Rehamstered Announced! News Posted by John Hoare on 22nd December 2006, 12:41 Wow. We’ve had the odd hint on the Webboard over the past few months, but now it’s official – Red Dwarf Remastered has been announced for DVD release as a four disc boxset, with a Region 2 release aiming for October 2007. And as we’re moving from VHS to DVD, I suppose we’d better start calling it by its official name and lose the dash, and the capitalisation when not referring to it as a title. The logo said Re-mastered though, honest… Now, let’s get one thing straight from the off. I think the remastered series is fucking appalling. I think the replacement CGI is awful and pointless, I think the cuts to the dialogue are horrible, I think the additions made are rubbish (the complaints about the added skutter to the opening of The End have almost become a cliche, but it does seem to encapsulate everything that’s wrong with the remastered episodes), the film effect is revolting, and the additional sounds and different music at best don’t add anything, and at worst are just incongruous. There’s the odd improvement – you actually get to see Rimmer kneeing Hollister in the balls in Stasis Leak, for instance, as the edit was dodgy in the original version and missed the impact – but most of it is just diabolical. And I’m not convinced that the series will work better on DVD than it did on VHS, at least for me – I saw the episodes when they were broadcast on BBC TWO, and I still hated them. But I don’t care. I’ll still be buying this, and I’m hugely looking forward to it. Partly because this is still Red Dwarf, and like it or not, part of Red Dwarf‘s history. As a fan, I want to own these episodes, if only to sit there complaining about how shit they are. But the main reason is obvious – EXTRAS. And specifically: PROPER, EPISODE-BY-EPISODE DOCUMENTARIES ON SERIES 1 AND 2. However much this release ends up costing, it’ll be worth it for those. And just as each set of documentaries – II and IV, V and VI, VII and VII – has been getting better, I fully expect these two documentaries to be the best of the lot. I suppose the guessing of the titles starts here, folks. And: “exciting and unexpected contributors”? Oooh… Perhaps most intriguing of all, though, is the dedicated Red Dwarf Remastered documentary. And it’s here that GNP has been shown to make the right decision; at the time of the VII and VIII releases, there were complaints from some quarters that the doccos didn’t cover the remastered series. The reason was simple – if they’d covered the remastered series then, it would have taken away money from some of the other extras on those discs. Far better to spend the money on actual VII and VIII material, and hope for a remastered release at some point down the line. And it’s turned out to be exactly the right thing to do. Moreover, we know from previous doccos that GNP don’t shy away from covering the more problematic areas of the show; the Juliet May stuff in Heavy Science being the most obvious proof of this. The fact that Andrew calls the remastered series controversial in the article means that this should be a balanced view of the end result. Doug Naylor himself has said that whilst he thinks the sound was an improvement, the CGI wasn’t; and he’s known for giving forthright opinions on the DVD doccos. Of course, it is important to note that whilst I, and everyone I know, hates them, some people do prefer them; no doubt the documentary will reflect both sides. Oddly enough, I’m perhaps more intrigued about the production of the remastered episodes than I am of the series; partly because I’ve always been fascinated in different versions of programmes, and the decisions taken to change certain things, partly because I’m intrigued to hear the reasons given for some of the changes, as I hated so much of the end result, and partly because this is new territory for a documentary to cover – we’ve all heard endless stories about Red Dwarf over the years, but the remastered series just hasn’t been dealt with much at all. Personally, I’m intrigued as to why there are different versions of the remastered series hanging around – the versions released on video were not the versions broadcast on BBC TWO. For instance, the fake widescreen effect was present on some versions, but not others – and the odd sound effect was different too. Not only that, but we’re promised further extras beyond the big three documentaries. Presumably, some of the stuff related to the remastered series as shown by the VFX guys at the last two Dimension Jumps will be included – especially the one physical model shot done of the remastered version of Red Dwarf, of the end credits flyby. No doubt some people will see this as trying to milk every last drop out of the fans; I can hear the complaints now. The fact is – nobody is forcing anybody to buy this release. I think it’s worth it; not for the episodes themselves as entertainment value, but because they’re historically interesting – and more importantly, for the extras. It’s no secret that GNP desperately wanted to do Series 1 and 2 doccos at the time; whilst it’s probably stretching it a bit to see the entire release as an excuse to do those two documentaries, it’s extremely convenient that this release allows them to do so. Coupled with the remastered docco, the three main documentaries will be the main reason I’m buying this release. If you don’t think it’s worth buying, then don’t buy it. Me? I’ll be desperately looking forward to this release for the next 10 months, thanks.
Well, this is good, I suppose. I’ve always wanted to see the Remastered series properly, just so I can decide for myself how crap it is. The most I’ve seen so far is some blurry clips on Youtube, and the Japanese The End, and that fake skutter is indeed shit. Still, the new doccos and stuff should be good.
I brought the Series 1 & 2 VHS releases but was really annoyed at how crap they were I didn’t get series 3. This release is indeed a great new thing with the only downside being the episodes themselves. Bollocks to those who say its milking it for all its worth (There may be some elements of truth to that but I can’t see them) but its the documentaries that I’m looking forward to seeing.
There’s plenty of entertainment to be had from the episodes anyway. I watched several Rehamstered episodes with John *years* ago, not long after we first met, and stayed up all night talking about how shit they were. And there’s always this as well….
GNP can milk as many versions as they want, so long as the quality stays at the level of previous releases. And, by Christ, I can’t see that not happening. The question is: should they keep the original (and bloody lovely) Mark Wilkinson artwork, or plumb for something totally different?
Damn you Mr. Ellard and GNP – won’t you let me live? I’m curious though; will these strictly be just the remastered ep’s as originally shown or will GNP be tinkering with them as per Tikka to Ride remastered? There is a hint of this in TOS story…
“The question is: should they keep the original (and bloody lovely) Mark Wilkinson artwork, or plumb for something totally different?” Although the artwork is extremely good I would prefer if they did somthing different, but definatly not just a rehash of the VHS Re-mastered boxes.
I’m pretty certain they’ll go for something different. I’d love to see all the artwork as desktop backgrounds on TOS, though – I know one of them is there (as I nicked a section of it for this article), but I’d love to see all six for download. I think they’re by far the most beautiful thing to come out of the entire remastered project.
As Imalumberjack said, it’d be pretty cool if they improved the CGI for the DVD release. Tikka to Ride Re-Mastered was gorgeous, and if they gave this release the same treatment, it would give more reason to buy these DVDs.
I don’t think they will do. Not for all 18 episodes at least – it’d just be far too expensive. For one episode, I suppose they could do it. But the reason I liked Tikka Remastered is that it actually improved on the original programme, as there were severe effects problems with the original. With Series 1-III, you may well improve the remastered eps if you did nicer effects… but it’s a pointless exercise, as in my opinion, you’d never better the effects of the original shows. The money would be better spent elsewhere, I think – on the doccos, or the other extras.
>I don?t think they will do. Not for all 18 episodes at least – it?d just be far too expensive. Good point. Which brings me to my second pointless question; On the upcoming doccos it has been hinted that new contributors are in the works. Robert Bathurst would have to be one of my guesses, as might Mr. Augins of Queeg fame. However, wouldn’t it be a bit odd if Rob Grant contributed here of all places? I mean, weren’t the remastered versions completed after his still inexplicable break up with Doug Naylor? And he wouldn’t even appear during the superb I-VI releases! We can always dream, but still…
I must admit, I’m desperately hoping for Rob Grant will be part of the doccos. Not the remastered one – but the Series 1 and 2 ones, where he *could* have a huge input.
>the edit was dodgy in the original version and missed the impact Always wondered if a similar dodgy edit is the reason we don’t see the chef vomit into Basil’s plate in Gourmet Night. I honestly can’t decide if it was a sloppy edit or an intentional decision to cut to Sybil instead. One thing’s for sure…the audience saw it.
I’m almost certain that was a deliberate decision. In fact, I think I read somewhere that Cleese decided not to show the vomit itself in the final cut. It *is* clunky, though – I think they would have been better showing it if they couldn’t do it any better than that.
> Not the remastered one – but the Series 1 and 2 ones, where he *could* have a huge input. Yeah, they just HAVE to get him in for an interview. Comments on writing the early series’ would be welcome from both him and Doug. Maybe there could be an extra about the writing, or about Rob and Doug themselves. Better still, why not make an extra called ‘Rob and Doug Have It Out’ and…just lock them in a room or something…and don’t let them out…EVER…no, I mean don’t let them out until they’ve written IX and X and a new Dwarf novel. To be more serious for a moment, it surprised me that upon reading the Rob Grant SFX interview I felt strangely angry (pissed off) that it referred to him as co-creator of Red Dwarf. Not that I’m disputing that he IS the co-creator of Red Dwarf, but…I don’t know…he hasn’t been involved with Dwarf for a fucking age, and Doug has been the one slogging it out making two series’ and trying to get a fucking movie made…while Rob’s just…fat…I mean he’s written a couple of decent novels and pieces of shit series’ AND is fat. I mean they shouldn’t just refer to Dwarf when he distanced himself from it and…I don’t know.
By the way, if they GUSH over the Rebastard episodes in the interviews I’m not buying the set. I don’t want the cast going on about how great the CG is when it clearly, plainly, definitively ISN’T. I don’t want to know how hard Craig masturbates over the reshot opening. I don’t want to know how EVERYONE LOVES the pots-and-pans sound effect when a HOLOGRAMMMM smashes into something offscreen. ALLLLL the cut lines are WRONGLY CUT. Just fuck it. I know I’ll own the set in the end though…
Ah. So. ReMastered, then. Goosnargh. Really, that’s the best I’ve got at this point. There’s something I know I ought to say, but damned if I know what it is; hence, “goosnargh”. Also: >And: ?exciting and unexpected contributors?? Oooh? My stomach lurched in the funniest way when I read that. I wonder, is it a premonition, or am I just imagining things? Also also: >By the way, if they GUSH over the Rebastard episodes in the interviews I?m not buying the set. We haven’t had to worry about that yet, have we? Hell, if nothing else I bet they’ll have Norman Lovett in to raise the complaining quotient to acceptable levels =P .
It would be nice to get a Writer/Director commentary. And yeah, the effects of the show don’t really need tinkering, they’re generally at least perfectly sufficent in the remastered series and sometimes superb – Bodyswap etc. The only shot that I would like to be changed, if it wasn’t already, is that one where the Cat is in his ‘spacesuit with cufflinks’ walking over to Blue Midget. The only Remastered episodes I saw was the Stasis Leak to Parallel Universe video and all three were significantly better untampered with when I bought the Series 2 DVD.
You are performingmonkey, and I claim my five pounds. That’s not fair, I called it way before you did!
> The only shot that I would like to be changed, if it wasn?t already, is that one where the Cat is in his ?spacesuit with cufflinks? walking over to Blue Midget. Mmm. It wasn’t changed for remastered, as far as I can remember. Nor was the dodgy bluescreen work in Marooned.
Wish I could get the bonus disc seperately, since I don’t want to rebuy S1-3 slightly altered to get it. Which of course is why there’s no chance of it happening, since it would take a big chunk out of RD:RM sales…
> You are performingmonkey, and I claim my five pounds. Whatever gave you that impression? The fact that I posted a load of hate-fuelled drivel at some ungodly hour? No no no, I’m a New Age born again non-idiot who loves all series’ equally, even when they’ve been anally raped with CG and cut to pieces for no reason. OK?
Remastered… I expected it to happen. Mainly because there isn’t a huge amount of other stuff to release on DVD- only the smeg up/outs comes to mind right now. I might buy it if it is a good price and the extras sound like they’re worth the money.
Problem with Remastered is that it can’t represent anything other than a work in progress. It’s attempting to “finish” the original version but fails in the same ways the ’97 attempt at the Star Wars special edition failed. In 2004 that was tinkered with again; there will always be the question “when/where do you stop? when have you reached the final version?”. I think the same thing applies to the Remastered Red Dwarfs – they don’t feel finished yet, so I stick to the originals or hold out until the final, proper remastereds are made.
That’s completely and utterly missing the point of this release, though. It’s not an attempt to show a definitive version of Red Dwarf. It may have been in 1998, but in 2007, the purpose of the release is to document a curiosity in Dwarf history.
I think those fans that according to Andrew Ellard were saying “why did you replace the cool special effects with rubbish Thunderbirds-style models for the DVD release?” would disagree with you there, though. The fans that consider the remastereds the better and definitive versions of the episodes. The wrong fans.
I think there are several different markets for this release. There’s the people who think the remastered’s are better than the originals. There are the people who think the originals are better, but want to watch the remastered’s for their historical context. There are the people who think the originals are better, but want to sit there and laugh at how shit the remastered’s are. And there are people who couldn’t give a fuck about the remastered’s, but want the Series 1 and 2 doccos (and whatever other extras are forthcoming). And there’s variations across the four groups – I find the historical context interesting, but (like Ian says above) also have fun laughing at how crap they are, *and* obviously I’m interested in the extras. What’s undoubtedly the case though, is that this is a release that isn’t really aimed at the casual viewer. They don’t fall into any of the four categories above, and they wouldn’t want to pay for the episodes twice.
I just don’t see how anyone could think the remastered episodes are better than the originals. Anyway, for this set I would like to see a re-remastering of an episode (probably ‘The End’) just as an experiment, if that’s possible.
>And there are people who couldn?t give a fuck about the remastered?s, but want the Series 1 and 2 doccos (and whatever other extras are forthcoming) That would be me >What?s undoubtedly the case though, is that this is a release that isn?t really aimed at the casual viewer. They don?t fall into any of the four categories above, and they wouldn?t want to pay for the episodes twice. Unless they come from somewhere that only ever saw the remastered versions on TV and have only had the same format available in bare bones format on DVD; y’know, the eternally damned… On a different note, I wonder if Paul Montague will appear to discuss ocean and military grey and if we will be given the chance (ducks out of the way of Mr. Ellard throwing a brick at head) to view or hear discussions about some early scripts that didn’t make it, such as the Rimmer stealing bits of Lister storyline…(I know Andrew, I know but maybe Rob Grant has a script tucked in his underwear draw or something?)
I was wondering about Paul Montague as well, actually. I think the Series 1 and 2 sets get a bad rap, to be honest. They’re nowhere near as nice as Series III onwards, but they work fine, and there’s the occasional one that’s really quite good (I always liked the corridor with the big arch in it, for instance). I think people overstate how bad they are. I just don?t see how anyone could think the remastered episodes are better than the originals. I absolutely agree. Seriously, I think I’m pretty open-minded (when I’m not deliberately being a cunt), but I can’t see why anyone would prefer the remastered versions at all. Still, there are people out there who prefer them, and much as I think they’re WRONG, they’ll be delighted with the episodes themselves. Anyway, for this set I would like to see a re-remastering of an episode (probably ?The End?) just as an experiment, if that?s possible. I think it would be interesting… but I’d rather see the money go elsewhere, to be honest.
>I think the Series 1 and 2 sets get a bad rap, to be honest. They?re not as nice as Series III onwards, but they work fine, and there?s the occasional one that?s really quite good (I always liked the corridor with the big arch in it, for instance). I think people overstate how bad they are. Then I’m not the only one! There is no question that the drive rooms in particular are a bit naff in series 1 and 2, but some of the sets were superb – look at the exterior shot of Confidence and Paranoia or the cinema set or the classic bunkroom. Of course the Series III sets and onward are better looking and slicker but oddly enough, there seemed to me to be more rooms in the early series with more scope (this is heresy I know and I will be burned at the stake for this), particularly in series 1 when they were stuck on board. Look at the below decks shots of the Cat’s ‘temple’ or the numerous corridor shots or the observation room for the pod or the cafeteria rooms that we never saw again and so on and on. Please note, I am NOT saying I prefer the look of series 1 and 2 to the wonderful work of Mr. Bibby and the location shots of the later series (such as Terrorform), but I DO think that the Series 1 and 2 rooms did the job of establishing the show in a way that you never would believe if you listened to all the subsequent bad publicity. And bugger it, I kinda miss Blue Midget… So roll on Paul Montague and tell us how it was decided and done – I for one will not stone you…
and if we will be given the chance (ducks out of the way of Mr. Ellard throwing a brick at head) to view or hear discussions about some early scripts that didn?t make it, such as the Rimmer stealing bits of Lister storyline?(I know Andrew, I know but maybe Rob Grant has a script tucked in his underwear draw or something?) Waitaminute – didn’t they rehearse that one in the spell where they were rehearsing but couldn’t shoot because of the technicians’ strike, which led to them spending all the money and the whole shebang needing to be remounted (i.e. refinanced)? After all, the switch from Kochanski to Rimmer @ the end of Balance of Power and creation of Me? was meant to have come in that period, no? I was wondering about Paul Montague as well, actually. I think the Series 1 and 2 sets get a bad rap, to be honest. They?re nowhere near as nice as Series III onwards, but they work fine, and there?s the occasional one that?s really quite good (I always liked the corridor with the big arch in it, for instance). I think people overstate how bad they are. I’ll come right out and say it – I prefer the main I/II ‘Dwarf sets to the main III/IV/V small vermillion one sets. I’d rather have grey than beigish cream, and I don’t see why the packing-crate walls are meant to look better. And the original bunkroom is miles better, especially with the big banana.
>Waitaminute – didn?t they rehearse that one in the spell where they were rehearsing but couldn?t shoot because of the technicians? strike, which led to them spending all the money and the whole shebang needing to be remounted (i.e. refinanced)? After all, the switch from Kochanski to Rimmer @ the end of Balance of Power and creation of Me? was meant to have come in that period, no? Yep, that’s the one, but according to Andrew no real script exists as most of it was cannabalized for other shows. This effectively killed the issue when it was brought up before, although I cling to a faint lingering hope as oddly enough Rob Grant makes mention of a full script in Six of the Best and in Son of Soup they do talk about rehearsing the show ready for record before the strike. Sadly however, this episode does appears to be lost forever…
There’s definitely an article about the Series 1 and 2 sets. I may *even* try to make the article resemble less like an enormous turd than usual.
One final question – if the bonus features are predominantly (if not exclusively) on the fourth disk, how much can material be squeezed into the available space? e.g. If each docco for Series one and two takes 1 hour/1 hour 15 mins and the remastered docco takes say another 30-40 mins, that’s 3 hours already – what else can actually be fitted in? Hopefully lots, but I’m just curious as to the practical implications here…
I’ve thought about this for some time now and any minor cynical feelings I had have melted away. My first impression was excellent, more Dwarf, more doccos and extras etc but there was a slight tinge of ‘hmmmm, re-mastered’, will it be worth it?.. When you think about it, looking back, the first DVD releases were met with shear delight, I found them to be far better than I’d hoped for, then one by one the subsequent releases just got better. Everyone involved would have been in a quandary at the outset as to what fans would have found interesting, a fine balance had to be found as to what the hardcore wanted and what the casual fan would consider entertaining. No doubt, with more archive available and a bigger budget for the later releases coupled with feedback and sales, the whole picture became clearer. Now we have the ‘second coming’ and an opportunity for Andrew and Co to fill in the cracks and really go for it, but that’s not to say that first time around it was possible to have done better. Everything seems to have fallen in to place now and yes, I’m delighted.. I just cant wait for the speculation to build and the tid-bits to come out. And here was me, thinking we had seen the best of it… Marvelous.
I wonder if there’ll be the option just to have a double disc set: the crucial episodes (ie the ones that were tampered with in the most interesting and/or controversial ways) on one disc; the extras on the other. Rather than EVERY episode needing to be bought all over again…
I don’t think that’ll happen, to be honest. I suspect the release will sell enough to be well worth doing… but diluting the sales, marketing, and profit by releasing two different versions would be unviable, I would think.
>I don?t think that?ll happen, to be honest. Neither do I. Sure would be nice, though. Sort of the opposite of Just the Shows. Red Dwarf Remastered: Just the Extras.
One final question – if the bonus features are predominantly (if not exclusively) on the fourth disk, how much can material be squeezed into the available space? e.g. If each docco for Series one and two takes 1 hour/1 hour 15 mins and the remastered docco takes say another 30-40 mins, that?s 3 hours already – what else can actually be fitted in? Hopefully lots, but I?m just curious as to the practical implications here? I would suggest that the three documentaries will be on the fourth disc, as there won’t be room for them on the other discs – which leaves around 30 minutes, or slightly under, free on each of the four discs, depending on how much they want to chance the bitrate. So they’ve got about an hour and a half to two hours to play with, after the doccos.
>which leaves around 30 minutes, or slightly under, free on each of the four discs, depending on how much they want to chance the bitrate. >So they?ve got about an hour and a half to two hours to play with, after the doccos Excellent – plenty of room for more RD goodness and endless speculation then…
> which leaves around 30 minutes, or slightly under, free on each of the four discs Don’t we think there will be commentaries on the episode discs? Or will these take up negligable space? The normal releases have generally treated the episodes + commentaries + menus as jam-packing it.
I think the menus will be toned down to save some space and time. It’d be silly to keep the old menus, as the release needs its own identity. So, more space there. I doubt there’ll be commentaries on each episode, either, but you never know.
Actually, I’d completely forgotten about the menus – they need to be taken into account. It’ll be interesting to see what we’ll get for those – whether they do tone them down to save money, or if they go the whole hog and get Deluxe Digital to do some new ones. I actually suspect we’ll get proper animated menus – either new ones, or adaptations of the previous menus – GNP haven’t skimped on the menus for any release bar Just The Shows – where the selling point was that it was no frills. The whole point of this release is almost that it’s a luxury item. Mind you, just to show how much you can get on one disc, look at Disc 1 of VIII: Comedy Connections – 29m 16s BITR Xtended – 82m BITR1 – 28m 24s BITR2 – 29m 9s BITR3 – 28m 26s I can’t find an entry on the BBFC site for the VIII menus, but based on previous series, and taking into account it’s not every menu as we’re only talking about one disc here, we’re talking about 5 minutes of menus on the episodes discs. Which all adds up to around 3 hours 22 minutes of footage, including menus. (The remastered episodes aren’t actually significantly shorter than the original eps – just check the BBFC.) So, if that pattern was followed, then there’s only around 17 minutes free for extras on each episode discs – not 30. But bear in mind that how much you can get on a DVD isn’t an exact science – it all depends on how far you want to push the bitrate. You could easily have half an hour of extras on the episode discs if you wanted – the Czech VII and VIII releases managed to squeeze all eight episodes onto one disc, for instance. But in the past, GNP/2 entertain haven’t pushed things too much – so perhaps my earlier figure of 30 minutes was too optimistic, especially if menus are taken into consideration. It’s interesting to note that BITR Xtended didn’t have its own chapter selection menu – so presumably, the amount of material on that disc was the maximum that GNP/2 entertain were willing to allow due to bitrate issues. As for commentary tracks – I have no idea whether we’ll get any or not. Ideally, it would be nice to get some kind of crew (or writers…) commentary on some of the episodes… but as it’s over the remastered episodes, perhaps it’d be difficult to focus on anything other than the remastered aspect, which is already covered in the seperate docco. My guess is that they won’t do any commentaries at all, although I wouldn’t put money on it. I can’t actually find out any information about how much space audio tracks actually take up, though. I don’t think it’s a lot. Might get a few extra minutes though, if there aren’t any commentaries. All guesswork at this point, anyway. Who knows how they’ll do things. And I’d point out that I’m obviously not an expert on these matters…
There’s something quite poignant about the fact that the spambot chose THIS story to bring to the top of the Recent Comments…
The spambot has just finished watching The Bodysnatcher Collection. Can’t you do one of those things that generates a random number/alphanumeric sequence in picture format to stop spambots?
No, because those things are enemies of the blind. And try not to reply to Spam messages, it looks bad when they get deleted.
>enemies of the blind. I’ve seen many sites use a “spoken verification” thing…presumably to accomodate the blind. It reads the word to you…no idea how difficult that is to implement. I imagine it’s quite difficult, actually…but there might be places online from which one could pluck an appropriate mechanism. Not that I’m complaining too much…with all of the moderators we have here Spam doesn’t seem to survive very long. But I thought I’d mention what I’ve seen elsewhere as an alternative.
