Rockne�s thoughts on getting the right names in science fiction

If you�re creating a science fiction television series, names of things are very, very important. And you just want to get them exactly right. Character names, obviously, and then the names of things, the lexicon.

Everything has got to be named, whether it�s a device, a unit of measurement or time, the propulsion system. Everything has to be created and named and you really want it to be right. If you think of the original Star Trek and its use of words like phaser instead of laser and dilithium crystals, all those things that Roddenberry came up with just seem absolutely right, and they still seem fresh today. That, to me, is probably the greatest example of what was brilliant about what he did back then.

Titles are very difficult in science fiction. Farscape was originally called Space Chase. That was the working title. We knew we didn�t want to use Space Chase, �Space� sounded kind of old fashioned and it sounded like a kids� show. Because we were being produced by the Jim Henson Company, we didn�t want that kind of kid association with this project. So we went on the search for a new title, just putting beginnings of words together and back ends of words, that sort of thing.

Finally I came up with Farscape, and everybody scratched their heads, saying, "Yeah, Farscape, what does it mean?" I sold everybody on Farscape by talking about Star Trek. I said, "Right now we say Star Trek and it�s just become legendary, it�s Star Trek this, Star Trek that. the emotions of But imagine if you had never heard it before. You don�t know if it�s saying 'Start Wreck'".

So I said "If the show�s good, then Farscape will become totally related to the series and people will like the title, in the same way as Star Trek". It�s not a conventional title or one that you would necessarily normally leap to. It�s distinctive and unusual, and I�d like to think that I was right.