Post in here if you're a Red Dwarf fan

Haha! I think we've had every permutation so far... except episode 2 being the best. So, it's agreed then; we consult Holly.
 
Anyway, I thought Rimmer's parents were Hopists. Yes -

Rimmer said:
Everyone's entitled to their beliefs, Lister. I never agreed with my parents' religion, but I wouldn't dream of knocking it.
Lister said:
What were they?
Rimmer said:
Seventh Day Advent Hop-ists. They believed that every Sunday should be spent hopping. They would hop to church, hop through the service, then hop back home again. I tell you, Sunday lunchtimes were a nightmare - we all had to wear sou'westers and asbestos underpants. You see, they took the Bible literally - Adam and Eve, the snake and the apple, took it word for word. Unfortunately, their version had a misprint. It was all based on 1 Corinthians 13: "Faith, Hop and Charity, and the greatest of these is Hop."
 
smiled when i saw Cat in one of his old suits and the music from season 2's 'Kryten'. Wasn't a bad episode but it could have been a little less slapstick.
 
For what it's worth, here's my two cents:

The thing I don't get is how people thought a return to this format would be successful. Series' seven and eight at least tried to change up the formula a bit but the show was clearly running out of ideas fast. Back to Earth, while poorly written, was actually the most progressive thing they've done; it was oddly post-modern, it eschewed the studio audience and three camera setup, it brought the show out of its old comfort zone and attempted to do something new with it. Largely it failed, however that's more to do with the writing than the ideas.

This new series is not just an attempted rehash of old glories but the entire format of the sitcom, almost the entire industry has moved on. Even really popular American traditional sitcoms feel fresher than this, which is weird because that sitcom format hasn't changed since its inception in the late 50s.

Another issue is that it's stuffed away in what is essentially a backwater channel with a particularly dodgy reputation. The only other sitcom on British TV that I can think of which follows the same format as this is that awful Lee Mack thing and that gets prime time on the BBC. The most popular American sitcoms, like How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory, are at least attempting to do something a little different. Similarly, they're on channels with huge reputations.

I'm not saying that Naylor and Co should try to reinvent the wheel but it cannot continue like this. Three episodes in and it's already looking very sketchy indeed. It's out of touch with the trends of the present day, in terms of what's actually working in comedy on TV these days, and clearly, with reference to eBay and Wallace and Gromit, out of step with popular culture too.
 
Last edited:
For what it's worth, here's my two cents:

The thing I don't get is how people thought a return to this format would be successful. Series' seven and eight at least tried to change up the formula a bit but the show was clearly running out of ideas fast. Back to Earth, while poorly written, was actually the most progressive thing they've done; it was oddly post-modern, it eschewed the studio audience and three camera setup, it brought the show out of its old comfort zone and attempted to do something new with it. Largely it failed, however that's more to do with the writing than the ideas

sci-fi meets soap was never going to work. Never mind the writing, the idea was awful.
 
sci-fi meets soap was never going to work. Never mind the writing, the idea was awful.

The premise of the show is ridiculous, but there really are some interesting ideas going on in it. The whole Blade Runner thing is quite meta, and it's a neat little reference to the show's origins which is nice. Then by forcing the characters into a semi-existential crisis by putting them into a situation where they realise they're fiction creations is, fundamentally I think, a very interesting way to go and also so packed with comic potential that it's staggering. The fact it doesn't quite capitalise on that is frustrating, then again Red Dwarf has been a constantly frustrating entity since Grant left anyway, so no surprise there. Quite brave to remove the sci-fi element from a sci-fi show and then point the characters in a postmodern direction. Well, I say brave, the eventual outcome proved it was foolhardy but that doesn't stop it from being a good idea.

Like I said, it falls apart due to shoddy writing and as you said, the whole soap thing (surely there could have been another way to execute this without having to bring in Corrie?). It could have been so much more.
 
Last edited:
JUst watched ep2 (watching 3 tonight) I found 2 pretty poor overall with the odd laugh thrown in. Hopefully ep3 will be good, though mixed reviews from you lot :eek:
 
Yeah it's been great up until Ep 3 which was ok, but didn't make me laugh like the others, only bit I smiled at was Lister saying "Jesus..." and then the guy going "yes?"
 
Back
Top Bottom