Ben Elton Casually Rewrites Red Dwarf History Like It's Nothing

[(deleted)]

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/15/28-years-a-smeghead-back-in-deep-space-with-the-red-dwarf-crew

Easy to miss – read the errata/addendum at the bottom. Everything you know is wrong.

The best thing about this is that Ben Elton cares that much and acknowledges that this is important. Class act, truly.

[Jonsmad]

It’s Paul Jackson’s explanation of how TV budgets work that story isnt it from one of the DVD documentaries which i doubt Elton has seen. The space left by the lack of there ever being a plan for a series 2 of Happy Families meant Paul had a chance to mount Red Dwarf against spare funding with no series attached to it. I guess Elton saw the newspaper as making a statement that a written Happy Families two series was started and aborted because of red dwarf taking it’s money or then giving red dwarf it’s funding. So both are right to say Yes or No. About such short paraphrased statements.

[Jonsmad]

Ah no. I see what you mean now. Good spot.

“But according to Elton, it probably came from an unmade second series of his later sitcom Filthy Rich and Catflap.”

Yes 1987 makes sense that he’s correcting Jackson’s comments in that documentary Paul got the wrong show.

[Pete Tranter’s Sister]

I’d love Paul Jackson to appear at Dimension Jump and berate the cast and crew for charity. Every tenner raised adds another minute.

Don’t even tell him it’s for charity, he’d go for it regardless.

[(deleted)]

Sorry for being vague, I just wanted someone else to do the same double take of surprise as I did at it!

It makes infinitely more sense too of course. There’s that.

[Jonsmad]

“The show’s momentum couldn’t last: at the height of its popularity, Rob Grant (the other half of the writing and production duo) left. An uncertain seventh series in 1997 jettisoned the studio audience; a wobblier eighth in 1999 – which unwisely revived the entire crew of Red Dwarf – brought it back. After this, the BBC declined to renew it. That seemed to be that.”

While that is a true summarry of the middle era of the show. Condensed like that it does read like they dropped Dwarf after 99 cus it was shit in their eyes. The BBC didnt drop it really until after the movie TV deal expired and they decided they didnt want Dwarf back on the channel at that time.

[Jonathan Capps]

That’s ever so slightly blown my mind.

Very nice article in general, too. Luke Holland seems to know his onions.

[Taiwan Tony]

You’ve got to love Ben Elton. Or at least respect him. Or hate him.
Or feel indifferent towards him.

Amazingly bizarre and bizarrely amazing of him to point it out. I hope he still loves comedy as much as he used to.

[Author]

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