"Lexx" (1997) TV series 1997-2002

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Creator:

Paul Donovan
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

18 April 1997 (Canada)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Fantasy | Comedy

Tagline:

Sci-Fi with an attitude!

Plot:

A group of desperate fugitives from an interplanetary tyranny find themselves in control of a massively powerful starship.

Plot Keywords:

Universe | Exploding Planet | Living Ship | Space | Man Eating Plant

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Brian Downey	...	Stanley H. Tweedle / ... (61 episodes, 1996-2002)
Michael McManus	...	Kai / ... (61 episodes, 1996-2002)
Xenia Seeberg	...	Xev Bellringer / ... (55 episodes, 1998-2002)
Jeffrey Hirschfield	...	790 / ... (46 episodes, 1996-2002)
Tom Gallant	...	Lexx / ... (45 episodes, 1996-2002)

(more)

Series Directed by
Chris Bould		(13 episodes, 1999-2001)
Christoph Schrewe		(7 episodes, 1998-2002)
Paul Donovan		(7 episodes, 1999-2001)
William Fleming		(4 episodes, 1999-2000)
David McLeod		(3 episodes, 1999)
Colin Bucksey		(3 episodes, 2001)
Robert Sigl		(2 episodes, 1997-2000)
Srinivas Krishna		(2 episodes, 1998-1999)
Bruce McDonald		(2 episodes, 2000)
Stephen Manuel		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Paul Donovan		(48 episodes, 1996-2002)
Lex Gigeroff		(31 episodes, 1996-2002)
Jeffrey Hirschfield		(21 episodes, 1996-2002)
Andrew Selzer		(2 episodes, 2001-2002)
Jon Spira		(2 episodes, 2001-2002)
Tom de Ville		(2 episodes, 2001)

Series Produced by
William Fleming	....	co-producer / creative producer (24 episodes, 1996-1999)
Paul Donovan	....	executive producer (7 episodes, 1996-2000)
Norman Denver	....	producer (5 episodes, 1998-2000)
Wolfram Tichy	....	executive producer (5 episodes, 1998-2000)
Willie Stevenson	....	creative producer (4 episodes, 1999)
Stephen J. Turnbull	....	line producer (2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Chris Roland	....	line producer: second unit (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Marty Simon		(4 episodes, 1996-1998)

Series Cinematography by
Les Krizsan		(8 episodes, 1996-2001)

Series Film Editing by
Kimberlee McTaggart		(2 episodes, 2000)
David Ostry		(unknown episodes)
David B. Thompson		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Jon Comerford		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)

Series Production Design by
Ingolf Hetscher		(3 episodes, 1996-1998)
Emanuel Jannasch		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Alexander Knop		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Mark Laing		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Nigel Scott		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Mike Starr		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Frank Wiemann		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)
David Hackl		(unknown episodes)
Shelley Nieder		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
John Welbanks		(24 episodes, 2001-2002)
Tim Bider		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Shelley Nieder		(unknown episodes)

Series Set Decoration by
Lothar Heinert		(1 episode, 1998)
Maja Zogg		(1 episode, 1998)

Series Costume Design by
Till Fuhrmann		(27 episodes, 1996-2000)
Jill Aslin		(2 episodes, 1996-1997)

Series Makeup Department
Babette Bröseke	....	hair stylist / makeup artist (1 episode, 1998)
Heide Haß	....	key hair stylist / key makeup artist (1 episode, 1998)
Susan Schmidt	....	assistant hair stylist / assistant makeup artist (1 episode, 1998)
Greg Corbin	....	special effects makeup crew (1 episode, 2002)
Aaron Peerless	....	special makeup effects artist (1 episode, 2002)
Helga Schikowski	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Christina Geiseler	....	production manager (1 episode, 1998)
Martina Kürbitz	....	unit manager (1 episode, 1998)
Andrea Raffaghello	....	production manager (unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jason Shipley	....	second assistant director (24 episodes, 2001-2002)
Jon Older	....	first assistant director (5 episodes, 2000)
Conny Neetenbeek	....	second assistant director (1 episode, 1998-2000)
John McKeown	....	first assistant director / second assistant director (unknown episodes, 1999-2001)
Nael Abbas	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes, 2001)
Caroline Richards	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes, 2001)
Preston Hudson	....	third assistant director (unknown episodes)
Willie Stevenson	....	second unit director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Andy Miller	....	set dresser / property master (54 episodes, 1998-2002)
Michael Cook	....	electric props builder / property assistant / ... (36 episodes, 1998-2001)
Sang Maier	....	on-set dresser (36 episodes, 2000-2002)
Gary Allen Ferguson	....	lead prop builder (8 episodes, 1998-1999)
Teresita Doucet	....	assistant property master (2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Antje Taubert	....	assistant scenic artist (unknown episodes, 2000)
Nele Gebhardt	....	props (unknown episodes)
Laura MacNutt	....	model maker (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Bob Melanson	....	dialog editor (32 episodes, 1998-2000)
Brian Power	....	adr recordist / sound (2 episodes, 1996-1998)
Paul Adlaf	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Eva Madden	....	sound recordist: second unit (unknown episodes)
Herb Theriault	....	assistant sound effects editor (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Tony Kenny	....	special effects coordinator (2 episodes, 1996-1997)
Björn Friese	....	special effects (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
Darryl Purdy	....	animator (33 episodes, 1998-2002)
Steve Cooke	....	visual effects (31 episodes, 1998-2000)
Jan Schmidtgen	....	visual effects production assistant (24 episodes, 2001-2002)
Bernd Mittelhockamp	....	digital artist (10 episodes, 1996-2002)
Sven Bergmann	....	790-puppeteer / digital on-set effects (unknown episodes)
Andrew Burke	....	visual effects (unknown episodes)
Doug Campbell	....	digital effects supervisor/compositor/animator: Sundog Films flame artist (unknown episodes)
Jeff Campbell	....	compositor (unknown episodes)
Petra Decker	....	animation artist (unknown episodes)
Peter A. Gaskin	....	videomatics director / visual effects supervisor (unknown episodes)
Jonathan Gibson	....	visual effects supervisor: Toybox (unknown episodes)
Rob Gyorgy	....	visual effects (unknown episodes)
Brian Howald	....	visual effects supervisor (unknown episodes)
Alan Kapler	....	CG effects animator (unknown episodes)
Natasha Marchand	....	digital compositor (unknown episodes)
Simon McGuire	....	digital artist (unknown episodes)
Thomas Mulack	....	visual effects producer: c.o.r.e. digital pictures GmbH (unknown episodes)
Dennis J. Murphy	....	790-puppeteer / visual effects producer: Videomatics (unknown episodes)
Chris Pember	....	visual effects (unknown episodes)
Alex Schott	....	digital artist (unknown episodes)
Jens Schwarz	....	digital artist (unknown episodes)
Willie Stevenson	....	visual effects producer (unknown episodes)
Robin Trickett	....	visual effects coordinator (unknown episodes)
Chris Wallace	....	colourist (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Randy Boliver	....	stunt coordinator (7 episodes, 1996-2000)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Darryl Duzak	....	best boy grip (57 episodes, 1998-2002)
Gareth Roberts	....	first assistant camera (56 episodes, 1998-2002)
Ian Bibby	....	gaffer / lighting director (2 episodes, 1997-1998)
Chris Baxter	....	dolly grip / key grip: second unit (unknown episodes)
Pierre Berube	....	gaffer (unknown episodes)
John Botelho	....	gaffer (unknown episodes)
Jonah Claener	....	second assistant camera: second unit (unknown episodes)
Ruth Leggett	....	gaffer (unknown episodes)
Lawrence Willett	....	electrician (unknown episodes)

Series Animation Department
Daniel Binder	....	animation artist (1 episode, 1998)
Thorsten Binte	....	animation artist (1 episode, 1998)
Petra Decker	....	animation artist (1 episode, 1998)
Stephan Lethaus	....	head animator (1 episode, 1998)
Simon McGuire	....	animation artist (1 episode, 1998)
Jens Schwarz	....	animation artist (1 episode, 1998)
Natasha Marchand	....	animator (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Constance Moerman	....	second assistant costume designer / set costumer / ... (56 episodes, 1998-2002)
Kim Keating	....	extras costume supervisor (24 episodes, 2001-2002)
Sonja Mantel	....	costume set supervisor (13 episodes, 2000)
Filiz Ertas	....	wardrobe (unknown episodes)
Roberta Palmer	....	wardrobe assistant (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Carlo D'Angelo	....	assistant editor: Avid (24 episodes, 2001-2002)
Kent McCormick	....	colorist (4 episodes, 1996-1997)
Kim Karon	....	post-production coordinator (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Colin Aguiar	....	music librarian (24 episodes, 2001-2002)
Ron Korb	....	musician: flute (unknown episodes)

Series Transportation Department
Oseé Bechstedt	....	driver (1 episode, 1998)
Stefan Klopsch	....	driver (1 episode, 1998)

Series Other crew
Darren Winter	....	set security (57 episodes, 1998-2002)
Zoe Simijonovic	....	script supervisor (9 episodes, 2000)
Cassandra Sigsgaard	....	production coordinator: UK (unknown episodes, 2001-2002)
Jayne Belliveau	....	assistant to producer (unknown episodes)
William Cairncross	....	mission control: post-production (unknown episodes)
Claudia Udenta	....	continuity / script supervisor (unknown episodes)
Cheryl Young	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Salter Street Films International
• TiMe Film- und TV-Produktions GmbH (1997-2000)
• Chum Television
• Silverlight Ltd. (2001-2002)
• VIP Babelsberger Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. KG (2000)
• Vif Babelsberger Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. Erste KG (1998-2000)

Distributors

• AcornMedia (2001-2004) (Canada) (DVD) (seasons 2-4) (through Koch)
• AcornMedia (2001-2004) (USA) (DVD) (seasons 2-4)
• Chum Television
• KOCH International (2000) (Canada) (DVD) (season 1)
• Paramount Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS) (season 1)
• RTL2 (1999) (Germany) (TV) (season 2)
• Sci-Fi Channel, The
• Sci-Fi Channel, The (2000-2002)
• Showtime Networks (season 1)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2000) (Germany) (DVD) (season 1)
• Vox (1997) (Germany) (TV) (season 1)

Special Effects

• Björn Friese Spezialeffekte & Pyrotechnik
• C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures (season 1)
• Cage Digital (visual effects) (1998-1999)
• Effectory GmbH (visual effects) (1998-1999)
• Hybride Technologies (visual effects)

Also Known As:

Lexx: The Series
Tales from a Parallel Universe (USA) (first season title)

Runtime:

60 min (65 episodes)

Country:

Canada | Germany | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:16 (television) | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Salter Street Films International

Trivia:

The chess game between Kai and Price in "The Game" is a move-by-move copy of an actual championship match chess game (La Bourdonnais vs. McDonnell, 1834, 21st game of the first match).

Quotes:

Xev Bellringer: You may still only be a head, 790, but you're the best head I ever had.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Peyton Doves (2008) (V)

A Classic Cult Series

I didn't like Lexx at first. This was mainly due to the fact that, like many other negative reviews I see here, I only caught odd episodes here and there. Not surprisingly, the story and characters made absolutely no sense whatsoever to me. As a result, I ignored this show for a long time. Luckily for me, I gave it another shot, from start to finish, and I can honestly say I enjoyed every episode (well....nearly every one....there were a few stinkers).

If you are thinking of giving it a go, make sure you see the initial four mini-movie episodes (the first season). Without the background on the characters and universe, much of what follows will be meaningless. I'll try and summarise the important parts below.

The plot centres mainly around Kai, last of the Brunnen-Gee, a dead assassin who is prophesied to bring about the destruction of His Divine Shadow (bad guy Emperor of the universe). Kai can be reanimated for brief periods of time to perform various tasks (mostly killing people). Unlike other shows such as Star Trek, the crew of the Lexx (giant, biological insect spacecraft) do not get along that well most of the time. In particular, 790 (a disembodied robot head) is particularly hateful of the male crew because of his love of Zev (a female love slave) who is another crewmember. The Lexx is captained by Stanley H Tweedle (a big coward) who has designs on Zev of his own. However, Zev only has eyes for Kai (the dead guy), so there is a weird love triangle thing going on there. Along the way, the crew gets joined by Lieka, a plant woman who likes Stan.

The show is very camp and played for laughs more often than not. As with most such shows, the plot and situations become less important with time. Instead the way the characters react and deal with the situations they find themselves in are far more enjoyable.

The mini-movies featured guest stars such as Tim Curry and Malcolm McDowell and were perhaps the better produced of all the series. Season 2 (the first proper series) focused on a new nemesis - Mantrid - and his designs on the universe. Season 3 is essentially one long episode cut into chunks, a formula that was recently copied by season 3 of Enterprise. And season 4 takes the crew to Earth, giving them the opportunity to interact with the 20th century in all its hideous glory.

Each season had its merits and pitfalls, just like each episode did. One of the interesting quirks was the limited cast list of extras. Actors reappeared from one episode (or season) to the next, playing different characters or in seasons 3 and 4, alternate versions of their previous characters. There is an explanation for this, but you'll have to watch the show to find out.

My favourite episode, ironically, is one of the least sensible. Entitled Brigadoom, it's a musical episode. Much of Kai's past is revealed through song and even now it brings a smile to my lips as I write, just thinking about it.

If you watch Lexx expecting to see Babylon 5, you'll be bitterly disappointed. It's pure fun, campy entertainment at its best. Treat it as such and you'll find it growing on you rapidly.