Mundane observation dome

[Warbodog]

Do you have any miscellaneous insights on the series that may be worth contemplating for a few seconds before moving on with our lives? Here are some of mine.

1. The four regulars have names that can work any way around, though this would have been more obvious if David Ross had stayed and wouldn’t work if Chris Barrie used his real name.

2. The series’ lax attitude to continuity extends to the setting. Outside of Holly’s distress calls, I don’t think three million years is mentioned all that much after series I and before VI (not sure about later years). Instead, we get the extremely fudged “dead for centuries” and “travelling for thousands of years” – not actual retcons, but suggesting a more conventional setting for casual viewers tuning in and the sort of stories they’re telling. It’s only millions when they need it to be.

3. 200 years of stasis between series V and VI means that the earlier series took place in their equivalent of the early 19th century by comparison (e.g. Blackadder the Third). Since they didn’t run into a long-lived Camille or one of her great-great-etc grandchildren, it didn’t come up.

4. Although Lister is routinely slagged off in the series, he’s spared the level of seemingly authoritative character assassination that Rimmer gets, because the audience is aligned with Lister’s viewpoint most of the time. For example, we see Kochanski Camille belittling Rimmer’s interests, but we don’t get the equivalent of Hologram Camille reacting to Lister’s pickup lines, we’re left to form our own opinions on those. This flimsy point has not been considered much beyond this single example.

5. Cat’s costumes are overwhelmingly referenced more than anyone else’s in the series, but the least discussed by fans.

6. Ace Rimmer and Duane Dibbley were so seemingly ubiquitous in canon and tie-in merchandise through the 90s (Smegazine strips, T-shirts) that they still feel overused today, even though it’s been over 20 years since they appeared. Maybe they’re allowed back after all.

7. Only series III & V and maybe XI & XII (not as familiar with those) don’t have any sense of an arc whatsoever (though IV’s minor Kryten disobedience arc was already fucked up by episode shuffling). Series III is just about the only series where no episode directly references any previous episode, but it still has the Backwards scrolling text and general references to Rimmer having died and stuff.

8. One of the series’ most famous and quoted scenes – everybody’s dead, Dave – is a straight-up 2001: A Space Odyssey homage and would have been received that way at the time, but doesn’t work like that for most people coming to the episode later on or new viewers who are young or don’t watch old films.

9. Sometimes dismissed as lightweight and gimmicky today, Backwards was designed as an innovative interactive experience to reward extracurricular effort. As well as inviting fans to work out the backwards events and filming logistics, Arthur Smith’s eugolonom is teasingly long and “you scoundrels” is clearly a cleaned-up translation gag even before you’ve heard it. Unfortunately, by the time technology caught up with the intent and the ability to reverse media files properly on home computers became commonplace, Backwards Forwards came out and everyone just cheated with the walkthrough.

Imagine the quality of the musings I left out!

Topic

[Dave]

I’ve never seen that but it sounds worth a watch.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I’ve never seen that but it sounds worth a watch.

I’d definitely recommend it.  I’d watch it again for sure.

[Moonlight]

Somebody watched Demon Seed (1977) and thought “But what if it was a quirky comedy?”

[Moonlight]

The Dave era features two gags of Rimmer working a calculator keypad for an extended period of time to get an obvious result, but he’s taking the piss and miming it the first time.

[Ben Saunders]

I had a fun time endlessly watching them react to their time being wasted for like forty seconds while I ate a chocolate bar. It was like I was in on the joke.

[Warbodog]

[Rushy]

Chris seems to be transforming into Ian Gelder

[Technopeasant]

We all do.

[Moonlight]

The April Fools joke is as lousy as it is brilliant.

[Dave]

The April Fools joke is as lousy as it is brilliant.

[International Debris]

[Jonathan Capps]

The April Fools joke is as lousy as it is brilliant.

I set it to be automatic a couple of years ago and I keep forgetting about it, so it has the added benefit of fooling me as well.

[Moonlight]

Somehow I’ve never encountered it before.

[Moonlight]

We’ve all heard the proposition, exciting as any coma theory, that they’re still in Better Than Life for the whole series from the point they enter, so I’m prepared to blow your goddamn minds with another fan theory that recontextualizes a significant portion of the show in a non-pointless way: Kryten is never shown to be reprogrammed back to normal in Krytie TV—therefore he must be still in that state for the rest of the show. What does this fan theory seek to explain? 

Well, it sure makes for a good AI-narrated YouTube short aimed at people who haven’t watched the show in 20 years.

[Rushy]

Kryten was already loony in VIII anyway

[Moonlight]

The only good “all a dream” fan theory in history is that VII and VIII take place in an unreality bubble.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Somehow I’ve never encountered it before.

I don’t think I’ve ever encountered it ever. I’m only aware of it now from the context of these posts.

[Rushy]

The show keeps using “astro-navigation” and “engineering” interchangeably when it comes to describing Rimmer’s exams, but surely these should be considered two entirely separate things? 

At one point, Lister also refers to “astro-engineering”. 

[Moonlight]

I’m wondering if we need to invent a fan theory that Rimmer is actively taking and failing two separate exams, because they seem to flip flop between astronavigation and engineering throughout Series 1.

[Unrumble]

[Flap Jack]

Maybe it’s “Engineering in Astro-Navigation” specifically, and they just abbreviate it inconsistently. Or it’s a dual discipline.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Oh we’ve been down this road before haven’t we?

It has to be two separate sets of exams.

Engineering would be his field, presumably, as he has gone in as a technician?

Astro-navs would be a required certification to be an officer. Like, all officers must be requires to be able to navigate a ship through space.

[Nick R]

Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together on a JMC Mining Ship Grooving in Groove Town:

Hamsters are to animals in Red Dwarf what “Frank” is to names in Red Dwarf:







Lemmings are not far behind:

Plus a few gerbils:

Also some mice (“albino mouse droppings” – “Mickey Mouse? We ain’t even Betty Boop!” – “Wait, I know this game, it’s called ‘cat and mouse’.” – “It’s not a mouse, ma’am. It’s Archie.”) and of course: 

[clem]

There are quite a few frogs too. 

[Technopeasant]

Meanwhile for lizards… 

Not sure this was posted as a Semglewhack.

[Warbodog]

I can’t even be bothered to list all the chickens.

[Veeva]

[tombow]

I’m watching Enter the Dragon and it’s put me in mind of series 6’s directives a bit in that Bruce Lee’s master asks him “what is Shaolin code number 12” and Bruce just responds like he’s obviously memorised them. Also Jim Kelley reminds me a bit of the Cat in being the cool, African-American, fashion conscious member of the group.

[Podey]

Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together on a JMC Mining Ship Grooving in Groove Town:
Hamsters are to animals in Red Dwarf what “Frank” is to names in Red Dwarf:

Lemmings are not far behind:

Plus a few gerbils:

Also some mice (“albino mouse droppings” – “Mickey Mouse? We ain’t even Betty Boop!” – “Wait, I know this game, it’s called ‘cat and mouse’.” – “It’s not a mouse, ma’am. It’s Archie.”) and of course: 

You’re not going to believe this but I’ve just noticed they reference a cat in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE, too.

(superb post, clem)

[Ben Saunders]

Is the word “cat” uttered in every single episode, do you think? I think it’s possible they’d miss one. What about “Lister”, “Rimmer”, etc.

[clem]

If the Smega-Drive subtitles are correct, nobody says Cat in Krytie TV. 

[Rushy]

Is the word “cat” uttered in every single episode, do you think? I think it’s possible they’d miss one. What about “Lister”, “Rimmer”, etc.

Lister’s name isn’t mentioned in Backwards, Meltdown, Pete (part 1).

Rimmer’s name isn’t mentioned in The Last Day, Duct Soup, Beyond a Joke, Epideme.

Cats aren’t mentioned in The Last Day, Quarantine, Back in the Red (parts 1 and 2), Krytie TV, Trojan, Dear Dave, Twentica, Timewave.

[Frank Lewis]

Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together on a JMC Mining Ship Grooving in Groove Town:
Hamsters are to animals in Red Dwarf what “Frank” is to names in Red Dwarf:

Lemmings are not far behind:

Plus a few gerbils:

Also some mice (“albino mouse droppings” – “Mickey Mouse? We ain’t even Betty Boop!” – “Wait, I know this game, it’s called ‘cat and mouse’.” – “It’s not a mouse, ma’am. It’s Archie.”) and of course: 

Indeed.

[Rushy]

Craig’s line delivery of “Listah to Red Dwaaaarf” (from Holoship) lives in my head rent free. 

[Warbodog]

If the Smega-Drive subtitles are correct, nobody says Cat in Krytie TV. 

[Dave]

Craig’s line delivery of “Listah to Red Dwaaaarf” (from Holoship) lives in my head rent free. 

Two lines from Red Dwarf have become well-established turns of phrase in our house: “too slow, chicken Marengo” and “all in all, 100% successful trip”.

[Warbodog]

There are lots of these, which usually come out in specific situations.

Observing a mediocre puddle

Child starts riding their bike at sub-optimal speed when we’re nearly home

When things get a bit much, a grotesque scouse impression takes the edge off

[Dave]

a grotesque scouse

As opposed to a scotchesque grouse.

[Ben Saunders]

Two lines from Red Dwarf have become well-established turns of phrase in our house: “too slow, chicken Marengo” and “all in all, 100% successful trip”.

I distinctly remember my brothers would repeat “Rimmah, I want me body backh now” one holiday. Not often you have to ask for your body back in naturalistic conversation however.

[Podey]

My most common Red Dwarf brainworm is a weird one because it’s actually the sound of the correct door code being entered (with the help of the luck virus) in Quarantine.

I have a password set up for my PC, right. When I type it in, the placement of the specific keys and the time it takes my fingers to travel between them produces the EXACT same rhythm as the ‘Quarantine’ door code so I always hear the “bleep blooip bleeeep… blooipblooipBLEEP… bloip bloip… bleep!” over my key presses.

[Ben Saunders]

Now I can use that information to hack into your computer.

Lines I think about all the time include “I’m so gorgeous there’s a six-month waiting list for birds to appear every time I am near”, “That’s because there are no sounds to hear”, and, uh… there’s another one, which now I’m on the spot I can’t remember. Lister says something then Rimmer says it back in a high-pitched, mocking voice. It’s three syllables. Series one or two. I’m seriously blanking.

Now I think about it, it might be “they put the skin on?!” from that Mitchell and Webb cheese sketch.

[Rushy]

 Lister says something then Rimmer says it back in a high-pitched, mocking voice. It’s three syllables. Series one or two. I’m seriously blanking. 

I’m thinking “the VIRGIN BIIIRTH?”

[Renegade Rob]

Lister says something then Rimmer says it back in a high-pitched, mocking voice. 

[Moonlight]

I use this all the time when discussing how my day at work was.

[Ben Saunders]

 Lister says something then Rimmer says it back in a high-pitched, mocking voice. It’s three syllables. Series one or two. I’m seriously blanking. 
I’m thinking “the VIRGIN BIIIRTH?”

Yes! It’s the VIRGIN BIIIRTH!

[Renegade Rob]

Some Red Dwarf brainworms that have slipped into the lexicon of my circle of friends includes:

– “IT’S THE WALL!” whenever we’re looking for a hidden enemy in a video game  

– “Silence, scum!” when having a trivial argument, complete with fake slap adjacent to the person being yelled at. 

– Whenever there’s something painted grey, one of us inevitably asks if it’s ocean grey or military grey. 

[Warbodog]

Another that relevantly pops in to mind on at least a weekly basis

[Dave]

Another that relevantly pops in to mind on at least a weekly basis

I always get this joke mixed up with the similar construction from Fawlty Towers.

[Frank Smeghammer]

To my particularly excitable child, this is a classic

[Podey]

I do also sometimes say this as an affirmative note if I know I’m amongst fellow smegheads.

[Author]

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