Refresh For The Memory: Series III Byte 1

[Ian Symes]

You asked for it. Ahead of the forthcoming 35th anniversary poll, the G&T community is embarking on a big old rewatch, tackling half a series (or one feature length special) per week. This is your designated thread to make notes, share observations and start pondering your rankings.

This week, we’re watching BACKWARDS, MAROONED and POLYMORPH. Have at it!

Previous threads:

Series 1 Byte 1
Series 1 Byte 2
Series 2 Byte 1
Series 2 Byte 2

[Dave]

This must be a candidate for Best Byte across the entire series.

[Flap Jack]

[Ian Symes]

This must be a candidate for Best Byte across the entire series.

According to the soon-to-be-out-dated Pearl Poll… yes, it is.

Based on average places across each VHS, this is the table. Bear in mind Series VII Byte 3 only has two episodes and VIII has four each, plus of course the episode orders for Series V are a complete mess, here’s the ranking of all the original main VHS releases…

17. Series VIII Byte 2 (70)
16. Series VIII Byte 1 (64.25)
15. Series VII Byte 2 (59.67)
14. Series VII Byte 3 (59.5)
13. Series VII Byte 1 (44.67)
12. Series 1 Byte 2 (34.33)
11. Series VI Byte 2 (28.67)
10. Series 1 Byte 1 (25.33)
9. Series III Byte 2 (25)
8. Series IV Byte 1 (22.33)
7. Series 2 Byte 2 (20)
6. Series IV Byte 2 (15)
5. Series 2 Byte 1 (14.33)
3= Series V Byte 1 (13.67)
3= Series V Byte 2 (13.67)
2. Series VI Byte 1 (11.33)
1. Series III Byte 1 (9.33)

So Series III and IV are both split between the two ends of the “bubble” spectrum. How utterly bizarre that the rejigging of Series V resulted in an apparently perfect split!

[Flap Jack]

Interesting… I wonder, if the Series V VHS releases hadn’t swapped Quarantine and Holoship, would Series V Byte 2 be number 1?

[International Debris]

Backwards

There’s such a tonal shift here away from the obvious look of the show. Rimmer and Cat in particular are notably different characters to the earlier versions. 

Despite Bobby’s very different performance, there’s definitely a touch of David Ross’s Kryten here, lacking confidence to even fly Starbug.

I’m not sure about the choice of this as opening episode. Obviously it’s a bit of an event episode with such a strong concept, but it’s the least like series 1 and 2 of the whole series. Other than the brief opening scene, we don’t get anything on Red Dwarf itself. In fact, it’s the least Dwarf-based episode until Back to Reality. I also think once the novelty has worn off, it’s not actually that funny. Lots of top jokes still, but it’s a bit one-note, and on repeat viewings it’s become one of my least favourite bubble episodes.

Plot hole: Lister comes out of a lake, discovers he’s dry, and shrugs it off. That should send out major warning signs.

Obviously going to avoid the occasional tiny backwards logic issues.

Why is there no famine in backwards world? People live their entire life without much food, they’ll suffer whichever direction they live.

Rimmer calling Lister a coward while hiding under a table deserves a laugh.

Ah yes, the shit mix of the closing theme.

[Dave]

Interesting… I wonder, if the Series V VHS releases hadn’t swapped Quarantine and Holoship, would Series V Byte 2 be number 1?

Looking at the Pearl Poll, the final three episodes of V would come out with an average of 10.66, so just shy of the top spot.

(Quarantine and Back To Reality do well at 4 and 1, but Demons & Angels drags it down at 27. I think Quarantine is placed too high and Demons & Angels too low!).

[Flap Jack]

Interesting… I wonder, if the Series V VHS releases hadn’t swapped Quarantine and Holoship, would Series V Byte 2 be number 1?

OK, I’m not sure why I asked because it’s not difficult maths. The answer is No, it would only be 2nd.

[Flap Jack]

Ah ha, Dave beat me to answering my own question by seconds.

[Dave]

I also think once the novelty has worn off, it’s not actually that funny. Lots of top jokes still, but it’s a bit one-note, and on repeat viewings it’s become one of my least favourite bubble episodes.

Backwards hasn’t persisted as a top favourite of mine, although I enjoyed the backwards stuff a lot on early watches.

However, my kids absolutely love it, and when they choose which RD episode to watch, half the time it’s Backwards. I think it’s a combination of the fun gimmick and also some great gags (particularly the Santa Claus line).

[Warbodog]

This must be a candidate for Best Byte across the entire series.

I almost exclusively found Byte 2s when catching up on the series on video rentals, so have a softer spot for those deeper cuts, but this batch definitely has the strongest sense of self-conscious relaunch and showcasing different styles of stories they can do. Whether there’s really more variety than other sets, these all ended up particularly well known.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I also think once the novelty has worn off, it’s not actually that funny. Lots of top jokes still, but it’s a bit one-note, and on repeat viewings it’s become one of my least favourite bubble episodes.
Backwards hasn’t persisted as a top favourite of mine, although I enjoyed the backwards stuff a lot on early watches.
However, my kids absolutely love it, and when they choose which RD episode to watch, half the time it’s Backwards. I think it’s a combination of the fun gimmick and also some great gags (particularly the Santa Claus line).

I used to love Backwards as a kid. And it’s probably the cartoon logic and not needing to have to follow anything to get the jokes. 

That said there is plenty of funny in there. But I get that it does lack in story a little. Other than Rimmer and Kryten wanting to stay but that lasts 2mins. 
Though for its flaws, it gives us that Arthur Smith speech forwards which might be the best bit of all Red Dwarf

[Rudolph]

I’ve always found it interesting that we don’t properly see the new Red Dwarf sets until Polymorph. We get that fairly tight shot of Lister and Cat watching cartoons in the darkened bunk room, and Kryten and Rimmer CSO’d onto Starbug’s launch pad, in Backwards; but the entirety of Marooned takes place on Starbug.

I’ve never been a fan of the III Kryten mask, as it looks very sweaty and fleshy.

There’s also a strangeness from seeing these lovely new sets shot on the crappy old equipment at BBC Manchester, leading to everything still looking a bit washed out and grim.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

They couldn’t show the sets in episode 1 or 2 as they were busy repainting them white after the idea to paint them blue turned out to be shit.

[Warbodog]

Filming order was Marooned, Timeslides, Backwards, Bodyswap*, Polymorph, The Last Day.

*I’ve never been clear on where Bodyswap really fits in, what with it having more freedom without the audience, Robert’s first ever (deleted) Kryten scene being from that episode (location scheduling convenience?) and the ‘White Midget’ reference (script editing negligence?)

[Rudolph]

Bodyswap is an odd one. Kryten has properly stepped into his science officer role, coming up with the system to swap minds about, but it’s also the episode where he’s the most obsequious and weak-willed towards Rimmer, acting as his henchman.

I do like how they went to the bother of adding a little Red Dwarf logo and ‘Ship Issue’ labelling to the milkshake bottle, but have just used a contemporary Toffee Crisp bar.

On a tangent, when do the distinctive Leopard Lager cans turn up for the first time? I’m thinking the large cans mini-RoboLister uses in DNA. Smega Drive tells me that Leopard Lager is only ever said aloud in M-Corp.

[International Debris]

but the entirety of Marooned takes place on Starbug.

Obviously my point about Backwards featuring the least on-ship footage before Back to Reality has been tripped up at literally the first available opportunity.

For what it’s worth, I think Marooned would have been a better opener as it’s the most 1 / 2-like so it would be easing things in, but then it has almost no Kryten, so in some ways doesn’t introduce the series well at all. I don’t think there’s an especially good way to let viewers get used to the series. But I’d still have chosen Marooned over Backwards if considering the show’s longevity, rather than simply having the first broadcast opening with a bang. Same for Give & Take / Samsara.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I think Backwards does a nice job if introducing Kryten to the series. But otherwise you are right another episode might be more suitable. Marooned could well be the best choice.
Polymorph would work, but is it too much of an out of character episode to open with? If so the same goes for Bodyswap in a way. That leaves Timeslides (because Last Day works better last) which really feels like a mid series episode. 
I always like to point this out, but many series that include a shake up open with an off ship time travel episode
Backwards, Tikka, Twentica and you could almost say Back to Earth as a special does it. They’re all the first episodes of series. 
Had Meltdown opened the series as intended that would have been a near clean sweep, with the exception of Lemons 

[Warbodog]

Backwards

I was never too fond of this one, coming to it a while after the more satisfying novel(s) treatment and maybe a couple of years too old to be really amused (not a diss – there should definitely be Red Dwarf that kids can love, even if they’re not allowed to buy the video).

It’s always lacked any particular classic lines or character moments to me, and I even just missed the comfort of the ship.
As the episode that also happened to introduce so many fundamental changes, I can see its lightweight romp being a troubling omen to some fans at the time, maybe even to a Tikka to Ride extent.

Obviously things would get better, but I’ll have to see those to find out whether I’ve grown into some kind of I-II snob, since this was surprisingly my least favourite episode so far. Certainly the first where I was bored at times and felt the urge to skip.

– Though as someone who really doesn’t rewatch often enough, seeing the rock/clips opening again really hit the spot.

– Like International Debris, I’ll take the careless internal backwards logic as read, but it’s a big black mark. The repetitive humour wasn’t sufficient to tip the balance into not caring.

– Lister suddenly getting his head around it during the bar renovation is a sign of something better, the beginning of the veteran we read in Backwards.

– Lister and Cat hanging out makes sense, but their dynamic just isn’t all that interesting.

– Rimmer and Kryten work better, which is mainly Rimmer pulling his sneering weight. Him calling Holly “dingleberry breath” was the funniest forgotten line for me, just an irrelevant insult for the sake of it.

– Hattie’s Holly’s introduced as having more attitude (autopilot bit). I can’t tell for sure whether I mainly prefer her because she’s part of my preferred aesthetic.

– I can’t unsee the stand-in Kryten when they’re exploring. Even before I knew, the filming around him felt off.

– I wondered why Rimmer felt they needed a job, since they don’t need food, but then remembered he values work, even enjoying the chance to teach Kryten to drive.

[Warbodog]

Content warning: Star Trek crap (post-watershed)

Making your landing ship invisible is a practical cost-saving solution and good meta joke, but I reassert my conspiracy theory that it was a conscious or unconscious reference to the similar scene of a cloaked, green, zoomorphic ship landing in a park from Star Trek IV (the whales one, 1986) after Rob and Doug saw the ‘White Midget’ design.

– Kryten namechecks Starbug in the episode, which was named after the design, so its look was known by this point (compared to Bodyswap).

– When not invisible, the ship from Star Trek IV looks like this:

– Could that even be why they felt Starbug should be green?

[Flap Jack]

Backwards – A very enjoyable episode, as long as you’re able to turn off your brain when engaging with all of the backwards logic. On the whole, I think this was a good choice for series opener, because all of the regulars get good opportunity to showcase their unique reactions to the weird situation they’ve been thrust into – with the possible exception of Holly, as unfortunately Holly is backgrounded as she is in most episodes, but she still gets a few good moments. Having said that, in contrast to the previous 2 series, it is missing any kind of establishment of the premise (I am not counting the crawl). For the plot set up you just get Lister saying “maybe we’ve been alone in deep space too long”, and for character set ups you never learn that Cat is literally an evolved cat, or that Rimmer is a hologram. In fact him being ejected out of Starbug might actively make you think he isn’t one.

– Holly observation 1: how have they unlearnt what they learnt about Norman’s Holly, and applied a filter over Hattie’s face? It doesn’t look good.

– Holly observation 2: It’s very weird how Holly appears in Kryten’s stomach, Teletubby-style. Took me many viewings to notice that was even what was happening. I think I just assumed that she was on a watch on Kryten’s wrist.

– Holly observation 3: After she explains about the big crunch, she just completely disappears from the episode. That’s a real shame, you’d think she might have some things to contribute about the ongoing backwards shenanigans.

– Holly observation 4: Obviously they wouldn’t have brought all Holly’s hardware onto Starbug 1 with them, so she must still exist back on Red Dwarf after they leave too. And Holly ought to also be on Starbug 2 with Cat and Lister on their journey.

– The decision to start the series with no explanation for the Kryten, Holly, or Lister pregnancy situations (again, only counting explanations that are actually possible to read on broadcast) remains brazen as hell. It just about gets away with it. Just.

– Interesting to open with an episode with such little Rimmer/Lister interaction, the primary relationship in the series. But I have a feeling that the next episode will make up for that.

– Only 1 episode of having Starbug as a transport craft and they’ve already lost one. Typical.

– I wonder why they made the present day of Backwards world 1993 and not 1990? Seems pointless at best and making it more difficult for yourself at worst. Maybe they explain it in the DVD special features or the quarantine commentary.

– I never noticed before that when Rimmer and Kryten crash, the fish outside the window are clearly massive. If the backwards (not mirrored) writing and newspaper articles talking about things unhappening in the future weren’t a giveaway, then the fish cinch it: Backworld is not just our Earth running backwards. It’s a totally different place.

– Continuity Watch: Lister says he’s 25, despite the fact that he was 25 in Series 1, which was 2 years before Series 2, let alone 3. Well shit. Let’s just say that Lister just tells people he’s 25 because he doesn’t want to think about aging and move on.

– Why does Rimmer say they have to get jobs? They wouldn’t be earning
money, they would be paying money to do that work. And the only things
they could possibly un-buy are things they already have (or things they
pull out of bins or whatever).

– It really can’t be overstated how little sense the backwards events make; it makes me re-appreciate how much the book version actually did make sense… mostly. Take any sequence of events in this episode and run them backwards (“Backwards Forwards” or otherwise), and they just do not add up: Kryten and Rimmer turn up for the first time ever at the pub, start a fight, get fired for a job they don’t have, and then do that job for three weeks after, at which point they are un-hired. // Lister and Cat find a bike randomly, ride it by sheer coincidence near to the person it belongs to, get shouted out for stealing it by the owner, then the owner stops shouting to lie down and fall asleep, then they place the bike next to him. // Kryten and Rimmer get applause for doing things backwards, then they do those things, then the audience gasp, then Rimmer says “we’re about to do something forwards” in unintelligible backwards speak, then they get off stage, then Tony Hawks comes on and introduces them. // Lister and Cat get a lift from the pub to a spot near Starbug, then they get out, then the driver gets out of the vehicle and tells them to hop in, then they show him a poster of the pub they just came from. // Lister and Cat are randomly given beers without prompting at the pub, then they drink them, then they give the bartender money to take the glasses away, then they tell the bartender what drink they just had, then the manager randomly says “bitter” to them, and then they make a bunch of drinking gestures towards him, to which he doesn’t respond, and then… OK, I guess I made my point.

[Stilianides]

Backwards – 

This was my introduction to the show on its original broadcast and nowadays I think the impact that it had is sometimes understated. Rob Grant makes the point on the Bodysnatcher DVD that it was right to start the series with this ep (and to jettison the Dad idea) because the concept was so appealing to viewers. I remember being hooked at the time and, while I am sure the backwards idea had been used elsewhere, it was hugely innovative to see it in a BBC2 sitcom.

Series III is the best series of the show imo and there are numerous classic moments. The Wilma Flintstone gag, Nodnol, seeing Rimmer in his light entertainment garb, Arthur Smith’s memorable contribution, the barroom fight etc.

The sets and effects hadn’t quite been perfected, but I think the classic look of the show began here and ran for the next few series.

Hattie’s presence is a positive in one sense and she helps to give the show the right balance. Her version of Holly is already less funny than Norman’s, however.

The opening explanation of the Series II cliffhanger seems like a case of the least worst option, as I don’t think there was any good way of wrapping that one up. The script segment for Dad has its moments, though.

It’s a shame, in a way, that they didn’t continue with the Holly introductions, as it would have given Hattie something to do. As the unused examples on the Series III DVD are very weak, and they were already repeating themselves in the first twelve episodes, it’s no surprise that they were jettisoned.

[Warbodog]

The scrolling text is more fitting for this video trickery episode than it would be in any other. Imagine that being at the top of Marooned every time, leading into the strip poker scene (possibly after a Holly introduction).

[Stabbim]

Backwards
I was never too fond of this one, coming to it a while after the more satisfying novel(s) treatment

Oh, my fingers remain ever crossed that the End end of Red Dwarf as a television show, if it is to be a happy ending, will borrow heavily from the bit on Backwards Earth at end of Better Than Life

[Warbodog]

Marooned

I’ve always enjoyed this one, but it used to feel like it was missing a few too many elements for it to be a favourite (oddly, because in Bottom I always rated the two-handers over the busier shows) and the characterisation always felt somehow off, which might be the changing style from the more familiar bunkroom era, the handheld filming throwing me off, or just me not taking the actual situation of the plot into account.

I get it more now and it’s doing much better, but with so many conventional favourites to come, it probably won’t make top 10.

– I think of it as the minimalist one, so it’s easy to forget that this is the start of the more dramatic model shots (the recycled Blue Midget shot looks noticeably worse) and action scenes (Lister struggling in the snow).

– Why didn’t Cat and Lister go together? If Marooned had come just before Backwards, you could infer that Lister and Rimmer were driven further apart or having a tiff, and maybe Rimmer even moved out for a while.

– Obviously Craig and Barry are on top form. Rimmer’s sympathetic, but his invincibility makes him oblivious, like anyone giving ‘helpful’ advice from a cushy position. He is the general sipping sancerre and Lister is down in the battle, do you see?

– They don’t directly ask you to consider how poorly Rimmer would fare in the same circumstances, but I imagined Lister having to calm or fend off the gibbering wreck several times. A deliberate series VIII remake… um, could have been fun. Seeing how early cannibalism was raised.

– Lister paints the Miranda bar room brawl story very nicely in the imagination, we don’t need literal flashbacks in this show.

– Rimmer’s well-read, well-travelled, used to play golf, socialised with professionals and knows his wood scents. One heck of a regular guy. (But when did this stuff happen?)

– Rimmer’s virginity story seems incongruous (in the novels they say he’s lying, a concession to continuity that still lets them recycle the dialogue), but the Porky Roebuck story is classic bunkroom banter.

– Was Rimmer’s hypnotherapist winding him up for fun?

– Are smoky bacon crisps an unpopular flavour? I could never stand them.

– I don’t think landing on Pluto would be such a big deal for the public, unless missions skipped over many of the intervening moons and went straight from Mars to Pluto to show off.

– Were the books already randomly on Starbug or from Rimmer’s belongings? The food scene makes it seem like the former, but the book burning makes them seem more like Rimmer’s, like knowing what page to keep in that edition of Lolita.

– You have to be pedantic enough to freeze frame at the right point for it to catch the light, but the guitar actually has six strings. Supension of disbelief ruined.

– After all that classic dialogue, the funniest part was Rimmer’s frozen silence after Lister retrieves his guitar, though the whole guitar burning climax is excellent.

[International Debris]

Marooned

How is the meteor burning in a vacuum?

Rob and Doug had a thing for Topic bars, didn’t they?

Remastered observation: watching the original for the first time meant the Cliff Richard gag was new to me and worth the DVD purchase alone. 

Girlfriend’s observation: “I thought we already knew Rimmer had only had sex once.”

This almost feels like an introduction to this version of Rimmer. He’s wittier, but also a little more romantic and philosophical. 

Is this the first time where Lister is the dick?

Rimmer and Lister’s relationship has softened so much that his “I’m not enjoying this” feels genuine; two series ago he was laughing because Lister was going to die, now he feels for him losing his guitar.

Best episode so far, I think. 

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

How is the meteor burning in a vacuum?

How does a star burn in a vacuum?* 

As long as there is oxygen and fuel it’ll burn.  There could well be both trapped and being released within whatever the meteorite is made of.

*ok fine they’re technically not burning but still!

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Going back to Backwards being a good starter episode or not.  We discussed Kryten’s introduction but not anything about new Holly.  Whilst there isn’t a good “look new Holly” scene, which episode would have or could done it better?

[cwickham]

I think the issue is that III, which breaks the format pretty much every week, doesn’t really *have* an obvious series opener; putting the gimmick aside, Backwards does seem the best choice available.

If you want to open establishing the new Holly then Marooned is probably the best choice, but it’s an odd decision to put a bottle show with only two of the regular cast present for pretty much all of the episode first. And Holly’s role does drastically reduce the moment Kryten shows up, even if we’re not at Series V levels yet.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Are they all format breakers though?  I’d say Bodyswap and Timeslides aren’t exactly format breakers.  They perhaps extend the format a little, but they could very very easily be series 1 or perhaps more likely series 2 episodes.

Marooned would definitely fit into series 2, and is probably close to format of the previous two series as you can get.  If we’re agreeing there is a format at all.

Polymorph and Backwards are the only two that are drastically different.  And Polymorph only because it relies on an alien threat.  Though it is one of the first episodes that kicks off the format of looking at the characters through themselves.  Me2 does it, but only for Rimmer.

The Last Day is actually pretty normal and straight forward too.  It just needs Kryten for it to work.

[Dave]

Timeslides is the most traditional III episode I think, and interestingly would work pretty much fine without Kryten.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Yeah you could easily have the Skutters doing the photo developing for Rimmer or something 

[Warbodog]

More than the characters, I found the lack of Red Dwarf in the first two episodes affected my experience when watching the DVD (maybe the previous time I saw them on remastered broadcast too, I can’t remember). I was eager to see those ‘definitive’ sets I loved and I ended up gravitating towards the later episodes partly because of the cosy setting, as superficial or strange as that might seem (Things Only VHS-deprived 90s Kids Will Understand). Giving us more than that glimpse in Backwards would have helped.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Having seen all of Red Dwarf out of order it is really hard to conceptualise being introduced to the changes in three via Backwards, Marooned and then Polymorph.

I watch Backwards subconsciously knowing that whilst we don’t see the sets clearly, that they are all new and different and just outside the frame we see in the opening scene.

Also Kryten being present or Holly being female isn’t a shock at all.

What you’ve said though, about the lack of “Red Dwarf” being a disconnect.  I don’t feel as warmly about V as many do, and I wonder if that is why.  Because so much of the series happens off Red Dwarf and on Starbug whilst RD still exists.  I rather contrarily love series VI but I think that is because there a definitive change in setting.

[Flap Jack]

My novelty double act poster has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my poster.

[Stilianides]

Marooned – 

A top three episode and a candidate for the greatest ever. Chris and Craig are at their absolute best and there are more quotable lines than pretty much any other ep.

Another example of Rob mentioning Porridge in the commentary by saying that it is essentially their version of ‘A Night In’.

While it is all about the two main characters, the fact that they are running out of food and are up against a deadline gives it an underlying tension. It also makes it relatable as any viewer can imagine crashing in the middle of nowhere and waiting for help to arrive. 

Interesting that Hattie has said that the script that she originally read contained some “senile old git” references due to it having been written with Norman in mind.

[Warbodog]

Polymorph. Getting mandatory procrastination out of the way so I might actually get on with work.

Flawed but fun, deserving of recognition as the first monster/action episode of many. It’s the only episode I read as a script before eventually seeing it about a year later (my ‘Psirens’), and it was pretty immersive even in that form, though I mainly remember the rude bits. “A certain popular Jewish operation” slayed me at 12.

– The medical cooking scene feels underrated, at least I never see it mentioned.

– Mel Bibby sets at last… or do I actually prefer the old bunkroom now?

– It’s a great looking episode generally (Smegle loves it), even if it comes off a bit cardboard Laserquest.

– An Osmond family gag inside a Rimmer Directive. Lister mentioning Petersen to Kryten. What a transitional era.

– Robert reading his script is distracting and even gets annoying, but forgetting to do the voice was just funny.

– The Psi-scan is introduced as a specialised device for reading the psyche. Well I never.

– I used to think the big Polymorph was tailor-made for Lister’s fears and it just decided to stick with that form for convenience through much of the episode, but then the other Polymorph also looks like that at the end, so it’s just a standard variation on the small one (unless that was one also tapping Lister’s fear, being directly behind him).

– So did the Polymorph have Lister in Bonehead’s mum form? He seems to think so.

– Lister’s kamikaze enthusiasm is the funniest and most quotable stuff later on. “Let it get knackered eating me to death” was my favourite. The other alts don’t live up to that, but they do okay.

– It’s only within the last year that I realised ‘Give Quiche a Chance’ is a silly pun, rather than just silly random.

– It’s very talkative for an action show. Then it just ends by chance and they go home. The jokes are still the priority, but I prefer when they commit more to the balance in the future.

[Loathsome American]

Maybe it’s just the nature of doing a dedicated rewatch that you go into it sort of wanting to have your preconceptions challenged, but I found I actually found “Backwards” a lot better than its reputation as a gimmick-driven episode owing to a lot of good lines (the Flintstones bit, “You already are one glorious hole,” “Santa Claus–what a bastard!”) and “Marooned” not quite as worldbeating as I usually think of it. The “mayday/m’aidez” exchange is funny but maybe a bit off for the characters (Lister is scornful that Rimmer doesn’t know this, and Rimmer acts like he doesn’t realize he’s being insulted)? Probably still put “Marooned” in the top 10, though.

The voice Chris Barrie does in the Reverse Brothers act has always cracked me up for some reason. Is this a specific imitation of someone he’s doing or just sort of a general type?

[Warbodog]

“You already are one glorious hole”

I shamefully forgot that when saying Backwards didn’t really have classic lines to me. I also enjoyed the tangled explanation of Kryten not being able to drive Starbug 1 because he failed to learn to drive the identical Starbug 2.

[Unrumble]

UNRUMBLE! 

I watched both Backwards and Marooned last night, and as before, I’m going to post the notes I made before looking at this thread verbatim, despite others having already touched on or answered some of the same points. Speaking of which… 

– A longtime burning query… why when Rimmer & Kryten are lost down the time-hole, is Holly with them? She is seemingly ‘transferred’ to Starbug, leaving Red Dwarf ‘unsupervised’ by nothing other than what are presumably some auxiliary/automated systems? 

Well.. sure, why not? And I know this could apply to any future episode from IV & V featuring Holly on Starbug, but it’s prominent here in that Lister & Cat have been searching and incommunicado with them for 3 weeks, seemingly Holly-less? And then in the very next episode, it’s the opposite: the people marooned in Starbug have no contact with Holly (yes I know it’s explicitly stated that she’s piloting Red Dwarf around the black holes, but the general point still stands). 

– always found the simple close-up of Kryten turning and reading Starbugs registration to be very convincing and well done.

– the “they’re exactly the same”, “yes, that’s the problem” gag is kind of funny, but doesn’t work at all if you think about it.

– Rimmer seems pretty well up on his space phenomena, for someone who had to copy entire textbooks onto his body to try and pass an exam. Suppose as Kryten’s instructor he probably has a list of answers…

Actually, Lister’s instant recognition of a time-hole is probably even more incongruous. 

– “sawn-off shh-hhotgun”

– the ‘Red Dwarf Shuffle’ is a nice evolution from that weird screechy “yeah yeah yeah!” chant they do in the corridor in Stasis Leak.

– the idea of Kryten having a wallet is a bit weird, even more so having acquired one before they’d even been there a day

– Robert Llewellyn’s backwards talking when arguing with Arthur Smith really is quite fabulously silly.

– why would Cat need to use the bushes when Starbug is right there? Surely there are toilet facilities on board? 

[Unrumble]

Ascencion Sunday 

– as a kid who often received WH Smith book tokens (which could annoyingly only be used for books) from aunts for Christmas, I empathised with Lister and his underwhelming birthday present.

– in an episode stuffed with superlative dialogue, a shout-out for “Patton, and Caesar, and various other gits”

– interesting that a tin of dog food would be on Starbug. Would dogs be frequent passengers on a mining ship to surface craft?

– pointless continuity nitpick: having previously revealed that Yvonne McGruder was his only sexual liaison, why would Lister need to ask how Rimmer lost his virginity?

Could perhaps say the same about “no education?” “I went to art college”. But that one seems more explainable. Rimmer probably wasn’t paying attention or couldn’t be bothered to remember that exchange they had in ‘Kryten’

– Blatant almost-corpsing from Chris Barrie:

– “Camphor wood” no longer sounds right to me when not immediately followed by “my H has fallen off”.

– great delivery of “what where they?” showing Rimmer’s resignation to the fact that Holly has inevitably flamingoed up. 

[Unrumble]

I wonder why they made the present day of Backwards world 1993 and not 1990? Seems pointless at best and making it more difficult for yourself at worst. 

Perhaps because Rimmer saying “zero nine nine zero”, or “oh nine nine oh” doesn’t sound or scan as pleasingly as “thirty nine ninety one”? 

[International Debris]

interesting that a tin of dog food would be on Starbug. Would dogs be frequent passengers on a mining ship to surface craft?

Especially given Red Dwarf’s no pets rule. Mind you, I’ve pondered the presence of a lone Brussels sprout before as well.

[Dave]

the “they’re exactly the same”, “yes, that’s the problem” gag is kind of funny, but doesn’t work at all if you think about it.

I’ve always felt this – although it’s structured like a joke and gets a laugh, it just doesn’t work. I think it mainly exists to let the audience know there are (at least) two Starbugs for the purposes of the plot.

[International Debris]

I think it works, although it doesn’t feel like a Kryten line. It’s just a jokey way of him expressing his lack of confidence in knowing how to fly Starbug.

[Dave]

It’s the “I’m not used to” phrasing that sort of ruins it for me. Even if you were still not a competent pilot after six weeks of training, you’d at least be used to the controls by then.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

– A longtime burning query… why when Rimmer & Kryten are lost down the time-hole, is Holly with them? She is seemingly ‘transferred’ to Starbug, leaving Red Dwarf ‘unsupervised’ by nothing other than what are presumably some auxiliary/automated systems? 

Seemingly, yes she is.  I think throughout all Red Dwarf TV (unlike the books) Holly is basically presented as a single computer entity.  He/She is one person and where she goes she is.  She isn’t on Starbug and on Red Dwarf at the same time.

You can see elements of this in Thanks for the Memory (he is “sleeping”) to Queen where he is sort of forced out into a single portable TV.  Or Stasis Leak when he is on the watch.

This carried through to VI where, losing Red Dwarf means losing Holly.  And then through VII and VII Holly resides within Lister’s watch and not the rest of the ship (though Only the Good shows he is capable of sneaking around in the ships computer files).

I sort of put this down to his salinity.  Or more to the point, his salinity has led to this situation of a “single” Holly.  Over 3million years he has degraded, to the point he no longer is capable of being present across the whole ships all at once.  In Future Echos he has to focus on piloting rather than talk to Lister.  In theory the Holly we think we know (from the books – at least pre-accident) should be capable of both and much more.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

At least we know for sure that srehtorB esreveR lanoitasneS ehT are not evil.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

– the idea of Kryten having a wallet is a bit weird, even more so having acquired one before they’d even been there a day 

So maybe he was forced to take the wallet at knifepoint as well in an entirely separate mugging incident that Rimmer was present for.

[Unrumble]

Over 3million years he has degraded, to the point he no longer is capable of being present across the whole ships all at once.  In Future Echos he has to focus on piloting rather than talk to Lister. 

I like this as an explanation. Too infirm to get about as much as when he/she was young and virile!

[Author]

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