how would you resolve the end to ” only the good …”

[NitroChrisUK]

with the specials comin up .. will they let us know what happend after lister cat kryten and kochanski were trapped in a mirror universe with no way back and rimmer runnin away after kickin death in the balls with no one else on the ship ( or was there other prisoners on there?) ….seems like there going to be a hell of alot of explaining to be done …. if it was up to you … WHAT HAPPEND NEXT ??

Topic

[Mnoooah]

Wondered this casually myself. All I know is, it must not in any way involve Ace.

[pfm]

“…die young.”

It WON’T be explained. All the VI cliffhanger explanation did was infuriate fans.

[NitroChrisUK]

well i think doug should know that certain things the fans will want to know .. like .. which rimmer is it .. original holagram/ace come back or the 1 who kicked death in the nuts .. how red dwarf was saved or indeed not saved .. wheres holly gone .. wheres kochanski gone .. if they just glaze over that alltogether i think there will be alot of pissed of fans .. i mean even a star wars backwards type scroll at 3000mph wud be better than nothing … rite ?

[Dave]

In an opening crawl in Kinatowowi

[Mnoooah]

Heyyyyy, not me. It was one of my favorite parts of VI, actually. It seemed quintessentially dwarfy to have the crew somewhat blase about an existance shattering inexplicable event.

[Mnoooah]

Yeah, an opening crawl dismissing a number of significant events is quntissential too.

[NitroChrisUK]

in 1 way i really want to know what happend after ” only the good ” but then again i think it would be funny if they just said ” ten years later and … lots of stuff has happend ” but i doubt thell want to waste precious time on the specials explaining a cliffhanger from ten years ago …

[Mnoooah]

Someone else wondered too:

[Carlito]

How do you know the new special ISN’T going to resolve the cliffhanger from 10 years ago?

Lister has been studying on board the mirror Red Dwarf for 10 years to find a way to get back to the original ship.

The episode opens as a decade older Lister, Kryten and Cat all climb through the mirror but… OH NO… the portal closes just as Kochanski’s leg appears; she is knocked back through, never to be seen again.

They find Rimmer, who has gone senile from 10 years of being alone on a rotting ship. Holly found a way to slow the deterioration but it meant sacrificing himself to do so. Rimmer has sat in the last remaining quarter of the ship for the last 4 years, waiting to die.

The crew all realise they are doomed, there is no way out of this mess, they can’t even knock up a new portal as the ship labs eroded 6 years ago. They sit in the captain’s office, the last remaining safe, oxygenised room on the ship, and wait to die.

Could be good, bit of pathos, bit of character stuff a la series 2. Bit of ‘Waiting for Godot in Space’. More character interaction and gags than action packed monster killing, as reflecting the budget. And we leave it with an open ending… we slowly zoom out on the characters, out of the window of the captain’s office, to see just a tiny red piece of metal floating in space, the last remaining section of Red Dwarf and fade to black…

[NitroChrisUK]

now that is actually pretty damn good *tips hat* only thing holding it back is the fact that dave probly have orders for it in some way to have a fresh start to let new fans get involved ( sort oflike how series 6 started ) i guess alot of new fans would watch ur version of the special and gooo ehhhhh wtf is appenin here .. but me as a fan i love the idea lets gets soem camaras and start filming some fanfiction haha

[Carlito]

Unless Dave are planning a new series, I doubt they would care about getting new fans on board with the new episodes, there are only 2 of them, the old episodes have pretty consistantly drawn new viewers over the years in their own right. Better a chance to give the old and new fans some closure to the series than just randomly throw out 2 new episodes if there are no plans for more down the line.

[Carlito]

Re: my above post. The implication being they all die, but leaving it open so that if they ever wanted to make more, we haven’t actually watched them die, as dire a situation as they are in, they could still be potentially saved, but leaving it unlikely enough that if it really is the last time we ever meet the characters, we know their fate.

[NitroChrisUK]

i seriously hope they dont overcome the low budget issue by simply having them on earth walking around ect would be propper bummed if it was soemthing like that

[Tarka Dal]

> In an opening crawl in Kinatowowi

I love this.

Surely if Lister, Cat, Kryten and Kochanski are trapped in a mirror universe all they need to do is re-boot Rimmer (the character) it’s been done once it can be done again and somehow lose Kochanski and there’s the four core Dwarfers all together again.

[JamesTC]

I certainly hope these are not the last specials. I thought they were more like pilots to see if Red Dwarf can still work today.

[NitroChrisUK]

> I thought they were more like pilots to see if Red Dwarf can still work today.

well i guess they are in a way but not to sure weather that would lead to a full series i guess it depends on the “success” of them and that all depends what dave classes as success..because i doubt they will get to even the 1 million mark though not sure what veiwing figures dave gets .. though i think the most bbc3 has ever had is like 2 million ( for torchwood if memory serves me )

[Tarka Dal]

Is Dave effectively free? I mean is it as available as BBC3. If so I genuinely think with the right promotion and that means not just on Dave itself, but posters and papers/magazines that Dwarf could do just as well if not better than that figure. It’s entirely about getting the word out to the fanbase and the lost fanbase (Not viewers of Lost obviously, although they’re welcome too. They must be used to unsatisfactory resolutions by now).

[pfm]

> i seriously hope they dont overcome the low budget issue by simply having them on earth walking around ect

It would probably cost MORE to have them on Earth. If they were on Starbug, for example, they could just get away with a couple of small sets and very little, if any, location shooting.

I’m guessing next week could be location shooting for the specials and the (two?)audience dates coming in Feb.

[NitroChrisUK]

not sure, from what robert said on twitter on tuesday “Just heard today I am going to Pinewood studios next week for ‘a make up test.’ Full Kryten for the first time in 10 years. Gulp!” dont know weather that means they start filmin the same week or weather there just setting things up ..

[ChrisM]

>Is Dave effectively free?

I think so. As long as you have cable or satellite TV I think they’re amongst the standard extras. They are with my package (virgin.) Whether that’s true for all the others… I don’t know, but I think it’s pretty widespread.

[Ian Symes]

Yes, Dave is free to air. Everyone in the UK has access to it.

[JamesTC]

You need to buy a free-view box which right now costs about ?10 for the cheapest which isn’t that bad, I think in a rescent thing it said 90% had free-view anyway. From this year all the TVs will need a free-view box to recieve a signal as well, this means BBC3 and Dave will be just as accesable as BBC2 or ITV. I wonder why BBC1 always gets so much more ratings than BBC2, it is only one channel up!

[Ian Symes]

Is it because BBC One shows mainstream, populist shows that are designed to appeal to larger numbers of people, and that BBC Two is designed for more niche, specialist programming?

[JamesTC]

>Is it because BBC One shows mainstream, populist shows that are designed to appeal to larger numbers of people, and that BBC Two is designed for more niche, specialist programming?

That does seem about right, maybe it is just that I prefer BBC2 so much more, I don’t really watch much on BBC1, Doctor Who is really the only show. One flaw in what you said is that you say it is the program when putting Torchwood on BBC2 from BBC3 will gain an audiance, putting it on BBC1 from BBC2 will almost certainly gain more, why? Put a program on the same night on BBC1 and on BBC2 the same time and BBC1 will get millions more viewers, crazy if you ask me, channels should be judged by each show as it goes.

[James]

I thought Dave was a cheap little tart.

[Ian Symes]

That does seem about right, maybe it is just that I prefer BBC2 so much more, I don?t really watch much on BBC1, Doctor Who is really the only show. One flaw in what you said is that you say it is the program when putting Torchwood on BBC2 from BBC3 will gain an audiance, putting it on BBC1 from BBC2 will almost certainly gain more, why? Put a program on the same night on BBC1 and on BBC2 the same time and BBC1 will get millions more viewers, crazy if you ask me, channels should be judged by each show as it goes.

Channels’ reputations and the audience’s long-held viewing habits, innit.

Not sure how old you are, SO, but you’re probably young enough to have been living most of your life in a multi-channel TV environment. To you, it seems daft that channel 1 is more popular than channel 2 when there’s hundreds of channels anyway. But for people who grew up with only 2, 3 or 4 channels to choose from, they expect certain things from certain channels, and adjust their viewing habits accordingly. That’s why a lot of BBC2 shows will move to BBC1 when they get really popular (HIGNFY, QI and Torchwood 3, for example) – they’ll get more viewers simply by being labelled “mainstream” rather than “minority”. It’s mainly about having the shows fit the channels rather than the other way round – the channels themselves have identities and demographics to maintain.

[Dave]

>I thought Dave was a cheap little tart.

I have no evidence to the contrary.

[locusceruleus]

>Wondered this casually myself. All I know is, it must not in any way involve Ace.

None of the specials should include Ace, Duane Dibbley, Polymorphs, or GELFs. Please, please let it be so.

Yeah, an opening crawl seems the way to go. Who gives a toss, it’s been almost a decade and it was a crap cliffhanger anyway.

[JamesTC]

>None of the specials should include Ace, Duane Dibbley, Polymorphs, or GELFs. Please, please let it be so.

I think some of them atleast will be in Red Dwarf: Unplugged but that is not really an appearance.

[Carlito]

Could definitely see the recuperation lounge scene from Back to Reality being re-enacted in the Unplugged special.

[ChrisM]

I wouldn’t mind Ace in the specials. Bear in mind it’s actually our Holo-Rimmer version, so catching up with him could be interesting. He might not be the same cheesy Ace as his predecessors.

As for gelfs, I wouldn’t mind seeing different types. Since it’s 2 part special on a budget, the only versions likely to appear would be kinitawowi… and I’d prefer not (although I thought they were great at the time.) If the specials provide a decent resolution to last series’s cliffhanger, they’re not required though. If it’s just the four crew-members doing character stuff to a decent script with some ship stuff, that would be fine.

If a new series follows, gelfs and other creatures are welcome (as long as it isn’t a ‘monster of the week’ scenario.) Gives the crew something apart from each other (or alternate versions of themselves) to react to.

[locusceruleus]

>If a new series follows, gelfs and other creatures are welcome (as long as it isn?t a ?monster of the week? scenario. Gives the crew something apart from each other (or alternate versions of themselves) to react to.

Oh, I agree. I just think the worrying possibility with reunion specials is that we might end up with “Hey look, it’s Ace Rimmer”, “Ooh, a polymorph!” “Ha ha, that hilarious Duane Dibbley and his antics.” and be expected to go home happy, as it were.

I think Doug has more sense though, thankfully.

[NitroChrisUK]

i think in some way shape or form there has to be some reference to the cliffhanger even if its something said for 5 seconds.. .. and as it said on the website the details of the 4 episodes are subject to change .. so you never know they make the episodes a few muinets longer to accomidate a solution without actually wasting any screen time

[NitroChrisUK]

how about they carried on after series 6 but in like an alternate timeline (due to the timelines merging blah blah ) and carried on from there .. would automaticly solve the holly and kochanski absences

[hummingbird]

> how about they carried on after series 6 but in like an alternate timeline

This has been my fantasy scenario for a long time.
Completely feasible, as one of the first things Lister says in Tikka is that the reality they’re in is unstable.

[Danny Stephenson]

You cant’ ignore VII and VIII as if they never happened, they HAVE happened, it shall be going to be happening, it will be was an event that could will have been taken place in the future.

Simple as that.

[ChrisM]

Ah, but with the parallel universe scenario, they can both have, going to have happen… happened.

I agree though. Some kind of resolution would be nice. And although RD has a history of glossing over end of series cliff-hangers, they have given some kind of explanation. Even if it’s more confusing parallel universe stuff. ;)

[Carlito]

Wouldn’t surprise me if the new episodes are completely stand alone, and Doug simply explains the outcomes of the cliffhanger in a talking head on the Behind The Scenes episode.

[Danny Stephenson]

TO be honest, I’d prefer a 2 second explanation like the rest, and then on.

[NitroChrisUK]

> I?d prefer a 2 second explanation like the rest, and then on

i agree as long as there is some type of explanation or id be ” almolst annoyed ” nah i doubt he will bypass the cliffhanger completely because otherwise people will just keep askin what happend .. so yeah a 2 second round up sounds good to me

[Danny Stephenson]

“You remember what happened last time on Red Dwarf? Well they got out of that. Meanwhile…”

That would do me fine…

[NitroChrisUK]

and ” wow is it really 9 years since kochanski went back with holo lister “
that would also do

[Ben Paddon]

Most of the “But I and II don’t match up with the continuity of III onwards! The show is forever broken!!11!1″ fans seem to want to see VII and VIII retconned out as a Reality Bubble.

Which is a terrible idea, obviously.

[Tarka Dal]

Or is it?

I really couldn’t care for a lot of the character stuff that goes on in the last two series? Rimmer’s send-off in Series VII feels pretty much part of Dwarf folk-lore as does Blue, but I couldn’t say I have the same level of affection for anything that happens in Series VIII. Infact do the characters actually develop at all in series VIII?

I can’t see any kind of retcon actually happening, but because of series VII and VIII I’m not going to be totally surprised if there’s some contrived speil at the start to explain why there’s no Kochanski and no Holly.

[JamesTC]

Who says Kochanski is not in the specials, personally I would love 2 episodes set on Star Bug with Rimmer, Cat, Kryten, Lister and Kochanski. A mix of the Series VI and VII. All they have said is only the four main cast are confimed, doesn’t mean others can’t be confirmed soon, we haven’t even got a director confirmed or a plot so just because 4 people are confirmed doesn’t mean more can’t come along.

[Tarka Dal]

Erm…allright calm down! I was simply going on the information we’ve been given. Yes other people could come in. I’m only guessing. If Norm isn’t involved for budgetary reasons, I’m not sure how much more the Kochanski character is really worth either? Since we are only getting two full episodes and those episodes could turn out to be only 22-23 minutes to me it would make sense to split that up between the four core characters, but that’s just my take.

[JamesTC]

I am calm! Was my post aggressive? If it was I apologise because it was not meant to be in that tone.

[NitroChrisUK]

be a shame if they are only 22 -23 mins long tho i hope and suspect that dave willlet have tham have 2 half hour apisodes of old as 99% of all shows on dave run for 40 mins with adverts

[JamesTC]

No matter what happens these will be the shortest episodes but I still think these will be for a 40 minute slot as it will be inkeeping with the other episodes. Previous episodes have cuts (not just to incorporate adverts) so atleast these will be specialy made for Dave so it won’t be butchered on repeats though I will buy the DVD straight away so I won’t run on repeats, yet it is good for those who prefer to not buy DVDs and watch repeats.

[locusceruleus]

I’ll be hugely surprised if Kochanski is in the new episodes. The general consensus (i.e. Bobby Llew’s Twitter, a few articles, Norm’s post) seems to suggest just the four core Dwarfers.

[Author]

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