John’s Newsround – 1/2/09 News Posted by John Hoare on 1st February 2009, 01:45 INT. John’s Living Room. Night. JOHN is dozing. He stirs, opens his eyes, blinks. And looks round the room. JOHN: What the fuck? So, erm, yeah. There appears to be stuff happening. New Dwarf, or sommat, I dunno. Time to dust off the old Newsround moniker and see what’s up, yeah? In brief: the frogs get Series VIII (hooray) 1, Dave are showing a few Dwarf eps (oooh, how exciting), and the anniversary boxset gets a belated website (I really couldn’t give a flying one). In slightly more interesting news, Robert does a load of interviews in his car, which is excellent and is something we’ll cover in more detail at some point. Or at the very least, intend to. There’s also warnings about an unofficial Dwarf convention, which eerily reminds me of this doozy last year – and yes, the link on that thread still works, and points to the current event. So this is still as much as inspired by cashing in on the lack of DJ announcement so far this year again as it is on purely the new specials. The question is, considering the last DJ had falling numbers – how well did the unofficial event actually DO last year? Does anybody here know anyone who went? Would anybody here like to admit to going? It is, of course, inherently fucking weird that it seems that the main cast seem to be going to a convention that Grant Naylor are actively warning against. But I’m growing to accept things being inherently fucking weird with Dwarf these days. But enough of all this tot – onto the good stuff. The gist of it we already know – and JESUS CHRIST isn’t it exciting – but a few snippets caught my eye. Firstly – and yes, I know this little factoid has been bandied around elsewhere, including on the Dave site – it’s interesting that Doug Naylor is directing, for the first time since he and Rob stepped in for Series V. This is INTERESTING. Nice to see Helen Norman – credited as General Manager of of GNP for Series VII/VIII – step up to being Producer here (having fufilled the same role on the DVD extras.) In other returning crew news, we already knew about Andrea Finch and Howard Burden, but this doesn’t make it any less fantastic. Hooray too for the return of Jo Howard (who was, under the guise of Jo Bennett, very good value on the VII/VIII doccos). Meanwhile, Andy Martin, who was camera operator on Series VIII, steps up to being Director of Photography. Two newcomers have also been announced. It’s worth pointing out that this is the first live-action Dwarf made since the death of Mel Bibby; what he brought to the show is difficult to overstate. His replacement is Mark Harris as Production Designer; it’s a lot to live up to, but – whilst I haven’t really seen it – I know his work on the revived Captain Scarlet has been especially lauded. The other newcomer is Mike Seymour as Visual Effects Supervisor, who worked on Farscape (another show that I think looks fucking amazing but have never watched properly – add it to the list). No mention of either the Model Unit or Chris Veale, then… We also have a date for the start of the main shoot – February 16th, at Shepperton. Red Dwarf. Shooting at good old Shepperton. It warms the cockles of my hard, VII/VIII-hating heart. (We also know they’ve just done a day of location shooting this Saturday gone – and for once, I hope that celebrity photographers have put themselves to better use than this, and grabbed some snaps.) But the real news for me is: “Broadcasting over four nights from Friday, April 10th 2009 on Dave” – that’s Friday-Monday, folks. I didn’t predict this – I assumed they’d spread the new two-parter across Friday and Saturday, and then show Unplugged and the Making Of on the Sunday. Yes, I am worrying about the minutiae of this already, despite the fact there’s only a day or so in it. Help me. Don’t forget to keep checking our forums for the latest discussion – they’re quite metaphorically on fire at the moment. The next official news is due on Wednesday on the Dave site, although no doubt something will leak before then. And just to warn you that there might be some brief periods of downtime from Wednesday to Friday next week – we’ll try and keep them as short as possible, what with all that’s going on, but there’s some vital maintenance work that needs to be done. Soz. KEEP SMEGGING!!!!!!!!!1111111 1 – We shall of course endeavour to be equally as racist to all our European neighbours in forthcoming news articles. Next time: Belgians.
Hmmm. Interesting. Wrong Mike for Visual Effects Supervisor of course, but then I would think that. Damn, I was hoping for a sneak visit to Bro’s workshops if he was working on it (unlikely, he takes show security too seriously for that actually). Ah well, we’ll just have to see what this guy comes up with, he’s got an interesting resume.
> New to the fold is production designer Mark Harris, who is sure to become a fan favourite with his work here. Mark previous served as Art Director on Event Horizon and Quantum of Solace, as well as designing the 2005 Captain Scarlet series. Oooooh! How’re they affording these people on such a tinty little budget?
>How?re they affording these people on such a tinty little budget? They could either have all those lovely people or Norm.
I’m interested in the update regarding the BTL convention. It’s been talked about for a while, it’s interesting that now was chosen to mention it.
With the Fan Club at last having the chance to boost their membership following the most extraordinary Dwarf news ever(ish), it would be a complete bastard if some group of unconnected profiteering bastards stole the limelight.
>They could either have all those lovely people or Norm. So they have their priorities in place. This is good.
I’m actually strangely pleased by the news that Howard Burden is involved (although, if it hadn’t been confirmed before, the Craig picture was a dead giveaway). It means that a significant part of the show’s *look* should be intact.
> I?m actually strangely pleased by the news that Howard Burden is involved Do you actually read G&T?
Concerning the blurb, I found the highlighted text interesting: When Lister’s busy day of annoying Rimmer is interrupted by a monstrous attack, it’s pretty much business as usual – until a shock development throws Rimmer, Lister, Cat and Kryten back to planet Earth… This makes me wondering if they’re incorporating a stuff from the film script…. Could be anything of course, but it is interesting.
Sounds like a great crew so far. They’ll probably drop the ball with roles like Associate Producer though, just get anybody… I can’t be the only one hoping for Howard Goodall, but maybe it’s too early for him to be hired, with the music obviously done in post. I wonder where they’re shooting tomorrow and whether the cast are gonna be fully suited and booted for it. It’s obviously somewhere so specific that they can only do it tomorrow, way earlier than the rest of the shoot.
There’s one day of *advance* location shooting. This won’t be the only day of location shooting, I shouldn’t wonder.
Oh ok unless they are only on earth for about 3 or 4 minutes of the two-parter. Just because they get back to it doesn’t mean they get onto it.
>>Do you actually read G&T? >What?s that? It’s just some site about this old sci-fi comedy show or something. I’ve been there once or twice. The site regulars are a real bunch of fuckers tho’.
All good news. So 1 DAY after the 21st anniversary, they shoot at Sheperton. Still no confirmation on studio audience yet then?
At least one of the specials is getting an audience, but I forget where I read that. My bet is on Whose Dwarf is it Anyway.
Bobby confimed it in the last Wet Liberal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_gnDRXlTG4&feature=channel_page I’m still clinging to the hope that this may be the Manchester show. But I think I may be deluding myself.
>I?m still clinging to the hope that this may be the Manchester show. If it is there’s a very vague chance I might make it over. I also wonder if this will be put out on DVD in an extended format at some point, or whether it is actually going out live to air.
Awesome. Obviously I think we’d all like as many of the classic-era production names as possible, but the newcomers seem to have a bit of pedigree to them. Splendid.
As has been suggested, it’s possible there will be just one Shepperton audience night for both the main episodes, with plenty of pre-records (both on location and in studio) screened and only a handful of ‘live’ scenes.
okay i’m new to Twitter reporting, but i’ve been checking out Bobby’s page http://twitter.com/bobbyllew and found this: “First tweet in full make up. Nice and cold. Perfect for me, bit chilly for humanoids. Will post some pics in 2 weeks. Really good pics” sorry if i’ve posted this info wrong, but thought it was worth mentioning.
I assume Daves next update will be of Kryten in all his glory, I hope, I need him to shine as my desktop background.
>I?m hoping for some clue about which Rimmer we?re getting. I think this will be coming sooner or later with the various photos on the Dave site. Of course they might decide to keep this nugget right up until the broadcast…
I think he’s gonna be a hologram no matter what, but they won’t go into detail about whether he’s the ORIGINAL hologram Rimmer or the VIII Rimmer brought back as a hologram after he died sometime in the last ten years. Doug, Chris or anyone else can tell us this, it doesn’t really need to take up any of the episode time.
Loathe though I am to admit it, I reckon we might be looking at the ultimate Dwarf Nerdgasm, here – a story set after series VI that retcons away VII and VIII.
I doubt it. That would be akin to Doug saying “VII and VIII were mistakes” which he is highly unlikely to do, despite his own critisms of them, nor should he do. They happened, they’re official, they’re canon… deal with it! We’re told this story is set 10 yrs later, so anything could have happened in the meantime to explain away any changes, it will probably just be left to our imaginations. I do agree that Doug and co are probably looking to recreate the style and feel of what most consider ‘classic’ era Dwarf, probably around the series III-VI mark… but it will be ten years after VIII. I’m fine with it, just happy to get to see more.
Your rambling bollocks are interesting John. Mind you, I think they said the same thing about Archie. Just keep those pockets buttoned. ;)
>I?m interested in the update regarding the BTL convention. It?s been talked about for a while, it?s interesting that now was chosen to mention it. I’ve missed the boat on this one…why is this BTL convention so dodgy? And if it’s as nefarious as everyone here seems to think, why are so many cast members getting involved?
> how well did the unofficial event actually DO last year? It never happened: http://showmastersonline.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=40412&hl=better+than+life
>I?ve missed the boat on this one?why is this BTL convention so dodgy? Because it’s entirely unofficial and unauthorised. It’s using the Red Dwarf name (not to mention lots of copyrighted artwork) without ever consulting GNP, and going behind the production company’s back by contacting the cast and getting them to show up. Red Dwarf has an official convention, it’s the fan club one. So it’s therefore not in GNP’s interests to encourage people to go to this one. In terms of its dodginess, well : – The same company run near-identical conventions for various other shows. In other words, it’s not exactly like they’re Dwarf devotees looking to get like-minded folk together and put on a fun weekend. – Look at the pricing structure. If you pay extra, you get “priority seating” and extra stuff. This is utter bollocks, and not exactly conducive to the idea of a group fan convention atmosphere. – You have to PAY to get things signed. And to get photos. It’s not included in the admission (unless you’re paying the top whack, in which case you get one or two for free). – The weekend doesn’t actually appear to consist of anything other than autograph/photo sessions and “guest talks”. Nothing about it suggests that it’s specifically targeted at Red Dwarf fans. There are no social events or anything. They’re shysters, basically, and they need to fuck right off. Furthermore, the fans who are taken in by it and end up going will spend their money on this instead of any potential future Dimension Jump that might come along, thus making it harder for the fan club to get numbers together for their own, actually official, event.
Thanks for the clarification. Hopefully GNP will put the boot in, particularly where using the RD imagery is concerned. I’m sure that, combined with the cast member appearances will lead many to wrongly assume this is an official, endorsed event.
>OK we had hoped to have been able to have pulled this off but with only 29 tickets sold 14 of them being gold it is impossible to try to run this event That’s hilarious.
we are also going to lose a lot on the hotel as well as we have to pay them if the event happens or not so all in all its bad news for us all refunds will be going out soon. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ha! Skit!
“This isn?t what the fans want.” http://www.biggiantrobots.com/tv-programs/red-dwarf-has-had-its-day/
“from what I have head it sounds as if the two episodes will be more of a clip show than story” Nice to see that someone’s done their research and knows what they’re talking about.
At least the making of is obligatory (since confidential, and stuff). Clearly, good behind the scene documentaries have not existed pre-confidential.
But its not being produced by the BBC, its not even showing on the BBC. It is being produced and shown on Dave. A mediocre TV channel known for showing re-runs of old BBC shows. It is great to watch them again, but I do not want them making their own content. But they are, and my favourite show at that. You’d think Dave were scripting it by the way he’s talking there.
I’ve sent off a reply, too. Let’s see if he approves! But basically that article is just a mish-mash of half truths dresse dup as facts and a one big assumption about what he thinks fans want. But it’s all ok because he’s seen every episode and saw the original broadcast in 1988, which means his opinion matters more.
>But nothing we have not seeing the either of the two hour long making off videos (?smeg ups? and ?smeg outs?). Those were making-ofs?
>a mish-mash of half truths dresse dup Capps, when you become a rapper, can your stage name be Dresse Dup?
If it’s any consolation – i.e. if you liked the DVD docs – I’ll be directing the broadcast Making Of.
You’re clearly copying from Confidental, though. Even though you started the DVD docs well before Doctor Who even came back.
that’s great news Andrew, the doccos are the highlight of each series DVD, excluding the cast commentary.
If it?s any consolation – i.e. if you liked the DVD docs – I?ll be directing the broadcast Making Of. I’m also presuming that there will be a DVD, and that you will be instrumental in making it awesome.
> If it?s any consolation – i.e. if you liked the DVD docs – I?ll be directing the broadcast Making Of. Even though this means I’m going to wrestle with imdb again – I’m happy!
If it?s any consolation – i.e. if you liked the DVD docs – I?ll be directing the broadcast Making Of. I love them, obviously, but I was wondering the other day why there is half a “DVD Extra” title sequence at the end of “The Beginning”. I can’t see that it was re-rated, maybe my player’s just being silly…? Anyhow, is the making of going to be 24 minutes as well? Because half the fun of the DVD Doccos is that they’re so long…
Well if an x-tended version of the episodes will appear on the DVD what is to stop an x-tended behind the scenes.
> I was wondering the other day why there is half a ?DVD Extra? title sequence at the end of ?The Beginning?. I can?t see that it was re-rated, maybe my player?s just being silly?? Must be. Dunno what that is – mine plays the doc, ends the doc with the GNP logo, goes back to the main menu. Never known a version do anything else. (Winding through it’s interesting, actually. I’m still stupidly proud of our cut to the first clip of the Confidence and Paranoia section. If you didn’t know the show, you’d never notice. And it states the episode concept so succinctly!)
No. It appears to have settled down here as well now. Whoops. Sorry. Dunno what my Mac was doing with it the other day! It looks like there’s a few seconds of black at the end so maybe it got bored. I like “The Beginning” and “It’s Cold Outside”. I’m somewhat intrigued as to what we’ll get this time, as you’re making it at the time rather than 10 years later. I hope we still get lots of talking.
The Red Dwarf DVDs/docs have been absolutely excellent over the years, be it the work of Andrew, or GNP, or whomever… there’s no reason to expect anything less. Seriously, Red Dwarf is the absolute leader in the field when it comes to this kind of bonus/extra material, 99% of other releases should hang their heads in shame in comparison. Best bang for your buck on any DVD shelf.
Red Dwarf is the absolute leader in the field when it comes to this kind of bonus/extra material, 99% of other releases should hang their heads in shame in comparison. Best bang for your buck on any DVD shelf. Bless you, Andrew. Blandrew.
Right. Was wondering where the fuck you were. For those wondering why I’ve not been around recently – over the last few months I’ve moved to London, and got a job in the BROADCAST INDUSTRY as a VTR Operator. So I’ve had limited time for G&T stuff whilst all that was being sorted out. I’m back now, though!
>I?m back now, though! Welcome to Ganymede and Titan. We’re a Red Dwarf fansite about Colin Baker in HD and swearing.
