What would it be like if Norman Lovett had stayed after series 2?

[Stabbim the Skutter]

Personally, I reckon that things would be mostly the same, but he’d probably have a more substantial role than Hattie. With no offense to her, (I think she’s just as great as Norm) she was very neglected and underwritten, and nobody seemed to like her that much. She’s barely in series 5, for example. If Norman was playing Holly in that series, they’d’ve probably been more motivated to include him. I bet he’d even stay for series 6 and 7 as well.

What do you guys think?

Topic

[Anonymous]

Well… hard to say. If Dwarf was due to become more actiony, then he may have chosen to leave anyway, judging by his reaction to [the shit] series VIII. And if Holly was bound to become less of a character by the introduction of Kryten, then he may have been written out for VI regardless. I think the show would have been altogether more different if Kryten hadn’t come onboard full time. It’s him that caused Holly to become a smaller character.

[peas_and_corn]

He would have complained A LOT.

Imagine what he would have said if he was the one doing s5, and subsequently being dumped??

[pfm]

They just didn’t need Holly later on, the Dwarfers become much more in control of things themselves from III onwards. Before that it was more like Holly running the ship with Lister, Rimmer and Cat just bumming around it. The whole idea of a Marvin-style moaning computer doesn’t fit in with where they took the show, everything became more plot-driven rather than stuff like the ‘dog’s milk’ exchange which focusses on being funny more than anything. Remember, of course, the show was originally imagined as Lister walking alone around the ship with only the computer to talk to.

Series 2 is still my favourite, and Norman’s Holly is definitely a big part of that.

[Antipodean]

I doubt keeping Norman would have changed anything, except perhaps that they’d keep doing those distress-call things at the beginnings of episodes. But Holly probably would have still been reduced, and written out for series VI.

[Andrew]

I think it’s fair to say the role would still have reduced with each series, though perhaps less swiftly. It’s been acknowledged that they didn’t really know what to do with the Hattie version (GN’s history with female characters to that point isn’t great), and Hattie herself – as a newcomer initially – wasn’t in as strong as a position when it came to cast members demanding things for their character.

Plus, absolutely, the role lost out to the change of style the show went through. Especially Kryten’s arrival and the Cat’s increased involvement. One does the exposition, the other does the ‘dumb’ jokes – without those, what does Holly have left.

That said, I really, really like some of his stuff in VIII.

[pfm]

> That said, I really, really like some of his stuff in VIII.

Surely not. He’s crap in VIII. More like an annoyance that crops up randomly.

[Smeg4Brains]

> Surely not. He?s crap in VIII. More like an annoyance that crops up randomly.

“Turn into a dog”…love it.

[Rushy]

They were always much more comfortable writing for Norman (Holly has some great gags in III, and they all sound like Norman’s jokes rather than the more ditzy style they went with for Hattie). 

So I would wager that he’d be somewhat less involved, but still much more present than Hattie ever was. And I don’t believe they’d have gotten rid of him. 

[Dax101]

Considering the direction Rob and Doug were gradually taking the show in. By series 5 Rob and Doug were focusing a lot more on ambitious Sci-fi ideas, and while Norman would likely have complained far more than Hattie ever would, i’m not sure if Norman would have stuck around once series 5 happened. 

I don’t think Norman being involved would have changed that direction. I think that was just where Rob and Doug were in their career. Really pushing the show to rival other sci-fi shows

While today i think Doug is over ambitious in trying to do both Series 2 and series 5 at the same time. And what you get is a very rushed template of an average sitcom for 15 minutes to then ambitious sci-fi concept A,B and C for another 15 minutes

[Author]

Replies