Lexx: Complete Second Series (1998)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Paul Donovan, Lex Gigeroff, and Jeffrey Hirschfield
Directed by Chris Bould, Srinivas Krishna, Christoph Schrewe, Stephan Wagner, et al.
Starring Brian Downey, Eva Habermann, Xenia Seeberg, Michael McManus, Jeffrey Hirschfield, Tom Gallant

Features:

• Making-Of Featurette, spanning all five discs
  
• Interviews with Michael McManus, Paul Donovan, Brian Downey, 790, and Les Krizsan
  
• Rated Lexx Backstory Series
  
• Trivia Questions
  
• Storyboards and Productions Sketches
  
• "From Zev to Xev"
  

It turns out that His Divine Shadow is the only insect that survived the great insect wars. The rest of his kind were destroyed by the Brunnen-G. He survives in an unbodied form awaiting someone or something to act as host for him. He finally finds it and after some time, he finds his way into the 2000-years-dead body of Kai (McManus), one of the crew members of the Lexx (voiced by Gallant), and the most destructive force in the two universes. The Lexx is captained by an unlikely dweeb of a man named Stanley Tweedle (Downey). The only other beings on the Lexx are Zev (Habermann/Seeberg), a half human/half cluster lizard love slave, and a disembodied robot head named 790 (voiced by Hirschfield) who is completely infatuated with Zev. Together, they are out cruising the universe looking for a good time and hoping to avoid His Divine Shadow's essence, which is still lurking out ther somewhere.

Well, this is a pretty good series. The characters are well thought out and they have a clear arc. I think it's a neat idea to have a real nerd of a heroic character for this series; it just works somehow. One thing is blatantly obvious: it's a damn shame they lost Habermann. I have not seen the first series which she is in, but I have to say that I thought her performance as Zev was much stronger than Seeberg's version of the character (named Xev to avoid confusion). McManus is really strong as the lifeless Kai, and his brooding, yet caring mood help to set a nice tone for the piece. I have to say, though, that 790 is just annoying. It's not the voice of the character, which is fine, but the writing for his character is horrible. All he does is lust after Zev/Xev and give Stanley hell the whole time.

Well, they got the DVD set right with this one. There is a Rated Lexx series which spans across all five discs, giving you all the backstory you need to understand where they are picking up with this second series. It is hosted by the Lexx and 790 (and he's not as annoying when he's actually got a story to tell). Also found on every disc are interviews with various members of the cast and crew. One thing comes across loud and clear from these interviews: they are just having fun making this show and they don't take themselves too seriously at any time. There are also trivia questions, storyboards, and production sketches on every disc. On disc one, there is a single screen of text that skims the surface of why the change in actresses was necessary.

So, if you are into science fiction, this is definitely for you; just be ready for it to be a little bit different than the Sci-Fi you are used to when you rent it.