The Trip Tops
The first post I make in the Lexx forum in weeks and it gets ripped apart. LOL. [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] Once again I feel I must defend my modest opinion on a point-by-point basis.
[img]images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]
quote:
Originally posted by sgtdraino:
Yes, there was that minor tie-in of the revelation that Lyekka is an enemy, but to me it felt cobbled-on. Mostly this episode was a simple excuse to get wacky with a plot totally unconstrained by the bounds of reality. If Lyekka was really out to eliminate them, it would have been simpler to just poison them, than to make them paranoid.
If [i]Trip[/i] was just filler, then so was [i]Brigadoom[/i]. [i]Brigadoom[/i] provided motivation for the crew of the Lexx to fight Mantrid. [i]Trip[/i] provided motivation for the crew of the Lexx to fight Lyekka and, in addition, risk confrontation with Prince (a point heavily underscored in this episode). Unlike [i]Brigadoom[/i], the motivation was direct, not subtley inspired in a song. Lyekka attempted to [b]poison[/b] Stan and Xev. Remember that part? It was the part where they ate those berries and succumbed to homicidal paranoia. Lyekka tried to trick the only ones who had the power to stop her. Why did Lyekka take this action? Because she found out that Xev did not trust her in [i]Apocalexx Now[/i], another episode accused of being “filler”. And obviously Xev has an influence over Stan that overrides Lyekka’s charms, a characterization that was heavily underscored in [i]Trip[/i]. If this episode was just filler, then the Lexx and crew would fly off into space and return to Earth to defeat Lyekka for no good reason.
Motivation doesn’t come from out of nowhere or contrived with wooden, rational emotions. That kind of thing happens on shows like [i]Star Trek[/i].
(Activating know-it-all subroutine… j/k)
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/maskscomedytragedy.gif[/img]
You see, there’s this thing called [i]theater[/i] that was invented by the Greeks ca. 500 B.C.E. They used masks such as the ones seen above.
[i]”The philosopher Aristotle called Euripides the most tragic of the poets because his plays were the most moving. Like tragedy, comedy arose from a ritual in honor of Dionysus, but in this case the plays were full of frank obscenity, abuse, and insult.”[/i]
( [url=http://www.crystalinks.com/greektheater.html]http://www.crystalinks.com/greektheater.html[/url] )
These two masks, comedy and tradgedy, have become a symbol for theater in general. The makers of [i]Lexx[/i] should be proud of their creation. It contains heavy does of both comedy and tradgedy. On many occasions in season 4, we see the death of millions of people in comedic fashion, a point spelled out in mile-high neon letters in [i]Trip[/i]. (Stan and Xev giggling about billions of aliens being eaten by Lyekka.)
(DEACTIVATING know-it-all mode!)
And while we’re talking about filler episodes written by Jeff, let’s talk about [i]Xevivor[/i] for just a second. Another thread discussed subplot arcs this season. There is at least one subplot that was ignored in that thread: XEV THE SUPERSTAR and her quest to get laid. Her incredible libido and it’s function in the story is all too often ignored as unimportant compared to hero Kai or the evil plots of the bad guys. Involved in a trailer park multiple murder, internet porn goddess, hit TV show star… her fame on Earth was an important plot point on many occasions. (e.g. [i]Magic Baby[/i], [i]Mort[/i], and [i]Haley’s Comet[/i].)
quote:
Originally posted by sgtdraino:
1. “It was all a dream” episodes tend to be inherently disappointing. You’ve got to admit you were a bit disappointed that Kai was still dead at the end. I know I was.
Nope, sorry. I wasn’t disappointed. I like undead Kai the way he is. If he had actually came back to life in this episode, I would have commented that the Beans were pandering to the Kai-droolers. I would have been happy for the good ol’ Kai-droolers, but it would have deprived Kai of his supernatural powers. They would have had to re-establish Kai as a new and different character with different motivations and emotions… yet another point that was made in this episode.
quote:
Originally posted by sgtdraino:
2. It’s high time they got serious, for the big finale. In the previous seasons, things have always gotten heavy and edge-of-your-seat towards the end. Yet we are still frollicking about with light comedy, and no real sense of impending doom. Only two episodes left, and next week’s doesn’t look serious either!
Simple answer: Kai is doomed. He will [b]DIE[/b]. Will Prince keep his promise and allow him to live? [i]That[/i] doesn’t have you in suspense? It does for me, as I’m sure it does for the Kai-droolers!
In season 2, the crew of the Lexx had no choice but to deal with Mantrid in one way or another. They chose the heroic path. Here in season 4, they don’t [i]have[/i] to go back and save the stupid little blue planet. They chose to return to Earth and face peril. That takes real courage. More courage than necessity, which was the case in season 2.
quote:
Originally posted by sgtdraino:
Eh, Xev already told us that she doesn’t wear underwear. Did you see underwear? where?
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/XevsPanties.jpg[/img]
But I’ll be sure to make a version of my Xev videogame character without any underwear! (heh, heh, heh…)
quote:
Originally posted by Flamegrape:
I wonder if that was really Prince or just a hallucination?
quote:
Originally posted by sgtdraino:
Hallucination.
You don’t know that for certain. The food dispensor squirting blood is out of the ordinary. Prince teleporting about, screwing with people’s minds is not anything new. Who knows, maybe Prince really was helping them snap out of their potentially fatal drug trip. Prince maybe gave them something else more rational to distrust other than each other. Or not. Prince is enigmatic. In this episode, I don’t think you see Prince doing anything out of character. Why didn’t Stan and Xev hallucinate Prince wearing black? Neither of them had ever seen Prince wearing white before. Only Kai (who was asleep during the trip) saw Prince wearing white.
quote:
Originally posted by Flamegrape:
Before the beginning of this episode, I turned to my friend and said, “It’s all going to be a dream, or something like that. Kai won’t come back to life.” It turns out I was right about that, but I don’t mind. At least you get to see Live-Kai again.
quote:
Originally posted by sgtdraino:
But you didn’t. It was just an hallucination. And on top of that, I like Lexx better when it’s NOT predictable.
You’re splitting hairs. I [i]said[/i] that I was right about my prediction that it would all be just a dream. But I also said you (the viewer) get to see Live-Kai (MM portraying the part of Kai as he would be if he were alive) again. Look up at the picture I posted above. Who’s hand is on Xev’s thigh? It’s Kai looking very much alive. Yes, I know he’s just a hallucination. The point I was trying to make is that the viewer gets to [i]see[/i] Kai live and breathe, even if it’s just a dream. How many convoluted variations of explainations told in a Mojo-Jojo fashion does it take to get my point across? Sheesh! (You know I’m only kidding, sgtdraino!)
[img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
quote:
Originally posted by sgtdraino:
Kai says they can’t be repaired. Although there is a working cryopod underneath Castle Dracul… but we’re betting the Beans aren’t going to mess with it.
Speak for yourself. It could be part of the reason why the Vlad subplot existed in the first place.
Anyway…
IMHO, this episode ranks up there with [i]Brigadoom[/i]. Instead of a musical, it was a drug trip. It was “medicine” before the battle, to use the North American Indian term. But who was the “medicine man” that guided our heros? I think that might be Prince. Otherwise Stan and Xev would have certainly killed each other. (I have to check my tape on this point but…) Why did Prince tell both of them to go to the cryochamber? Kai was there to save them. What’s his motivation for saving Earth? Maybe all the other planets have been eaten by Lyekka. Something to ponder, but I’m not sticking with the idea because I’m not certain.
For future reference, folks, please don’t bit-by-bit pick apart someone’s opinion. If the subject is debateable, then fine. But I was just giving my own review of the episode. No need to reply in hostility, sgtdraino. You sort of ticked me off, but I won’t hold that against you. You’re a good guy!
[img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
[ 14-04-2002: Message edited by: Flamegrape ]