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

[Technopeasant]

No, encased in dung.

As opposed to the Dave era, which is encased in Doug.

As opposed to Parallel Universe, which contains the Dog.

what you’re seeing here is the inner lining of the jacket, not Craig’s skin

[Moonlight]

As opposed for Waiting for God, which features God.

[Unrumble]

[gerrydelasel]

That made me snort out loud

[Technopeasant]

As opposed for Waiting for God, which features God.

Or Trojan, showcasing the quantum rod.

…

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Depending how long before the crew are wiped out The End occurs, the “non-human life form” Holly notices could well be Cat. 

You’d think he’d also notice extra crew (a second Lister) and another hologram. 

[Warbodog]

Do you mean their Stasis Leak selves?

Anything other than it referring to Frankenstein would be a stretch. Holly clearly isn’t that omniscient if he never noticed Lister feeding and chatting with her, though he claims to know how much he spoke with his rubber plant, so maybe he was covering for him, for some reason.

[Rushy]

though he claims to know how much he spoke with his rubber plant, so maybe he was covering for him, for some reason.

That info might be gleaned from his personality disk

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Do you mean their Stasis Leak selves?
Anything other than it referring to Frankenstein would be a stretch. Holly clearly isn’t that omniscient if he never noticed Lister feeding and chatting with her, though he claims to know how much he spoke with his rubber plant, so maybe he was covering for him, for some reason.

Sorry yes, from Stasis Leak. I should have stated that, and had intended to.

He’s shown as pretty omniscient in the books. Holly seeing future Lister, hologram Rimmer and Cat come back in time through the stasis leak may lead him to keep quiet about exactly what he knows about Frankenstein and instead play with destiny just enough by letting Hollister know he thinks there’s “something” … leading to an investigation that causes them to find the photo of Lister with the Cat in the photo lab. 

[cwickham]

I started a reread of the novels this week in quite close proximity to rereading the complete Calvin and Hobbes, and the moment in Infinity when Rimmer thinks he’s going to be able to pass the exam and starts imagining a parade in his honour reminded me quite a lot of this later-period C&H strip.

The obvious difference being that Calvin had the sense to wait until *after* he actually passed to have his imagining.

[Moonlight]

I still can’t believe they let Bill Watterson get away with formatting Sunday strips like that later in the run. They’re always so visually interesting in a way no comics were usually allowed to be.

[gerrydelasel]

I never noticed before that on Sunday afternoon Rimmer goes to a service, implying church, right?

[Warbodog]

He probably enjoys the tradition and songs in the Kum-ba-yah way.

God knows what he’s actually referring to though, just a video or something.

[Podey]

I always presumed the service was an “in remembrance of Arnold J Rimmer” type thing.

[Dave]

Maybe he’s been watching old videos of Wimbledon. 

[gerrydelasel]

He wants to have it off with that jailbait ball girl.

[International Debris]

Honestly, that line has always confused me. 

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Rimmer does things to keep himself entertained, and he also does stuff he thinks he is expected to be seen to do, even in death. 

Attending church service  pull fall I to either or both of those categories 

Entertained – he’s bored. Why not?

Expected – he grew up in a religious household and went to church each week.

Whether the service is automated, he got the Skutters to hold it, or something else is unknown. But it’s not that unbelievable given what else we’ve seen 

[Dave]

[Rushy]

The way they pretend that various human institutions are still alive and relevant is one of the more poignant parts of the show. 

[Ian Symes]

I can totally buy Rimmer regularly attending church despite being an atheist. It’s something people of good breeding do.

[Unrumble]

I went to Sunday School for a couple of years around 5/6 while my mum went to church.

We were raised with zero religion, and I never attended church after that. My mum later said that she really just enjoyed going to sing the hymns, and they reminded her of her childhood, where she was the daughter of a Reverend in a small village in Northern Ireland. Sunday School was probably just a convenient place to put me, plus maybe she thought it was a good thing for me in a broadly educational sense.

[Dave]

I can totally buy Rimmer regularly attending church despite being an atheist. It’s something people of good breeding do.

Remember also that Rimmer was raised in a household run by Seventh-Day Advent Hoppists, so his views on religion are probably pretty skewed to begin with.

[International Debris]

I went to a C of E primary school, so I have no experience with proper religion. Three school services a year, a couple of weddings and a couple of funerals, that’s my entire history of going to church.

[Ian Symes]

Remember also that Rimmer was raised in a household run by Seventh-Day Advent Hoppists, so his views on religion are probably pretty skewed to begin with.

Seventh-Day Advent Hoppists who were also in the Church of Judas, no less.

[gerrydelasel]

Honestly, that line has always confused me.

How so?

[Warbodog]

I went to a C of E primary school, so I have no experience with proper religion. Three school services a year, a couple of weddings and a couple of funerals, that’s my entire history of going to church.

Similar, apart from a brief period of panic Christianity on my mum’s part when the older generation started dying, but that couldn’t have lasted long as I only remember being made to go to church on Christmas Day once.

Christmas carols are mint though.

[Unrumble]

[Podey]

[Dave]

Seventh-Day Advent Hoppists who were also in the Church of Judas, no less.

It’s a broad church.

[gerrydelasel]

[Technopeasant]

I technically was born in a Catholic hospital and went to a Catholic high school, albeit remotely.

[Rushy]

I grew up in an Orthodox household. I’m more agnostic now, but still have a great respect for religion and spirituality. 

[International Debris]

Honestly, that line has always confused me.
How so?

It’s a discussion about Rimmer’s clashing faiths, and a couple of people wondering why an atheist went to a religious service, as well as mention of other things the service could be, and people coming up with theories for how a religious service could happen when there’s nobody on the ship, in context of a show in which Rimmer never utters a line like that in another episode, and you’re wondering how I might not have fully understood where Rimmer has been and why.

[gerrydelasel]

Sorry, I thought you meant the ball girl line

[Nick R]

Whether he’s actually religious is irrelevant. He’s only name-dropping where he went in order to act superior to Lister about how much more moral and spiritual he is than him.

It’s similar to how Future Echoes begins with him boasting to Lister that he got up early to exercise instead of just slobbing around. Sure, he’s unfit and cheats his own time, but that doesn’t matter because putting on a show for Lister is the main thing.

In both cases, Lister fails to take the bait.

[Rushy]

Kryten just absolutely vibing has me in stitches every single time. I always forget this scene happens. 

[Rudolph]

To add to the confusion, Rimmer – the church-going atheist, who considers believing in God to be preposterous, but also feels that everyone is entitled to their beliefs – also owns at least two Christian Rock albums.

[Ben Saunders]

Kryten’s mouth there disturbs me greatly

[Technopeasant]

Kryten’s mouth there disturbs me greatly

[Podey]

Is this better?

[Author]

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