When did Dave Lister become... (spoilers?)

[Cky]

From my memory of Red Dwarf, we find that Lister is the last human alive in the first episode, I can't remember exactly, but I think in series 4 they leave Red Dwarf (or it was stolen and they were trying to find it, I can't quite remember) and use Starbug instead. Then at the end of series 7 (or the very start of series 8) the nanobots recreate Red Dwarf and the whole crew.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

From my memory of Red Dwarf, we find that Lister is the last human alive in the first episode, I can't remember exactly, but I think in series 4 they leave Red Dwarf (or it was stolen and they were trying to find it, I can't quite remember) and use Starbug instead. Then at the end of series 7 (or the very start of series 8) the nanobots recreate Red Dwarf and the whole crew.

It's actually series 6 were they lose Red Dwarf.

 

[Cky]

From my memory of Red Dwarf, we find that Lister is the last human alive in the first episode, I can't remember exactly, but I think in series 4 they leave Red Dwarf (or it was stolen and they were trying to find it, I can't quite remember) and use Starbug instead. Then at the end of series 7 (or the very start of series 8) the nanobots recreate Red Dwarf and the whole crew.

It's actually series 6 were they lose Red Dwarf.

Was it as late as series 6? Thanks for correcting me!

 

[Bob The Skutter]

From my memory of Red Dwarf, we find that Lister is the last human alive in the first episode, I can't remember exactly, but I think in series 4 they leave Red Dwarf (or it was stolen and they were trying to find it, I can't quite remember) and use Starbug instead. Then at the end of series 7 (or the very start of series 8) the nanobots recreate Red Dwarf and the whole crew.

It's actually series 6 were they lose Red Dwarf.

Was it as late as series 6? Thanks for correcting me!

Yeah, in the first ep of series 6 it starts with Lister coming out of stasis because they've caught sight of Red Dwarf. In series 7 we find out that Kryten's nanobots had abandoned him around the time of Back to Reality in series 5, so that must be around when they lost Red Dwarf.

 

[Anwar]

Well, Season 6 is 200 years after "Back to Reality" so there's quite a gap for when the theft happened.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Well, Season 6 is 200 years after "Back to Reality" so there's quite a gap for when the theft happened.

Yeah, but Kryten says that it was just before they lost Red Dwarf, doesn't he?

 

[ITL]

Yup, they were in stasis for 200 years because Red Dwarf was lost and they had to pick up the trail before being un-stasis-ised (un-stasis-ised? Yeah.).

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Yup, they were in stasis for 200 years because Red Dwarf was lost and they had to pick up the trail before being un-stasis-ised (un-stasis-ised? Yeah.).

Well, Rimmer was in an ice cube.

 

[ITL]

Yup! Two Un-stasis-ised, one defrosted and I'm not sure what Kryten got up to while they were out of it for 200 years...

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Yup! Two Un-stasis-ised, one defrosted and I'm not sure what Kryten got up to...

Knowing Kryten, cleaned the ship, then cleaned it again. At least he didn't clean inside the computer like on the Nova 5.

 

[Bacl]

Well, yeah, but Bacl said Lister was the only thing alive, not just the only being from Earth.

He did say more or less, but fair enough.

Yeah, I meant it more along the lines of the Red Dwarf theme...

"I'm all alone...more or less..."

There's still some life in the Galaxy, but it all originated on Earth, and for the most part Dave Lister is really the last breath of it. The crew of Red Dwarf exists because of him. Holly only keeps the Rimmer hologram active to help keep Dave sane, the Cat is more of a pet that wouldn't survive long without Lister, same for bog-bot Kryten who was only reactivated by Lister and lives only to serve and clean for him.

The life they encounter was all made for humans, which explain why it all latches on to Red Dwarf, often with hostile intent.

Dave Lister is the last human. All he encounters are memories or echoes of humanity. Rimmer, Kryten and The Cat all represent an aspect of humanity, but Lister is all alone...more or less...

 

[Christopher]

the Cat is more of a pet that wouldn't survive long without Lister...

He survived reasonably well between the time the Cats left Red Dwarf and the time Lister was defrosted. Cats may be vain and self-centered, but they're also very self-sufficient when they need to be.

 

[Bacl]

the Cat is more of a pet that wouldn't survive long without Lister...

He survived reasonably well between the time the Cats left Red Dwarf and the time Lister was defrosted. Cats may be vain and self-centered, but they're also very self-sufficient when they need to be.

That's a good point, and if Red Dwarf was just drifting aimlessly away from Earth (and away from all the leftover life) then The Cat would likely live out his days eating vending-machine fish dinners, watching the Flintstones, and looking fabulous......

But once Holly turned the ship around and hurled it at near light speeds back towards home, and the dangers started showing up every so often, then I am not sure how well he'd fare on his own.

Keep in mind that after a religious war the rest of the cat-race left Red Dwarf in two spaceships, each headed in a different direction. The first spaceship immediately flew into an asteroid, and all the cats onboard died (the cats on the other ship reasoned this was God telling them that they were headed the right way towards paradise...otherwise known as Fiji...)

So, the cats as a race aren't that bright.

Heck, they think Lister is God and his laundry list is the ten commandments. Which is why religious cats reject fashion and force themselves to wear non-matching outfits...and limit their showers...

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

Dave Lister is the last human. All he encounters are memories or echoes of humanity. Rimmer, Kryten and The Cat all represent an aspect of humanity, but Lister is all alone...more or less...

Poor Dave, so lonely, never thought of it that way.

Adds a bit of resonance to the Ouroborus episode, even if that is kind of icky too.

 

[Bacl]

Poor Dave, so lonely, never thought of it that way.

It is a very interesting thing to ponder. Imagine that you are the last human in a (more or less) empty galaxy. Everyone is either dead or gone. There's just you, a doddering old computer, a robot that was designed to clean out the toilets, a self-absorbed and self-centered one-minded creature that evolved from your old pet, and a hologram/simulation of the colossal jerk you used to work with (best described as a vending-machine repairman with a Napoleon complex).

You have food and supplies to last an eternity. Old videos and toys.

But that's it. All that ever would be already happened. It's over. Man was the supreme form of life in the cosmos, and Man died out, likely taking the Earth with him.

In the early episodes we see a lot of Dave playing silly games, having a few laughs at Rimmer, and looking off into space.

In one episode he has to burn books to stay warm and stay alive, and these are the last copies of these books in all existence. He ponders what it means to burn Lolita (although he saves the smuttiest page) and to destroy all that's left of Shakespeare. Rimmer is aghast at Lister for burning Shakespeare, but when Lister asks Rimmer if he's ever actually read it, Rimmer can only remember one word of Shakespeare, and that word was now.

What do you do with your life? What do you do with eternity?

LISTER: I'm just burning a book!

RIMMER: It's not just a book. It's the only copy of probably the greatest work
in English literature. Probably the only copy left in the entire universe, and
you're quite happy to toss it on the fire to keep your little mitts warm for
fifteen minutes?

LISTER: There's nothing else to burn.

RIMMER: That's it, then, is it? Goodbye Hamlet? Farewell Macbeth? Toodle-pip King Lear?

LISTER: Have you ever read any of it?

RIMMER: I've seen West Side Story. That's based on one of them.

LISTER: Yeah, but have you actually read any?

RIMMER: Not all the way through, no. I can quote some, though.

LISTER: Go on, then.

RIMMER: 'Now...' (Long pause.) That's all I can remember.

LISTER: Where's that from, then?

RIMMER: Richard III, you moron. The speech that he does at the beginning. 'Now...' something something something. It's brilliant writing. It really is. Unforgettable.

LISTER: OK, I'll save it till last. (Holds up another.) Lolita. Is it OK if I burn Lolita?

RIMMER: Save page sixty-one.