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Farscape episode
“Losing Time”
LTime
Episode no. Season 3
Episode 09
Guest star(s) Tammy MacIntosh (Jool), David Franklin (Braca), Jo Kerrigan (Linfer), Danny Adcock (Co-Kura Strappa), Ian Bliss (PK Scientist Drillic), Tux Akindoyeni (PK Pilot Rinon)
Writer(s) Justin Monjo
Director Catherine Millar
Production no. 10309
Original airdate June 29, 2001 (US); October 29, 2001 (UK)
Episode chronology
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"Green Eyed Monster" "Relativity"

Moya encounters a pair of energy beings, one fugitive and the entity chasing it. When one possesses Pilot demanding help in finding the other, the crew must figure out who has an extra passenger before it can do further damage.

Synopsis[]

Scorpius awakes from visions of being on Moya with John Crichton and finding a wormhole to a call from Lieutenant Braca. As Scorpius unplugs himself from some device, Braca tells him that he thinks they've finally done it. Scorpius leaves and on the way looks out a window to see a wormhole...

On Moya, Crichton wants Moya to continue searching for what he believes may be a wormhole. Pilot refuses to go any further unless the others agree, but they've had enough. Chiana tells Pilot to get them out of there and Jool leaves too. Despite Crichton's pleas, even Ka D'Argo says that enough is enough and leaves himself. Crichton tries one last time to get Pilot to continue, but instead he tells Crichton that Moya is about to pass through a cluster. When she does, Crichton sees some kind of energy being that passes straight through his body a couple of times, and he falls to the floor. Suddenly, he is lifted in the air, and blood starts dripping all over the floor...

When Crichton wakes, he tells Pilot that a light came in to Moya, but Pilot knows nothing about it. Crichton sees his pool of blood, and runs off command screaming for the others. Chiana spots him and he asks if she's alright. She says yes, but that he looks terrible. He tries to describe what happened, then asks if he is cut. She looks and says that maybe he imagined it. He takes her to command, but his blood has been cleaned up. When Chiana asks, Pilot again says that he registered nothing. Chiana tells Crichton to go eat and then bathe because he stinks. Crichton takes the DRD who mopped up his blood and tries to find some, but finds nothing. He goes and sits down, then suddenly notices blood all down his forearm.

Crichton goes to Pilot, who again tells him that scans indicate the cluster is harmless. He then suggests that it may have something to do with degradation from Kaarvok's cloning. Jool wonders what's going on as her chamber is boiling hot and the maintenance bay is leaking. Chiana says that Pilot is having trouble with the internals as she places a bucket underneath a leak. D'Argo and Crichton come in and Crichton says that something is very wrong and wants the others to sit and watch him in case he bleeds again. Very reluctantly, D'Argo forces the girls to sit and watch. The dripping water continues and after a few minutes Chiana asks to go. She gets up but slips; there's water all over the floor as the bucket is over-flowing. Jool wonders why it's full already and Crichton reiterates that strange things are happening. He had the DRD record them and the playback shows them falling unconscious and then suddenly speeding up. Needless to say, everyone is baffled.

Back on the Carrier, Braca tells Scorpius that the prowler maintained integrity on the last six re-entries, with no gravitational distortions. The project leader, Drillic, says that Scorpius' indecision is a waste of time – a manned flight should take place immediately. Co-Kura Strappa says that if the trial is not completed soon, they will have to find another wormhole to test. When Drillic insists, Scorpius cunningly agrees.

D'Argo says they were out for about half an arn, when Jool notes that she may have lost time earlier but had put it down to a malfunction. Everyone goes to see Pilot, who now stinks, and he awakes throwing them back, saying that for one of them, judgment starts now. Crichton asks what he means, and he says Pilot is gone - he's here now. Pilot is possessed. He says that he can stay in Pilot for a while without harming his body, so he can find the diseased energy rider. When they passed through the cluster, a rider escaped and now inhabits one of their bodies. He says that he must taste them one at a time to find it.

They leave Pilot, and try to find out if they have any control of Moya now that Pilot has been overtaken. Jool says that she thinks it's in Crichton since he was the first affected, when Chiana says maybe Pilot is the only infected one. D'Argo says that they have no control over Moya.

On the Carrier, the prowler pilot has returned but is not responding to comms. When they check, he has been reduced to goo. Scorpius says that his integrity is definitely not intact. Drillic says that it won't happen again, but Scorpius tells him that it will happen once more and orders him to pilot the next trial. He objects, but Scorpius tells him that Braca will insist. He makes Co-Kura Strappa the new project leader and tells him that knowing what to expect, he can find out what went wrong.

Crichton and D'Argo return to Tallip, the rider inside Pilot, who says that they cannot ambush him. D'Argo says he wants to see Pilot who tells them that Tallip's not lying – a creature is in one of them. Tallip repossesses Pilot and asks them to help him find the rider. He says that if he were to possess them, he would destroy them. He tells them that the rider should not know anything about their private lives, as that may help narrow their search.

D'Argo and Crichton then tell each other personal things before questioning Chiana. After a pause she answers them, so they turn to Jool. She tells them how she was frozen, but changes her previous story on how her cousins were frozen, saying she was lying before. Chiana doesn't believe her and tells Tallip to take Jool. Despite the ensuing objections, Tallip does indeed taste her in an extremely painful process, but after says that he did not find the rider (which may still be hidden in Jool) and so he must taste each of them in turn. While D'Argo stays with Jool, Crichton and Chiana get a DRD and start talking to Moya through it (the DRD indicating through blinks if Moya agrees or disagrees with them) and she agrees to help.

The DRD, which Crichton names "Pike", takes them to Moya's starburst chamber, below the neural cluster, where Pilot cannot detect anything. In the chamber, a control comes down that Chiana pushes, initializing a small energy burst, which they soon shut off. Chiana asks why Moya would ask them here for this and walks towards the starburst crystals where the energy forms. The rider can be seen above her head and it reveals itself through Chiana to Crichton.

The rider says that it's glad that he knows and she jumps on him saying that she wants to try the body and that the body wants him. She says that Tallip said she would hurt the body, but he's lying – she loves the tight body. She says that she hides because Tallip wants to kill her; he likes pain and after he will kill the crew. She says that she won't lie, and touches Crichton, causing him pleasure, to indicate Tallip is pain and she is not.

Scorpius is injecting himself, presumably with nutrients, when Braca interrupts. Scorpius asks Braca why a human – Crichton – can survive re-entry and not a Sebacean. Scorpius says that Braca is his second in command because he doesn't ask questions and asks Braca why Peacekeeper High Command gives them so much reign in chasing Crichton and researching wormholes. Braca says he doesn't question High Command and Scorpius asks him if it would surprise him to learn that the Scarrans are planning a massive assault against them, but they have not struck because they fear the hidden wormhole weapons. Braca says that they have no hidden weapons, but Scorpius says that they lied and he thinks the Scarrans are beginning to suspect that. High Command reports that the Scarrans have been amassing armies and the latest estimates have Scarran warriors outnumbering Peacekeepers ten to one. Scorpius says that if and when they attack, the Peacekeepers will lose, unless they harness a superior weapon – wormhole technology. Without it, Sebaceans will be gone and sometimes he thinks it's already inevitable.

On Moya, Crichton uses DRD Pike to ask Moya what she wants them to do. Moya states that she wants Crichton to hand Chiana and the energy rider over to Tallip. Even so, Crichton is still wary of just handing her over therefore he and D'Argo go to Tallip and say that they've hidden the rider, but Tallip chooses to taste D'Argo. Meanwhile, Jool goes to Chiana and threatens her, when Crichton comes along. The rider grabs both Crichton and Jool by the throat and when she lets them go Tallip tastes Chiana and drives the rider out, but it goes into Pilot. Jool comforts Chiana, while Tallip says he killed the rider, but he has mastered Pilot's body and the ship, and now he will stay.

Crichton finds Pike again, and tells Moya that she was right and he should have handed the rider over straight away although he still thinks Tallip would have betrayed them and has another plan that requires her help. He sends Jool to the neural cluster where D'Argo is waiting and drags Chiana off with him. He says Moya is going to redirect starburst energy to kill Tallip and when he calls Chiana she has to join two wires then get out of the room. D'Argo and Jool do their part and Crichton tells Tallip that he's killing Pilot because of his circulation rate. He convinces Tallip to go into Moya and Crichton signals Chiana who manages to join the wires and gets out of the room just in time before the starburst energy incinerates her... Pike is not so lucky however and is trapped inside. The starburst energy floods into Pilot's den and destroys Tallip just before he can inhabit Moya.

Pilot tells Crichton that he can't stop trying to get everything back to normal. Jool leaves to rest, when Crichton calls D'Argo. He doesn't answer and Chiana says he's here with them. Suddenly D'Argo walks in, and baffled, Crichton leaves to sleep.

Meanwhile, Scorpius is resting again, this time not hooked up and has visions of grabbing Crichton by the throat and telling him to tell all he knows about wormholes. Crichton manages to turn it round, and he tells Scorpius it's game over as he throws Scorpius into the wormhole. Scorpius suddenly awakes, with a look of both determination and fright.

Memorable quotes[]

John: We're gonna have a little chat. Moya must know that there's something seriously wrong with Pilot. We gotta get that thing out of him. Does she have any idea how we can do that?
(DRD 'Pike' lets out a stream of beeps and buzzes)
John (To Chiana): You understand any of this?
Chiana: No.
John: Alright, we don't understand the R2-D2 crap. We're going to use the Star Trek system. One blink for yes, two blinks for no.
D'Argo: This plan is so bad it has to be ours.
D'Argo: Girls, we'll all sit down and watch John. Off we go...
Chiana: What if I have to piss?
D'Argo: Well then, we will all urinate together.
Chiana: You promise?
Jool: Ugh.
D'Argo: Actually, now that you mention it, I've been feeling a little angry...
John: Yeah, that's normal for you.
Tallip: Luxan, you cannot ambush me.
D'Argo: I have my weapon pointed at your face. I don't think I'm doing too badly.

(Crichton runs down a hallway)

John: ABBOTT!

Background information[]

  • Claudia Black (Aeryn) and Paul Goddard (Stark) do not appear in this episode.
  • Chiana begins displaying a hitherto unknown ability - premonition - with this episode.
  • John was 16 when he lost his virginity to Karen Shaw. D'Argo was seven. This is the second of three references to Karen Shaw in the series.
  • The mask for Co-Kura Strappa was sculpted by Dominic Hailstone, who had just finished working on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone film before traveling to Australia. ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.2)
  • The inspiration for this episode came partly from a nose bleed that Ben Browder had during his audition with Rockne S. O'Bannon and David Kemper. ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.2)
  • Guy Gross used the timing of the dripping blood as the rhythm for his music in the scenes showing the stigmata. ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.2)
  • The starburst chamber is seen for the first time. Designed by Tim Ferrier to be "Moya-esque but unique to anything we'd seen before." ("Cool Farscape Facts" - Starburst Edition DVD v3.2)
  • The voice Lani Tupu used for the Tallip possessed pilot is much closer to his natural voice.
  • A new costume for Jool is introduced, which becomes her standard mode of dress for the next while.

Links and references[]

Starring[]

Guest stars[]

Guest cast[]

Puppeteers[]

Voice artists[]

References[]

arn; ballium; Command; command carrier; comms; Crichton, Jack; DRD; DRD "Pike"; energy rider; fek; fekik; Grunchlk; heating coil; hezmana; Hubble; Human; Ka Jothee; Kaarvok; Krasac's Bow; Leviathan; Luxan; maintenance bay; microt; Moya; Nerri; neural cluster; Noatian gem mine; Peacekeeper; Peacekeeper High Command; photocopy; Pilot's den; Pip; prowler; pulse pistol; Qualta Blade; Rovhu; Saint; Salis; Scarran; Sebacean; Shaw, Karen; solar day; starburst; starburst chamber; starburst crystal; Tal, Lo'Laan; Tallip; tralk; transport pod; twinning; Uncharted Territories; wool; wormhole; wormhole weapon;

Crichtonisms[]

Abbott and Costello; Arkansas; Bible; Blair, Linda; Casper the Friendly Ghost; The Exorcist; Pike, Christopher; R2-D2; sheep; Star Trek; Star Wars; Stigmata; Three Stooges;

External link[]

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