Isambard Prince

Isambard Prince is the cruel ruler of the Planet Fire in the Third Series of the science-fiction television show "Lexx."

Character details

Prince first appeared on the season premier of the third series, when he and some of his cohorts board the Lexx as it passes through the atmosphere of Fire. Soon, the crew is split up and Prince takes a certain fancy to Xev, asking her to be his "Queen." She refuses, but he continues to pursue Xev and to attempt to gain control of the Lexx.

Prince can die physically and come back in any form and location he wishes to. He uses this tactic to reincarnate into a living version of Kai, only to be exposed when he tries to kill Stan. He also successfully replaces Xev and temporarily steals the key to the Lexx by bringing Stan to the extreme height of sexual ecstasy. (Note that this contradicts Season 4, in which Prince cannot receive the key to the Lexx because he is "not alive".)

Near the end of Season Three Stan drowns, and Prince appears at the judgement of Stanley's soul. While the ultimate fate of Stan's soul is decided by a copy of Stan in a white uniform, Prince acts as a prosecuting attorney, arguing for why Stanley deserves eternal torment on Fire rather than eternal happiness on Planet Water. When Stan's doppelganger deems Stanley material for Planet Fire, Prince is able to control where and when Stanley reincarnates on the surface of Fire, showing more evidence that Prince is a spiritual entity.

Prince takes pride in "being very good with pain." He often cheerfully orders his followers to their deaths, bidding them "cheery-bye" as they go. He has waged an endless war on the planet Water, partly in order to harvest its water for the dry planet Fire, but mostly for the sake of killing and torturing the helpless good souls on Water. He also enjoys tempting good people on Water to commit evil acts, thus condemning them to reincarnation on Fire.

Although Prince has been warring for countless ages against Water, and has defeated it innumerable times, the people of Water just reincarnate and so the war never ends. He also constantly fights against lesser rulers named Duke and Queen on Fire. Prince has grown tired of this unchanging state of equilibrium, so he welcomes the coming of the Lexx as a means to destroy Water and end his war.

At the end of Season 3, Xev (having the key to the Lexx after Stan's death) orders the Lexx to destroy Fire. This frees all the damned souls from Fire, but also frees Prince's spirit from his body. Prince's spirit takes control of the Lexx and blows up Water. This frees the souls of Water, and after they swarm off Prince's essence is seen descending on the west coast of North America (Fire and Water turn out to have been in the same solar system as Earth).

Prince reappears in the Fourth Series, reincarnated as Isambard Prince, the director of the ATF and de facto ruler of the United States. While the other people of Earth don't remember their past lives on Fire and Water, Prince retains his personality and memories from Fire, although it is unclear whether he still has any of his supernatural powers. Early on in Season 4 the president of the United States is voted out of office and replaced under curious circumstances by Reginald J. Priest (the reincarnation of Prince's lackey named Priest on the Planet Fire) thus cementing Prince's control over the United States. From there, he doggedly pursues the crew of the Lexx in order to sieze control of the Lexx as a powerful weapon and, later, as a means of escaping the alien infestation of Earth.

Prince is played by Nigel Bennett