# Let's talk about Red Dwarf **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983 "2005-04-06T03:13:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/61 "2005-04-06T23:08:53Z")
In answer to Montre’s question… Yes. There’s a deleted scene from the first episode of the series where Lister is putting all the remains of the various crew into numbered canisters. You can see one of these cansiters (sans number) in the episode when the guy who becomes the first hologram is shot into space I read both the individual books (I had to order them from [Amazon.uk](http://Amazon.uk)) and they were all right, but not nearly as good as the first two. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/62 "2005-04-06T23:20:45Z")
> [@Sarah Woodruff](#): > > My favourite line is from the episode where they find that they can enter the photographs that have been developed in Kryten’s specially mutated developing fluid. > Kryten:“Just think, we can go back in time to November 1963, stand on the Grassy Knoll and shout, DUCK!” > Lister and Rimmer just stare at him, shocked. > Kryten:“Oh I’m sorry, I must have bypassed my Good Taste chip!” Just in case:And they eventually _do_ go back to November 1963, knock Oswald out of the window, causing him to miss JFK, who gets impeached over his womanizing, resulting in millions of panicked Americans because the missiles never left Cuba. After some failed attempts to stop themselves from interfering, the quartet decided the only way to resolve the situation is to bring a future JFK back to 1963 and shoot _himself_. “It will drive the conspiracy theorists nuts!” ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/63 "2005-04-06T23:31:52Z")
Don’t believe that nonsense. [Everyone Knows Who Killed Kennedy](http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/wkk/) ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/64 "2005-04-06T23:35:00Z")
I really like the Ace Rimmer bit with him sky surfing on the back of an allogator (or croc). Brian ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/65 "2005-04-06T23:54:11Z")
Another great line from “Stasis Leak” Rimmer talking to his past self: “Look, in 3 million years, you’ll be dead” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/66 "2005-04-07T00:17:00Z")
Favourite character : Duane Dibley Best Episode : _Back To Reality_ is possibly the greatest episode of a Science fiction show ever Best moment : oh, there’s so many. I don’t think anyone’s mentioned Cat singing tongue-tied yet. Or the tap dance he did with Blue Midget. Best quote : Souper ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/67 "2005-04-07T01:34:45Z")
I’m surprised at the number of people who say they didn’t like the later series. Okay, yes, series 7 was pretty poor. But I liked series 8; I think it was, on the whole, better even than 6. Bringing the rest of the ship’s crew back didn’t actually turn out to hurt things. Plus it gave us the sight of Rimmer smashing himself in the groin repeatedly with a hammer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/68 "2005-04-07T03:14:56Z")
I’ve just re-watched the first two seasons. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/69 "2005-04-07T06:07:43Z")
Thanks, **Odinoneeye** – I see my guess was right. 🙂 I do remember that bit in the first episode (George McIntyre), but I don’t recall any mention of the cannisters in the books, until the end of “Better Than Life”. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/70 "2005-04-07T08:09:53Z")
> [@MacSpon](#): > > I’m surprised at the number of people who say they didn’t like the later series. > > Okay, yes, series 7 was pretty poor. But I liked series 8; I think it was, on the whole, better even than 6. Bringing the rest of the ship’s crew back didn’t actually turn out to hurt things. > > Plus it gave us the sight of Rimmer smashing himself in the groin repeatedly with a hammer. 🙂 Season 8 had some funny moments, but I don’t like it for two large reasons: They reset Rimmer’s personality by having an earlier, alive version of himself replace the hologram, so they could redo all the Rimmer-is-a-prat jokes all over again. This destroyed literally years of character building and the opportunity to make different kinds of jokes about a not quite so prattish but still a bit of a dick character. The second is that bringing back the crew of the ship kinda destroyed the whole point of the series. Part of the brilliance of Red Dwarf, IMO of course, is that it’s a comedy set against an incredibly tragic backdrop, like Blackadder series 4. Comedy aside, it’s the story of the last human being alive, pointlessly adrift in a cold, uncaring and empty universe. And not only that but the last person alive is a worthless slobby bum. Reviving a girl for him and then reviving the crew (several hundred, or several thousand people, I can’t remember and they changed it a few times) removes most of the elements of tragedy and is a prime example of why the series went downhill after Rob Grant left and the cloying sentimentality of Doug Naylor was allowed full reign. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/71 "2005-04-07T17:51:00Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > Comedy aside, it’s the story of the last human being alive, pointlessly adrift in a cold, uncaring and empty universe. And not only that but the last person alive is a worthless slobby bum. But, of course, he’s supposed to jumpstart the second Big Bang. “It’s the ultimate irony, innit? Lister, the ultimate atheist, turns out in fact, to be God! You twonk.” ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/72 "2005-04-07T17:57:14Z")
😃 He’s already god. God of the Cats, that is. Two bad for him. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/73 "2005-04-07T21:56:17Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > Actually, it appears that there are **two** other books – both presumably picking up after **Better Than Life**. But one was written by Rob Grant, and one by Doug Naylor – each author doing their own version, and neither one relating to the other. I haven’t read them, and it would seem that there are mixed feelings about those books. I’ve been told by at least one person to avoid the Doug Naylor one (“The Last Human”). The other is called [“Backwards”](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140171509/qid=1112824722/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-8797989-3568862?v=glance&s=books), by Rob Grant. I’m about 1000 miles from my book collection, but I can honestly say that one of the part three’s was awesome and one was almost painful. I just can’t remember which is which. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/74 "2005-04-07T22:09:32Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > Thanks, **Odinoneeye** – I see my guess was right. 🙂 > > I do remember that bit in the first episode (George McIntyre), but I don’t recall any mention of the cannisters in the books, until the end of “Better Than Life”. Horribly butchered: It was me plan! … We where going to to live in the snow and have a goat. What happened to me plan? Thats ok Lister, she can stil grit the path. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/75 "2005-04-07T22:10:34Z")
Everybody’s dead dave! Everybody’s dead! Dead Dave… Everybody is dead… ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/76 "2005-04-07T23:02:35Z")
What about Peterson? ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/77 "2005-04-07T23:27:44Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > But, of course, he’s supposed to jumpstart the second Big Bang. “It’s the ultimate irony, innit? Lister, the ultimate atheist, turns out in fact, to be God! You twonk.” I thought he was a pantheist? (_not_ a frying-pantheist) ---
**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/78 "2005-04-07T23:32:24Z")
Series 1 - 6 are all worth watching though I’d say it hit its peak between series 3 - 6, I don’t think it has quite the same feel without Kryten and the female Holly. Agreed series 7 and 8 were complete disasters and shouldn’t have been made, although it did give me one of my favourite moments of the entire show. Where they visit the planet to bury the dead Ace Rimmer and discover an entire ring-system of Ace Rimmer’s, for someone who followed Rimmer’s growth and change from the first episode into someone actually quite likeable in his own cowardly (as is seen by his unprecedented decision to stand and fight at the end of series six) way it was a surprisingly moving moment. Then it was all undone by the reset-button being pushed for series 8. :rolleyes: Favourite episodes: _Polymorph_ “Hi, I’m the genetic mutant” “Jenny who?” _Dimensional Jump_ Ace Rimmer! What a guy… _The Inquisitor_ Actually makes you wonder how we’ll you’d do if challenged to “Justify yourself”. BTW All the Red Dwarf books are highly recommended, despite being comedies they have some of the most interesting concepts and intense scenes of any sci-fi novels I’ve read. I enjoyed both the last two but they were very different and its obvious Rob Grant and Doug Naylor are only at their best when working together. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/79 "2005-04-07T23:36:18Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > What about Peterson? You just used your two thound, two hundred, twenty seconfd post to ask about Catering Officer Olaf Peterson? :dubious: He was a total git! Besides, everybody is DEAD, Biffy. P.S. Jayrot, where did you get that from? I don’t remeber his having believed in gods in the least. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983/80 "2005-04-07T23:38:36Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > Another great line from “Stasis Leak” > > Rimmer talking to his past self: > > “Look, in 3 million years, you’ll be dead” What should I do, eat more ruffage? I’ve always liked Craig Ferguson in “Confidence and Paranoia.” “Oxygens fer loosers.” As far as my favorite episode, it’d have to be “Backwards.” Cats face and walk at the end of the episode still makes me laugh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-red-dwarf/297983.md?page=5)