[mairdie]

The biggest problem for me is the poor audio and the lack of subtitles compounding the problem. Only saving grace is that their are transcripts online. Their sets were wonderful and their effects quite good. Whoever was their art director really knew their business.

[Rockingham]

Good points. Hollywood level sound quality is harder to achieve than is usually appreciated. It takes not just good equipment but people with the skills and ear to edit and mix the recorded sound into a finished product that will be readily understood by the audience. With Farscape, for the first few episodes, I watched it with the captioning until I caught on.

The show's art direction probably had a greater priority in that the Jim Henson Company producers likely recognized from the start that it could help make the strangeness of the show more credible and comprehensible. The result was that Farscape and even individual episodes had a unique look and visual themes that reinforced the story lines and provided the characters with suitable props and settings.

Notably, screenwriter James Gunn admitted that Farscape influenced Guardians of the Galaxy: "The only science fiction shows that I think I ever really watched were Farscape and Star Trek: The Next Generation … Yeah, I’m sure there’s influence there. I like that show." After knocking off half a bottle of Scotch, I bet that Mr. Gunn might even admit privately that Guardians is a reimagining of Farscape's premise of a single human stranded with peculiar, morally dodgy alien companions.