GigaShadow

A lot has been said about the work that went into the first and last films, so all I will say is that GigaShadow has the same fast pacing, excitement and grandeur of scope that was revealed in IWHS. (Given the constraints involved in producing a series, can the creators maintain the same quality, innovation and imagination in the forthcoming episodes? I ask myself, fingers, claws and various other parts of my body crossed hopefully!)

GigaShadow raises far more questions than it answers - and quite rightly so, as far as I'm concerned. From the Time Prophet's introduction onwards it is made clear that this is THE introduction to the series. The stage is set, the players know their parts, the lights go down (but obviously not off) on the Divine Order (now revealed as the Insect Civilisation's insidious response to the Brunnen-G's noble efforts on behalf of the human race. Stars, what a waste.....).

The characters of, and relationships between, our little band of fugitives are even more firmly established, and it becomes obvious there is more to them than we have yet been permitted to know. We see Stan actually acting like a hero for once (maybe that's what the H stands for!), trying to repair the cryotube, returning to the Cluster - and for selfless reasons! - even though it's the last thing he wants to do. Of course, this has the added benefit of his being finally able to realise his revenge against Feppo and Smoor, and in quite a cunning way, as well. (I just really, really hope that, in spite of appearances, the Sub-Nebulae mercenaries aren't dead. What a truly wonderful pair of characters! Gloriously nasty. Wonderfully awful. More, please...)

And have you noticed how happy all the villains in Lexx are? They're always laughing.....

(And talking about villains, allow me a brief aside.... As spokesbeing on behalf of Cluster Lizards everywhere, may I just say that we have received a very bad press, and come the Cleansing, all denigrators will be first on the menu! CL's are considerably more intelligent than most humans think (there are those among us who believe we are more intelligent than most humans, period). And while I'm on the subject, I'd like to nominate Squish for an Oscar. And a Medal of Ultimate Honour as well. Only just hatched, and already saving universes! I look forward to meeting him in his next incarnation.... You never know. Maybe I'll be his mother!)

As for the GigaShadow itself - a-HA!! Mystery solved. That's why I can't stand wood lice! I obviously met this beastie in the last cycle of time.....

Kai becomes more "real" in GigaShadow. His initial disorientation has diminished to some extent, and we see echoes of the human he once was. (Listen particularly to the subtle changes in his voice. Assassin Kai is harsh, and his expression less mobile. Brunnen-G Kai's voice is softer and warmer, his face more expressive.)

And here, given the foregoing considerations, I would like to propose the theory that, prior to his death, Kai was a father.

A couple of minutes hiatus while the so-disposed amongst you suffer throes of blinding flashes of insight, shock, horror, or other assorted violent emotions...!

Feel better now? Good. Bear with me and consider the evidence.

"Do you want to hold it?" "It is a baby. An innocent." A kiss. A smile. A protective embrace. An affectionate caress. A half-chuckle. A gentle cuffing out of the way when the child is distracting you from doing something important. An even more gentle tapping on the head when the child has been side-tracked from what it is supposed to be doing (translations of human actions into what could be felt by a baby Cluster Lizard). A proud, "That's my baby!" when the child has managed to do what you asked. Kai's been here before!

Mind you, I could be completely wrong about this, and if I am I apologise unreservedly to all and sundry and their aunt Jeffrey. And I don't think I DARE say anything more on the subject.....! But you won't stop me wondering......

These days, of course, Kai is in effect either some kind of parasite or a hi-tech vampire. And since I find the notion of the last of the Brunnen-G as a flea or tick objectionable, I would propose the latter. OK, no fangs, but he's a re-animated corpse, he can't survive without (proto)blood, we've never seen him eat solid food - I rather doubt, from the look of that sorry excuse for an implant the bioscholars fitted, that he could (and no doubt I will be proven wrong in the first show of the series!) - the man even sleeps in a coffin. All traditional vampire characteristics. (And there's a literary precedent for protoblood: in Garfield Reeves-Stevens' Bloodshift, the vampires have blood that sounds suspiciously like the protoblood that comes from the GigaShadow. Hmmm....)

Zev's boundless optimism (or should that read desperation?) is amazing. What other woman, the scenery variously crumbling, exploding and shattering about her as the Cluster is torn apart from within, would have the courage to try something as foolhardy as to return to the clerics to retrieve protoblood - knowing that if it revived one, it could revive others? In what could so easily have been a lost cause, too. I can't help but respect her...

And so to that kiss. Questions of Zev's necrophilia aside, I found it engaging. It was diffident, on Kai's part, anyway. There was a hesitation there, an uncertainty as to whether he would truly be accepted - and a touching mix of relief and disbelief when he was. It was a delightful scene. And anyone who disagrees with me is a complete robothead...

And then, of course, His Shadow's essence made itself felt....(There's always something, isn't there?)

I can't WAIT for the series.
Except, of course, I have to.
As Stan would say, in a quiet understatement, "....shit...."

Questions That Should Probably Be Left Unasked!

What did they do with His Shadow's body after Kai had rendered it ineffective? (My personal preference is that they gave it to Lexx to eat....On the other hand, Zev admits to being a carnivore....)

Not really a proper question, but I'd like to know. Zev's communicator (what little I can see of it) looks like a small bug. The other tech. on the Lexx is bug-based, so is this as well?

When did His Shadow infect Kai? When stealing his memory? During his attack before the escape through the core? As Kai was crushing his brain?...

       How does Kai control the different elements of his wrist weapon? We've seen him click the scorpion blade several times, to prepare it for use or to 'reholster' it, but how does that extendible metal shaft operate in conjunction with the blade? Does it have other, as yet unseen elements? And where can I get one...?

I was intrigued by that extra tube of protoblood Zev threw into the moth (the twin to the one Squish took to Kai). Is there is to be some emergency in the series in which it will save the day? No, don't tell me. I'd rather wait and see.....Honest....