Trivia
Getting biblical: The title of this episode is a pun on the phrase "love is a many splendoured thing." A quote from St John's letters to the Ephesians, v3.ch19, it's pretty certain the author never imagined it would be used in quite this way.
Commanding tones: This week it's D'Argo actor Anthony Simcoe who gets to say "previously on Farscape." Looks like everyone's getting a turn.
Eye Spy: The actor under apparently eyeless Tarnak rebel Raa'keel's shiny carapace has been on Farscape before, playing the also apparently eyeless Bekhesh in season one's Throne for a Loss and season two's three part Liars, Guns and Money trilogy.
Tongue-tastic: D'Argo's tongue is whipped into service once again - as a slender lifeline preventing him plunging to fiery death. All this, and the ability to lick people into unconsciousness too - what a handy appendage.
G'day mate!: Funny how common the Aussie accent is in the Uncharted Territories...
Tower of Babel: While Sikozu's linguistic abilities are clearly second to none, how come China can understand what D'Argo's ship says when events in Revenging Angel clearly establish that it only speaks Ancient Luxan? Justifications on a postcard please.
The Lady of the Lava flow: John's triumphant display of the armarak-encased Rygel after fishing him out of the lava is strangely reminiscent of certain sword wielding moments from John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur.
The John Crichton guide to pop culture.
White meat: "Why does everything always taste like chicken?" wonders John whilst chewing on his jilnek. A line from 1999 virtual-reality blockbuster The Matrix, it's a question much asked by gourmets of the exotic - apparently every new animal just tastes like the common old chuck. Even, by some accounts, human flesh.
Double act: John claims to be Lou Costello, one half of legendary American comedy double act Abbott and Costello. Between 1939 and 1956 the pair released a string of very successful comedy films such as Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, Here Come the Co-eds, and Abbott and Costello go to Mars (Tagline: They're too wild for one world!)
Cities in Dust: "Someone's doing the Pompei thing," warns John as hot lava rises to engulf him, D'Argo and Noranti. The most famous of all Roman ruins, in 79AD Pompei was covered by lava flows from nearby volcano Vesuvius, only being rediscovered in the 18th Century. Preserved amongst the ruins were the forms of the city's people, caught at their moment of death.
Stoogin' around: John dubs the dim couple sent to capture him Curly and Moe, after two members of The Three Stooges. A slapstick comedy trio, they made many many short films during the 30s and 40s in which they poke each other in the eyes, hit each other with saucepans and so on. The third Stooge was called Larry.
Say, Tonto: "There is no "we" white girl," John admonishes the irritatingly persistent Noranti. It comes from an old and not very funny joke:
The Lone Ranger and Tonto are holed up, surrounded by bloodthirsty Indians with no way of excape. The Lone Ranger turns to Tonto and says, "Well, old friend, it's been a long partnership, but this time I think we're for it." Tonto just replies, "What 'we', white man?"
Say goodbye, Ensign: John calls one of the Raa'keel's goons "Mr Redshirt", referring to the ill-fated minor crewmen who would make up the numbers in Original Series Star Trek. If a guy had a red shirt on and you hadn't seen him before, chances were very high you wouldn't be seeing him again - a stray phaser blast or alien nasty would see to that.
Heartless beast: Raa'keel is quickly renamed Tin Man by John, a reference to The Wizard of Oz. One of the oddballs who befriended Dorothy, the Tin Man felt he lacked a heart. So, along with the Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow, respectively seeking courage and brains for themselves, he accompanied Dorothy on her way to see the Wizard.
