Topic: Red Dwarf: Back to Earth

[Najemikon]

There's this digital only channel in the UK called Dave. Daft name, but a decent channel. They show endless repeats from the main broadcasters and have become especially popular for constantly recycling Top Gear. One of their biggest hits has been Red Dwarf, also formerly of the BBC. That's not bad considering there has been no new material for about 9 years. Well, Dave, in an unprecedented move, has commissioned three new episodes. The first was earlier tonight. And it was far better than it had any right to be. Erm, excuse me for a moment...

  WOOHOO!!!

That's better.

You see, Red Dwarf was my favourite show for the bulk of its run. It lost its mojo in series 7, despite a couple of gems (writers split up) and went some way to repairing the damage in series 8, but somehow it didn't quite gel like it used to. So no chance were the new episodes going to be up to standard, still a writer down and especially being bankrolled by the TV channel equivalent of the Recycle Bin. But against the odds they haven't done a George Lucas and stuffed it up! It was genuinely hilarious, slick, inventive. The whole cast is in fine form; if anything Danny John Jules as the Cat, is better than he was in the old days.

A scene in a water tank, fighting a squid, is already better than anything in Series 8 and will surely be a Dwarf classic. I can't wait for part 2 tomorrow. I think I can probably guess the plot but I don't care. All involved are obviously relishing the experience. It's smegging brilliant! 

 

[lovemunkey187]

BUGGERATION I forgot about this.

<sarcasm>I wonder if it'll be repeated?</sarcasm>

[Najemikon]

 

I think they're showing them in one run on Monday so you won't have to wait long...

[ninehours]

Red Dwarf: Back to Earth is Released 15 June 2009
Find-DVD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b35O8O_5ZM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUt23gv7i1A

[Najemikon]

Thanks for that. I think you posted it before but I couldn't remember if it was in its own thread and on Friday night, I thought the show was so good it deserved one! 

Last nights was great too. Still very funny, though not as slick, simply because of the nature of the plot. It's a bit different to usual. And I'd meant to say that I'd have liked to have seen Kochanski and Holly in part 1. At least one was accounted for and now might make an appearance. Fingers crossed.

In fact, all fingers and toes very crossed, because the plot might hint at the chance of more Dwarf to come...

(click to show/hide)

They're on Earth, in our reality, where Red Dwarf is a TV show (but has had 10 series) and people recognise them as the characters. By reading the back of the actual Back to Earth DVD, they know that they're supposed to die in the last episode, so find their creator to beg for more life. "Beg for more life"? Audience participation, perhaps? Maybe Dave want to know how much we want a new series? So they're off to find the actors who play them, hence arriving on Coronation Street of all places at the end of part 2!

Oh, nice gag for the DVD crowd. Lister holds up a DVD case to Kryten in a shop and asks what it is. Kryten explains that it is an old format that became useless because humans were incapable of putting the discs back in the cases. Two trillion were lost, never seen again! So it was replaced by video because they're too big to lose! 

[Najemikon]

Sadly, despite a fantastic opener on Coronation Street, part 3 was a bit flat, mainly because there was no specific revelation about more episodes.    Ignore previous spoiler. It's called "wishful thinking"...  It did at least end in a manner that I hope isn't down to wishful thinking on the parts of the writer though.

Other than that, it was still fairly good and a pretty brilliant piss-take of Blade Runner. But if there was ever a complaint about Red Dwarf, it could sometimes get a bit too bogged down in ideas and forget to be funny. This happened here a bit as they tied up the plot. The whole story is a sort of follow-up to an earlier classic episode, which is apt being an anniversary special.

I'm looking forward to seeing it again. Despite not being filmed in front of an audience, which in series 7 & 8 caused a bit of awkwardness in the cast, they were excellent here, especially Craig Charles.

Overall, not a proper review, but this is 4/5, and a nice balance between the styles of the early and late years.