10.09.2010:

Just posted on the Zone Doubt blog, and quoted here in its entirety...

Tonight we watched Lexx season 4 eps 20 - 22. Hm. Over in Lexxplorations I was extremely acerbic in my opinion of season 4. I have to say I still find it disappointing, re-watching it eight (eight?? bloody hell...) years later - perhaps I should just say watching, as I obviously missed a whole slew of eps in the middle. But... There's some biting social and political commentary in here that I missed before, partly because my appreciation of politics was rudimentary back then, and partly because the show deals exclusively with American politics, which held no interest for me anyway. Priest as Bush is beautifully apt, and the nicely-depicted ordinary (?American?) life in Prime Ridge made me chuckle (and CJD Meats? Ouch - but amusingly so). Some of the humour is very funny (unfortunately much of it is still scatological, which is tedious and detracts from the whole) and the characterisation much better than I remember, especially Kai, who is given a larger and more active role in this season. (Brief note to anyone who doesn't already know: no, my son is not named for Kai the undead Divine Assassin. We'd decided on the name before we ever watched Lexx, because of its many meanings in different languages, particularly 'rejoice' in English.) Even the recurring themes didn't grate as much as I thought they would.

Despite the sewer humour, the embarrassing eps (769 anyone? Even the cast seemed to be cringing...) and the eps that seemed to be just filler, I've enjoyed - mostly - watching it, so much so that I will watch it again with Ken (who's too busy to sit with us at the moment) when we can make some time. There are some excellent eps - Vlad, The Game, the bizarre and surreal A Midsummer's Nightmare and the amazing Trip. Tomorrow we'll watch the last two eps - I remember them as being the most disappointing of the lot, so I have no great expectations. Will add a comment after.

Heh. Suppose I ought to cross-post this to Lexxplorations. I'm not apologising for my initial reaction - compared to the lyricism and beauty of season 3 season 4 still makes me wince - but it's a lot better than I originally gave it credit for.

Well…

             What can one say? Several words spring to mind.

            Tedious.

            A waste of time

            Marginally more fun than being disembowelled with a blunt spoon.


      Oh dear. I knew this season was very unlikely to approach the lyrical beauty of Season Three, but I really wasn't prepared for something so embarrassingly bad.

      What happened here? Was it an attempt to insult just about everyone in the world? If so it was a failure. Either too tame or too crude to really hit home. And it's all been done before, and so much better.

      Was it trying to be funny? Well, I suppose it did have its moments, sparse and instantly forgettable as they were. Seeing talented actors trying hard to work with such dreadful material was funny, in a grim sort of way. (I'm not naming names - there were a number of bad actors too…)

      Was it trying to parody other films (or TV series')? I thought I spotted shades of Romeo and Juliet, Zombie films (take your pick which one), Godzilla (Lyekka in army boots stomping on Tokyo? Yawn…), When Worlds Collide - and isn't there a Bergman film with death playing chess with someone on a beach? (That's a rhetorical question, by the way, no need to answer.) It rings bells but I've never seen it. In fact, it's more than likely I missed much of the - I hesitate to use the word subtlety since there was nothing subtle about any of Season 4, but it'll do for now - through not being familiar with the films being parodied (and I'm not willing to waste time making the connection).

      And the last episode? A combination of Armageddon and Independence Day with a completely implausible ending as Stan and Zev ride off into the sunset together on Little Lexx. Oh, how sweet. How nauseous. How wholly unbelievable. I assume this is to leave an opening for (gods forbid) a fifth Season?
      In which, I assume, we'll find out what a B3K-ian/Cluster lizard/Human hybrid looks like? Or did I miss something?

      So Prince is death. Are we supposed to be surprised?
      At least Nigel Bennet's acting was as good as ever.

       And I know that the human race is greedy, irresponsible, blinkered, selfish, credulous, malicious and completely stupid. I know this. I only have to watch/read/listen to the news to be constantly reassured of the fact. I don't need to watch dross masquerading as entertainment to have it shoved in my face…

      There were, of course, a few bright spots. (A very few.) The only episode that I found at all memorable was Game - not that the idea is original, of course, it has a long pedigree, but at least that episode had a certain stark visual beauty to it (pity the taunts of the 'chesspieces' became tedious so quickly…)

      Was Season 3 considered too cerebral for the average Lexx-viewer? Was Season 4 deliberately dumbed-down as an attempt to appeal to more people? Or have I completely missed the point? (If so, I've no wish to know. I loathed this Season and am doing my best to forget it was ever made. Having seen what the creators are capable of when they try, I feel - cheated...)

      In 1999 Paul Donovan was quoted (in SFX) as saying "I have been sadly diagnosed with ‘Lexxsycosis’, a particularly insidious and progressive from of mental dementia. I expect that future episodes of the series will be a roadmap of my decline". Sadly prophetic words, in my opinion.

      Lexx was innovative, novel, intriguing, beautiful in places, even enlightening and inspirational at times.
       Before Season 4 anyway.

      Season 4 - a triumph of ridiculous hairstyles and inane plot. Such a sad way to end what was once an unmissable phenomenon.