The Best And Worst Dads In Science Fiction
Daddy issues aren't limited to Earth.
This article is more than 2 years old
Jack Crichton in Farscape
John Crichton decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an astronaut. That single choice changed John’s life in ways far more dramatic than anyone ever could have guessed, setting him on a collision course with a wormhole that would drop him on the other side of the galaxy and into an insane life that would make John and the rest of the Moya crew some of the most infamous names in the Uncharted Territories.
John’s love for and devotion to his father was evident from the start in Farscape, with John regularly recording his thoughts for his dad as a way of coping with his unthinkable new reality. Jack Crichton was the moral grounding that guided John throughout any number of dangers, and which allowed him to remain a good man amidst tribulations where it would have been a lot easier — and often less painful — to compromise. Jack’s shadow loomed large over John’s time in the Uncharted Territories in many ways, with one of the Ancients choosing to use the form of Jack to communicate with John on multiple occasions. Even though Jack and John butted heads when John finally managed to return to Earth, their love for each other didn’t falter, and their final interaction, with John calling from the Moon to explain that he was destroying the only means by which they might ever again be reunited — long story — ended with Jack telling his son how proud he was of him. And we weren’t crying, we had something in our eye.
If He Was Our Dad: We might be astronauts instead of just people who just write about them. Then again, that sounds like hard work, so no, we’d probably still just be doing this, and Jack would be hugely disappointed in us.
Ideal Father’s Day Gift: Crichton’s tapes. It’s been a long time, so I can’t recall if John ever got them to his dad or not, but what father wouldn’t want to hear his son narrate the story of his adventures on the other side of the cosmos? Also, at least a couple of baby pictures of young D’Argo Sun Crichton.
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