Cheapness of S4

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  • #51418
    Anonymous
    Guest

    that would be my assumption . Personally speaking, though, I’m not too troubled by the absence of the special effects so far. More the recourse to gothic motifs (taverns,castles, etc) obvious matte shots and general ‘indoors’ feel. Apparently ‘battle’ in season 3 was all againgst blue screens on a sound stage, but much of it was well integrated. My feeling is that the series will somehow end the way it started – with the brunnen g headed for destruction. so the victory will be short lived and the cyle of time restarts again. if so, will this mean the opening scene of the first movie will be reprised – saving more money on special effects?

    #51419
    Flamegrape
    Participant

    quote:


    Originally posted by :
    that would be my assumption . Personally speaking, though, I’m not too troubled by the absence of the special effects so far. More the recourse to gothic motifs (taverns,castles, etc) obvious matte shots and general ‘indoors’ feel. Apparently ‘battle’ in season 3 was all againgst blue screens on a sound stage, but much of it was well integrated. My feeling is that the series will somehow end the way it started – with the brunnen g headed for destruction. so the victory will be short lived and the cyle of time restarts again. if so, will this mean the opening scene of the first movie will be reprised – saving more money on special effects?


    Wrong, wrong, wrong!

    Now please take this in a nice way because I’m trying to help out!

    They have not been “saving up” their special FX budget! There have been no more or less production values apparent in the 4th season than in other seasons! I still don’t understand where you guys get this idea! Just because the show takes place on Earth doesn’t mean they’re spending less money and in turn creating some sort of lesser product! Believe it or not, location shooting is expensive! They whole frickin’ reason this show exists was to demonstrate that CGI could be used in place of location shooting!

    Saving it for the end? Gimme a break! You’re asking, nay, begging for disappointment! Don’t you see what you have been doing and are now doing? You’ve built up theories and expectations about episodes to come and you deny yourself the ability to enjoy any new episode. So as each new episode of the 4th season appears, the divergence from your expectations becomes greater and greater! And then you pass off your disappointment as some sort of failing on the part of the makers of Lexx!

    This sort of phenomena in fandom cannot occur during the first season of of a show. Everything is new and there are no expectations.

    Whatever it is you expect, cycle of time or whatever the heck you have for theories about the end of the show, you are wrong, wrong, wrong! Now having said that, are you ready for your impending disappointment? Because it is going to happen! The ending is not going to be what you expect, it will be something unexpected, and very much likely to be tasteless and silly. (For example: “The light universe is actually the booger in God’s nose and it’s destruction was his way of sneezing.”)

    I’m just saying all of this for your own good and not to insult or belittle you. I’m just warning you that you will be disappointed if you keep this up! So cheer up! Expect the unexpected! Expect sillyness and nonsense! Expect everyone to die! Expect Prince to turn out not to be such a bad guy after all. Or something. Or ANYTHING.

    In other words, theorizing about Lexx is less than pointless.

    #51420
    bonnee
    Participant

    Flamegrape, I was half joking. appreciate the help though. Its obvious that with more episodes being made this season than the last, Salter Street can only afford cardboard cut out characters and sets. but please don’t take ANY of my posts too literally (as opposed to too seriously)- I’m just playing, even when I’m being serious. Conversation is a form of play – that is why wittgenstein called it a language game. God, I wonder what you’ll make of my oberon post below.

    [ 28-01-2002: Message edited by: bonnee ]

    #51421
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Er….

    Ummm…..

    I was just pointing out the Special effects dont seem as special as in Season 1,2 or 3. Still loving the show though….

    #51422
    Anonymous
    Guest

    I totally disagree too, the production values seem more than any other season. Series 1 and 2 were a lot cheesier in the special effect department if you ask me. Even series 3 I would say is on par with series 4 in terms of special effects. Its a lot to explain, but end result for me is that cheesy special effects are part of what I love about Lexx. Sure they have some great shots that are done and meant to be professional. (LBP when Marconi sends the signal into outer space, then the Mutha-Ship and carrots head to earth is one example) But imo a lot of the cheesy effects are meant to be that way, its funny Like Lafftrak

    #36796
    SadGeezer
    Keymaster

    I been reading a few comments from people regarding the cheap look of Season 4 compared to other Seasons. Season 4 seems a bit light on the special effects and most of the sets are normal rooms and nothing “sci-fi”. I wonder if they are saving some money from the budget for an amazing effects packed epic finale? Lyekka vs Japan Godzilla style? The destruction of the Earth in glorious technicolour? We shall have to wait and see.

    #51423
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by LexxLurker:
    … that cheesy special effects are part of what I love about Lexx. Sure they have some great shots that are done and meant to be professional… But imo a lot of the cheesy effects are meant to be that way, its funny Like Lafftrak


    Yes, yes, yes! It is definitely meant to look cheesy at times–the moon and sun with the face in them in Midsummer Nightmare for example: cheesy and charming at the same time. And there’s been some amazing CGI this season: the the shuttle landing inside the Lexx, of the creation of Vlad…those things cost!

    And Flamegrape I agree with you too–location shooting does cost more; and the shows are more populated this season as well. The show doesn’t look cheaper to me, it has a Season 4 look, just like Season 2 had its own look as did Season 3.

    As for the season climax–I expect to be surprised, I want to be surprised, and I would hope the
    surprise won’t depend on special effects.

    I think you have to let the show carry you along, it really is layered and the effect builds over the course of each season–there’ll be some lulls, but it’s still a much more interesting ride than anything else around.

    elmey

    #51425
    dgrequeen
    Participant

    Whatever your opinions of the special effects, etc. on the show, it is most certainly NOT due to lack of money. SciFi funded the fourth season, giving Salter a bigger budget for Lexx than they ever had before. So far, the only stinting I’ve seen in setting is in AMSN where they did so much filming in that tent, and I think that was only because insurance glitches kept them out of the empty power station. The CGI has been as good as ever, IMO.

    I did groan when Oberon said Titania was never any good in the sack, though.

    #51426
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Personally I thought the CGI in all the season’s were cheesy especially season 4, but that’s not why I like LEXX. I think this season is admirable and I am enjoying every minute of it. If lexx was filmed in my basement i would still love it just as much as I love it now. I would think if anything they have a bigger budget this season due to the fact that it will run for 24 episodes and they were renewed for season 4 which probably means money was thrown at them for the series finale. Or I could me wrong….just my 2 cents
    P.S. remember that they also shot alot of thee episodes outside of canada and Germany ( ie: Thailand, Iceland) and that sure as hell costs money!
    VIVA LAS LEXX!!!!!

    #51427
    Flamegrape
    Participant

    quote:


    Originally posted by bonnee:
    ____________________________________________
    You’re asking, nay, begging for disappointment! Don’t you see what you have been doing and are now doing? You’ve built up theories and expectations about episodes to come and you deny yourself the ability to enjoy any new episode. So as each new episode of the 4th season appears, the divergence from your expectations becomes greater and greater! And then you pass off your disappointment as some sort of failing on the part of the makers of Lexx!
    ____________________________________________

    I reread your response Flamegrape, and decided it merits further comment. I’ll let you decide whether I’m being half serious or half joking.

    I’m not sure whether it is appropriate to read into my remarks particular expectations from Lexx. As I’ve indicated elsewhere, the show’s appeal lies in its ability to second guess its audience, including me. I’m not convinced that’s the situation here. As I’ve noted, many season 4 episodes resemble the kind of tv fodder that lafftrack so ably ‘critiqued’ – not to mention the pavlonian expectations of audiences. I don’t expect the show to be ‘exciting’, ‘adventorous’, ‘scifi’ (whatever that means) ‘sexy’, ‘effects laden’ ‘etc’. (although I know many people do – as evident by the original post). All I expect from Lexx is for it to be its inimitable self (read: ‘interesting’). That is where my interest and disappointment interesect. As far as I’m concerned it hasn’t been interesting yet, and that has been what is MOST interesting. All the fodder has managed to do is create food for thought. I remain interested and entertained of course (more or less, more less than more), but I’m not going to mistake my ongoing love for the show as a measure of its sustained merit. Unlike some smart alecs want to maintain, I do not mistake my response to something as the thing being responded to. There are many things I like that I recognise as crap, and there are some things that I dislike that I recognise as praise worthy. Thankfully, this is not usually the case. Some people might examine the entrails of a chicken to determine the meaning or value of something, I’ve been suddenly reduced to trying to make sense of monkey chunks. In my instance, then, it is the disparity between my own interest in the show and the show’s lack of interest that is the issue – not my expectations, but its in/ability to bring them into focus or question.

    [ 29-01-2002: Message edited by: bonnee ]


    The glass is half full.

    #51424
    bonnee
    Participant

    ____________________________________________
    You’re asking, nay, begging for disappointment! Don’t you see what you have been doing and are now doing? You’ve built up theories and expectations about episodes to come and you deny yourself the ability to enjoy any new episode. So as each new episode of the 4th season appears, the divergence from your expectations becomes greater and greater! And then you pass off your disappointment as some sort of failing on the part of the makers of Lexx!
    ____________________________________________

    I reread your response Flamegrape, and decided it merits further comment. I’ll let you decide whether I’m being half serious or half joking.

    I’m not sure whether it is appropriate to read into my remarks particular expectations from Lexx. As I’ve indicated elsewhere, the show’s appeal lies in its ability to second guess its audience, including me. I’m not convinced that’s the situation here. As I’ve noted, many season 4 episodes resemble the kind of tv fodder that lafftrack so ably ‘critiqued’ – not to mention the pavlonian expectations of audiences. I don’t expect the show to be ‘exciting’, ‘adventorous’, ‘scifi’ (whatever that means) ‘sexy’, ‘effects laden’ ‘etc’. (although I know many people do – as evident by the original post). All I expect from Lexx is for it to be its inimitable self (read: ‘interesting’). That is where my interest and disappointment interesect. As far as I’m concerned it hasn’t been interesting yet, and that has been what is MOST interesting. All the fodder has managed to do is create food for thought. I remain interested and entertained of course (more or less, more less than more), but I’m not going to mistake my ongoing love for the show as a measure of its sustained merit. Unlike some smart alecs want to maintain, I do not mistake my response to something as the thing being responded to. There are many things I like that I recognise as crap, and there are some things that I dislike that I recognise as praise worthy. Thankfully, this is not usually the case. Some people might examine the entrails of a chicken to determine the meaning or value of something, I’ve been suddenly reduced to trying to make sense of monkey chunks. In my instance, then, it is the disparity between my own interest in the show and the show’s lack of interest that is the issue – not my expectations, but its in/ability to bring them into focus or question.

    [ 29-01-2002: Message edited by: bonnee ]

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