Lexx discovers a small theater floating in space. Inside, the crew witnesses a production chronicling the history of Kai's people.
(U.S. premiere July 28, 2000)
Written by Paul Donovan and Lex Gigeroff
Directed by Bill Fleming
| The Joy of Stan |
| STAN: Why should we just replay what's already happened? Let's rewritethe ending. |
STAN: Do you have any idea what they're going on about?
XEV: No. Maybe that's how theater works. |
GUEST STARS
Jeremy Webb – Master of Ceremonies
Lorraine Segato – Time Prophet
WHAT HAPPENED
Lexx passes through a patch of fog floating in deep space. When the mist clears, the crew sees a small building in their path.
Lexx decides the structure would make a tasty snack. It asks Stan’s permission to consume it, which he gives.
Before Lexx can eat the building, though, Stan and Xev hear somebody singing the Brunnen-G battle hymn. They take a moth to the building. (More spoilers and complete lyrics!)
ANALYSIS
Lexx continues its survey course of popular entertainment styles, adding musical theater to the horror, medical drama , situation comedy and courtroom drama forms explored in previous episodes.
As with these earlier examinations, Lexx's creative team demonstrates a masterful understanding of the genre and its conventions. "Brigadoom" isn't simply a television program set to music – it is a musical, with all the trappings and appurtenances the form demands.
Everything from the staging to the lighting to the actors' vocal cadence and body language conforms to the requirements of the stage. Viewers aren't simply watching a television episode; they are also a theatrical audience.
At the same time, director Bill Fleming takes advantage of the television medium to employ editing tricks that would not be available to a stage director. The sequence between Kai and the Time Prophet features a series of cuts that underscores the Prophet's declaration of time's circular nature.
Sing out loud, sing out strong
As for the songs themselves, they are both lyrically and musically effective. They may not be quite as showy or polished as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s creations, but they strike a similar balance of recurring themes and variations that fit the needs of the story.
The music is eminently hummable, and there are some nice tricks like the alternating keys of song argument between the young lads and the frightened old people. Beyond that, the music is appropriate to the situations and evokes the moods the composers presumably intended.
There are also occasional moments of lyrical torture, such as the musically specious rhyming of "pride" and "suicide". Fortunately, these lapses were few and far between.
To their credit, Michael McManus and Xenia Seeberg did an effective job with the music. Happily, and unlike some other programs' musical theater experiments, they were more than a match for the material.
Musicals from Oklahoma to Assassins to RENT feature characters who walk out of step with the mainstream. The young Kai of "Brigadoom" fits this image.
The "I want something more than the life I see around me" tenor of his first song owes as much of a debt to the post-Little Mermaid era of Disney animation as it does to Broadway.
Stan's tale
Although 'Brigadoom' purports to tell Kai's story, the episode is really about Stan's conversion. The moment when he steps on stage and sings with the others represents a turning point for his character.
This is the moment when he fully embraces the idea of finding "a good way to die" rather than waving the white flag of surrender by fleeing to the center of the universe.
From a narrative perspective, Stan needn't and probably shouldn't sing until he has had that moment. According to musical convention, such a transition demands a solo.
Does the fact that Stan's voice becomes part of the chorus symbolize his unity with his friends, or does it imply something about Brian Downey's vocal talents?
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK
The crew searches for an ally against Mantrid and meet his mentor "Brizon". But will Brizon’s agenda spell doom for all of them?
What do you think? Send your comments to the editor.
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