“Pete” shouldn’t have been a 2-parter: “Only the Good” should have

[Antipodean]

It’s occurred to me that while Pete is quite clearly stretched out to fit two episodes (basketball match, “see you in ten minutes”, etc), “Only the Good” seems condensed. I reckon it would have worked better as two episodes, preferably with the original (happy) ending too.

They could’ve ended the first episode with the Starbug-and-Blue-Midget fleet evacuating Red Dwarf – go into more detail about their escape plan and other things. The second episode would be really much improved over the real version, mainly because Kochanski wouldn’t just pull the mirror universe idea out of her arse – also, it’d give them a chance to show more of the mirror Red Dwarf and mirror crew. Finally, the ending (which is the happy ending, remember) would be able to be more complete, such as explaining what happened to all the other prisoners.

Thoughts?

Topic

[Anonymous]

That was the original intention, was it not? From what I gather Only the Good would have had a second part called Earth which would have finally brought an end to the misery of the series. Budget limitations meant having to make the “most” of the CGI dinosaur they’d already paid for though.

See how I put the word “most” in inverted commas there? Brilliant I am.

[Smeg4Brains]

Wasn’t ‘Earth’ supposed to have been a special that never happened?

[Antipodean]

> That was the original intention, was it not? From what I gather Only the Good would have had a second part called Earth which would have finally brought an end to the misery of the series.

I got the impression that the “Only the Good” story, mirror universe and all, would’ve been part 1 and “Earth” would have been a different story about what happens after. I think they could have made a two-parter purely out of “Only the Good”.

[John Hoare]

Wasn?t ?Earth? supposed to have been a special that never happened?

No, it was supposed to be the last episode of VIII.

[Smeg4Brains]

So how come it never happened?

[Jonathan Capps]

> So how come it never happened?

As ‘That’s a bucket’ said, it was budget limitations. The money had already been shat on the Dinosaur and the Dancing Blue Midget, so there was none there for Earth.

[John Hoare]

Although I do wonder (that is wonder, mind you – I don’t know) whether the crash sequence would have been possible even without the dancing Midgets and dino stuff. Crashing into landmarks is far more ambitious than either of the other two sequences put together…

[Danny Stephenson]

Yeah, but you know that it would’ve been a fucking amazing ending. But does leave the question hanging. Would these landmarks still exist 3,000,000 years down the line?

[peas_and_corn]

Maybe they would all be on one beach, like in Futurama- it’ll make it easier to destroy them all

[pfm]

Methinks any possible future Dwarf special/series will end with what Doug had originally planned for ‘Earth’. But personally I’d rather it didn’t end there. I would have them landing/crashing on Earth and they somehow inadvertently destroy it (in a comedy fashion), the Dwarf is also destroyed and they only just escape in a Starbug. They get a bit depressed because they’ve got no goal anymore, nowhere to go, but then Lister gives one of the good speeches they used to write for him (like in Meltdown) and the series ends on a sort of ‘let’s see what’s out there’ note, with the prospect of Lister and Kochanski restarting the human race on another planet (she’s possibly pregnant at the end).

I don’t like it when series’ end with a big full stop. There should be a sense that the comedy (or drama) is going to continue but you just won’t see it. The end of Father Ted is like that. It would have been really crap if it had ended with Ted actually going to America and leaving the rest of them. Instead he stays with Dougal, Jack and Mrs Doyle forever and ever and ever and ever etc. and that’s how it should be. A lot of American shows, comedy or otherwise, have cheesy endings where the characters go their seperate ways, it just makes you feel like shit. Or maybe that’s just me.

[Smeg4Brains]

> with the prospect of Lister and Kochanski restarting the human race on another planet

But for that to occur incest must take place.

But I suppose it was incest when Lister shagged Katchanski when they were going out because she’s his mum……and he still tries to get some off her when he finds out.

[Anonymous]

Hello! I need to know who is this man on the pictures.
This man wanted

[Smeg4Brains]

> Hello! I need to know who is this man on the pictures.

Oh….that man? That’s…….YO MOMMA!

[Rushy]

But for that to occur incest must take place.

I always assumed that once their kids had grown up, they’d all go looking for their own Lister and Kochanski in deep space, to find a way to propagate. 

[Flap Jack]

What do you mean “their own Lister and Kochanski”… ?

[Rushy]

What do you mean “their own Lister and Kochanski”… ?

A potential mate out there. Maybe they can find a time portal, or someone still in stasis, something like that. They go out looking for the same thing Lister was looking for. But now there’s more than one, so there’s a stronger chance of the human race surviving. 

[Flap Jack]

OK, good. I needed to be sure you didn’t mean “they go out in search of alternate versions of their own parents to shag”.

But still, without incest the human race is doomed. The chance of them finding anyone out there is astronomically (literally) small, and even if they manage it, it only delays either the incest or the dying out by a single generation.

The only other way out is if they find a huge colony of surviving humans, in which case the Lister/Kochanski family would not be the lynchpin in the human race’s survival anyway.

[Rushy]

But still, without incest the human race is doomed

[Warbodog]

There’s always Rimmerworld. A marriage twixt Lister’s incestuous descendants and Rimmer’s incestuous descendants is probably what it’s always been leading to.

[Rushy]

New headcanon.

[Moonlight]

Where did Rimmer get his own DNA on that shuttle?

[Rushy]

Where did Rimmer get his own DNA on that shuttle?

He had a wank in it three million years ago. 

[International Debris]

If they did have a kid, let’s say a son, Kochanski would give birth to her own brother in law. The kid would be his own uncle. 

 Also Lister is 50% Kochanski, 50% Lister. And also 100% Lister. Does this mean Kochanski is 50% Lister? Or would she have to be 100% Lister? In which case then he’s having sex with his mum and dad and himself and his girlfriend at the same time. 

 What am I even saying?

[Ian Symes]

Who’s fucking this chicken?

[Dave]

Also Lister is 50% Kochanski, 50% Lister. And also 100% Lister. Does this mean Kochanski is 50% Lister? Or would she have to be 100% Lister? In which case then he’s having sex with his mum and dad and himself and his girlfriend at the same time. 

It’s the opposite. Lister is 100% Kochanski.

[International Debris]

That’s not the opposite. If Kochanski is 100% Lister then Lister is 100% Kochanski. 

[Flap Jack]

Yes, them both being 100% Lister seems opposite to them both being 100% Kochanski, but if one is 100% the other, then there is no longer any difference between Lister and Kochanski to begin with, regardless of which way round it is.

They are both 100% Listchanski.

Although really Dave’s maths says that Lister is 99.99999…% Kochanski, not 100%.

[Ian Symes]

[Moonlight]

[Technopeasant]

Who’s fucking this chicken?

The chicken is also 100% Kochanski.

[Rushy]

A 2-part Only the Good would’ve likely just been more of the same variety show nonsense, with a marginally better explanation for the mirror universe portal. 

At least Pete had the Captain as a sort of central figure. Only the Good pt 2 would probably be about Big Meat following the Cat around all day in a Batman outfit, trying to be his biatch. 

[Warbodog]

If “Pete” and “Only the Good” had been episodes of some other random sitcom in 1999, we could have long forgotten about them. But because they’re part of Red Dwarf, we have to think about them regularly for the rest of our lives.

[Warbodog]

When saying that, I’d forgotten that I have an “ironic” Birdman avatar. I wasn’t saying I’m not part of the problem.

[Ben Saunders]

If “Pete” and “Only the Good” had been episodes of some other random sitcom in 1999, it would have been incredibly strange that it was set aboard a spaceship called Red Dwarf, apparently featuring the characters from that show. 

[Moonlight]

I herald from the universe where Pete is a two-part episode of Frasier.

[Ben Saunders]

I can see them drinking Baxter or whoever’s hooch or whatever

[Dave]

I herald from the universe where Pete is a two-part episode of Frasier.

[Moonlight]

I would pay to see this version.

[Flap Jack]

When saying that, I’d forgotten that I have an “ironic” Birdman avatar. I wasn’t saying I’m not part of the problem.

I appreciate your honesty in using quotation marks. You know in your heart that your love for Birdman was never fully ironic.

[Moonlight]

I think Back in the Red should’ve been an 8 parter.

[Technopeasant]

 I appreciate your honesty in using quotation marks. You know in your heart that your love for Birdman was never fully ironic.

He is the best part of the episode…

If “Pete” and “Only the Good” had been episodes of some other random sitcom in 1999, we could have long forgotten about them.

If “Back to Reality” was an episode of some other sitcom we might have done the same.

Only the Good pt 2 would probably be about Big Meat following the Cat around all day in a Batman outfit, trying to be his biatch. 

Directed by Joel Schumacher.

[Warbodog]

If “Back to Reality” was an episode of some other sitcom we might have done the same.

Maybe, if we didn’t care about the show in the first place, but those “THIS is the real world. Psyche! No it isn’t” episodes usually stand out, though they can span the Back to Reality >>> Back to Earth appreciation scale. Deep Space Nine’s one is great, I remember Buffy’s being just okay. Sonic the Comic’s ‘Sonic the Human’ was weak.

Community might be an exception where I can’t remember if they had a close equivalent, since its format was to break the format anyway.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Community might be an exception where I can’t remember if they had a close equivalent, since its format was to break the format anyway.

There’s one back end of s04 I always think is real because it’s so terrible and is exactly the sort of thing s04 would do.

[Moonlight]

That’s near the end of season 3, actually, when the show is somewhat losing its marbles.

[Stephen R. Fletcher]

Pete should’ve been a three parter and deep down, you all know this. 

[Rushy]

Do you know what happens when a dinosaur has eaten cow vindaloo, two and a half tons of mint-choc ice cream followed by 400 crates of orange ice pops, swills it down with 2000 gallons of a popular fizzy drink, burps, has diarrhea and then has another episode to come back for seconds? Do you know what happens?

[Warbodog]

They probably had Pete drink all the Coca-Cola so they could add on a piss section if needed and get Hollister to say the whole thing again. Then they could go through all the other bodily fluids.

[Technopeasant]

Given the end proved Pete is actually Petra…

[International Debris]

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

That’s near the end of season 3, actually, when the show is somewhat losing its marbles.

I’m think about the one where the dark timeline characters cross into each the prime timeline and have a paintball match. And every time it happens I think it’s happening for real until Jeff wakes up or something at the end 

[Author]

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