Farscape Fan Favorite only interacts with one character The entire series

Pa Jonathan Klotz
| Published 27 seconds ago

Farscape may be known as a “puppet show,” but it features some of the best writing of any sci-fi series, from the organic growth of John Crichton and Erin Black’s relationship to the ability to turn even the most outlandish storylines into intelligent narratives. This is the only reason that Farscape did so well with Harvey, a version of the villainous Scorpius that exists only in Crichton’s head, a gimmick character who has become a fan favorite despite his obvious limitations.

The Invisible Madman by John Crichton

First appeared in the fourth episode of Crackers Don’t Matter. Farscape In Season 2, Scorpius’ hallucination is considered part of T’raltix’s mind manipulation, but then Scorpius would appear again and again in moments of high stress. The hallucination even began pushing Crichton to do certain things, specifically not killing the real Scorpius, before it finally manifested itself into the man’s mind. The hallucination was the result of a neural chip implanted by Scorpius during Crichton’s torture; ironically, the scorpius clone revealed the truth during another torture session from the other an alien whom it helped Crichton defeat.

Crichton named the hallucination of Scorpius that lives in his head Harvey, named after the James Stewart classic about the invisible rabbit. From then on, Harvey appeared several times each season, sometimes as a visual hallucination that no other Farscape the characters could see as he didn’t actually exist, and another time in Crichton’s mind where he gave helpful advice like Jiminy Cricket in a skin tight suit.

Brilliant way to get Scorpius involved

Writers of Farscape made the choice to have Scorpius’s neural implant be a version of Scorpius to keep the villain from regularly failing his evil plans. That way, they could bring in Wayne Pigram, explore the different parts of Crichton portrayed by Scorpius, and keep the sense of danger surrounding the real villain. Harvey may have started out as a mental clone of Scorpius, but he ended up becoming his own character.

Harvey appeared before Crichton wearing Hawaiian shirts and, in a moment that showcased Pigram’s talent, even played the drums like Ringo Starr. These unusual occurrences led both fans and Crichton to begin to see Harvey as more of an ally than an enemy, and in truth, he was, but only in the same way that the real Scorpius was: to further his own ends. In fact, until the time Farscape came to an end, Harvey was able to fulfill his goals and the reason he was programmed in the first place, but in keeping with the spirit of the series, it wasn’t quite how he intended it to be in Season 2.

Farscape is the only one science fiction series that I can think of took what could have been a one-off gimmick for an episode and managed to turn Harvey into a permanent part of the show’s legacy. Stargate SG-1 turned the stunt episode into one of the series’ best, but they never included Apophis appearing in a hazmat suit or discussing how Easter is celebrated. Farscape managed to do a lot with very little, thanks to sharp writing and a talented cast, with Wayne Pigram’s irrepressible Harvey as the best example of what a little creativity and a willingness to throw away the rule book will get you.