I think I feel a Reddit Poll(ock) coming on

[Nick R]

r/reddwarf did one of those daily poll things that subreddits are so fond of:
https://www.reddit.com/r/RedDwarf/comments/1q5dwic/the_final_results_are_in/



What do you think?

Thanks for the Memory is a surprising choice for best episode, but a pleasant one. We only put it 12th in the Coral Canvass!

Terrorform as the weirdest? Are they forgetting Back to Earth, which was literally TOO WEIRD FOR WORDS?

The End being “best for beginners” might seem obvious, but the first episode being a good one to start with is not a given for all TV series: there are some programmes where fans say “skip the rough first season, and watch [later episode] to see if you like it.” (Sometimes the people who say that pick something format-breaking that is unrepresentative of what most episodes are like, such as people who recommend Blink as a first Doctor Who episode. The most ridiculous example of this was when I saw someone say that a new viewer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer should start with Once More With Feeling.)

White Hole only won “most forgettable” because the top comment was one that pointed out that the characters don’t (or shouldn’t) remember the events of the episode.

Nice to see they didn’t think it should have ended before The Promised Land. Ask in a lot of places online, and they’ll tell you it should have stopped after Back to Reality, or Out of Time, or Only the Good… (Or after Parallel Universe, for those who thought it all went wrong when the sets changed, Lovett left, and the crew started meeting more characters and monsters.)

Topic

[Warbodog]

Pretty good. I assume they’re doing an in-joke about the White Hole bit and that’s not a serious suggestion (edit: just read your explanation). I also agree with the factual last pair, just watch the bloody show.

Without putting much thought into it, episodes that stand out as especially funny are Kryten and Quarantine, but there are lots of candidates.

Weirdest is Pete Part 1, it’s mental.

Stoke Me a Clipper is a sad and depressing episode, but not for the reasons intended.

[Dave]

I can only assume that White Hole ran it close in its category with Thanks For The Memory.

[Dave]

As for Funniest Episode, I’d probably go with Legion. Some of the jokes are a little formulaic in keeping with the VI style, but it’s still one of the most incredible episodes you’ve ever seen in terms of laughs per minute and how many of the gags really land.

[Warbodog]

Better Than Life does well in the funny and emotional stakes early on (“I’d prefer chicken” and “in his jeep” might be peerless gag writing), shame it then gets all silly.

[Ian Symes]

The correct answers are:
Back To Reality, Timewave, Legion, Krysis, Back To Earth (Part Three), Duct Soup, The End, The Promised Land.

[Nick R]

I’d put Back to Earth as saddest in a beautiful way, because of the photograph scene in Part 1 and the goodbye to Kochanski/call back to “Sometimes I can be quite brave” at the end of Part 3. (I’d pick the latter, if we have to nominate them as individual parts.) A few people mentioned it in that day’s thread, but those comments didn’t get upvoted much.

[Unrumble]

Thanks for the Memory is my personal favourite, so you know, vindicated. 

‘Funniest’ might take some pondering. 

[Dave]

I don’t know if The End is the best episode for beginners, just because it’s quite atypical as a Red Dwarf episode. Like a lot of others, I got into the show after seeing one of the later episodes and then going back and catching up on the show’s history, and I still think that’s a good way to get into it, rather than suggesting The End just because it’s S1E1.

[Warbodog]

I don’t think it’s worth skipping around for Red Dwarf though, unless it just happens accidentally, which is fine. It’s good from the start and not bogged down with filler and bad stretches (…for a while). You’d get to see the development unspoiled and not influenced by seeing things like “season 3 is where it gets good.” Then you can eventually go on Reddit or somewhere when you need to get some explanation of what the fuck happened in series VII & VIII and if it’s ever going to recover.

[Warbodog]

Although after watching The End, you should probably skip to Rimmerworld to be safe.

[Technopeasant]

Yeah, I really don’t gel with the whole “start with episode X” sentiment, with the possible exception of TNG but frankly if you already like Star Trek there is enough goodwill to power through season one. Seeing how shows evolve is half the point, unless its something like Doctor Who where its several shows in the same skin.

Stasis Leak is the funniest episode by the way.

[Moonlight]

I think Polymorph would be in the running for weirdest episode if VIII and Timewave didn’t exist.

[Author]

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