Unanswered Questions

[Dave]

Who took the picture of young-Rimmer’s dorm room that he uses to go back in time, in Timeslides? And how is adult-Rmmer in possession of it in the future?

The more I think about this the more it bothers me.

Topic

[Jenuall]

Isn’t it implied that Holly just recorded the event rather than re-created it? Although the latter would make more sense given the dramatic camera angles we get which wouldn’t work if it was just put together from CCTV footage!

I guess it wouldn’t be beyond Rimmer to request that his death video be edited to remove unwanted elements like a certain “Danish moron”

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

He says “Holly made if for me”. Now, it could be CCTV footage but that fact it is dramatised in the way it is lends itself to the idea he re-created it digitally.

[Flap Jack]

My personal theory regarding Petersen’s remains is that while Lister was in stasis, he took it upon himself to take over Lister’s apparent habit of randomly going up to the drive room and flirting with harassing Kochanski. And he just happened to be there when the cadmium hit the fan.

Or, a more wholesome variation: both Petersen and Kochanski had hidden layers and were secretly very good friends who would often visit each other at their workstations.

[Dave]

Maybe he was just coming to restock the vending machine next to Hollister’s office.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Maybe none of the piles of dust were the crew at all, but the first of many practical jokes Holly played on Lister.

[GlenTokyo]

Soft southern bastard here: it was always the 10 second rule around our way. And lets face it nobody ever really paid that much attention to it either way!

On topic: What was Petersen doing in the drive room when the accident happened? Lister licks his dust in The End but nobody questions what he was doing there! Also on that note, if him and Kochanski both also died in the drive room then why don’t we see them in the flashback sequence in Me²?

He was a catering officer so maybe he was delivering the Hollister’s dinner.

[Dave]

He’s a catering officer, so maybe it was his duty to bring Hollister his breakfast.

There, I think we’ve covered all the possibilities now.

[Jenuall]

Haha :)

I guess Mr Fat Bastard 2044 might have regular visits from a catering officer so I’ll accept that head canon

[clem]

He’s a catering officer, so maybe it was his duty to bring Hollister his breakfast.

There, I think we’ve covered all the possibilities now.

[Dave]

Maybe Petersen had to permanently stand in the drive room just in case Hollister wanted something to eat, and that’s what Catering Officer means. He was technically second in command of the whole ship.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

As second in command, he was able to order Rimmer to fix the drive plate, knowing it was cause a radiation leak thus fulling his promise that Lister “will die for this” for embarrassing him in front of two beautiful ladies.

What he wasn’t aware of was that Lister had just been sent to stasis and that radiation leaks have a nasty habit of killing everyone.

[Dave]

Maybe Petersen is actually Lewis Pemberton’s evil twin and turns everything to shit.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

If Petersen were the bridge catering officer, then it would explain how he knew how Rimmer performed in an exam and was able to rely it to Lister.

[Jenuall]

It’s all adding up now!

[International Debris]

He could have been on the bridge for a meeting to discuss catering issues with the Captain. The more important question is how did someone like Petersen end up as an officer at all?

[Dave]

Pass the chef’s exam?

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

It is quite amusing how even the catering staff are office grade yet the techies aren’t!

[Jenuall]

I always assumed there were other types of technician or engineering crew who were officer class and it was just the lower level maintenance type techies like Rimmer who don’t make the cut

[Dave]

Maybe Petersen was posthumously promoted to officer for heroically jumping in to prevent a nuclear explosion hitting Hollister in the face.

[Dave]

Watching Quarantine again the other day, it struck me how absent Holly becomes in the second half.

Presumably she’s aware of what’s going on and has to let it happen while Rimmer is playing it “by the book”. But as soon as it’s clear that he has the holo-virus, why doesn’t she step in and do something? She could switch off Rimmer or let them out of quarantine or whatever.

It feels like she just ceases to exist as soon as the trio arrive back at Red Dwarf because it’s inconvenient for the plot.

[Warbodog]

“Rimmer’s put in an override.” Rimmer did a clever thing. Holly might even be effectively quarantined on Starbug.

But it also shows Rob/Doug’s interest in the crew having to do things manually. And lack of interest in Holly any more.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

How has Rimmer the ability to put in overrides, lock down landing bays and basically force the crew into quarantine, and then whilst there only feed them sprouts etc … without Holly to action any of it.

[Dave]

Yeah, it feels like Holly has to be involved to make the ship work. But Rimmer seems to have put her out of commission somehow.

Maybe they could have made it extra creepy by having Holly there at first during the quarantine when things are normal, then have the trio start asking her for help when they want to be re-tested and then realise that she’s not there any more.

[Warbodog]

Gif of Kryten from Smeg Ups tape tossing question away

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Oooo, have both Rimmer and Holly affected by the virus. Rimmer goes off back to Red Dwarf and everything is seemingly fine. The crew get back to Red Dwarf on Starbug with Holly, and as they get directed into quarantine it becomes apparent Holly is infected and working with Rimmer.

Could even do a a 2001 reference with once they get locked in quarantine Lister just turns to Holly and tells her to open the door, and she says “I’m afraid I can’t do that Dave” and that’s when it becomes apparent she and Rimmer are both a bit insane.

From there on out things can largely play the same, just with Holly on screen with a line or two too.

[Warbodog]

Rimmer’s overrides might have been useful during the events of Queeg. That’d learn Holly.

[Warbodog]

In White Hole, Rimmer gets Kryten to override Holly’s shutdown by pressing a few buttons, then she isn’t able to get around the inhibitor.

Rimmer enjoyed this little power trip and learned how to do it himself on a larger scale for future reference.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Rimmer’s overrides might have been useful during the events of Queeg. That’d learn Holly.

Lister and Rimmer sneakily built in overrides they could activate after the events of Queeg.

That is then what Kryten uses in White Hole, and thus leads to Rimmer’s power trip in Holoship.

[Dave]

When Holly gets drunk in The Last Day, she tells everyone what her override code is and Kryten and Rimmer hold on to it for future reference.

[Pete Part Three]

Holly writes her override code on a Post-it note and sticks it to the side of her monitor.

[Warbodog]

Instead of giving Rimmer the Space Corps directives manual requested, Holly accidentally gave him a book of computer override codes instead, which he covers through the rest of the episode by pretending to quote from it. This is why Rimmer always gets the directives wrong.

[Dave]

Kryten figured it out.

[Bosco13]

Did Grant Naylor ever give a reason why the series has no aliens?

Red Dwarf isn’t exactly hard science fiction and they bring in more GELFs whenever any other show would just use aliens.

[International Debris]

I suppose the original idea of the main characters being alone in space was the main concept, so once they started introducing GELFs and such on a regular basis it had kind of stuck.

[Warbodog]

Originally it was probably a combination of:

1. To make it different and avoid cliches. Rob was resistant to having a robot too.
2. Warranted concern that 1980s BBC aliens would look completely shit. They hadn’t seen what Peter Wragg & co could do on the budget.
3. They had to really tone down the sci-fi to sell the show.

Some of these were no longer issues once the series was successful.

[Flap Jack]

Honestly the “no aliens” rule is just stubbornness at this point. They’ve literally met God, I don’t think there being some non-Earth originated life knocking about would stretch credulity that much.

What I’m saying is: give us a Quagaar episode, Doug! Reveal how one of their agents went undercover on Red Dwarf in disguise as the remains of a roast chicken, and how they’ve been discreetly stealing toilet roll for 33 years.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Whilst materially it makes little difference given we have GELFS and Simulants and stuff, I do like that the “no-aliens” rule is somewhat kept to and offers a constraint on which to write around. Even if it is sort of brushed away a little. It does mean Doug has to at least consider the origins of something first.

I think it allows for, or at least encourages, more writing about the core cast, and gives us things like The Promised Land or The Beginning etc rather than just a “gets into a fight with aliens” story.

[loadoftottnumb]

Here’s an unanswered question (I think) along the same lines.

What are Space Weevil? I mean if there are no aliens they must be from earth so what are they and why the name?

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Weevil from Earth that evolved to survive in space?

[loadoftottnumb]

Well that works, kinda the ‘felis sapiens’ of the Weevil race.

Thanks

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

It’s the obvious answer.

But also, series 6 does mention alien like things once or twice. “The pan-dimensional liquid beast” for example. But given its not seen on screen they probably didn’t think too heavily about it. Though it could be argued that as it is pan-dimensional that maybe it didn’t originate in our dimension so doesn’t count anyway.

[International Debris]

The pan-dimensional liquid beast from the mogadon cluster definitely stands out as a bit weird. Although there’s also the alien war fleet false alarm in Legion, which although obviously not real, feels like the crew were happy to acknowledge that aliens might exist.

[si]

A definition of ‘alien’ is simply:

unfamiliar and disturbing or distasteful.
“principles that are alien to them”

So just because they’re unfamiliar with, say, an incoming war fleet, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s to do with what we’d generally term as “An Alien”.

[International Debris]

Yeah, but it’s blatantly how it was written though.

[si]

Not my problem. :P

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Think Si needs to change his name to “Sassy Si Bromley”

[si]

You knows it.

[Unrumble]

Yeah, but it’s blatantly how it was written though.

Read in a Brummie accent

[Flap Jack]

Why are the openings of Series V-VII formatted in letterboxed widescreen?

(Possible this is stretching “unanswered” to mean “I personally don’t know the answer”, but still.)

[Warbodog]

That was when the logo switched to serif and the opening montages went more dramatic and less humorous (maybe limited to V’s). I think they were trying to look sophisticated. This was no longer a primary concern by series VIII.

[Author]

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