Refresh For The Memory: Series V 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 HOLOSHIP, THE INQUISITOR and TERRORFORM. 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
Series IV Byte 1
Series IV Byte 2

Topic

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I could go on for hours talking about all the things wrong with it as a Thunderbird craft!

Please continue

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

Please continue

Maybe later, first I want to complain about the inconsistent look of Blue Midget’s interiors across its appearances. Just look at this!

   

[International Debris]

The VIII one always felt way, way too big.

Thunderbird Six was always just a case of ‘this bi-plane would actually help in this specific plot so let’s call it a Thunderbird for the lols’, the thing about that story that always bothered me is Jeff Tracy demanding to Brains that they need a new Thunderbird (for… reasons) and then turning down every imaginative invention he comes up with. 

It’s really not a very good film. 

I have a morbid curiosity to listen to the Big Finish Thunderbirds stories. I can’t even fathom how they’re supposed to work, given that the most exciting bits of the show were always the model sequences. 

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

As with a lot of the sets I prefer the earlier iterations to the later ones

First Blue Midget is definitely the best, but then it makes sense that it changes and becomes bigger in VIII with the Re-Mastered redesign that has stuck into the Dave era

which begs the question … are there two different versions of Blue Midget?  Like a Mk1 and Mk2?

Anyway, I’d never really considered the Bodyswap cockpit before.  It’d never occurred to be it is different to series 2.  Given the angel of that shot  you get the distinct impression they’ve done what they did in III and IV a lot, and just found a corner of the set to cram them into to make it look like somewhere else.

[Jenuall]

I mean, I think you’ll find that’s clearly White Midget

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Of ALL the things Remastered could have done, fixed that by CGI-ing a White Midget rather than a Blue Midget

[Jenuall]

TERRORFORM

Another belter from Series V! Rimmer is obviously the most interesting character in the show with the richest backstory so it’s obvious why he gets so many episodes that dig into this in unique ways, and this one is another in a long line of successes that Rob and Doug had with the concept.

Opening crash sequence survival sequence is great, the graphics department clearly had fun doing stuff like this and the Talkie Toaster boot up sequence. Some really simple but effectively constructed jokes in here that work so well – “Time: unknown. Location: unknown. Cause of accident: unknown. Should someone find this recording perhaps it will shed light as to what happened here.” and the repeated memory erasure joke. *chef’s kiss*

Tarantula text adventure is obviously an all time scene, so well written and performed – can’t really think of many other shows that have anything as funny as this where nobody speaks for a protracted period, at least nothing that isn’t based on physical humour. I think it’s reasonable to accept that terminals on the ship would be running a command line interface, they’re still pretty common in purely functional equipment/workspaces like submarines etc. so I’ll let them have this. 

Everything on the Psy-moon is great – Rimmer’s Mum leach, frogs calling Rimmer useless, tiny charm grave, Quattro Formagi pizza, “don’t stand around talking when you’re in mortal danger”, just a solid run of great content. I always love the Cat’s “You’re a weird guy you know that” to Rimmer after they rescue him, it’s always fun from the audience perspective to see Cat deliver a scathing remark to Rimmer, but given Rimmer himself has no context for the line at this point as he hasn’t found out that that the moon is shaped by his psyche it becomes extra funny in my opinion – “oh, it’s just the Cat being a prick to me, business as usual!”

Random thoughts:

Listers long coat is cool, do we only ever see this in Series V?

How did Holly track where Rimmer is using his light bee if when on the moon he wasn’t a hologram any more? Was his light bee still inside his now flesh body all that time? Gross.

Robbie Rocket Pants is probably my favourite example of the running “two small drawbacks” gag.

Nice to see that Lister still has his same sleeping outfit that I think we last saw him in when he banged the Polymorph in Rimmer’s Mum form.

Some lovely insults in this episode. “Excremental smear”, “Cancerous polyp on the anus of humanity”, “Stop your putrid whining, you dank tuft of rectal pubic hair!” etc. Marvellous!

[Flap Jack]

How did Holly track where Rimmer is using his light bee if when on the moon he wasn’t a hologram any more? Was his light bee still inside his now flesh body all that time? Gross.

It was up his buttski.

[Rudolph]

Listers long coat is cool, do we only ever see this in Series V?

He wears the same coat, or a very similar one, when they board the Leviathan in Epideme. It’s also the only time we see him wear a new fur to replace the one he lost in Emohawk.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

Oh yeah that’s right, he never gets his hat back does he? Aw maaaaaan, can you imagine how hard it would be to get a replacement cossack hat 3 million years into deep space?

[Jenuall]

Listers long coat is cool, do we only ever see this in Series V?

He wears the same coat, or a very similar one, when they board the Leviathan in Epideme. It’s also the only time we see him wear a new fur to replace the one he lost in Emohawk.

Ah yes, that sounds right – something to look out for when we get to that point in the re-watch!

[Rushy]

Holoship: One of my favourites. It’s a satire of melodramatic romance films while also being successful at being one itself. The scene where Nirvanah shows faith in Rimmer in spite of his neuroses and self-loathing is so incredibly heartfelt. The Binks skit is glorious. It’s got that Series V atmosphere going for it even if it’s not a horror story. 

The Inquisitor: I wish it was a bit less convoluted and that they’d cast better actors for alt-Lister and alt-Kryten, but aside from that, it’s great. I love how dark it gets. It’s here that I started to notice how much Kryten has evolved. The trial scene is exquisite (in particular the line “it’s not in our place to judge us. I wonder why you do?” which doesn’t seem to go anywhere). 

Terrorform: A pulpy bit of nonsense, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Beautiful women, a gorgeous jungle set, some really great gags. The whole tarantula routine at the start is so much fun.

[Dave]

The trial scene is exquisite (in particular the line “it’s not in our place to judge us. I wonder why you do?” which doesn’t seem to go anywhere). 

I just love that Kryten manages to stay polite and courteous throughout while also clearly riling the Inquisitor to the extent that he has to shut down the entire conversation. I’m tempted to think that he decides to erase him just for that.

[Rushy]

I just love that Kryten manages to stay polite and courteous throughout while also clearly riling the Inquisitor to the extent that he has to shut down the entire conversation. I’m tempted to think that he decides to erase him just for that.

Series V is peak Kryten. He is just so cool in it

[Warbodog]

Series V is peak Kryten. He is just so cool in it

Definitely. Another reason I’ve grown less fond of VI over the years and the start of him being their servant/mum.

[Dave]

Kryten really does have quite the journey from III-VII, he’s almost like a different character in every series.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

It is a genuine journey you can track too. Every change and evolution makes sense to the character at that time. 

[Moonlight]

I really do enjoy Dave era Kryten being quite openly rebellious against Rimmer even if he’s usually compelled to obey his orders.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Dave era Kryten (particularly XI-XIII) feels like the natural end point of Kryten’s growth under Lister’s tutelage.

That is until his finale temptation 

[Ben Saunders]

Kryten is the OG rage baiter

[Author]

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