How Red Dwarf Broke All The Rules

[Dave]

https://www.thecompanion.app/2020/11/10/how-red-dwarf-fandom-broke-all-the-rules-part-1-red-dwarf/

I find stuff like this difficult, because there’s obviously love and enthusiasm for the show, but the first paragraph also talks about Kryton and Hattie Heyridge.

[RunawayTrain]

https://www.thecompanion.app/2020/11/10/how-red-dwarf-fandom-broke-all-the-rules-part-1-red-dwarf/

I find stuff like this difficult, because there’s obviously love and enthusiasm for the show, but the first paragraph also talks about Kryton and Hattie Heyridge.

Well quite!

It’s also going behind the paywall from tomorrow; I want to sign up for a free trial for part 2 but there is an almost 100% guarantee I will forget to cancel it.

(They have the promise of SG1 material too, which makes it even more tempting *sob*)

[Flap Jack]

Not a bad article, and always nice to get some fresh soundbites from Doug. It’s not especially long or in-depth (like it says when TORDFC was founded and mentions the starting of a rudimentary magazine and website, but doesn’t go into any detail whatsoever about who founded it, how they decided to found it, what the early days were like etc.), but then again it is just Part 1. Members will be able to find out whether it goes all The First Three Million Years in the next part.

Weird that the title suggests the fandom is the focus, but most of the fandom related stuff here is just about how Rob and Doug kept the fandom engaged with novels and Smeg Ups and the like, rather than how the fandom engaged with the show. Certainly no hint of how Dwarf fandom “broke the rules” yet.

Given how the remaining parts are going behind a paywall, maybe we should answer the question of how Red Dwarf fandom broke the rules ourselves? After all, we are that fandom! One of us must know.

[International Debris]

“No-one would have gone ‘you know what would be a good idea? You know that show that’s not been on TV for the best part of 10 years? Why don’t we bring that back, because the cast are still all alive?’ No-one would have done that… It was because the fans wanted more.”

Given that Birds of a Feather was off-air for 16 years, Absolutely Fabulous for seven, Open All Hours for 28 (if we count Still…), Roseanne for 22 years, Partridge was off-screen for eight years… I’m not saying these shows don’t have fans, but it’s not like it’s the only show to do this.

[Dave]

Given how the remaining parts are going behind a paywall, maybe we should answer the question of how Red Dwarf fandom broke the rules ourselves? After all, we are that fandom! One of us must know.

Up-down-left-right, up-down-left-right, A+Start.

[q u i n n _ d r u m m e r]

“No-one would have gone ‘you know what would be a good idea? You know that show that’s not been on TV for the best part of 10 years? Why don’t we bring that back, because the cast are still all alive?’ No-one would have done that… It was because the fans wanted more.”

Given that Birds of a Feather was off-air for 16 years, Absolutely Fabulous for seven, Open All Hours for 28 (if we count Still…), Roseanne for 22 years, Partridge was off-screen for eight years… I’m not saying these shows don’t have fans, but it’s not like it’s the only show to do this.

I 100% agree with you Debris. Howwver I think there is something to be said for the fact Dave endlessly repeating Red Dwarf in the early days, leading to BTE leading to series X was much more likely the reason for the re-launching of Red Dwarf. In that instance it was the fans that were the result of the show coming back. It proved Red Dwarf still had an audience worth investing in.

Now I know shows like Birds and Porridge etc will have gotten their own repeats on Gold etc, but I think the re-launches are trading much more on the audiences nostalgia for the show rather than the fact the audience as watched endless repeats and memes the fuck out of them on Twitter and Facebook.

[Ian Symes]

If anyone does fork out for Part 2, could you let us know if G&T gets a mention? I am incredibly vain but not vain enough to sign up.

[Dave]

You’re so vain, I bet you think this blog is about you.

[Author]

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