Hyperdrive

[TheLeen]

Well, so I did get the DVDs in the end and watched the first two episodes yesterday.

And it was okay! We genuinely had a good laugh at some of the jokes. Good aliens with large hats, too. And Vin said at one point, “you know, this IS The Office in space!”. Which is cool. Andrew you were right though, the setup is kind of confusing.

But anyway, it’s good enough to be our Sunday morning breakfast entertainment for the next few weeks. It’s only two series so you don’t waste a lot of time of your life watching them.

You may throw eggs at me now :}

(As part of the same package I also got Black Books and The Extras the same day. Damn you, Amazon, and your “up to 70% off all comedy” emails!)

[Pete Part Three]

[throws egg]

[Baz]

(throws egg – ostrich)

[Tanya Jones]

>It?s only two series so you don?t waste a lot of time of your life watching them.

I think this should be used in promotional material.

[Anonymous]

Really liked the episode when Kevin Eldon made a clone of himself and it was massively unconvincing and just spouted non-sequiturs.

In fact that was the first full episode I watched.

Upon watching a few others, I can firmly attest that the entire show can fuck right off.

[Tanya Jones]

Damn. I can’t disagree with you!

[Anonymous]

Haha. ;D

[James]

It had its moments, but why steal many plots from Dwarf? It was lazy, and possibly could have been a whole lot better.

[Mr Flibble]

How about “Anything can happen in the next half hour – cause you’ll only watch five minutes”?

[ChrisM]

Really liked the episode when Kevin Eldon made a clone of himself and it was massively unconvincing and just spouted non-sequiturs.

I found the fate of the clone amusing too. Shows my dark sense of humor.

The humor mostly made me wince though. Particularly the, er, big lady’s infatuation with the captain. Not the fact she’s big… (that’d be like having a go on a bouncy castle with in and out bits after all (wahaaay!), just the whole sheer sickening desperation.

I don’t think they were actually consciously stealing from Dwarf though. I think quite often plot points will occur in parallel.

[John Hoare]

It smells of my bum.

[si]

I’m saying nothing. I’ll just leave myself open to ridicule.

[Phil]

I saw a few clips on Youtube. I didn’t hate it, but neither did I laugh very much. (That said, I don’t laugh very much at Saxondale, but it’s the kind of humor that doesn’t require laughter to be successful, and I love it.) Hyperdrive definitely had a nice, polished feel to it–a bit sleeker than Dwarf. Not to say one is better than the other, but that’s kind of what stood out.

I had no idea who the characters were, which doubtless hindered my enjoyment.

[John Hoare]

Hyperdrive definitely had a nice, polished feel to it?a bit sleeker than Dwarf.

Until you get to the major effects sequences, at least. When it just becomes embarrassing.

[Ben Paddon]

Phil holds a placard which reads…
I had no idea who the characters were, which doubtless hindered my enjoyment.

This is one of the flaws of Hyperdrive, I think – you’re never introduced to the characters properly. You have no idea who’s who, what characters are like. The only character who’s really given any sort of definition is Kevin Eldon Security Man Guy.

Red Dwarf, on the other hand, gives you everything you need in the pilot. Lister and Rimmer and firmly defined by their opening scene. Cat’s introduction sums him up nicely. Holly’s dialogue following Lister’s release from stasis puts him across well. Hyperdrive didn’t even bother with anything like this.

[pfm]

It’s not even worth comparing Hyperdrive with Dwarf. Although if I were to go there I would say one is like a moist vagina, the other is like…a dry one.

[TheLeen]

> Red Dwarf, on the other hand, gives you everything you need in the pilot. Lister and Rimmer and firmly defined by their opening scene. Cat?s introduction sums him up nicely. Holly?s dialogue following Lister?s release from stasis puts him across well. Hyperdrive didn?t even bother with anything like this.

*I* think that The End is brilliant and that it does introduce the characters very nicely.

It’s ironic though, most of the Red Dwarf fans (*is looking at YOU and YOU and also YOU*) seem to think that The End is a bad first episode to watch when starting with Red Dwarf, and that it was for the best that it, along with the rest of series one, wasn’t broadcast for years after its initial release. So not introducing the Hyperdrive characters kind of can’t be that much of a flaw… (and also, a good character introduction in the pilot certainly wouldn’t have helped Phil who was looking at random bits)

[ChrisM]

I don’t think the complaint about the first episode is what it does so much (i.e. introducing the characters etc.) It does that pretty well. It’s just that the first episode feels very hammy for one thing. (Sorry to use a term used again, and again and again by Danny on the commentaries.) I think the main reason for that is the actors were just finding their feet, especially as Craig Charles hadn’t had much experience acting before.

To be fair though it didn’t take him long to find said feet. Just looked down for the size 9s on the end of his perambulators. ;)

[Anonymous]

Dripping with salad.

[Ben Paddon]

Marleen puts words ON THE INTERNET!
*I* think that The End is brilliant and that it does introduce the characters very nicely.

It?s ironic though, most of the Red Dwarf fans (*is looking at YOU and YOU and also YOU*) seem to think that The End is a bad first episode to watch when starting with Red Dwarf, and that it was for the best that it, along with the rest of series one, wasn?t broadcast for years after its initial release. So not introducing the Hyperdrive characters kind of can?t be that much of a flaw? (and also, a good character introduction in the pilot certainly wouldn?t have helped Phil who was looking at random bits)

I’m glad I’m not the only one who likes The End. It wasn’t the first episode I ever saw (I’m fairly certain that was Emohawk) but it does introduce the characters incredibly well. While it may be the case that not a lot actually happens in the episode (oh, save for the death of almost the entire crew, the evolution of a species, and the rise and fall of an entire fucking civilization) I still think The End is the best entry point for the show.

[p2p_productions]

Potential Red Dwarf/Hyperdrive connection just spotted: Juliet May directed the recent BBC sitcom, ‘Miranda’ starring Miranda Hart. Interesting to see Juliet’s work, post-Dwarf.

[Jonsmad]

I’m more interested in not seeing it. I want to kill my TV when the advert comes on.

[Prue]

Okay – now, Hyperdrive has only recently started here in Australia, but once I saw the adverts for it, I thought “Rip off!!!” and couldn’t bring myself to watch it. I try and change channel when the adverts come on!

I’m guessing from others comments that Hyperdrive is a rip off from Red Dwarf and stole some episode ideas.

Very sad…..

[Dave]

It’s not a rip off, Red Dwarf was a comedy.

[Jonathan Capps]

My favourite bit is when they rip off a terrible series VII episode.

[Dave]

Prue, give it a go and let us know what you think.

[ChrisM]

I’m not keen on Hyperdrive, but I certainly wouldn’t consider it a rip off of Red Dwarf. There’s the odd bit here and there which reminded me of Dwarf but overall the premise, plot and humour is quite different. Well, apart from there being a bunch of folk on a space ship in deep space of course.

[Pete Part Three]

I was lying around and wanking in the United States when Hyperdrive first aired, and it wasn’t until 2003 or 2004, on a return to the UK, that, switching channels one night I came in the middle of this programme, clearly a science fiction programme, and at once, to my horror and outrage, what I thought I saw, was a rip-off of Red Dwarf.

I was already reaching for the telephone to call my therapist when something happened that made me cringe and it was something that certainly would not have happened on Red Dwarf. So I left the telephone where it was and I went on watching and I think, within a few moments, I had got what the show was and I was cringing all the time. For me, what made it then and what continues to make the show so shit is that, it is at times so close to the television show I recorded on video for seven years and also, so depressingly, makes a mockery of the kind of decent sitcoms I was watching.

[Ian Symes]

*applauds*

[Ben Paddon]

I liked that, Pete. Although Hyperdrive aired in 2005 and 2006. So you smell.

[Jonsmad]

Funny, Pete Makes it So.

[Prue]

Ahhhh – even the advert for it had the same shot as Red Dwarf floating slowly past in space. I haven’t been able to make myself watch it as yet, but I will try for the sake of science…..

I will ‘try’ and watch it – although I can’t promise anything…….

[Ben Paddon]

> Ahhhh – even the advert for it had the same shot as Red Dwarf floating slowly past in space

I know! A shot of a spaceship travelling slowly through space. Clearly a Red Dwarf rip-off.

[Prue]

You know what I mean smarty :0)

[si]

Actually, it was 2006 and 2007. Sorry.

[Carlito]

HYPERDRIVEL! Call it by its true name!

[Dave]

>HYPERDRIVEL! Call it by its true name!

Hyperdrive got to season 50?

[Danny Stephenson]

ISWYDT.

[Carlito]

IASWYDT

[JamesTC]

ISDP

[Danny Stephenson]

ISDN.

[Ben Paddon]

ISBN.

[Dave]

>ISBN.

ItS BeN.

[Danny Stephenson]

Working on that Logic:

ISDN = ItS DaN.

IT WORKS!

[Ben Paddon]

Lawks.

[hummingbird]

*walks into the room*
*walks straight out again*

[si]

>>>HYPERDRIVEL! Call it by its true name!

>>Hyperdrive got to season 50?

>ISWYDT.

IDn’t. :(

[si]

RIGHT.

I’ve dug deep into the forum, back to page 35, to bring back this thread after five years, juat so I don’t have to start a second Hyperdrive thread.

Basically, I did an interview with Miranda Hart for my Hyperdrive fan site in 2006.

I’ve delved into my old emails, and shoved it into a blog post, of you want to read it.

You can even find out her views of Red Dwarf.

It’s here:

http://t.co/1FFYs6LdkU

Okay, that’s it. As you were.

[ori-STUDFARM]

I saw some episodes and liked it. I bought the boxset a year or so back and, because Miranda is in it, was told I had to watch it with my wife. (She likes it when Miranda falls over a lot) We don’t watch many things together and so the boxset still has a cellophane coat on…

[Jo]

…probably for the best.

[Author]

Posts