"Marooned" does Chris Barrie nearly flub his "the first time…" speech?

[Ben Paddon]

I’ve been watching “Marooned” rather a lot lately, and there’s a moment during the beginning of Rimmer’s speech about his first time that I strongly suspect is almost a smeg-up. He says:

I’ve always been a bit of a fish out of water when it comes to women. Never know what to say.

And then he pauses for a moment pulls this face:

I’m fairly confident that’s Chris groping in his mind for the words. This grimace is similar, though not identical, to one he pulls during the smeg-ups for “Thanks For The Memory”:

That’s circumstantial, and it’s not quite the same, but I’m almost convinced it’s almost a cock-up. I haven’t checked the DVD commentary so I’ve no idea if it’s mentioned (and honestly, I haven’t listened to any of the commentaries in a while… I probably should) but… y’know. This is a thing I have noticed. Discuss.

Topic

[Blisschick]

I don’t recall him saying anything about forgetting his lines, but he did say he was trying not to laugh during the “Now, something, something, something” speech.

[clem]

I can see the similarity, but when he pulls that face in the Thanks For The Memory smeg-up he’s definitely already smegged up, and so it’s more of an apologetic “oops” face I think. I’ve just watched the Marooned clip and I do think you might be right though. Anyway, this has reminded me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhCI0JceBic&t=1m5s

[Pete Part Three]

Yes, I think the pause is just fractionally too long to be deliberate.

If anyone wants a quick look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMfYtonS6UA

[redhead85]

Chris’s lines around – “I’ve seen…West Side Story. That’s about it.” You can tell he’s suppressing a grin there.

[Karnie]

Don’t know about the real-world answer… but since the novel explains that his story is a bastardized version of a past failed romantic attempt, made up because he was embarrassed at having lost his virginity much later, one could say the “In-universe” explanation for the pause was him trying to work out in his head what to say.

[Jonsmad]

My take on it is you can hear a tutting sigh there. It’s a dramatic moment of disappointment expressed in a reflective pause.

[anniescribe]

At least he’s better than Harvey Korman at the grin thing. There are a number of times he sort of seems to turn amusement into Rimmer’s trademark irritation (although one notable time he couldn’t just channel anger was “Emohawk” during Danny’s speech about preparing to help save Lister and Kryten – “Ace” is clearly fighting off a guffaw).

[Ian Symes]

I’ve just spotted one of these. Future Echoes, when a beehived Rimmer is leaving a message for Holly.

“Holly, this is… Rimmer, remember me? Rimmer, the poor git you made look like Helen Shapiro.”

He blatantly hesitates the first time he says ‘Rimmer’, as if Chris has forgotten the name of his character…

[si]

Rimmer’s shocked and angry, and is struggling to think straight because of the stress.
Obviously.

[Author]

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