The Lexx is hungry and, with Stan concentrating on his own stomach, eventually decides to take matters into it’s own hands. Landing on a seemingly deserted garbage planet the Lexx proceeds to eat its fill, leaving Zev and Stan to bury a freeze dried Kai and explore the planet. But something is laying in wait for them, something that is just as hungry as they are…
This is an odd episode in that it doesn’t quite fit into the overall arc of the first four episodes. While it’s an entertaining story in itself, there is no reason for the crew of the Lexx to be on the planet that has anything to do with the main plot involving His Shadow and the prophecy. It’s almost like the producers had decided to do four episodes no matter what! While ‘Eating Pattern’ is lacking in cohesion this is more than made up for by the exploration of hunger (both physical and emotional) as a theme. Hunger leads people to make snap judgments and rash decisions, Stan’s hunger for the ‘pattern’ drug renders him almost insane while Zev’s need to make some sense out of her new life is what lands them in trouble in the first place. The parasite’s hunger is truly alien in it’s intensity and its need to give birth (when it can’t remember it’s own origins) is somehow poignant.
There is of course more of the dark humour, violence and (not so subtle) references to sex that make ‘The Lexx’ stand out amongst other sci-fi shows. Any show where an actor can say the line ‘your worm is your friend’ and keep a straight face is a show that (on some level) you know you need to watch.
Seven out of Ten
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