Entertainment
Raunchy Trip To A Pleasure Planet Is Farscape's Quirkiest Episode
By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated
For every emotional, character-driven episode of Farscape that pushes forward the battle against the Peacekeepers, there’s an episode that exists for no other reason than the universe of the show is cool, and the writers want to spend time in it. “Scratch N Sniff,” Season 3 Episode 13, adds nothing to the overall plot and yet, it’s essential viewing. Years before The Hangover, John Crichton and D’Argo wake up after a wild night of partying, unsure what happened, where all of their stuff is, and why Crichton is wearing stockings. It’s fun, it ends up meaning nothing, and it’s one of the series best episodes.
Pleasure Planet Excursions Never End Well
Crichton (Ben Browder), D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe), Chiana (Gigi Edgley), and Jool (Tammy Macintosh) are kicked out of the Moya by Pilot (Lani Tupu) because, well, everyone was annoying him. After only two days, Crichton returns to the Moya and tries to tell Pilot the story of what happened to them on the pleasure planet LoMo. Crichton and D’Argo work to piece together the missing night, and try to find what happened to Chiana and Jool.
Raxil (Ben Browder’s wife Francesa Butler, back for her third appearance, third character, and always an annoyance to Crichton) explains to the men that the women were kidnapped by a local crime lord to produce the pleasure drug Frelin. To get back their friends, D’Argo and Crichton have to infiltrate a criminal hideout by sneaking into an auction for Chiana and Jool, with a little help from Harvey (Wayne Pygram). Along the way, Raxil wants them to help rescue her mate, but if you’ve seen any other episode of Farscape with Butler, you can guess how it’s going to end.
Scratch N Sniff Was Originally Much Different
“Scratch N Sniff” is filled with fun moments, including Chiana’s fire-twirling (performed by Gigi Edgley herself), Jool doing gymnastics (performed by Tammy Macintosh, a former gymnast), and D’Argo’s smooth dance moves (also performed by Anthony Simcoe). Pilot’s annoyed interjections during the story, and Crichton’s frustrated attempts to explain himself, serve as a running bit. It’s also the first, and only time, that Harvey appears to someone else when D’Argo gets dragged along into Crichton’s subconscious through an alien connector.
Originally, “Scratch N Sniff” was going to be a serious, noir-detective story. According to the cast and crew in various interviews over the years, it ended up being boring. Farscape can be described in a lot of different ways, but boring is never one of them. Re-editing the footage with the homage to The Usual Suspects and using quick, music video-style cuts as often as possible turned the serious mystery into an offbeat, quirky adventure.
Between all of the drug references and the human trafficking, it’s easy to see how this episode was originally much darker, and then there’s Crichton using a deep southern accent while undercover. The second, significantly less serious version works so well, it’s hard to imagine it was originally anything else. Farscape was always able to walk the fine line between heavy emotion and good old-fashioned sci-fi fun, which is why over 20 years after it ended, it’s still one of the best sci-fi shows of all time.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for July 22, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
Possessive.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
WHOSE
Mashable Top Stories
Hurdle Word 2 hint
A small, round fruit.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
GRAPE
Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today
Hurdle Word 3 hint
To intrigue.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
PIQUE
Hurdle Word 4 hint
To follow.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
ABIDE
Final Hurdle hint
To yearn for.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
COVET
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
Netflix Horror Thriller Series Brings Fan-Favorite 90s Books To Life
By Charlene Badasie
| Published
The 2022 horror mystery-thriller The Midnight Club is one of Netflix’s most overlooked originals. Created by Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong, the 10-episode series adapts Christopher Pike’s 1994 novel of the same name while weaving elements from 27 of the prolific YA author’s other books into a single haunting story. Set at Brightcliffe Hospice Care for Teenagers, it follows a group of terminally ill young adults who gather each night to share terrifying stories and unravel the institution’s darkest secrets.
The Patients Of Brightcliffe
Set in the mid-1990s, the series begins when Ilonka (Iman Benson), a bright and ambitious young woman battling terminal thyroid cancer, chooses to live at Brightcliffe Hospice Care. She befriends Kevin (Igby Rigney), a leukemia patient, and clashes with her roommate Anya (Ruth Codd). One night, Ilonka stumbles upon a secret gathering of the Midnight Club.
The secret society, comprised of the patients of Brightcliffe, tries to communicate with the dead and shares eerie stories that intertwine with the hospice’s ominous history. As Ilonka delves deeper into the story of a former patient named Julia Jayne (Larsen Thompson), the supposed healer from the past, she uncovers a sinister cult, symbolized by the number “292.13,” and drawings that hint at a dark past.
21 Jump Scares
Julia, the founder of the original Midnight Club in 1969, had connections to Paragon, a cult that practiced unsettling rituals. The plot thickens as Ilonka, with Kevin’s help, discovers a hidden floor beneath the hospice. Records of the original club and evidence of a cult terrify the group. The final episodes bring closure for some characters, while others meet tragic ends.
The Midnight Club quickly captured the attention of Netflix audiences, recording an impressive 90.31 million hours viewed between October 2 and October 23, 2022, securing its position in the platform’s top 10. The series’ debut episode also made history by breaking the Guinness World Record for the most scripted jump-scares in a single episode, with 21 hair-raising moments.
The series was initially supposed to run for multiple seasons but was unexpectedly canceled in December 2022. Despite its premature ending, The Midnight Club earned critical acclaim and currently holds an 85 percent approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Critics praised Flanagan’s heartfelt approach to horror and the unique blend of individual stories with the overarching plot.
Other Horror Titles On Netflix From Mike Flanagan
Mike Flanagan has made a name for himself with his Netflix shows, including The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher. These series are known for their focus on the human condition rather than jump scares and loud noises. Flanagan’s nonlinear approach to horror works very well, and he often tells parallel stories in the past and present.
The Haunting of Hill House became a huge surprise hit and remains a fan favorite. The Fall of the House of Usher, Flanagan’s most recent Netflix project, is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s vast bibliography and is up there with his best efforts. While The Midnight Club may have been axed prematurely, its chilling tales, stellar cast, and impressive viewership numbers are cemented into the annals of Netflix’s haunting offerings.
Entertainment
Netflix Sci-Fi Time Loop Thriller Overlooked For Years Shatters All Expectations
By TeeJay Small
| Published
Time loop movies are all the rage, with incredible high-concept ideas taking the premise plotted out by 1993’s Groundhog Day and expanding upon it in a new and creative fashion. One such film is 2016’s ARQ, a film that takes the time loop concept and pairs it with action thriller set-pieces.
ARQ‘s a wild ride from start to finish. Though the film failed to make a massive splash when it was first released on Netflix nearly a decade ago, it stands as an excellent outing, shocking many fans who find their way to the film today.
Reliving A Violent Kidnapping
ARQ‘s plot centers on a couple named Renton and Hannah, who wake up one morning as three violent men break into their bedroom. Despite their attempts to fight back and escape, the situation restarts each time they achieve any level of success. After the armed men successfully capture the couple and tie them to chairs, the leader, known only as ‘Father,’ explains that they are part of a rebel group called the Bloc.
Father commands Renton to give him money allegedly stolen from the massive Torus Corporation, where Renton is employed. Once the Bloc men are distracted, Renton cuts himself and Hannah loose and explains that he built and stole a perpetual motion machine, which he calls the ARQ, while working for the company.
ARQ Saved By Netflix
ARQ is written and directed by Orphan Black writer Tony Elliott. The idea for the film dates all the way back to 2008 when a Canadian film studio approached Elliott to option the script. The project fell into nearly a decade of development hell afterward.
Luckily, Netflix eventually bought the rights to produce and distribute the project in 2016 for a total budget of less than $2 million, resulting in the streamer being the exclusive home for the film worldwide.
ARQ stars Rachael Taylor, Shaun Benson, Gray Powell, Jacob Neayem, and Adam Butcher, with Stephen Amell’s brother, Robbie Amell, in the leading role. The film received a world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, where audiences were wowed by the high-concept application of a time loop film with so many moving parts.
What Sets ARQ Apart From Other Time Loop Movies
Unlike other time loop films, ARQ contains multiple time loops within other time loops, creating a veritable Fibonacci sequence of infinite loops that would drive the average person to madness. The film’s writing is spectacular, revealing intense sci-fi concepts, which explains why it may have been so difficult to make the film in the first place. Regardless, the film has finally found its home, even if it failed to leave a massive mark on the cinema landscape upon its release.
ARQ is now available to view on Netflix. Just be sure to catch it on a day when you’re not experiencing any deja vu.
Kirby Smart challenges Georgia to make like Thunder, be 'uncommon'
Light made a flip phone — it’s colorful and it’s cheap
