Home Forums Ganymede & Titan Forum Rewatching VII and VIII after Back to Earth, and oh my god…

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  • #3523
    Stabbim the Skutter
    Participant

    The characterisation in VII really is terrible. Kryten gets way too much screentime and he’s become extremely annoying. And the whining is even more grating than I’d remembered it. Sometimes I don’t mind it though – “Apple…” “Something terrible happened to Mr. Lister’s arm!” and “WE’RE NOT REAL, WHAT’RE WE GONNA DO??!” make me laugh (probably because the latter is a screech rather than a whine)

    Despite the character issues, I still found VII enjoyable to watch – it’s funny and the story is interesting. So I decided to move onto VIII to see if that was good too…

    I got up to about halfway through Back in the Red Part Three and just couldn’t watch anymore. The jokes are just really cheap and immature, not to mention over-explained. The plot is terrible too – scenes drag on for ages and the plot is really stretched out. I might have a go at making a half-hour version of Back in the Red.

    Anyway, I’d strongly recommend re-watching these two series if you have any beef with Back to Earth – they definately made me feel more grateful for it. It’s so nice to have Kryten back to normal and Lister acting like Lister.

    #98357
    Pete Part Three
    Participant

    >Anyway, I?d strongly recommend re-watching these two series if you have any beef with Back to Earth

    Alternatively, you can watch some good episodes.

    #98358
    Kris Carter
    Participant

    Back To Reality in particular!

    #98359
    Stabbim the Skutter
    Participant

    No, what I mean is if you didn’t like Back to Earth, watch VII and VIII and you’ll see that it could be worse. ;)

    #98360
    Nakrophile
    Participant

    I’ve been doing a commentary rewatch and hit VII last night. I would like to point out that I forgot the commentary on Tikka is the extended remastered version, and that the look Craig gives in the final extended bit at the end before he successfully gets the curry is a thing of beauty.

    #98361
    Pete Part Three
    Participant

    >No, what I mean is if you didn?t like Back to Earth, watch VII and VIII and you?ll see that it could be worse

    Which is fine. But I didn’t particularly like Back to Earth, but prefer VII. I agree it’s better than VIII though.

    Watching VIII won’t make me enjoy BTE any more, it will just provoke a RD detox.

    #98364
    Stabbim the Skutter
    Participant

    Yeah, I see what you mean. Wash it down with a few Remastered episodes and you could be turned off forever!

    #98366
    steven87gill
    Participant

    The only issue i had with series VIII is some of the jokes being over explained. But all in all, i enjoyed both, i think the problems with both were blown out of proportion because of the fact that both were the last series of Dwarf for 11 years.

    #98319
    littlesmegger
    Participant

    Yeah I like all 8 series, I don’t feel like having distaste towards any imparticular series, I just sit and enjoy them all for what they each are…

    #98370
    Jonathan Capps
    Keymaster

    Wow, the overexplaining of jokes sounds like a good idea for a tedious series of Twitter updates.

    #98383
    hummingbird
    Participant

    > the overexplaining of jokes sounds like a good idea for a tedious series of Twitter updates.
    No. It doesn’t.

    Apart from Tikka, which I really enjoy despite the gaping inconsistencies, I honestly have problems watching VII and VIII now. I try to give them another chance from time to time, but I’m lucky if can can get through a complete ep.
    Tried to watch BITR extended shortly after BtE, but I fell asleep after about 20 minutes and tbh it was probably a blessing.

    #98394
    ChrisM
    Participant

    Tried to watch BITR extended shortly after BtE, but I fell asleep after about 20 minutes and tbh it was probably a blessing.

    Heh. The first 20 minutes is actually pretty good. New bunk scene. Starbug whooshing down shrinking corridors. The rat (yes it’s silly, but I liked it.)

    I did feel it dragged a bit after that, so I get the sleepiness.

    Overall I actually don’t mind the episode but it could do with streamlining.

    #98398
    Turk Thrust
    Participant

    I think rewatching Series VII and VIII would only make me like BTE less. The best bits in the specials were, imo, the dramatic bits about Kochanski but they only work at all if I completely wipe from my mind Doug`s abysmal writing for that character in those series. I don`t go along with Doug`s belif that it was Chloe`s fault the character was disliked.

    I would still be interested to see a 60 minute cut of BITR too but Andrew has said that he rates the extended cut as his second favourite Dwarf ep ever so I guess it`s understandable that it was included on the DVD in that form.

    #98399
    Carlito
    Participant

    This thread is making me get the itch to watch BITR Xtended… naughty thread! Bad thread!

    #98400
    Ben Paddon
    Participant

    I rewatched BITR-X recently. It holds together really well, and it’s made me think that, really, the first half of VIII wasn’t that bad (save for the already mentioned over-explaining of some of the jokes).

    I’ll happily rewatch VII any time, though. I think it still holds together really well.

    #98401
    littlesmegger
    Participant

    Haha I think people enjoy slating VIII waaaay too much personally. It’s almost like people prefer to find faults and nit pick, then sit and just try and enjoy what they’ve paid for!

    Two of my favourites are actually VIII episode… Cassandra, and Krytie TV [Yes, I said it, shoot me]… yes I admit, I have a lot of favourites, but these are still up there surrounding them.

    Like I say, I’d rather take something at face value, and get what I can out of it, then sit and find why it’s not what it was 5-6 years previous. Things change and adapt, and I’m willing to go along with that. Never fell into the group of wobbly set, military gray / ocean grey fanbases. I’m in the ‘Dwarf evolves, and so I move with it’ fanbase haha.

    #98404
    JamesTC
    Participant

    I re-watch Red Dwarf VII and VIII all the time, just last week I enjoyed an on the move viewing of ‘Krytie TV’, still fantastic after ‘Back to Earth’.

    #98385
    Pete Part Three
    Participant

    >I?m in the ?Dwarf evolves, and so I move with it? fanbase haha.

    Yeah, me too. Unless it evolves into shit. In which case I’ll happily point this out.

    #98457
    Carlito
    Participant

    To me, it has yet to evolve into anything even resembling “shit”. Even it’s worst ever episode makes me laugh and is enjoyable enough. You can be disappointed that it doesn’t hold up the standards of earlier series, but I think you’d be hard pressed even to call an episode like Pete or Only The Good “shit”, as in devoid of ANY redeeming features. Even the worst Red Dwarf episode has a couple of laughs in it, and I have sat and watched comedy shows and not even raised a smile before… never happened with Dwarf, ever.

    #98459
    NoFro
    Participant

    >Even the worst Red Dwarf episode has a couple of laughs in it, and I have sat and watched comedy shows and not even raised a smile before? never happened with Dwarf, ever.

    This.

    #98460
    Dave
    Participant

    >Even the worst Red Dwarf episode has a couple of laughs in it, and I have sat and watched comedy shows and not even raised a smile before? never happened with Dwarf, ever.

    Red Christmas.

    #98461
    Stabbim the Skutter
    Participant

    I concur. I actually really like Beyond a Joke, I think it’s one of the best of VII, because it’s so silly and it makes me laugh. Also – no Kryten whining in Beyond a Joke. And I honestly think Blue is overrated, because even though the Rimmer Song and that kiss are brilliant, the rest of the episode feels like filler. The re-establishing the linkway scene and the salad cream/nan’s bra/pants drawer discussions add nothing to the plot and could fit into VII anywhere.

    #98464
    Carlito
    Participant

    > Red Christmas.

    Doesn’t count, it’s not a proper episode of Red Dwarf. I haven’t seen that one to judge it myself.

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