Watching Red Dwarf for the First Time

[Snaploud]

I've been watching Red Dwarf for the first time (using Netflix Instant Streaming). I've made my way through to series seven episode 6.

I love the earlier seasons, but I'm really beginning to loathe season seven. Kochanski is a poor substitute for Rimmer, and I hate the way Kryten has been whining every episode.

What are your favorite seasons? I preferred the earliest seasons (more comedy, less drama or monster-of-the-week). Feel free to talk about spoilers as I've already read general descriptions of future seasons.

 

[Miss Chicken]

It has been quite a while since I watched Red Dwarf. I keep telling my son I am going to start buying the early seasons but I still haven't got around to doing it.

If I remember correctly I liked the first four seasons the most. Like you I disliked Kochanski (in fact I hated the character).

One of my former neighbours was so like Dave Lister it was uncanny especially as my neighbour was also called Dave.

As an American, Snaploud, are there many cultural reference In Red Dwarf that you don't understand?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I think the first 2 series are my favourites. There are some excellent ones later but those first 2 seem to have the right mix of sci-fi concepts and comedy, later it falters a bit getting the mix right.

I think you've hit on the general problem people have with series 7, I think series 8 improves somewhat but it never gets back to being as good as earlier series. Back To Earth has moments but it's not really that good. There are apparently 2 more series in development right now, and since it's Red Dwarf I will no doubt watch, but I'm not holding out much hope.

 

[Pingfah]

First 2 series definitely.

Kryten took it from being a pretty sad and lonely comedy to being a slapstick show. Not that I don't like series 3 to 6, but I enjoy the tone of the first 2 a lot more.

 

[the skullcowboy]

I have to agree about the addition of Chloe to replace a departing Chris but season 7 does have some great moments, the majority of fans feel that season 6 had the best writing and I think I agree as a whole it was the best , however each season has great shows, even season 8 with the dinosaur and capt explaining the events to lister and rimmer. Back to Earth was not very good, however based on ratings its given new life to the series and perhaps now that he is working again Danny John-JUles will stop chasing garbage men with knives....

 

[CommanderRaytas]

I hated it when Rimmer left and Kochansky (spelling?) came around, but he returns, more or less. The last series is pretty cool again, at least imo. It's silly, but fun, just like it was in the beginning.

 

[Pingfah]

There are apparently 2 more series in development right now, and since it's Red Dwarf I will no doubt watch, but I'm not holding out much hope.

Despite cast comments that filming may start in the new year, nobody has been contacted even to find out any sort of availability. I think, if they happen, these new series are still a long way off.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

There are apparently 2 more series in development right now, and since it's Red Dwarf I will no doubt watch, but I'm not holding out much hope.

Despite cast comments that filming may start in the new year, nobody has been contacted even to find out any sort of availability. I think, if they happen, these new series are still a long way off.

It appears Doug Naylor hasn't even got proper confirmation even though Dave keep saying it's a done deal.

 

[the skullcowboy]

well whenever one needs a Rimmer fix and there is no red dwarf in sight...you can always turn to " The Brittas Empire " lol essentially the same character

 

[Myasishchev]

There's a slight decline in quality in the later series, yeah. I didn't hate Kochanski, but indeed she is no Rimmer.

I very recently watched Back to Earth. It's okay, and actually could have been really good, if it weren't for the eventually-tedious riffs on Blade Runner, and if it weren't, essentially, the exact same plot as that episode where they "discover" Red Dwarf was a video game.

That said, "I'm pretty cool. I don't take any smeg, and even though I'm disgusting, I can be quite brave" is as good a two sentence summary of Dave Lister, or Red Dwarf the show, as you're ever going to find. Hell, I want that on my tombstone.

 

[Mr Light]

1-2: cheap, boring, occasionally depressing, occasionally funny
3-6: the golden years. funny as hell and a sci-fi adventure show.
7: so terrible. No Rimmer. no action. no funny. Kochanski is horrible.
8: the funniest year. I really liked the new premise.
Back to Earth: just, horrible. horrible.

 

[Pingfah]

I very recently watched Back to Earth. It's okay, and actually could have been really good, if it weren't for the eventually-tedious riffs on Blade Runner, and if it weren't, essentially, the exact same plot as that episode where they "discover" Red Dwarf was a video game.

And if it weren't for the fact that there was barely a good chuckle in the entire script.

 

[Myasishchev]

Nah, I thought there were some pretty good jokes.

 

[Christopher]

1-2: cheap, boring, occasionally depressing, occasionally funny
3-6: the golden years. funny as hell and a sci-fi adventure show.
7: so terrible. No Rimmer. no action. no funny. Kochanski is horrible.
8: the funniest year. I really liked the new premise.
Back to Earth: just, horrible. horrible.

I mostly agree with this, with some differences. I didn't think series 1-2 were that bad, although they're definitely not the best. I agree completely with your description of series 3-6. As for 7, it was definitely a step down, but I didn't mind Kochanski; it was refreshing to have a female presence on the show at last. As for 8, I didn't care for it. As you said, the great thing about "the golden years" is that it wasn't just a sitcom dressed up with sci-fi trappings, it was an actual science fiction series that was funny. But the post-Rob Grant seasons fell back more into being just a sitcom that happened to be in space.

As for Back to Earth, I haven't seen it and I haven't felt compelled to seek it out. (Indeed, since I'm in the US and I'd only be willing to see it through legal means, I'm not sure if there's any way I could see it.)

 

[Pingfah]

It's out on DVD in the states.

 

[Mr Light]

Yeah I got the DVD for it months and months ago.

 

[Christopher]

Thanks. I put it in my Netflix queue, though it's at the bottom for now.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I loved the episodes, Tikka to ride, quarantine and gunmen of the apocalypse.
I watched back to earth in one go with a laugher track, and even though I normally hate laugher tracks it improved the episode quite a lot.

 

[Holdfast]

I'll happily rewatch anything from S1-6. Sure, 1+2 are very different in tone from 3-6, but they're both very funny comedies.

7 & 8 just don't make me chuckle very often.

 

[Snaploud]

As an American, Snaploud, are there many cultural reference In Red Dwarf that you don't understand?

A lot of the name references are completely lost on me. You can usually tell a good amount from the context, though, so it doesn't really bother me.