as well done as any drama, let alone a sci-fi programme. The quick cutting both between and backwards was, at the risk of sounding clichd, beautifully done by a programme at the height of its powers. The effect of Scorpius, Braca and JC finishing each others' sentences as we cut between them also showed a confidence in the production that was fully justified. In fact, it is impossible to fault this episode at all. Even the soft moments (JC talking to his Dad from the moon, and the proposal scene) were moving without being maudlin. This was especially so with the latter, with a blind Chiana asking what was happening and being the only one who really understood the significance. See, all that time on Earth watching daytime TV wasn't wasted. Witty, subversive, impressive, thoughtful, and different. A real jewel of a programme that leaves a hole that is almost impossible to fill. And in the end, a programme that puts one of the most scheming, hard-edged villains ever in a bunny suit has to get full marks, doesn't it?moreless

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    2 0

  • Farscape - out with a bang.... well, at least for a little while.

    9.9
    "Superb"
    By RezW, May 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    Ok, this show ended a while back. But I'm reviewing it in 2007. This fact will have relevance very soon.
    Anyway, I just watched it and i love it. But its the fact that i KNOW i would have had a much different reaction to it all those years ago, not knowing that there would be a mini-series to follow it.
    I'm going to try not to give too much away (although I assume anyone who is reading this will have probably already seen the ep). If they had had ended the episode 2 minutes before they did, it would have been an acceptable series finale... but oh no, that wouldn't be right: not for Farscape. So they create this HUGE cliff-hanger, where the audience is left thinking "WTF". And I loved that about it.
    It was so so so so very Farscape. I grinned at the end. Knowing what I know. But back when it originally aired, I just know I would have been throwing thing at the TV..moreless

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    2 0

  • The end of Farscape well until the Peacekeeper Wars at least.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By farscapefanuk, May 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    Only Farscape would chose to go out like this. This episode even thought it was the end felt like so much more could be done. You can see that the writers tried desperately to wrap up all the loose ends, and i think for the most part they did.

    There was so many touching scenes in this episodes, the scene between Crichton and his father and the scene between Aeryn and Crichton where he proposes to her. I think they done there best with the time they had. So Crichton manages to seal up the wormhole which connects him to earth but at a high price, he may never be able to return home.

    I also liked how Crichton warned his father that soon the Scarrens will get to earth even without a wormhole and they must be ready. I totally loved every moment. This episode truely was the best so far in the whole series. And when the episde said finally on Farscape i felt so sad. You can really see from this episode that if season 5 was made it would have been so great. But why did they chose to end the season with John and Aeryn dying? Are they really dead? I think not. I just hope the Peacekeeper Wars does it's best to wrap up the story. But wow Farscape does not get much better than this, and this episode never played it safe. I really will miss this show, it has been a wonderful journey to see Crichton on his adventures. Goodbye...moreless

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    2 0

  • Studio executives, in their "infinite" wisdom think they know what WE want????

    10
    "Perfect"
    By mingo59, May 15, 2011 Report Abuse
    Well, this was one humdinger of an episode! The Farscape phenomenom, a exceedingly well oiled machine by S4, served us up a whole whack of resolution and an equally enticing dose of "I can hardly wait to see what happens next!"

    To finally go, where no sci fi show had ever gone before, (my one example is John and Aeryn proclaiming and solidifying their relationship) is perhaps Farscape's endearment to the die hard fan, and downfall to a studio that wants "conformity" and "mass appeal" in it's productions. Farscape was NOT your father's sci fi show - and thank the production Gods for that!

    I fear there will never be another series with such innovation, risk, sweat and tears, cast chemistry, and all out dedication to giving the viewer so much more than what they thought they wanted!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • Goof: When John, Scorpius, and Sikozu close the helmets of their space suits, it's obvious that the face shield does not seal their faces from space underneath their chins. Perhaps Sikozu and Scorpius don't need them sealed, but John would experience explosive decompression and die within a few minutes upon being exposed to space without that protective seal.
    • Nitpick: The Scarrans decide to go to Earth, supposedly to replace the Crystherium flowers that Crichton destroyed. But there is absolutely no reason to believe that Earth's bird of paradise flowers have the same properties as the Crystherium- humans look exactly like Sebaceans, but are very different in their physiology. Either they are grasping at straws, looking for leverage to gain John's wormhole knowledge, or it's just revenge.
    • Goof: In a wider shot of the end scene the engagement ring is lying down on top of the crystals, but in the very last frame (with "to be continued") it's standing up.

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • This episode was originally titled "No Turning Back", but they changed it after it was announced that the show was being cancelled.
    • Ben Browder voiced the alien pilot that strafes Crichton and Aeryn in the final scene. The alien who speaks over the radio to that pilot is voiced by the episode's assistant director Michael Feranda.
    • The cast and crew did not find out about the show's cancellation until the last day of shooting.

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Sikozu: (trying to persuade him to accept Scorpius' help against the Scarrans) Crichton, he is not wrong. You must trust him! Crichton: Goldilocks, it's a bad choice. When you figure that out, call our 1-800 number for counseling.
    • Stark: (panicking) No no! Scarrans! Scarrans torture! Scarrans kill! TORTURE, KILL! TORTURE, KILL! Chiana: STARK! Stark (calmly) I think I'm okay now.
    • Pilot: Ahh... Dominar. Rygel: (referring to Crichton's plan to use Moya to collapse the wormhole) You should do it. Pilot: Would you? Rygel: No. But I'm not you.

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Crichton: Dear God... don't let me screw this up. This is a variation of what Astronaut Alan Shepard said while waiting for the launch of Freedom 7. This phrase became known among aviators as "Shepard's Prayer."
    • Crichton: I'm not smart enough...I'm not fast enough...I am not alien enough, and you know what? There are people in the Universe who don't like me. This is a reference to the Saturday Night Live skits featuring Al Franken as Stuart Smalley, where at the end of the fake talk show he looks in a mirror and says "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!"
    • Dr Strangelove: Crichton writes "Dear John" on the fission bomb he straps to Scorpius. The two (fission) bombs in the movie Doctor Strangelove have "Dear John" and "Hi There!" written on them. In the previous episode, "We're So Screwed, Part 3: La Bomba", Crichton writes "Hi There!" on another fission bomb.

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