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Thoughts on Red Dwarf
Apr. 10th, 2009 05:45 pmI recently rewatched all of Red Dwarf. Most of the entire least series was new to me, so that was more watch than rewatch.
I just found out they're releasing a special on Easter. I'm sure I'll be comparing it with the Dr. Who special to see which was better. :)
I think the best Red Dwarf episodes were in the middle. The best combination of characters seemed to be Lister, Rimmer, Cat, and Kryten. Though I do prefer Holly as male. I didn't used to like Kochanski, but she did begin to grow on me by the time I got to the end of the series. She was fitting in more as part of the ensemble and not just the object of Lister's affection.
In the second to last series, Rimmer is gone. ICly gone. Yet somehow he appears in every episode except one, I think. Through various science fictional and televisional machinations. Which is good, because I'm not sure you have a show without Rimmer.
There's no question in my mind that the worst series is the last one. For the following reasons:
1. Rimmer is no longer a hologram. By itself this wouldn't be a problem, but it ties in with..
2. There are quite a number of episodes with little or no science fictional element whatsoever. There was one episode I was sitting through thinking.. this could happen on any sitcom anywhere. The whole plot revolves around secretly videoing people for fun and profit.
3. Too many penis jokes. There are entire plotlines, both A and B, revolving around penises. It's insane.
4. Sexist plots involving Kryten being labelled a woman because of a lack of a penis and his inability to understand how to interact with a woman. (Despite having served an all-female crew for like.. centuries. Conveniently they explain this by saying he wiped that info from his memory banks to free up space.)
5. The Captain of the ship is just bizarre. It was the same captain as before, but now he has such a larger role that I realized just how awful he is. I think he's supposed to be American. Possibly the actor is even American. But I swear he comes across as a Trekkie fan trying to play Starfleet Captain. (And I've seen better acting in Trek fanfilms.)
So I'm not sure I hold out much hope of this new Red Dwarf being fantastically good. But hey, it'll be something new to watch at any rate. And maybe it'll spawn some new comedic science fiction shows in the UK or US. We could certainly use some.
I just found out they're releasing a special on Easter. I'm sure I'll be comparing it with the Dr. Who special to see which was better. :)
I think the best Red Dwarf episodes were in the middle. The best combination of characters seemed to be Lister, Rimmer, Cat, and Kryten. Though I do prefer Holly as male. I didn't used to like Kochanski, but she did begin to grow on me by the time I got to the end of the series. She was fitting in more as part of the ensemble and not just the object of Lister's affection.
In the second to last series, Rimmer is gone. ICly gone. Yet somehow he appears in every episode except one, I think. Through various science fictional and televisional machinations. Which is good, because I'm not sure you have a show without Rimmer.
There's no question in my mind that the worst series is the last one. For the following reasons:
1. Rimmer is no longer a hologram. By itself this wouldn't be a problem, but it ties in with..
2. There are quite a number of episodes with little or no science fictional element whatsoever. There was one episode I was sitting through thinking.. this could happen on any sitcom anywhere. The whole plot revolves around secretly videoing people for fun and profit.
3. Too many penis jokes. There are entire plotlines, both A and B, revolving around penises. It's insane.
4. Sexist plots involving Kryten being labelled a woman because of a lack of a penis and his inability to understand how to interact with a woman. (Despite having served an all-female crew for like.. centuries. Conveniently they explain this by saying he wiped that info from his memory banks to free up space.)
5. The Captain of the ship is just bizarre. It was the same captain as before, but now he has such a larger role that I realized just how awful he is. I think he's supposed to be American. Possibly the actor is even American. But I swear he comes across as a Trekkie fan trying to play Starfleet Captain. (And I've seen better acting in Trek fanfilms.)
So I'm not sure I hold out much hope of this new Red Dwarf being fantastically good. But hey, it'll be something new to watch at any rate. And maybe it'll spawn some new comedic science fiction shows in the UK or US. We could certainly use some.
