LEXX Season One (DVD)

This is not a TV season, but the 4 movies before it became a TV series. Season 2 is the first TV show season.

For fans of the show, this is a must get. It goes over the origin of the Lexx and all it's crew. These 4 movies were not available in the US on DVD until now. They were on VHS here, and Canada has had them on DVD and it is region 1 so you could have found a way to get them.

Lexx is my favorite sci-fi series as it does not follow the formula of sci-fi shows before it (or since for that matter). You can easily get invested in these characters and their adventures.

The Four episodes/movies:

1. I Worship His Shadow Lexx Series One "1.0: I Worship His Shadow" - Things get started and you get a good idea of the characters and how things don't go the way you as a viewer expect them to go.

2. Supernova Lexx Series One (Episode 2.0 - "Super Nova") - They find a planet inhabited by Tim Curry, oddness ensues.

3. Eating Pattern Lexx Series One - Episode Three of Four - 3.0 : Eating Pattern - Did I mention this was an odd series? Rutger Hauer is in this installment where the Lexx has to land because it, the ship, is hungry.

4. Giga Shadow Lexx Series One - 4.0 : Giga Shadow - Malcolm McDowell is in this final movie/episode of season 1 where the fate of the two galaxies is in danger.

Again, this is a must for fans. If you want a different sort of sci-fi, then this series is worth giving an honest chance. The production and pace gets better in the TV seasons, but this is a good start for newbies so that they can get the background on these characters, even if it is not the best example of the series.

This set contains the uncensored US version of the Lexx movies which were the ones broadcast in the UK on the Sci-Fi channel and not Channel 5. Therefore, the movies are unfortunately edited down to suit US commercials (didn't someone tell them that DVDs don't have commercials?). The editing is most noticeable in I Worship his Shadow and Giga Shadow with the former missing Stanly's capture and the middle of the final battle between Kai and His Divine Shadow, and the later missing the middle of the conversation between Kai and Yottskry and the middle of the chase between the Lexx and the Giga Shadow. This editing must have meant that the music in Giga Shadow was out of sync, but rather then re-score it they have compressed it and then muted the sections that sound too atrocious. I Worship his Shadow also has substantial over dubbing of dialogue throughout the episode (the most annoying of which is the bug bomb sequence) that, in my view, distracts from the overall atmosphere. So content wise, this is definitely a d grade release.

From a video quality stand point the picture is about as good as you'd expect from 90s TV without any additional work so it won't look brilliant if you've got a 40" HDTV, but to be fair that is understandably. The audio is also acceptable with exception of the music on Giga Shadow, and is Dolby 2.0 at 192kbps.

As such, those that have seen the full length uncensored version of Lexx will only be disappointed from this set, but unfortunately this is likely the only set you'll probably be able to buy new.

I give these four movies 5 stars, they are the beginning of one of my favorite TV shows.

I want to give you some insight into the difference between this release (Echo Bridge) and the original canadian release by Salter Street. The Salter Street releases were four separate movies in individual cases, while this release is packaged in a kind of "book" style. The disc's carrier slides out of the cardboard sleeve, which has some nice embossed features of the graphics. It carries, as someone already noticed the image of Xenia Seeberg (Xev), who replaced Eva Habermann (Zev) a few episodes into season two...

The carrier itself opens up and holds two discs on each side. Overall, the package is only slightly thicker than a single DVD case. To note is that the slider is sealed with some non-removable tape. It needs to be cut and can not be peeled off without damaging the box.

The 4 movies are "bare bones", none of the extra features of the canadian release are included here. These were an interview with creator Lex Gigeroff, a behind the scenes featurette, and some panels with information about the characters, for each of the four movies. Those are interesting for hard core fans, but not necessary to enjoy the show.

Also, the separation into chapers of each episode is different. The Salter Street release had 9 chapter marks per episode, while this Echo Bridge release has 10 each, at slightly different points in the story. The video quality of the episodes, as far as I can tell, is identical.

Other than the missing extras, this release is, in my view, recommended.