(U.S. premiere February 4, 2000)

Written by Lex Gigeroff and Paul Donovan
Directed by Chris Bould

Maury Chaykin -- Pa
Susan Dalton -- Sissy
Dave Carmichael -- Junior
Brandon McCarvell -- The Kid

Somewhere aboard the Lexx, a stranger runs for his life. As he stops to rest behind a column, a hand grabs his shoulder, and a voice says "Gotcha!"

Is there really a big Hee-Haw / science fiction crossover crowd?

To put it another way, what in tarnation were Lex Gigeroff and Paul Donovan thinking? With the possible exception of Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel on The Simpsons, the heyday of hillbilly humor ended long before The Beverly Hillbillies went off the air.

One has to wonder how this episode played for European and Canadian audiences. Do the Germans now imagine that there is a incestuous hillbilly cannibal movement in the United States? What does that belief do to their opinions of Americans in general?

On the other hand, hillbillies make a convenient stereotypical target. Unlike more public ethnic, cultural or social groups, there's little chance the Sci Fi Channel will receive angry letters and boycott threats from outraged hillbillies.

Besides, everyone loves a good hoedown, right?

Despite an incredibly odd thematic decision on Gigeroff and Donovan's parts, the episode had its share of nice touches.

The dialogue was especially crisp in some spots, particularly when the Gulleans confront their patriarch. The argument between Pa and Sissy that leads up to her murder was intense, well-paced and effective.

The exchange between Pa and the Kid was similarly well-handled.

Pa comes across as a master of rationalization. No matter what happens in the episode -- Junior's defection, Sissy's death -- he always finds a way to defer accountability away from his kin.

In this respect, Pa steps out of his purely stereotypical skin and becomes a larger force for cultural commentary. No matter who we are or where we come from, human beings specialize in deferring accountability.

Like Pa, if there's someone else to blame, most of us won't hesitate to point the finger in their direction.

There are very few actors who convey menacing moral relativism -- especially when combined with sexual deviance -- more effectively than Chaykin.

The Kid is also an interesting character, even if spunky precocious kids with mysterious origins who fly spaceships and hang around with robots tend to call Anakin Skywalker to mind.

Without advance knowledge of who Lyekka is, her appearance in "White Trash" makes almost no sense. It doesn't derail the story, but it is frustrating to viewers and reviewers who might otherwise become obsessed with continuity -- i.e., become fans of the show.

Kai used to enjoy fishing.

Why did His Divine Shadow care so much about rounding up the Vermal clans? Did backwater hillbillies represent a threat to his regime?

Who or what is Lyekka, beyond simply "a character who appeared in those episodes the Sci Fi Channel hasn't shown yet?"

Are there any other surprise visitors hidden aboard the Lexx?

With no nearby planets, it's unlikely that The Kid will get too far in the charger.

After two relatively quiet episodes, "White Trash" featured not one but two planets being gratuitously blown into smithereens. This brings the count to 3 planets, 3 spaceships, a moon and a space station.

TUNE IN NEXT WEEK . . .