All things RED Dwarf

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Toril Toran, Sep 28, 2022.

  1. The Knappos

    The Knappos Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Yeah. You don’t want to sit behind them in a cinema, nor be around when one is giving a speech
     
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  2. Malicia

    Malicia Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Who did Frankenstein mate with while in the hold to create a colony of cats that Cat descends from and how did they die out but Cat survives? There must have been a civilisation for Cat to mention he learned about his religion at kitty school.
     
  3. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

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    She was pregnant in the first episode, but I think they made a mistake showing Franky as a kitten in series 7. That leads to your question of how did she get pregnant on the ship.

    As far as the civilization, they had a holy war and then two groups (blue hats and res hats) left the ship. Only Cat and the priest were still alive by the time Lister came out of stasis.
     
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  4. Malicia

    Malicia Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    @Ar-Pharazon thanks! I had forgotten Frankenstein is pregnant when Lister buys her her during planet leave on Titan. Was it Titan? I need to start a new Red Dwarf marathon. Are there books that go in to more detail about Cats ancestory?

    The outtakes of Lister and Frankenstein are the best because the cat keeps running off when Craig opens the door to the cage so they had to keep resetting.
     
  5. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

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    He said "big black tom on Titan" once, but Franky's clearly not a tom. As for novels, I know there's a few but I've never owned any of them.

    And then again, in series 7, in Ouroboros, they flashback to Kochanski finding a kitten Frankenstein and threatening to disintegrate her, but that might be an alternate universe scene, so maybe there's no conflict at all.
     
  6. The Knappos

    The Knappos Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    My Dad was a jelly brain?!

    Of course! Why do you think he ate his own feet?

    I did wonder…
     
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  7. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    There could be more information in the last series they made so far, because... Spoilers.
     
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  8. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    So I've been getting into Red dwarf, just finished Series 3, so I thought I'd post some thoughts.

    I have tried in the past to get into the show, but never got past episode 1. This time, I decided to power through it, and Episode 2 (Future Echoes) was an instant hit for me, and even after having watched through Series 3 its probably my favorite episode. Since then there hasn't been a single episode that I have actively disliked, although a few have been forgettable or just a bit bland. I'll usually get at least a few chuckles and a decent story in every episode, although I have to specifically mention Backwards and Timeslides both making me legitimately laugh out loud really hard (with Backwards it was the Cat joke at the end, and with Timeslides it was the WWII/Hitler jokes).

    I like all the main characters, although it took me a while to warm up to Lister. He's the element I most hated about the first episode, but he ended up becoming a bit less obnoxious as the Series has continued to the point where I do like him, but he is probably still my least favorite of the cast. Cat is by far my favorite character, even in Series 1 when he pretty much just danced through the ship being really loud and mostly making obvious "person acting like a cat" jokes. He hasn't really gotten much more complex, but his interactions/relationships with the other characters has definitely got a bit more complex and lead to more varied jokes. Rimmer is just funny, at times I feel a lot of sympathy for what he has to put up with, but he always shows that he can be just as big a jerk as any of the characters. Kryten was a great addition to the cast, he added a fun new dynamic and they've used him well so far. As for Holly, I like both versions equally (I've read that some people really don't like the female Holly, but I like both of them and their differences).

    So far every Series has been better then the last (even if my favorite episode has stayed the same), and I hope that continues. I have done a really good job about not being spoiled about the show (I did know that Kryten would be a main cast member eventually just from seeing pictures and stuff about Red dwarf over the years, but thats pretty much it), but I do know that Series 1-6 seem to be considered the prime era of the show. It will be interesting to see how that turns out, although I intend to watch all of it. I'm very glad I got past the first episode because since then I've been having a great time watching it. Hopefully the good times continue.
     
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  9. The Knappos

    The Knappos Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Hey! You monkeys eat off the floor? Ain’t you got no style or sophistication?!
     
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  10. Malicia

    Malicia Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Our faces have been smeared with jam and we’re about to be eaten alive by killer ants.
     
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  11. Toril Toran

    Toril Toran Commander Red Shirt

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    Sep 12, 2022
    So what is it?

    (White Hole)
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2023
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  12. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

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  13. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I've finished through Season 7 now. Theres been some great stuff, some "meh" stuff, and some stuff that just makes you question the writer's sanity. I've read that Series 1-6 are considered the "Golden Age"/the show's prime, and I can understand that, especially after having suffered through Series 7. Some random lists/thoughts about the show so far:

    My favorite Episode per Series:
    S1 Ep 02 - Future Echoes (Also my favorite episode overall, as of now)
    S2 Ep 03 - Thanks for the Memory
    S3 Ep 05 - Timeslides
    S4 Ep 05 - Dimension Jump
    S5 Ep 04 - Quarantine
    S6 Ep 05 - Rimmerworld
    S7 Ep 01 - Tikka to Ride

    Honorable Mention:
    S3 Ep 01 - Backwards (a decent episode in general, but the end joke with Cat is probably my favorite single joke in the entire show and so worth an honorable mention)

    Worst Episode: S7 Ep04 Duct Soup (With an honorable mention to the Red Dwarf USA pilot)

    Main Characters Ranking:

    1. Kryten (Except Series 7, where he'd be lower because of how whiny he gets)
    2. Cat
    3. Holly (Hattie)
    4. Rimmer
    5. Lister
    6. Holly (Original Version)
    7. Kristine Kochanski

    The funny thing with the characters is, Series VII treated Kryten poorly, Cat hasn't done basically anything except give one liners and fly the ship since series VI and my favorite version of Holly is gone forever, but they're still my Top 3 favorite characters just based on the pre-Series VI episodes. Also I don't dislike any character, even Kristine Kochanski, but every list has to have people at the bottom.

    Series Ranking (Of the ones I've seen so far):
    1. Series III
    2. Series II
    3. Series I
    4. Series IV
    5. Series V
    6. Series VI
    7. Series VII (the only outright bad series so far)

    Overall I'm still enjoying the show a good deal. Series 7 was bad, though. It was generally poorly written, not funny, and the character of Kristine Kochanski is not good. Its not the actresses fault, but the writer(s) just are not making her compelling, and they are actively making my favorite character, Kryten, worse because of his antagonistic relationship with her (although Kryten killing Jane Austin characters is probably my favorite stuff in series VII).

    I know Series VIII and BTE are also considered rough, but I'm attached enough to the show at this point to power through them.
     
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  14. The Knappos

    The Knappos Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    We found something. I think it's one of the crew. A hideously malformed triple-headed skeleton with putrified flesh hanging from it. It fell through RIMMER as we opened the lift door.

    Is he all right?

    I believe he's just discovered what shirt-tails are for.

    Alright, Kryten, you don't have to make me sound like a complete cowardly gimboid git. I'm fine now.

    So, shall I cancel the order to find your mother?
     
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  15. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

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    I've always liked series' IV and VI the best, followed by the rest of the I-VI era. Everything else, like @kirk55555 says, has it's ups and downs, but there's still good episodes there. Series 10-12 picked back up pretty well.

    DNA, White Hole, Psirens, Legion and Quarantine are my top 5 eps.
    RD Mutton Vindaloo Beast 1a.jpeg
     
  16. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I just finished Series VIII "Back in the Red", and I had to post about it. This was just inexcusable. Besides just being awful, a terrible idea for an episode (much less a series) and without one single joke that works, the prison set up is just terrible. I don't think I can take a whole series of them in prison, one story (aka three episodes) into Series VIII and I already think its going to break me.

    Edit: Also, if Red Dwarf has always had a prison, why was Lister stuck in stasis as a punishment in the pilot? You could argue that the prison was added by the nanobots when they upgraded the Red Dwarf to (apparently) its original design before budget cuts (I think that was the explanation for the redesign), but then what were all the prisoners doing on the original ship that definitely didn't have a secret prison? The writing is just complete trash.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2023
  17. The Knappos

    The Knappos Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Meh. It’s a ship that’s 5 miles long and where elevator journeys are so long they come with an in-flight meal. I can believe the ship’s big enough to house a prison holding facility that we didn’t see in I - VII because, as you say, it’s a secret one.

    Back in the Red is bad for sure and shouldn’t have been three episodes, though. I agree with you there.

    The rest of series VIII may not be for you but I’d give them a go. Except Pete. Give Pete a miss.
     
  18. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Cassandra ended up being alright, not the best episode ever but a mostly solid one. Krytie TV is the first episode of Red Dwarf that I've literally just turned off partway through. What a gross pile of crap. Its pretty obvious at this point that Rob Grant was essential to Red Dwarf, and Doug Naylor is becoming increasingly worse as a mostly solo writer.

    I've read that Series X and later at least get back to being ok so I'll continue to power through Series VIII and then BTE, but Red Dwarf feels like a show that has a very obvious drop off point quality wise, and the reason for that doesn't seem very hard to work out.
     
  19. Paul Weaver

    Paul Weaver Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    You don't need to watch S8 or BTE to enjoy season X-XII. There's one line about the season 8 cliffhanger, but that's about it.
     
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  20. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    IIRC, the version of Red Dwarf from the first seven seasons was drastically reduced in size, due to Jupiter Mining Corporation budget cuts. When the nanobots reconstructed the ship, they rebuilt it to full, original factory specs. So that's why it had a prison in Series 8 but no earlier.