8 September 2025

I was at Dragon Con on the anniversary of Farscape's cancellation. Spending time with friends I had met through the fandom. There was only one panel about Farscape this year sadly but still fans new and old are enthusiastic. I thought back to that Friday in 2002. I was checking my email after dropping my daughters at soccer practice after getting off work. There was an email from Ben Browder asking me to get as many fans to chat as possible. I replied is it bad? He quickly replied yes. So I set about it. There was about 4 hours. Chat was packed as producer/writer David Kemper told us the show had been cancelled and there would be no season 5. The actors and writers were giving us a heads up before the official announcement. Fans in the US,UK, Europe and Australia brainstormed ideas through the night and weekend. This was a bit easier then in some ways as the SciFi Channel Farscape board provided a central meeting place as did the mIRC chat. Various web sites joined to get the word out quickly to call and fax the SciFi Channel headquarters in New York City. By Monday morning their voicemail and fax inboxes were shut down. Thousands of letters and post cards were starting to be delivered. New channel head Bonnie Hammer made the mistake of saying there were not a lot of women scifi fans resulting in a call to mail your bras to the channel! These were quick responses while other ideas being discussed. There was no social media just websites and bulletin boards and the Farscape fans found a way to combine old style fan campaigns and new. It was an exciting time though information was slow by today's standards. Groups around the country worked to try and get more viewers for the remaining episodes. The season was on break until December 30 and the finale prophetically called Bad Timing would air March 10, 2003. DVDs and tapes were donated to military bases around the world (over the years I have met 3 fans who discovered the show while serving abroad during this time which still amazes me!) as well as libraries. Tables set up at various conventions. Local fan groups purchased time for TV ads and more. It was a long struggle and rumors started going around the end of 2003 that something was happening. In May 2004 came a formal announcement of a 2 part mini-series that would conclude the story and would air in October on the SciFi Channel. Claudia Black rightfully called it a gift to the fans. I have met fans over the years who discovered PKW BEFORE knowing there was a series that came first!

I was proud to be a part of this movement to save Farscape. In the scheme of things it is just a TV show but it has brought me together with people around my own country and the world I would have never met otherwise who I share many things with ---- a desire for a better world, love of books and travel, and more.

*** Photo from DVD extra of cast watching Bad Timing