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

[Unrumble]

significantly less for Series IV because my VHS started to disintegrate in the mid 00s

[tombow]

don’t remember seeing this before (apparently by the legendary Jim’ll Paint It)

[Flap Jack]

I have seen it before, but hey, it never hurts to see it again. I like how Lister and Kochanski get laser bazookoids (?) but Rimmer gets a literal black card.

Though it maybe slightly oversells the prominence of Legion in the show.

(And Clare Grogan.)

[Warbodog]

Just saw this gracing a YouTube reupload of the radio drama The Red Dwarf.

[Moonlight]

I was a lot younger when most of the Dave era aired so those episodes were in regular rotation for a long while just like the BBC era was when I got into that. For reference, I was barely 13 when Back to Earth aired.

[Technopeasant]

I think I have seen The Promised Land about three or so times. For the rest, damned if I know, but the tapes I said I had as a kid in the other thread offer some clue which are more than others.

And Legion is obviously the ultimate big bad of the whole show, it’s a blatant clue isn’t it?!

[sleepey]

Howard’s got a bigger H

[loadoftottnumb]

I’m just kidding, you are right 

[Technopeasant]

[Ben Saunders]

I like Howard’s H more. Feels straight out of series VI.

Here’s a good screenie I found when comparing H’s.

[Dave]

Maybe when you’re a hologram you can choose the style and size of your H.

[Moonlight]

[Rudolph]

Am I right in thinking that the photo of Rimmer on his autobiography is just a screenshot from Me² with his H and prefect badges airbrushed out?

[Unrumble]

My god, he’s right… 

[Ben Saunders]

I always clocked it as a screengrab from Me², but didn’t clock that his H had been removed

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Am I right in thinking that the photo of Rimmer on his autobiography is just a screenshot from Me² with his H and prefect badges airbrushed out?

It looks like a slightly different photo.

Considering he wore the outfit in the previous episode it’d make more sense that got him to model for the cover then, and have him pose similarly. 

[Flap Jack]

It looks like a slightly different photo.

It really doesn’t. Every single detail matches, outside of the ones that have obviously been changed in post.

[Warbodog]

Rudolph found the exact frame.

I hadn’t noticed the collar badges before, nor that they were wonky in the original. The first warning shot of Remastered.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

Let’s put this to bed once and for all by rotating and superimposing the two:
 

I don’t think this is the exact frame as a few minor details are off, but it’s definitely taken from this shot.

[Rudolph]

I didn’t mean for it to be the exact frame, just I was very tired and going through the Smega Drive and figured that that one was closest enough to illustrate my point.

[Technopeasant]

You underestimated the pedantry of this forum Rudolph.

[Warbodog]

[Nick R]

[Moonlight]

It occurs to me that Garbage World “farting” its way out of the solar system is really similar to what happens to the Moon in Space: 1999.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

I’d hardly term a nuclear dump exploding as a “fart”.

[Technopeasant]

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

Lines that go together?

[Moonlight]

Better Than Life uses the word “farting” to describe it, hence the quotes.

[Warbodog]

I used to consider it a daft oversight that Lister had an egg inside him when he was a chicken. I was able to accept a machine changing his species and mass and then returning him to normal, but making him a lady chicken was absurd.

[Dave]

[Nick R]

[Technopeasant]

[Ian Symes]

[clem]

[Unrumble]

[Nick R]

[clem]

[Moonlight]

[Ben Saunders]

Honestly, that man looks really good.

[Technopeasant]

Keep Ben away from me…

[sleepey]

[Moonlight]

I usually frame my weirdo comprehension of time in terms of The Simpsons (i.e. my mom and dad were both younger than I am now when the show first aired, and it’s STILL on), but I want to point out to everybody that we are getting ever closer to the ten year mark from the announcement of Series XI and XII.

[Technopeasant]

Unlike Homer, who is now younger than Bart.

[Ben Saunders]

we are getting ever closer to the ten year mark from the announcement of Series XI and XII.

[Moonlight]

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

[Flap Jack]

Hey those series were pretty good. Have they ever thought about making a Series XIII? Just a crazy idea that came to me.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Hey those series were pretty good. Have they ever thought about making a Series XIII? Just a crazy idea that came to me.

They made it in October 

[clem]

I want to point out to everybody that we are getting ever closer to the ten year mark from the announcement of Series XI and XII.

[Dave]

Hey those series were pretty good. Have they ever thought about making a Series XIII? Just a crazy idea that came to me.

They made it in October 

That was Series XIV, Series XIII was The Promised Land.

[Author]

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