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

[loadoftottnumb]

Good point, there’s one I really should have remembered. 

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

More a mundane musing than an observation but I wonder if there is still a ‘Gee’ football in in mid 21st/22nd/23rd century (depending on which reference/line you go by) 
I wonder if Arsenal have announced Declan Rice by then….

References to FIFA and Leeds would suggest there probably is. 

[International Debris]

In Queeg, a CD is referred to as a tape. In Bodyswap, the tape with Brown’s mind on is referred to as a disc. 

It’s not like these were new technology. 

[Moonlight]

In Queeg, a CD is referred to as a tape.

I’m pretty sure I’ve brought up exactly this point possibly twice before. “The tape must’ve got twisted man.” Lister, does this look like a cassette? Does it look even remotely like a cassette? This is a cassette. That is a jewel case for a compact disc. Are you blind?

[International Debris]

Indeed, I recall a discussion recently. It’s partially what inspired my post, in that only a few episodes later and they get it wrong the other way around. 

[GlenTokyo]

The CD is a reel of 0.05 inch tape.

[Formica]

Must be why it was so easy to twist.

[Warbodog]

In Bodyswap, the tape with Brown’s mind on is referred to as a disc.

Same episode calls Starbug “White Midget,” maybe a similar case of not updating the pre-production script to match the prop. Maybe they came up with the visual gag of the tiny dictaphone tape storing a whole brain and “keep that safe – it’s Lister’s mind!” bit later on, wouldn’t work with a CD.

[cwickham]

It’s a recording from a tape cassette he’s had burnt to a CD.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

It’s a recording from a tape cassette he’s had burnt to a CD.

I find that suggestion highly dubious. Lister wouldn’t be interested in doing it, and how would Cat know how to do it?

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I have never read that line to be literal, I always thought it was a joke about the reading of that particular book by that person just turned out really funky.

[Moonlight]

I don’t think that scans as well as a joke, though. I like the idea that a really boring audiobook got fucked up into a real jam session due to the recording being damaged.

[Moonlight]

Dr. Bob Porkman (creator of the condom that calls you back) is an incredibly funny name that I hope I’m not mishearing.

[Moonlight]

Random observation dome observation, but it would be fun to count every light bee appearance since Meltdown. I can say offhand that a light bee has appeared in every single series from IV and on (excluding VIII, which doesn’t feature any holograms.)

Let’s see (shout if I’ve missed one):

Meltdown (the first appearance, with a very similar effect to Stoke)

Demons & Angels

Psirens (Rimmer runs out of battery near the climax)

Legion 

Stoke Me a Clipper

Back to Earth Part 2 (ironically, this is where Rimmer being reduced to a light bee peaks as an effect and then gets progressively less cool with each subsequent iteration)

Trojan (the only time we see a light bee that doesn’t belong to a version of Rimmer, but still a Rimmer)

Twentica (this is a maybe, because I can’t remember offhand if we see the light bee per se but Rimmer deactivates on screen so I’m including it)

Cured (Huh, a string of series premieres featuring Rimmer shutting off. Interesting.)

and finally, The Promised Land, which features at least two light bee appearances due to the diamond light thread.

[Warbodog]

This was the first that came to mind:

[Dave]

Trojan (the only time we see a light bee that doesn’t belong to a version of Rimmer, but still a Rimmer)

I double-checked Quarantine and Lanstrom doesn’t have one when she disintegrates.

[Dave]

Psirens (Rimmer runs out of battery near the climax)

There’s also the bit right at the start with Kryten defrosting it before he brings Rimmer back online.

[Dave]

Back to Earth Part 2 (ironically, this is where Rimmer being reduced to a light bee peaks as an effect and then gets progressively less cool with each subsequent iteration)

Also seen briefly in part 3 when they get shot.

[Flap Jack]

I’m struggling to think of any Series X-XII appearances, even though X had a few times where you’d think a light bee would appear, but it doesn’t. (Resentment overload in Trojan, being trapped in Jesus times in Lemons, switching to softlight in Entangled.) There must be at least one though, surely?

[Moonlight]

I misremembered that shot as being the one in Demons & Angels so I grouped it there. Also, weird old light bee here. I’m pretty sure Series VI is when the light bee changes shape to its current form. If not then, definitely by Stoke.

I’m struggling to think of any Series X-XII appearances, even though X had a few times where you’d think a light bee would appear, but it doesn’t. (Resentment overload in Trojan, being trapped in Jesus times in Lemons, switching to softlight in Entangled.) There must be at least one though, surely?

Trojan has Howard die and his light bee falls to the floor, while Twentica and Cured both have Rimmer shut off (but we definitely see the light bee in Cured whereas I’m not sure we do in Twentica.)

[Moonlight]

This is Twentica. So it is visible like I suspected.

Updated light bee list:

Meltdown 

The Inquisitor

Demons & Angels

Psirens 

Legion 

Stoke Me a Clipper

Back to Earth Part 2 & Part 3

Trojan 

Twentica

Cured

The Promised Land

[GlenTokyo]

Think Psirens was the first showing of the new light bee.

Lister definitely wouldn’t be able to swallow that bad boy.

[Jenuall]

Think Psirens was the first showing of the new light bee.

Lister definitely wouldn’t be able to swallow that bad boy.

Oh I dunno, I’m sure if you poured curry sauce all over it he would yum it up!

[Flap Jack]

Trojan has Howard die and his light bee falls to the floor, while
Twentica and Cured both have Rimmer shut off (but we definitely see the
light bee in Cured whereas I’m not sure we do in Twentica.)

Ah, right, of course!

[Veeva]

There is no ‘Pedantic observation dome’ so posting it here, but this line always kind of bugged me. Wouldn’t it make more sense if Lister listed something that was traditionally tall? Like “It would be average for my height, if I happened to play centre for the Globetrotters”.

[Warbodog]

Wouldn’t it make more sense if Lister listed something that was traditionally tall?

Yeah, the height emphasis always threw me too. It was explained to me in another thread, or maybe just dismissed. Hippos are apparently 1.3 to 1.6m tall, so shorter than Craig Charles’ 1.7m.

[Dave]

No, it has to be something roughly the same height but usually very heavy. That’s why the joke works.

[Warbodog]

Average for “my” height emphasis? On the scale of things of that height.

[Formica]

The question is about whether his weight is average for his height. Not whether his height is average. You may be missing that invisible word.

[Flap Jack]

Yeah, I understand if talking about height and then referencing weight throws you off, but it does make sense – if Lister were a pregnant hippo, his weight would be average for a pregnant hippo of his height.

[International Debris]

Yeah, it’s one of those gags that sounds a bit off at first and then you think about it and it’s actually cleverer than you first thought.

[GlenTokyo]

The height bit is irrelevant really, outside of weight/height ratios being a familiar thing, the line could be “It’s average for your age” or “It’s average for mammals wearing a hat”

“Rimmer, it would be average for my age if I happened to be a pregnant hippo” 

“Rimmer, it would be average for a mammal wearing a hat if I happened to be a pregnant hippo wearing a sombrero”

It still works in the same way, Lister is disproportionately heavy, it just isn’t as clean, grounded, or funny (obviously) 

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

Glen, irelephant is not the same kind of animal as a hippo.

[Formica]

Absolutely relevant. Although a very flawed system, the standard metric for what weight range a person falls into is BMI, which is calculated using exclusively weight and height. If Lister is concerned about whether his body is becoming (more?) overweight, the question he is concerned with is, by definition, whether his body’s weight is normal for his body’s height.

[si]

*** DELETED FOR BEING SHIT ***

[Frank Smeghammer]

*** DELETED FOR BEING SHIT ***

Sorry, couldn’t resist

[Moonlight]

[Unrumble]

[Moonlight]

Having flashbacks to this image I made a while back where I falsely accused si of cheating at the random frames thread:

[Frank Smeghammer]

[Moonlight]

[RunawayTrain]

Ah so it was actually the Si-scan then.

[Moonlight]

[Unrumble]

[Flap Jack]

What if when si said his reply was “SHIT” he actually meant it was too exhilarating to be a mundane observation?

[Moonlight]

Ah, yes. This must be some strange new definition of the word “shit” I hadn’t previously been aware of.

[Flap Jack]

One thread’s shit is another thread’s gold.

… OK, I mean it probably isn’t, but it’s possible.

[Unrumble]

What if when si said his reply was “SHIT” he actually meant it was too exhilarating to be a mundane observation?

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

[Frank Smeghammer]

Here’s a mundane thought.

Isn’t it a bit strange how Skutters became this sort of mascot for Red Dwarf when they really do feature very little in the grand scheme of the show

I don’t think they exist at all in the Dave era, and in the show’s peak III-VI I don’t think they are ever shown on screen, only really referred to

[Author]

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