Farscape s01e19: Nerve

Series

Farscape^[3]

Season

1^[2]

Episode number

19^[2]

Writer

Richard Manning^[2]

Director

Rowan Woods^[2]

First aired

7 January 2000 (United States)^[2]

Running time

48 minutes 17 seconds^[1]

Upload published

15 October 2024^[1]

Summary

"Nerve" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of Farscape, the science fiction series co-produced by The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment.^[3][2] According to the episode's own description, Aeryn Sun is critically injured during a salvage attempt, and John Crichton must raid a hidden Peacekeeper base with Chiana to obtain the tissue samples needed to save her life.^[1] During the mission Crichton is captured by his recurring adversary, Crais, who interrogates him with an alien electric chair.^[1]

What happens in "Nerve"?

Crichton proposes a plan to infiltrate a concealed Peacekeeper installation and recover the biological samples that a doctor has told him are required for any surgery that could save Aeryn.^[1]

Inside the base, Crichton and Chiana move quietly through the corridors, watching for guards and searching for the section of the facility where the medical stores are kept.^[4] Caught in the open, with Aeryn's life depending on him, Crichton is seized and brought before Captain Crais, who has been hunting him since their paths first crossed.^[4]

Crais interrogates Crichton in an alien electric chair, pressing him for information about the Peacekeeper command structure and about his own intentions toward the fugitive he is sheltering.^[4]

0:00 Nerve The full rights-holder upload of the episode, presented as a single continuous span.

Memorable quotes

“there's something we can do the only treatment is a tissue graft from a genetically compa able donor”1:54

“I'm not going to let you die Crichton”4:51

“we always seem to be saying goodbye”22:14

“Crichton is in love with you”39:24

In the episode

0:13 Aeryn reveals her terminal nerve damage In a quiet bay on Moya, Aeryn tells John that a Peacekeeper blade severed a nerve that will kill her within days.

2:02 Plan to infiltrate the Peacekeeper base D'Argo argues against the risk, but the crew agrees to send John and another disguised volunteer to the nearby Peacekeeper installation to find a tissue donor.

3:33 John broadcasts his distress signal Loud and peaceful aboard a small craft, John records another one of his recordings into the void, trying to reach anyone beyond the galaxy.

4:44 Pre-mission toast with Crais Loud and quiet in a docking bay, Bialar Crais arrives, reluctantly wishes John well, and the disguised pair depart Moya for the hidden base.

6:06 Volunteer offers burglary skills Chiana presents herself to John as an expert thief and produces a high-level Peacekeeper ident chip to prove her value.

8:01 John and Chiana bluff past the gate John, in a Peacekeeper captain's uniform, talks the base controllers down from shooting him down as he brings the ship in to land.

10:10 Meeting the base commander In the commander's office, John presents the forged ident chip and is granted quarters while keeping his real mission secret.

13:00 Chiana distracts at a genetic scanner Chiana flirts with the guards at a biometric checkpoint, buying John the time he needs to slip past without being scanned.

15:36 Gilina appears at the base Gilina, an old friend, secretly makes contact with John through a terminal and offers to help smuggle the tissue sample out.

19:31 Moya filters Aeryn's toxins Loud and peaceful on Moya, Zhaan explains that the living ship is absorbing the poisons building up in Aeryn to buy more time.

21:00 Synthesized tissue is ready John and Chiana discover the base medics can grow the needed tissue, and Chiana steals a dose to bring back.

23:34 Scorpius seizes John Scorpius corners John, exposes the disguise, and drags him away for interrogation on the Aurora chair.

28:01 Crais broadcasts a trap Scorpius sends a wide transmission baiting Captain Crais to the base, hoping to use him against John during the extraction.

37:03 Gilina helps coordinate an escape From a hidden terminal, Gilina patches John through to Chiana, revealing a stash point for the stolen sample and a route out.

40:01 Scorpius offers a cruel bargain Scorpius uses his recapture of Moya's crew as leverage, pressuring John to submit to the chair to keep his friends alive.

42:31 Chiana triggers a reactor diversion Chiana fakes a reactor emergency, pulling base personnel away and clearing a path for John to reach his Prowler.

44:30 The stolen tissue reaches Aeryn Back on Moya, the synthesized dose takes effect and Aeryn stabilizes, realizing she will not die today after all.

46:09 John escapes the base In the commander's office, Scorpius learns the Prowler has launched and vanished, taking John and the stolen data with it.

Air date, credits and where to watch

"Nerve" was written by Richard Manning, directed by Rowan Woods and first aired in the United States on 7 January 2000.^[2]

The full episode can be watched on this page because the rights holder published it on its own YouTube channel, Farscape, on 15 October 2024; the upload runs 48 minutes and 17 seconds.^[1] As of the page's source date, the channel had 88.2 thousand subscribers and the upload had 69,004 views.^[1]