Topic: Red Dwarf rewatch

[Phil_A]

not to mention the meta-horror of thinking the series is done and after all that journey with these characters and that universe turned out to just be all bollocks,
for about 14 minutes in the middle of Back to Reality

Something I hadn't considered before, is the whole episode a meta-comment on Red Dwarf USA, with the idea the original crew's journey is over and they're about to be replaced with more handsome dopplegangers?

[Mobbd]

I'd say on balance The Inquisitor is my favourite episode of Dwarf.

Yeah, Series V is solid. I'm surprised anyone in this thread doesn't rate it highly to be honest (though it's obviously okay not to). It has the strongest "look" in all of Red Dwarf in my opinion and I agree with the poster who said it took three series for this era of Dwarf to get so good before moving onto something else with VI. It's perfectly baked in other words.

I never understood the cast's not liking Juliet May as the director of Series V. Personal loyalty to Ed Bye I guess (who is great, but didn't do these).

The Inquisitor is in the top 5 episodes for me. It does the existential stuff that has been present in Red Dwarf since "I toast, therefore I am" but put it front and centre stage. "I've given pleasure to the world because I has such a beautiful ass!" is great. Cat's true belief in himself saves him, versus Kryten's selflessness and Lister's good-heartedness being what gets them wiped. That's dark and hilarious.

[Mobbd]

Fun fact: the VHS upon which I had taped Series 5 was so fuzzy and worn down I couldn't make out a word The Inquisitor says. Didn't really help the episode.

Your deployment of 'fun fact' suggests that you think this anecdote is dull, but I really like hearing things like this! Micro-adventures in VHS.

My own adventure in recording Red Dwarf off the telly includes completely missing Terrorform and Psirens. Disastrous.

With Terrorform, we went on a family holiday for two weeks and I could only set the VCR at home to record one of the episodes while we were away. I was furious. Fucking holidays. What's the point?

With Psirens, I was convinced that it hadn't aired and assumed it would eventually be broadcast out of sequence, only accepting that I'd missed it like an idiot when the words "Out of Time" appeared on the screen.

[petrilTanaka]

Something I hadn't considered before, is the whole episode a meta-comment on Red Dwarf USA, with the idea the original crew's journey is over and they're about to be replaced with more handsome dopplegangers?

yeah. watching BtR and another Series V episode have made me realise something that's really fucking accidental_genius about that episode, but I'm going to keep it until we get to the end of the series. feels weird spoiling ancient telly, but it's in a watchalong thread so y'know, keeping it kayfabe. It'll work better when we're all talking about it kneeling, voter

[Phil_A]

Your deployment of 'fun fact' suggests that you think this anecdote is dull, but I really like hearing things like this! Micro-adventures in VHS.

My own adventure in recording Red Dwarf off the telly includes completely missing Terrorform and Psirens. Disastrous.

With Terrorform, we went on a family holiday for two weeks and I could only set the VCR at home to record one of the episodes while we were away. I was furious. Fucking holidays. What's the point?

With Psirens, I was convinced that it hadn't aired and assumed it would eventually be broadcast out of sequence, only accepting that I'd missed it like an idiot when the words "Out of Time" appeared on the screen.

Actually that's triggered a vague memory, wasn't Psirens missed from the repeat run or am I imagining that? The thing was we taped all of Season 6 at the time and played to death, all except that episode. And I can't figure why we would've missed that one otherwise.

[thr0b]

Psirens was missed from a repeat run during Charles' court trial, and when it was eventually repeated, the line "jailbait ball girl" was hacked out quite badly.

[Evian Mousemat]

Psirens was missed from a repeat run during Charles' court trial, and when it was eventually repeated, the line "jailbait ball girl" was hacked out quite badly.

That's from Gunmen of the Apocalypse, not Psirens. I've got a vague recollection of Psirens being missed from a run of repeats as well, but I can't remember why.

[Lemming]

Had no idea there was a new director for Series 5, but it makes sense. The Inquisitor was expertly directed all-around, I don't think there's been anything quite like that before in the series. Definitely more action/horror direction than comedy direction, which helps with the series' feel.

EDIT: Just realised this reads like I'm shitting on Ed Bye. Quite the opposite, his work is consistently great (the mastermind behind the pan up to Richie screaming after being crushed by the table in Bottom's "Culture"), but Series 5 definitely benefits from the switch in style.

[Replies From View]

With Psirens, I was convinced that it hadn't aired and assumed it would eventually be broadcast out of sequence, only accepting that I'd missed it like an idiot when the words "Out of Time" appeared on the screen.

Fun Fact:  the 1994 repeats of series 1-6 actually missed out Psirens for reasons I forget.

That is to say, I recorded all of series 1-6 during the 1994 repeats, and series 6 lacks Psirens.  Like you, I assumed it would appear out of sequence but it never came.


So there!

[Replies From View]

Once again I was replying before reading all the responses...

Psirens was missed from a repeat run during Charles' court trial, and when it was eventually repeated, the line "jailbait ball girl" was hacked out quite badly.

[JamesTC]

Juliet May's direction is wonderful. The location stuff in Back to Reality was directed by her and it is the best the show has ever looked. A shame things didn't work out.

All that being said, they did have to reshoot much of Demons & Angels and The Inquisitor. May didn't get the support from either the cast or the production that a young director with little experience of sci-fi needed.

[JamesTC]

Your deployment of 'fun fact' suggests that you think this anecdote is dull, but I really like hearing things like this! Micro-adventures in VHS.

My own adventure in recording Red Dwarf off the telly includes completely missing Terrorform and Psirens. Disastrous.

With Terrorform, we went on a family holiday for two weeks and I could only set the VCR at home to record one of the episodes while we were away. I was furious. Fucking holidays. What's the point?

Terrorform is probably the one you would have wanted to record despite being the worst of Series V. It has had music replaced in every subsequent airing and official release for Kryten's hold music. Original is here. It still sounds weird to me on DVD/BR as I'm so used to the original from watching the off-air VHS as a kid.

I watched the off-air tapes so much that the brief clip of 1992 Top Gear and adverts for Match of the Day and a repeat run of Addams Family are burned in my head. I've managed to find the Top Gear and Addams Family continuity. It also made me think that Quantum Leap was a show about a time travelling biker due to a brief clip showing Sam leaping on a bike.

My Dad taped all the episodes for me and he managed to tape over Blue with Beyond a Joke. The episode became quite mythical in my head as it took me a good three or four years before I'd see it again.

[johnlogan]

All this talk of off-air taping reminds me of my own experience. For whatever reason, my dad taped all of Season 1, 2 and a half episodes of Season 2, none of Season 3, 3 and a half episodes of Season 4 (out of sequence as well? Aside from my dad's sloppy taping, does anyoneknow why that would be?), all of Season 5, but none of Season 6 (although I am just old enough to remember seeing that as it aired).

This meant that, when I started watching repeats myself years later on UKG2, I'd built up all those missing episodes from Seasons 2-4 quite a bit, so Season 3 is always tinged with disappointment for me, even though it's entirety solid.

I'm not fond of Season 6 at all, despite liking it in 1993, and the ending feeling like a lot to take as a 5 year old. Then again, it won't be long before it's properly being discussed, so I'll hold my tongue.

[Replies From View]

I recall series 4 did repeat out of sequence, but I can’t remember why.  I also have a more recent memory of looking at the video box for my off-air recording and thinking “this isn’t the right order”.

The genome website will help us find the order that episodes were repeated.

[JamesTC]

I remember watching Dimension Jump and Meltdown loads as a kid but I can't remember if that was because it was from an off-air repeat run which put them first or if I just rewound the tape back for those two episodes.

[the]

The genome website will help us find the order that episodes were repeated.

This should give everything in date order:

      https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=asc&q=%22red+dwarf%22#search

[petrilTanaka]

the original order of 4 was changed late on to avoid clashing with the Gulf War so much iirc

probably why the repeat runs might have been inconsistent

[Bad Ambassador]

Dimension Jump and Meltdown were supposed to be earlier in the season, but the aforementioned conflict changed the run, with Camille being promoted as a "romantic" episode airing on Valentine's Day.

[idunnosomename]

I started recording series 7 and gave up partway though. though def did use it to learn the Rimmer song. It impressed everyone at school.


.... in the staff room!!!!!!

[Perplexicon]

Aside from homemade tapes, did anyone else have the adventure of trying to get hold of the entire set of VHS tapes? I tried to do this in the years between Series 6 and 7, after becoming completely fascinated by it after seeing a few random episodes my dad had taped and watching Series 6 air on the actual telly. Every half-series tape you could track down was golddust - both Series 6 tapes were readily available, the Camile half of Series 4 and the first 3 episodes of Series 1 a little rarer, but trying to get hold of any others (aside from the outtakes ones) from WH Smiths was nigh impossible. I never actually ended up seeing most of Series 5 until the DVDs came around, and Series 2 was a complete unknown until the Remastered VHS tapes came out.

It felt like an eternity before Series 7 was broadcast, and even my 12-year-old self knew it had gone a bit shit somehow. I guess it was the same disappointment people felt when they saw The Phantom Menace for the first time.

[JamesTC]

Aside from homemade tapes, did anyone else have the adventure of trying to get hold of the entire set of VHS tapes? I tried to do this in the years between Series 6 and 7, after becoming completely fascinated by it after seeing a few random episodes my dad had taped and watching Series 6 air on the actual telly. Every half-series tape you could track down was golddust - both Series 6 tapes were readily available, the Camile half of Series 4 and the first 3 episodes of Series 1 a little rarer, but trying to get hold of any others (aside from the outtakes ones) from WH Smiths was nigh impossible. I never actually ended up seeing most of Series 5 until the DVDs came around, and Series 2 was a complete unknown until the Remastered VHS tapes came out.

I got the Remastered I and II first. It wasn't until the DVD that I saw the original. Funnily enough when I put the disc in and the CGI menu comes up, my Dad started complaining about them messing about with it again before I pointed out that it was just the DVD menu.

The VHS range was so lovely that they were the only ones I kept. Still got them in pride of place on the shelf.

[thr0b]

I had all of the tapes. For a while S1 and S5 were the most easily obtained, followed by S3 and S6.

You being 12 when 7 came out - I suspect this is part of it. By that point, most of the stock left would be existing stock, rather than new-release. So you're left with what's left.

[Billy]

Part 1 of non-remastered Series 2 was at my local video shop back in 1997 and I rented it all the time, along with part 1 of Series 3 (and possibly part 2 as well) - never knew it was so rare as if I ever wanted to watch it I’d just walk five minutes from my house and pay 50p.

My first defining memory of watching a RD episode is Tikka to Ride, but I knew who they were by then thanks to some hazy nursery school memories of either Series 5 or 6 being on the telly and a Comic Relief/Children in Need sketch from about 1993. After 7 aired I bought the Smeg Ups tape which was my proper introduction to 4-6.

[JamesTC]

That reminds me, the Smeg Outs tape was my introduction to Series I and II.

[BeardFaceMan]

I think I had the classic Red Dwarf fans collection of VHS tapes, 15 of them. Series 1-6, series 7 extended and smeg ups and smeg outs. Started getting them as they came out from Britannica, I think, or whatever it was, those chaps who used to make you buy an over-priced CD or video every month after you bought the first one for a penny.

[Replies From View]

I got the Remastered I and II first. It wasn't until the DVD that I saw the original. Funnily enough when I put the disc in and the CGI menu comes up, my Dad started complaining about them messing about with it again before I pointed out that it was just the DVD menu.

The VHS range was so lovely that they were the only ones I kept. Still got them in pride of place on the shelf.

Hmm you seem to have a red pencil blocking the original tapes of series 5, for some reason.

[JamesTC]

Hmm you seem to have a red pencil blocking the original tapes of series 5, for some reason.

Say what you like about the CGI pencil but the original model that they ended up being unable to use for Remastered/VIII was absolutely gorgeous.

[Replies From View]

Say what you like about the CGI pencil but the original model that they ended up being unable to use for Remastered/VIII was absolutely gorgeous.

They adapted it for the Dave years into a version that I prefer.

[JamesTC]

They adapted it for the Dave years into a version that I prefer.

The Dave version is fine but feels a bit lopsided due to them literally just chopping out the middle of the huge model. I liked the Back to Earth CG model that was a nice in-between the original and the Remastered version.

I wonder what they would have done for the US version.

[Replies From View]

I don't feel like it's especially lopsided, but I do think the windows have ended up being too large on the shrunken model.  The CG one used for Back to Earth was very low-resolution and kept at a difference from the camera.  Apart from that how does it differ from the physical one used thereafter?

My favourite version of the ship is the original pre-remastered series 1-5 ship (although I know they used a different model for series 5, I don't think the difference is significant).  I think one of the characters remarks that the ship is 5 miles long, and the first book describes it as 5 miles long, 4 miles high and 3 miles wide.  I love that sense of vastness.

Problem is the dialogue doesn't change in the remastered version, so when they say "5 miles long" they are indicating that the ship must be narrower, rather than longer as they were intending.  Maybe a third of a mile high or something.  It's a lot less impactful.  The size of the windows communicates this too.

So the Dave-era model chopped out the middle part of the massive pencil, and comparing the size of the windows on the outside with the inside communicates a substantially smaller ship.  It fails to illustrate the huge mass of the original.

Other than that, though, I think it looks great.