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

[si]

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

Meltdown’s at the bottom of my series IV list. However this is just because I like the others more, not because I dislike it – I really like it, in fact. I know it’s my dad’s favourite ever episode, though I think that’s because Elvis is in it.

[Dave]

My Favourites:
I – Future Echoes
II – Queeg
III – Marooned
IV – White Hole
V – The Inquisitor
VI – Psirens
VII – Tikka To Ride
VIII – Cassandra
BTE – Part Two

I found choosing a best or worst from Series VI really difficult.

My Least Favourites:
I – Waiting For God
II – Parallel Universe
III – Bodyswap
IV – Camille
V – Terrorform
VI – Out Of Time
VII – Beyond A Joke
VIII – Pete, Part Two
BTE – Part One

My I to VI least favourites are by no means bad at all, I ruddy bloody love the first 37 episodes of Dwarf.

And Red Christmas was shit.

[PhilPagett]

FAVES:

I: Me2
II: Queeg
III: Marooned
IV: White Hole
V: Back to Reality
VI: Out of Time
VII: Nanarchy
VIII: Back in the Red Part One
BtE: Part Two

LEAST:

I: Confidence & Paranoia
II: Parallel Universe
III: Backwards
IV: Meltdown
V: Terrorform
VI: Rimmerworld
VII: Beyond a Joke
VIII: Pete Part Two
BtE: Part Three

[dooky]

>Waiting for God is spoiled by the cat priest scene imo, which is ill-timed, and should probably have been completely re-written.

It’s definitely the weakest part of the episode. That said, Noel Coleman is actually pretty good in his scenes (even if the outtakes do show him up as a bumbling luvvie who seems to find the whole thing beneath him)* and the music is great, up there with the ‘space walk’ music from Confidence and Paranoia.

One of the reasons I loved this episode in my youth is that because, as a Cat fan, it’s the closest the series ever came to a Cat episode. Plus, it introduced story elements which, at the time, I was convinced we’d see followed up on in a future episode. Nowadays, I wonder if it was bad feelings concerning this episode that prevented Rob and Doug from writing another one on the same subject (Based on comments from them and the cast, it sounded like it was pretty fraught behind the scenes).

Looking back now, I think the character we get the most insight into in this episode is Rimmer… obsessively searching for evidence of aliens, while casually dismissing the advanced, unexplored and dying culture that’s grown up on Red Dwarf itself.

*Oh yeah… here’s something you might be able to help me on. In the intro to one of the books – Primordial Soup, I think – Rob and/or Doug mention frustrations such as “a guest star who can’t pronounce the word ‘slobbiness’. Another who can’t pronounce the word ‘soup’.” I know the first one is Noel Coleman, but who’s the second?

[Pete Part Three]

In the intro to one of the books – Primordial Soup, I think – Rob and/or Doug mention frustrations such as ?a guest star who can?t pronounce the word ?slobbiness?

“Phenomenon”, actually.

[ChrisM]

I’ve avoided contributing to these threads because I find it hard to choose specific episodes, particularly as I might like certain episodes for different reasons, and some episodes have certain brilliant scenes but other stuff that’s average. But I thought I’d give it a bash. Some series are easy enough. Others difficult…
…and these are subject to change.

Most liked:

I: Future Echoes. (That was easy.)

II: Stasis Leak. -This was more difficult. From a plot point of view I think Thanks for the Memory has the best story. Lovely mystery stuff which all fits together at the end… (I never thought of that jigsaw as a metaphor for the episode but heh… just clicked.) The plot for stasis leak doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering what other things they could do in that time frame… but I love the confusing time travel shenanigans. So that edges it but it could easy go either way.

III: The Last Day. – It used to be Polymorph, a great monster episode. Some sequences felt a little too hammy now though. I also like Kryten as a character and get a kick out of the Terminator bit at the end. And the Dead Pan mode joke and the DJ gag. This is one of those series that could easily change though.

IV: Justice. – All good episodes this series though.

V: The Inquisitor. -All good episodes this series too. Back to Reality is a strong contender. Used to be my favourite. Can we have joint faves?

VI: Gunmen of the Apocalypse. – This was quite difficult though.

VII: Beyond a Joke. – Yes. Although, Tikka is a major contender. I’m not sure of the hate for this episode. The resolution was kinda hokey but you’ve got 1: An amusing period drama parody with a tank and a blow-pipe. 2. Kryten going PMT, but not in a whiny way like other episodes, he gets quite aggressive and literally explosive, 3. Good sci-fi stuff and Kochanski’s ‘run away’ plot. “So is there a bomb or isn’t there, etc.” 4. A Simulant, gelf and Able… I love Able.

For a specific scene in VII though, got to be the Ace Rimmer James bond parody.

VIII: Cassandra.

Back To Earth: Episode 3. (Difficult to say though as there are chunks of each episode I liked and disliked. 3 actually had a couple of my most irritating scenes. But then there’s the very funny Corrie stuff and the poignant stuff with Kochanski, and the positive ending overall.

Least liked:

I: Confidence and Paranoia… Although Me2 may be a contender. It’s not badly constructed, but I found the rowing between the two Rimmers irritating. It served the story, this is purely a gripe I have. The shouty stuff in Sean of the Dead affected me the same way (and again it made sense in context.) It’s not that clear in my memory to judge though. As far as chosen episode is concerned, the earlier half with the fish and the mayor was funny stuff, but the character of Confidence bugged me a bit.

II: Kryten. – To be fair it has one of my favourite scenes in the series though. That dead girls scene, and Lister’s sarcastic jokes at Rimmer’s expence. “I think the blonde was giving you the eye.” Heh, heh. I found the later stuff pulled it down somewhat though. Not a bad episode overall though.

III: Bodyswap – This is a great series though, and this was a great episode. I mainly chose it as Rimmer porking was a bit of a gross out for me. (I hate seeing bits of food around people’s mouths. Finicky, I know.) The ending ‘armless’ joke was one of the funniest there is though, and the characters impersonating each other was funny. The Last Day is a contender though. As is Backwards due to plot but Backward film puts edges that out of worst.

IV: Dimension Jump- A difficult one to choose as the prologue scene was brilliant. The rest of the episode seemed pretty basic though. Least good of consistently good episodes though. If that. (That’s why I dislike to choose.)

V: Quarantine: Only because the argument between the characters in quarantine irritated me a bit. This whole series is great though. Really good.

VI: Emohawk: Again, all episodes are good this series. Emohawk edges it after the fantastic first half (which was one of my favourite scenes in Series VI) due to the slightly fan poking return of Dibbley and Ace. I like those characters, just the way they returned felt a bit off.

VII: Duct Soup- Mostly due to how little happens. I liked the conversations and the Cat/Lister “What’s that noise?” stuff though. There isn’t much in VII I dislike. There I’ve said it.

VIII: Back in the Red- Started good but just dragged on too long. And there was the ridiculous Rimmer todger pummeling. Pete is a contender though with the repetitive jokes, but the out of synch fight was a riot. Should I choose parts?

Back to Reality: Episode 1. But again, difficult to choose as there are likes/dislikes evenly distributed across all three episodes. The noticeable pauses in the first scene, and Rimmer’s overeactive panic scene edge this though.

There you go. Scenes with mini essays attached. ;)

[Danny Stephenson]

Back to Reality: Episode 1. But again, difficult to choose

You mean “Back To Earth”?

Freudian slip, possibly?

[Carlito]

Ummm… Chris, how could you pick The Last Day as your favourite episode of series III, and then also list it as a contender for your least favourite?

* Baffled Mode *

[ChrisM]

You mean ?Back To Earth??

Heh. Yes.

>Ummm? Chris, how could you pick The Last Day as your favourite episode of series III, and then also list it as a contender for your least favourite?

Um…. Not sure. The Last Day certainly isn’t my least favourite… not even a contender. I’m not sure where that came from. Just scratch that. (I won’t edit it or it’ll all drop down.) I thought I might have gotten a couple of titles mixed up in my head, but looking at the episode list… no.

[dooky]

>?Phenomenon?, actually.

Really? Oh. Could’ve sworn Noel Coleman’s problem with slobbiness was mentioned somewhere prior to the release of Smeg Outs…

[Monkeynuts]

Me2
Queeg
Bodyswap
Dimension Jump
Quarantine
Emohawk: Polymorph 2
Ouroboros
Krytie TV
Back To Earth 3

with the painfully chosen least favourites..

Balance of Power
Stasis Leak
Timeslides
Justice
The Inquisitor
n/a
Beyond A Joke
Back In The Red 3
Back To Earth 1

[Dee Cooke]

Favourites:

I: Waiting For God
II: Thanks For The Memory
III: Timeslides
IV: Justice
V: Holoship
VI: Gunmen Of The Apocalypse
VII: Tikka To Ride
VIII: Only The Good…
BtE: Part 3

Least favourites:

I: Balance Of Power
II: Kryten
III: Bodyswap
IV: Meltdown
V: Quarantine
VI: Emohawk: Polymorph II
VII: Nanarchy
VIII: Krytie TV
BtE: Part 1

[Tonguetied]

Favourites

Series I – Balance of Power
Series II – Stasis Leak
Series III – Marooned
Series IV – Dimension Jump
Series V – The Inquisitor
Series VI – Psirens
Series VII – Ouroboros
Series VIII – Back In The Red part one
BTE – Part three

I find it really difficult to relegate any Red Dwarf episodes to a least favourite category but here goes.

Least favourites

Series I – Waiting for God
Series II – Parallel Universe
Series III – Timeslides
Series IV – Camille
Series V – Holoship
Series VI – Rimmerworld
Series VII – Epideme
Series VIII – Only the Good
BTE – Part Two

[Duddits]

Favourites:

Series I – Future Echoes
Series II – Stasis Leak
Series III – Bodyswap
Series IV – Justice
Series V – Holoship
Series VI – Gunmen of the Apocalypse
Series VII – Tikka to Ride
Series VIII – Cassandra
BTE – Part 1

Least Favourites:

Series I – Waiting for God
Series II – Parallel Universe
Series III – Backwards
Series IV – Meltdown
Series V – The Inquisitor
Series VI – Psirens
Series VII – Ouroboros
Series VIII – Pete Part 2
BTE – Part 2

[HORSEFELLOW]

1: The End (hilarious!! and a lot of characters you don’t see agian!)
2: Future Echoes (very good)
3: Backwords (very funny)
4: none (sorry!!)
5: Back to realtiy (JAKE BULLIT!)
6: Gunman of the Apacalypse (very funny)
7: JFK (Lister can’t remember the American presidents, very funny! wonder if next they will try to go stop Obama?! hahaha
8: Kryti TV (very funny)

THE WORST:
1: BALANCE OF POWER (BORING)
2: PARELL UNIVERSE (BORING)
3: Krytens LAst Day (not funny)
4: Camile (not funny)
5: Demons to Angels (funny but kind of lame)
6: LEGION (BORING)
7: DUCT SOUP (BORING AND LAME)
8: last episode (huh?????)

[Pete Part Three]

Horsefellow, there.

[Carlito]

He’ll be here all week, ladies and gentlemen.

[Carlito]

(And then never seen again…)

[Ben Paddon]

You hope!

[RedDwarfFan2982]

Favourites:

Series I – Future Echoes
Series II – Queeg
Series III – Last Day
Series IV – White Hole
Series V – Back To Reality
Series VI – Legion
Series VII – Narachy
Series VIII – Only The Good
BTE – Part 3

Least Favourites:

Series I – Waiting for God
Series II – Better Than Life
Series III – Marooned
Series IV – Meltdown
Series V – Demons and Angels
Series VI – Psirens
Series VII – Beyond a Joke (followed closely by Duct soup)
Series VIII – Pete Part 1&2
BTE – None

[Rushy]

Favourites: 

I – Me2. The banter between the two Rimmers is just priceless, and gazpacho soup is one of my favourite scenes in the show. Certainly a defining moment between Rimmer and Lister. 

II – Better than Life. I think it’s one of the most perfect episodes, with a great sci-fi storyline and a great pathos storyline weaving together so well. 

III – The Last Day. My favourite episode of Red Dwarf. The entire crew coming together for Kryten is very wholesome, it’s set entirely on the ship and it has one of the show’s best monsters with Hudzen. 

IV – Meltdown. I think Chris Barrie is hysterically funny as a war general. 

V – Holoship. One of the most heartfelt episodes. The one that truly made me love Rimmer. 

VI – Psirens. This one is a favourite mainly for the slow pace and the ambiance. I just really enjoy watching Starbug wander around deep space, asteroid fields, bumping into strange phenomena. 

VII – Blue. A strong tribute to the Rimmer/Lister dynamic. Has the Rimmer song. 

VIII – Back in the Red pt 1. I enjoy the nostalgic elements.

IX – Back to Earth pt 1. I don’t much care for the meta storyline, so this goes here by default because I prefer being on the ship. It’s very cinematic, probably the most beautiful that Red Dwarf has ever been. I really liked having the observation dome back.

X – Fathers and Suns. Pree is my favourite guest star on the show. Lister gets some great character stuff. 

XI – Krysis. Butler nails that ‘love to hate’ quality. I adore the Universe skit, and Rimmer’s little list of schoolmates who are doing worse than him. 

XII – Cured. The best Cat episode by far, and with some great moments for the rest of the cast. Ryan Gage is wonderful as Hitler. 

Least favourites:

I – Future Echoes. I’ve always found it very boring and onenote. 

II – Parallel Universe. I don’t hate it, it’s just the weakest in a very strong series. 

III – Backwards. It doesn’t make sense and it’s not funny. Feels like someone discovered the rewind button exists, and got far too excited.

IV – Camille. There is no story until the last five minutes. 

V – The Inquisitor. Not a bad story, I just think the time travel smeg gets too convoluted. 

VI – Emohawk. Lame rehash of ideas. 

VII – Duct Soup. The definition of boredom. 

VIII – Krytie TV. Weird and uncomfortable. 

IX – Back to Earth pt 2. I don’t like the meta storyline as I already said, and pt 3 has the solid Lister development with Kochanski to boost it. 

X – Lemons. It’s an episode that doesn’t mock the bad effects of religion or particularly zany forms of religion, but the very concept of having faith. The dialogue in this episode boils religion down to just something people make up to feel good about themselves. Making fun of part of your audience simply for having faith at all seems mean-spirited to me.

XI – Can of Worms. Grosses me out. Another lame Polymorph rehash, with a lot of jokes from previous episodes. 

XII – Siliconia. Its only joke is that the cast wear Kryten outfits. 

[Technopeasant]

I don’t actually think Lemons is making fun of faith. For a start, there isn’t even a single Christian in the episode. Like Waiting for God I think it’s more how unsettlingly bizarre it would be to be taken as a messiah. And it wasn’t even him. See also The Life of Brian.

[Warbodog]

Me2

Thanks for the Memory

Bodyswap

Dimension Jump

Quarantine

Out of Time

Epideme (only one I actually like)

Cassandra (ditto)

BTE part 3 (I suppose, wouldn’t choose to watch)

The Beginning

Officer Rimmer

M-Corp

[Rushy]

I don’t actually think Lemons is making fun of faith. For a start, there isn’t even a single Christian in the episode. Like Waiting for God I think it’s more how unsettlingly bizarre it would be to be taken as a messiah. And it wasn’t even him. See also The Life of Brian.

It’s the scene where Jesus rants about the Commandments when it crosses over into full-on mockery of Christianity as a concept. At least for me. 

Waiting for God’s message was that “they all misunderstood me and used religion as an excuse to be extremely crappy to each other”, which is extremely valid. 

[International Debris]

I mean it’s making a mockery of some of the many hypocricies of Christianity, which is fair game in my book. I don’t think it says anything about faith in general.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

The Promised Land is more a mockery of faith than Lemons is. And I wouldn’t even say TPL is mocking it. 

[Dax101]

Lemons seems like a very complicated concept to write. The moment you get into the concept of religion or Jesus, it really creates a lot of questions. So of course Doug thought it was best to write it.

But luckily i think Doug took it the best direction he could have by not confirming or denying and closing the story in a kind of reset.

[Flap Jack]

Lemons is an overtly pro Church of Judas text.

[Technopeasant]

I mean it’s making a mockery of some of the many hypocricies of Christianity, which is fair game in my book. I don’t think it says anything about faith in general.

And critically he isn’t even fully sincere. Jesus is deliberately trying to become an apostate. Honestly the bigger suprise is Erin apparently being Jewish.

[Spaceworm Jim]

I like Lemons, in spite of it not mocking Christianity.

(This is not a genuine sentiment.)

[JEMesis]

Favourite episodes:

Me2

Queeg

Bodyswap

Justice

Terrorform

Out of Time

Stoke Me a Clipper

Cassandra

All of Back to Earth (only watched it full length on DVD)

The Beginning

Officer Rimmer

Skipper

[Rushy]

 Bodyswap

[Technopeasant]

For having a correct opinion that is correct. Except The Last Day is even better. The back half of III is especially good.

[Rushy]

Except The Last Day is even better. The back half of III is especially good.

I love the Last Day. It’s probably my favourite episode of the show. Timeslides is a good time too. But I can’t abide Bodyswap’s characterisation of Rimmer, and the whole “turn Lister into a hologram” plot raises too many questions. 

That being said, Craig Charles’ physical imitation of Barrie’s mannerisms is great

[Warbodog]

The back half of III is especially good.

I always got the best vibe from VHS Byte 2s generally. Influenced to quite a large extent by those being the only videos I found for rent before the DVDs, but still.

[Technopeasant]

But I can’t abide Bodyswap’s characterisation of Rimmer, and the whole “turn Lister into a hologram” plot raises too many questions.

The implication in my view is that the desperation to regain corporeality might be that intense for most, rather than damning Rimmer specifically. It would be a hard thing to comprehend I’m sure.

[Nick R]

1: The End (hilarious!! and a lot of characters you don’t see agian!)
2: Future Echoes (very good)
3: Backwords (very funny)
4: none (sorry!!)
5: Back to realtiy (JAKE BULLIT!)
6: Gunman of the Apacalypse (very funny)
7: JFK (Lister can’t remember the American presidents, very funny! wonder if next they will try to go stop Obama?! hahaha
8: Kryti TV (very funny)
THE WORST:
1: BALANCE OF POWER (BORING)
2: PARELL UNIVERSE (BORING)
3: Krytens LAst Day (not funny)
4: Camile (not funny)
5: Demons to Angels (funny but kind of lame)
6: LEGION (BORING)
7: DUCT SOUP (BORING AND LAME)
8: last episode (huh?????)

I like your versions of the episode titles, Mr/Ms Horsefellow of 2009.

[Warbodog]

[Moonlight]

I received physical damage at the “stop Obama” bit. Excellent.

[Ridley]

Almost certainly Phil.

[Jimboid]

Incredible, succulent, divine:

1. The End

2. Thanks for the Memory

3. Marooned

4. White Hole

5. Quarantine

6. Legion

7. Stoke me a Clipper

8. Cassandra

BTE: 1

10: Trojan

11: Give & Take

12: Mechocracy

Bitter, rancid, tangy, crunchy, chewy, meaty, even…

1. Waiting for God

2. Parallel Universe

3. Backwards

4. Dimension Jump

5. Demons & Angels

6. Polymorph 2

7. Beyond a Joke

8. Pete Part 2

BTE: 2

10: Entangled

11: Twentica

12: Timewave

[Technopeasant]

Incredible, succulent, divine:
1. The End

The rest of the show is an anticlimax really.

[Nick R]

The End (of the best episode)

[Author]

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