Just been watching a 1985 BBC documentary on submarines…

[Paul Muller]

…and noticed that one of the subjects is named David Lister. Then I had a think and was sure I remembered Rob or Doug saying they’d watched a documentary about submarines and wanted a similar look for the sets. Perhaps that’s where the name came from. Or it could be a coincidence. Or I could have just misremembered the whole thing and made a tit out of myself. You decide:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1LF2I3fTbY&pp=QADQAwE%3D

Topic

[Dave]

Wouldn’t 1985 be too late to influence the initial script, given when it was written?

I’ve previously seen people cite a documentary called Defence of the Realm as part of the inspiration for the show, although I’m not familiar with it.

[RunawayTrain]

I’m sure I’ve heard a few times that they used names of people they knew from real life. The inspiration for the look of the bunk room set is certainly plausible though, at that time.

(The opening titles on the video suddenly transported me back to school when we’d watch BBC Schools clips in the mid-late 90s, on a setup looking very much like Holly’s portable monitor!)

[Pete Part Three]

Wouldn’t 1985 be too late to influence the initial script, given when it was written?

1985 isn’t a stretch, since Son of Cliche ended its run in December 84. Although the pilot script was drafted in 1983, Lister may have been “Hollins” as per the Radio sketch.

I’ve previously seen people cite a documentary called Defence of the Realm as part of the inspiration for the show

As far as I can see from a quick hunt around, Defence of the Realm (which is also mentioned on the RD Wikipedia, without any detail) aired in 1996. Maybe it’s been mixed up with “Submarine”?

[RunawayTrain]

Wouldn’t 1985 be too late to influence the initial script, given when it was written?

1985 isn’t a stretch, since Son of Cliche ended its run in December 84. Although the pilot script was drafted in 1983, Lister may have been “Hollins” as per the Radio sketch.

I think he was originally Hollins, then they changed it because there was a footballer with the same name – I don’t know at what point in the process that was though.

[Dave]

As far as I can see from a quick hunt around, Defence of the Realm (which is also mentioned on the RD Wikipedia, without any detail) aired in 1996. Maybe it’s been mixed up with “Submarine”?

Ah, that would make sense.

[Author]

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