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]

Just be glad you’re not Albanian there Rushy.

[Rushy]

What if Rimmer didn’t really believe in extraterrestrials, but his parents convinced him that every copy of James Cameron’s film Aliens was possessed?

[Rushy]

It’s a bit depressing to realise that Lister abandoned Petersen’s nano clone in series 8

[Technopeasant]

It’s a bit depressing to realise that Lister abandoned Petersen’s nano clone in series 8

[Meteo]

If we ever get a Dibbley Episode again, it’ll pop up FROM OUT OF NOWHERE, like most of Duane’s appearences.

Also!!!

Back in Back in Back in Back in the Red: The Future’s Future’s Future, each of these repeated words juggling cubed multiples of returning, going further in the future, and Flamingo Ups with heaping Helpings of Continuity.

[International Debris]

[clem]

It’s a bit depressing to realise that Lister abandoned Petersen’s nano clone in series 8

When does that happen? Are you thinking of the unused ‘I see no ships’ ending?

[Unrumble]

[Technopeasant]

I mean, if you mean the canon ending I guess they abandon the evacuated crew when they flee into the mirror universe, but they left them to die first.

[Rushy]

It’s a bit depressing to realise that Lister abandoned Petersen’s nano clone in series 8

When does that happen? Are you thinking of the unused ‘I see no ships’ ending?

While singing cha cha cha, no less

[Rushy]

I rewatched Trojan with my mum, and noticed that the ringtone on Lister’s phone is from the cyanide ad in the lift, from Stasis Leak. 

[Asclepius]

I rewatched Trojan with my mum, and noticed that the ringtone on Lister’s phone is from the cyanide ad in the lift, from Stasis Leak. 

You know how to treat a lady.

Currently reached the half-way point in Series 2 with my kids. Favourite episodes so far have been The End and Better Than Life. But Thanks for the Memory was judged ‘very clever’. That is, of course, what we want with our comedy.

[Technopeasant]

They are fans of mass death huh?

[Moonlight]

I just want to single out that this is a very cool effect.

[Dave]

So cool that Kryten is visibly stunned.

[Moonlight]

You know a good effects shot when it distracts you from a really obvious still frame.

[Dave]

I hadn’t ever noticed it until today, and now I always will.

[Jenuall]

Mechanoids are just capable of standing incredibly still!

[International Debris]

I remember spotting that ages ago, it looks really awkward as soon as you realise.

[tombow]

anyone seen that scene in Batman Begins where Katie Holmes find the ninjas poisoning the water pipes, and one of them turns and points his finger at her, then just weirdly stands there still with his finger up, and with a frozen expression, as the camera moves away. 

[Unrumble]

[clem]

anyone seen that scene in Batman Begins where Katie Holmes find the ninjas poisoning the water pipes, and one of them turns and points his finger at her, then just weirdly stands there still with his finger up, and with a frozen expression, as the camera moves away. 

That’s a new one on me. I imagine most people here know about the kid at the end of Back to the Future Part III doing a sort of beckoning motion with his hand and then pointing at his crotch. And what about this extra in Quantum of Solace sweeping… nothing.

[Ben Saunders]

Batman

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

It’s bad enough watching the guy wait for the punch, but the other dude at the edge of frame just throws himself on the floor 

[Technopeasant]

And what about this extra in Quantum of Solace sweeping… nothing.

Maybe he’s just shaking the dust off the brush?

[loadoftottnumb]

Batman

Sting fighting off the whole nWo 

[Warbodog]

Series V is like Eraserhead or sutin.

[Rushy]

Series V is like Eraserhead or sutin.

[Warbodog]

[Unrumble]

[Dave]

[Rushy]

[Warbodog]

[Rushy]

[Warbodog]

[Unrumble]

[Warbodog]

[Unrumble]

[Rushy]

[Asclepius]

They are fans of mass death huh?

They knew nothing of the show and, I think, the general increasing air of ‘what is happening?!’ coupled with a few good comedy lines got them in the right mood for the Cat’s appearance which put them in hysterics.

[Moonlight]

Series V is like Eraserhead or sutin.

I just bought Eraserhead on Blu-ray in the Criterion sale. I haven’t seen it in like 8 or 9 years. I hope it’s as weird as I remember.

I may have been in some supremely advanced state of intoxication when I watched it.

[Rushy]

It’s not one of my favourite Lynch films, personally. Mainly because I don’t really relate to his paranoia towards fatherhood. 

[Moonlight]

Watching that movie is like a waking simulation of one of those quasi-lucid nightmares where you’re aware this is just a dream but you can’t wake up or influence it in a more pleasant direction so you’re trapped in this bizarre mind prison.

I might have been too high to remember I could turn it off and do something else.

[Warbodog]

I saw it once as a teenager and took it as a black comedy, but that doesn’t seem to be other people’s experience.

[tombow]

it’s just occurred to me that “what’s an iguana” is similar to the “what’s a duck?” line in the original Star Wars novelisation…

Kenobi: “I understand you are quite a pilot yourself. Piloting and navigation aren’t hereditary, but a number of the things that can combine to make a good small-ship pilot are. Those you may have inherited. Still, even a duck has to be taught to swim.”

Luke: “What’s a duck?”

Kenobi: “Never mind.”

[Asclepius]

Watching that movie is like a waking simulation of one of those quasi-lucid nightmares where you’re aware this is just a dream but you can’t wake up or influence it in a more pleasant direction so you’re trapped in this bizarre mind prison.
I might have been too high to remember I could turn it off and do something else.

My only experience of watching is was at a friend’s house after a night out. I kept nodding off and he kept kicking me awake to watch it. I can’t imagine a better atmosphere for appreciating its creepiness, dream-like qualities, nightmare fuel etc.

[Podey]

“New series confirmed” nonsense has started doing the rounds again (oddly enough, with the same shooting and broadcast schedule as last year…) and, without fail, every post I see is full of comments saying the show hasn’t been any good since series VI. Winds me up because there are loads of really good episodes in the Dave era and it’s just so needlessly dismissive.

I’ve even seen people say that V is the cut-off point, but that’s neither here nor there (just incredibly, credibly wrong).

[Jenuall]

Idiots.

It’s clearly been shit since series II!

[Unrumble]

Started going downhill after they killed off Todhunter.

[Dave]

[Author]

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