# What's the deal with this show, Red Dwarf? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061 "2011-09-12T15:38:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/21 "2011-09-13T04:35:12Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’ll try a bit. I wasn’t completely turned off, but it definitely wasn’t what I was looking for (some slightly harder sci-fi without the extremely dark overtones of BSG). Yea, well, never mind then. It’s not sci-fi, it’s straight up comedy in a sci-fi setting. If you are looking for sci-fi you’re going to be turned off when they outrun laser blasts on foot in a couple episodes from now. And I don’t mean they dodge, they flat out foot race mining laser blasts, which are apparently heat-seeking. Why you would have heat-seeking mining lasers(for hot rocks?) is not a question they ask. This show doesn’t take itself seriously, and that’s before you get into some of the more ridiculous things like their capers during the Kennedy assassination. Red Dwarf is many things, but slightly hard sci-fi it’s not. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/22 "2011-09-13T05:17:32Z")
I do love Red Dwarf though. Especially the bit with Mr. Flibble. It’s not what you were looking for, but it’s great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/23 "2011-09-13T06:36:30Z")
“It’s an obscene phone call, sir.” - the best line from the Kochanski episodes. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/24 "2011-09-13T08:20:54Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > ISTM that they don’t hit their stride until Kryten joins. I usually hate people that say this but … quoted for truth. One and two were patchy. Excellent up to (and including) six. Seven was a shitstain on all televisual entertainment. Eight was a departure but still a return to form. Back to Earth doesn’t exist. The idea that there’s a new series next year scares me. IIRC There’s a good argument for it all going wrong when the two creators (Rob Grant and Doug Naylor) fall out. After that only one is in charge (I forget which one) and it just doesn’t feel right. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/25 "2011-09-13T10:52:29Z")
I agree the first series was pretty bad, series 2 through 6(?) is the good stuff. The shows and books after the original writing team split were bloody awful. > [@](#): > > Rimmer:- Change condition to red alert. > Kryton:- Are you sure sir? It dose mean changing the light bulb. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/26 "2011-09-13T10:57:11Z")
I grew up on this show but I’d definitely agree that s3 to 6 are the best, so if you’re not enjoying s1 that’s understanable. My fave episode is a toss up between White Hole (Holly gets her IQ of 6 million back!) and when the crew wake up to find the last four years were just a total immersion computer game ( 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/27 "2011-09-13T11:07:20Z")
The characters actually do gain in depth as the series goes on - unsurprisingly, since it was very cardboard cutout in the beginning. Lister is always a slob, but occasionally quite a heroic slob who’s willing to put his life on the line for his shipmates. Even Rimmer has his moments. IMO the funniest episode of Red Dwarf is “Quarantine” and the best is “Inquisitor”, both from the 5th series. It’s not the sort of show where you need to worry about jumping around seasons - no real story arcs. But if you don’t like either of those, it’s probably not the show for you. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/28 "2011-09-13T11:12:02Z")
One episode was a sci-fi award winner, maybe at the BAFTAs & with the magic of the internet: Gunmen of the Apocalypse. A classic s/f drama. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/29 "2011-09-13T15:03:47Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > when the crew wake up to find the last four years were just a total immersion computer game ( 🙂 ) I must confess that every time I see that game attendant actor in a movie–playing Churchill, say–I spend the rest of the day saying ‘yer twonk!’ ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/30 "2011-09-13T15:16:32Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “Gazpacho soup!” Do you have it marked in your Calendar? Remember Gazpacho Soup Day :mad::(:smack:😕:smack::(:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/31 "2011-09-13T15:30:19Z")
But remember only 1 thing is know to kill a Vindaloo Monster ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/32 "2011-09-13T15:32:02Z")
> [@Hogfather65](#): > > But remember only 1 thing is know to kill a Vindaloo Monster Man, that episode started out so fantastic (Kryten-as-human) and then when to pure crap (RoboDaveCop-vs-Currybeast). -Joe ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/33 "2011-09-13T17:04:21Z")
Wow. I still like them, how many decades later? Sure, as everyone said, there are better and worse seasons. But I still enjoy them. I think I saw in early 90s, or maybe even 80s? So, I was in my late teens and enjoy them. Of course, I recently re-watched some Tom Baker Dr Who and was pleasantly surprised at how much better they were than I remember. F/X not included, of course. But then, I know I biased for Dr Who! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/34 "2011-09-13T17:39:34Z")
> [@Hogfather65](#): > > Do you have it marked in your Calendar? Remember Gazpacho Soup Day :mad::(:smack:😕:smack::(:mad: No, but I plan to bring it up at the next meeting of the Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/35 "2011-09-13T18:08:19Z")
Remember, it is a late 80s sitcom (and it is a sit com set on a space ship, not a sci-fi show). When it came out, the top comedies in the US were Cosby Show, Roseanne, A Different World, Cheers, Golden Girls, and Who’s the Boss. Then, it looked very different than those shows. Now, it looks kind of like those shows in certain ways. There have been 20 years of changes to the sitcom formula. I only really liked the first 4 series, but obviously MMV. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/36 "2011-09-13T18:20:41Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No, but I plan to bring it up at the next meeting of the Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society. It’s OK to use the anagram. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/37 "2011-09-13T19:04:45Z")
Oh, no - we can’t do that. Who’d clean up the mess? Boy, do I need me a Mr. Flibble. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/38 "2011-09-13T19:20:55Z")
Mr Flibble will be very cross if you don’t give the show a fair chance… as an example of the show’s genius, there’s [this clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTFOWrVs6q0&feature=youtube_gdata_player) from the backwards-universe episode “sdrawkcaB”, they took the time in this clip to play the backwards manager rant forwards at the end ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/39 "2011-09-13T20:05:25Z")
Ou Rob Or Ros. What shite names, how about Dave? Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061/40 "2011-09-13T23:14:14Z")
Sounds interesting - I should check it out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-this-show-red-dwarf/596061.md?page=3)