Blu-ray is loaded News Posted by Jonathan Capps on 3rd August 2018, 11:54 Well, here’s hoping we’ve never used that headline before. Before today the only source of information we’ve had on the Blu-ray releases of Red Dwarf 1 to VIII is from a very premature Amazon listing and Doug’s Tweets on the subject. It is, however, now all official and that, and GNP are going ahead with what seems to be an entire set released on the 1st October as part of their ongoing and extensive 30th anniversary celebrations. Curiously the TOS update spends a lot of time telling us what this release isn’t rather than what it is, and that’s down to the acknowledged fact that a Blu-ray version of the first eight series is a bit of a weird thing to consider. To be clear, this will never be a true HD release as the source material is around half the vertical resolution of a 1080 image, so this has been acknowledged in the announcement and focus shifted onto taking the opportunity to clean up the picture and sound of the originals as much as possible: “There are no new effects, no re-recorded lines, no cut jokes, and no mysteriously appearing skutters. Just the Red Dwarf you know and love… given a fresh polish to look and sound even better than ever.” I have to say, this is a news story that reminds me very much of Ellard’s original DVD announcement way back in the palaeolithic era, which served as an assurance that GNP knew what they were doing with the planned releases (right down to the reassurances about re-mastered!). To be clear, literally any other G&Ter is far better qualified than me to comment on video quality and resolutions, but from my limited knowledge I understand that DVD releases, even of older shows, significantly compromise on the true broadcast quality available due to size limitations hamstringing bitrate and what not. So, done right, an SD release on HD media will allow for much more room for those original versions to breathe while at the same time taking the job of up-scaling in hand to banish inconsistent DVD performance on today’s TVs. I’m cautiously optimistic and excited to see more details as they’re released and we’ll be sure to have someone who actually knows of what they speak to give you our verdict on release.
Hopefully we can expect most of the DVD extras to be transferred as well, including the individual series documentaries and commentaries (Which I’d imagine would be pretty easy to do).
The third year in a row with a SMEGTOBER. Truly we are spoiled. Now I just want to know about the special features. Will they also be HD-ized? Is it too much to ask for new ones? Yes it is too much just be grateful for what you’re given?
Zoom is £36 (with code SIGNUP10) – for the extra quid over Zavvi you’ll get more reliable delivery (and probably just ahead of release).
How long you have you been waiting to use that “Blu-ray is loaded” headline?! Amazed it hasn’t been already, to be honest.
I now have Kryten’s very odd way of saying that in my head as some sort of dialogue earworm. It’s very annoying.
Assuming they are using the original broadcast masters, does that mean we’ll see Copacabana reinstated in Rimmerworld?
Interesting. My instinct is that we’ll be in for a ‘Just The Shows’ type situation, a stripped back release without extras – which is fine. After all, the DVD documentaries still exist, and are basically perfect. As a model FX nerd, it would be great to have the Raw FX shots included in HD, but I appreciate there’s not much appeal to the wider fanbase. It’s all academic anyway, I’ll obviously buy them, provided they’re available in my godforsaken corner of North America.
My instinct is that we’ll be in for a ‘Just The Shows’ type situation, a stripped back release without extras No extras? It’s listed on Amazon as 16 discs. There’s no way they need that many for 52 upscaled SD episodes.
I’m guessing there’s the possibility of some/most/all of the docs being shot at HD resolutions and included here in their original res? It might take too much messing around to bother… though at least they should be upscaled like the episodes.
I’m guessing there’s the possibility of some/most/all of the docs being shot at HD resolutions and included here in their original res? It might take too much messing around to bother… though at least they should be upscaled like the episodes. Itd be nice to have them in HD but I’m not sure whether they were filmed on anything capable. I’d say prosumer camcorders if I had to guess, so there’s a chance some are, but even if they aren’t then it’s going to see an improvement just re encoding them (and maybe redoing the Craig Charles bluescreen work where he’s floating)
Assuming they are using the original broadcast masters, does that mean we’ll see Copacabana reinstated in Rimmerworld? Getting it in Terrorform is probably a bigger priority. But if they’ve got the rights, why not stick it in every episode?
Assuming they are using the original broadcast masters, does that mean we’ll see Copacabana reinstated in Rimmerworld? Getting it in Terrorform is probably a bigger priority. But if they’ve got the rights, why not stick it in every episode? “….I-I-I-I-I knew tha-a-a-a-a-t!” – Dennis Cooper
Assuming they are using the original broadcast masters, does that mean we’ll see Copacabana reinstated in Rimmerworld? Came here to ask this, also it’s in Terrorform not Rimmerworld… they are basically the same episode, however
I would, I think Rimmerworld was the worst episode of the original six series. I always thought Rimmer abandoning the crew with the escape pod was incredibly terrible even for Rimmer when in the next episode he does something to try and save the crew, I’ve never liked it though there are jokes I find funny in the episode, “Ah, so I’m safe then.” Plus the idea of Rimmer surviving 600 years alone and coming out sane is asking me to stretch my suspension of disbelief way too far in all honesty.
While I agree 600 years is abit much and suffers from the same kind of issue I have with modern Dwarf, we know Rimmer is a coward anyway but in that episode Kryten had diagnosed him as having a stress-related nervous disorder. Which explains why Rimmer may chickened out when at risk of being in danger. To me Officer Rimmer has a messy plot structure which RimmerWorld is fairly basic in that respect. The jokes may be abit recycled in RimmerWorld but the jokes In Office Rimmer fall into being abit irritating for me in Some areas like the tv channel joke
I think preferences on jokes in modern Dwarf vary since humor can be subjective. What one person might find funny about the moose gag others might not think much of it. Tbh, I never understood why “It does mean changing the bulb” was that funny for most people, I get it and its amusing but I never understood the mass appeal it had, I think Legion is one of if not the funniest episode of Red Dwarf, I was burst-out laughing at the Surfboarding Killer Bikini Vampire Girls and the quick reveal to Lister disguising a chair as himself with a smiley face on the side Legion wouldn’t even see cause he was behind it
Torchwood has the same problem where Captain Jack is buried alive in fucking concrete for hours/a day, probably dying of asphyxiation several times over, having to be smashed out, then cracking some joke and getting on with his life like nothing happened.
Isn’t he a at least a bit bonkers when they find him? “Kit! Titan!” always makes me chuckle The prison scene is the episode’s highlight, the jokes come thick and fast in there. “What have they got against me, Derek and Titan?” Torchwood has the same problem where Captain Jack is buried alive in fucking concrete for hours/a day, probably dying of asphyxiation several times over, having to be smashed out, then cracking some joke and getting on with his life like nothing happened. Isn’t he buried alive for two thousand years or something at the end of the second series?
Well an episode that deals with Rimmer having severe PTSD wouldn’t be very funny, would it If that’s the case don’t put Rimmer in ridiculous situations where he wouldn’t possibly come out as anything but mad
I’m all for good jokes, and the prison scene does have them, but there needs to be some semblance of logic or its just a parody at that point
>If that’s the case don’t put Rimmer in ridiculous situations where he wouldn’t possibly come out as anything but mad As early as The End, characters were spending a long time alone and coming out of it relatively sane. Holly is by himself for 3 million years and all that changes is he gains a sense of humour and gets really into practical jokes. Kryten spends 3 million years by himself in Kryten and hasn’t really gone insane or anything. In fact by the end of the episode he’s turned into quite a cool guy If they can handle it, Rimmer can
As early as The End, characters were spending a long time alone and coming out of it relatively sane. Holly is by himself for 3 million years and all that changes is he gains a sense of humour and gets really into practical jokes. Kryten spends 3 million years by himself in Kryten and hasn’t really gone insane or anything. In fact by the end of the episode he’s turned into quite a cool guy If they can handle it, Rimmer can Holly was observing the cats for the majority of the time so he had entertainment. Kryten having been abandoned for 3 million years if a major part of his character’s backstory and it means a great deal to him when he was rescued to the point he goes out of his way to celebrate the anniversary of being rescued. Rimmer never mentions it again after this episode.
>Holly was observing the cats for the majority of the time so he had entertainment. In the novels he spent most of the time gurning, looking out the window and reading books. This seemingly applies to the TV version too, as by Confidence and Paranoia he has read every book in existence
Isn’t he buried alive for two thousand years or something at the end of the second series? Yes, and his remark upon being rescued was a typical response to encountering Torchwood.
That’s super I suppose, but I hope there’s some form of additional extra/extras. Given it is Red Dwarf’s 30th anniversary it feels like it would be an idea to have something new. In an ideal world it would be Doug Naylor commentaries over all the episodes but I don’t know if that would ever happen
Wish Fulfillment Mode – Wouldn’t it be extraordinary for this release to include absolutely everything on the 1-VIII DVDs, plus absolutely everything on The Bodysnatcher Collection plus Doug commentaries and Just the Smegs? I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth, though. I’d be perfectly happy with a vanilla release, I already have all of the DVDs. Would just be wonderful to have a comprehensive, all-in-one-package release.
There are things that could happily be dropped – no need for the 1-VI ‘Outtakes’ packages for example. I’d be tempted to swap the Japanese ‘The End’ for the Re-Mastered one too, which would also allow the docu and the technical commentary to be ported over in a way that made sense. No-one would miss the music montages either – they belong to a different time and are redundant as trailers for the range now they’re all in one box. I’d group all the Red Dwarf Night stuff together too for the first time on home release if it were me doing it. A-Z, Smeg Ups comp, Can’t Smeg and links comp under a menu. And I’d put Xtended on as a direct transfer of the VHS master, uncomplicating the VII situation. What I would like – and this won’t happen – is the three Xtended shows re-edited and dubbed with the broadcast laughter tracks and patched up everywhere else. I keep meaning to have a go at this myself – using parallel phase inversion and both edits you could synch off a lot of clean stereo VII laughs to use with negligible artefacting, and then re-encoding to AC3 and re-synching using an authoring tool it’d be easy. Might even put the original sitar end credits music to Tikka back in… I’d also just put Six Of The Best on straight off the CD and dump the commentary and easter egg versions. It made sense doing it like that 16 years ago but not now. Put some photos under it and job’s a good ‘un.
Putting Six of the Best all together does make sense, although putting The End in as a commentary actually means it takes up less room. Maybe that’s not an issue though. Ultra-wishful thinking: a documentary on the movie, and a storyboard version of one of the scripts, performed by the cast.
Personally, I’m more interested in this: If the original version of Red Dwarf is getting a high-def coat of paint in a way that is respectable… does that mean the audio is getting remastered? And if so, does this potentially mean a fresh dub of the show might find its way into international territories that only got the ReMastered versions of 1-III? To that end, could countries like Japan finally see a more “authentic” cut of the series reaching its shores in the same way that Viz Media went to the trouble of re-dubbing Sailor Moon for western audiences a couple of years back?
The official announcement says: going back to the source and giving the episodes a thorough going-over for visuals, colour and sound So some kind of audio overhaul seems to be in order. Doug has also Tweeted this in response to a question about whether the old bonus content from the DVDs is carrying over: https://twitter.com/DougRDNaylor/status/1025340556598231040 I guess it’s not absolutely clear whether that means ALL of it, but still, good news.
Can they _please_ edit out the really obvious and grating “ah HA Ha ha” pasted all over the place in VII and doubly so VIII?
Anyone who ever wants to watch Stoke Me a Clipper, Blue, Beyond a Joke, Epideme or Nanarchy has little choice but to watch it with the laugh track.
Canned laughter is the death of comedy. That’s why the only episodes of Red Dwarf I ever watch are Tikka to Ride Xtended, Ouroboros Xtended, Duct Soup Xtended, Back to Earth, Identity Within, Bodysnatcher, the Kryten links from Smeg Ups and Smeg Outs, and Red Christmas. Those are the best of a bad bunch, the only watchable Dwarf.
Red Christmas was actually shown to a live audience and has the authentic recording of their reaction left in.
Well in that case I’m removing it from my regular rotation. I don’t need to be told when to sit in stony silence, thank you very much!
I wonder if Doug, or indeed any of the cast, even remembers that Red Christmas exists. It’s never been mentioned by anyone outside of this website since it came out I think. And even then it’s not mentioned much on here, surprisingly not even when discussing what the worst ever episodes of Red Dwarf are
Only Bobby and Chris were involved and their memories of stuff they’ve done are sketchy at best, so unlikely they’d remember an afternoon’s work on a 2 minute video. As for why it’s not discussed often; it’s not an episode, it was just crap merchandise so file it alongside The Survival Guide or the Craig Charles Almanac of Total Knowledge.
I was hoping for some details today, but I just saw that today’s article is a reminder of what’s available at the merchandise store. It’s getting to the point where I’m wondering whether we’ll get much information ahead of release, in which case I’ll likely cancel my pre-order.
It’s out four weeks tomorrow. Has there ever been a Red Dwarf disc release where we’ve known so little about it by this point?
“I presume you’ve heard the news about the Red Dwarf Blu-Ray?” “What news?” “You haven’t heard?” “Heard what?” “The news.” “What news?” “You haven’t heard the news?” “Heard what news??” “No one’s told you?” “Told me what?” “About the Blu-Ray?” “What about the Blu-Ray?” “About the Red Dwarf 1-8 Blu-Ray coming this October?”
Basically I’m starting to worry that it’s going to be forty odd quid for something that doesn’t offer any discernible improvement over the existing DVDs, in which case I think I’ll give it a miss.
I’d still purchase it if that were the case, but only cause I don’t own any of the DVDs. I just hope they don’t go tinkering with the pre-existing episodes/extras themselves; that, and carry-over a majority of the extras from the original DVD release (i.e. cast/crew commentaries, the storyboarded episodes, series retrospectives, deleted scenes)
Ordered my RD Blu-ray from Zoom the other week. Just been over that way again to preorder the new Hitchhiker’s Guide Anniversary edition. Noticed while I was there that RD’s now got a release date of 22nd. Or has that already been addressed somewhere?
Weirdly the Amazon page still says October 1st. I hope this doesn’t indicate a delay, but it would explain why we still know so little about it.
Mentioned in the H2G2 thread already, but yeah, seems to indicate that the date has slipped and Amazon are being slow to update.
As long as it still comes out in Smegtober. A couple of weeks more and it’ll be released in … Smegvember? That portmanteau is unacceptable. I will not allow it.
I think Oct 22nd is the same release date as the Batman: The Animated Series blu-ray box set…. I may have to make a hard choice between Red Dwarf and Batman if the date is getting pushed back.
I’m only being silly. I just wish there was a bit more to get excited about at this stage. Hopefully we’ll see more details soon. As fans it’s natural to want more information, and I don’t want to come over as entitled – just interested to hear more about a set I’m interested in! And to have the delay confirmed, if those revised listings are accurate. Given that the release date was confirmed as recently as a few weeks ago by the official site, I can only imagine that some kind of scheduling issue – maybe the clash with the Hitchhikers set, given the crossover in audience – would have pushed it back. It seems too late for a delay to come about due to the clean-up/HD process or the content in general.
Oh I completely agree, I was just being silly too! I’m also wary of looking a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe reading back all of the DVD Details articles has made me nostalgic for following every step of the release but I suppose times have changed. I’m just less patient than I used be, I suppose.
I think it’s fair to be frustrated and disappointed by the lack of details so far – it’s highly unusual to not even have artwork or lists of extras this close to release. Those old DVD Details articles set a precedent for frequency and comprehensiveness of updates that we wouldn’t reasonably expect for most other shows, and you have to bear that weight of expectation in mind when considering the current state of affairs, but even by the standards of most other releases, the details seem way behind schedule.
Mind you, I’d never even heard about the Hitchhiker’s set til the day it went on sale, and that’s out before RD.
I know it’s probably unfair to compare 2 releases with totally different budgets, scopes and marketing strategies, but it is still kind of frustrating to read about the Doctor Who Season 19 Collection Blu ray – which releases NOVEMBER 19TH yet we already have full artwork and packaging pictures as well as a complete list of extras – when the Red Dwarf set is meant to be out 7 weeks earlier, but all we know about it is that it’ll probably have the same extras as the original DVDs.
Mind you, I’d never even heard about the Hitchhiker’s set til the day it went on sale, and that’s out before RD. I knew Hitchhikers was in the works, but wasn’t aware the date was so soon until those listings went up the other day. Hopefully we get an update on the Red Dwarf set soon, anyway – announcing it and then offering no updates or further details, or addressing apparent delays, sends a bit of a mixed message at best.
Really all this makes me think is “this is nothing worth shouting about”. Not that I expected anything unbelievably amazing given the quality of the source but surely they’d be bigging it up if difference in quality was really worth the rerelease? Would be delighted to be wrong obviously.
In fairness, at least the original announcement acknowledges this and tells people to keep their expectations in check, given the source material. It feels like it’s preparing the ground in quite an honest way. But yes, it does then raise the ‘is it really worth it” question. Let’s hope so.
I haven’t even been getting the Dave series of Red Dwarf on Blu ray, because I cared more about those sweet reversible covers and shelf-consistency with the previous series than I did about getting the absolute best picture quality (and because the quality difference between DVD and Blu ray is not nearly as noticeable for TV as it is for film, especially compared to the upgrade from VHS to DVD). So it basically all comes down to: No new special features = No buy. I’m not picky, though. I’d probably cave for just a few new pictures in one of the photo galleries, or a new one of those music video compilation things. Even if the song choice were shite.
Yeah, I’m definitely not buying the Blu-Ray if there’s nothing new on it. I don’t care about picture quality or whatever, so there’d be no point
Now that even the official red dwarf website has announced Doug for Dimension jump this year. Which is in a couple of weeks. Surely the logical conclusion is that the announcements of the blue ray cover art and content will happen on a tshirt danny is wearing on strictly come dancing, while he sings about the extras to the tune of your wondering now, (death in paradise theme)
I haven’t even been getting the Dave series of Red Dwarf on Blu ray, because I cared more about those sweet reversible covers and shelf-consistency with the previous series than I did about getting the absolute best picture quality (and because the quality difference between DVD and Blu ray is not nearly as noticeable for TV as it is for film, especially compared to the upgrade from VHS to DVD). As someone who has bought several TV series on both DVD and Bluray, I can say that this is absolutely not true. Even with SD stuff, such as Doctor Who series 1-4 or Life on Mars, the picture quality is noticeably better.
OK, just to clarify, I have a pretty small TV. Like, the smallest screen TV you can buy that is capable of outputting 1080p. And whenever I’ve watched a TV show that was filmed in HD, then later watched it on DVD, the difference in quality has been perhaps slightly noticeable, but not significant. While with films, the quality difference has felt significant. This, combined with the fact that 80s-90s era TV is far less suitable for HD upscaling than 2000s era TV, makes the prospect of rebuying the whole of BBC2 Red Dwarf just to have it in HD not that enticing. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I’d never buy it, but £40 just for a slight bump in picture quality is a hard sell.
If you’re rocking an old CRT or a tiny TV then yeah, I can see why you’d say the quality jump isn’t noticeable.
Some TV shows you won’t get drastic results. Star Trek TNG and Quantum Leap are night and day over the DVD releases though. Though part of the reason for that is that the had poor quality DVD releases in the first place. Actually the Red Dwarf DVD releases weren’t the best in terms of picture quality. No restoration work and suffered from early 00s compression. I’m imagining the improvement in Red Dwarf will be the difference between a Doctor Who story released in the first few years of the DVD range and then re-released a decade later as a Special Edition. Something like The Caves of Androzani.
TNG in particular is a special case – CBS went to a lot of trouble to remaster the show using the original film elements, and even creating new special effects that closely matched the original broadcast versions where possible. It’s not perfect, and there’s four seconds of SD footage in “The Best of Both Worlds Part II” where they couldn’t source the original reel, but the show looks great specifically because they put the work in. Unfortunately it didn’t make as much money as CBS were hoping for, and plans to remaster DS9 and Voyager in the same manner were shelved. TNG is in HD on Netflix, Hulu and CBS All Access, if you want to see just how good that show looks now.
The sitcom Friends looks fucking incredible in HD compared to the original SD DVD, since it was shot on film. It was the first HD thing I ever saw that made me think “damn”
Tweet from Doug just now: “All the Extras from RD 1-8. Maybe more still discussing.” https://twitter.com/DougRDNaylor/status/1039569277408489472?s=19
“Still discussing” makes it sound like it might be pushed back further than the 22nd. Maybe there’s been a late change of plans, as the official announcement in early August still had the date as the 1st.
I’m no expert on DVD/Blu ray production, but “still discussing” extras less than 3 weeks before release definitely does not sound like a good sign. Side note: I do appreciate how sometimes Doug will just casually answer questions like this on Twitter. He seems like a nice dude.
Doug confirmed the Blu-Ray got delayed three weeks. https://twitter.com/DougRDNaylor/status/1039601182346539008
Yeah these aren’t coming out on the 1st. I’m going to go Christmas. Edit: there it is Still think there’ll be a job on to get it out by then if they’re still trying to get other features on it.
Please please please put the Bodysnatcher Collection extras on as well, Doug. I’m happy waiting until the New Year if it’s got EVERYTHING on it.
I feel like this thread is going to offer more in the way of new entertainment value than the Blu-Rays ever could.
“Dad, I’ve just been lurking on G&T, and I’ve got some bad news… we’ve lost Flap Jack.” “What? No!” “It’s true I’m afraid. He says he won’t buy the new Red Dwarf Blu ray set on launch if it doesn’t have confirmed new special features… and I’m beginning to think he isn’t bluffing.” “Fuck! That’s going to be a huge blow to the sales figures… oh, never mind, I suppose. It’s not a total disaster. At least we still have bloodteller.” “…” “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” “…” “NO!” “… yes.” “Smeg! We’re already giving them all of the original DVD special features and classic Red Dwarf in the highest quality possible! What more do these gimboids want?!” “We’ve got to find some way to put new extras on there, or we’re finished.” “… ugh, agreed. Flap Jack we can live without, but bloodteller? I’m not taking that chance. We’ll have to delay the release.” – – – A real conversation that occurred between Richard and Doug Naylor this week, probably.
They’ll keep trying to get the blu-ray made for 10 years and then relent and make a DVD Massive actual laugh, thank you.
Amazon have finally changed their date. They must have been waiting for final confirmation from Doug’s Twitter.
I’d love to see VII without the now badly ‘film effect’ that was applied. I also thought VII had a weird pixilation of the image that presumably had something to do with the other ‘enhancements’ done to the footage in post.
This would be the opportunity to clean up VII at least for an extra. Remove the film effect and bring in the Veale I say.
This would be the opportunity to clean up VII at least for an extra. Remove the film effect and bring in the Veale I say. I’m going to go on the record to say that the film effect isn’t actually terrible. It’s fine. It suffers in the NTSC releases of the show, but it’s not horrible. Also, this already happened on the VII DVD.
Series VII definitely looks a bit weird compared to previous series, but it looks fine on its own merits. It was shot and broadcast with film-look in mind, and so that’s how it should remain. Making colour adjustments to try and “remove” the film look is no better than doing the opposite for Red Dwarf Remastered. (Even if they still had access to the original untreated video footage, it wouldn’t be a good idea.) Also, they explicitly promised they wouldn’t do that kind of tinkering anyway.
There is a new colour grade though, isn’t there? So it will likely look a bit different. It’s a difficult one – no-one wants unnecessary changes that alter the look of the show. But if it looks largely the same as the DVDs, what’s the point of it?
But if it looks largely the same as the DVDs, what’s the point of it? Well. The point, in my view, is to be the new definitive version of Red Dwarf Series 1-8. Even if there’s no new special features, the higher picture quality will be enough to make this the home release that newer fans without the DVDs will go for. For people who already have all the DVDs like we do, the upgrade is a tougher sell, but the Blu rays are meant as upgrades to the DVDs, not complements. If the colour grading done to them were significant (and it doesn’t sound like it is), then it would fail to serve that purpose. GNP can’t have fans split over whether the DVD or Blu ray releases are the best/definitive versions.
“Higher picture quality” is the real question here, isn’t it. I’m hoping we get some preview material that shows us the difference soon. Maybe the official site update today will offer something.
Also, they explicitly promised they wouldn’t do that kind of tinkering anyway. I have always been fine with the idea of some tinkering to clean up the footage… but there is a difference between cleaning up and making changes to the shows.
It’s a statement of imperial fact that, even if we’re dealing with SD footage, a Bluray from 2018 is going to look markedly better than a DVD from 2002. Having rewatched Red Dwarf from start to almost-finish with one of my roommates (we just did “Give and Take”, so we’re almost done) I have been shocked by just how bad the encode was on the 1-VIII DVDs. If you’re not convinced that Bluray releases of SD content can look better than the DVD release, I urge you to watch “Rose” on DVD and Bluray back-to-back. Slower framerate aside, the picture quality is so much better. They didn’t re-render any of the visFX (though the font for the episode titles and the post-titles producer/director credits is re-rendered in HD, which results in a font issue for “The Stolen Earth”/”Journey’s End”) and though it’s obviously not true HD, it looks markedly better by comparison.
It’s a statement of imperial fact that, even if we’re dealing with SD footage, a Bluray from 2018 is going to look markedly better than a DVD from 2002. Presumably that statement only holds true if you’re talking about the source material remaining identical. Which we already know isn’t going to be true for the Red Dwarf set, as it’s getting a new colour grade and tinkering with the audio too. I’m optimistic that the changes this time will be minor and beneficial, but it will be nice to get reassurance of that once we have a chance to compare the two. I’m sure there will be a chance to do that ahead of release.
In way of new features, I’m hoping for Holoship: Extended and all the features of The Bodysnatcher Collection, with the Remastered episodes and the Text Commentary track.
Talking of extended episodes… Was Back in the red really worth the extended cut? I haven’t seen it in a while but I don’t remember thinking they added much beyond trying to stretch it out to film length.
Is Holoship: Extended a thing? Wouldn’t complain if it was, but never heard of it before It’s not, no. I vaguely recall John having a stab at building an extended edit, or at least he posted a clip where he attempted to reinsert the first uncut elevator scene into the full episode. No idea if he got any further than that (or, indeed, if it was actually John, or actually real).
I wonder how long this speculation will go on before someone actually googles Holoship Xtended to find out.
If you’re not convinced that Bluray releases of SD content can look better than the DVD release, I urge you to watch “Rose” on DVD and Bluray back-to-back. Slower framerate aside, the picture quality is so much better. Doctor Who is also in the “no new special features = not worth the upgrade from DVD” column for me (series of Doctor Who are a lot more expensive than series of Red Dwarf, too), though the Blu rays would definitely be what I’d get if I were just getting into it now. Also, I’m in disbelief that even on the Blu-ray release, they still haven’t fixed the audio on the 2005 Children in Need Special. How is it possible for the BBC to be so lazy/inattentive that they keep fucking this incredibly straightforward extra up?
This is something the classic series BluRay upgrades are getting right, there are quite a few new extras on those new Baker and Davison sets.
Its fair to say whatever they budget this thing they need to make sure they will make their money back, so the more they put in the more they will need to sell presumably.
Its fair to say whatever they budget this thing they need to make sure they will make their money back, so the more they put in the more they will need to sell presumably. Which makes it all the more puzzling that the classic Doctor Who sets have so many new, presumably-costly-to-produce special features, yet are limited editions. Are BBC Video part of a conspiracy to share the resale profits of artificially rare Blu rays with touters?
I’m pretty sure the Who ones are getting restocked, the reason the Tom Baker one is out of print at the minute is they’re not making any more until the errors in the first version have been ironed out. No point in them putting more duff ones out and sending out more replacement discs.
The Season 12 set is not being re-printed. Not in the “Limited Edition” packaging nor in standard packaging. Baffling decision but may be a ploy to get more people to pre-order the upcoming Season 19 and Season 10 sets. The Red Dwarf set is not priced much higher than the Doctor Who sets. While it will have less fancy packaging it will have considerably more discs and double the normal amount of episodes. I expect it will be very little if any new features. The new restoration is the big new feature. Hopefully they find a few archive pieces to add to the release.
The Doctor Who Season 12 Blu-ray boxset will be re-released in some form, I wager. Might not be for a while, but I’m sure it will.
Not re-releasing the series 12 box is utterly daft (and goes against a lot that I’ve read about it in the past). But yeah, if they do that then I probably won’t bother buying the others. I can’t afford any of them at the moment, and if they allow them all to go out of print then I’ll probably end up with a half BluRay / half DVD collection, which will look horrible.
So we’re all agreed that from now on this will be Red Dwarf Remastered? Let me just sweep that shitty cartoon Blue Midget under the rug where no one will see it.
Not re-releasing the series 12 box is utterly daft (and goes against a lot that I’ve read about it in the past). But yeah, if they do that then I probably won’t bother buying the others. I can’t afford any of them at the moment, and if they allow them all to go out of print then I’ll probably end up with a half BluRay / half DVD collection, which will look horrible. I’m interested to know where you read that they’d be re-releasing it, because I couldn’t find anything suggesting that when searching for information about it. Of course, the title including “Limited Edition Packaging” does heavily imply that it’s just the packaging that’s limited edition, not the content, but given the total silence on the possibility of a re-printing since this set came out, there’s a good chance the BBC were just being deliberately misleading prats. By the way, here’s a tip for anyone* who wants the Doctor Who Season 12 Collection but doesn’t want the hassle/expense of importing it and is only interested in the new special features, not the HD: the whole thing is available (in SD only for some reason) to buy on Amazon Video. *in the UK at least.
If you look on Gallifrey Base it is confirmed on there in the last few pages of the season 12 thread. The Restoration Team members are baffled by the decision as up until recently they were under the impression it would be re-released and were reassuring people that it would be. The DVD enquiry line has sent several messages to people such as the below (with name cut out): “We are advised that as this was a LIMITED EDITION release there will be no further stock replicated. Sorry to disappoint you [name]. Best wishes DVD Enquiry Line” The reason it is in SD only in digital distribution is as below: “Hi [name] We, Enquiry Line, have sort advice from the digital sales time and have been told that the problem is that ITunes and others will only make available in HD if the entire programme is in HD. In this instant the main episodes are in HD but the Value added material/special features were supplied in SD (standard definition) so they will only make it available to their customers in SD. A case of all or nothing I’m afraid. Best wishes DVD Enquiry Line”
Also, I’m in disbelief that even on the Blu-ray release, they still haven’t fixed the audio on the 2005 Children in Need Special. How is it possible for the BBC to be so lazy/inattentive that they keep fucking this incredibly straightforward extra up? Seems fine on the Bluray set I have. What’s the actual issue?
Unless it’s the “rough edit used on the DVD” issue, which… yeah, that was fixed for the Bluray as well as the R1 DVDs.
If you look on Gallifrey Base it is confirmed on there in the last few pages of the season 12 thread. The Restoration Team members are baffled by the decision as up until recently they were under the impression it would be re-released and were reassuring people that it would be. This is appalling. What are the BBC playing at? The reason it is in SD only in digital distribution is as below: “Hi [name] We, Enquiry Line, have sort advice from the digital sales time and have been told that the problem is that ITunes and others will only make available in HD if the entire programme is in HD. In this instant the main episodes are in HD but the Value added material/special features were supplied in SD (standard definition) so they will only make it available to their customers in SD. A case of all or nothing I’m afraid. Best wishes DVD Enquiry Line” I guess you can’t just get around that stupid rule by releasing the episodes and the extras as separate shows, then… Such a shame. The HD episodes being available digitally would have helped a lot with making up for how limited the Blu ray was. Thanks for the info, SoundableObject! Seems fine on the Bluray set I have. What’s the actual issue? Unless it’s the “rough edit used on the DVD” issue, which… yeah, that was fixed for the Bluray as well as the R1 DVDs. Yeah, I’m talking about how the Series 2 DVDs have a version of the short that uses placeholder music rather than carefully repurposed Murray Gold tracks. But wow, I didn’t realise the Blu ray fixed the issue! Serves me right for trusting the Doctor Who Wikia, I suppose. I wonder if anyone here can confirm that is definitely the case for the UK version of the Blu ray too? (As long as they don’t object to how off-topic this line of questioning is.) I’m also surprised that it was fixed as early as the Region 1 DVD release, because that was January 2007, and I have the Series 1-4 DVD box set (released in October 2009), and it’s still definitely messed up on that.
The UK Bluray uses the US masters for the episodes (they were originally upscaled for a US release, though consequently this means they’re subject to the same slow-and-pitch-correct technique used in the US), so they should feature the final version.
The UK Bluray uses the US masters for the episodes (they were originally upscaled for a US release, though consequently this means they’re subject to the same slow-and-pitch-correct technique used in the US), so they should feature the final version. Ah, interesting. I suppose it could be that the extras are treated differently than the main episodes, though. My main takeaway from this is now “They could have made UK Doctor Who Blu rays that were actually at the correct frame rate, but they were too cheap.”
I think mostly it was that there were already masters that were more or less serviceable. It’s possible people didn’t actually notice. Though that still doesn’t explain how they used the wrong font for the episode credits in series 4.
If you look on Gallifrey Base it is confirmed on there in the last few pages of the season 12 thread. The Restoration Team members are baffled by the decision as up until recently they were under the impression it would be re-released and were reassuring people that it would be. They were probably given the same information that some fans were earlier in the year, which was that it would be restocked. There were people saying they’d heard back from the BBC about it being restocked in the comments section of thedoctorwhosite.co.uk and people posted quotes in the Who thread on Cook’d and Bomb’d too, right down to details about why they were going to be doing the book-like packaging in the UK for later re-presses, rather than standard casing. I wonder why they’ve changed their mind, that’s absolutely ludicrous.
By the way, here’s a tip for anyone* who wants the Doctor Who Season 12 Collection but doesn’t want the hassle/expense of importing it and is only interested in the new special features, not the HD: the whole thing is available (in SD only for some reason) to buy on Amazon Video. *in the UK at least. I move around a lot, so I’d love to get into owning stuff on streaming services, but they really don’t encourage it. Sure when a movie is new the prices are equal, but come a year later you can either buy a DVD with all the extras for £4.99 or have just the film with no extras on stream for £13.99. Not to mention I’m a little dubious about putting all my digital eggs in one google/amazon basket. Having all my games in Steam is bad enough, but at least they have a public statement for what’ll happen should they go tits up. Ownership of movies seem a lot less solid.
I’ve had enough experiences of moving house and having to wait for my internet to be connected, and general ‘internet not working’ moments to never, ever rely on streaming for anything.
I absolutely agree that it’s not ideal to rely on streaming services, and that it’s better to get the Blu ray if you can, which is why I suggested you should only go the streaming route IF you’re only interested in the new extras and can’t justify the cost on those alone (and if doing so is technically possible for you, of course). The key factors are: – The Blu ray set is limited edition. It’s unlikely to significantly go down in price, either new or used, as regular DVD releases do. You can’t even get it as cheap as its RRP right now. (There’s no harm in waiting though, because conversely the digital release is unlikely to increase in price.) – Being able to buy the new extras individually avoids the pain of having to pay again for Doctor Who episodes you already own on DVD. – Although internet connections are unreliable, Amazon Video and Google Play Movies & TV do at least allow you to download purchases to watch while offline. – Amazon and Google are worryingly massive and successful companies. They’re unlikely to go out of business in the foreseeable future. Naturally, having an internet-requiring and DRM-laden video which you’re essentially just indefinitely renting rather than owning still isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better than nothing, right?
> Naturally, having an internet-requiring and DRM-laden video which you’re essentially just indefinitely renting rather than owning still isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better than nothing, right? Well, I do tend to opt for nothing when it comes to this, but that is always going to be a personal choice.
I despise the blocky artifacting and banding you get in darker scenes in streaming services. When you’re watching something like the X-Files, you really notice how much black crushing the compression does.
That is to say nothing of publishers delisting items, and those items then vanishing from your library. Which happens. A lot.
That is to say nothing of publishers delisting items, and those items then vanishing from your library. Which happens. A lot. Does it? I know items being taken off sale is fairly common, but removing stuff from customers’ libraries sounds pretty extreme. A case of that happening with someone’s iTunes purchases recently was considered unusual enough that it made it into tech news – and even then it turned out to be caused by iTunes not handling region-switching well, not by Apple deliberately confiscating some movies. In any case, I’m not sure I understand “Better to never watch something I’m interested in if streaming is the only way”, but each to their own. I was just pointing out that it is an option. ;-)
There’s a thread on Twitter right now where someone wanted to watch a movie in their iTunes library, only to find it was missing. When they called Apple SUpport, they were told the publisher had delisted it so it was no longer available… and were given rental coupons by way of apology. It also happens with digital distribution in video games – Konami have delisted digital titles before, so if you don’t have them installed you’re out of luck. I bought The Simpsons Arcade for the 360, and it’s been gone for a few years now. With regards to the season 12 set, it’s still available in Australia and the disc contents are the same. If that sells out, you could purchase the admittedly inferior US version. The discs aren’t region-encoded, after all.
>There’s a thread on Twitter right now where someone wanted to watch a movie in their iTunes library, only to find it was missing. When they called Apple SUpport, they were told the publisher had delisted it so it was no longer available… and were given rental coupons by way of apology. This sort of thing is exactly why I try to avoid buying things digitally at all costs-pretty much all of my movies, books and videogames are physical media unless there’s no possible way to get it physically. ‘Owning’ a game digitally just doesn’t settle with me much. You can never really trust something you can’t see, I think.
There’s a thread on Twitter right now where someone wanted to watch a movie in their iTunes library, only to find it was missing. When they called Apple SUpport, they were told the publisher had delisted it so it was no longer available… and were given rental coupons by way of apology. Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s the same case I was referring to. The fact that this was somewhat newsworthy demonstrates that it’s not a common occurrence. It also happens with digital distribution in video games – Konami have delisted digital titles before, so if you don’t have them installed you’re out of luck. I bought The Simpsons Arcade for the 360, and it’s been gone for a few years now. As far as I’m aware, the only game that has been not just delisted but outright removed from users’ libraries is P.T. Even then, they were probably only able to do that because it was completely free. If Konami had tried that shit with an actual for-sale game release (and Sony had been stupid enough to let them), they likely would have been served a class action lawsuit immediately. For any other digital game you’ve purchased which has since been delisted – The Simpsons Arcade Game, Scott Pilgrim, OG Tetris for 3DS etc. – check your purchase history/downloads list. As long as you still have access to the account, you should still be able to re-download it. The real risk is that the entire service will cease to exist – or for video games, cease to support the console which runs the game. Not delisting. If anything, the likelihood of something being delisted would motivate you to buy it sooner, not avoid it entirely. With regards to the season 12 set, it’s still available in Australia and the disc contents are the same. If that sells out, you could purchase the admittedly inferior US version. The discs aren’t region-encoded, after all. True, but all versions of the set are only going to get gradually more expensive from here, so for those people who can’t afford it now and already have the regular DVDs, buying the streaming versions of the new extras is a solid option. I will not be dissuaded from this position!
If that sells out, you could purchase the admittedly inferior US version. Why inferior? I was under the impression the contents were the same on all versions. The annoying thing about this is I’ve been out of work for some time due to illness, and really don’t see myself being able to afford these sets for a year or two yet (I’d also need a player and TV). It’d be nice if an item which had a lot of time and money spent on it was actually on the market for at least a year or two, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Ugh. So yeah, downloaded versions might be the way forward. Frankly with the way this whole thing’s been handled, I’d have very few ethical quandaries about pirating the whole lot. I rarely watch stuff that’s on my computer anyway, as I’ve always been of the ‘browsing the shelf to see what leaps out at me’ persuasion.
The US version is missing one bonus feature. The Doctor Who Times documentary could not be included as they couldn’t get the rights to everything on it in the US. Even in the UK, they had to edit a couple of sections as they couldn’t get the rights. The documentary sets itself up as part of an ongoing series but there won’t be anymore due to the issues with getting rights. It was a good documentary but not a huge loss compared with everything else new on the set. The US version also plays at 60i instead of 50i. Though the picture quality is not inferior due to much more care this time around in the conversion and it is a massive improvement on the Region 1 DVD releases. It also comes in a regular case rather than the lavish cardboard case.
I have absolutely no idea what 60i and 50i mean, but that does look like it’d be a worthwhile purchase. Hopefully it’ll still be easily available in the future.
If you fancy hopping over to the “Hitchhikers Blu-ray – Two Editions” forum thread, Ben P has a far less charitable opinion of the US version of the set, but I’m sure it’s still OK.
Also re: streaming, one of the few videogames I’ve bought and wanted to sell before completing it was only available through digital purchase so yeah… that was annoying.
> In any case, I’m not sure I understand “Better to never watch something I’m interested in if streaming is the only way”, but each to their own. I was just pointing out that it is an option. Really I am thinking more in terms of games here, but the principle still stands that if am not actually able to own something, I am not going to pay good money for it.
You really should be allowed to purchase the digital files of whatever you want, honestly. There are numerous reasons why you can’t, some to do with greed and some to do with legal technicalities, but it really is ridiculous, the system we have in place now, of essentially purchasing a license to access media for a non-infinite amount of time. I don’t really think a casual consumer thinks or cares about this kind of stuff, though, and as long as such views are left to the fringes, progress will be slow. When it comes to scenarios such as a console-exclusive video game no longer receiving support and eventually becoming inaccessible, it really is piracy that saves the day. And many people unfortunately view piracy as a safer, more reliable and (obviously) more economical alternative. The big companies really should be aiming to make their services more transparent and user-friendly if they want to curb the piracy epidemic, along with stuff like simultaneously releasing films in cinemas and on streaming/DVD etc. Modernise your shit, people.
For any other digital game you’ve purchased which has since been delisted – The Simpsons Arcade Game, Scott Pilgrim, OG Tetris for 3DS etc. – check your purchase history/downloads list. As long as you still have access to the account, you should still be able to re-download it. It’s in my history, but it can’t be downloaded. Nobody can download it, and the ToS for the consoles and the games state that the publisher reserves the right to remove a game at their will. We don’t buy things digitally, we license them – when they’re gone, they’re gone. If you fancy hopping over to the “Hitchhikers Blu-ray – Two Editions” forum thread, Ben P has a far less charitable opinion of the US version of the set, but I’m sure it’s still OK. Cliff Notes version: Because US Bluray players aren’t officially supposed to support 1080i50 (though most do), BBC stuff tends to be digitally slowed to 24fps and then pitch corrected to account for this. Or, in the case of Red Dwarf XI and XII, the picture is changed from interlace to progressive. Or, in the case of Back to Earth, there’s frame-blending. Basically, US releases of BBC stuff has inferior picture quality.
And many people unfortunately view piracy as a safer, more reliable and (obviously) more economical alternative. The big companies really should be aiming to make their services more transparent and user-friendly if they want to curb the piracy epidemic, along with stuff like simultaneously releasing films in cinemas and on streaming/DVD etc. Modernise your shit, people. It’s an astonishing thing to say, but the music industry is actually doing reasonably well with this. Probably because songs were downloadable back in the 56k days, so music piracy had a huge head start, but for the most part multi-platform streams and DRM-free downloads have been easily accessible and smooth running for years now. As someone who only buys DVDs (or, in recent poor times, pirates them), I have no experience of the digital industry when it comes to films and TV, but I’m always reading things which make the whole lot seem really muddled and confusing. You’re right, it should be straight-forward and transparent. It just puts me off going down that line even more.
It’s in my history, but it can’t be downloaded. Nobody can download it, and the ToS for the consoles and the games state that the publisher reserves the right to remove a game at their will. We don’t buy things digitally, we license them – when they’re gone, they’re gone. Ah, OK, sorry I let my extrapolations doubt you, as if you really wouldn’t have checked or be lying or something. It is a bit strange, though. I can still download Scott Pilgrim and Skullgirls for the PS3, and Tetris for the 3DS, but those games are all delisted. Is it to do with the platform, or do publishers just make these decisions completely arbitrarily? Maybe I’m just lucky…
I seem to remember Marble Blast Ultra for the Xbox 360 was delisted but I could still download it. So that appears to be the case for all three major platforms that games are still available for download. I think in general the big publishers and platforms keep games available for download otherwise they’d face a backlash as iTunes have.
>So that appears to be the case for all three major platforms that games are still available for download. Yeah, I can still download and play Deadpool on Steam, even though Activision have listed and de-listed it several times. >The real risk is that the entire service will cease to exist. Like the BBC Store. I know people got a refund, but sometimes that’s not really the point. Guess I’m going to have to just suck it up and add another box of stuff to my moving inventory, until movie distribution sorts itself out better.
I own all of the Duke Nukem games on GOG.com that they had on sale before the legal trouble between 3D Realms and Gearbox started, and while they did stop selling them later on, all of the games I purchased are still sitting in my library and I can still download them any time I want to.
Where games are concerned, it’s a Konami thing. I wish I could log in to my Xbox account to re-download The Simpsons Arcade or X-Men, but they’re gone. Hey, it happens. That’s the risk of digital downloads. It’s not like the Beeb can waltz into my home and take my Doctor Who DVDs. Let ’em try.
Konami really are the absolute worst. It’s almost a relief that they’ve practically given up on making any video games other than Pro Evolution Soccer.
So what is everyone hoping for in terms of cover art for the Red Dwarf Series 1-8 Blu-Ray set? What single image would sum up that era of the show nicely for you? Or would you prefer a plain logo cover like the placeholder art in the current listings? I quite like the idea of a shot of Lister painting the ship à la the original opening titles (although not the same one as the old DVD back covers). Or maybe something in a similar style to the artwork commissioned for the Remastered series with Red Dwarf in space (although the original ship design, obviously). Not really keen on a cast shot, although it might feel odd to not show any of the characters at all. What would you choose?
Yeah I’d like a nice original ship shot personally. If you’re trying to sum up Red Dwarf in one picture, you want something that’s not tied to one episode so the ship is it. The cast change costume and look series to series for a cast picture. A painting or picture of the ship in space taking up the top half, and the bottom with Red Dwarf I-VIII in microgramma underneath. The Futura logo too.
If they put the ship on the front, WHICH ship would they put on the front? The original? The pencil? BtE? The shitty nameplate? The pencil after somebody attacked it with a saw and messed up the scaling?
Wait this only goes up to VIII doesn’t it, the original makes sense since it’s featured in 7 of the 8 series Edit: 6 of the 8?
Wait this only goes up to VIII doesn’t it, the original makes sense since it’s featured in 7 of the 8 series Edit: 6 of the 8? The Series 5 model is slightly different but I think some of the fly by’s are of the original. the 5 model and original appear in an episode each of 7. So I Think the original makes the most sense. I personally think the cover should just be a picture of birdman.
If we consider how many series each ship or character was a regular for: Red Dwarf Classic Design – 5/8 Series Red Dwarf Pencil Design – 1/8 Series Starbug – 5/8 Series Blue Midget – 1/8 Series Kochanski – 2/8 Series Lovett Holly – 3/8 Series Hayridge Holly – 3/8 Series Kryten – 6/8 Series Rimmer – 7/8 Series (Holo 6, Nano 1) Hollister – 1/8 Series Ackerman/Kill Crazy etc. – 1/8 Series Cat – 8/8 Series Lister – 8/8 Series Snacky – 0/8 Series So according to science, the Blu ray cover should feature Lister and The Cat, and nobody/nothing else!
He seems like a nice dude. I accidentally sent him a connection request on LinkedIn a while back and he accepted it and I don’t know if I’ve ever been more simultaneously embarrassed and proud.
For the Blu-ray cover they might go for something like the slipcase both volumes of Just the Shows were packaged together in, rather than a single image. It’s a nice idea but I’ve never really liked that cover, so probably would prefer just the ship. Maybe a nice spacescape, not too busy, with Red Dwarf in the background.
Maybe they should lean into the Blu aspect with a montage of Blue Midget (dancing, obviously), Rimmer’s blue hardlight outfit, promo pictures from ‘Blue’ and… er… a photo from Demons & Angels of when Red Dwarf blew (up).
I think that’s awful. I’d rather have something ultra-plain (like the Anniversary Edition of All The Shows, with the red logo on the black background) than something busy like that.
> I accidentally sent him a connection request on LinkedIn a while back and he accepted it and I don’t know if I’ve ever been more simultaneously embarrassed and proud. Yeah, LinkedIn tries to grab your email contacts, so I have had all sorts of interesting people pop up in terms of requests. Also a ton of just completely random people.
Zoom are continuing to deliver Blu-Rays ahead of release – yesterday my copy of Solo turned up ahead of its official release date of Monday – so it’s worth getting an order in with them if you want an early look at the set.
Anybody wanna buy me a copy, in return I will provide you a soothing ASMR of me whacking it to naked Kryten.
Zoom is now showing a release date of 29th October, so another week’s delay if accurate. Zavvi and Amazon still showing the 22nd. Place your bets!
Zoom is now showing a release date of 29th October, so another week’s delay if accurate. Zavvi and Amazon still showing the 22nd. Place your bets! 10th December, in time for Christmas.
In all seriousness the wait for the series 1 VHS was excruciating. Then they only released Byte One, Byte Two followed a couple of weeks later.
They’re taking extra special care to make sure the episode titles for IX-XVI aren’t printed on the back by mistake
The delay is because new copies of the Series 3 disc had to be made. Despite best efforts, the Remastered episode of Marooned ended up on there instead of the original.
When aliens eventually crack open the Voyager, they’re probably going to find Remastered Marooned in there instead of the proper episode.
Yeah, what the fuck is going on? “I’m just taking the bare essentials, too – thirty-six discs of extras and ten full-length documentaries.” “Cat ,we’re going to be releasing it in four weeks.” “…You think I need more extras?”
Honestly i could see them putting the Bodysnatcher stuff on there and really they probably should do since you can’t buy the bodysnatcher collection anymore. But then i am arguing they should put the remastered shows on there too and thats not the most appealing thought, but hey they are part of the shows history i guess :/
Doug got so angry at Virgin Media leaving the roman numeral’s off of Red Dwarf series that he cancelled the entire release. Way to go, guys
To be honest, now that the Hitchhiker’s Blu-Ray has arrived, I’m going to take ages to work my way through that given all the new special features they’ve bunged on it – so it’s not like I’m desperate for the Red Dwarf Blu-Ray immediately. I know we’ve joked about it a lot in this thread, but if they’re taking the extra time to make a decent release rather than rushing out something substandard, I’ll be happy.
I agree absolutely, as heartbreaking as it would be for it to slip out of Smegtober. Then we’d have to settle for ‘Is The Red Dwarf Series 1-8 Blu Ray Set Out Yet? Sorry, The Answer Is Somehow Still No-vember’.
Hilariously, Zavvi has now put it back to 29 October 2019! So it seems it’s coming either in three weeks, four weeks, a few months, or a year.
It feels like we should probably assume at this point that it’s fallen off the schedule for now. Like I said earlier, if it means taking the time to make a better end product and come up with some great new extras (like the recent Hitchhiker’s set) then I’m all for it.
I like that its been a bit delayed, makes it far more likely there is some additional work being done and therefore possibly added content. Even if its just extra quality control time, i guess they were aiming for in the anniversary year, but its slipping past that deadline.
I like that its been a bit delayed, makes it far more likely there is some additional work being done and therefore possibly added content. Even if its just extra quality control time, i guess they were aiming for in the anniversary year, but its slipping past that deadline. Don’t mind delays, I do mind that it’s all as clear as mud. If they miss the 30th then so be it, barring any announcements from Doug at the weekend, it’s been quite lacklustre anyway in my opinion – no new Dwarf or anything really other than articles and such, and nothing from Dave, so it would be just another meh moment in Dwarf’s thirtieth year. 31 is the one everyone is bothered about, right?
No way this is releasing in less than 3 weeks and they haven’t even shown us the cover art yet. No way. HMV is also saying the 14th January, by the way. We might as well accept that this is the release date now. These outlets must get this information from somewhere. But yeesh, 3 and a half months after the originally planned release date is rough. I wonder what went so wrong… Goodbye, Smegtober. Hello, Both Cheeks Manuary.
You’re all getting ahead of yourselves, thinking it’ll ACTUALLY be out in January. I reckon we’re looking at February the earliest. Which is good, because it can be Feb Patrick.
Doug confirms why: @dougrdnaylor – They can’t find some of the Extras tapes!! https://twitter.com/dougrdnaylor/status/1047939398476750849?s=21
Shitting hell. Is GNP like a giant domestic kitchen? I knew I put the extras in the drawer somewhere, or was it the cornflakes cupboard. I know I put it in the kitchen because I could smell food. I think I put them near the model shots.. now where are those?
Got visions of Doug and Ellard rummaging through boxes of MiniDV tapes looking for extras and only finding old holidays and weddings. Special edition includes Doug in Majorca 1997 and Richard Naylor’s 14th birthday party.
Another surprisingly frank response from Doug! Not sure why there’s a last minute scramble to put Extras onto this release. Perhaps GNP are sad that it’s not good enough to get a Blu ray release of its own? I hope they include the episode with David Bowie in it.
I feel sorry for Doug. Nothing ever shakes out in a straightforward and relaxing manner. If it wasn’t for Red Dwarf production he’d have a head of hair like Marouane Fellaini.
> Is GNP like a giant domestic kitchen? Extra tapes. Extra tapes belongs in the fridge, and *not* in the cupboard. Two: Model shots belong in the pants drawer, and rushes belong in the socks drawer. Having discovered a model shot in your pants drawer GNP, this simple principle obviously needs re-stating…
>as part of their ongoing and extensive 30th anniversary celebrations. The celebrations are so ongoing and extensive that they’ll continue for the 31st anniversary.
One of the replies in the original thread was interesting: I just e-mailed BBC about this set, so far it is 19 BluRay set, they should be signing off the content in early November. My contact says: a wealth of VAM content, which has been changing daily & the delay is due to the enormous project that they wanted to do right & not rush. What’s VAM? Also, 19 BluRays is an absurd amount of content. Surely not?
I don’t know, the DVDs ran to 18 discs just for the eight series and extras, and if you assume a bit of wiggle-room for adding Bodysnatcher/Remastered (and maybe cutting VII and VIII down to a single disc to house all the episodes, rather than two) it sounds about right. Based on 19 discs I guess I’d assume two discs per series (one for the episodes and one for the related extras), with the remaining three devoted to the Bodysnatcher stuff, Remastered and anything else they want to chuck in.
>19 discs Yikes. 27*6 minutes of 1080p footage would take up about 21gb by my estimate, so surely they could pack more into a smaller number of discs. At 4k, six episodes would take up >60gb.
VAM is indeed value-added material. I’m not sure if it an industry-wide term but it is certainly the one used in the BBC as we know from the Doctor Who releases. People shouldn’t get too worried about the number of discs. Spreading the content out means less compression which is a good thing. It doesn’t cost a significant amount to have extra discs in comparison to the cost of licensing the content. Blu-Ray can fit around about 4 hours of HD material. That means 10 discs will be the episodes with a few extras added in. Then we have 8 discs of extras from each series. If we also have a final disc then I am hoping that is a Smeg Ups disc with the three Smeg Ups shows. It is unlikely but I also hope they manage to include the Remastered Series 1-III (even if it means them presenting it in SD).
If the release is getting pushed back to January then I wonder if there’s a chance of getting some footage of this weekend’s DJ in there somehow.
If they do record at DJ then somebody had better fucking ask about Holly’s computer rashes. That’s the new documentary. A search across time and space for the ‘computer rashes” guy. It’s like Long Last Family. Somebody call Davina.
RIMMER: I’ll give you 10 discs. CAT: 10 discs? Ha! RIMMER: 15 discs. CAT: For all these shiny things? RIMMER: I’ll show you how to get all the discs you’ll ever need. CAT: (Tempted) 19 discs? RIMMER: Mmm. CAT: 19 discs? I’ll be rich! RIMMER: You certainly will! Yes, come on! CAT: All right!
The 19 discs thing is pretty much confirmation that it’ll have more than just the stuff on the original DVD releases. YES. There’s clearly chaos going on behind the scenes for these Blu rays, though. How long until they make a documentary just about this?
The TOS article did make me laugh when it ended with a suggestion that we celebrate VIII’s 20th anniversary next year.
That’s a very nice article – as I said, if it means getting it right and making the best set possible, I’m not bothered by a delay. And putting out an article like this is a good way to collate/confirm all the rumoured details that have been floating around for the past few weeks.
2019 is looking to be a major year for Red Dwarf celebrations! – The Series 1-VIII Blu ray release. – The 20th anniversary of Series VIII. – The 30th anniversary of Series III. – The 10th anniversary of Series IX (occasionally known by its alternate title of “Back to Earth”). – The 15th anniversary of Celebrities Disfigured.
I don’t get why they can’t show at least a bit of what it looks like though. Like a screenshot side by side of the things that really looked bad on the DVDs, and the new hotness. Something like the horrible wiggle on the Red Dwarf logo in the series V titles (I think, and if that’s even something that can be fixed). I know a YouTube video is pointless because of compression, but a screenshot or two would be a soothing minty gel to the mouth ulcer of disappointment.
Are the Series V titles still going to look weird/bad? What was the thought process behind the letterboxing (squashing?) with the red bars? It’s unique and it stands out, I’ll give them that. Doesn’t it have a strange filter over the footage as well?
And the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary of the first anniversary. I’ll get some balloons.
>It’s also the first anniversary of the show’s thirtieth anniversary. My post was flagged as spam. Ah well. It was fucking hilarious. You’ll just have to take my word for it. >Are the Series V titles still going to look weird/bad? I’d imagine they won’t tinker, but this is one bit that could do with being addressed as it’s a real shit-show. There’s a filter on top of it, and there’s difference in the shots that have been cropped, and those that have been squashed. It seems that they picked the shots and dealt with each specifically (rather than just do the same treatment for all). In the case of the shot from Back to Reality (with the crew looking at the green screen), it’s markedly different to how it appears in the episode as the text has been removed. But they didn’t do the same for Kryten’s POV shot in Terrorform.
I meant the actual ellipse. I think it’s V, maybe VI, maybe both but it has this ripple to it, I wondered if it was some kind of encoding artifact or whether that’s just what it was like, I never bothered to get the VHS versions out to check.
Are the Series V titles still going to look weird/bad? What was the thought process behind the letterboxing (squashing?) with the red bars? It’s unique and it stands out, I’ll give them that. Doesn’t it have a strange filter over the footage as well? I’d assume it was just to make the opening titles look different from the actual show, but I could be wrong. It does sort of work though, I think- makes the opening titles feel a little more like their own thing rather than just being identical to shots from the show
I can’t say I would miss the phony widescreen on V and VI’s titles even if it wasn’t as broadcast any more. Windowboxing is a sin.
I wonder if we’ll finally see the deleted scenes for Marooned on the Blu-Ray? When the Series 3 DVD was originally put out, they couldn’t find the rushes tape for Marooned and so the only deleted scene from it is the poker scene (and they only had that because it was originally included on Smeg Outs). If they’re taking the time to make sure the Blu-Ray is as good as possible, it’d be a nice inclusion I remember hearing somewhere one of the scenes removed from Marooned is one in which Lister has to drink his own piss, with Rimmer comparing it to scrumpy. Sounds like quite a funny scene, so it’d be a shame if we never got to see it
Marooned Extended sounds like a treat I never knew I wanted. I wonder if any of that stuff ended up in Better Than Life, even if just a line or two.
It’s been brought forward to last October, but due to a fire in the warehouse where the BBC keeps it’s skips, it never made it to print.
