Piecing Together the Series VII Audience Screenings

[cwickham]

So, I said it seemed like a separate thread for this would be a good idea, so I went ahead and did it, hope that’s OK.

Contemporary post from alt.tv-red-dwarf on 31/10/96 indicates there were six screenings, of three episodes each:

https://groups.google.com/g/alt.tv.red-dwarf/c/TVlN4ryjuZw/m/enbvrWDNNHgJ

“All the eps have been shown to audiences, but different audiences. There were three screenings on the Friday, and three on the Saturday, and three episodes were shown at each. Odd really, as six times 3 is 18, and 18 doesn’t divide by 8, the number of shows that actually exist.”

Our own Kris Carter says he was at a screening for mostly finished cuts of Stoke Me a Clipper, Ouroboros and Blue, which this newsgroup post puts as the 5.15pm screening on Friday 4 October: https://groups.google.com/g/alt.tv.red-dwarf/c/hl4ppcrYDII/m/plraeCWrkkEJ

The other ones I can find mentioned on the newsgroup so far are:

Saturday 5 October, 5.30pm: Stoke Me a Clipper, Ouroboros and Nanarchy (https://groups.google.com/g/alt.tv.red-dwarf/c/TGfG8bSH94M/m/H3CNVIAy5foJ)

Undated: Duct Soup, Beyond a Joke and Nanarchy (https://groups.google.com/g/alt.tv.red-dwarf/c/Qxl_cryXtRk/m/GETA3Ur8x3cJ)

Topic

[Podey]

Interesting to read that the audiences were shown unfinished versions of the episodes with no music and dodgier VFX (whatever that means in the context of VII!). I think I’d always presumed they saw exactly what we saw. 

[Podey]

Also, I got a REALLY strong sense of nostalgia and longing for 1996 whilst reading those. Take me back!

[clem]

Interesting. There are references to ‘Heartache’ and ‘NBR’ (Natural Born Rimmers) in some of those posts, so they were still using those titles for Blue and Stoke Me a Clipper at the time.

[Podey]

‘Natural Born Rimmers’ is such a better title. 

Shame the episode would have still been “bit crap”… as pointed out elsewhere, it actually would have teed it up nicely if they’d have kept his heroism from the ‘Out of Time’ cliffhanger intact.

[Warbodog]

13-year-old me is vindicated by posters accidentally using the more general term ‘nanites’ for nanobots, like I did when it had been a while since I saw the episode and my friend Sam did a complete IT-Guy-from-The Office “Huh? Kryten’s what? What are ‘nanites’?” even though he watched Red Dwarf and Star Trek and knew exactly what I meant.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Interesting to read that the audiences were shown unfinished versions of the episodes with no music and dodgier VFX (whatever that means in the context of VII!). I think I’d always presumed they saw exactly what we saw. 

I’d always assumed they saw finished episodes, but it makes sense they need to record the laugh track before they finish the audio mix for the episodes so they need to lock it in earlier.

[Dave]

‘Natural Born Rimmers’ is such a better title. 

Not least as the final episode title completely blows a gag. A shit gag, but still.

It would be like calling Timewave SpitOnHerWrist.

[Dax101]

Or just remove Timewave and just call it Spit on Her Wrist.

[Rudolph]

I’m wondering how well any of the other final lines to an episode would work as the title.

[Ben Saunders]

[Warbodog]

Backwards could have avoided the crawling text.

[Moonlight]

[Ben Saunders]

[Nick R]

[Kris ‘Drivaaar’ Carter]

Right, I’ve gone through my own brain, and dredged up a folder of tat from the attic, and shat this out. Enjoy my reminisces from three entire decades ago! Spoilers – I was sixteen, and a dickhead.

https://kriscarter.co.uk/2026/05/04/canned-laughter/

[Moonlight]

We should probably cordon these title memes off into their own thread or the main meme thread because I could keep making more.

[Ben Saunders]

Backwards could have avoided the crawling text.

This is funnier than I thought it was at first, bravo

[Warbodog]

I Lovett, Kris.

★★★★★+

[Dave]

I’m wondering how well any of the other final lines to an episode would work as the title.

[Moonlight]

I am so sleep deprived and hungover I only just realized I wasn’t adhering to the gimmick of these memes.

[cwickham]

So known combos are:

Stoke / Ouroboros / Blue

Stoke / Ouroboros / Nanarchy

Duct Soup / Beyond a Joke / Nanarchy

Tikka / Epideme

Assuming every episode was screened twice (something about giving them more options in the edit presumably?), the other two recordings must have been some combo of Tikka, Blue, Duct Soup, Beyond a Joke and Epideme.

[Kris ‘Drivaaar’ Carter]

I Lovett, Kris.
★★★★★+

Four and a half chainsaws?

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Would the final line thing make The End and The Beginning, The Slime’s Coming Home part 1 and 2

[Moonlight]

It is bizarre that they don’t seem to pair Epideme and Nanarchy.

[Dave]

[Flap Jack]

Would the final line thing make The End and The Beginning, The Slime’s Coming Home part 1 and 2

It wouldn’t.

[Podey]

Right, I’ve gone through my own brain, and dredged up a folder of tat from the attic, and shat this out. Enjoy my reminisces from three entire decades ago! Spoilers – I was sixteen, and a dickhead.
https://kriscarter.co.uk/2026/05/04/canned-laughter/

Fascinating read, cheers!

Also, 16 year old you has almost identical handwriting to me.

[Warbodog]

Also, 16 year old you has almost identical handwriting to me.

I also thought that! 90s schooling, maybe?

[Kris ‘Drivaaar’ Carter]

Also, 16 year old you has almost identical handwriting to me.

I also thought that! 90s schooling, maybe?

I  mean, why not!

[Warbodog]

[Podey]

I’ve just discovered you can watch rips of the original VHS tapes online if anyone wants a trip down memory lane with the opening messages etc.

https://archive.org/details/vid-20230627-113525

[Moonlight]

I am genuinely fucking begging people on the internet to learn how to encode things in 4:3.

[Rushy]

I am genuinely fucking begging people on the internet to learn how to encode things in 4:3.

[Author]

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