Two new XI clips! News Posted by Ian Symes on 11th September 2016, 11:15 Four days to go until Twentica goes online, and the promo is ramping up. Dave have posted this video on Facebook, as a sponsored post (so that you can’t actually see it by going to their page, but it will show up randomly in people’s news feeds). Thanks to Craig Walker for bringing this to our attention. EDIT: Okay, turns out there are TWO new XI clips. Thanks to Ali Green and Curtis Threadgold for this one. That second one is truly excellent – with the exception of “could they by any chance be us?”, this is the first footage released where I’ve been impressed by the comedy, as well as just the aesthetics. Very exciting indeed.
Nice to see Kryten working on his stand-up routine after its brief appearance in Quarantine: (https://twitter.com/ganymedetitan/status/774615023356370944 :-)
A good Red Dwarf joke, The sort of joke that only this show can do, and relies completely on the characters.
I don’t mind the first clip but the second clip with Rimmer and Lister feels like once again an outdated discussion, like the entangled talk about the crew being wiped out, even series 3,4,5,6 and 7 had gotten over this stuff at that point while this feels like its forgotten just how much time has passed, unfortunately its one of my issues with the show since series 8
I LIKE that Rimmer and Lister are still bickering about the same stuff. Those kind of conversations are the core of their relationship! Interrupting each other as well, which is very much like classic 1 & 2 scenes. The Kryten moment is a tad…’obvious’. BUT it’s instantly better than most of X, partly because they’re not sitting facing the camera, like in the Drive room of X, which I bloody hated…
Kryten moment is a bit obvious, but Robert delivers the “and you are?” line very well. Second clip is fantastic. With the talk of Rimmer’s luck, I guess the second one (as well as ‘hand luggage’ and Mine-opoly) is from “Officer Rimmer” as it ties into his subsequent scandalous good fortune?
The “i never get the breaks” feels a little outdated at this point for a gag, i mean i think there was some of it series 8 but i actually can’t remember the latest time it was used before that, maybe dimension jump, its just one of those things i sometimes feel like Doug takes a concept from early series and drains it dry as if he felt it had not been used to its full value yet. Its sorta funny but it still feels outdated to me.
As I always say when trailers and clips come out – what you’re watching there is 20 seconds out of a 30 minute episode. It’s easy to assume that these tiny tasters will be hugely relevant when it comes to the final episode, but it’s just as likely that these themes only account for a small percentage of the episode’s plot.
The first one feel kinda like a throwaway gag from series VI, though the idea of Kryten trashing data files does make one think back to him doing that in series VII in Tikka to Ride. It’s okay, but as stated a little obvious….nothing too exciting. That bunk one is odd because I feel a little conflicted about it, on one hand it’s yet more attempts to go back to the bunk humour that the show has been trying to do since series VIII even though the show moved past that a long time ago……however it does feel like it’s one of Doug’s strongest attempts at recreating some of those series 1 and 2 gags.
Gotta say I do like the new angles . Series VII-esqe angle on Starbug is very nice. Jokes are very Dwarf-y . Krytens one got a little laugh out of me. The bunk scene was great. I’m guessing it’s setting up the scene for ‘Officer Rimmer’ as mentioned above. Even though his past was slightly bombshelled in ‘The Beginning’ it seems it hasn’t changed his bitterness.
Can someone confirm/deny if the Starbug clip is from Office Rimmer? Can’t work out if I’ve heard/seen it before.
That second clip has that repeating-a-phrase thing that kept popping up in Red Dwarf X. “Moves move”, etc.
That second clip has that repeating-a-phrase thing that kept popping up in Red Dwarf X. “Moves move”, etc. That repetition humor seems to be an element of Doug’s solo Dwarf. I began to notice it when rewatching VII and VIII for the first time after X, and now when anything similar pops up in classic episodes I think to myself, “Doug probably wrote that bit”. Also, I deeply hate the giant subtitles on those clips. I didn’t want to spoil anything for myself by reading ahead so I had to strain to ignore them. Why on Earth would they embed them into the video and then make them take up a third of the screen?
Also, I deeply hate the giant subtitles on those clips. I didn’t want to spoil anything for myself by reading ahead so I had to strain to ignore them. Why on Earth would they embed them into the video and then make them take up a third of the screen? Because people generally watch Facebook videos sitting on the toilet, muted. Yes, that’s literally the reason.
Because people generally watch Facebook videos sitting on the toilet, muted. Yes, that’s literally the reason. …I want to argue with that but I can’t.
That second clip has that repeating-a-phrase thing that kept popping up in Red Dwarf X. “Moves move”, etc. “Will you stop saying everything’s crypto-fascist!” “Black card…” “You see, Holly and me, we used to have a bit of an understanding…” “Would anyone like some toast?” I’m being contrary for its own sake I admit but there’s an argument that repetitious patter is an established ingredient of Dwarf. Doesn’t bother me but equally I understand what you mean.
I’m being contrary for its own sake I admit but there’s an argument that repetitious patter is an established ingredient of Dwarf. Doesn’t bother me but equally I understand what you mean. So that thing’s spewing time back into the universe?
Yeah, Facebook videos autoplay without sound, so most places (if they know what they’re doing) caption them nowadays.
I love those clips. Funny jokes, and they look fantastic. Doug’s directing really does look like its gone up a notch this series. And yeah if you know the characters, i suppose the ‘And you are?’ gag is a tad obvious. But is it any more obvious than Cat saying ‘Quick, lets get out of here before they bring him back’ in Holoship? Once you know the characters, you can almost guess the end of any character based joke.
Yeah, Facebook videos autoplay without sound, so most places (if they know what they’re doing) caption them nowadays. In a reverse of this twat evolution of spastic technology i am actually shouting this message to my neighbours at the same time as you read what I’ve just typed here. Happy 2016 everyone.
That Starbug cockpit looks phenomenal, the serious sci-fi look I’ve waited nearly 30 years for. Back in 88 it was a model shot in a trailer that made me want to watch. As sci-fi was a rare commodity across 4 channels back then anything remotely with a space theme was a must see and if it deliberately made you laugh like HHGttG, bonus.. Hope this will be a similar inspiration to a new audience. The comedy in these clips made me laugh. Admittedly they were a little recycled, no surprises but they give a comfortable reassurance that 11 heralds a return to the comedy of the golden years without giving away any plot. It looks superb on a tablet too. Christmas has been officially moved to September this year????
New Dwarf looks really good though. Loving all these clips, loving what I’ve seen in the studio. Really dont even care where it’s going to rank overall at this stage. I’m just gonna love the next 6 weeks or so starting Thursday. Smegtember begins for real. Also i used the word Smegtember (which i know some dont like) On August the 5th on a dave promotional picture of the episode titles, which said on the bottom brand new series September 2016. After this they started using Smegtember, can I use this fact to claim a free Red dwarf hoodie for my copyright infringement? Or do I have to accept that it’s a pun any half brained simpleton could have come up with after all that Movember nonsense about facial hair? I want a biscuit dam it.
That second clip has that repeating-a-phrase thing that kept popping up in Red Dwarf X. “Moves move”, etc. I think it’s much better than similar moments from X, though. It doesn’t seem repetitive in a bad way because it still feels natural, not forced like “Moves move”.
I should point out that it wasn’t necessarily a criticism the repeated thing, even the RDX stuff. It is at least distinctive, which isn’t a terrible thing in a writer… (And good point about stuff in earlier series, Darrell. It does get me wondering whether that stuff always came more from Doug…)
I should point out that it wasn’t necessarily a criticism the repeated thing, even the RDX stuff. It is at least distinctive, which isn’t a terrible thing in a writer… Fair enough, but I’ve only heard that brought up before in a negative way so I kind of expected the same here. The RDX repetition stuff doesn’t bother me per se, but I wouldn’t complain if it never happened again. The worst I can say about any XI clip we’ve seen so far was that I didn’t find it especially funny, but there’s nothing I disliked or thought didn’t work. None of these jokes would have felt out of place in a classic episode, but again these are cherry picked moments. I just can’t help being positive considering the set reports and the hype of seeing another six new episodes of Red Dwarf that look for all the world to be the Series VII we never got. No offense to VII, I really like it, but it’s not at all the same show. I don’t even know what the hell VIII was, BtE was a standalone special, and X felt more on the small scale of Series II except for Lemons. XI clearly has adventure episodes like we haven’t seen since V and VI. I will probably absolutely love Twentica the first time I see it. I’ll need to watch it three or four times before I can hope to have any chance of coming up with a reasoned opinion. Same happened with Trojan, although I suspect Twentica will be a much better episode. If it sucks, well, then I really don’t know what to feel considering we’re probably getting another two series after these.
I loved both of these clips. The Kryten gag is predictable but in an unpredictable sort of way – I knew it’d be a joke at Rimmer’s expense, but didn’t expect Kryten to have chopped him entirely. Nice. The cinematography in that clip is fantastic, too – great use of camera place, depth of field and so on. Arguably the best-looking bit of Dwarf I’ve seen since series VII. The second clip is solid bunk gag stuff of the caliber we haven’t had in decades. Bloody love it.
Just realised that all through these teasers, trailers, variants and previews, all we’ve heard from The Cat is a single “Owwwww”. Did Danny have any actual dialogue this year?
Just realised that all through these teasers, trailers, variants and previews, all we’ve heard from The Cat is a single “Owwwww”. Did Danny have any actual dialogue this year? Technically we’ve heard two – between the long and short versions of the initial trailer, although the same shot features in both the audio of Cat’s “Aaaaowww” actually seems to be different! No idea if one is the original audio and the other an ADR replacement, or if it’s simply been lifted from another scene in one version to help it work better as just a short trailer clip – either way, it doesn’t appear to have been done consistently between the two variants of the trailer. Puzzling, but there you have it!
Just realised that all through these teasers, trailers, variants and previews, all we’ve heard from The Cat is a single “Owwwww”. Did Danny have any actual dialogue this year? One would hope that he gets some dialogue in ‘his’ episode at the end of the series! In fairness, I don’t think Rimmer got a single line of dialogue in the official Series X trailer, and didn’t really have all that much in any of the sneak peeks either. At least we get to hear him this time around, although every line seems to be as the butt to a joke (“and you are?” / “half man full of bull” etc.) rather than he as the punchline deliverer.
That second clip has that repeating-a-phrase thing that kept popping up in Red Dwarf X. “Moves move”, etc. I think it’s much better than similar moments from X, though. It doesn’t seem repetitive in a bad way because it still feels natural, not forced like “Moves move”. Personally all the “moves move” stuff in X really wound me up, it felt like an English language exercise, or even worse a way of filling out the episode in the absence of gags. Really hope XI won’t be the same. *Prepares for backlash from angry fans of repetition*…… That said, I actually quite liked Dear Dave. So what do I know ????
Just realised that all through these teasers, trailers, variants and previews, all we’ve heard from The Cat is a single “Owwwww”. Did Danny have any actual dialogue this year I predict he will say Me? How?
I think the difference between this and “moves move” is that the repetition itself isn’t supposed to be a joke. Never understood how “moves move” was supposed to be funny; I think the above clip is.
The repetition stuff might come about from not having a writing partner to bounce ideas off. Doug getting trapped in his own joke spirals, where alternative thinking would take a scene in a different direction. Bring back Paul Alexander.
Bring back Paul Alexander. You mean the guy who wrote many of the worst moment in Krytie TV and Pete Part 2…….no thank you!
You mean the guy who wrote many of the worst moment in Krytie TV and Pete Part 2…….no thank you! I’m pretty sure that was the joke. He also wrote the Space Corps Survival Manual, which is somehow even more like Series VIII than Series VIII is. It’d be unfair of me to call him a bad writer as I’ve not seen any of his other work, but he’s definitely not very good at writing Red Dwarf.
Honestly the repeating thing here kinda works because the point is that it’s supposed to be a conversation that Lister has had with Rimmer many times over the years and his really tried of hearing it. It seemed to generally be far weaker in series X.
I’m pretty sure that was the joke. He also wrote the Space Corps Survival Manual, which is somehow even more like Series VIII than Series VIII is. Still though, you still do get a lot of defenders of series VIII, less on the fan sites but there are a lot of them. I have even meet someone who said Pete Part 2 was their all time favourite episode….so one never does know.
> You mean the guy who wrote many of the worst moment in Krytie TV and Pete Part 2…….no thank you! Haha. I need a laughter track.
Still though, you still do get a lot of defenders of series VIII I mean more in terms of the Survival Manual being built on Series VIII’s worst tendencies, being overly cartoony and flattening the character’s personalities basically the entire way through. It came out several years earlier in 1996, when all you had to compare it to were the original six series which would’ve made it stand out far worse. But while Series VIII does have plenty of good jokes along with the bad, the Survival Manual’s best jokes are the ones that don’t actively annoy me. Most of the character-related humor is incredibly one dimensional; every single Cat joke is either about clothing or how stupid he is (all of his S’s are even written backwards), while in an extremely bizarre and contrived thought exercise Lister claims he could prove his superiority over Newton and Einstein by challenging the other two to drink a yard of vindaloo sauce. Ha. Ha. Ha. The joke is that Lister enjoys curry. A section to devoted to survival stranded on a planet includes a list of edible GELFs featuring a chicken with tarantula legs and a Wildebeetroot. There’s also directions for eating your own limbs in case there are none of those truly hilarious Wildebeetroots about, while Cat suggests frying your own hairballs in butter. I don’t even think Series VIII would make that joke. The entire book feels like a bad parody of Red Dwarf, and it’s no shocker that this man co-wrote Pete Part II and Krytie TV. Huge shame he also co-wrote for Epideme. It’s my favorite VII episode, my one big nitpick of which is it doesn’t feel funny enough. Alexander also wrote the Red Dwarf Log Book No. 1996, released in 1995, which I don’t remember at all (I remember the Survival Guide well because I freaking LOVED it as a kid), but just taking it out and flipping through it again I see things like Rimmer’s to-do list featuring “Eliminate all music in the galaxy that isn’t hammond organ”, which is a terrible joke for reasons I’m sure I don’t need to explain. I’d really like to know why Doug thought this guy would be a good option for a co-writer. Did he never see the Log Book? I can’t believe he’d look over that, go “Yeah, yeah, no, yeah, no, yeah, yeah!” and then hire Alexander to help write the show. I mean I know his resume includes other things, but you’d imagine Doug would take special note of the Red Dwarf-related stuff he’d already written. Or maybe he’d already picked him 1995 and had him do this stuff on the side. Doesn’t matter, I just really wish this man had never been hired to write for Red Dwarf. He’s really bad at it.
Haha. I need a laughter track. Jokes are meant to be funny, that was just gross….Plus like I said, Paul Alexander does have his defenders.
The most interesting thing about The Log and The Survival Guide is the marked difference in The Cat’s handwriting. That’s it, actually.
Paul Alexander wrote a lot of The 10%ers and was making a name as an adaptable jobbing writer who could jump onto established shows yet who was a respected name in his own right through Staggered. He’s a name from before British TV became mono-obsessed by auteur theory, and whatever your opinion on his Dwarf writing was a wise hiring choice.
For what it’s worth, I quite like the Survival Manual, though I agree that the Log 1996 is pretty bad. *wanders off again*
For what it’s worth, I quite like the Survival Manual, though I agree that the Log 1996 is pretty bad. Despite how my review sounded, I can enjoy the Survival Manual if I treat it as its own thing and not a Red Dwarf book, since basically everything wrong with it comes from how poorly it fits into the Red Dwarf universe. I really loved it as a kid because I was too young to be concerned about whether or not it was consistent with the series in any way, I just accepted it as Red Dwarf because that’s what is said on the cover. At that age I was also legitimately baffled by the idea that Series VIII was considered inferior to or even differently written from the classic episodes, which I mention only because I believe it too holds up better if you pretend it’s its own thing and not a part of Red Dwarf. Babylon 5 meanwhile holds up better if you pretend it’s a spinoff of the bad CGI from Red Dwarf Remastered.
