I just discovered my favorite story theme... (AKA: why I now love Farscape)

[daniel l.]

I must admit that I've approached the majority of science-fiction that wasn't Star Trek, or written by Asimov, Herbert, or Clarke with extreme caution (I'm someone who leaves the room running whenever a TV program has an awkward moment) out of fear that my time will be wasted on something bad. But, in the last year, I've forced myself (through the lack of more stories in the listed categories) to explore the other available franchises and stories. And the one thing I've discovered is that I have an extreme weakness for this particular plot (In Sci-Fi terms):

A human character of the present day, recent past, or near future is whisked away to a distant and strange part of the universe where they befriend a weird and alien group of people (usually aliens or extraterrestrial humans) and eventually find their place in this strange new world, over time becoming a hero and ultimately accepting this alien land as their home.

The stories that have caused me to become aware of this obsession are, to my knowledge: Empyrion, by Stephen Lawhead, and the TV series, Farscape (please no spoilers, I'm only partway through Season 2).

This weakness has been a part of me for a long time, but I've only recently become aware of it. I believe it's because:

1. I'm a lover of the romantic. Not exactly, 'romance' romantic, though my loneliness does make fictional romance a guilty-pleasure of mine. The mentioned stories are epic in proportion (at least to me, anyway).
2. My aforementioned loneliness and dissatisfaction with the lifestyle I currently have (not yet an adult, and so many miles away from civilization that I never had a chance of being able to socialize) leads me to desire the protagonists' situation in a way that allows me to relate far more with the protagonist than with any other show.

Honestly, in all my years of watching Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, I've never really connected with the characters. Sure, I had my favourites, but I never really felt like I could put myself in their shoes. Whereas the character of John Crichton has sucked me in so heavily that I find myself subconsciously mimicking some of his mannerisms every time I finish watching an episode -- it's like I'm a little kid again, it's amazing.

Farscape has really brightened my life up, I now look forward to watching an episode or two or three every day. My only regret is there's only four seasons! Of course, I haven't finished Season 2 yet, much less the series, so I don't know if the ending is "All Good Things/What You Leave Behind"-level satisfying and tear-jerking, or comparable to "These Are The Voyages" -- but please don't tell me, I want to enjoy these moments myself before I start reading reviews and see all the episodes I loved being picked apart to the nano-level and condemned for a slight that I didn't notice originally but can't unsee afterwards. Personally, the Season 1 wrap-up arc was awesome enough, and this show doesn't shy away from doing weird and awesome things.

 

TL;DR:

Farscape and similar stories are a major weakness of mine, one that brings me lots of joy, and I've only just discovered it.