Refresh For The Memory: Series III Byte 2

[Jonathan Capps]

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 BODYSWAP, TIMESLIDES and THE LAST DAY. Have at it!

Previous threads:

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

[Unrumble]

[International Debris]

The opening scene is easily the most dramatic Red Dwarf has been to date. Barely any jokes until the auto destruct is launched.

Why is Rimmer so excited about eating when we’ve seen him eating and drinking hologrammatic food and drink. It might not be exactly the same, but he’s behaving as if he’s not even tasted anything.

In terms of Rimmer and Lister’s dialogue it feels way closer to series 2 than anything in the first half of III. The fact that it has no guest characters or locations and is almost entirely on Red Dwarf itself only adds to that. As does “Mr David sir”. Was this the first written?

Interestingly, Kryten’s mask looks so much better than earlier episodes. 

How did Lister’s dreadlocks grow back so quickly? 

Something about the episode – the mix of the characters literally not being themselves and the lack of studio audience for the recording of most of it, maybe – made it my least favourite episode for years. I like it more now, but it still has a certain kind of weird feeling that makes me a tiny bit uncomfortable.

[Unrumble]

Body2Body

– I don’t think I had gap in viewing like this for any other series. I saw byte one when I was around 10/11 years old, but didn’t see byte two (and remastered at that) for at least 2 or 3 years. Consequently, the first batch were so ingrained in my mind, and were ‘classic’ Dwarf, but Bodyswap, Timeslides and Last Day give me a slightly off-brand vibe, like they’re part of a different series 3. Not that they’re not hilarious, of course. 

Additional: I remember seeing the scrabble scene as part of the A-Z on Red Dwarf Night, still years before I ever saw the ep, and not really twigging why Rimmer was dressed like that. I think I didn’t really clock that his voice was different either. I rewatched that A-Z on my recorded vid of RD night to death.

– nice bit of business for terminally underused Hattie “sit here and get blown up” 

– also great delivery/timing from Robert “no… but I’m pretty sure I know what went wrong” 

– it’s a fun punchline, but why was Holly moments ago saying their only alternatives all involved getting blown up, when she always knew there was no bomb?  

– episode 4, and this is the first (and I think only? ) episode in the series with Rimmer and Lister in bunks together scenes.

– it’s always bugged me how Rimmer-as-Lister is in silhouette behind a stretched-out-sheet, but as soon as the lights go on, it’s covering him like a shroud… 

– I often use “you’d better bleedin’ had do” in real life. I grew up in the south of England… 

– Love the smug face Craig pulls after he pokes Cat in the eye. Chris rightly receives plaudits for his Lister-acting, but I think the boy Charles acquits himself tremendously. 

– never been to Grimsby, is it really that… grim? 

– didn’t see the original version until the dvd came out… one of the best model sequences in the entire show replaced by THAT CGI on the remastered. .. 

– Captain Chloroform guiltily stroking Listers foot. Is it sweet or weird…? 

[Unrumble]

How did Lister’s dreadlocks grow back so quickly?

You see him attaching the sawn-off locks with string in the final scene, no?

[Unrumble]

Why is Rimmer so excited about eating when we’ve seen him eating and drinking hologrammatic food and drink. It might not be exactly the same, but he’s behaving as if he’s not even tasted anything.

Psychological I suppose? No matter how good the simulation, he knows he’s experiencing the real thing now, coupled with the general ecstasy of simply being a physical entity again. The show doesn’t really dive that deep into quite how traumatising it must be to be brought into existence, but with the full knowledge that you’re not really you, you’re a computer simulation of your actual dead self.

[Unrumble]

 Something about the episode – the mix of the characters literally not being themselves and the lack of studio audience for the recording of most of it, maybe – made it my least favourite episode for years. I like it more now, but it still has a certain kind of weird feeling that makes me a tiny bit uncomfortable.

Yeah, similar to my ‘off-brand’ comment, it certainly has an uncanny feeling about it, primarily for the reasons you suggested.

[Dave]

There are loads of freaky implications of Bodyswap that aren’t fully explored. Presumably if hologrammatic data can be used as the basis for the operation, Rimmer could conceivably make Kryten put his mind into the bodies of both Cat and Lister while still staying as a hologram version of himself, thus creating a whole ship of Rimmers. You could get into real Dollhouse/Westworld territory with the whole thing.

[Warbodog]

Like ‘Kryten’ before it, Bodyswap was my surprise favourite from this series when I saw it again in the DVD era for being such a fun watch. I ranked it top 10 in the Silver Survey on this basis, before conceding that it was probably less impressive the next time around, not having watched it for years.

I shouldn’t have doubted myself. This is one of my favourites so far, reviving the old antagonism with their new tricks and tighter writing. Pure, self-destructive Red Dwarf.

– The first 7 minutes are integral set-up for the rest, but still make a great self-contained Red Dwarf short. Opening 10/10, rest maybe still 9/10.

– State-of-the-art Hologram discs have been downgraded to dictaphone cassettes for the laugh. (Floppy disks wouldn’t have looked sufficiently simplistic yet).

– I love Robert’s over-emphasised delivery throughout the opening. “Keep that safe – it’s Lister’s mind!” is up there with “I’d prefer chicken” in my favourite Red Dwarf gags.

– Chekhov’s cup of… tea?

– Quite a stressful episode. After the time bomb opening, there’s only a brief respite, as Rimmer’s quick slide into temptation hints at how the rest’s going to go down.

– The voice-overs only sometimes sound disconnected and like they’re reading the audiobook. I’m glad they went with the experiment anyway, wouldn’t exactly be fair to pit a professional impressionist against someone trying his best.

– How early would you cotton on to Rimmer’s health and fitness advice being a self-serving scheme? I think they edited to the right point.

– No scene is superfluous to the plot, only Jozxyqk’s borderline (clipped in the Red Dwarf A-Z with no context for why Rimmer has Lister’s voice and clothes).

– There could be some Thanks for the Memory type sympathy in Lister going along with the swap, making amends after Marooned, or just doing his part to build a stronger, trusting relationship. But many of us would be tempted by a convenient technological cheat to health and fitness and have to weigh the risks.

– The dreadlock cutting scene was when I realised those were probably an affectation and not just Craig’s real hair they used for the character, but only after first being impressed at everyone’s commitment to cutting them off for real in a take.

– The chase sequence caps off a classic. It wouldn’t have been as impressive or maybe even attempted in an earlier series.

– Should have gone with the right arm for momentary Future Echoes easter egg foreshadowing, twats.

– I was surprised the deleted bit about Lister’s tooth cavity isn’t actually in the episode, because of how often it’s come to mind over the years.

[Warbodog]

I don’t think I had gap in viewing like this for any other series.

I can beat that with Psirens. Probably the last of the BBC episodes I saw in 1999, the rest of VI being the first episodes I saw in full in 1994.

episode 4, and this is the first (and I think only? ) episode in the series with Rimmer and Lister in bunks together scenes.

Bit more to come. I always found this one and The Last Day the most watchable series 3 episodes partly for being more homey and ‘domestic’, the others being more ‘event’ episodes.

[Flap Jack]

Bodyswap – This is definitely an underrated episode, as it’s a solid premise and consistently funny throughout. Bodyswap tends to get marked as the weak one from this series, and I’d agree it’s in the weaker half, but it’s not on a lower level than Backwards or Timeslides. The Lister/Rimmer story is great in this, with Charlie and Barry doing a pretty great job performing as each other, even if the impressionism skill is nowhere near equal. And it manages to just about get away with Rimmer being so villainous (possibly his most ever? Except for Meltdown… maybe). On top of that Holly, Cat and Kryten all get some classic bits too, so it’s not quite Marooned levels of Lister and Rimmer prominence.

– Is this where they establish that poker is a big hobby for the crew as a group, or did that happen earlier and I forgot?

– Cat’s “good thing you didn’t order a double cheeseburger” line is in similar vein to “I’d hate to be around when one of these suckers is making a speech!”, but it feels a bit first draft to me. Why is a double cheeseburger a big escalation on a milkshake and a chocolate bar? And how could things get worse than the ship blowing up anyway? Idk, it just didn’t scan quite right.

– Nice to hear from Carol Brown again, after she just took a bus out of town.

– Why couldn’t they just switch off Rimmer and turn on Brown’s hologram? Maybe the hologram generation functions were all still wired all wrong (and the bodyswapping equipment was fine of course, that’s lucky). Also I guess 2 series ago I was coming up with complicated theories explaining why Holly couldn’t quickly switch holograms around, so perhaps that comes into play here.

– So, any ideas why Carol’s override didn’t work? Either the checks were too smart or too stupid to tell that legitimately was her, or the wiring issues meant the function couldn’t work properly?

– Really cruel of them to all gang up on Kryten. It was Lister’s fault! And Kryten’s idea didn’t work but nobody else had any, and Holly could have just told them it would be fine the entire time too.

– Not an episode specific observation, but for “Officer’s Quarters” the bunk room doesn’t look that great. Surely officers wouldn’t need to share a bunkbed at all.

– It doesn’t really make sense that Lister would need to have Rimmer’s body. He should just be able to become a Lister hologram.

– A lot of this story is just reheated Bodysnatcher, down to Rimmer getting robotic assistance to do fucked up things to Lister while he sleeps.

– “I can touch, I can taste, I can smell!” – oh, so THIS is where the whole “how can Rimmer smell camphor wood when holograms can’t smell?” Smeg Ups plot hole question came from. Given him smelling things (and as others have mentioned, tasting hologramatic things) was established before this point, I think we have to assume he wasn’t being literal, and that real senses are just much more vivid than virtual ones. Like looking a photograph of a mountain vista compared with seeing it in real life.

– Another instance of Cat saying “Rimmer”! And it still sounds weird, even if he is calling him a smeghead.

– Rimmer’s robe has another one of those oddly out of universe style Red Dwarf logos from the ship gift shop.

– The “white midget” line is an interesting mistake because we know that White Midget was the original name for Starbug before they saw the designs, and yet Rimmer is the one in Starbug, and he directly calls it Starbug.

– Kryten’s Asimov compliance is clearly all messed up in this episode, because not harming a human should take priority over obeying a human. I’ll write off the first time as gullibility, but once he knows that nobody else on the crew consents to swapping bodies with Rimmer, he shouldn’t be able to do it again to the Cat.

– Rimmer joking about losing Lister’s arm feels like it could be a subtle Future Echoes tease by Rob and Doug. Except it’s the wrong arm.

– Feels kind of off for Kryten and Cat to laugh so much at Rimmer’s arm joke. In fact, Rimmer being so amused by nearly getting himself/Lister’s body killed is seriously disturbing in general. Maybe he was just in shock? But still.

– You know, I think it’s fair to say that Lister and Rimmer are even now after Marooned.

– Y’all seen this Council of Geeks video about the ethics of bodyswapping, where Red Dwarf is cited as a major example? It’s good.

[Warbodog]

– Why couldn’t they just switch off Rimmer and turn on Brown’s hologram?

– So, any ideas why Carol’s override didn’t work? Either the checks were too smart or too stupid to tell that legitimately was her, or the wiring issues meant the function couldn’t work properly?

They need the physical component. And obviously you wouldn’t still have the same voice if you’re using someone else’s body and vocal cords, that’s just stupid. (Another detail revised in the second novel when Rimmer’s uncomfortable about his stolen body laughing in an uncanny way).

[Flap Jack]

Hmm, OK, I guess that requires us to go with the theory that bodyswapped people don’t actually gain each other’s voices, they’re just doing really good impressions. Even though a really good impression could fool a voice lock in real life.

Seems kind of messed up that someone could fail to override a self-destruct because they have a cold though!

As for requiring a physical presence, that seems seriously discriminatory against hologramatic crew members. For shame, JMC.

[Unrumble]

Rimmer being so amused by nearly getting himself/Lister’s body killed is seriously disturbing in general. Maybe he was just in shock? But still.

That’s how I interpret it. He’s already gone a bit power-mad from having a corporeal form again, and then the crash leaves him even more discombobulated.

[Unrumble]

And it manages to just about get away with Rimmer being so villainous (possibly his most ever? Except for Meltdown… maybe).

Back in the Red is up there, possibly? Trying to frame everyone while attempting to save his own, worthless hide?

[Unrumble]

Hmm, OK, I guess that requires us to go with the theory that bodyswapped people don’t actually gain each other’s voices, they’re just doing really good impressions.

I think the hyper-scouse “I want me body backkhhkk, now!” lends credence to this theory…

[Loathsome American]

BODYSWAP: Much better than I tend to remember, as everyone else is saying. And I remembered it reasonably fondly in the first place  

TIMESLIDES: Of all the handwavy sci-fi Red Dwarf uses to set up a premise, the idea that developing fluid can mutate into some sort of time-portal-generating substance is REALLY thin. Still, it’s really just because the episode isn’t so hot that I even care to quibble.

THE LAST DAY: I think Timeslides is worse in some ways (or “less good,” whatever), but I feel like this is at the bottom of Series III. It’s a decent premise, maybe even Series II-ish in a way, but I think the Hudzen stuff is a forced and lazy action-adventure ending and drags the whole episode down. 

[International Debris]

You see him attaching the sawn-off locks with string in the final scene, no?

Yeah, but we never see the string again. Unless there’s a two year gap between Bodyswap and Timeslides, they’re definitely returned with a reset button.

Timeslides is possibly the weakest episode in terms of feasible science fiction. Even looking beyond the developing fluid aspect, the actual manner that things happen in the second half is utter nonsense. Why is Rimmer still there? Why is Holly female? Why do they remember a redundant timeline? Why doesn’t Lister remember the guy with the Heavy Metal tattoo who accompanied his future self on a time travelling expedition that totally changed the course of his life? Why does everyone who invents the tension sheet end up with Sabrina Mullholland J’Jones? Why did Lister, Gilbert and Sabrina not get more freaked out by Rimmer’s appearance? Why does the ultimate decent working class hero turn into such a cunt? How does Lister know he’s disappearing? Why does it take a few moments for the timelines to sort themselves out? Why do Lister, Kryten and Cat act as if they’ve suddenly returned when, in this restored timeline, they should have been there all along? Why don’t they question why they’re still there if they weren’t party to Rimmer’s plan? How and why is Rimmer still alive? How does he blow himself up by hitting a box? Why didn’t they bring someone else back as a hologram? Why didn’t they get footage of the solar system, project it into a cliff face on a planet and fly Starbug into that? It doesn’t stand up to any vague sort of scrutiny.

That’s three times they’ve been back to the solar system now, and the first time a feasible way back to Earth is simply forgotten about (although if they had radiation protection, they could probably get back through the stasis leak and fly out of the ship on a Starbug or Blue Midget).

It’s a good job it’s a very funny episode with a lot of very memorable moments, isn’t it?

[Dave]

Yeah but the whole thing is worth it for this frankly incredible shot.

[Unrumble]

You see him attaching the sawn-off locks with string in the final scene, no?

Yeah, but we never see the string again. Unless there’s a two year gap between Bodyswap and Timeslides, they’re definitely returned with a reset button.

Ah, I see your point. Probably some proto-M-Corp technology allowed them to stimulate accelerated hair-growth. Or something…

[International Debris]

Ludicrously good as the animated photos shot is, it also retcons the Kryten retcon from the start of Backwards, making Bobby’s portrayal the Nova 5 version.

[Dave]

Ludicrously good as the animated photos shot is, it also retcons the Kryten retcon from the start of Backwards, making Bobby’s portrayal the Nova 5 version.

Which they would (much) later come back to with Butler, too.

(I would kind have liked Krysis to have Ross-Kryten back, but the performance they went with was so good that who can argue?)

[Warbodog]

Why does everyone who invents the tension sheet end up with Sabrina Mullholland J’Jones?

Why does the ultimate decent working class hero turn into such a cunt?

Wealth and immature power corrupting.

How and why is Rimmer still alive?

I find this an interesting mystery rather than annoying. Even all the stupid stuff don’t annoy and disappoint me in the way Backwards does, maybe because the whole concept is nonsense in the first place, whereas Backwards could have done it really well if they’d tried.

[Warbodog]

I usually consider Timeslides the slightly worst of a fairly consistent bunch, but I enjoyed it more than Backwards this time. I was mainly comparing it against Stasis Leak, and it ended up losing on two counts:

– No explanation for why they don’t just try again.

– Lister and Rimmer’s turn-taking scheming lacks drama and conflict. Rimmer’s oddly chill as he just tags along on the pub trip as one of the gang, just waiting for Lister to reveal his plan on his own time. This isn’t the determined manipulator of Bodyswap.

Misc:

– It’s no auto-destruct sequence, but the opening is the highlight of the episode again. If you’re not putting in the work to visualise soap sud slalom, you’re not going to get the full benefit.

– As well as the obvously impressive panning shot of the photos, I’ve always been fond of the painstaking low-tech transition ‘into’ and ‘out of’ (CLEARLY behind) the wedding projection, but they stop bothering after that. Fair enough, they’re on a tight schedule.

– “And he’s only got one testicle” was hilarious when I was 12, but a pretty bizarre ‘negative’ to go to for the actual Hitler, even if it wasn’t presumably fictional. Similar immature fixation to Goering’s transvestism, I guess.

– What does Rimmer expect from his “holiday” to a naturist beach where males aren’t welcome? It’s fortunate he can’t touch. My uni girlfriend was not happy about the “teenage” comment. Combined with his Lolita wanking, it’s all a bit dodgy.

– Holly tellingly has to wait until Kryten disappears from their lives to get any jokes or useful things to do again. More Holly means less Kryten, so there’s not much they can do about it. Just try to give her a couple of gags per episode.

– Is the common distaste for Ruby Wax’s bit based on her wider career or personality, like the James Corden episodes of Doctor Who? I don’t see the problem.

[Flap Jack]

– Is the common distaste for Ruby Wax’s bit based on her wider career or personality, like the James Corden episodes of Doctor Who? I don’t see the problem.

It’s because she married Ed Bye, taking him off the market and crushing all of our dreams.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

There are loads of freaky implications of Bodyswap that aren’t fully explored.

Could they not wipe Hudson’s programming, reboot him and install Rimmer’s mind thus giving him a body

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Rimmer’s oddly chill as he just tags along on the pub trip as one of the gang, just waiting for Lister to reveal his plan on his own time

Evidently Rimmer didn’t actually know the intent of the plan, despite being in the room when Lister devised it.

Once Lister explains the plan Rimmer is stunned and tells Lister that it’s immoral, that it’s Holden’s invention.

[Dave]

Here’s a question: does Rimmer really like the Om song, or is he just saying that to try and convince young-Lister not to follow future-Lister’s plan? I can’t decide whether it’s funnier that he actually genuinely likes it.

[Flap Jack]

Here’s a question: does Rimmer really like the Om song, or is he just saying that to try and convince young-Lister not to follow future-Lister’s plan? I can’t decide whether it’s funnier that he actually genuinely likes it.

My read is that he’s taking the piss, and enjoys patronising young Lister without him realising it, but wasn’t primarily trying to dissuade him from patenting the Tension Sheet.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Its to encourage him not to patent the tension sheet and to focus on the music

[Dave]

This is the new Cinzano Bianco.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

You can’t get the Om Song off the table

[Unrumble]

Slime Tides

– I’d completely forgotten about that Adolf Hitler credit at the start

– following on from musing about the lack of exploration on the existential crises being a hologram might trigger, it’s a nice little timely look at Lister’s apathy at his situation. “at least when you’re in prison, you can look forward to getting out”.

– obviously the Junior Angler line is a classic, but I’m impressed at Danny’s ability to deliver “soap sud slalom” with those teeth in.

– Robert’s double-take after putting his eyes back in: a forerunner of the one in the Texas Book Depository.

– interesting… Rimmer and Lister have the Thickie Holden conversation sat at the table. But in the smeg-ups, Chris says “you know who he married, don’t you… oof, me braces have just bust” as he goes to lie down, with Craig sat popping his tension sheet on the top bunk. Wonder why they changed the blocking of that scene?

–  “it’s one of Lister’s”. I know he only referred to him as ‘Lister’ just last episode, but it feels too informal for Kryten.

– the effect of Lister jumping out of the photo is… fine. But couldn’t the edit of “in-smegging….. credible” be a bit tighter?

– funny to imagine Rimmers’ lewd photo collection, filed alongside his 20th century telegraph poles.

– I think its only occurring to me for the first time, that the Cat should be incredibly freaked out that Lister’s plan to change history would likely erase him from existence altogether. Suppose one could argue that he’s too stupid to realise this. Actually, should Lister not also have some qualms about that?

– Young Lister doesn’t accept that he won’t make it as a rock star, but seems perfectly accepting of a visit from his time-travelling future self.

– “almost… Swiftian in its rapier-like subtlety”. Every line from Gilbert is solid gold.

– you can see the punchline coming a mile off, but Chris’ performance of the whole “who is the richer man” bit is just superb.

– “sure he didn’t recognise you?” great snark from Hattie

[Unrumble]

What does Rimmer expect from his “holiday” to a naturist beach where males aren’t welcome? It’s fortunate he can’t touch. My uni girlfriend was not happy about the “teenage” comment. Combined with his Lolita wanking, it’s all a bit dodgy.

[Flap Jack]

Timeslides – Very fun episode. Its time travel logic has plenty of holes that can and have been poked in it, but I think the stripped down Back to the Future-ness of it works as well as it needs to. And for me it is a vast improvement over its spiritual predecessor Stasis Leak for a few reasons: 1) the plot is far less convoluted and more straightforwardly structured, 2) it doesn’t have the arrogance to try and tease a resolution to the Lister/Kochanski story that will never come, and 3) it’s funnier. That episode had some impressive split-screen work of course, but I think what this episode achieved with all of the moving photos and slides was even more impressive. Plus I think Holly might actually get more material in this episode than that one, which is impressive for a Lovett/Hayridge comparison.

– ANOTHER Red Dwarf badge on The Cat’s outfit. 1989 Howard Burden must have been obsessed!

– Unexpected that Rimmer’s implicitly been to a church service. I know there are couple of mentions of his family being religious across the series, but he never exactly seemed observant. He literally denied even believing in God in Waiting For God.

– Between this and Confidence & Paranoia, there’s one lesson: mutation = magic.

– Feels like quite a blunder to establish “we can’t move outside the edge of the frame”, then make the image of young Lister at the pub a close up. Should have been a much wider shot for them to be getting drinks at the bar and such.

– It also feels sloppy that for all of the key “going back in time” scenes, we never see anyone with a camera?

– Another thing I wonder: if you play the moving pictures for long enough, do they eventually loop, or do they just keep moving forwards in time? If it does just keep going, this could explain how they materialise at weird times or when there wouldn’t be anyone taking a photo, but it’s unlikely Rob and Doug had that in mind.

– Most obvious plot hole – why do they even need to develop photos? I know it’s often speculated that the Red Dwarf future is one where the internet was never invented, but it’s stretching it a bit that they couldn’t even manage digital cameras. Maybe film cameras come back into fashion like vinyl records, but it seems like they’re just universally used.

– It’s quite lucky (or unlucky?) that Lister was able to have a physical fight with Hitler and steal his briefcase, um, briefly, and none of that had a major impact on history, isn’t it.

– I do appreciate that Holly actually seems to care about the integrity of the space time continuum here, unlike in Stasis Leak when she straight up didn’t give a shit, even if she doesn’t oppose Lister and Rimmer’s schemes all that strongly.

– ACAB includes Dobbin. Sorry Smeg & The Heads fans.

– It says something about Lister that initially he just wants to prevent himself getting stranded in deep space, but he gets greedy and makes himself a billionaire too. And it does feel wrong that everyone would casually go along even with his initial plan, and not consider the consequences for Cat and Kryten. In fact, Rimmer could have easily framed himself as a hero legitimately if he just focused on saving them. As much as I enjoy the episode, this does all feel out of character for Lister especially. He doesn’t even care that “meet Kochanski” will no longer be in his past.

– The new present after Lister changes history doesn’t make any sense, it’s true. I kind of just have to shrug and say that deliberately changing history is paradoxical, so whatever happens won’t make sense.

– In the new timeline, how does Holly have a record of Lister’s entire life? Surely they didn’t keep sending post pods 75 years after the accident. If Kryten were still around I’d say they got updated records from the Nova 5, but he isn’t, so they didn’t. “whatever happens won’t make sense” again I guess.

– The “Rimmer is alive again” twist is well executed, but it opened such a can of worms!

– Is Lister considering him joining the Space Corps the big point of no return in his life subtle confirmation that TV Lister doesn’t have Book Lister’s back story? Because book Lister would surely say “I should never have gone to Mimas, that’s when everything went to crap”.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

It seems pretty obvious to me that Timeslides’ developing fluid idea is a hangover from the unused ‘Mugs Murphy’ episode concept.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

– Robert’s double-take after putting his eyes back in: a forerunner of the one in the Texas Book Depository.

You seriously thought of that before the one from Gunmen?

[Unrumble]

– Robert’s double-take after putting his eyes back in: a forerunner of the one in the Texas Book Depository.

You seriously thought of that before the one from Gunmen?

Though in all seriousness, I’ve been racking my brain for the last few minutes and can’t think of what scene in Gunmen you’re referring to. Shame mode. 

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

I think the boy Charles acquits himself tremendously.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

Though in all seriousness, I’ve been racking my brain for the last few minutes and can’t think of what scene in Gunmen you’re referring to. Shame mode. 

[Unrumble]

Good grief, of course. I thought of the early scene with Sammy the Squib, and the in-game shenanigans, but completely blanked on all the simulant stuff on Starbug. 

I’ll be spelling Thursday with an ‘F’ next

[Stabbim]

  – Is the common distaste for Ruby Wax’s bit based on her wider career or personality, like the James Corden episodes of Doctor Who? I don’t see the problem.

no problem with her, I’m just eternally said it couldn’t have been Graham Chapman in that role like they originally wanted.

like the BTL novel says, there’s seven parallel universes, and ours is the crap one.

[Warbodog]

The Last Day

A (relatively) calm, pleasant and thoughtful ensemble finale. It’s a nice change to see them getting along and seemingly happy for the first time since bits of Backwards. Some great ideas in there too, but also some lulls. It ended up a bit shy of the classics, still my third best of the year.

– It gets away with breaking the title convention for coming at the end of the list, but a prosaic one-word title would still be more fitting. ‘Shutdown’ or something better.

– Polymorph broke the mould, but I always thought of this one as the template for various stories with a looming monster/villain building to a climactic confrontation. But maybe that happens even earlier with the Taxman, or even Confidence.

– Another case of the last (filmed) episode of the series feeling like a transition into the next, it feels like whatever people like or vaguely have against series IV starts here.

– In-built obsolescence and Silicon Heaven are quality sci-fi. This is one of the more Blade Runner episodes, topped off by the Roy Batty death pose at the end.

– The Post Pod and Hudzen must be homing in on something in Kryten.

– “You have to die with me.” Kryten’s even stealing Holly’s pranks now, but doesn’t milk it.

– The Samaritans bit is vintage bunkroom. Somehow, the Bible misprint felt like it was veering into VIII cell banter, just a bit too implausible.

– Petersen’s sex robot is seeded (sorry) before showing up later. Lister’s adoption story feels like it’s similarly going to be relevant to the plot, but it’s just nice character background.

– It’s no “souper” or “I’m going to be an uncle,” but still a good ending. Hudzen’s defeat is more satisfying than the Polymorph’s.

[Stabbim]

Polymorph is the first time the four of them gang on up on a common enemy, but it’s kinda anti-climatic and the team effort only begins near the end of the episode.

The Last Day is the first of the “Boys From The Dwarf” type episode that we’ll eventually see so much of in Series 6 where they feel like they’re teaming up as much by choice as by being required to by circumstance.

[Dave]

It’s a nice change to see them getting along and seemingly happy for the first time since bits of Backwards.

The party they throw for Kryten is one of my favourite scenes in the show, because it’s rare that you get to see them all just having a good time together.

[Stilianides]

Bodyswap

My least favourite ep of Series 3 and the overdubbing makes it a tedious watch at times. There’s a distinct lack of energy and it would have been more interesting if they had simply had Craig as Rimmer and Chris as Lister.

The whole idea that Lister would ever agree to the swap is also a stretch, as Rob admitted in the lockdown commentary.

You can count me as one of the people who for years had no idea what Craig was saying when he uttered, “Paint Goodyear…”

Despite its faults, I still enjoy the ep and there are some good physical and verbal gags. Some of the model shots are among the best yet, too.

[International Debris]

The Last Day

Way to ruin the one-word-title pattern there, guy.

Female topless boxing. More classy attitudes towards women from Lister. 

Series Three Mechanoid. 

Chekhov’s Thing Petersen Bought on Callisto

For years I never got the ‘write his name in the snow’ gag. I assumed snow = white = semen = some sort of sex thing I wasn’t aware of.

I forgot this was where Bob the skutter got his name. 

This is the last time we get a series 1 / 2 style episode for some time, isn’t it? Just the main characters say around chatting about the scenario for the bulk of it. 

More Red Dwarf lore coming from this episode: Lister found in a box. 

Despite it feeling mostly like an earlier episode, it also sets up the formula that a number of later episodes follow: a character-led plot closing on a brief action sequence. 

”Get this pile of junk out of here” might be Cat’s nastiest moment.

“He’s been tracking me for thousands of years.” And the rest surely?

Its a good job Kryten’s ability to lie won’t be contradicted in the next broadcast scene. 

An underrated episode, that. Has a real warmth to it. 

[Warbodog]

This didn’t come across as a joke in the episode, but it looks like one as a screencap:

– interesting… Rimmer and Lister have the Thickie Holden conversation sat at the table. But in the smeg-ups, Chris says “you know who he married, don’t you… oof, me braces have just bust” as he goes to lie down, with Craig sat popping his tension sheet on the top bunk. Wonder why they changed the blocking of that scene?

That was the original version of the scene with the infamous Hologram Box before they refilmed it, it’s in the deleted scenes.

[Warbodog]

“He’s been tracking me for thousands of years.” And the rest surely?

That started with “they’ve been dead for centuries” in ‘Kryten.’ It’s like they want to make it clear that Kryten originated in a more advanced time period than Lister and Rimmer, but overcompensate insanely.

[International Debris]

 

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