Lexx
– Season 2 - 4 (Television Series)
Picture: B-
Sound: C+ (Seasons 2 & 3) B- (Season 4) Extras: B Episodes:
B
Lexx stood out as a unique science fiction program that
garnered its cult following due to a sexual current and often comedic tone. Rather than grouping it with shows like Star
Trek or Farscape, I’m more inclined to place it alongside Red
Dwarf, or maybe even Mystery Science Theater, if you want to make a
stretch. The show was a mix that held
attention because it mingled between these two realms of sci-fi so well. But beyond that - the adventures that the
crew finds themselves in is certainly such an odd assortment of perils that I
give credit to the writers for being able to successfully blend genres for
certain episodes. Such as aping a
slasher movie with the episode Wake The Dead, or even borrowing elements
of the reality TV show Survivor for the episode Xevivor, which
came late in the series’ lifespan.
Looking at it now, you could also relate the tone of the show as being a
bit like Sliders, albeit a bit more “out there” and a lot more confined
in its scope, due to a more restricted budget.
Despite the confines of money, the show managed all right - and while
the quality of the shows sagged here and there throughout, its impact had begun
to wane more noticeably toward the end of its tenure. Regardless, the characters retained their traits and yet remained
fresh enough and still able to hold interest, even if the situations they found
themselves wrapped up in became a little less inspired.
For a little bit of background on the history of the show,
it lasted on television for a decent stretch of time - four seasons, when
including the quadrilogy of made-for-TV movies. These movies originally went by the name of Tales From A Parallel
Universe, but have since then become known by the Lexx title and
they now comprise its first season. The
show was a French-Canadian/German co-production that lasted from 1997 to 2002,
and during that time was nominated for the several genre-specific awards,
though I’m unaware if it succeeded in obtaining any. It featured sets that had a very cool and very D.I.Y. look to
them, and sported fairly decent special effects that were as good as was
possible at the time due to the money constraints.
In the U.S., the show was normally allotted airtime late
at night on the Sci-Fi Channel, where it drew in viewers interested in the
built-in sexual beacon of the character of Zev. Her exploits were certainly a highlight of the show and had her
oftentimes-accepting liaisons with multiple partners of just about any
kind. A lot of the humor revolved
around this, and the fact that such liaisons were not something given freely to
either the self-thinking computer 790 or Stanley Tweedle - the two crewmembers
most interested in a close encounter with the vixen. There were other long-running conflicts on the show as well, but
each episode was handled so you didn’t really need to be filled in on all the
details to get your full enjoyment out of what was offered up.
The extras on the discs are your average deal, and while
attention was surely given to them, they may not have received as much as they
could have. You have production
sketches, storyboards and such. On top
of these, you’ll find some behind the scenes segments involving the cast and
crew, and a Sci-Fi produced show called Rated Lexx. This is all
good stuff, but even though I was myself once a doubter as to the significance
of audio commentaries, a few here and there would have been kindly appreciated
by all of the enthusiasts out there.
As far as the transfers over to disc, Acorn Media has done
an acceptable job overall, and the episodes look as good as you could get from
digital cable. The picture can co me
off as being a little muted overall, but I think most of that comes from the
equipment that this was recording on during production of the show itself. The sound quality is a little bit mixed, and
while the fourth season sports a decent Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound mix,
the second and third seasons are only in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Either way the sound remains clean, and
there’s no harshness or shrill edges to be heard throughout. While the sound and video aren’t perfection,
it’s all still commendable for being as nice as it is. One thing to be happy for is that some
company has taken the time to give a complete home video outlet for such a
niche show. I’m thankful that they
noticed that there would be a market for this stuff, despite my main complaints
stemming from how they have marketed it to the consumers.
When you see these sets in the store, your first instinct
might be to complain about the clunky, unattractive packaging this series was
given. Then it’s only a matter of time
until your eye catches sight with the rather steep price tag you’ll most likely
be met with. It was a good show, and I
remain a fan - but is it worth the close to eighty or ninety dollars you’ll be
charged for the second season alone? My
advice to Acorn Media would be to put the first season back into print in the
U.S., and revise the packaging design with something that would take up much
less shelf space, something they have already done with early sets of Tales
Of The Unexpected. Similar
revisions should be done with the last three seasons as well, and perhaps
taking double-sided discs into consideration might not be such an entirely bad
idea if it means cutting costs back a tad.
Finally, an all-encompassing set with a little bit of a marketing push
behind it and maybe a few special extras thrown in on top of that might draw in
some new fans, and most likely get the current fans to reopen their wallets for
the added convenience.
As it is, I still recommend grabbing this one up if you
believe it might be up your alley. It
will be interesting to see if anything significant ever becomes of the
following behind this show. As it is
now, I’m sure the fan base is rather small, but there’s no telling how many
might get caught up with this one if it was given the proper attention.
- David Milchick
