Red Dwarf

[Deja Q]

Poll question: Red Dwarf

What is your favorite series/season of Red Dwarf? (oh, the movie's recently been filmed too... though it's too much of a battlestar galactica ripoff for my liking...)

Edit: Added season airdates.

[ComerPerro]

1. Ive only caught the first one

So, 1 I guess.

[Deja Q]

2. You'll LOVE seasons 2-5

It starts do go downhill in season 6, though "Psirens" is hilarious and "Legion" uses some nice sci-fi elements and uses CGI-based spacecraft/space stations...

Season 7 retools the series as a "dramady" (dramatic comedy) and it falls on its face.

Season 8 tries to recapture the season 2 feel, but it doesn't quite work. Not having Rob Grant as a writer for seasons 7 and 8 also contributes to the show's demise, but season 6 was clearly showing signs it was wearing out anyway.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

3. Its no Blake's 7...

Actually, its better.

Don't know them by season/series, but I tend to like the earlier episodes. They were more straightforward. It seem that the more the show went on the more clutter it collected and the stories got bogged down. Like the female clones one. What was that?

Classic Brit Sci-fi none the less.

[Az]

4. Avon LIVES!

Come on! Like 9 federation officers could take Avon. Get real.

[Deja Q]

6. Sadly, he does live...

I feel he died on Gauda Prime. Indeed, the barrage of gunfire shot at him was only heard as the end credits rolled... Actually seeing Avon die would be way too much, and the B7 finale, having been aired a week before Christmas in 1981, did drive some people to attempted suicide as it was!

But, for the revival of the show to air in the UK in 2005, Avon definitely survived the Gauda Prime massacre. From there he'll probably verbally confirm if the rest of the old crew are truly dead, or simply locked up or in hiding as well. (though Blake clearly is dead...)

[CrownPrinceBandar]

7. See... Avon didn't die...

he's just too canny!

[Deja Q]

5. B7 vs RD - apples and oranges

B7 is sci-fi drama, RD has always been comedy.

In terms of effects, RD is naturally better. It was made 9 years later and newer technologies kept production costs down. RD was still low budget, but the ship fx were awesome and, unlike B7, readily hold up today. :-)

Yeah, the earlier stories do hold up better. Season 3 started the trend of greater sci-fi elements, but humor was still forefront and the sci-fi didn't become hard-core until season 5. But even then it was still funny, if not a bit more complex...

I don't recall a female clones episode. I do recall a parallel universe episode where the crew met their female selves (series 2) and "Rimmerworld", which was where Rimmer somehow cloned himself and actually kissed one of his clones (season 6)... also note, with no Rimmer DNA, how could he create a race of beings based on himself?! All sci-fi has to bend the rules at times, but Rimmerworld strains credibility way too far. :cry: Pity, as it had some good moments... but I think you're thinking of Rimmerworld, which was when the series put more emphasis on cluttery sci-fi over comedy.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

8. Maybe I was thinking about "Rimmerworld"

It just seemed weak and contrived.

But for the most part I really liked RD. When I first saw it I was coming out of a big Dr. Who phase and it really clicked with me. Not only was it sci-fi, it was funny. In some strange way I kinda thought of it as "The Young Ones in Space." It had that madcap kind of feel.

[yorgatron]

9. i can't vote for all of them?

i have to agree with you II through V are the best,I is really just explaining the premise and getting a feel for things.VI has a couple problems,but nothing that keeps me from watching.VII and VIII the main problem is Kochanski is different,losing holographic Rimmer and making him more sympathetic is just wrong.i'm looking forward to the movie,though.has anyone else ever held a Red Dwarf marathon? gather your friends on a weekend and have at it,if you make it through all 8 seasons (not likely) you can watch "smeg ups","smeg outs","red dwarf A to Zed",and "can't smeg,won't smeg"

[TheMightyFavog]

16. When will B7 be released on DVD?

Any idea?

[Kamika]

10. Last season sucked

I was SO excited about the last season.. and then it sucked nuts :(

[Maeve]

11. Series 3 and 4 have just been re-released on DVD

Just got the notice from Amazon that my copies are in the mail!

[Deja Q]

14. The extras alone are worth the price!

Awesome interviews, great commentary, and the out-takes ('smeg-ups') are to die for, even if some poor sod who thinks we'll all be psychologically scarred for life if we hear the real words bleeped them out.

As for DVD compression quality, there are a few scenes where the compression is pretty bad. But I like to nitpick. I've bought all Dwarf volumes myself and I wouldn't return any of them. Even bad DVD compression is better than unavoidable VHS graininess...! (unless you have a HDTV set hooked up, in which case you're going to notice...)

Just wait until blu-ray DVD becomes standard. We'll have to re-buy all the discs, but they won't need to use any compression and the episodes will be pure-dee awesome to look at!

[DrWeird]

12. God, I have no idea which is which.

I've just caught the random episode on PBS. They were all really good though.

My favorite involved a malevolent android from the future who came back in time to fix mistakes. Which season was that?

[Deja Q]

17. Season 5, "The Inquisitor"

There's a lot of hard sci-fi going on, but it's funny as heck too because it mingles the sci-fi with comedy in a wonderfully original way.

The Inquisitor goes back in time and kills people that it feels led unworthy lives. It manages to get another sperm to meet up with the egg (I don't want to know HOW) and as a result a different person is created, to lead a different life... hopefully one that meets the Inquisitor's standards. Sounds gross, but it's nicely handled... and it is an original sci-fi concept.

[TheMightyFavog]

13. Series III!

Polymorph! The bit where Lister acts like an action hero badass and ends up whacking himself in the junk with the baseball bat is precious!

Marooned! Possibly the best written ep in the entire show, and the dog food eating scene is great, too!

Backwards! One word: Unrumble!

[Deja Q]

15. Quite!! Well, almost...

"Polymorph" ekes out as being slightly better than the rest of season 3, which is actually quite a feat. But no mention of the Polymorph and what it does which prompts Lister to get Kryten's help, with Rimmer stepping in to watch at just the right moment? I couldn't stop laughing either!! That episode is beyond original...

Season 3 is absolutely a high point for the show. The only clunker is "Marooned", but only because the surrounding stories are that much better, "Marooned" is hardly a clunker in any way shape or form (the dog food scene was uproariously funny!). I think "Marooned" might have been a series 2 script, edited to fit the new format. (witness the lack of Kryten and Cat...) But that's okay as series 2 was also a high point, just without the gloss...