The Brunnen-G are a race of humanoids on the TV series Lexx. They were a society of romantic warriors, most famous for their key part in defeating the Insect Civilization during the Insect Wars. In the series, Kai is the race's last remaining survivor, and then the last remaining non-survivor.
In Season 1, episode 2, we find out that the Brunnen-G originated from the Dark Zone, on a planet named Brunnis. Because their sun was on the verge of going supernova, the Brunnen-G departed their homeworld and moved to Brunnis-2 in the Light Universe. They left a mechanical system in place to prevent the supernova, and a lone inhabitant named Poetman. Poetman, played by Tim Curry, was inadvertently left behind because he was drunk for four days due to the farewell party and missed the evacuation. Despite acknowledging that it was his fault, he is bitter, saying "do they, can they realise the value of their loss!", and "Brunnis is MY planet now!" (minute 29 of season 1 episode 2). The last man on the planet, Poetman devises a way to live on by displacing the female hologram of the great Brunnis Library with his image and leaving a surprise for visitors who choose to learn about "love." The Poetman hologram offers visitors a tour of the library but fails to mention the dangers: being cut in half, for instance in the "life" chamber (the Brunnen-G had an exotic method for recording their minds: the "burst of life" involved being cut in half, absorbing the memories in a disk and replacing the body with a dummy, for eternity), or getting impregnated with a hypodermic needle full of Poetman's own ancient seed in the "love chamber", a way the Poetman devised to continue his "line".
Interestingly, Poetman's fashion sense was nothing like other Brunnen-G we've seen: he wore clothing resembling a tuxedo, had facial hair, and no beehive hairdo.
One of the villans, Giggerota, deactivated the machinery that kept the suns in check, and just before they went supernova, the stars revealed that they were actually sentient and were grateful for the chance to consummate their love. After the Lexx departed, the suns finally went supernova, and the old Brunnen-G homeworld (in the Dark Zone) was destroyed.
According to the history depicted in the episode Brigadoom (season 2, episode 18), the Brunnen-G were a very poetic people with colorful clothes and towering beehive hairdos. After defeating the Insect Civilization, they turned inwards, developing a medical cure for old age. The Brunnen-G became afraid of risking their lives, because dying from a careless accident or germ would cost them thousands of years of living. After finding a cure for old age, they isolated themselves from the rest of the universe with a massive shield over Brunnis-2. Over thousands of years, people forgot how to fix the shield, and the shield developed weak spots. The Brunnen-G eventually fell into despair and decadence from the monotony of their overcautious existence. Eventually they were attacked by the forces of His Divine Shadow. Most of the people who lived for thousands of years seemed quite happy about the prospect of death, as they were bored with their cautious and fearful eternal life.
Not everyone on Brunnis-2 was very old; there were "newborns" who were vibrant and idealistic. A young revolutionary named Kai helped lead "newborns" and some of the very old, to put up a fight against His Divine Shadow. Kai and the others knew His Divine Shadow's planetkiller was unstoppable and merciless. Kai and his group had no weapons except curious specimens of insect craft from the Insect Wars, which were stolen from a museum. As His Divine Shadow started his attack, the group counter-attacked. Although aware their cause was futile, the few Brunnen-G attacked with bravery, having comfort in the thought that this would be "a good way to die". They met their fates 2008 years prior to the beginning of the series when His Divine Shadow destroyed their planet. Kai had visited a being known as The Time Prophet, who told him that the last Brunnen-G would kill His Divine Shadow. This was indeed true, although it would happen 2008 years after Kai's people were wiped out, and Kai's re-animated corpse had served His Divine Shadow for many years as an assassin.
In the second-season episode Brigadoom, the Lexx crew encountered a strange theatrical troupe who recounted the Brunnen-G history in song. The troupe lived outside normal time and space, in order to tell the most important story of the universe. The troupe recounted the story of Kai, last of the Brunnen-G. Kai is returned to his former clothing, and takes part in the play with Xev, who plays Kai's lover.
Brunnen-G Battle Hymn
The Brunnen-G Battle Hymn or Fight Song was sung by the Brunnen-G [1] before going into battle against an enemy whom they knew they had no chance of defeating. Its original appearance was in the first movie in season 1 - I Worship His Shadow - and it is sung by Kai numerous times over the course of the series, particularly when he finds himself in difficult situations.
Due to its huge popularity, it was adopted into the opening title sequence at the start of season 3. The final episode was named "Yo way yo", a line from the hymn.
References
Template:Lexx