What I am reviewing is the two disk DVD set of Red Dwarf series one.
This is the region 2 format
Rated 12 years and over
Dolby Digital sound
4.3 format

This TV space comedy was overlooked for three years, after the scripts made by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor kept getting rejected by the BBC as the BBC didn't think this kind of programme would work or be very popular.
Red Dwarf started off as a series of sketches from Rob Grant and Doug Naylors radio sketch show "Son of cliché" . The sketches "Dave Hollins - space cadet" came from an idea involving different sci fi films around the time. Ideas from Aliens, silent running, and Dark Star were all put together as they wanted to make the sketches realistic as possible from a sci-fi point of view.
Once they had come up with this idea and used them on the radio, they had an idea to make a sci-fi show about an old red spaceship 3 million years marooned in the future with one human survivor.
The pilot script for Red Dwarf was written in Doug Naylors fathers old cottage in Wales where it was then passed on to producer Paul Jackson who saw the potential in this series.
The script was passed around to a lot of companies. Film four wanted to take them up on the offer but the writers refused as they wanted the show to go out on the BBC. Finally it got accepted by BBC North under Peter Ridsdale Scott.
The next thing to do was to get the actors for the roles, Craig Charles was cast as Lister (the only human being alive), Chris Barrie was cast as hologram Arnold J Rimmer, Danny John Jules was cast as The Cat, and Norman Lovett was cast as the ships computer Holly.
The series began filming in 1987 and was first broadcast in February 1988.

I shall take you through the disks :

Disk 1

The End
The mining ship Red Dwarf is on a year mission in space. Second technician Arnold J Rimmer and Dave Lister are repairing the soup vending machines on board the ship, although the two share a bunk they do not get on at all with each other. Rimmer wants to become an officer and is taking an exam later that day, Meanwhile Lister has picked up a cat from the planet Titan that he has hidden on board the ship as it is illegal. Captain Hollister finds out and Lister gets put into status. When Lister wakes up out of his status period he finds nobody aboard the ship. What has happened on board Red Dwarf ?…
(commentary with Rob Grant, Doug Naylor, and Ed Bye)

Future Echoes
Holly the ships computer is navigating Red Dwarf through a series of black holes when the ship hits light speed, Rimmer, Lister and the cat see things that have not yet happened on the ship…

Balance of power
Lister realises he is all alone, what can he really do with a hologram who he has never liked ? Could Lister somehow better himself by passing an exam to be Rimmers superior ?…

Waiting for God
How did the cat evolve into what he is now, are there other cats on board the ship, and what did ever happen to the rest of the cat race that he has evolved from ?..

Confidence and Paranoia
Lister gets an illness while going into the contaminated officers quarters, but while he thinks he is better two people appear to the ship, his confidence and paranoia. Will Lister survive and rid himself of the illness ?….

Me2
What is life going to be like on board Red Dwarf with two Rimmers ? What else could possibly happen ?…
(cast commentary with Chris Barrie, Craig Charles and Danny John Jules)

Disk 2 - Special Features

Photo gallery - This shows you all the stills of the first series of Red Dwarf

Trailer - this shows the BBC trailer of the very first Red Dwarf episode

Outtakes - this shows the first series outtakes

Japanese episode - This shows the episode "The End" dubbed in Japanese

Model shots - this shows you all the various models that were created for use in the series

Drunk featurette - This is a few clips showing all of the crews drinking habits !

Audio book clips - this is two clips from the audiobook "Red Dwarf" infinity welcomes careful drivers.

Web link - This has a direct web link to the official Red Dwarf site.

Music cues - this has isolated music cues of various parts of the first series that reoccur throughout.

Launching Red Dwarf - This is a commentary with all contribution from all of the actors and production team about the making of the very first series of Red dwarf

This has a collectable 12 page booklet with lots of information from the first series

Cast
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Chris Barrie as Arnold J Rimmer
Danny John Jules as The Cat
Norman Lovett as Holly

All in all I found this series one boxset a very entertaining look back on the first series that I had remembered from 1988. The cover was set out well from the start with Red Dwarf I on the cover with Lister and Rimmer. On the spine during the course of the eight series this makes up the Red Dwarf logo.
I liked the booklet inside that gives you lots of information on how all the episodes were made and who was in them, special guests etc.
The disks themselves have no great deal of design on them, but with the rest of the package I didn't mind.
The navigation menus on the disks were very well done with the ships interior moving around, very well done on that front.
The quality of the picture was as good as I remember it in 1988 and I am glad the BBC never changed anything to upgrade the image or sound to the present way. The way it was left in 1988 is how I thought the series should stay.
The extra features were very good on disk 2 and thoroughly enjoyable. I like the outtakes, deleted scenes and the old trailer especially.
The episodes were not as good as the years to come, but that is to be expected.

I thought that this is a great way to start the Red Dwarf franchise on DVD and would recommend highly.

I hope this review has been of help to you all out there..