LEXX Facts

A co-production between Salter Street Films and Germany's TiMe Film und TV Produktion, the science fiction series LEXX is unlike anything else on television. Moody and stylized, the show disregards orthodox science fiction storytelling methods and creates its own unique world. Together with its extensive use of Computer Generated Imagery, this has made LEXX a true original in the sci-fi genre. LEXX lll was produced in 1999-00 and consists of 13 one hour episodes. LEXX lIl breaks from the previous season's format by adopting a serial storyline: that is, one story explored at great depth over the 13 episodes.

The series follows the nomadic existence of four misfit characters who have inadvertently stolen the most powerful weapon of destruction ever made: a Manhattan-sized, sentient, genetically modified insect named the LEXX. After being in cryostasis for thousands of years, the LEXX and its crew find themselves orbiting a binary planet system named Fire and Water. The inhabitants of the two planets have been at war for hundreds of years, and our heroes find themselves hopelessly enmeshed in the conflict which, it becomes clear throughout the season, is much more than it first appears.

LEXX stars Brian Downey as Stanley Tweedle, the bumbling and self-serving captain of the Lexx; Xenia Seeberg as Xev, the insatiable love slave with an attitude; and Michael McManus as Kai, a 2000 year old assassin who, despite the fact he is technically dead, is an invaluable member of the crew. They are joined in their adventures by the love struck robot head, 790. New to this season is the character of Prince, played by the Gemini award-winning actor Nigel Bennett. Enigmatic, mysterious, a leader on the planet Fire, Prince is the Machiavellian villain with a hidden agenda that can only mean trouble for Xev, Kai and Stan.

The initial LEXX movies were produced in 1996 and included 4 two hour movies. LEXX II was produced in 1998-99 and was comprised of 20 x one hour episodes. LEXX lI has been sold in 100 countries and is seen on SCI Fl Channel (U.S.), CHUM Television's Space: The Imagination Station (Canada), Channel 5 (U.K.), Sci-Fi Channel (Europe), Canal Plus (France) and RTL2 (Germany). LEXX fans around the world have created over 100 spontaneous fan web sites, and, in response, Salter Street has recently launched new LEXX merchandise on its online shop at www.salter.com.

LEXX Effects

"There are as many effects in one episode of LEXX as other science fiction shows use in their entire season!" says Brian Howaid, Senior Compositing Artist and one member of a 15-person team that works in the LEXX post-production crew. "The effects are digitally composited as well as computer generated. We're creating landscapes of the two planets this season, using MAYA software. We take those landscapes and skies and composite them with the live action that has been shot in the studio against the green screen. We have to track to any camera movements and add in atmosphere to build seamless scenes."

The effects crew runs the Haleo program. "A lot of our effects you can't even notice - we work hard to make the composites seamless. And then of course there are the spectacular planet exploding type effects."

Season lll of LEXX was shot using High Definition technology which offers cleaner chromakeys, as well as portability. The footage is then copied to regular D-Beta, where the effects are added. After the Computer Generated Imagery and compositing are complete, the video is then treated with a film effect that adds grain for a beautiful, clear image.

LEXX Cast

Michael McManus ~ Kai

Hailing from Toronto, Michael McManus is an accomplished actor of both stage and screen. He has appeared in stage productions across Canada and the UK, and most recently played Reverend Hale in The Crucible at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, and Tom in The Glass Menagerie at the Tarragon Theatre, opposite Martha Henry. McManus' television credits include The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Hard to Forget, Nothing Sacred and the critically acclaimed The Squamish Five. Michael McManus also appeared in Bruce McCulloch's (of Kids in the Hall fame) feature film Dog Park and in Atom Egoyan's Speaking Parts for which he received a Genie Award nomination for Best Actor.

Brian Downey ~ Stanley Tweedle

Brian Downey was born and raised in Newfoundland. His list of credits is long and varied, on the theatre stage and in film and television. Selected theatre credits include the role of Bobby in Cheatin Hearts, Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Fleet in the Trinity Festival's Black Stick Tales. Brian Downey has also appeared in Millennium (Dir. Peter Markle), in CBC Television's long running Revue (87-93) as well as co-starring in the award-winning Salter Street Production George's Island. Downey is also a talented musician, with skills at guitar (acoustic and electric), electric bass and harmonica, in both straight and blues styles.

Xenia Seeberg ~ Xev

Xenia Seeberg was born in the small town of Geldern, Germany, and was educated in Dusseldorf, Milan, and at the Lee Strasberg School in New York and Los Angeles. She also studied with Joan Costopoulos - The Actor's Studio, in New York, and with Agnes Pollner, Cologne. A woman of many talents, Xenia Seeberg is a classically trained dancer, has worked as a model and a singer-with a record deal with EMI-Cologne DL. Seeburg has starred in several American/German co-productions, including Hilda Humphrey, directed by Nick Lyon, and Talking Feet, directed by Jean Marie Van Blome. She also assumed the role of television show host with Cu/t, (95-96) and POP Rocky TV (96.) She had the leading role of Angie Wilhelm in Geliebte Schwestern.

Jeffrey Hirschfield ~ 790

Jeffrey Hirschfield was one of the writers for LEXX, (along with Paul Donovan and Lex Gigeroff) and can be heard as the voice of the robot head 790. He is a man of many talents, ranging from writing to acting to puppeteering. He is an award-winning writer of theatre, with six produced plays to his credit, including Geeks in Love, Elmo's Rainbow and Blood Buddies. He was the cocreator, producer, director, writer and actor for Salter Street's comedy television series El Mundo Del Lundo. Jeffrey Hirschfield has appeared in several plays ranging from productions of Shakespeare, Peter Schaeffer and Tennessee Williams, as well as a host of modern plays.

Nigel Bennett ~ Prince

The prolific career of British expatriate Nigel Bennett spans several decades. For 15 years he performed for the theatre before moving to Canada in 1986. His television and film roles are numerous and include feature film roles in Narrow Margin with Gene Hackman; The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick, voted Best New Film at both the Toronto and Vancouver Film Festivals; Legends of the Fall with Brad Pitt and Murder at 1600 with Wesley Snipes. Television roles in include: Street Legal, La Femme Nikita, The Twilight Zone, and Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict. But he is perhaps most widely known for his Emmy award-winning role as the vampire LaCroix in Forever Knight. Some of Nigel Bennett's recent projects include Rescuers, a Barbra Streisand produced mini-series, and One Tough Cop with Stephen Baldwin. He has co-authored a fantasy novel entitled Keeper of the King the first of a three part series, and will shortly be directing an independent film titled An Englishman in New York.

Patricia Zentilli ~ Bunny

Patricia Zentilli has been interested in the performing arts since she was young, and received training in fields as diverse as clowning, at the Dimitri Theatre School in Switzerland, to puppetry, to a theatre arts degree from Dalhousie University. She has performed in a theatre troupe aimed specifically at young audiences, and graced the stage of countless plays in roles such as Curly's Wife in Of Mice and Men; Marty in Grease; Ophelia in Hamlet; and Luciana/Dromio in The Comedy of Errors. Her television and film appearance include principal roles in New Waterford Girls, The Solution, and most recently, in the Alliance Atlantis/Citadel co-production Catch a Falling Star.

Ralph Brown ~ Duke

Ralph Brown is one of the most prolific actors to come out of the UK in recent years. His theatre credits include the lead role in Macbeth; Georgie in the Man on the Moon production of A Clockwork Orange; and the roles of Jim/Ray Lloyd in the Simon Curtis directed Deadlines. Television credits include roles in Cleopatra, Ivanhoe and Extremely Dangerous. But Ralph Brown is most recognizable in feature films that have earned a place in the pantheon of 20th century pop culture. He has appeared in George Lucas' Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Stephen Spielberg's Amistad, and the smash hit The Crying Game. He has also appeared in such films as Wayne's Wor/d II, and Alien III. He graced the underground cult classic Withnail & I with his presence, and also appeared in the British comedy fest The Pope Must Die (renamed The Pope Must Diet for North American audiences).

LEXX Production