Farscape s01e08: That Old Black Magic

Series

Farscape^[2]

Season

1^[2]

Episode number

8^[2]

Writer

Richard Manning^[2]

Director

Brendan Maher^[2]

First aired (United States)

11 June 1999^[2]

First aired (United Kingdom)

31 January 2000^[2]

Production code

#10108^[2]

Running time

48 minutes 16 seconds^[1]

Summary

On a commerce planet, astronaut John Crichton is drawn into an alternate reality ruled by Maldis, a being who sustains himself on negative energy.^[2] Meanwhile Captain Crais is ordered to abandon his pursuit and return to First Command, and Zhaan draws on her former darkness to help Crichton confront Maldis.^[2]

Plot

In a marketplace on the planet, Crichton is approached by a stranger named Holos who already knows his name, his home planet, his mother's maiden name, his schooling and his personal history.^[4] Crichton tells the stranger that he is an astronaut who was shot through a wormhole and is lost on a living ship.^[4]

On the same planet, Captain Crais receives orders to call off his pursuit of the escaped Leviathan and return to First Command.^[4] Maldis confronts Crichton directly, mocking him with the name "Lawrence Olivier".^[4]

Elsewhere, Zhaan practices Delvian mysticism and gives Rygel XVI an ointment to help him breathe.^[4] Maldis goads her to give in to her capacity for cruelty so she can fight him, telling her that she has only repressed her real emotions.^[4]

Maldis forces Crichton and Crais to fight each other in an arena he has built, after Crais is told that Crichton murdered his brother.^[4]

Crichton tries to explain to Crais that his brother's death was an accident.^[4]

Memorable quotes

“if you all Rose against him we'd all die I know how Invincible malus is before he came I was a high priest you were I fought back but my spiritual Powers weren't strong enough”13:18

“I can try if you guide me can you be guided it's not just a matter of skill it's intent you must want to do harm cause pain even kill”16:30

“you think you've smothered your in a fire and found an Enlightenment but all you've done is make yourself cold”19:26

In the episode

0:30 Rygel fakes illness for sympathy Rygel exaggerates a minor ailment while Chiana teases him about his culinary tastes.

1:30 Hotho pitches his scam to Crichton A traveling merchant named Hotho approaches Crichton on the station and offers miraculous remedies.

3:35 Crichton records a desperate message Crichton speaks into a recorder, summarizing his situation as a lost astronaut hunted by a relentless commander.

6:01 Peacekeeper crew reports exhaustion Bialar Crais is told his patrol ships are dangerously low on fuel and his pilots are fatigued.

7:36 Crais receives a recall order A high command transmission orders Crais to stand down, abandon the pursuit, and return for debriefing.

9:01 Hotho whisks Crichton away Hotho transports Crichton to a barren planet and refuses to return him without payment.

10:32 Hotho delivers troubling news Hotho returns to the ship and announces he has located Crais easily, leaving the crew uneasy.

12:07 Hotho betrays Crichton Hotho reveals he has accepted a better offer and leaves Crichton to face a new threat.

13:00 Tavka explains Malus's power A wounded priest named Tavka describes a dark sorcerer who drains life energy and has decimated the planet.

17:08 Malus forces Crais to fight Malus uses illusions of Crais's dead brother to provoke him into attacking Crichton.

21:00 Crichton pleads his innocence Crichton explains the accidental nature of the collision while Crais refuses to listen.

25:02 Tavka weighs a grim choice Tavka contemplates unleashing one evil to combat another, agreeing to lead them to Malus.

31:30 Crichton proposes a truce Crichton convinces Crais to temporarily set aside revenge and team up against Malus.

36:30 Malus prepares his final trap Malus ends negotiations and forces Crais and Crichton into a deadly confrontation to fuel his power.

41:00 Zhaan sacrifices her light Zhaan channels her spiritual energy into Malus, making him vulnerable and dispersing him at great cost to herself.

45:04 D'Argo apologizes to Zhaan D'Argo admits his error in mocking Zhaan's warrior spirit after witnessing her bravery.

Background

The episode was directed by Brendan Maher and written by Richard Manning.^[2] It first aired in the United States on 11 June 1999 and in the United Kingdom on 31 January 2000, and its production code is #10108.^[2]

Farscape is an Australian and American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon.^[3] It premiered in North America on the Sci-Fi Channel on 19 March 1999 at 8:00 pm EST, starring Ben Browder as astronaut John Crichton and Claudia Black as the Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun.^[3]

In the series

"That Old Black Magic" is the eighth episode of the first season of Farscape, which ran from 19 March 1999 to 28 January 2000.^[2][3]

Availability

The rights holder's Farscape channel uploaded the full episode to YouTube on 22 August 2024; the upload runs 2,896 seconds (about 48 minutes) and carries English auto-generated captions.^[1] When its page was read, the channel had about 88.1 thousand subscribers.^[1]

0:00 That Old Black Magic The episode as published by the rights holder, from the start.

1. 1999-03-19 Farscape premieres on the Sci-Fi Channel.^[3]
2. 1999-06-11 That Old Black Magic first airs in the United States.^[2]
3. 2000-01-28 According to Wikipedia contributors, Season 1 concludes.^[2]
4. 2000-01-31 According to Wikipedia contributors, That Old Black Magic first airs in the United Kingdom.^[2]
5. 2024-08-22 The rights holder uploads the full episode to YouTube.^[1]