Entertainment
Raunchiest 90s Sci-Fi Series Features Worst Captain Of All Time
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Science fiction is filled with incredible spaceship captains. Star Trek alone gave the world Picard, Kirk, and Janeway, Firefly has Malcolm Reynolds, Farscape’s John Crichton, and Battlestar Galactica’s Adama, all of them are fantastic characters. All are noble and inspiring figures who make their crews better.
On the other end of the spectrum is Stanley H. Tweedle, captain of the Lexx, the most powerful weapon ever created. He’s a coward, a traitor, self-centered, shallow, and the last man in existence who should have the keys to the most powerful weapon in both galaxies.
Lexx’s Stanley H. Tweedle Is Sci-Fi’s Worst Captain
Stanley H. Tweedle, played by Brian Downey, kicks off the events of Lexx by skipping work to the point he’s deemed a fugitive from justice by the servitors inside His Divine Shadow’s headquarters and runs into another fugitive, Zev (Eva Habermann). Taking shelter on board the organic spacecraft Lexx, the command codes embedded in Stanley’s tooth are activated, and the ship recognizes him as the Captain. It’s not the most glorious origin story for the man who would eventually, sort of, save the galaxy. It gets worse.
Technically, Stanley’s responsible for the deaths of 685 billion people. He didn’t give the order to fire, and he was being tortured, but he did give the codes to the Lexx over to a band of mercenaries, and then they sold it to His Divine Shadow, and 100 worlds ceased to exist. No other captain in sci-fi can say thay also have the title “Arch-Traitor.”
During Season 2, “Stan’s Trial,” we learn that the root of Stanley’s cowardice is his fear of death. The threat of death causes Stanley to break under the smallest bit of pressure from any of the villains, which all comes to a head in Season 3 when he actually dies and has to face the judgment of Prince from the Fire Planet, Lexx’s version of the Devil. You’d think that anyone who’s that cowardly wouldn’t be respected by his crew, and you’d be right.
No One Respects Stanley
The Lexx’s crew of castoffs, including both Zev and Xev (Xenia Seeberg), the undead assassin Kai (Michael McManus), and the love robot 790/791 (Jeffrey Hirschfield), don’t respect Stanley. Eventually, Xev and Kai start to have a modicum of respect, but 790, competing with Stanley for the affection of both Zev and Xev, constantly belittles and insults its captain. Even Lexx has some difficulty with Stanley, often misunderstanding what he wants, including misinterpreting the captain’s request for the coordinates to a planet of loose women.
Early on in Season 3, Stanley’s desire for women comes to a head when Prince offers to revive Maya, a gorgeous woman from the Water Planet, if he’ll use the Lexx to destroy the Water Planet. Stanley doesn’t only think about it, he spends most of the second episode actively devising ways to betray everyone. Not even Kirk, sci-fi’s most famous womanizer, would contemplate an offer like that for a single second.
Stanley H. Tweedle is both sci-fi’s worst captain and one of the most interesting characters, because he is so detestable and openly not a good guy. At all. He helped save the galaxy from thousands of years of control under His Divine Shadow, but he’s still a coward and a lech. Worst of all, we never learn what the H stands for.
Entertainment
Apple WWDC 2026 event: Live updates on iOS 27 and Siri AI
Every year, Apple hosts the Worldwide Developers Conference to reveal the latest updates to its operating systems (and occasionally drops some hardware surprises, too). And this year, Apple had a lot to cover.
WWDC 2026 is Tim Cook’s last big event as CEO, and the tech world has been waiting for a torch-passing moment to CEO-in-waiting John Ternus. We also learned all about iOS 27, macOS 27, iPadOS 27, and a ton more Apple products, including the revamped AI version of Siri, during the opening keynote.
WWDC 2026 kicked off with a live “special event” at Apple Park at 10 a.m. PT on Monday, June 8. That keynote has now ended, but you can still watch the livestream and catch up on all the biggest announcements.
Keep checking back, as we’ll be updating this page repeatedly throughout WWDC 2026, which officially runs through Friday, June 12.
Entertainment
Get 1 year of VPN, antivirus, breach alerts, and Incogni for just $75
TL;DR: Surfshark One+ with Incogni combines VPN protection, antivirus, breach alerts, and automated personal-data removal for $74.99 (reg. $250.20).
$74.99
$250.20
Save $175.21
Most people understand the idea of protecting their devices online. Fewer people realize how much of their personal information is already floating around the internet long before a hacker or scammer ever gets involved.
That’s what Surfshark One+ with Incogni is trying to address. And one year is on sale for just for $74.99 (reg. $250.20).
Mashable Deals
Instead of focusing only on VPN protection, the bundle tackles both sides of online privacy: protecting your devices in real time and reducing how much personal information is already circulating through data brokers and people-search databases.
The Surfshark side covers the familiar tools. You get a VPN for encrypted browsing across up to five devices, antivirus protection, private search, alternative identity tools for signups, and breach alerts that notify you if your email, passwords, IDs, or payment information show up somewhere sketchy.
Then there’s Incogni — the feature that makes this bundle feel more proactive than reactive.
Incogni automatically contacts more than 420 data brokers on your behalf and requests the removal of personal information like your name, address, phone number, and other identifying details. It also continues to monitor and re-request removals as your information reappears online.
On its own, Incogni normally costs about $95 per year, which makes its inclusion here especially notable.
This is an ideal opportunity for anyone increasingly uncomfortable with how exposed personal data has become online.
Mashable Deals
Get a 1-year subscription to Surfshark One+ with Incogni for a one-time payment of $74.99 (reg. $250.20).
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to today’s Connections.
Entertainment
I track TV prices year-round, so I know that these 15+ TV deals ahead of Prime Day are actually worth it
Table of Contents
Best TV deals ahead of Prime Day
Prime Day season is one of the best times of year to buy a TV on sale. That’s been etched into our mental calendars in July for the past decade, but this year, hype for one of the year’s biggest shopping events starts in June: Prime Day 2026 will run from June 23 to 26. As always, worthwhile TV deals are already popping up in the weeks preceding the event.
The good pre-Prime Day TV deals aren’t just at Amazon. Half the time, the reason that TV deals during Prime Day go so hard is that competing retailers like Best Buy refuse to let Amazon get all the attention — and it has already started this year. If you don’t want to wait until the end of the month to grab your new TV, here are 15+ of the best TV deals I’ve found at Amazon and Best Buy ahead of Prime Day. Most models in this list match or beat their all-time record-low price, according to Amazon price tracker camelcamelcamel.
Best TV deal ahead of Prime Day overall
$1,197.99
at Amazon
$1,999.99
Save $802
Why we like it
Hisense finally launched its highly-awaited RGB TVs on June 2. While both the UR8 and UR9 RGB TVs are on sale at Best Buy, there’s another 2026 Hisense TV with a much wilder discount: The 75-inch Hisense U7 Mini LED TV is just $1,197.99 after a massive 40% price drop from its usual $1,999.99.
Mashable Deals
Just released in March, the Hisense U7 series has a pretty incredible lighting system for its price range. Its backlight benefits from full-array local dimming, which uses clusters of tiny LED bulbs that can fully turn themselves on or off for more precise contrast during any scene or livestream. Other impressive numbers include a peak brightness of 3,000 nits (great news for FIFA fans trying to watch a game during the daytime) and a native 165Hz refresh rate (great news for gamers on a budget).
Deals on 43-inch TVs and under
Deals on 50-inch to 55-inch TVs
Deals on 65-inch TVs
Deals on 75-inch to 77-inch TVs
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Toshiba 75-inch C350 4K Fire TV — $379.99
$729.99(save $350) -
Hisense 75-inch QD7 Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $549.99
$799(save $249.01) -
LG 75-inch 75B QNED 4K TV — $729.99
$999.99(save $270) -
Hisense 75-inch U6 Pro Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $848.99
$1,399.99(save $249.01) -
TCL 75-inch QM8K Mini LED QLED 4K TV — $1,497.99
$1,999.99(save $502) -
Hisense 75-inch S7N Canvas QLED 4K Art TV — $1,597.99
$2,499.99(save $902) -
Hisense 75-inch UR8 RGB Mini LED 4K TV — $2,199.99
$2,499.99(save $300) -
LG 77-inch C5 OLED 4K TV — $2,199.99
$3,699.99(save $1,500)
Deals on 85-inch TVs
A's recall RHP Joey Estes from minors, option RHP Kade Morris
Apple WWDC 2026 event: Live updates on iOS 27 and Siri AI
