Stan and the crew are exposed to a gender-bending virus with "hilarious" results.
(U.S. premiere January 21, 2000)
| Sweet Nothings |
Stan: Ladies! The word is love, and I am the word! |
Lorca: Do the words pathetic, disgusting, male lowlifes have any resonance for you?
Jebed: Now lowlifes, that hurts, but pathetic and disgusting I'm entirely comfortable with. |
790: I don't care if you've become a man on the outside. It's the inner man I love. Or woman. Whatever. |
Written by Jeffrey Hirschfield
Directed by David MacLeod
GUEST STARS
Page Fletcher - Captain Jebed
Janet Wright - Lorca
Sam White - Rexal
WHAT HAPPENED
790 sits alone on the bridge reciting love poetry about Xev. The viewscreen activates and spews a stream of soft-core innuendo about erotic adventures on the planet Orgasmos.
On another ship, a pilot, Rexal, watches the same images. His frumpy female crewmate Lorca pops a tape out of the console and upbraids him for "unauthorized use of the communications equipment . . ." (more spoilers)
ANALYSIS
"Love Grows" represents a new low in television science fiction.
The plot, such as it is, falls flat. The episode takes almost 40 minutes to set up the central conflict, fails to introduce any palpable tension, and is resolved in an uninspired deus ex machina.
We've already seen that Lexx can do better than this. "Nook", the first episode run on the Sci-Fi Channel, features a sly take on gender conflict and the sensitive handling of a romantic misunderstanding between two men.
By making what could have been merely an exercise in sophomoric humor both funny and oddly touching, the Lexx team demonstrated they understand the value of restraint.
That's sadly absent here.
The sexual comedy in "Love Grows" is the mundane "poor schlub can't get laid" variety that sitcoms have beaten to death for 20 years. Putting the poor schlub on a giant spacefaring bug doesn't magically rehabilitate this tired formula.
The corollary "schlub's only companion is an equally hard up, incredibly hot woman who won't give him the time of day" trope is equally shopworn.
Airing the episodes out of their normal order only makes the problem worse.
By showing the "Xev loses her virginity" episode first, the Sci Fi Channel has rendered her previous quest for romantic initiation even more tiresome. Not only have we heard the joke before, they've managed to give us the punch line before the setup.
Don't get me wrong -- I can appreciate the lowest common denominator as well as any other male viewer age 18-35. But I expect a compelling story along with my double entendres and gratuitous T&A.
There are only two truly positive things I can say about this episode.
First, it was fun playing "spot the reference," which included nods to Dark Star, The Empire Strikes Back and Innerspace.
Second, "Love Grows" rehabilitates one of the worst Star Trek episodes of all time. Coincidentally, a rerun of "Turnabout Intruder" aired the same evening that "Love Grows" premiered, and the story of an old girlfriend who switches minds with Kirk seemed subtle and inspired by comparison.
That's not high praise.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Who was that mysterious farmer at the end? Something produced by the Lexx? A leftover from a previous and as yet unaired episode?
With all the trouble that unsolicited messages cause, why doesn't anyone install a filter on the Lexx's communications array?
REALITY CHECK
The sudden influx of massive quantities of testosterone into Xev and Lorca's bodies would do more than induce aggression and dementia. The shock of the chemical imbalance should have killed them almost instantly.
TUNE IN TWO WEEKS FROM NOW
After a SCIFI Channel Event, Lexx returns June 2 with another showing of the infamous "Nook". Does it make more sense now that we've seen all the episodes in order, as some claim?
What do you think? Send comments to the author or editor.
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