Best of each series?

[Phil]

Following on from a minor discussion here:
http://www.ganymede.tv/forum/2009/04/back-to-earth

What are your favorite episodes of each series? Just one. If you can’t decide then GO AWAY.

I: Future Echoes
II: Thanks for the Memory
III: Bodyswap
IV: White Hole
V: Holoship
VI: Out of Time
VII: Blue
VIII: Cassandra (well…that one’s not liable to change much among commenters I guess…)

Topic

[Dessie]

I: Future Echoes
II: Queeg
III: Polymorph
IV: Justice
V: Quarantine
VI: Psirens
VII: Duct Soup
VIII: Cassandra

[p2p_productions]

I: The End
II: Kryten
III: Marooned
IV: Dimension Jump
V: Back To Reality
VI: Gunmen Of The Apocalypse
VII: Tikka To Ride
VIII: Back In The Red Part 1
BtE: Part 1

…But that’s just today. :-))

[NoFro]

I: Future Echoes
II: Thanks for the Memory
III: Marooned
IV: Justice
V: Holoship
VI: Out of Time
VII: Stoke Me A Clipper
VIII: Cassandra

[Ben Paddon]

I: Waiting For God
II: Kryten
III: Marooned
IV: White Hole
V: Quarantine
VI: Gunmen Of The Apocalypse
VII: Tikka To Ride
VIII: Cassandra
BTE: Part Two

[hummingbird]

I: The End
II: Thanks for the memory
III: Marooned
IV: White Hole
V: Back to Reality
VI: Gunmen
VII: Tikka
VIII: Cassandra
BtE: Part 2

[Seb Patrick]

1: Me2
2: Thanks for the Memory
III: The Last Day
IV: Dimension Jump (only just edging out White Hole, which seems to slip down my personal list every time I think about it)
V: Back to Reality
VI: Out of Time
VII: Tikka to Ride
VIII: Cassandra
BtE: Part Two

[Nakrophile]

I: Future Echoes
II: Thanks for the Memory
III: Marooned
IV: Dimension Jump
V: The Inuisitor
VI: Out of Time
VII: Tikka
VIII: Cassandra
BtE: part 2 I guess, although I doubt I’ll even think of it as a trilogy when the DVD arrives.

[Another Phil]

1. Me2
2. Queeg
3. Marooned
4. Dimension Jump
5. Back to Reality
6. Gunmen of the Apocalypse
7. Blue
8. Cassandra
BtE: Part 2

[Nick R]

I: Me^2 (Runner-up: Future Echoes)
II: Queeg (Runner-up: Thanks for the Memory)
III: Marooned (Runner-up: The Last Day)
IV: Dimension Jump (Runner-up: White Hole)
V: Quarantine (Runner-up: Back to Reality)
VI: Gunmen of the Apocalypse (Runner-up: Out of Time)
VII: Stoke Me A Clipper (Runner-up: Tikka To Ride)
VIII: Cassandra (Runner-up: Back in the Red Part 1)

Having written it out like that, I’ve just realised how many of my favourite episodes from the first six series include elements that were shared with the novels…

Since people are including parts of Back to Earth: notice that with the ad breaks, it can be split into six “episodes”. In which case: episode 2, pre-adverts. :)

[Carlito]

Favourite:
I: Future Echoes
II: Queeg
III: Marooned
IV: DNA
V: Back To Reality
VI: Legion
VII: Tikka to Ride
VIII: Cassandra
BTE: Pt 1

Least favourite:
NB. Doesn’t mean I don’t like them, just for a bit of balance/comparison.

I: Waiting For God
II: Parallel Universe
III: The Last Day
IV: Meltdown
V: Demons And Angels
VI: Rimmerworld
VII: Beyond A Joke
VIII: Only The Good
BTE: Pt 2

[Andrew]

I: Confidence & Paranoia
II: Kryten
III: Bodyswap
IV: Justice
V: Back To Reality
VI: Gunmen of the Apocalypse
VII: Tikka to Ride
VIII: Cassandra
BTE: Part 3

[Zombie Jim Undead]

I – Balance of Power
II – Thanks for the Memory
III – Marooned
IV – White Hole
V – The Inquisitor
VI – Gunmen
VII – Stoke me a Clipper
VIII – Cassandra (by a million miles)
BtE – Part 2

[Pete Part Three]

I : Future Echoes
II : Thanks for the Memory
III: Polymorph
IV : Justice
V : Back to Reality
VI : Legion
VI : Tikka to Ride
VIII: I dunno, Cassandra? Who gives a shit, they’re all crap.
BTE : Part 2

Least Favourite:

I : Waiting For God
II : Parallel Universe
III: Bodyswap
IV : White Hole
V : Holoship
VI : Emohawk
VII: Ouroborus
VIII : Pete Part 2
BTE : Part Three by a county mile.

[Phil]

Ooh, least favorite…that’s fun, too.

LEAST FAVE:
I: Waiting For God
II: Kryten
III: Timeslides
IV: Dimension Jump
V: Quarantine? (REALLY hard to pick though…those are 6 perfect episodes)
VI: Emohawk
VII: Duct Soup
VIII: Pete Part 2

[JamesTC]

I – Me2
II – Thanks for the Memory
III – Backwards
IV – Meltdown
V – Back to Reality
VI – Out of Time
VII – Tikka to Ride
VIII – Krytie TV
BTE – Part 2

[p2p_productions]

Okay, least favourite:

I: Confidence and Paranoia
II: Parallel Universe
III: Bodyswap
IV: Meltdown
V: Terrorform
VI: Rimmerworld
VII: Blue
VIII: Pete Part 2
BtE: Part 3

[Carlito]

I did find it very hard to pick least favourite episodes from series II and V. It is testament to the quality that I still actually LOVE the episodes I have deemed my “least favourite” from most of the seasons.

[NitroChrisUK]

i:future echoes
ii:stasis leak
iii:timeslides
iv:dimension jump
v:Demons And Angels
vi:out of time
vii:tikka
viii:cassandra
bte:part 2

[Stabbim the Skutter]

I – Confidence and Paranoia
II – Thanks for the Memory
III – Backwards
IV – Meltdown
V – Demons and Angels
VI – Legion
VII – Stoke Me A Clipper
VIII – Cassandra
BtE – Part Three

[Ben Paddon]

I seem to be the only person who thinks Waiting For God is brilliant. Heigh ho.

I guess I’ll pitch in with my least favourites:

I: Balance Of Power
II: Thanks For The Memory*
III: Bodyswap
IV: Camille
V: Demons & Angels**
VI: EmoHawk: Polymorph II
VII: Stoke Me a Clipper
VIII: Pete Part Two
BTE: Part One

____________________________________________________________
* Probably because I’d seen the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode that also used the same idea. I know this was filmed before the TNG ep, but for some reason it’s the episode of Red Dwarf II that I find the least engaging. Even if it is probably the cleverest of the bunch.

** This was a very difficult decision to make. Series V is probably my favourite series of the lot, and every episode is utter joy from start to finish. It’s really difficult to pick my least favourite. Demons & Angels probably qualifies, but I should note it’s probably in my top ten personal favourite episodes ever.

[Ben Paddon]

I wrote a post. I clicked “Post comment”. It vanished. Sadface.

[Bob Loblaw]

I: Future Echoes
II: Thanks For The Memory
III: Marooned
IV: White Hole
V: Holoship
VI: Legion
VII: Tikka To Ride
VIII: Cassandra
BtE: Part 2

[Ian Symes]

FAVOURITE:

I: Future Echoes
II: Queeg
III: Marooned
IV: White Hole
V: Back To Reality
VI: Out of Time
VII: Stoke Me A Clipper
VIII: Cassandra
BTE: Part Three

LEAST FAVOURITE:

I: Balance of Power
II: Parallel Universe
III: The Last Day
IV: DNA
V: Terrorform
VI: Rimmerworld
VII: Duct Soup
VIII: Pete (Part Two)
BTE: Part Two

[Ben Paddon]

Let’s try again…

I: Balance Of Power
II: Thanks For The Memory?
III: Bodyswap
IV: Camille
V: Demons & Angels?
VI: Emohawk: Polymorph II
VII: Stoke Me A Clipper
VIII: Pete Part Two
BTE: Part One

? Probably because I saw the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode that tried the same thing before I saw this episode. TFTM is brilliantly written and is very, very clever, but for some reason it’s the least engaging episode of series II.

? This is a fairly arbitrary selection. Series V is the most consistently good series of the show, and while Demons & Angels is probably my least favourite I should stress that it’s still one of my personal top ten favourite episodes.

[si]

FAVE:

I:Future Echoes
II:Queeg
III:Marooned
IV:Justice
V:Quarantine
VI:Gunmen of the Apocalypse
VII:Stoke Me A Clipper
VIII:Cassandra

LEAST FAVE:

I:Waiting for God
II:Parallel Universe
III:The Last Day
IV:Meltdown
V:Demons and Angels
VI:Out of Time
VII:Beyond a Joke
VIII:Only the Good…

I’m not including BtE as I prefer to think of it as a whole story. Although, if you were to go by my initial viewing (ie. before I saw Blade Runner) I’d have part 2 top, and part 3 bottom.

So there.

[Seb Patrick]

See you in ten minutes?

LEAST favourites, then :

I – Waiting for God
II – Parallel Universe
III – Polymorph
IV – DNA
V – Demons & Angels
VI – Psirens
VII – Epideme
VIII – Krytie TV
BTE – Part 1

[Carlito]

I’ve never seen anyone list Krytie TV as their least favourite VIII episode before. It may not feel very Red Dwarf due to a complete lack of sci-fi, but I’d say it has the hallmarks of a fairly good farce sitcom, and it made me laugh quite a lot. I’d put it second to Cassandra when rating VIII.

Each to their own, obviously, but just surprised when there is so much worse in VIII. (Coming from somebody who likes VIII… Jesus, why do I always feel the need to include that whenever discussing VIII??)

[Carlito]

It’s funny how, whilst everybody seems to have their own individual favourites for every other series, nearly EVERYONE so far lists Cassandra as the best VIII episode.

I remember when watching Cassandra thinking ‘well, that’s the big exposition/setup of Back In The Red out of the way – yeah, probably went on a bit too long – but Cassandra is the type of episode we can expect from this point forward…”

Yeah.

[Andrew]

> nearly EVERYONE so far lists Cassandra as the best VIII episode.

It’s weird, but I can happily separate Back to Earth as three ‘parts’ in a way I can’t with BITR, which would otherwise likely bea favourite of VIII for me.

For some reason the way BTE splits into three shows with distinct and separate tones – the old-school one, the Earth-based one and the dream-like one – despite being a single story makes it easier to select a preference.

[Richey]

FAVOURITE

I – Waiting For God
II – Thanks For The Memory
III – Marooned
IV – White Hole
V – Demons & Angels
VI – Gunmen Of The Apocalypse
VII – Stoke Me A Clipper
VIII – Cassandra
BTE – Part 1

LEAST FAVOURITE

I – Confidence & Paranoia
II – Parallel Universe
III – Timeslides
IV – Meltdown
V – Terrorform
VI – Emohawk: Polymorph II
VII – Duct Soup
VIII – Pete Part 2
BTE – Part 3

NOTE: Least favourites from series I – V are still episodes I enjoy watching. Least favourites from VI – BTE are ones I would not bother watching.

[Another Phil]

Least favourites:

1. Waiting for God
2. Better Than Life
3. Bodyswap
4. Meltdown (*)
5. Demons and Angels
6. Emohawk: Polymorph 2
7. Epideme (worst of all time)
8. Pete Part 2
BtE: Part One

(*)Tough one though, all of 4 is in my top half. Most consistent series for me.

[JamesTC]

Least favourite –
I – Waiting for God
II – Queeg (and I can’t think of a reason, it is just the least enjoyable)
III – Timeslides (very tough choice)
IV – Camille
V – Terrorform
VI – Psirens
VII – Ouroborus
VIII – Pete Part 2
BTE – Part 1

[Turk Thrust]

Favourites:

1, Future Echoes.
2, Queeg.
3, Marooned.
4, Dimension Jump.
5, Back to Reality.
6, Gunmen of the Apocalypse.
7, Blue (if pushed).
8, Cassandra.

Least Favourites.

1, Waiting for God.
2, Better than Life.
3, Bodyswap.
4, White Hole.
5, Demons and Angels.
6, Emohawk.
7, Duct Soup.
8, Pete Part 2.

[Seb Patrick]

For some reason the way BTE splits into three shows with distinct and separate tones – the old-school one, the Earth-based one and the dream-like one – despite being a single story makes it easier to select a preference.

S’true. While I think each of the individual episodes makes a lot more sense in the context of the respective other two, they’re still pretty easy to separate as doing different things and having distinct tones. I honestly think the whole “edit it together into one hour-long thing” crowd are barking up the wrong tree somewhat. But that’s just my opinion.

(the only thing is that I’d have shunted the Corrie stuff to ep two, and opened three with the arrival in London. But I can see the practicalities of why Corrie was held back)

[Zombie Jim Undead]

Least best:

I – Confidence & Paranoia
II – Parallel Universe
III – Backwards
IV – Camille
V – Demons & Angels
VI – Emohawk
VII – Beyond a Joke & Nanarchy tied.
VIII – Pete Part II
BtE – Part III

[Dessie]

Least Favourite:

I: Balance Of Power
II: Parallel Universe
III: Body Swap
IV: Meltdown
V: Demons and Angels
VI: Emohawk
VII: Tikka
VII: Krytie TV

[Andrew]

> But I can see the practicalities of why Corrie was held back

Not the least of which would be “episode three would be five minutes short”!

[Muzzy]

FAVOURITES

I: ME2
II: Thanks For The Memory
III: Marooned
IV: Meltdown
V: Holoship
VI: Legion
VII: Tikka To Ride
VIII: Krytie TV
BTE – Part I

LEAST FAVOURITES

I: Confidence and Paranoia
II: Parallel Universe
III: The Last Day
IV: Justice
V: The Inquisitor
VI: Emohawk – Polymorph 2
VII: Epideme
VIII: Only The Good…
BTE – Part III

[pfm]

I. Future Echoes (if only for the ‘what things…I said what??’ scene)
II. TFTM (perfect piece of television)
III. Timeslides (‘it’s you, isn’t it’) (interesting how only around half have put Marooned, the supposed classic episode)
IV. DJ (perfect, except for the stupid end kipper scene)
V. The Inquisitor (fuck the crows if this ain’t excellence incarnate)
VI. Gunmen (nothing needs to be said, ‘well hang on…’ no there’s nothing you can say)
VII. Stoke (watched it again a few days ago and it’s strangely gone up in my estimations)
VIII. Cassandra (Doctor Who ripped that off, don’t you know)
BtE. Part 3 (though you really can’t single it out because you NEED to have seen parts 1 & 2 to appreciate Lister’s moments in part 3)

LEAST

I. Waiting For God (though contains Rimmer shouting like a loon and saliva smear)
II. Parallel Universe (sadly blemishes an otherwise A* perfect series)
III. Polymorph (shows how amazing III is)
IV. Camille (don’t care much for this or DNA)
V. Demons & Angels (I enjoyed Deception Point more)
VI. Psirens (‘get out the fucking belt while you can, STAND STILL LADDIE!!’
VII. Nanarchy (shit)
VIII. Everything bar Cassandra and the DVD cut of BITR
BtE. Part 1 (though I did enjoy it more than some. If you can’t laugh at Chris Barrie saying ‘he irons sneezes’ then just FO&D)

[Carlito]

> It?s weird, but I can happily separate Back to Earth as three ?parts? in a way I can?t with BITR

For me, BtE individual episodes are just too short to be completely satisfying, whereas watched back-to-back, it’s a great feature length single episode. Although I can kinda seperate them into halves, Dwarf-based and Earth-based. I duno, I guess I view BITR and BTE as whole episodes rather than by their individual parts as they are whole stories when joined together… whereas Pete Pt 1 and Pete Pt 2 only share a few common links (mainly the introduction of Birdman and the time wand) and should really have just been ‘Captain’s Office’ and ‘Pete’, two episodes which simply needed to be back-to-back because of an overlapping element (rather than an actual two-part single story).

It’s akin to Out Of Time being called ‘Rimmerworld Part 2’ just because of the slight overlap in the final scene.

[JamesTC]

It would make more sense to call ‘Tikka to Ride’ Out of Time Part 2 since it basically continues straight after.

[Carlito]

Yes, but then that would actually make sense, whereas I wanted to provide an example that doesn’t, much like Pete 1 and 2.

[Anonymous]

Favourites:

I. Me2
II. Queeq
III. Polymorph
IV. Dimension Jump
V. Back to Reality
VI. Out of Time
VII. Stoke me a Clipper
VIII. Back in the Red – Part 1.
BtE. Part 1

Least favourite:

I. Waiting for God
II. Kryten
III. Backwards
IV. Meltdown
V. They’re all superb
VI. Legion
VII. Ouroboros
VIII. Pete – Part 2
BtE. Part 3

[hummingbird]

Least favourites:
I: Confidence & Paranoia
II: Parallel Universe
III: Backwards
IV: Meltdown
V: The Inquisitor
VI: Emohawk
VII: Duct Soup
VIII: everything apart from Cassandra and the bunk room scenes
BtE: Part 3

[dooky]

Series V is very hard to rank, isn’t it? While it’s not my favourite series, the quality was very consistent…

Favourite:
I: Me2
II: Queeg
III: The Last Day
IV: Meltdown
V: Back to Reality
VI: Out of Time
VII: Epideme
VIII: Cassandra

An honourable mention should also go to Waiting for God, which was my absolute favourite episode of the series I-II era for years. I still consider it to be the most unfairly maligned episode in the show’s history.

Epideme is… an odd one, honestly. I haven’t seen series VII for a while, but this always stuck in my head as the most memorable episode. I think that was almost entirely down to Gary Martin’s performance, mind.

I feel much less conflicted about putting Meltdown in my list, though. It’s friggin’ awesome.

Least favourite:
I: Confidence and Paranoia
II: Parallel Universe
III: Backwards
IV: Camille
V: Demons and Angels
VI: Rimmerworld
VII: Beyond a Joke
VIII: Back in the Red, Part 3 (Probably the worst ever. This episode makes me sad.)

[hummingbird]

> An honourable mention should also go to Waiting for God, which was my absolute favourite episode of the series I-II era for years. I still consider it to be the most unfairly maligned episode in the show?s history.

Waiting for God is spoiled by the cat priest scene imo, which is ill-timed, and should probably have been completely re-written. But that’s more than compensated for by the Quagaar subplot which is just wonderful.

> I think that was almost entirely down to Gary Martin?s performance, mind.

When I watch that (which isn’t often, I admit) his performance always seems a little too much like Levi Stubbs in Little Shop of Horrors.

[Turk Thrust]

> Waiting for God is spoiled by the cat priest scene imo, which is ill-timed, and should probably have been completely re-written. But that?s more than compensated for by the Quagaar subplot which is just wonderful.

Completely agree. When I watched that ep again recently I enjoyed it and the priest scene thankfully doesn`t go on for that long.

[Zombie Jim Undead]

The righteous path of stubbleness.

SLOBINESS…slobiness, slobiness….for god’s sake, whatever that might mean…

[hummingbird]

slobbiness … double ‘b’ actually

[Seb Patrick]

I don’t dislike Waiting for God in the way that some do, but I utterly love every other episode in I (I think C&P is sorely underrated, while anyone who doesn’t put Me2 as the best is 1x FOOL, unless they put Future Echoes, which is just about forgiveable), so it simply comes off worst.

[Author]

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