Red Dwarf blasts off with new series Back to Earth

[IndianaGreen]

Red Dwarf blasts off with new series Back to Earth

After 21 years of drifting in space, Lister, Rimmer, Cat and Kryton return to earth in a new three-part special. Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn discuss their comeback.

By Clive Morgan
Last Updated: 1:42PM BST 10 Apr 2009

They were doomed to be lost in space for eternity but 10 years after the crew of Red Dwarf were last seen on our television screens they're returning for a three-part special.

Written and directed by co-creator Doug Naylor, the new mini-series reunites the original cast of Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn in time to celebrate the cult sci-fi sitcom's 21st anniversary.

"It's 10 years since (Red Dwarf)'s been on telly, but not 10 years since it's been at the forefront of my mind because of the attention it gets," explains Danny John-Jules, who stars as the jive-talking half-man, half-feline Cat.

"So it's never really been away for us. It'll probably always be a part of my life."

But after such a long hiatus, other members of the cast had doubts about returning to the show.

"I did worry about coming back to Red Dwarf a bit," says Craig Charles, who plays slob Dave Lister.

"I think we all had to think about it very carefully because it has achieved iconic status."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5136319/Red-Dwarf-blasts-off-with-new-series-Back-to-Earth.html

Earlier story posted in DU back in January:

Ignis (1000+ posts) Thu Jan-29-09 11:04 AM
Original message

RED DWARF -- coming back to Earth!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=265&topic_id=5374

[Deja Q]

1. Saw some of it on youtube...

It's actually pretty good.

Amazing what they can do with CGI -- though the scale is a little bit off and the angle shots reveal the 2D nature of many 'sets'. Still, even without the laugh track, there's a lot that's actually funny. I miss the laugh track though; that added a 'party' atmosphere.

[Forkboy]

2. I almost watched a stream of it this weekend.

It's already up on a few sites. I'm not going to be able to hold off until a DVD arrives on our shores.

And I really like this part of the article...

"I think that there's very much a feeling that this could be a new beginning," says Barrie excitedly. "Obviously there are a lot of ifs ad buts hanging around, but we all think it's going to be absolutely fantastic when it goes out.

"We all think this could be the start of something big - perhaps another mini-series, a film or just a series.

"None of us has ever closed the door on Red Dwarf.

Fingers crossed.

[Ignis]

3. Thanks for the nod.

I'm still terribly excited about this mini-series...no matter how awful it turns out to be. ;)

[Forkboy]

4. I know two people who have watched it, both big fans...

...and both said it was stupid beyond words. The story sounds dumb to me, and I guess that's how it came out. They both said there were a few funny moments, but overall they agreed it was a dog. I'll still watch it. I hated series 8 at first and now I like it, so you never know. But it doesn't sound hopeful. :(