Although a good starting point, series 1 is by no means the best
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
For those of you expecting one of my regular reviews (i.e. one where I babble on about myself!), I’m afraid that this one is more about the product this time (but there is a short summary for you at the end, so you can pretend you didn’t skim it!). For those of you who usually avoid my reviews BECAUSE I babble on about myself: this one’s for you!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Red Dwarf Series 1 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cast:
ARNOLD J RIMMER played by CHRIS BARRIE (Brittas Empire, Chris Barrie’s Massive Machines) DAVE LISTER played by CRAIG CHARLES (Robot Wars, The Games) THE CAT played by DANNY JOHN-JULES (Blade 2, The Storymakers) HOLLY played by NORMAN LOVETT (stand-up comedian)
Written by ROB GRANT and DOUG NAYLOR Produced and Directed by ED BYE Executive Producer: PAUL JACKSON
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Scenario -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The lowest ranking member of the 21st century deep-space mining ship Red Dwarf, third technician Dave Lister (Craig Charles), the chicken-soup machine repair man, is placed in suspended animation for 18 months as punishment for smuggling aboard his pregnant cat Frankenstein, thus breaching quarantine laws.
During this time, there is a radiation leak, which wipes out all of the other crew members. Lister is kept in stasis for three million years by the ship’s on-board computer Holly (Norman Lovett), until the radiation has reached a safe level. Holly, who provides voice-over satirical comments in a dry manner, is portrayed on screen as just the head of the actor pictured on a display screen. The character shows signs of senility as a result of being alone for three million years, and, although he claims to have an ever-increasing IQ of thousands throughout the series, comes across as being, well, dopey.
Coming out of stasis, Dave Lister is united with his unexpected company – Second Technician Arnold J Rimmer, a hologram of Lister’s former (slight) superior workmate. Pompous, whiny, cowardly, self-centred… and yet Rimmer is by far my favourite character. Don’t know if that says something about me (hope not!). Grant and Naylor recruited Chris Barrie for the part, although Norman Lovett originally auditioned for it.
Also on board is The Cat – a vain yet hilarious “feline-sapien”, who over the three million years had evolved from Lister’s pregnant cat. Played by Danny John-Jules, he spends much of this first series being more ‘feline’ than ‘sapien’, although this does change dramatically throughout the total eight series.
Our “heroes” travel through deep space, generally bumming around, and unwittingly encountering adventure as they go. Well, I say adventure, the concepts are so bizarrely comical that one week the crew do battle with one of Lister’s socks that has escaped and taken on a life of its own!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Background -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It all started with a show on Radio 4, written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor called “Son of Cliché”, which contained a recurring skit about “Dave Hollins – Space Cadet”. This was back in 1983, and as that was my year of birth, obviously I didn’t witness its broadcast first-hand. However, my research has told me that the premise of this skit was that Dave Hollins was the last man left in the universe, whose only companion was Hab, his computer (voiced by Chris Barrie).
When later Grant and Naylor were devising Red Dwarf, they built upon the character of Dave Hollins, creating Dave Lister. It is rumoured that the outline for Red Dwarf was written on the back of a beermat!
Series One was first aired on BBC2 from February 1988. The pilot episode, ironically entitled “The End”, set up the story for the rest of the series. This is where all of the main characters (of which there are just four) are introduced, and the scene set.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The DVD Release -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, that’s the scene setting, now to the DVD. So far, BBC Worldwide have released Series 1 to 6 on DVD and video, with only two more series to go. This op concentrates purely on the Series One 2 disc set, originally released November 2002. It is rated as suitable for persons 12 and up, although really in my opinion, it shouldn’t be classified as more than a PG. The first disc contains all six episodes of the series, with commentary from the cast on all episodes, plus an additional commentary on episode one by the writers and producer. The second disc contains all the “extras”:
A 25-minute documentary called “Launching Red Dwarf” (about the show’s origins and creation) Deleted Scenes Out-takes (known as “Smeg-ups”) Original Trailer “Drunk” featurette The first episode (“The End”), in full again, but this time the Japanese version Special effects raw isolated footage (one for the anoraks, I feel) Isolated music cues (as above) Talking book chapters (read by Chris Barrie) Photo Gallery Weblink Plus Hidden Easter Eggs and Collector’s Booklet
The picture is only 4:3, but the Dolby stereo sounds good enough. The effects have (thankfully) been digitally remastered, making it far more professional looking (as opposed to Blue Peter created!)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Episodes (WITHOUT spoilers. Don’t you just hate it when people ruin it for you?!) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The End: The pilot episode. A radiation leak wipes out the crew of Red Dwarf, and we are introduced to the survivors. Watch out for Holly telling Lister the situation: “Everybody’s dead, Dave!”
Future Echoes: Although this was the fourth episode to be recorded, it was shown as the second in the series. When mining ship Red Dwarf breaks the speed of light, the crew begin to see visions of their futures as time dilates. Apparently, this was so complex, that the writers had to draw diagrams!
Balance of Power: Lister is taking the chef’s exam in an attempt to out-rank Rimmer, and therefore replace his hologram with one of Christine Kochanski, a former crew member that Lister often fantasises about. How low will Rimmer stoop to ensure that Lister fails?!
Waiting For God: This satirical episode looks at the relationship people have to religion (in the most comical way, of course). Oh, and Lister discovers he is a God. I think this is my favourite episode of the series, for its originality and hilarious twist.
Confidence and Paranoia: Lister contracts a mutated pneumonia virus, which causes the hallucinations of his fevered mind to take on solid form. This was originally planned to be the closing episode of the series, but some script changes made it inappropriate.
Me²: Rimmer creates a duplicate of himself, but soon the conflict becomes so much, that only one of the can survive. Will the original Rimmer survive? This episode was written to the actors’ various strengths, and so shows them performing at their best.
There were 8 series’ in all, and this is by no means the best. However, if you’re unfamiliar with Red Dwarf, it is obviously the best place to start. The DVD can be purchased at all the usual places including HMV, Virgin Megastores, Tesco (and other supermarkets), Woolworths, amazon.co.uk, and play.com.
I personally think that Red Dwarf is one of the classic British comedy programmes, and there are conventions, fan clubs and the like, which show I’m not the only one!
For more information about the show, the (apparently) forth-coming movies, the cast and so on, check out www.reddwarf.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk and follow their links for Red Dwarf.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And for the skimmers, here’s the abridged version: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first series of Red Dwarf (a low-budget BBC comedy about the last human left alive, a hologram, and a man who evolved from a cat who travel through space in the 23rd century) has been released by BBC Worldwide as a two-disc DVD set, with an abundance of extras. It can be bought for as little as £12 (RRP £19.99), and I am highly recommending it.
More details
Soundtrack
Average
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Not applicable
Value for Money
Excellent
What format are you reviewing?
DVD
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Grant's comedy SF series Red Dwarf was sketched on the back of a beer mat. When it finally appeared on our television screens in 1988 the show had clearly stayed true...
Grant's comedy SF seriesRed Dwarfwas sketched on the back of a beer mat. When it finally appeared on our television screens in 1988 the show had clearly stayed true t...
very helpful
very helpful
