The Ciao! Gremlins are really going to town, aren't they? My thanks to the member who wished me luc...
The Ciao! Gremlins are really going to town, aren't they? My thanks to the member who wished me luck with the Toblerone competition - just a shame I haven't entered...you've gotta laugh, eh? :op
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Red Dwarf is a 'Sci-fi Sitcom' set onboard the JMC Mining Ship 'Red Dwarf'. Written by Doug Naylor and Rob Grant, (often known under the pseudonym Grant Naylor), it follows our hero, Dave Lister (Craig Charles) who finds himself three million years into deep space after an accident onboard ship wiped out the entire crew whilst he was safely sealed inside Stasis. Once released, Lister's only company onboard ship are his dead bunkmate and superior technician, Arnold Judas Rimmer (Chris Barrie), who has been resurrected in the form of a hologram by the ship's onboard computer, Holly (Norman Lovett) who, pre-accident, had an IQ of 6000; however, three million years alone can do strange things to a computer and Holly suspects he's gone 'a bit peculiar' along the way. Lister's final companion is a creature that evolved from his pet cat, known simply as The Cat (Danny John-Jules). Together, these four unlikely shipmates get themselves caught in a whole host of weird, wacky and wonderful situations.
Since its first airing in 1988, Red Dwarf has gone on to become known across the world, has seen various games and merchandise sold in its name and has even helped raise money for charity through special shows for Red Nose Day and Children In Need. The aptly named, "Series One" is where it all started.
Although perhaps not as polished as later series, Series One easily stands up on its own, with many of its own 'classic' moments, such as Cat's first appearance, Holly's 'Norweb' joke and Rimmer arguing with himself to name but a few. The scripts are excellent, cramming vast amounts of humour and plot into a thirty-minute episode. The performances from the actors involved are brilliant, with each character equally as funny as the others, with no single actor having to rescue the situation. Although certain details changed as the show progressed through later series, some of the core elements that made up the show appear from
the very beginning. Lister's innate "slobness", Rimmer's neurosis, Holly's senile-disposition and the Cat's vanity. These are quickly established during the show and help set-up some great character based jokes. I also think the interplay between characters is superb. You do get the impression that Lister and Rimmer have spent years sharing a room and annoying one another, or that the Cat really would rather loose a leg than only have two suits.
Where Series One does suffer is in the sets and stage dressing. With most of the budget spent on creating and filming the miniature models of Red Dwarf the sets were left somewhat lacking. Predominately grey throughout, (although occasional attempts to brighten them up can be seen here and there), visually speaking they are far from impressive. However, I don't think this initial lack of set-creditability really takes much away from the series as a whole. The most crucial aspects of Red Dwarf have always been the writing and the delivery of the script. Despite these poor quality sets, Series One is as amusing and entertaining, (some might argue it's better), as any other series from the show.
The incredible, (in-smegging-credible if you will) thing about Series One is, aside from the sets, which looked bad when the show originally aired, the show hasn't aged all that badly. In terms of the comedy itself, I find it as funny today as I do more recent comedy efforts. The jokes are still funny today because they avoid any specific reference to the era they were filmed in, meaning new generations of fans can appreciate the comedy today. Also, although not as reliant on special effects as later series', Series One does have one or two split screens, objects passing through Rimmer, etc. By today's standard, these effects are far from amazing, but all things considered they've aged a lot better than other show's and they were probably done on a much smaller budget than others. I would say that, whilst perhaps not outstanding, the effects have stood the test of time better than average.
The DVD itself contains two discs. Both discs have an interactive menu which, for the main menu, is part of the console from Red Dwarf's Flight Deck. On the main menu, you also have Holly appearing with lines from the Series, ("Everybody's dead Dave", etc.). If left on too long these audio clips can get repetitive quite quickly, but on the whole it's a nice touch and helps give a professional quality to the menus which are both easy to navigate and - with the exception of the Easter Eggs - make it very straight forward to find and select the item you're after. Other sub-menus exist which have also been well animated and again are easy to navigate. You should never find yourself wondering where to go next or exactly where you are.
The first disc has all six episodes, as well as commentaries on each on, with the four actors, Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules and Norman Lovett. Whether or not you would enjoy these are very much down to your own tastes regarding commentaries. I personally enjoy listening to commentaries and, although this isn't the best commentary I've heard on a Red Dwarf DVD, if you like that sort of think, you should still find it entertaining. Occasionally the conversation will go a little of track, but the banter is amusing and I never felt like I'd wasted my time watching with the commentary on. On the whole you do manage to gain some interesting insights in to what happened behind the scenes
The second disc contains all the bonus features:
The bonus features are: Deleted Scenes Smeg-ups (i.e. Outtakes) Original Trailer "Launching Red Dwarf" Documentary "Drunk Featurette" Japanese Version of 'The End' Special Effects Raw Footage Isolated Music Cues Talking Book Chapters Photo Gallery Weblink PLUS Hidden Easter Eggs
Most of these are the fairly standard affair you'd expect from any DVD nowadays. Of particular interest for me is the Documentary. These appear on all the Red Dwarf DVD's and focus on that particular Red Dwarf Series. 'Launching Red Dwarf" has some very interesting interviews with all the cast, as well as various members of crew, (such as Doug Naylor and Ed Bye the Director). It gives you a good insight into various on-screen and off-screen events and I felt it really added, not only to my enjoyment of the DVD, but also to my enjoyment of the series as a whole. It's also been created especially for the DVD, which I feel adds value for money to the DVD. The Featurette also appears on all the Red Dwarf DVD's and is a collection of scenes from all series' based on a particular theme. Although, in my opinion, not as good as the documentaries, the Featurettes are a nice distraction and, at the very least, can be a quick source of amusement if you haven't time to watch an episode. Easter Eggs have become more and more common on DVD's now, but I remember this as something of a new thing when I first bought this DVD. I quite like this little addition and find it adds an element of fun. On Series One, the content of the Easter Eggs is perhaps a little lower than on later series, but it's still worth hunting around for and I think those who can be bothered will probably appreciate the 'eggs' given as a reward. Not all the bonus material necessarily appealed to me personally, but it was all of a high standard and well worth watching for anyone interested in those particular areas.
The booklet gives you details about the episodes, for example to recording order of the shows, problems they encountered, tales of cast and crew exploits, etc. It also has a "Watch Out For..." section, which points out classic Red Dwarf moments, as well as pointing out some of the continuity errors that accumulate over the series'. I thought the booklet was well presented and full of interesting Red Dwarf trivia. Certainly worth reading once if you've bought the DVD, but probably of more interest to die-hard fans than casual watchers.
Whether you've watched the shows while they were on TV or you've never seen it before, if you enjoy sitcoms or sci-fi this should appeal to you. I think Red Dwarf is one of the most hilarious British comedies to have been produced in (relatively) recent years and, if you're interested in collecting the DVD's, I'd highly recommend you start from Series One.
Playlist ----------
The End Future Echoes Balance of Power Waiting For God Confidence & Paranoia Me2
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Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Notoriously, and entirely appropriately, the original outline for Doug Naylor and Rob ... more
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...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Notoriously, and entirely appropriately, the original outline for Doug Naylor and Rob ... more
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...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Three million years ago a radiation leak killed the crew of the mining ship Red Dwarf. ... more
The only survivor was Dave Lister the chicken soup machine repairman. He spends his time on the ship with a holographic projection of Arnold Rimmer (his dead bunk...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
A radiation leak wipes out the crew of the mining ship Red Dwarf leaving one survivor - ... more
chicken soup machine repairman Dave Lister. After three million years in suspended animation, Lister emerges to find he is the last human being in the universe. But...
Advantages: A chance to watch the rarely repeated first series, extremely well written comedy. Disadvantages: Not as action packed as later series, dated special effects, those grey sets!
chrisball2000 19.02.2005 (19.02.2005)
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Review of Red Dwarf - Series 1 (DVD)
Advantages: Hilarious script, great setting, lots of extra features on the DVD Disadvantages: In this series, the scenary is drab and the episodes are all confined to the ship
![Red Dwarf: Complete BBC Series 1 [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78538497.jpg "Red Dwarf: Complete BBC Series 1 [DVD]")
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