Entertainment
The Worst Ever Sci-Fi Musical Episode Isn't In Star Trek, It's This Raunchy Cult Classic
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
The musical episode is one of many ways Buffy changed television forever. “Once More, With Feeling” is considered one of the best episodes of the long-running series. But, it came out in November 2001, a full two years after the campy, horny sci-fi series Lexx unleashed its own musical episode, “Brigadoom.”
Airing on April 9, 1999, fans had no idea what to expect when the crew of the Lexx encountered a theater troupe in the middle of space, and they especially weren’t prepared for a full-blown musical. The cast gives it their all, and well, they try really hard to perform the elaborate song-and-dance numbers, but through the obvious limitations and stumbles, “Brigadoom” is Lexx’s greatest episode.
The First Sci-Fi Musical Episode
“Brigadoom” puts the spotlight on the backstory of Kai (Michael McManus), the last of the Brunnen-G, when he and Xev (Xenia Seeberg) take part in the troupe’s musical production. Stanley (Brian Downey) refuses to participate but returns at the end, inspired by the story of the Brunnen-G, who refused to give up in the face of overwhelming odds.
By the time the Brunnen-G perform the solemn battle song, “Yo Way Yo,” you’ll be as pumped as Stanley to charge headlong into a suicide mission against His Divine Shadow.
This was the first time fans were shown Kai’s tragic past. The last stand of the Brunnen-G, and the battle song, was seen in the very first episode of Lexx, but “Brigadoom” put it in a brand new perspective.
Tragic, beautiful, and moving, which is what a great musical does. It’s especially impressive because by the standards of musical episodes that have followed, “Brigadoom” can’t match the pageantry, the songs, and the performances, making it the first that ever aired, but also one of the worst, which ironically, makes it the best.
No Time, No Budget, No Problem
Lexx’s cast and crew only had one week to prepare “Brigadoom,” forcing them to get creative with the sets used by the in-universe theater troupe and to keep the songs simple, but manageable. Both Michael McManus and Xenia Seeberg were singers, and the entire production was keyed around McManus’s vocal range, but it’s a testament to how good they are that, with such a short production runway, they sound as good as they do. There are noticeable wobbles and notes that are out of tune; some were edited in later by music director Andre Haines.
Brian Downey, an experienced musician himself, by his own admission, was terrified of singing and dancing, which is why Stanley was kept out of the production. No one at the time knew that adjusting the story to include Stanley’s reluctance to take part would serve only to amplify the message of “Brigadoom.” Lexx may be unabashedly horny and the finest of low-budget sci-fi, but as the musical episode reveals, the cast and crew were masters at getting the most out of every single dollar and every single second of film.
Compared to “Once More, With Feeling” and “Subspace Rhapsody,” “Brigadoom” looks like a local theater production. And yet, it’s still considered the best episode of Lexx by the show’s fans and an example of how it embraced its low budget and absurd premise to tell a surprisingly in-depth sci-fi epic. Instead of being a gimmick designed to bring in eyeballs, “Brigadoom” is a heartfelt episode that reveals new depths to the crew, broadens fans’ understanding of the world, and shows you don’t have to be a perfect singer or have elaborate, ship-wide song and dance numbers to move the audience.
Entertainment
Xiaomis new hyper car concept has the strangest cockpit weve ever seen
Xiaomi likes to bring cars to Barcelona; the company gave us the first glimpse of its SU7 Ultra supercar during last year’s MWC in March.
This year, however, Xiaomi has unveiled something that’s pretty far out there, even by its own standards. Called the Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo, it’s a hypercar that was designed to go really fast while slicing through the air in a way not many cars (or race cars, for that matter) can (Xiaomi says it’s been “sculpted by the wind”).
It feels kinda empty in there.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
The company will bring the concept car to its MWC show floor in Barcelona on March 2, presumably when we’ll learn more about its powertrain, acceleration, battery, and other trivialities. Today, however, Xiaomi was mostly focused on how the air flows through the car, using a variety of wind tunnels and channels (and even a moving part on the car’s bottom) to make it more efficient.
The wheels and wheel covers are special, too.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Even the car’s wheels have special covers that are (somehow) magnetically set in place so they don’t rotate while the car moves, as that would also increase drag.
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I bet your car doesn’t have a cocoon-shaped sofa.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Inside, it gets even nuttier. The seats are out; instead, you sit in a “cocoon-shaped sofa” with an x-wing steering wheel with five tiny displays, some of which apparently double as (contextual?) buttons. Most of the things you associate with a traditional car are gone; instead, it’s you in that sofa-shaped cockpit, that steering wheel, and the road. The car’s a two-seater, so don’t expect to bring your family on a trip in this one.
Fortunately, you might be able to get a cocoon-shaped sofa/cockpit for your home.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
In fact, most people probably won’t be able to afford a car like this, but Xiaomi’s got you covered, as it plans to release a gaming console/cockpit shaped just like the car’s cockpit, so you can race around in your own little cocoon in the relative safety of your home.
We don’t know how fast it goes. We don’t know where the batteries are, given that the car appears to be mostly wind tunnels under that cockpit. We don’t know if it’s ever going to make it to market. But boy, does it all look cool.
We’ll hopefully find out more on March 2 when that show floor opens, so stay tuned for pics and videos.
Topics
Mobile World Congress
Xiaomi
Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for March 1, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you’re a frequent flyer.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections #994 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Little bite: CANAPÉ, FINGER FOOD, HORS D’OEUVRE, TAPA
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Construction equipment: HARD HAT, LADDER, NAIL GUN, TOOL BELT
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Vacation emoji: AIRPLANE, LUGGAGE, PALM TREE, SMILING FACE WITH SUNGLASSES
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Things you don’t eat that end in foods: COPYPASTA, JOHANNESBURGER, KNUCKLE SANDWICH, LICORICE PIZZA
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for March 1, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re not on. your best behavior.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Dressing down
The words are related to discipline.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe ways to chastise.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is The Riot Act.
NYT Strands word list for March 1
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Braidup
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The Riot Act
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Scold
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Castigate
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Reprimand
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Admonish
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
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