The question of Holly

[Rushy]

Does Holly still have a place in the show, or do you think the character’s been kept around purely out of habit (Hattie) or nostalgia (Norman)? 

Topic

[Warbodog]

It’s a more fun way to interact with ship functions than the Dave era’s JMC Computer thing, so I don’t mind a Series III-V sized Holly mainly doing that, as long as she still gets at least a little bit of non-functional dialogue too. Series VIII Holly didn’t have the function, so was pretty pointless.

[Jimboid]

Does Holly still have a show to have a place in?

[Rushy]

Does Holly still have a show to have a place in?

[Dave]

I like Holly, and I think the regular focus on his/her function having been replaced by Kryten somewhat misses the point – because while Kryten can definitely do all the computer-ship type stuff that Holly can, he can’t replace the dry deadpan style of comedy in the same way, and I think that is definitely missed from the show a little bit in the Dave era.

So yes, if TV Dwarf were ever to return then I’d be happy to see Holly back, even if it’s only to contribute the occasional gag or one-liner. It’s fine for Holly to have a more supportive role compared to the main four, I think.

[Ridley]

They’ve done a terrible job of keeping the character around out of habit for Hattie.

[Dax101]

Holly has a place in the show. He/she just doesn’t have a lot they can really do due to being a disembodied head on a monitor. I feel like if you have Holly back, you have to commit to knowing that you can’t always find something for the character to do.
While Hattie didn’t get a lot to do, it was still nice having her around as the ships computer. While Norman in series series 8 felt like he was a joke machine and less of a character. Even with TPL hefelt more like a character after he had been factory reset. And the moment he got his computer senile back up installed he reverted back to feeling like a joke machine. Not so much a character with an opinion but a character you don’t want to ask help from because they are dumb and don’t take things seriously. Which isn’t really how he was in Series 1 and 2 either.

[Moonlight]

I’m waiting for The One Where There’s Two Hollys so we can have both.

[Dave]

I’m waiting for The One Where There’s Two Hollys so we can have both.

You’ll be waiting until 11 October 1988 for that one.

[Cardinal_Hordriss]

I think that if the character was written as they were for Hattie then it would definitely work but as just a useless idiot as in season 8… I think audiences expect more these days. 

[Rushy]

Not so much a character with an opinion but a character you don’t want to ask help from because they are dumb and don’t take things seriously. Which isn’t really how he was in Series 1 and 2 either.

Holly series 1-2 is the crew’s dad. Holly series 8 is the aging dad who needs the kids to make sense of his iPhone. 

[Author]

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