Red Dwarf is a British
comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television
science fiction sitcom that aired on
BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and gained a
cult following. It was created by
Rob Grant and
Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series. The show originated from a recurring sketch,
part of the mid-1980s
BBC Radio 4 comedy show
Son of Cliché, also scripted by Grant and Naylor. In addition to the television episodes, there are four bestselling novels, two
pilot episodes for an American version of the show, a radio version produced for BBC radio 7, tie-in books, magazines and other merchandise.
In 2008, a three-episode production was commissioned by the digital channel Dave. These episodes were screened in April 2009 during the Easter weekend and comprised a three-part story titled . Unlike the majority of the original BBC episodes, this mini-series was a comedy drama filmed without a studio audience or an added laugh track.
Despite the pastiche of science fiction used as a backdrop, Red Dwarf is primarily a character-driven comedy, with off-the-wall, often scatological science fiction elements used as complementary plot devices. In the early episodes, a recurring source of comedy was the "Odd Couple"-style relationship between the two central characters of the show, who have an intense dislike for each other but are trapped together deep in space. The main characters are Dave Lister, the last known human alive, and Arnold Rimmer, a hologram of Lister's dead bunkmate. The other regular characters are Cat, a lifeform that evolved from the descendants of Lister's pregnant pet cat, Frankenstein; Holly, Red Dwarf's computer; as of Series III, Kryten, a service mechanoid; and, as of Series VII, Kristine Kochanski, an alternative-reality version of Lister's long-lost love.
One of the series' highest accolades came in 1994, when an episode from the sixth series, Gunmen of the Apocalypse, won an International Emmy Award in the Popular Arts category, and in the same year the series was also awarded "Best BBC Comedy Series" at the British Comedy Awards. The series attracted its highest ratings, of over eight million viewers, during the eighth series in 1999.
Setting and plot
The main setting of the series is the eponymous mining spaceship
Red Dwarf which is long, tall, and wide and is operated by the Jupiter Mining Corporation. In the first episode set sometime in the late
22nd century, an on-board radiation leak of
cadmium II kills everyone except for low-ranking technician Dave Lister, who is in
suspended animation at the time, and his pregnant cat, Frankenstein, who is safely sealed in the cargo hold. Following the accident, the ship's computer
Holly keeps Lister in stasis until the background radiation dies down—a process that takes three million years. His former bunkmate and immediate superior Arnold Judas Rimmer is resurrected by Holly as a
hologram to keep Lister sane. At the same time, a creature known only as
Cat is the last member on board of
Felis sapiens, a race of humanoid
felines that evolved in the ship's hold from Lister's cat, Frankenstein, and her kittens during the 3 million years that Lister was in stasis. As their journey begins, the not-so-intrepid crew encounters such phenomena as time distortions, faster-than-light travel, mutant diseases and
strange lifeforms that had developed in the intervening millions of years. Initially, Kryten only appeared in
one episode of series two, but by the beginning of series three he had become a
regular character. In series seven, Rimmer departs the crew to take up the role of his alter ego from a parallel universe,
Ace Rimmer, whose name has become a long-standing legend and a legacy passed down from dimension to dimension. Shortly afterwards, the crew found a parallel version of themselves from a universe
in which
Kristine Kochanski, Lister's long-term love interest, had been put into stasis at the time of the leak and so became the last remaining human. A complicated series of events
leaves Kochanski stranded in "our" universe, and she is forced to join the crew. In the process, the entire crew of the ship — including a pre-accident Rimmer — are resurrected, but the
Starbug crew find themselves sentenced to two years in the ship's
brig (at first, for crashing a Starbug and bringing onboard Kryten and Cat as stowaways, but later for using information from the confidential files).
Nine years later, the four "Boys from the Dwarf" are once more the only beings on the ship. Rimmer is again a hologram, Holly is offline, and Lister is mourning Kochanski, lost to him out of an airlock some time previously. A chance to get back to Earth through a dimension warp presents itself, but though it is not quite what it first appears to be, it results in giving Lister new hope when he learns that Kochanski is still alive after all.
Characters and actors
Dave Lister, played by Craig Charles, is a genial Liverpudlian and self-described bum. He was the lowest-ranking crew member on the ship before the accident and has a long-standing desire to return to Earth and start a farm on Fiji (which is under three feet of water following a volcanic eruption), but is left impossibly far away by the accident that renders him the last surviving member of the human race. He deeply enjoys Indian food, especially chicken vindaloo, which is a recurring theme in the series.
His bunk mate Arnold Judas Rimmer Bsc Ssc ("Bronze swimming certificate" and "Silver swimming certificate"), played by Chris Barrie, because he was considered the person most likely to keep Lister sane. From Series III onwards, the timeline of the crew has been adjusted and Rimmer's death is newly attributed to an arbitrary moment in which he hits a cardboard box filled with explosives. During Series VII, Rimmer leaves the dimension shared by his crewmates to become the new Ace Rimmer. Along with the Red Dwarf ship and its crew, Rimmer is resurrected at the start of Series VIII by nanobots. He comes face to face with Death at the end of the series, and is last seen kicking Death in the groin. In the Back to Earth specials, he is once again a hologram.
, Lister, Cat, and Rimmer.]]
The Cat, played by Danny John-Jules,
The ship's computer, Holly (played by Norman Lovett during series I, II, VII and VIII has an IQ of 6,000, although this is severely depleted by the three million years it is left alone after the accident, having developed "computer senility". The change in appearance for series III is explained by Holly having changed his face to resemble that of a computer from a parallel universe "with whom he'd once fallen madly in love".
Kryten, full name Kryten 2X4B-523P (played by Robert Llewellyn from series III onwards,
Kristine Kochanski (originally portrayed by Clare Grogan before Chloë Annett took on the role from series VII) was initially a Red Dwarf navigation officer whom Lister had a crush on (later retroactively altered to be his ex-girlfriend) and whose memory he had cherished ever since.
Concept and commission
The concept for the show was originally developed from the sketch-series
on the BBC Radio 4 show
Son of Cliché in the mid-1980s, written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. Their influences came from movies and television programmes such as
Silent Running (1972),
Alien (1979),
Dark Star (1974) and
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981), The show was lucky to be remounted after an
electrician's
strike partway through rehearsals in early 1987 shut the entire production down (The title sequence was filmed in January 1987). However, after Molina had difficulties with the concept of the series, and of his role in particular, the role was recast and filled by Chris Barrie. Barrie was a professional voice-actor and impressionist who had previously worked with both the writers on
Spitting Image, and with the producers on
Happy Families and
Jasper Carrott productions. Charles described the character as 'pretty cool' and after reading the script he decided he wanted to audition for the part of Dave Lister. Laconic
stand up comedian Norman Lovett, who had originally tried out for the role of Rimmer, was kept in the show as Holly, the senile computer of the titular ship. Grant left in 1995, leaving Naylor to write the final two series with a group of new writers, including Paul Alexander and actor Robert Llewellyn who portrayed the character Kryten.
For the most part, Ed Bye produced and directed the series. He left before series V due to a scheduling clash (he ended up directing a show starring his wife, Ruby Wax) so Juliet May took over as
director. May parted ways with the show halfway through the series for personal and professional reasons and Grant and Naylor took over direction of the series, in
addition to writing and producing. Series VI was directed by Andy de Emmony, and Ed Bye returned to direct series VII and VIII. Series I, II and III were
made by Paul Jackson Productions, with subsequent series produced by the writers' own company Grant Naylor Productions for BBC North. All eight series were broadcast on BBC2. At the beginning of series IV,
production moved from the BBC's Manchester studios to Shepperton.
Theme song & music
The theme tune and incidental music were written and performed by
Howard Goodall, with the distinctive vocals on the closing theme tune courtesy of
Jenna Russell. The first two series used a relatively
sombre theme tune for the opening titles; from series III onwards this switched to an instrumental version of the closing theme. Goodall also wrote music for the show's various songs, including "Tongue Tied", with
lyrics written by Grant and Naylor. Danny John-
Jules (credited as "Cat") re-orchestrated and released "Tongue Tied" in October 1993; it reached #17 on the UK charts.
Remastered
In 1998, on the tenth anniversary of the show's first airing (and between the broadcast of series VII and VIII), the first three series of
Red Dwarf were
remastered and released on
VHS.
The remastering included replacing model shots with computer graphics, cutting certain dialogue and scenes, re-filming Norman Lovett's Holly footage, creating a consistent set of opening titles, replacing music and creating ambient sound effects with a digital master. The remastered series were released in a 4 disc DVD boxset "The Bodysnatcher Collection" in 2007.
Hiatus
Three years elapsed between series VI and VII, partly due to the dissolving of the
Grant and Naylor partnership, but also due to cast and crew working on other projects. When the show returned for its eighth series two years later, it had dropped use of the filmising
process and restored the live audience.
The show received a setback when the BBC rejected proposals for a series IX. Doug Naylor confirmed that the BBC decided not to renew the series as they preferred to work on other things. A short animated Christmas special was, however, made available to mobile phone subscribers.
Red Dwarf: Back to Earth
Red Dwarf: Back to Earth was broadcast over the Easter weekend of 2009, along with a "making of" documentary. A further special title Unplugged had been planned and was described by Craig Charles as "just the four of us - and some chairs - trying to improvise, or rather trying to remember, classic scenes", but this special was cancelled.
The episode is set nine years after the events of "Only the Good...", Kochanski is dead and Holly
is offline due to water damage caused by Lister leaving a tap running. Actress Sophie Winkleman plays a character called Katerina, a resurrected hologram of a Red Dwarf science officer intent on replacing Rimmer.
To achieve a more cinematic atmosphere, Back to Earth was not to be filmed in front of a studio audience. Although this was not the first time this had happened (for instance, series 7 was filmed entirely without a live audience), it was the first time a laughter track was not added for broadcast. It was also the first episode of Red Dwarf to be filmed in High Definition. The DVD includes both the individual episodes and a newly edited "Director's Cut" combining the three episodes into a single feature film.
The future
Doug Naylor stated in an interview with Dave before the broadcast of
Back to Earth that he would like to make another full-length series, but added that "we would have to wait and see" how good or bad the reaction to the new specials would be. He also stated that he would not want to make a series 9 but that he might make a series 10, and explained that this would "make a lot more sense in future". The specials establish that two series focusing on the events leading up to
Back to Earth occurred after series eight; during the fictional ninth series (described within the episode by one fan as "the best series yet"), Kryten informed Lister that Kochanski had died, but within
Back to Earth Lister learned that Kochanski hadn't died at all, leaving open the possibility of Lister's pursuit of Kochanski in future episodes.
Speaking on BBC Radio 2, Craig Charles confirmed that two new series were being produced, and that filming begins in January 2011. Chris Barrie revealed that the new series will be counted as series 10. However, a post on the official Red Dwarf website on June 11, 2010 stated that nothing has been confirmed yet.
Themes
" parodied the 1979
Alien film]]
Red Dwarf was founded on a standard sitcom
trope: namely, a disparate and frequently dysfunctional group of individuals living together in a restricted setting. With the main characters routinely displaying their cowardice, incompetence and laziness, while exchanging insulting and sarcastic dialogue, the series provided a humorous antidote to the fearless and morally upright space explorers typically found in science fiction shows These have included references to the likes of
(1968),
Top Gun (1986),
RoboCop (1987),
Star Wars (1977),
Citizen Kane (1942),
The Wild One (1953),
High Noon (1952),
Rebel Without a Cause (1955),
Easy Rider (1969),
The Terminator (1984) and
Pride and Prejudice (1813).
The writers would even base the whole theme of an episode on a film's plot. The series III episode "Polymorph" references and parodies key moments from Alien (1979), and "" is greatly inspired by Blade Runner (1982). But the series does not limit its themes to movies or television; historical events and figures have also been referenced and even integrated as part of an episode. Religion also plays a part in the series, as a significant factor in the ultimate fate of the Cat race, and the perception of Lister as their "God". Religion is turned on its head as mundane things are shown to acquire deep religious significance. The dispute over the colour of cardboard hats in Lister's fantasy doughnut diner (which has become the Cat version of Paradise) sparks the holy war that almost annihilates the species. The series also makes a literary reference to the Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot in the title for the episode Waiting for God. The episode titled Ouroboros derives its name and theme from the ancient mythological snake by the [[Ouroboros|same
name]].
The series also explores many sci-fi staples such as time-travel paradoxes (grandfather paradox), the question of determinism and free will (on several episodes), the pursuit of happiness in virtual reality
and crucially to the show's premise of Lister being the last human, the near certainty of the human species' extinction some time in the far future.
Aliens do not feature in the series as Rob Grant and Doug Naylor decided very early in the process that they did not want aliens in the show. Instead, the only non-human life forms are Earth descended: either an
evolution of an Earth species, a robotic life form created by humans, or a Genetically Engineered Life Form (GELF), an artificially created creature (most of the enemies within the later series are some variant on
GELFs or Simulants).
Hallmarks
The series developed its own distinct vocabulary. Words and phrases such as
hologramatic [
sic], Dollarpound,
Felis sapiens,
Simulants,
GELF, space
weevil and
Zero Gee Football appear throughout the series, highlighting a development in language, political climate, technology, evolution and culture in the future. The creators also employed a vocabulary of fictional
expletives in order to avoid using potentially offensive words in the show, and to give nuance to futuristic colloquial language. '
Smeg', 'gimboid', 'goit', and variants of 'smeg' such as 'smegging', 'smegger' and 'smeg-head' were used.
Reception and achievements
Mixed reactions
The changes that were made to the series' cast, setting, creative teams and even production values from series to series have meant that opinions differ greatly between fans and critics alike as to the quality of certain series. In the 'Great Red Dwarf
Debate', published in volume 2 issue 3 of the
Red Dwarf Smegazine, science fiction writers Steve Lyons and Joe Nazzaro both argued on the pros and cons of the early series against the later series. Lyons stated
that what the show "once had was a unique balance of sci-fi comedy, which worked magnificently."
Nazarro agreed that "the first two series are very original and very funny", but went on to say that "it wasn't until series III that the show hit its stride." Series VI is regarded as a continuation of the '
Monster of the week' philosophy of series V, which was nevertheless considered to be visually impressive. Discussions revolve around the quality of series VI, seen by viewers as just as good as the earlier series', but has been criticised as a descent into formulaic comedy with an unwelcome change of setting.
The changes seen in series VII were seen as a disappointment; while much slicker and higher-budget in appearance, the shift away from outright sitcom and into something approaching comedy drama was seen as a move in the wrong direction. Furthermore, the attempt to shift back into traditional sitcom format for series VIII was greeted with a response that was similarly lukewarm. There are other critics who feel that series VII and VIII
are no weaker than the earlier series, however, and the topic is the subject of constant fervent debate among the show's fanbase.
Achievements
Although the pilot episode of show gathered over four million viewers, viewing figures dipped in successive episodes and the first series had generally poor ratings. Through to series VI the ratings had steadily increased and peaked at over six million viewers, When the series returned in 1999 it gained the highest audience figures yet — over eight million viewers tuned in for series VIII's opening episode "". In its eight-series history, the series has won numerous awards including the
Royal Television Society Award for special effects, the
British Science Fiction award for Best Dramatic Presentation, as well as an International Emmy. The International Emmy Award achieved was for series VI episode "Gunmen of the Apocalypse", which tied with
Absolutely Fabulous' episode
"Hospital" in the Popular Arts category. The show had also been nominated for the International Emmy Award in 1987, 1989, and 1992. and the series still holds the record for being BBC2's longest running, highest rated sitcom. In 2007 the series was voted 'Best Sci-Fi show of all time' by the readers of
Radio Times magazine. Editor Gill Hudson stated that this result had surprised them as "the show hadn't broadcast any new episodes this century".
Spin-offs and merchandise
The show's logo and characters have appeared on a wide range of merchandise.
Red Dwarf has also been spun off in a variety of different media formats. For instance, the song "Tongue Tied", featured in the "
Parallel Universe" episode of the show, was released in 1993 as a single and became a top 20 UK hit for Danny John Jules (under the name 'The Cat'). And in October 2006 an
Interactive Quiz DVD entitled
Red Dwarf: Beat The Geek was released, hosted by Norman Lovett and Hattie Hayridge, both reprising their roles as Holly.
Novels
Working together under the name "Grant Naylor", the creators of the series collaboratively wrote two novels. The first,
Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, was published in November 1989, and incorporates
plot lines from several episodes of the show's first two series. The second novel,
Better Than Life, followed in October 1990, and is largely based on the second-season episode of the same name. Together,
the two novels provide expanded backstory and development of the series' principal characters and themes. Retaining the show's offbeat sense of humor, the novels share some similarity with Douglas Adams'
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, also a science fiction comedy series.
The authors began work on a sequel to Better than Life, called The Last Human, but Rob Grant was drawn away from Red Dwarf by an interest in other projects. Still
owing Penguin Publishing two more Red Dwarf novels, Grant and Naylor decided to each write an alternate sequel to Better than Life. Two completely different sequels were made as a result,
each presenting a possible version of the story's continuation. Last Human, by Doug Naylor, adds Kochanski to the crew and places more emphasis on the science-fiction and plot elements, while Rob Grant's novel Backwards, is more in keeping with the previous two novels, and borrows more extensively from established television stories. All four novels have been released in audiobook format; the first two read by Chris Barrie, Last Human read by Craig Charles, and Backwards read by author Rob Grant.
In December, 2009, Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers was released in Germany with the title Roter Zwerg (Red Dwarf in German).
Home video releases
For the initial release of the VHS editions, Red Dwarf episodes were separated and two tapes were released for each series, labelled "byte one" and "byte two". These videos were named after the first episode of the three presented on the tape, as was typical with other BBC video releases at the time. However, on occasions the BBC decided to ignore the original running order and use the most popular episodes from the series to maximise sales of the videos. For series V "
Quarantine" and "
Back to Reality" were given top billing on their respective video release. For the second series I VHS release, "
Confidence and Paranoia" was given top billing, even though the original broadcast order was retained. This was due to the leading episode being "Waiting for God" which shared it's name with the title of another comedy show set in a retirement home. Future releases would increasingly observe authenticity with the "original broadcast" context. All eight series were made available on VHS, and three episodes of series VII were also released as special "Xtended" (sic) versions with extra scenes and no
laugh track; the
remastered versions of series I–III were also released individually and in a complete box-set. Finally, two
outtake videos were released,
Smeg Ups in 1994, and its sequel
Smeg Outs in 1995.
The eight series have since been released on DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4, each with a bonus disc of extra material and each release from series III onwards being accompanied by an original documentary about the making of each respective series. Regions 2 and 4 have also seen the release of two Just The Shows, digipack boxsets containing the episodes from series I–IV (Volume 1) and V-VIII (Volume 2) with static menus and no extras. Red Dwarf: The Bodysnatcher Collection, containing the 1997 remastered episodes, as well as new documentaries for series I and II,
was released in 2007. This release showcased a storyboard construction of "Bodysnatcher", an unfinished script from 1987, which was finally completed in 2007 by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor who were working together for the first time since 1993. Despite achieving circulation figures of over 40,000 per month,
Another Red Dwarf magazine was started called Red Dwarf: Better Than Life which is only available through the Red Dwarf Official Fan Club. It features cast interviews and the latest news. Each person gets four issues each year.
U.S. version
A pilot episode for an American version (known as
Red Dwarf USA) was produced through
Universal Studios with the intention of broadcasting on
NBC in 1992. The show essentially followed the same story as
first episode of the original series, using American actors for most of the main roles:
Craig Bierko as Lister,
Chris Eigeman as Rimmer, and
Hinton Battle as Cat. Exceptions to this were Llewellyn, who reprised his role as Kryten, and the British actress
Jane Leeves who played Holly. During filming of the pilot the audience reaction was good and it was felt that the story had been well received. The intention was to shoot a 'promo video' for the show in a small studio described by the writers as 'a garage'. Plot details were included as part of the teaser. It was set in the distant future where
Homo sapienoids - a fearsome flesh machine hybrid race — had taken over the solar system and were wiping out the human race. Spaceships that tried to escape Earth were hunted down until only one remained...
Red Dwarf.
Naylor had scouted Australia to get an idea of locations and finance costs, with pre-production beginning in 2004 and filming planned for 2005.
Roleplaying game
Deep7 LLC released
Red Dwarf - The Roleplaying Game in February 2003 (although the printed copyright is 2002). Based on the series, the game allows its players to portray original characters within the Red Dwarf universe. Player
characters can be human survivors, holograms, evolved house pets (cats, dogs, iguanas, rabbits, rats and mice), various types of mechanoid (Series 4000, Hudzen 10 and Waxdroids in the corebook, Series 3000 in the Extra Bits Book) or GELFs (Kinatawowi and Pleasure GELF in the corebook, "Vindaloovians" in the Extra Bits Book).
A total of three products were released for the game: the core 176-page rulebook, the AI Screen (analogous to the Game Master's Screen used in other roleplaying games, also featuring the "Extra Bits Book" booklet), and the Series Sourcebook. The Series Sourcebook contains plot summaries of each episode of every series as well as game rules for all major and minor characters from each series.
The game has been praised for staying true to the comedic nature of the series, for its entertaining writing, and for the detail to which the background material is explained. However, some
reviewers found the game mechanics to be simplistic and uninspiring compared to other science fiction roleplaying games on the market.
Red Dwarf Night
On 14 February 1998, the night before the tenth anniversary of the show's pilot episode broadcast,
BBC2 devoted an evening of programming to the series, under the banner of
Red Dwarf Night. The evening consisted of a mixture of new and existing material, and was introduced and linked by actor and fan
Patrick Stewart. In addition, a series of special take-offs on BBC2's
idents, featuring the "2" logo falling in love with a
skutter, were used. The night began with
Can't Smeg, Won't Smeg, a spoof of the cookery programme
Can't Cook, Won't Cook, presented by that show's host
Ainsley Harriott who had himself appeared as
a GELF in the series VI episode "". Taking place outside the continuity of the series, two teams (Kryten and Lister versus Rimmer and Cat, although Cat quickly departs to be replaced by alter ego
Duane Dibbley) were challenged to make the best chicken
vindaloo.
After a compilation bloopers show, featuring out-takes, the next programme was Universe Challenge, a spoof of University Challenge. Hosted by original University Challenge presenter Bamber Gascoigne, the show had a team of knowledgeable Dwarf fans compete against a team consisting of Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Robert Llewellyn, Chloe Annett and Danny John Jules.
See also
British sitcom
List of science fiction sitcoms
Britain's Best Sitcom
List of television series that include time travel
Dark Star
Hyperdrive
Quark, a 1970s US SF sitcom with thematic similarities to Red Dwarf
Starhyke
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a similarly groundbreaking BBC TV series in the genre of sci-fi comedy.
Luna, a children's sitcom with a similar dynamic in a dystopic setting.
Notes
References
Red Dwarf Smegazine, (March 1992 - January 1994), Fleetway Editions Ltd, ISSN 0965-5603
Further reading
External links
Red Dwarf classic clips on Youtube uploaded by the BBC
Category:BBC television sitcoms
Category:YTV shows
*
Category:British science fiction television programmes
Category:1980s British television series
Category:1990s British television series
Category:2000s British television series
Category:1988 in British television
Category:1988 British television programme debuts
Category:Space pirates
Category:Comic science fiction
Category:English-language television series
Category:Space adventure series
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