Customer Reviews

Lexx: Series 4, Vol. 3

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was a big change from the campy season before and the surreal set of movies that happened in the season one. The episodes in season 2 were like Red Dwarf. Where they seemed to bounce randomly from one spot to another, and had little in realm of a long running plot until the later seasons. Season two was a random bunch of episodes with only Mantrid and the Lexx crew binding them together.

This season not only had a long running story arc, but the humor was more subdued and focused on the surreal imagery and spiritual idealogies it presented.

The crew was shot into the dark zone after the destruction of the light zone. You find that they were stranded in an empty area with no planets nearby, and no fuel for their ship. So they go into sleep and drift until they find a decent planet. But they are found before they have a chance to wake, but a strange individual named Prince. He and his roadwarrior like lackeys take Stan prisoner and becomes interested in Xev. He takes them to Princetown, his town on Fire.

Fire and Water are a pair of planets that circle each other and share atmosphere that can be traversed by balloons. Fire is hot and unable to sustain life on the surface. So the towns are tall stacks that lift them high enough to make it livable. The areas below are filled with devices to keep the city cool by using slave labor. Water is all water, dotted with towns on the surface. The inhabitants are all living in luxury, giving little thought to the world around them, the future, or the past. They seem to live for the moment and whatever passion drives them. The towns on both planets are named for their leaders or their obsession, Gametown is filled with sports fanatics, Garden with the plant obsessed, Girltown is a matriarchy, and Boomtown where everyone has sex all the time.

But that isn't the end of the weirdness. People seem to have little recallation of the past or who they are. No one is born, they just remember when they were and nothing else. The two planets have been fighting for ages but don't know why. The crew see quite a few people that they knew in the Light Universe that are all dead, some with the same names. They see Bunny, Schlemi, Mantrid, and Gigarotta that have no memories of their previous lives. Plus Prince seems to know the most, but has his own agenda and is obsessed with getting the crew to fullfill this.

I didn't like this season when I first saw it, but it grew on me. The humor was more subtle, darker, and surreal than the first one. It was also more philosphical and spiritual than the previous series. Dealing with re incarnation, planetary genocide, damnation, and eternal paradise. The big bad wasn't standard as he wasn't out to kill the crew or the universe. But he admitted repeatedly that he was neither good nor trustworthy, but wanted to make a deal. plus he was harder to figure out than the other two, and even by the time the series is over you still don't know for certain what he is.

This was a great season that tends to grow on you. The imagery and well thought out plot was worth the price alone.

This third season was where I was initiated with "The Lexx." I came in completely bewildered and at the same time fascinated by what I was seeing. I consider this show to be one of the most original sci-fi programs ever created, and this third series continues that tradition with some excellent computer graphics and bizarre yet mesmerizing scenarios. What is different in this series as compared to the last is that while the second series was a collection of twenty singular episodes with a through-line plot, this third series is more like a single, long adventure story in 13 parts. There are very few moments in this series that I thought the story was meandering or losing focus of the motivations of the main characters. Also, many of the new character actors are superb. All give memorable performances, with a particularly enthralling performance from Nigel Bennett who plays the character "Prince." While the surreal, often nightmarish, story unfolds there is an underlying mystery that is gradually revealed. The "Making of..." section on the DVDs are both informative and entertaining with shots taken from filming on location in Berlin, as well as on the sound stages in Nova Scotia. This third series is an epic adventure that stands on its own once the main characters become familiar. Newcomers to "The Lexx" should start with the original first series which consists of four 2-hour-long films for a more detailed backstory. The second series also has some great moments and is certainly worth obtaining, as well. This third series should be watched as a whole, and that is why I chose not to write reviews for each particular volume. Let the journey begin...

Let's face it. Making an original AND entertaining sci-fi series is no small feat. LEXX excelled those standards in its 3rd year of stories, or rather, the third adventure. Whereas the four television movies established the origins of the Lexx and crew, and the 2nd series was a typical year of science fiction television, year 3 delved into a strong, never-disappointing subject matter - the elemental rules of good and evil and cause and effect.

Thousands of years adrift, the Lexx has almost no power and cannot escape the shared orbit of planets Fire and Water. The inhabitants of both planets have opposing ideals and ways of life, and some of them look familiar. Both planets would also make a good snack for the Lexx - but which one? Here is where our favorite motley crew will come face to face with who they really are, and what they really want.

This show has got it all, and the actors are PERFECT for these characters. Xev looks as sexy and as gorgeous as ever, Stanley still longs for acceptance, Kai is one bad mo-fo, and 790 gets a bit reprogrammed, which introduces a whole new level of irony. The introduction of Prince solidifies the cast and brings the show to a new level of class, (while remaining crude as always!)
Series 3 stands out as the showcase of LEXX.

Lexx was one of the far-est out scifi shows of the last twenty years. Beyond the occasional raunch and roll, it created an interesting duo-verse with good characters that you begin to care about. While the production values might not be in 'Farscape' territory, they serve their purpose--which is to tell a good story. If you're open to fun and weirdness, then pick these videos up and have a good time.

AS good as the second in the series. Stan the captain who is a coward, Zev love slave & half lizard,790 the robot head obsessed love of Zev who wants to get rid of Stan because he sees him as in the way of his love of Zev. Kai the dead asassain who kills whoever Stan or Zev wants him to & to get them out of the trouble there obsessions get them in. Finnally Lexx the most powerfull wheapon in the two known universes who is a living bug ship that can destroy whole planets & does so at the whim of whoever is captain. Always on the run & looking for a safe place to get away from the devine shadow. Great series & worth the price.

The end of season 2 saw the cast in the Dark Zone far away form any good planets. They put themselves into cryo chambers with 790 watching the bridge. As the season opens, four-thousand years have passed and the Lexx is very hungry and unable to fly. They are stuck between two planets that share a common atmosphere. These are the planets Fire and Water. Fire is a roasting desert with tower cities and Water is a ball of water with floating cities. The only apparent source of food for Lexx is one of the planets. Travel to either planet is easy using a moth or a balloon.

But these two planets are strange in other ways as well. People, particularly the ruler of Fire, don't stay dead. There are no children and no one seems to know what they are. Fire keeps trying to conquer Water as it has all of the resources. Prince, the leader of Fire, is particularly interested in the crew and keeps trying to get them to blow up Water. Eventually the true nature of the planets is revealed and the crew need to make some tough decisions on how to handle things. The final episode ends with the crew heading for their next adventure.

This season is a single story in thirteen parts. This can make it seem like things are not moving very fast at times. Two episodes, Gametown and Boomtown, have huge amounts of nudity but most are similar to the previous season. The strange nature of the planets, and some flashbacks, enable us to see many characters we thought were long gone from the show (you have to watch to find out who). Our main characters also undergo some changes. Right at the start 790 switches its affection from Zev/Xev to Kai. Kai is colder, more machine-like, and rather indestructible. Xev goes through quite a few mood changes. Stanley is the most stable although he does manage to get lucky in a couple of episodes.

All in all it was an interesting season but quite different from what has gone before. Fire is populated by very industrial images (even the balloon gondolas seem to be heavy steel) which is a change from the more organic look of previous seasons. Overall I felt it was a little slow in parts and too much time seemed to be spent with part of the crew looking for a missing member. I think the Fire and Water story could probably have been done in five or six episodes but then I was not in charge. Each disk contains part of a Making Of special for the season. This can provide spoilers so you may want to wait to watch them. Also included on each dis are trivia, interviews and production designs. Check it out.

4.5 stars. I can't give this volume 5 stars mostly because of yet another lack of reasonable plotting found mostly in the first episode "Fluff Daddy." Also, while some of that episode qualifies as over-the-top parody of the Porn Industry, other portions are once again just plain dirty. Here are the episodes:

4.09 Fluff Daddy--Stan thinks he has found his long-lost love, Lyekka, who apparently now works in the Porn Industry as an "actress." He convinces everyone at the location that he is the new "fluffer." If you don't know what a "fluffer" is, you will after watching this episode. The other half of this episode shows Xev' Cluster Lizard half going through a reproductive cycle when she comes across her potential mate: a performance artist who looks similar to Kai. Kai recites parts of "Henry V" while throwing tomatoes into a large fan while wearing a loin-cloth. Bizarre.

4.10 Magic Baby--This episode is entertaining for the most part, but some of the plotting goes unexplained by the end. Vlad is loose on The Lexx enslaving Moth Breeders while the three main characters return with two Druids with whom a deal was made for getting them back on board. There are some humorous moments here, but the ending is a head-scratcher.

4.11 A Midsummer's Nightmare--Yes! The show has characters singing again! This show is a disturbing parody of Shakespear's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Oberon, Titania, and Puck are all, shall we say, "flighty." Oberon wants a new "wife" and tries to recruit Xev, at first, then Stan after his first proposal is revoked. This is a classic Lexx episode with singing, dancing, disturbing yet veiled dialogue, and some great character acting from the supporting cast. A gem!

4.12 Bad Carrot--I am chuckling as I remember this episode. Some of the humor in this one is so foul that it crosses the line from bad taste into the realm of outright hilarity. The entire main cast is now on The Lexx with a carrot-shaped alien probe violating each memeber it comes into contact with. I really can't explain further because I want this review to be posted. Sufficed to say, if you love crude humor, then this episode is sublime.

This is easily the best volume in the series, thus far.

Now in the Dark Zone, the Lexx crew are awakened after 3750-ish years (must be a kind of TV SF record) near a binary system of planets Fire and Water, both with towns with equally allegorical names and satirical functions, some more farcical than others. This season's adversary is (Isombard [sp?]) Prince, a constant tempter and trickster who dies a lot and will not stay dead. Paced rather like a comic strip or a soap opera sometimes, so certain episodes have very little happening. Even so, you have to watch all 13 episodes to get the full impact of this very long story.

All of "Lexx" 's previous strengths continue here, more drama now than comedy, with shifting characterizations and changing alliances, and the first hints of the show's guest cast entering multiple roles, for those who've watched the whole series so far. (also includes more fun recognizable guest cast, too)

As it turns out, this season is just the first portion of the rest of the series, to be concluded in the 24 episodes of the next season.
Slightly easier packaging than the other "Lexx" sets, and again, no extras.

I enjoyed the product i do love TV series specally sci. fi. I'm looking forward in ordering more TV series i also enjoy comedy series like How I meet your Mother

Season 3 of Lexx finds the Lexx and crew orbiting twin planets of Fire and Water. The shows are well written, for the most part, and the characters Prince and Bunny are more involved in the episodes. Lykka makes a reappearance as well.

The thoughtfulness and philosophical bent of many of the epsiodes made this my favorite season of Lexx.

Season 4 is worst.