Red Dwarf series 9 (or is it 10?) in 2012 confirmed by Craig Charles

[Saul]

So which Rimmer are we dealing with here? He mentions the Radiation leak killing him and also how he saved Red Dwarf after the season 8 cliffhanger. Is it possible he returned as Ace or took credit for living Rimmer's actions?

[Starkers]

^On the subject of Ace, when he went in the back I did half expect him to come out all Ace Rimmer'y!

[Mr. Adventure]

I agree it wasn't the strongest episode but it was nice to see Rimmer get some redemption and even some pride at becoming a second technician.

[Mark_Nguyen]

I'm guessing somehow they merged the two Rimmers. Mostly though we're expected to just think they're the same character no matter what. Incidentally, if Rimmer's dad wasn't lying (and I think he coulda been), the gardener musta had more fun with the wife, as one of Arnold's brothers had also been played by Chris Barrie. And HE was a super successful guy too.

Decent episode. Overall a good season. It fits - I think that if somehow Red Dwarf had been on for 25 years without a break, its quality would be about what we saw.

Mark

[Cutter John]

Shame about the simulants. They were probably the high point of the episode.

Again, an okay episode. Nothing earthshaking, but it has a few laughs. But man, those must've been the tiniest missiles ever.

[Saul]

Agreed it wasn't the strongest episode, particularly one that had been based off the script for the proposed movie. Anyone a tincy bit disappointed we didn't get a proper explanation to season 8's cliffhanger nor did we hear anything about Kochanski.

As for heroic Rimmer he seems to take on that mantle at the end of the more recent series but is always back to his good ole self at the beginning of the next one.

[Bob The Skutter]

From Doug Naylor on Twitter:

@DougRDNaylor RDX1 depends on high DVD sales, if it doesn't sell + BBCWW don't get money back they may pass on RDX1

[Cutter John]

Winnie The Pooh wrote:

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From Doug Naylor on Twitter:

Ouch, that's harsh. I wonder why RD is different from their other productions?

[Bob The Skutter]

Cutter John wrote:

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Ouch, that's harsh. I wonder why RD is different from their other productions?

Red Dwarf is a Dave production, Dave is owned by UKTV, UKTV is owned by BBC WW and Scripps. So I guess the deal is BBC make the money from UK home video sales.

[Cutter John]

I guess my confusion is that good ratings usually guarantee renewal. Didn't someone say that it was Dave's second highest rated show ever? The BBC or an American cable network couldn't get a contract sent out fast enough.

I've just never seen television work this way.

Anyway, I'd be surprised if it didn't sell well, particularly amongst American Dwarf fans.

[Bob The Skutter]

Cutter John wrote:

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I guess my confusion is that good ratings usually guarantee renewal. Didn't someone say that it was Dave's second highest rated show ever? The BBC or an American cable network couldn't get a contract sent out fast enough.

I've just never seen television work this way.

Anyway, I'd be surprised if it didn't sell well, particularly amongst US FD fans.

Not just Dave's second highest rated show ever, UKTV, across all 10 channels, second highest rated show ever, first being Back to Earth.
It may just be an anomaly with the way UKTV, 50/50 ownership between BBC Worldwide and Scripps, Advertising provided by Channel 4, and BBC Worldwide's profits going back to the BBC.

But it's probably along the lines of the sales of the DVD can't hurt so buy them and give them more reason to renew it. As it's a BBC Worldwide production, and BBC Worldwide produce and sell the DVDs the profit goes directly to them, unlike say Stargate where MGM produce it, Syfy air it and Sony produce the DVDs, so all of the profit goes to the same people.

[Tulin]

A REALLY good season finale!

REALLY enjoyed it!

[Ar-Pharazon]

Why are they dragging the US release till January?

They'd make more money if it came out the same time as the UK release with X-Mas & all.

I mean, I'll still buy it no matter what.

[Guy Gardener]

Different dvd regions means different factories making different packages on polar side of the planet, which means completely different legal remedies and distribution hassles to keep everything above board... Not to mention shear volume.

England wants a couple hundred thousand boxsets... America needs millions.

Meanwhile maybe the American distributors and fabricators need to wait to see if the product is successful in a smaller market?

And the rule of thumb has always been that dvds come out after it's aired on television... unless you're from a ridiculous small tinpot little country still slogging through a first run of the last seasons of Friends.

[Holdfast]

Last episode was very good; I like it when Rimmer gets to act against type and do something mildly heroic. And I liked several other bits about it too. The episode reminded me of Out of Time in many respects, actually.

Overall, I enjoyed this series. Only one or two eps were really good, but several others were entertaining enough and it was nice to see the crew back together. I do think they became progressively more relaxed in their roles as the series progressed.

I'd like an RDXI; fingers crossed! One thing I hope is that they dial down the number of continuity nods and plot homages/riffs on the original series and come up with some really sharp new gags & settings while maintaining consistency with the characters we all know. The nods & riffs in this series helped root it as Red Dwarf, which helped while the actors got back into their respective grooves, but now they're there again, let's see some fresh gags.

Also, I think Red Dwarf is best when it tries to actually tries to make a point, even if it does so in a silly/comedic way. Nearly every episode in Series 1-6 had a moral perspective; and RDX reintroduced this in several episodes (though not all). We need that to continue/be built upon. It anchors the episode in a way that some of series 7-8 lacked.