Gateway "Red Dwarf"?

[The Borgified Corpse]

For years now, I've been trying to get my best friend into Red Dwarf. It's long been one of my favorite TV shows. My friend is a huge sci-fi fan (with Doctor Who & Star Wars as his primary addictions) and a mild British comedy fan (mostly Rowan Atkinson & Coupling). Last night, I was finally able to get him to try the show...

...I think I blew it...

He barely even chuckled the whole time. I'm hoping that this is because the episode we watched was "The End." While I'm a huge fan of Series I, I know that it's often regarded as one of the weaker seasons by a larger segment of Red Dwarf fandom. While I like the early episodes where it's just these 4 guys trying to stave off boredom, perhaps he would be an easier sell on one of the more adventurous episodes.

I figure I've only got one more shot at this--if that--to make him a convert. We must choose carefully. I've chosen some of my favorite episodes from Series II-VII as possibilities (although I'm somewhat amenable to write-ins). Which episode do you think would be most likely to convert him, make him laugh, and make him open to further Red Dwarf?

 

[Reverend]

Tough call, but I say go with 'White Hole'. It has plenty of genuinely funny gags, a good and suitably silly sci-fi concept and a good showing from all the main characters, including Holly and even Talkie Toaster.

I imagine 'Quarantine' and 'Gunmen of the Apocalypse' are probably going to be the forerunners in the vote, but I'd contend that they're more the sort of shows that are better watched after one is familiar with the characters. The same goes for 'Parallel Universe', 'Polymorph' or anything else that deals with alternate versions or planets full of Rimmer clones or moulded by his psyche.

For what it's worth, the first episode I ever caught back when it was on telly was 'The Inquisitor' and even that was about half way through when I happened to flick over, so the latter half alone was enough to get me hooked way back when.

'Camille' may bit spring to mind as one of the better episodes, but it dose open with one of the more memorable comedic scenes ("smee hee") so that alone might warrant giving it a try. Whatever you decide, don't start him with 'Tikka to Ride'!

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

"White Hole" is kinda where I was leaning. What finally made me decide to clamp down and try to get him to watch some Red Dwarf finally was last weekend when I wanted to make a joke about the whole non-linear "What is it?" conversation. But then I realized that--despite being in a room filled to the brim with sci-fi geeks & Doctor Who addicts in the midst of filming a comedic zombie movie--no one else had ever seen Red Dwarf.

I'm definately aware of trying to avoid episodes that focus more on established character traits. That's why my poll doesn't include the overrated fan favorite "Back to Reality."

I'm still tempted by "Polymorph" because of Lister's shrinking boxers & C.L.I.T.O.R.I.S.

"Parallel Universe" might work because it's less about the characters specifically and more of an exploration of the double standards our culture has with women.

I'll admit "Queeg" is a purely selfish choice. It's the 1st episode I ever saw. Plus, I love Holly and this is probably the biggest Holly episode they ever did.

"Tikka to Ride" doesn't have a whole lot of good gags but I thought I'd throw it in there because the plot is so damn ingenious!

 

[Reverend]

"Parallel Universe" might work because it's less about the characters specifically and more of an exploration of the double standards our culture has with women.

...which is what made it so terribly unfunny. That shtick wore thin pretty fast. The only thing worthwhile in that episode was, of course, Hilly.

 

[Kibbin]

See I'd actually say Tikka, not perhaps the best episode, but a good intro to the characters, a light sci-fi plot.

 

[firehawk12]

I really like Holoship because it's both funny but also "serious". A lot of the episodes do this, but I think this is the best of those episodes.

Of course, if you don't know that Rimmer is a bastard, the payoff at the end of the episode doesn't really have as much impact as it should...

 

[Deckerd]

I don't know why you're bothering. You either get RD or you don't. Trying to force the issue won't work.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I don't know why you're bothering. You either get RD or you don't. Trying to force the issue won't work.

Agreed. The same for British humour in general.

The End is necessary in my opinion, it sets everything else up in a way, not that there's much in the way of continuity in RD.

Very rarely do you need to see episodes in strict order.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Backwards - first episode of the second era (Kryten, female Holly, SF comedy rather than domestic odd-couple sitcom with SF trappings)

 

[FordSVT]

My wife likes Faulty Towers, Blackadder, Ab Fab, Mr. Bean, Top Gear and Doctor Who. She even likes some Python. She has enjoyed 90% of the sci-fi/fantasy I've thrown at her, from DS9 to B5 and back. She just can't stand Red Dwarf, can't make it through an entire episode. I've tried about a half dozen times, she thinks it looks cheap, isn't funny, and she can't stand the characters. She doesn't even like Kryten, and she's usually the first to latch onto the peculiar/charming secondary characters like Data.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

See I'd actually say Tikka, not perhaps the best episode, but a good intro to the characters, a light sci-fi plot.

Yeah. And thinking about it some more, that episode would be a perfect introduction for someone with a really dark, irreverent sense of humor. I'm that way, but really very few of my friends are. One of the best moments is when Oswald gets pulled out the window.
"Why is everyone gathered around that giant pizza."
"That is not a giant pizza, sir."
"It's nearly 8' across. You don't think that's giant? Where have you been getting your pizzas? The Fat Bastardaria?"

One of my hard core Dwarfer friends suggested starting with "Meltdown." I think that one has a very strong case. Rimmer ordering Gandhi to do push-ups is a priceless image. Plus, there's the famous scene with Lister & Cat in the prison cell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_3oXfgB35E

The End is necessary in my opinion, it sets everything else up in a way, not that there's much in the way of continuity in RD.

I don't know that that's strictly the case. I think very few Dwarfers were there from the beginning. You've got lots of fans like Reverend who started with Series V. I personally started with catching little bits of "Balance of Power" & "Me^2" on PBS before finally sitting down and watching "Queeg" all the way through. And frankly, while I'm a big Series I fan, it seems like Doug Naylor is embarassed by it. He even tried to discourage the BBC from rerunning it.

Very rarely do you need to see episodes in strict order.

True dat. In fact, IIRC, the episodes of Series IV & V were originally going to be in a completely different order. Series IV was originally going to open with "Meltdown" & end with Kryten still being human in "DNA." But then the Gulf War happened and the BBC thought that airing any war-themed episodes would be too controversial. So they delayed the airings of "Meltdown" because of its anti-war message & "Dimension Jump" because it was felt that some of Ace Rimmer's heroics might be construed as jingoistic. In Series V, they decided to move "Back to Reality" from the beginning to the end because they thought the alternate reality might be more believable if it were the season (and possibly series) finale.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ As someone who only saw 1 or 2 eps on PBS from the next state (Chicago's station never ran it AFAIK), and now having the DVD's, I just feel that The End is necessary so one knows how they got where they did.

I like Series I as much as any of the other seasons, and actually don't hate VII & VIII like a lot of people seem to. I pretty much like the whole run and even Back To Earth, as derivative as it was of Back To Reality. Sure some parts are better than others, but what show is 100% perfect?

Like I said in other threads, bad Red Dwarf is better then the best of some crap that's been churned out.

Is filming on Series X still set to start in Jan.2011?

 

[HappyDayRiot]

Well the first episode I saw, and got hooked by, was Stoke Me a Clipper, so take my suggestion of Backwards with a pinch of salt.

I utterly reject the idea that Back to Reality is overrated though. Honestly. The very idea.

 

[Pingfah]

If he wasn't hooked from the word go then just forget it, he'll never get it.

 

[TheGodBen]

Back to Earth is the obvious choice to hook someone, it's astoundingly hilarious and doesn't require knowledge of the series.


()

If he wasn't hooked from the word go then just forget it, he'll never get it.

That's not really true, Red Dwarf is a very different show in Series I and II than it is in III-VI, it started out as a character comedy with some mild sci-fi plots, but it became an over-the-top sci-fi extravaganza. Some fans of the show don't even like series I and II.

White Hole is probably the best choice for this. There are better episodes, but as has been said, they require better understanding of the characters.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

^ As someone who only saw 1 or 2 eps on PBS from the next state (Chicago's station never ran it AFAIK), and now having the DVD's, I just feel that The End is necessary so one knows how they got where they did.

I wish that subsequent seasons did what Series I & II did with Holly recapping the premise of the series at the beginning of each episode. Plus, I always loved the additional bits at the end. "We have been traveling for 3 million years and there is much we have learned. The highest form of life in the universe is man and the lowest is a man who works for the post office."

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ "I have an IQ of 6000, which is the same as 6000 PE teachers"

 

[Australis]

I agree with lonemagpie's suggestion, Backwards, for the same reasons. He's seen The End, so he knows the setup, and Backwards is a mini reboot.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^ "I have an IQ of 6000, which is the same as 6000 PE teachers"

"I have an IQ of 6000 the same IQ as 12,000 car park attendants"

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Holly: "....I'm not a combination of the speaking clock, moss bross and teasy weasy"
Rimmer: "....when I say do something, you do it. Understand, you stupid jupped-up file-a-fax?"
Holly: "I'm a what?"
Rimmer: "You heard"