The Halifax Herald Limited

Lexxians celebrate show

Internet chats spark group visit to sci-fi series set

By Pat Lee / Television Reporter

It's no Trekkie convention and George Lucas won't be the keynote speaker.

But 25 diehard fans of the Halifax-based science fiction series Lexx have arrived in the city over the past couple of days from other parts of the globe to revel in their own intergalactic fixation.

The Lexxians have come from New Zealand, England, Germany, Denmark, the U.S. and elsewhere in Canada to pay homage to the Salter Street series, seen in Canada on cable channel Space.

The show is currently in production for a third season at Electropolis Studios on the Halifax waterfront.

Not surprisingly in this weird, wired world, members of the loose-knit Lexx group met and planned the tour by chatting about the show on the Internet.

"We're not actually fanatical," promises Tony Fawl, a seemingly straitlaced 39-year-old business consultant from Preston, England.

"For most of us, it's cool to meet (series stars) Brian Downey or Xenia Seeberg, but personally I'm a lot more interested in meeting other fans of the show."

The Lexx enthusiasts were expected to arrive in town Thursday and Friday in time for a tour of the show's set Friday night.

Mr. Fawl, suffering from a bit of a thick head after a night of partying with fellow fans and Lexx cast and crew members Thursday, said he and others enjoy the series because it's unlike most other TV fare.

"The formula, if you like, for Lexx is that they stumble across a planet and basically their only interest in it is to get some skin, bad things happen and they blow up the planet. That's an unusual formula for a show."

The Salter Street-German co-production is indeed out there. Full of sexual imagery, Lexx is also special effects-driven and features a 2,000-year-old dead guy, a buxom sex slave and a low-level security guard who fly around in a giant bug.

Mr. Fawl said because of the show's bizarre nature "it attracts all kinds of interesting people."

"There are a lot of people who are fans of the characters but most of the people who are into the show like the story, the twist, how absolutely crazy, how ludicrous it is."

The Halifax get-together for like-minded Lexx fans was organized by Cookie and Amber (their Internet handles) of Florida.

Mr. Fawl, who has created a Web site devoted to Lexx and other "cult" sci-fi shows, also hosted a Lexx gathering in May in, of all places, Moscow.

There, he and 15 other Lexx groupies (including his Siberian girlfriend) met to talk about their favourite Lexx moments.

Mr. Fawl said the fan get-togethers and Web sites are necessary outlets because family and friends don't usually share their enthusiasm for the show.

"I sort of say 'Did you see that show Lexx,' or whatever, to friends in a pub, talk about it incessantly while they're trying to talk about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, and they just sort of say, 'It's your round, you sad bastard,' " he said, laughing.