Refresh For The Memory: Series IV 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 CAMILLE, DNA and JUSTICE. 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
Series III Byte 2

Topic

[Flap Jack]

DNA – Not an all time classic, but still great. After Camille this is another Kryten focused episode that feels rushed with its emotional storytelling. Kryten seems pretty happy with his new human existence, and it doesn’t even take any kind of reflection on his reduced brainpower or mortality to convince him to change back, just a single argument with his spare heads. Luckily it also shares Camille’s quality of having enough fun stuff in it for me not to care. I am firmly pro Bobby’s human Kryten performance, and I like the curry monster hijinks too.

– It’s never explained why the ship appears to be of non-Earth origin, right? The DNA machine explains the crew, but surely that wouldn’t work on the ship itself.

– Cat Saying People’s Names Watch: he says “Kryten” twice in this one. Why did I even think this was so rare.

– Continuity Watch: Lister is now canonically a 23rd century guy, and the DNA machine even confirms his dialect is from then. I can’t be bothered at this stage to try and make this make sense with the 21st and 22nd century references.

– Good to know that Red Dwarf is running FM radio stations. Is their Jazz FM just shuffled music or is there like an AI DJ?

– I feel like Kryten’s bad mechanoidphobic jokes didn’t get enough of an audience reaction. I wonder if it’s because they weren’t quite bad enough for the badness to be funny, or because his tone is so weird that it’s off-putting? The second one getting zero laughs and immediately cutting to Kryten still laughing over the ship transition is actually very creepy.

– Very sly the way they so casually slipped in that Kochanski retcon, 2 series before it would even be needed. I do agree that it’s an improvement even if it’s another continuity difficulty.

– I’m with Rimmer in the whole “you can’t change what you are” argument. Biological essentialism is stupid, and the DNA machine would be a boon to medicine in so many ways (gender affirming care being an obvious example). And this is the same episode in which Lister calls himself “enlightened” by the standards of 2-3 centuries in the future? Disappointing. I know in Kryten’s case it’s different because his transmogrification was an accident and his heart clearly isn’t totally in it, but Lister did just seem to be completely against the technology on principle.

– Lister wanted to be a squirrel, and 8 series later we find out that Rimmer wanted to be a goldfish. Clearly the two of them have more in common than they’ll admit. (Also, Rimmer popping off some surprisingly early anti-furry humour there.)

– Lister’s speech about how he went into a wine bar and sees himself as a class traitor for it feels very reminiscent of Stasis Leak. It’s like when he did that rant about Kochanski’s hypothetical husband, he knew on some level that it could be him. And future Lister is like a version of him who went down that “slippery slope”. (This does not redeem Stasis Leak.)

– Feels very out of place the way they bring up the polymorph. I guess Grant and Naylor were pre-empting people’s “this is just the polymorph again!” criticisms, but they aren’t THAT similar, so the callback just seems random.

– Leopard Lager! But why is the can so huge in the curry monster’s mouth?

– We never see Kryten turn back into a robot, but he went there specifically to do that, so I guess we don’t need to see it to know he does it.

– I wonder how long they stay docked with the DNA ship? You’d think they would at least salvage the tech, in case they wanted to use it to, I don’t know, make Lister a new arm, or get rid of space mumps? … eh, it’ll probably never be needed. Although, is it too late to call back Camille and Hector? Seems like it would be pretty handy with their GELF research.

[Dave]

Feels very out of place the way they bring up the polymorph. I guess Grant and Naylor were pre-empting people’s “this is just the polymorph again!” criticisms, but they aren’t THAT similar, so the callback just seems random.

Both of them are Indian food that turns into a monster, which is reasonably specific.

[Flap Jack]

OK, good point, I thought they were saying the whole concept was similar. Criticism retracted.

[Stabbim]

– Taj Mahal, Elephant Man, Ripleys’ Believe It Or Not, Iranian Jird… that’s a lot of references from the Cat. I can buy him chilling out and binging some Flinstones, a Tales Of the Riverbank boxset perhaps, but some of them are a little incongruous. Guess it’s a case of “we really like this joke we’ve written, it will sound funniest coming from Cat (or we need to give Danny some more lines)”. The idea of him watching enough American football to reference specific teams though…

– “that has been accounted for” I guess if it works for BTL, sure, why not. Handwave City.

Well, Cat skewing American is only natural given the original character concept is more or less rooted in a James Brown impression.  And after all, the show is full of little background hints that it’s set in a future the UK and US are a much more culturally cohesive entity; at minimum there’s formal economic union (the “Dollarpound” currency), Lister’s Zero-G Football posters strongly suggest it’s a hybrid sport, Red Dwarf itself having an American captain and a predominantly British crew.

I only recently caught/remembered that Cat also references the American legal code in Justice:  when Lister’s on the stand and Kryten asks him under oath if he considers Rimmer a friend, Cat shouts encouragement to “take the 5th”

[It helps that Danny John-Jules’ American voice is completely convincing even to a native ear.  Hugh Laurie on House, for example, is good but I can still tell he’s a British actor doing an American voice. I would have believed John-Jules was an American until I first heard him in interviews and out of the Cat character.]

as for “That has been accounted for!” Well, LOL.  At this point you can really tell that Rimmer’s intangible nature was becoming more and more of an albatross in the writing room.  Destined to happen, really, the further the show got away from its original set up, and particularly the abandoned Plan A of Holo-Kochanski coming online (wherein you’d figure Lister’s inability to touch her would’ve been the crucial dramatic and comedic cog for Series 2).  It’s a bit remarkable they were able to hold off on giving Rimmer a de facto body until Series 6.

[Warbodog]

It’s never explained why the ship appears to be of non-Earth origin, right? The DNA machine explains the crew, but surely that wouldn’t work on the ship itself.

Kryten just says it’s really advanced technology, so it’s future human tech he and Red Dwarf’s databank aren’t familiar with. The alien emphasis is all misdirection for suspense, until they identify the mutant as human (and thus the ship).

[International Debris]

DNA:

Rimmer’s alien attitude is the start of them being a little free with characteristics in aid of a gag. Thankfully it’s very funny.

Kryten saying “Rimmer is very weird”

Superb face acting from Bobby once they’re back aboard ship.

“My very first meal”. Apart from the one in The Last Day.

Rimmer and Felix having a chat about cloning in the bunkroom is a strange idea. Funny scene, but not a pairing you normally see.

Ah, the Kochanski retcon.

Spare Head 3 is an all-time top ten moment for me.

Mutton vindaloo beast. Picking up on The Last Day’s format of a character episode with a brief action coda. I like this way of doing monster of the week, rather than focusing entirely on the monster.

Reference to Polymorph, a very rare example of the show mentioning its past.

The only thing that can kill a vindaloo is absolutely a line we’d all hate if it was in VIII.

[International Debris]

– Lister’s speech about how he went into a wine bar and sees himself as a class traitor for it feels very reminiscent of Stasis Leak. It’s like when he did that rant about Kochanski’s hypothetical husband, he knew on some level that it could be him. And future Lister is like a version of him who went down that “slippery slope”. (This does not redeem Stasis Leak.)

Doesnt stop him from enjoying a “very cheeky” wine in Polymorph.

It’s never explained why the ship appears to be of non-Earth origin, right? The DNA machine explains the crew, but surely that wouldn’t work on the ship itself.
Kryten just says it’s really advanced technology, so it’s future human tech he and Red Dwarf’s databank aren’t familiar with. The alien emphasis is all misdirection for suspense, until they identify the mutant as human (and thus the ship).

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

This could be said about a lot of episodes, but I think Justice in particular would work well as the basis for a feature length.  The actually middle justice bit is really compelling but skipped over really quickly.  Kryten make a 3 min argument and wins.  Imagine it more like A Few Good Men, providing room to explore that philosophy and implications of the Justice field.  Actually allow room for some of the discussions we have. “But what if someone doesn’t recognise their own crimes” etc. And book ended with some real classic Red Dwarf comedy and action.

[Flap Jack]

Kryten just says it’s really advanced technology, so it’s future human
tech he and Red Dwarf’s databank aren’t familiar with. The alien
emphasis is all misdirection for suspense, until they identify the
mutant as human (and thus the ship).

I guess that’s what we’re meant to assume, but it still feels like a slight omission not to properly join up those dots. And you’d think that “we have been away 3 million years, it could just be Earth technology I don’t have a record of” would be the default assumption Holly would make in this scenario.

Doesnt stop him from enjoying a “very cheeky” wine in Polymorph.

Ah, yes, it’s a very thin line Lister’s treading, class-wise. I suppose occasional wine as a treat = fine, drinking enough wine for it to be your default choice or going into a bar dedicated to it = unforgivably middle class.

[Unrumble]

Ah, yes, it’s a very thin line Lister’s treading, class-wise. I suppose occasional wine as a treat = fine, drinking enough wine for it to be your default choice or going into a bar dedicated to it = unforgivably middle class.

[Dave]

[Flap Jack]

[Dave]

[Rudolph]

 At this point you can really tell that Rimmer’s intangible nature was becoming more and more of an albatross in the writing room.

It really starts to show in the next series, where half the episodes have Rob and Doug figure out a way to give Rimmer a physical presence for plot purposes.

[Warbodog]

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

“My very first meal”. Apart from the one in The Last Day.

I figure he means first human meal. 

I can’t be bothered at this stage to try and make this make sense with the 21st and 22nd century references.

Nostalgia.

[International Debris]

Justice

Rambling holiday through the diesel decks sounds quite fun to me.

Lister’s back on the pull as soon as he hears about a woman. 

“Never met a real woman before” – Lister forgetting about the events of Stasis Leak. Although then that episode contradicts the Kochanski retcon… ah, a headfuck.

I love how Holly’s not even paying attention when Lister starts taking to her.

I wonder if Rob and Doug had considered the Simulants being a recurring threat. This one off character has a big impact on the show.

Shouldn’t Lister have lots of flapping skin where his head burst?

The prison colony is such a fucking good model.

“Mind proh-b” Bobby still hasn’t quite got Kryten’s accent down 100%.

Setting up Lister as the one to be punished, only for it to turn out to be Rimmer is some excellent writing. 

Never noticed how naff Rimmer’s prison outfit is before now.

Lister admitting he’s the person fondest of Rimmer is a lovely moment. 

Z shift, another bit of the book added to the series. 

Ah, character comedy with an action finale Part 3.

I love this Borg style version of the Simulants, a lot more striking and intimidating than the human-looking versions in The Beginning. 

I love the fact that, while the Justice Field obviously saves him, Lister very nearly gets himself killed here. Not a very wise plan. 

Not the best ending, is it? Probably the clunkiest of Lister’s series IV philosophising. 

[Flap Jack]

Justice – Yep, this is excellent. It manages to combine a great Rimmer on trial story and a great Simulant attack story and make it feel seamless. The opening, regardless of whether you think it actively helps the overall plot get going or just burns time until it does, is great for making the ship feel lived in. Plus the extra, not strictly plot relevant stuff gives it something of a Series 1 feel, where you can just throw in a recurring bit about Lister having space mumps or Rimmer showing his holiday snaps, because why not. The end, on the other hand, with Lister lecturing, feels very tacked on (so we’re 3 for 3 with sudden or problematic endings). But never mind.

– Huh, so this is the second episode in a row where Holly speaks in someone else’s deep voice.

– 8 years for murder? That’s not too bad honestly.

– After rewatching, I can see what Loathsome American’s saying about this episode maybe retconning The End. We kind of put two and two together, but Kryten never says “Rimmer did mis-repair the drive plate, but he should never have been given that responsibility”, and he also does heavily imply that Rimmer had nothing to do with it and is just fully deluded. The whole defence is like creating a cloud of uncertainty. Saying “His job was to repair chicken soup machines! Surely he wouldn’t be put in charge of such major repairs… would be?”, which can be read either way. So we bring our own understanding of continuity to it, but it may in fact have been an attempt to retcon it.

– Continuity Watch: Red Dwarf now had 1,000 extra crew members, and Rimmer was in charge of “Z Shift”. The latter book canon thing feels like an awkward fit, because it means that a second technician was in charge of a whole sub-department, but implicitly that department is just him and Lister.

– The casual mention of Rimmer’s middle name being Judas must have been a surprise for anyone who hadn’t seen Better Than Life (although honestly it was kind of throwaway there too).

– Lister is under polygraphic surveillance on the stand. Hopefully this is magic futuristic lie detecting, because the polygraph tests they have now are worse than useless.

– Shame to hear the R word invoked for lols, but that was the 90s I guess.

– Does anyone else feel that the announcer saying “you are now entering the justice zone, you can’t commit any crimes in ere, sonny jim” twice near the end kind of gives the game away? I think it would be more satisfying to realise what’s happening in the Lister/Simulant fight if you just have the earlier explanation to go on. Maybe show them going through the red light, but not do an announcement.

[International Debris]

– ‘ang on a minute, if this is the exact facility the simulant was incarcerated in, shouldn’t he be acutely aware of the mechanics of the justice field? I suppose the fact he’s clearly deranged could explain that away.

Isn’t the escape pod from a ship on its way to the facility, rather than coming from it?

A couple of other points in response to the thread discussion: 

I think Rimmer’s killing the crew could have been retconned a bit, or at least Kryten is lying, because at no point is it mentioned that Rimmer was even involved in the repair of a drive plate. Asking Lister whether the lack of Crunchie bars would cause a radiation leak really suggests that the argument is ‘Rimmer had nothing to do with the accident’.

The recording order can’t have been the intended broadcast order, otherwise Kryten would have had a lie mode before Camille.

[Dave]

The prison colony is such a fucking good model.

It really is.

But it’s such a specific design and it’s so baffling that it’s later reused in Out Of Time that it ends up being all I think about when I see it now.

(And that’s not to mention Tikka then totally redesigning the Gemini 12 to retcon away the Out Of Time appearance.)

[Warbodog]

Shouldn’t Lister have lots of flapping skin where his head burst?

It was described like that in Primordial Soup.

Huh, so this is the second episode in a row where Holly speaks in someone else’s deep voice.

When I try imagining these series with Norman, it’s this bit I go to (before giving up). Just creepy without being cool.

it means that a second technician was in charge of a whole sub-department, but implicitly that department is just him and Lister.

A deleted scene says there were other members, but they all requested transfers. Just an over-complication we don’t need.

[Jonathan Capps]

– 8 years for murder? That’s not too bad honestly.

And yet these days you can get life in prison for saying you’re English!

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

And yet these days you can get life in prison for saying you’re English!

Them’s fightin’ words.

[clem]

Ahh Series IV. The connoisseur’s series.

Camille

The Tales of the Riverbank dialogue is a poor man’s sexy Wilma, and I agree the ending is a bit forced but otherwise this is top notch. Both Robert and the Kryten mask are remarkably better this series.

Kryten cheeping “apple” is funny but I can’t help hearing it as a little bleak portent of what’s to come in a few series’ time.

Do Not Alter

I wonder why they didn’t go with that title. A bit SWWDT? perhaps, but I’ve always really liked it.

Getting embarrassed about seeing Kryten in the nuddy is a nice Holly moment. Always welcome. 

Everything with human Kryten is great, including his “jokes” and disconcerting laughter.

Two episodes running with all-time classic Lister/Kryten scenes, following some really good stuff with the two of them in The Last Day. Rob and Doug must have realised quickly what an interesting and funny pairing they could be. 

Spare Head 3 came from Bobby doing the voice and suggesting to Rob and Doug that it might be good for Kryten’s dad. Didn’t he also want there to be a baby Kryten glove-puppet at one point? Clearly the man was angling for a spinoff series where he played Kryten’s whole family.

I love the daft curry monster ending and don’t feel that it’s at the expense of the character stuff (like, say, the mop duel in Siliconia). They got the balance right. 

That giant lager can. What a brilliant prop.

Justice

Not as funny as the first two imo, and I have trouble getting past the magical mechanics of the Justice field. Still, what a byte. And I’m gonna tentatively say the next one is at least as good. What a series!

Pussy Cat Willum is such a typically Rob and Doug obscure reference. You don’t need to get it for it to just sound very funny.

[clem]

Doing the full-series rewatch like this, it does seem like IV is where Lister suddenly becomes the sort of Chaotic Good man of principle. Trying to teach David Ross Kryten to rebel is mostly a reflection of Lister’s own rebelliousness, but in “Camille” it feels more like a deliberate moral obligation Lister sets for himself. By “Justice” he takes it upon himself to moralize. He’s started reading philosophy books, maybe?

Makes sense. He knows a bit about Descartes, at least. 

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

You mean Popeye.

[Rushy]

Camille: It’s alright. There’s nothing egregious, but it’s not an episode that excites me in any way. I don’t find the premise that interesting, and I don’t think it reveals much about the characters either. 

DNA: This marks the completion of Red Dwarf’s transformation from a sitcom to an adventure show, and it’s also where the show really gets into its habit of exploring the characters through some kind of wacky situation. In this case, turning Kryten human. The crew’s reactions are really interesting. Lister being the stick in the mud while Rimmer is all progressive for a change adds depth to both. The monster is great fun. Lots of good gags. This is high up on my list. 

Justice: I don’t like the idea of removing Rimmer’s culpability in the accident (never mind how unrealistic it may be), and basically dedicating the whole episode to that is a little annoying. But the trial scene is god tier, it’s got one of the best Simulants in the series and the idea of Justice World itself is very interesting. Also, I really appreciate the atmosphere in this one. A good entry. 

[Flap Jack]

I don’t like the idea of removing Rimmer’s culpability in the accident
(never mind how unrealistic it may be), and basically dedicating the
whole episode to that is a little annoying.

This is just me reiterating myself from 3 years ago on this very page, but my favoured interpretation is that the episode isn’t actually retconning Rimmer’s culpability in general, only in the eyes of the Justice Computer. Kryten basically clues into a well known plot hole – why would Rimmer of all people be trusted with such a critical job? – and uses it to create reasonable doubt. But that doubt is just for the sake of Rimmer’s defence; he still did misrepair the drive plate.

[tombow]

whenever I watch the polaroid scene in DNA, when Kryten tells those disturbing anti mech jokes at the end, I always wonder if the audience laughed, but the audio was removed? (because it’s not supposed to be funny, and would detract from how disturbed he’s supposed to sound). You can hear some titters during his “peeping”, but I feel like any audience would have laughed, just at how generally funny he sounds and looks. Unless they were asked not to during that part?

[Moonlight]

Kryten’s laughter echoing over the model shot is a fucking deranged edit and the lack of audience reaction adds so much to the awkwardness.

[Rushy]

This is just me reiterating myself from 3 years ago on this very page, but my favoured interpretation is that the episode isn’t actually retconning Rimmer’s culpability in general, only in the eyes of the Justice Computer.

But if that is the case, then the question is what is the actual point of the story. People remember the justice field, but it only exists for a few gags in the cell, and then as a funny way of defeating the monster at the end. Rimmer’s trial is the actual centrepiece of the episode. And the conclusion of that trial is that Rimmer is too stupid to have possibly caused the accident, which is a very Grant Naylor way of soft-retconning the past – by making a joke out of it. 

Without Rimmer’s culpability, there’s no punchline. You could say it’s about showing how flawed the Justice Computer is, but that’s clearly not what the script is going for. 

Kryten’s laughter echoing over the model shot is a fucking deranged edit

Bobby’s finest hour. It has me in stitches

[Flap Jack]

Well firstly, I’m not sure why the episode needs to include a retcon in order to justify its existence. If it’s cool for Kryten to get out of The Last Day (your favourite episode and mine) alive by just lying to Hudzen and tricking him into shutting down, then so too can Justice semi-conclude with them tricking the Justice computer in order to let them go.

Secondly, the lack of a hard retcon doesn’t reduce the episode to pure plot. It’s still a showcase of the guilt Rimmer felt for the deaths of his crewmates. Kryten’s defence doesn’t absolve him of the literal act of misrepairing the drive plate (although it allows the Justice computer to make that inference), but from Rimmer’s point of view it does absolve him of being truly to blame – while thoroughly insulting him, of course – because it was unreasonable for him to be given that job in the first place. Justice re-examines the circumstances that led to the radiation leak, and gives Rimmer a jumping off point to move past his repressed guilt.

If Justice was truly written to hard retcon the radiation leak so that Rimmer had no involvement at all, then what it would actually be revealing is that Rimmer had lost his mind and imagined an event which did not happen. That Rimmer had mentioned at various points that he caused the accident, but for some reason Holly never corrected him or considered this serious delusion a problem. That would be extremely stupid, and it would also be extremely out of character for Rimmer to take the blame for something that he had no hand in.

[Rushy]

 It’s still a showcase of the guilt Rimmer felt for the deaths of his crewmates.

I think that might be a problem. I never really got the impression that he had much guilt over it. And yes, I get the idea is that he never internalized it and just shrugged it off as someone else’s fault, but that’s also what he did with the exam results and his inability to become an officer. Yet those held far more pathos than his accidental murder of 1400+ people, which is treated as mere trivia between The End and Justice.

As an emotional hook, it doesn’t work in the same way as the Last Day, which is all about how the crew come together to support Kryten in a very sweet and understated sort of way. Rimmer doesn’t react to being charged or absolved. That’s why I said it’s mere plot. 

[Flap Jack]

OK, so are you just seeing Justice as housecleaning for continuity? Because if Rimmer’s guilt doesn’t connect with you anyway, then it shouldn’t be worse to just cast reasonable doubt over his culpability than to outright prove he didn’t even touch the drive plate. The retcon doesn’t benefit the episode, it just benefits overall series continuity (if you happen not to like that particular aspect of the setup).

To me it gels pretty perfectly that Rimmer would deflect blame for the radiation leak on a conscious level, but deep down feel that it was his fault. It’s all part of Rimmer’s particular brand of self-hate. With the exams too, he makes excuses for his failures and probably half-believes them, but inside he knows they’re his own fault. The twist is that his excuses are legitimate in the case of the radiation leak.

[Rushy]

OK, so are you just seeing Justice as housecleaning for continuity? Because if Rimmer’s guilt doesn’t connect with you anyway, then it shouldn’t be worse to just cast reasonable doubt over his culpability than to outright prove he didn’t even touch the drive plate. The retcon doesn’t benefit the episode, it just benefits overall series continuity (if you happen not to like that particular aspect of the setup).
To me it gels pretty perfectly that Rimmer would deflect blame for the radiation leak on a conscious level, but deep down feel that it was his fault. It’s all part of Rimmer’s particular brand of self-hate. With the exams too, he makes excuses for his failures and probably half-believes them, but inside he knows they’re his own fault.

Yes, that is exactly what I was trying to say. It just feels like house-cleaning to me. Well presented, funny, but ultimately just there as a strange Grant Naylor whim to change the canon, which is why it’s not among my favourites. 

I get what you mean in theory, I just feel that if they could have done much more with Rimmer’s self hate over getting so many innocent people killed. 

[Dave]

I never felt like Justice was actually altering continuity. I guess maybe Kryten’s speech was so convincing that some viewers were won over too.

[Flap Jack]

Hmm, OK, I think I understand what you were saying now Rushy. I thought you were saying you preferred to interpret it as a retcon because that made the episode better. But actually you were saying it being a retcon is bad, but you just can’t see it any other way.

All I know is that I watched the episode quite a few times and not once did it occur to me they were retconning Rimmer’s literal role in the radiation leak. It probably never would have, if not for this site.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I never felt like Justice was actually altering continuity. I guess maybe Kryten’s speech was so convincing that some viewers were won over too.

Yeah. It’s just an argument he makes to trick the justice computer to let Rimmer go

Rimmer still failed to fix the drive plate. Deep down he feels that guilt, that’s the only thing that might be seen as a retcon because he has never outwardly expressed it. 

But even a casual viewer would recognise Rimmer should never have been in that position. It doesn’t take Justice to point it out. 

It’s corporate negligence, not Rimmer’s, that led to the death of the crew. He just carries the guilt because he was the one assigned to fix the drive plate. 

[Warbodog]

Rimmer’s trial is the actual centrepiece of the episode.

[Dave]

But even a casual viewer would recognise Rimmer should never have been in that position. It doesn’t take Justice to point it out. 

Part of the disconnect stems from the rewrite of The End, in the original script they were carrying out actual low-level engineering work, but when the rewrite turned them into vending machine maintenance staff it made less sense that they’d be tasked with fixing the drive plate (although obviously that still had to happen for the plot to work).

[Dax101]

I think Rimmer could have guilt over killing the crew. But he doesn’t seem like the type of character that would admit it to himself. To do so would be to admit failure, while Rimmer has a high belief in his superiority. 

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I definitely think Rimmer, whilst blaming the world around him, recognises his own failures as his own. Coming from a successful family and because of that, he can’t outwardly admit it.  He knows he was afforded all the same chances as his brothers. But internally he knows it’s on him. It’s only when he finds out that he isn’t his father’s son (who raised him as his own ) he can let go for a bit, briefly, and accept his failures by viewing them through another lens of success. 

[Author]

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