It’s been mentioned several times before that, based on all available data, if there was one word to sum up Series XII, it’s “batshit”. The set reports indicated that several of the episodes are particularly out there, certainly compared to Series XI, and the early publicity would certainly seen to corroborate that initial assessment. Following on from last week’s somewhat unconventional group shot, no less than four individual character photos have been released on social media today (and then handily compiled on TOS), all of which feature one of the four boys in unusual circumstances. Let’s go through them one by one, in ascending order of weirdness.
It’s a cat in a porthole, waiting to drown. Alternative caption: Danny John-Jules’s Radiohead tribute act goes tragically wrong. The most unconventional thing about this picture is that Cat photos usually provide us with a good look at a brand new costume, but this shot offers few conclusions, other than the assumption that, at some point over the course of the six episodes, The Cat will be in danger of drowning behind a porthole. Moving on then…
Craig will be absolutely furious that they’ve released a photo of him without make-up, etc. Here we see a severely aged Lister, looking kind of like how he did in Future Echoes, but with two arms, more life-like ageing effects, and a dreadlocked beard. He’s also in the whitest room since the last Trump rally, complete with white clothing, white guitar and what look like white lager cans on the right hand side. G&T regular Craig Walker tweeted to point out the M-Corp logo on Lister’s top; I wasn’t sure at first, but it’s clearly visible in the higher-res version from TOS, if you squint a bit.
Next up, here’s Kryten in his absolute element, getting waited on hand and foot by a whole host of fellow mechanoids, like when the Tin Man first arrives in the Land of Oz. I particularly like the guy on the right wearing a beret and gloves, reminiscent of the leather daddy look that the original Kryten adopts at the end of Kryten. Slightly disconcerted by the way Kryten’s groinal socket dangles so provocatively.
And saving by far the best til last:
Our initial response on Twitter was simply “HOLY SHIT”, and I stand by that sentiment. This is an extraordinary image. It’s Rimmer, in a Series 1 style uniform, with a Series 1 style giant H, standing in what is clearly a Series 1 style set. There are some key differences though – there doesn’t appear to be any attempt to make him look younger, and his uniform indicates that he’s a Navigation Officer, rather than a lowly Second Technician. This is clearly not as straight-forward as a Balance of Power-esque flashback, or a Stasis Leak-esque journey to the past – this is something else entirely.
Bloody hell, just look at that picture. Just look at it. Since Series X, we’ve been saying how important it is that the revived Dwarf should focus on forging its own identity, and not concern itself too much with linking up with the show’s past. But now that new Dwarf is a semi-regular occurrence, established in its own right as a continuing series instead of a retro throwback, they can afford to indulge in a little nostalgia every now and then. It’s a similar situation to Doctor Who, which didn’t so much as show a still image of a previous Doctor until the third new series, but is now in the position where this year’s Christmas special is a sequel-of-sorts to a partially lost story from 1966. This picture appearing in our news feeds, with all the warm, happy feelings it evokes, is our equivalent of Hartnell’s TARDIS turning up in the Doctor Who trailer.
One further note: Naylor Minor has tweeted to clarify that these four images are taken from four different episodes. This is good for two reasons – firstly, it means that no one episode will have two or more of these extreme concepts competing for screen time, and it also means that the batshit vibe of Series XII will be present in more than half of the episodes, at the very least. We’re not sure which episodes are which, obviously, but I think it’s a safe bet that the one with all the mechanoids is also The One Where Everyone’s Kryten, and the one where Lister has “M-Corp” on his top is from M-Corp.
In other news, TOS reports that general tickets are now on sale for the premiere screening in Edinburgh at the end of August, but probably won’t be for long. Meanwhile, Matrix, the company behind the hugely successful Red Dwarf XI merchandise, tweeted a preview of a new Series XII t-shirt the other day, stating that the new merch will be available in September. Last time round, the shop launched on the same day as the series, so is this a further indication that Series XII will be hitting our screens in September? It won’t be long now until we find out for sure…
International Debris / August 4, 2017 at 1:59 pm / #
I am very excited. A shame there isn’t anything too crazy for the Cat pic, which is simply an action shot, and the Kryten one is less surprising than it could have been because of the two facts that a) we’ve known about this for ages and b) the first publicity shot confirmed it. It’s got my mind racing trying to think up how on Earth (or, indeed, in space) it’s going to happen, though.
The Lister picture gets stranger the more I notice. Instead of simply a flash-forward, Future Echoes-style, the flight case fitted with white cans of lager, the M-Corp logo make it all seem more complex and surreal. Looking forward to that.
I’m fairly sure I know which episode the Rimmer pic comes from, and I’m looking forward to it a lot.
Ali Green / August 4, 2017 at 2:04 pm / #
Series XIII will be hitting our screens in September too? Sorry not sorry 😂
George Kaplan / August 4, 2017 at 2:11 pm / #
Is that Butler standing behind Kryten? Certainly looks like him, albeit in a different suit to the one he wore in Krysis.
KyoSo / August 4, 2017 at 2:21 pm / #
Rimmer’s costumes are one of the points I’m particularly obsessed with, so obviously I am cumming right now and I don’t think I’ll stop for quite a while.
flanl / August 4, 2017 at 2:25 pm / #
Goodness, I hope not, they shouldn’t blow through all the new series at once.
Brayds2006 / August 4, 2017 at 2:35 pm / #
The Rimmer pic is bloody fascinating. I’m trying to wrap my head around how it’ll work exactly. Navigation Officer’s the big difference here, as well as his age (duh). I’m working on a theory that this is an alternate timeline where the crew were never wiped out and they continued on with their mundane 23rd/21st century lives. Wouldn’t exactly explain why Rimmer died though, but then again exploding boxes have taken him out so shouldn’t be too hard to write up a death for him in the many years since RD1 (Just how long has it been since Series 1 for them? I thought it was approx 15-20 years but will take answers on a postcard). Plus if he is as high ranking as is to be believed here then the ship’s hologram position would go to him and not some hoity-toity go-getter.
Shame we can’t see out the window – I want to know if they poked some holes in a black sheet and backlit it.
flanl / August 4, 2017 at 2:35 pm / #
When I first read this sentence, I definitely thought that foot was an entire groinal attachment. Yes, that socket is concerning, but at least Kryten isn’t a dickfoot.
McAleeCh / August 4, 2017 at 2:44 pm / #
Loving the recreation of the Series I-II costumes in that Rimmer pic – much more faithful than the monotone-khaki versions from Series VIII, but still looking a little more solid than the originals in terms of the materials used (unless that’s just the lighting tricking the eye – in which case, great job lighting department!). Wonder if they’ve gone the whole hog and squared off the end of the tie? = P
Also, that’s got to be the biggest “H” he’s ever had – I assume it’s meant to match the Series I-II version, but it’s definitely slightly exaggerated in size when comparing the two directly…! Now there’s a record I never thought would be broken, haha. XD
Most intriguing pics are definitely the Lister and Rimmer ones – looking forward to more details as the series approaches (particularly the airdate for the first episode…! = P)
Dax101 / August 4, 2017 at 4:15 pm / #
Looking at the background in the rimmer image i wouldnt be shocked if it was green screened.
not fully sold on the retro rimmer picture… nostalgic fan service sounds good as an idea but it can fall apart easely.
Darrell / August 4, 2017 at 4:44 pm / #
Also note what appears to be the first ever ‘real’ (i.e. not Camille) female mechanoid there on the left.
si / August 4, 2017 at 5:48 pm / #
That Kryten pic… I think there’s a touch of Parrot’s Bar about that background.
Phobos And Deimos / August 4, 2017 at 6:00 pm / #
It’s certainly something to speculate over. When you think about it, the contrast between Arnold and Ace because of one decision is startling and we never did see the alternate Rimmers where he simply gave himself a good talking to as a younger man, got down to studying and discarded a few of the more knife-edge personality hang-ups. That in turn would lead to him becoming an officer and delegating the drive plate repairs to someone who is actually up to the task. No wonky work, no radiation leak, no stranded in deep space with an H on the forehead. What we may see in that photo is good ol’ Arnie, a bit of a prick at times but harmless and handling his duties as a navigation officer rather well.
Or he’s cosplaying.
I don’t bloody know, we’ll find out in a few weeks.
Dax101 / August 4, 2017 at 6:06 pm / #
The H is too big and does give abit of a cosplay feel.
Ben Paddon / August 4, 2017 at 6:22 pm / #
I don’t think that it’s that the H is too big but rather that Chris Barrie’s head has changed shape in the last dear-lord-has-it-really-been 30 years.
Dave Wallace / August 4, 2017 at 6:31 pm / #
These look great.
Is it me though or does the I/II style window behind Rimmer look gigantic in that photo? It makes it look like he’s been zapped with a shrink-ray.
KyoSo / August 4, 2017 at 6:35 pm / #
I’ve _always_ wanted to see a flashback episode centered around Rimmer and Lister going about their normal, pre-accident lives in Z Shift, but I figured that ship had long sailed due to their ages. But featuring a parallel universe/timeline where the accident never happened would allow them to do an episode involving a populated Red Dwarf without it being a continuity error that Rimmer is 30 years older. While I hope this is the case, it’s probably going to be something way more clever and interesting than anything I could speculate. I just like the idea of revisiting a pre-accident Dwarf, because that hasn’t been done since Series II. VIII really doesn’t count because of its preferred areas of focus.
That said, Series XI and XII Rimmer could honestly pass for younger than he looked in Series X. That hairpiece makes all the difference from the short, jet-black (clearly) dyed hair from Back to Earth. I know some people have criticized the hairpiece, but I honestly think it’s a massive improvement – notably in that it’s actually brown. I think the reason fans like us tend to find it an obvious wig is because (A) we’ve been looking at his naturally hair for anywhere from 10 to 30 years and can spot the difference and (B) his hair looked awful in Series X and now it suddenly looks more like it did in the ’90s. That doesn’t happen without a wig or some sort of Satanic magic. But I sincerely doubt a viewer watching the show for the first time with Series XI would peg it as a hairpiece.
Not to reopen this old debate, but I was mainly lurking at that time so I’m just voicing my opinion on the matter here.
Somebody explain the damn jet black hair dye to me, it’s been bothering me since 2009. There has to be some good reason they went with something so drastically darker than his natural hair color? Is it because the lighter dye would fade too quickly or something? Is the lighter dye bad for your hair and the darker isn’t? I am unreasonably bothered by this. Somebody help me.
Dax101 / August 4, 2017 at 6:46 pm / #
I am fairly sure the background is a green screened image.
Just looking at the way the light reflects doesn’t really make it look like he is there.
KyoSo / August 4, 2017 at 6:48 pm / #
Either that, or that window is bigger than it looks and this photo is taken from much further away through a long lens.
performingmonkey / August 4, 2017 at 6:54 pm / #
The more ‘batshit’ the better! Heck knows, the show needs to be more ‘out there’, 100%. Dwarf didn’t get this far by being in the slightest ‘pedestrian’ or by holding back.
I think XI was, Twentica aside, a total letdown (sorry if you don’t agree with that, but hey) in terms of ideas, or more specifically in their execution, e.g. Samsara is a brilliant and very Dwarf-ish idea that was sort of just…there in a mediocre episode, and Can of Worms, the one where we were gonna see another cat, at long last, well…..if ‘travestosity’ isn’t a word, it should be.
This is why I’m not losing my shit over the ‘everyone’s Kryten’ episode cause, as great an idea as it is, what we saw in XI doesn’t bode well for the outcome. Though at least they’re finally doing it.
STILL, who could fail to get excited over those Rimmer and Lister pics?? Awesome prosthetics on Craig there, and the white set and white guitar etc. makes it look like he’s in his form of heaven…? The Rimmer pic is gold. As has been said, it can’t be a mere flashback cause of Rimmer’s position as ‘Navigation Officer’… though I have no doubt he is faking that, for someone’s benefit, unless it’s an alt-universe. Whatever, he truly looks like someone who deserves to have the ‘Rim’ emphasised in their name, for sure. :D Now all we need is Lister back in the London Jets t-shirt and we’ll be laughing. :D
Phobos And Deimos / August 4, 2017 at 6:55 pm / #
I never entertained the idea of Lister of actually getting back to Earth as a fitting conclusion for the series, not after all that’s happened to him, regardless of the mythos of the show’s story arc. The idea I had a good while ago was that you’d bring back the crew, throw out the fucking nonsense of ‘Carry On HM Space Strangeways’ and let Lister and Rimmer just settle back into Z-shift with a wink and a nod, knowing that they’d lived up to their potential in life and grew as individuals immensely through it. Lister never really needed Kochanski in his life and Rimmer never needed the status of officer as they’d been through so much. Z-shift would’ve actually become a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of ship life and a way to show the audience that while everyone is running around, chasing promotion, doing their duties but not exactly sure why, you’ve got these two ol’ sea dogs chuckling away in the wee hours, happy to have their mates back but almost longing for the adventure that’s to be found outside of asteroid mining and outer planet fly-bys.
That’d be a nice episode, a ‘what-if’ but then again, we’ve had plenty of ‘what-if’ episodes and plot points and I can’t make heads or tails as to why he’s back in the Series I uniform.
Ben Paddon / August 4, 2017 at 7:09 pm / #
I don’t think the Rimmer shot is on a green screen – for a start, you can see too many fine details around the edges (the occasional loose hair, for instance).
Dave Wallace / August 4, 2017 at 8:02 pm / #
Whether the Rimmer shot is green-screened or not, I think we can all agree that they’re definitely drowning Danny for real in his photo.
Voter Colonel / August 4, 2017 at 8:10 pm / #
It does look like him, doesn’t it?
Dax101 / August 4, 2017 at 8:10 pm / #
Drowning Danny is alot cheaper i am sure.
KyoSo / August 4, 2017 at 8:29 pm / #
Then again, just look at the greenscreen work in Krysis:
And this being a photo, it’s probably a lot higher resolution than their video footage. Compositing perhaps more than any other effect has benefited from the high resolutions of modern cameras. But really, the best reason to doubt this is green screened is because, well, why would it be? Why bother when the background is just a grey wall with a window port?
The flat depth of field really does look like it’s just taken from a distance with a telephoto lens. It’s a very distinct look that anyone with an interest in photography is familiar with. Any chance I get to use a DSLR, I love using telephoto lenses specifically for the extreme and shallow depth of field I see in this photo.
Basically, I 100% agree with you but I’m still arguing.
John Milhous Nixon / August 4, 2017 at 8:43 pm / #
That Rimmer pic is the most exciting bit of new Dwarf promotion since I was reading the episode titles for Series VI in the Smegazine circa Summer 1993.
Phobos And Deimos / August 4, 2017 at 8:52 pm / #
Was it known as Emohawk or Emohawk: Polymorph II pre-broadcast?
John Milhous Nixon / August 4, 2017 at 8:54 pm / #
I think it was Polymorph II: Emohawk. And Out Of Time was called Present From The Future for a while.
Phobos And Deimos / August 4, 2017 at 8:56 pm / #
And, if my memory of cast DVD commentary banter is accurate, R.I.P. Dave Lister.
John Milhous Nixon / August 4, 2017 at 9:08 pm / #
Huh, I didn’t know that. I must have missed that bit on the commentary! Is it bad that I actually prefer that title?
Phobos And Deimos / August 4, 2017 at 9:12 pm / #
Bit on the nose. Out of Time is very apt for a cliffhanger.
International Debris / August 4, 2017 at 9:19 pm / #
I thought it was on the documentary that that was said (or both). I’m not convinced it isn’t a joke, though.
Dax101 / August 4, 2017 at 9:32 pm / #
Going by those Titles accidentally put on the Red Dwarf XI DVD covers i am gonna take a guess and say the Rimmer one might be from the episode title “Time Wave”.
My best guess anyway.
performingmonkey / August 4, 2017 at 9:57 pm / #
And the Cat drowning one is clearly from ‘Star Knot’ cause the pic is of a star in a bit of a knot, let’s face it.
Darrell / August 4, 2017 at 10:22 pm / #
I’m sure it’s already been noted by someone that the ‘Cat drowning’ pic is being achieved by a clever bit of perspective with a thin foreground tank behind the porthole and that Danny is as dry as a bone. Nice that more traditional SFX techniques still have a place in the show.
cwickham / August 4, 2017 at 10:30 pm / #
I’m sure someone’s already pointed out the similarity to that bit in Battlefield that nearly killed Sophie Aldred.
KyoSo / August 4, 2017 at 11:00 pm / #
Time wave spewing past toasted bread advice please
Darrell / August 4, 2017 at 11:00 pm / #
My wife did if that helps. I love my wife.
flanl / August 4, 2017 at 11:49 pm / #
It’s about time they did.
Jonsmad / August 4, 2017 at 11:55 pm / #
Jury remains out on that. until we find out if they are real or all polymorphs, or pleasure gelfs, or hallucinations, etc etc etc lol, or if as you say she is the first, before the airlock departure!
Jonsmad / August 5, 2017 at 12:35 am / #
That cat picture and Seriously no one’s done the wet pussy hole joke? tut tut It’s getting too classy in tone around here of late.
These pictures are all very exciting, love Rimmer with old style H and uniform, pretty sure i know which ep thats from, and despite knowing a few things about it, it’s still really intriguing me with no real idea of what that episode will be about, but it does make me think it’s a green screen background yeah, one of the other pictures is from an episode i saw, and i still cant quite remember why it happened, but it’s fleeting nature makes it a nice tease, We know more now and we still know very little ;-)
Pete Part Three / August 5, 2017 at 9:50 am / #
Ooh, pictures. Not overly keen on the Cat pic. I really wish Danny would tone down the silly faces.
In an ideal world, they wouldn’t have already had a half-hearted attempt at reviving the Series I&II uniforms for VIII and the Rimmer pic would have a completely unfiltered impact. But of course, in an ideal world, they’d be no Series VIII at all and I’d be shacked up with Jenna Coleman. I agree with the green-screen theory for that pic. Doesn’t look quite right.
Watched XI again quite recently. My thoughts on it haven’t budged. Twentica, Krysis and Officer Rimmer are flawed but excusable, Samsara is utter cack, Give & Take is up there with classic Dwarf and Can of Worms is a whole world of no, with some bizarrely good bits. Expecting another mixed bag for XII, but looking forward to it.
clem / August 5, 2017 at 10:47 am / #
I agree it’s kind of a shame we’ve already seen Rimmer in his old clobber since the very early days, including his “Clive of India” get-up last series. Still a very intriguing pic, as is the Lister one. Excellent aging effects. Strangely unbushy eyebrows compared with the straggly beard and untamed hair.
> like when the Tin Man first arrives in the Land of Oz
I thought that too. (You mean Emerald City, though – he’s always in Oz.)