StarBorn

Terminal

"Scalpel........ Hypo ...... Straps...... Electro(des)......"


       For one dreadful moment at the beginning I was afraid the entire episode was going to be in rhyming couplets. I'm so glad I was wrong.......

       So, what happens in Terminal? Well, we learn that the instructions to open Kai's cryo-pod must be keyed-in in a precise order, otherwise he'll kill the first person he sees on awakening (hmmm... sounds like me without that first 'wake-up' mug of coffee......). We have it confirmed that Zev is absolutely the BEST person to have on your side in a crisis - not that we really had any doubts on that matter. And I'm finally clear about the difference between love and libido where Zev is concerned. (Strange, though. In my experience that dichotomy has usually been on the part of the male. Hmmmm... ) We don't learn anything new about Stan, but then, he does spend a large part of the episode unconscious. We learn that despite humanity's supposed 'Cleansing' (at the beginning of GigaShadow) there are still people left in the Light Universe - and a fair number of them must be pretty rich if places like MedSat can still exist. Other than that...

       Well, Terminal does have one of the classic snippets of dialogue of all time. You know the one -

              [Dr Khazan] We were meant to be partners in greatness. Your home will be the entire universe, aboard the Lexx, with me at your side.... We'll be the crew, you and me. Be bold, Zev - don't compromise yourself with sentiment. Together we can own the universe. You know this is what you want. You are one of the chosen: we both are. Seize your fate!!"

              [Zev] "Can't we just have sex instead?"


       Unfortunately, for me that was the high point: I found the rest of the episode somewhat.... pedestrian. This is probably my fault - I'm finding it difficult to watch the series from the perspective of a Lexx newcomer. And - let's face it - we were thoroughly spoiled with the quality of the pilot films (Eating Pattern aside)! So I may be judging the series too harshly. After all, this is only the second episode.
       But why do I get the impressions this one was put together in some haste in order to explain Eva's departure? Was it that awful CG Cluster Lizard? Was it the sight of a custard-covered Zev? (Was this supposed to be poignant? I'm afraid I found it merely giggle-worthy. Stan seemed to be unsure as to whether to find it tragic or embarrassing. 790 was too maudlin to be true. Only Kai seemed able to summon up the appropriate facial expressions.) And isn't the theme of the Doctor who cheats on and kills his/her patients for money a little clichéd? Or is this one of the homages that the Beans spoke of in the Special? If so, I don't recognise it - but then, I don't have the time to watch much TV anyway, even if this does refer to one of the shows that made it to this side of the Atlantic, so it may simply be ignorance on my part. As for the Doctors blowing up the MedSat when they leave - well, would we expect them to do anything else? After all, blowing up things (people, planets, satellites) is par for the course in Lexx...

       More worryingly, I don't think I've ever seen a TV programme where the most interesting - and chilling - scene was at the very end - but those wonderful last few seconds of Mantrid destroying the MedSat (and, I assume, using the floating debris to create more of his mechanical limbs) almost made up for the rest of the episode. The Bio-Vizier making up arms against a sea of troubles, And in destroying, bend them, perhaps........?

Cogitations and Meanderings

       Looks like I was right about Kai's anatomy (so far, anyway), and his invulnerability. But is he ever going to do anything but stand around looking grim?

       And I was intrigued by the Doctors' comments about Kai - "he must be some kind of a warrior: those clothes, that hair....." Raises all sorts of queries about the general trend in warrior coiffeur.....!

       And just what was that strange, essence-like stuff coming from Kai after he was hit with the plasma beam.....?

       Zev's sleeping area looks a little like the two halves of an oyster shell. Are we to assume she's the pearl in the middle? And are we also to assume that the fact that her lipstick keeps changing colour means that she also has chameleon genes mixed in there somewhere?

       The Doctors' tattoos were interesting. I tried pausing the tape to see if I could make out what they were, but the best I could see was a cartoon doctor with big eyes and something behind his back (I couldn't make out what it was.....). Not quite as appealing or artistic as the last His Shadow's head tattoo. (I wouldn't mind one of those myself - not on my head, though!)


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