Fans Rally as "Farscape" Flames Out

Though Farscape enjoys a core viewership that rivals the Trekkers' devotion to their series, it seems the two seminal sci-fi shows will have something else in common: premature cancellation.

On Monday, the Sci Fi Channel, home of Farscape since its 1999 debut, confirmed it has pulled the plug on the series, citing growing production costs and declining ratings. And, just like the fans who once bombarded NBC with "save our show" missives (of the snail-mail variety) when the Peacock net axed the original voyage of the Starship Enterprise after just three seasons in 1969, Farscape fans are also rallying to keep their show on the air.

"Save Farscape" (farscape.wdsection.com) is the unofficial homebase for the efforts, including online petitions (one has already logged more than 18,000 signatures), updated info on the cancellation and tips on sending balloons, Farscape toys and letters--both via email and snail mail--to Sci Fi Channel execs.

There's also the "Farscape World" (www.farscapeworld.com) and "Guiding Star" (homepage.mac.com/chryse/Guiding%20Star/Cancelled.html) campaigns, both of which include the obligatory letter-writing info that is the earmark of "save our show" operations, which in the past helped keep shows like Once and Again, Felicity and Roswell on the air for several seasons.

The news of the series' imminent demise first leaked on Friday, when Farscape executive producer David Kemper and star Ben Browder popped up in the Sci Fi Channel chat room to let fans in on the surprise word that the show's fourth and current season would be its last.

"Tuesday will be the last time Ben dons the uniform of Commander John Crichton," Kemper wrote. "We are all hugely sad. I am shaking as I write this. Yesterday, we all cried on the set. Being just the people who make the show and not the corporate entities that fund and air it, we are as helpless as anyone. And we are sad. And we are shattered. And we are sorry."

Sci Fi Channel reps, meanwhile, have only commented on the matter via an official press release, stating that "there are no bigger fans of Farscape than here at Sci Fi Channel. It was one of Sci Fi's first original series and quickly became a critical and fan favorite. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to reach a broader audience, Farscape has been unable to grow beyond its core fan base. That, coupled with the extreme and growing cost of production, has led to the difficult decision to end the series at the conclusion of season four."

The show, produced by Jim Henson TV and shot in Australia, is reported to cost around $1.5 million an episode, apparently a sticking point in the Sci Fi Channel's recent attempts at renegotiating to keep the series around for a fifth season. Sci Fi has also noted the dipping ratings of Farscape during the recent summer season: the adventures of an Earth astronaut lost in outer space pulled in a 1.2 rating (958,000 households) from May 27 to August 18, according to Variety. Meanwhile, Sci Fi's Stargate: SG-1 averaged a 1.7 rating (1.3 million households), also casting a pall on Farscape's position at the niche network.

In one small bright spot, buzz is that Jim Henson TV may be shopping the series to another network. Farscape would seem a natural fit, for example, for UPN, the home of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the newest incarnations of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek spinoff Enterprise, or Showtime, the cable net that was the original home of Stargate SG-1.

As for the show's immediate future, it returns to the Friday night Sci Fi Channel lineup in January with several new episodes that will wrap in March and season three is scheduled for release on DVD next year.

"Although [the] Sci Fi Channel has chosen not to pick up a fifth season, the Jim Henson Company is in active development on a new Farscape film, an animé project and is currently discussing syndication of this highly acclaimed series," a Henson TV press release states. "We are eager to move forward with the Farscape creative team in developing new projects that will resonate with our overwhelmingly loyal fan base."

But, back to those Trekkie comparisons, does this all mean that Farscape's future as a series is most likely limited to fans dressing up like Chiana to attend the yearly conventions?

Well, there's one scheduled for Burbank in November, so we'd suggest busting out that gray wig now.