New Red Dwarf Episode Announced August 24th 2008

[Mr Flibble]

http://llewtube.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=841#p7784

I won’t post the text, lest I get killed for wasting bandwidth.

Topic

[pfm]

> Here?s hoping this new episode is great, and ties things up well. And please Doug?. do NOT end this on a cliffhanger. Give it an ending that?s an ending, and if further shows are greenlit later, all the better.

D’you know, I don’t think it matters one jot whether it ends on a cliffhanger or not, whether the whole of Dwarf ended on a cliffhanger, just as long as it’s a good one (good cliffhanger = Out Of Time, bad = Only The Good…).

Saying that, I would be VERY happy if this 1 hour episode was completely standalone. Any mention of the VIII cliffhanger should last approx zero to five seconds. Is anyone seriously that arsed about it being resolved? Also, rather than simply being nostalgic it would be great if there was a solid new episode in there. I wouldn’t want an hour just of references to the past, gags repeated and stuff. The fact that it’s ten years on should be brought up though.

[John Hoare]

One thing I’d say is that we should be careful about assuming what the content of the programme will be, just because Rob uses the word “episode”.

Sure, it might be a regular episode – either standalone, or a VIII resolution. But let’s not forget that this is also a programme in the year of or near to Dwarf‘s 20th anniversary. As such, it might take the form of something similar to the ‘Allo ‘Allo or Goodies specials a while back. We have absolutely no idea what kind of show this might be!

[John Hoare]

Anyway, I think the important thing to take from all this is… why the hell is regional telly in the US far more interesting than in the UK these days?

[hummingbird]

Sure, it might be a regular episode – either standalone, or a VIII resolution. But let?s not forget that this is also a programme in the year of or near to Dwarf?s 20th anniversary. As such, it might take the form of something similar to the ?Allo ?Allo or Goodies specials a while back. We have absolutely no idea what kind of show this might be!

It had crossed my mind that it might be a “best of” or a clip show kind of thing, but the fact that it says there’s a script being finalised would suggest otherwise ….?

*prays*

[Arlene Rimmer BSc SSc]

New Red Dwarf on the television? And then, presumably, somewhere on the internet?

Well, I dunno about all of you, but *I* came.

[listerssock]

I’m positively wetting myself with anticipation!! Hope it live up wo expectations :D

[pfm]

> I?m positively wetting myself with anticipation!!

As opposed to negatively wetting yourself, which would be a little like the gag in Backwards…

[Nakrophile]

Excellent news. Now we wait.

[Paul Muller]

My mind has been officially fucking blown.

I go away for one week and this happens.

Just look how surprised I am –>

[James]

It’s a Christmas special where the crew encounter a giant spinning Christmas tree.

[Pete Part Three]

It’s a big screen adaptation of the Christmas mobisode.

[Ian Symes]

It’s a small, off-duty Czechoslovakian traffic warden.

[Paul Muller]

The more I think about this the more there’s potential for it to be either completely fucking brilliant or utterly atrocious.

I’m thinking either a continuation of generic series VIII style toilet/periods/penis jokes strung across a plot thinner than a slice of reformed ham, or on the other hand, something which demonstrates the brillance of the DVD’s and the flares of genius which are evident in ‘Bodysnatcher’ and the other ‘lost’ material.

I don’t like to bang on about how much I hated the last series but it seemed dated in 1999 so a continuation of the format would probably go down like a ton of bricks with modern audiences and TV exec wanker types.

And please, no bastard spacefaring father christmases.

[Mr Flibble]

a plot thinner than a slice of reformed ham

Hang on! You’re a few words short!

I suggest “a plot thinner than a slice of reformed ham that’s been cut in half, thoroughly sanded down and fed through a mangle”

[ChrisM]

That reminds me of something that could be said in Blackadder, another sitcom that’s been away for a while (in terms of new episodes I mean.)

[Tarka Dal]

I’d love a Dwarfy Xmas. Growing up it always felt like something we should have had.

[Pete Part Three]

>Blackadder, another sitcom that?s been away for a while (in terms of new episodes I mean.)

And should also probably be kept that way.

[Danny Stephenson]

Blackadder, another sitcom that?s been away for a while (in terms of new episodes I mean.)

And should also probably be kept that way.

I hated Back and Forth. Had they continued off the back of Blackadder Goes Forth then it might have continued to work. We’ll just never know…

[ChrisM]

>Blackadder, another sitcom that?s been away for a while (in terms of new episodes I mean.)

And should also probably be kept that way.

Do you say that because you disliked Blackadder, or you just think it had it’s day and got worse as time went by?

(That’s not my view mind, just listing possibilities. Although I agree Back and Forth probably wasn’t as good as the series (although I liked it overall). Goes Forth was great though.)

[John Hoare]

I don?t like to bang on about how much I hated the last series but it seemed dated in 1999

I don’t think it was dated at all. Just a bit crap.

[Danny Stephenson]

Do you say that because you disliked Blackadder, or you just think it had it?s day and got worse as time went by?

I can’t speak for Pete, but I believe that just time went by that the dynamics of the writers had drifted apart and couldn’t quite recapture the magic of the earlier series. And i feel I was a little harsh on saying I hated “Back and Forth”, but I was disappointed with it.

[Daff]

The one thing I like about this (If it happens, not sure of that at all, disclaimer) is that it could be a total reboot of the franchise, Red Dwarf finally gets to Earth then spin off from that, or it’s just a continuation of the previous narrative. A spin off series with all the original characters could be awesome and something that has not been seen before. (Red Dwarf: Earth sounds cool)

Fact of the matter is that any Dwarf related material would be good for most of us reading here, even if it ended up being a retrospective. However even a DVD only release has more legs than could be imagined a year ago, especially now Blu-ray is the format of choice.

[pfm]

The movie screenplay shouldn’t be forgotten. I would guess that the special isn’t related to it at all SO we’ve also got that to look forward to seeing in whatever form. I would love a radio dramatisation of it. It would be so brilliant.

[Phil]

>(Red Dwarf: Earth sounds cool)

After-MASH was awesome.

>even if it ended up being a retrospective.

Maybe I don’t share the majority view on this, but a retrospective here in the age of full-series DVDs seems kind of pointless to anybody but the absolute most casual of fans. I will be disappointed if that’s what it is.

[pfm]

I’ve just thought of something (now there’s a thought). I remember reading that the UKTV channels (run by BBC Worldwide and Virgin) are now more interested in co-producing new shows due to their new channel, Watch, appearing in autumn, on which they want to eventually achieve 50% original programming, 50% classic repeats.

Could we see Red Dwarf on Watch?

[hummingbird]

Is it Friday yet?

[Zombie Jim Undead]

Honestly, I move house and go to France for a week and look what happens.

Splendid news, tentatively excited and amused to see that the bickering and cries of “It’ll probably be shit” have already begun.

Huzzah!

(it might be, though ;)

[Zombie Jim Undead]

Interesting little aside in the Aintitcool forums:

“As a source relatively close to the production team of Coronation Street (UK Soap) I can at least confirm Craig Charles (lister) will not be on set from the end of September to mid way through Novemeber.
This was not a confirmed break up until recently (as he’s already had his holiday leave) and we wanted to believe it was a contractually arranged Red Dwarf related. So it’s very plausible.”

So it looks like it’ll be more than just a clip show if he’s off for that long.

[Pete Part Three]

>I can?t speak for Pete, but I believe that just time went by that the dynamics of the writers had drifted apart and couldn?t quite recapture the magic of the earlier series. And i feel I was a little harsh on saying I hated ?Back and Forth?, but I was disappointed with it.

Yup, that pretty much sums it up.

[Zombie Jim Undead]

I just thought Back and Forth was really feeble and rather depressing. Only just better than SpiderPlant Man.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_07mqQ9RaTk

[Seb Patrick]

?As a source relatively close to the production team of Coronation Street (UK Soap) I can at least confirm Craig Charles (lister) will not be on set from the end of September to mid way through Novemeber.
This was not a confirmed break up until recently (as he?s already had his holiday leave) and we wanted to believe it was a contractually arranged Red Dwarf related. So it?s very plausible.?

So it looks like it?ll be more than just a clip show if he?s off for that long.

REHAB.

[Pete Part Three]

>I just thought Back and Forth was really feeble and rather depressing. Only just better than SpiderPlant Man.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_07mqQ9RaTk

As Spidey parodies go, this is slightly better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_07mqQ9RaTk

[ChrisM]

Heh. Spider-plant man. First time I’ve seen that.

(Rather liked it actually. Although the batman stuff made me wince a bit.)

[red-dwarf-movie-rip]

Nice going Andrew I’m sure Mr. Bye wanted to be outed like that what’s next are you going to tell us that Peter Piper is really Spider-Plant-Man? : )

[Andrew]

Sorry if I’ve offended. That information actually was ‘out’ on the net already…

[Andrew]

And a button push later…

[red-dwarf-movie-rip]

Was just having fun actually i wonder if they shot that on film it looks like it was and it looks good.

[pfm]

I wonder if any pre-production has been done on this episode. Costume and set designs etc. That’s a thought, what will the set be like?? Kryten’s suit/head? Ship design? It would be a shame if all these things were made just for one episode, but hey. Obviously there’s the possibility of old stuff being reused. Do any old Dwarf sets exist?

[thomasaevans]

http://www.teletext.co.uk/entertainment/news/2396d735bf4eca8c023bb465565f94f2/Red+Dwarf+one-off+special.aspx

They say DVD release next year!!!

[Phil]

They can buy the original Cat suit on ebay.

[thomasaevans]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1615283.ece

IT BEGINS!!!!!

4 special episodes for digital channel ‘Dave’???

[Smeg4Brains]

> 4 special episodes for digital channel ?Dave????

They’re just making it up now.

[hummingbird]

I don’t like the sound of it.
It’s that phrase ‘best bits’.

Let’s hope that that paragon of journalism ‘The Sun’ is, in fact, making it up.

[Phil]

The “new sketches and best bits” arrangement seems to suggest that it’ll just be some new material written to bookend the clips.

I’m really hoping The Sun is wrong about this (and it seems there’s plenty of reason to suspect that they might be), because I genuinely don’t see the value in clip-shows in an age where we can rent entire series on DVD, or pop over to YouTube. It’s pointless.

Pleeeeeease let the new material outweigh the “best bits” by a factor of 50:1.

[Tonguetied]

I like how the sun reminds us about the ”good” natures of the cast in that article. I’m with Phil, clip shows are shit, there’s no need at all.

[Pete Part Three]

Clip shows?

Oh, fuck off.

[Squeaky Gibson]

I really hope that after all this build up, it won’t go to Dave. Red Dwarf and adverts are a horrible mix and totally ruin the show. the special(s) should air on the BBC, that is the shows natural home, the thought of new material being farmed out to Dave, makes me feel sick. what about the Fan’s who don’t have Freeview/FreeSat, how are they going to watch it? personally i’d like a special shown on either BBC2 or BBC1, with a Doctor Who stlye Confidential on BBC3 shortly after.

[Tonguetied]

What premises do you think could be set up, I mean 10 years needs a continuity explanation, maybe just a throw away line or a short scene detailing what happened, like Lister at the start of Tikka series 7. I hope it isn’t all the cast sitting in the bunkroom reminiscing over past events. Then again I hope it doesn’t just try to redo old classic gags, needs to be fresh new stuff. Not too action orientated as series 7. I think doug will use some of the Earth script that was written. Although we all know what the conclusion was to that, so it would be better if he tinkered with the ending so it didn’t involve Red Dwarf crashing into the earth and wiping out the future species.

[Smeg4Brains]

> with a Doctor Who stlye Confidential on BBC3 shortly after.

Brilliant idea!

[Tonguetied]

I think it should be shown on BBC2, are BBC Word Wide co-funding it with an american company?

[Author]

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