- THIS DVD WILL NOT WORK ON STANDARD US DVD PLAYER
Standing apart from the rest of the original
Lexx narrative, the third in the series takes a detour from the story arc and lands the hungry, living ship on a garbage planet for refueling. The impulsive Zev goes exploring and winds up the prisoner of an underground scavenger society headed by Rutger Hauer's weirdly demented Bog, and Stanley becomes one of the citizens, who are all addicted to a glowing green liquid brewed from human flesh. Now there's not only a fresh supply, but a ship to search the galaxy for more, and the suddenly giddy, goofy Stanley is only too happy to be their chauffeur in exchange for his share of the liquid, known as "pattern." The story of a parasite-ruled society slowly devouring itself in addiction and cannibalism is a twisted take on familiar themes but, for all its grungy art direction, the episod! e gets stuck in claustrophobic sets and stifled action. Hauer, however, makes a truly freaky drug lord, stuttering and mumbling behind slathered-on lipstick and a tangle of a hairdo, while the wild climax adds a new take on the classic
Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman. The initial quartet of
Lexx adventures concludes in the next episode, "Giga Shadow."
--Sean AxmakerThe sexy cult cable series
Lexx began life in 1997 as a set of four Canadian-German TV coproductions, sci-fi farces about a trio of fugitives in a living spaceship on the run in an unknown galaxy. It's like a twisted parody of the playful but far more serious space opera
Farscape, though
Lexx actually was produced first. Sad sack Stanley Tweedle (Brian Downey), a bumbling engineer with bad judgment and worse luck, is the pilot of the most powerful weapon in the galaxy thanks to a fluke accident. And his motley crew includes platinum-blond bombshell Zev Bellringer ! (Eva Habermann), whose DNA has been altered to contain that of! a bloo dthirsty cluster lizard; former assassin Kai (Michael McManus), a humorless, dead warrior kept animated for 2,000 years with artificial blood; and a decapitated, lovesick robot head named 790.
The colorful "I Worship His Shadow," the satirical debut of the series, is an absurd fantasy about a rebellion (led by guest star Barry Bostwick, who gamely keeps a straight face while running around dressed in psychedelic Arabian Nights duds) against His Shadow, an immortal emperor who renders his subjects into raw protein for his invincible insectlike spaceship, the Lexx. Directed at a fast and furious pace and crammed with cool CGI effects that make up in ambition and wild design what they lack in polish, it's the show's finest hour and a half, a crazy adventure with a wacky sense of humor. It's obvious the show's producers lavished their care and attention on this pilot, for the balance of the miniseries never again reaches this level of invention and fun, tho! ugh in moments it comes close. --Sean AxmakerHaving fled to the chaotic Dark Zone at the climax of "I Worship His Shadow," the motley fugitives on the planet-killing, living spaceship Lexx head off for Brunnis, the lifeless planet that was zombie warrior Kai's home world 2,000 years ago. Kai is dying (well, he's already dead, but he's running out of fuel), and they search the library for help. Unfortunately the library is more interested in expanding its collection via the memories of its visitors, even if it has to suck the brains out of their bodies to do it. Tim Curry costars as Poet Man, a cocky hologram tour guide miffed that he was left behind during the evacuation (all because of a splitting hangover), and Ellen Dubin returns as the cannibal queen Giggerota, an unwelcome Lexx stowaway who can't decide whether to feast on the living brains in the hold of the ship or team up with them in a hijacking scheme. The TV film was originally titled Super N! ova for reasons that become obvious as the planet's dying! sun mov es toward its final burst of glory. It's an impressive effect, one of the highlights of a show that often gets stuck in talky, static scenes. This episode is kind of a letdown compared to the action-packed first episode, but it's not without its charms (like Zev's gratuitous R-rated shower scene--hubba hubba!). The next in the series is "Eating Pattern." --Sean AxmakerGermany released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Based on one of the most spectacular series of bank robberies in Germany, 12 WINTERS tells the story of Klaus (Axel Prahl) and Mike (Jürgen Vogel), two criminals that become friends in prison. When they happen to meet each other again after they have been releas! ed they begin to plan the perfect bank robbery, and it seem to work. For twelve years the two keep on robbing banks, always in winter. They work fast, very professional, and concentrate on rural areas. Well arranged hold ups soon becomes their trademark. The police are in the dark for years. But they won't stick to their guns...
