Commander John Robert Crichton, Jr. is Farscape's lone human character. He was piloting an experimental spacecraft of his own design--Farscape One--when he accidentally got sucked into a worm hole. Not long ago, writers had to make do with flying carpets, genies, witches, and other magical ways to transport their characters to various never-never lands. Fortunately, at the turn of this century, we have science to provide more realistic scenarios. Yeah, right. How he ended up on the other side of the galaxy is not important. He is there and it didn't take him long to get into trouble.

First, he manages to make an enemy of the most powerful empire in that part of the galaxy - the Peacekeepers. Then he gets picked up by a motley crew of escaped convicts on a barge known as a Leviathan ship. This living ship has a name, Moya, but has no defensive systems or weapons. John knows nothing of the local customs, has little military background, and hasn't a clue how Leviathan technology works. Of course, by the end of his first day he manages to save the crew and himself from the evil Peacekeepers.

One would think the other members of Moya's crew would be impressed by their human crew mate's clever ways.

Unfortunately, whatever goodwill Crichton earns with his crew mates is severely tested by his incessant, nonsensical statements affectionately known by scapers as Crichtonisms. John Crichton is an interesting and complex hero. He is torn by his own selfish desire to return home and his loyalty to Moya and her crew. John can be self-centered, stubborn, and often acts without thinking the situation out. Fortunately, John is a man of action who manages to save the day by the end of nearly every episode. He is quite intelligent (for a human) and uses his unique perspective to solve problems by methods others on Moya wouldn't even consider. Sometimes, he even gets dirty and beaten-up in the process.

All things considered, John Crichton is pretty good at representing humanity in the uncharted territories. Pilot's pointed comments in "Crackers Don't Matter" aside, John seems to have earned the trust and respect of his ship mates.

One other thing, have you noticed how much John has aged the last year or so? When the show first started I was tricked by Ben Browder's youthful looks into thinking the man was in his late 20's. As it turns out, he is pushing 40 and is starting to show his advancing age. I am not sure if this is due to Ben's genetics or the change in lighting, hair style and photography in season two. Granted, John has been though a great deal since "Nerve," so it is possible his aging is just written into the show.

John Crichton is played by American actor Ben Browder. Born on December 11, 1962 in Memphis, Tennessee as Robert Benedict Browder. Ben spent much of his younger years in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his family operates at least two successful businesses. Ben graduated from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Since moving to Australia in 1998, Ben has been forced to change his lifestyle greatly. Fortunately, Ben has acquired a love of surfing, which seems to make up for Australia's lack of Crisco vegetable shorting, Mountain Dew drinks, and Clark candy bars.

Ben started his acting career playing the small roll of a WW2 pilot in the 1990 film, Memphis Belle. Ben spent much of the 1990s honing his acting skills on such films as Kiss Before Dying, Nevada, and Boogie Boy. Ben also played various rolls on television programs such as "Secrets," "Grace Under Fire," and most notably, as Sam on "Party of Five."

Today Ben lives with his wife, English actress Francesca Buller, and their children in the Sydney, Australia area. Due to the cancellation of Farscape, and the fact that Australia has little tolerance for unemployed American surfing bums, Ben has indicated that he will pursue his acting career in the US.