Where next for Red Dwarf?

[MrTalman]

Long-time lurker but curious as to everyone’s thoughts as to where the ship flies post-Titan. 
FWIW I would love a special or two to round things off, but appreciate that’s feeling less probable in the current UK TV landscape, especially when it comes to coughing up money for sci-fi and the ideas Doug was having (I’m still morbidly curious at what u&Dave-level de-aging would have looked like considering convincing tech for that seems to have eluded Hollywood most of the time). 

I had mixed feelings on Titan as a book overall, but the one thing it did really sell me on is that there are fresh approaches to Red Dwarf and maybe a continuation of the traditional series isn’t the only way forward, leaving me strangely optimistic about the prospect that RD as an idea is going to stick around. The stuff that REALLY works in the book are all the new ideas and subversions of the traditional Dwarf formula. 

Would you like to see Andrew Marshall carry on the adventure post-Titan? Do you reckon Doug’s going to deliver his own book continuation? Stage show? Long awaited TikTok revival of the mobisodes…?

Topic

[Podey]

‘The Beginning’ was also a good end point, should it have been that.

I certainly can see the argument for ‘Skipper’, especially with the callback to the og crew and Holly etc, but it feels a bit lacking on the Lister/Cat/Kryten front since we mostly get alt versions. 

[Turk Thrust]

They’ve sort of been through that already in Rob’s initial desire to get an animated series commissioned. I believe it has been revealed that concept art was drawn up for such a pitch, to no avail. 
Perhaps ‘Titan’ performing well will generate slightly more interest but I honestly would be surprised. There’s was talk for years of making an ‘Ash Vs Evil Dead’ animated series to continue on from the live-action when that got cancelled but that never happened.

Yes, I agree it would be a surprise, but I guess a novel could be adapted at any point in the future.

It’s not impossible that a person in a position of authority might read Titan (or the other novels) at some point and feel that there should be a new adaptation of Red Dwarf. But, as you say, I won’t hold my breath.

[Professor Flibble]

I think an animated series done on the cheap (well, might still be expensive) could still work if you limit it visually as much as the show does. Mostly just the four (and Holly) hanging around Red Dwarf or Starbug with an occasional trip to an abandoned vessel and a deranged droid or something. I’d love something set during the Series III-V period because the age isn’t a concern at that point. 

Hell, if scheduling is still an issue with the others, you could always just get Chris Barrie to play them all. 

[International Debris]

It’s not uncommon for shows to go from radio to TV back to radio again – Little Britain, Dead Ringers, Hitchhikers – and yeah, shows originally made for TV have been picked up as audio too, such as Green Wing. At one point the only active Partridge series was From the Oasthouse. Big Finish have done everything from Stargate to Stingray, they have enormous ranges of Blakes 7 and Dark Shadows stories, and for a few years their Eighth Doctor series was effectively the live-action continuation of Doctor Who (shame RTD fucked it so we literally aren’t going to get that now). They also did a second series of RTD’s Dark Season. There are a lot of sitcoms which later got radio adaptations – Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, Dad’s Army, One Foot in the Grave. Both Who and Blake’s 7 got new stories made by Radio 4 in the 90s. Sci-fi series Orphan Black had two radio series set several years after the TV show.

Big Finish have done audience comedy before, and even a live Doctor Who story, although I do think Radio 4 would be a much better home for Red Dwarf. 

[Rushy]

I’ve felt that all the big “endings” (The Beginning, Skipper, Promised Land) have lacked a certain something. 

The Beginning and Skipper are too focused on Rimmer to the exclusion of all else. The Promised Land doesn’t really give me any sense of finality. Sure, it ties back to the cats and there’s moments of pathos, but I don’t get much of a sense of special occasion from it. It’s a normal episode with a big budget. 

For me personally, a proper ending to Red Dwarf should celebrate the posse as a whole. And as stupid as it sounds, the closest an episode has ever come to giving me that feeling is the alternate ending for Only the Good. When they’re all together and celebrating, it feels like the end of all they’ve been through since Psirens, arguably the whole show. They’re finally all together (Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, Cat, Holly, Kochanski), they’ve all put aside their grievances, they’ve defeated alien monsters, they’ve defeated “the establishment” and they’ve got their happy ending together. 

It’s just so very annoying that it’s in an unused ending of a shit episode of a shit series. I want to somehow transplant that ending to the Dave era. 

[Professor Flibble]

Yeah I agree, I don’t think any of them really work as show-ending finales. Promised Land is essentially an episode that, if it’s the final one, it’s a good one to go out on, but part of me would want a final episode that feels like it’s really supposed to be the final episode. 

[Warbodog]

I think animation would be unnecessary expense and effort when we could have audio or novel and our imaginations, which would also likely look better. It does have better meme potential though.

[International Debris]

Given that Doug has said he wouldn’t do a definitive final episode, a feature length story which ties up loose ends from series 1, brings Holly back as a regular, and ends with Rimmer being a genuine selfless hero – and praised as one – feels about as fitting as we’d likely get.

[Dave]

I think animation would be unnecessary expense and effort when we could have audio or novel and our imaginations, which would also likely look better.

Or maybe we don’t even need audio or novel and we use just our imaginations. 

That can only end well.

[Professor Flibble]

I think animation would be unnecessary expense and effort when we could have audio or novel and our imaginations, which would also likely look better. It does have better meme potential though.

I’m not sure it’d be unnecessary when it’s ultimately a different format with its own merits. I’m a guy who values visuals, and given Red Dwarf’s had books and audio stuff already, why not an animation? It’d be great nost to actually see something new with the cast as they looked in the 90s and the audio could still be recorded in front of an audience.

[Ben Saunders]

I’m definitely more inclined to watch an animation than listen to an audio, just because it stimulates two of my senses rather than just one. It’s easier to stay locked in when you have visuals and audio. 

[Professor Flibble]

Yeah, I’m the same. A lot of visual gags might get lost on audio too.
Who else wants a sequel to Return of the Giant Hand Monster?

[International Debris]

As someone who generally struggles to engage with animation – even as a little kid I always preferred live action or at least stop motion rather than anything drawn – I’m really not keen on the idea of it. 

Also, frankly, if Doug can’t get a live action show made, he won’t be getting an animated version.

[Professor Flibble]

I know it’s unlikely but I’d love it. 

[Podey]

Personally I’m going to wait until someone makes it into an AI slideshow movie with off-brand voices on YouTube.

[Professor Flibble]

Tbh if they did audio stuff, I’d be content with complimentary slideshows using screencaps. 

[Ben Saunders]

Loose Cannon reconstructions of audio-only Red Dwarf episodes coming 2027

[Moonlight]

What if a TV channel commissioned Doug to just make six episodes and gave him a reasonable amount of time and money to prepare?

Nah.

[Nick R]

I think animation would be unnecessary expense and effort when we could have audio or novel and our imaginations, which would also likely look better. 

Or maybe we don’t even need audio or novel and we use just our imaginations.
That can only end well.

Indeed.

[Moonlight]

You know, I wrote a fanfic following Rimmer’s internal monologue as he has a complete breakdown attempting to repair the drive plate. I could’ve just been shipping him with Lister and gotten way more people reading.

[Professor Flibble]

What if a TV channel commissioned Doug to just make six episodes and gave him a reasonable amount of time and money to prepare?

Nah.

With the constant doom and gloom about the TV industry atm, this would be welcome news.

[Technopeasant]

I think animation would be unnecessary expense and effort when we could have audio or novel and our imaginations, which would also likely look better. It does have better meme potential though.

If imagination is all you need, you don’t need Doug or the cast at all though. And it’d look and sound exactly as good as you want. 

EDIT: Three of us basically made this joke. We’re a tough crowd.

[Technopeasant]

Personally I’m going to wait until someone makes it into an AI slideshow movie with off-brand voices on YouTube.

https://www.ganymede.tv/forums/topic/i-wrote-a-new-episode/

It wasn’t terrible.

[Podey]

(that’s what I was referring to and wasn’t it?) 

[Paul Muller]

I’m personally not a huge fan of The Promised Land, but – I am a big fan of Skipper, so I’d happily take that as my conclusion to TV dwarf. 
I’d be very happy to see more from the guys, but I think encasing Robert in rubber again at this point probably constitutes some form of elder abuse. If Doug wanted to tie up the plotlines nicely and give everyone a definitive happy ending, it might work as a sort of standalone short (Lister on Earth, Kryten tending his garden, Rimmer finding contentment etc) Otherwise, any more books, fiction or BTS/script books etc – would be brilliant. 

[Podey]

With the right budget they could easily CGI Kryten’s head onto a live Robert performance, but with the budget they’d likely have I would hate to see the results. 

I could imagine Titan as a ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ type cartoon and translating very well. 

[Dave]

With the right budget they could easily CGI Kryten’s head onto a live Robert performance, but with the budget they’d likely have I would hate to see the results. 

Just do the Bongo/Jim Reaper/Data Doctor/John Warburton team-up episode that we’ve all been waiting for. 

[Flap Jack]

I see none of you have faith that Robert could manage to play Kryten in full make-up again, but I do. He’s 70 years young and doing great. And he probably won’t even be 90 by the time they go into production on a new episode.

[Dave]

Maybe someone else could act as Kryten and Bobby could just do the voice, like they did with Chewbacca.

[Rushy]

I see none of you have faith that Robert could manage to play Kryten in full make-up again, but I do. He’s 70 years young and doing great.

Doug is also unlikely to let a mere makeup issue get in the way of a new episode. He’d find some way to make the process easier for Robert. 

[Moonlight]

What if they just got rid of the mask, but stuck an R on his forehead for robot.

[Flap Jack]

Doug sweats as he looks over his notepad.

Ideas for Robert not having to wear the Kryten mask:

1. Kryten died off-screen.

2. Kryten regenerated into Kryeleven off-screen and is now played by Hugh Skinner Nick Mohammed Diane Morgan?

3.                                            

[Moonlight]

Recast Robert as Holly and put Norman in the mask.

[Professor Flibble]

Maybe there’s a way for them to make the prosthetics even simpler than they were in Series XI and XII, though idk, it might look shit. Practically just putting a mask on him and adding minor touches up. 

[Dax101]

If Doug was really concerned about Robert being in the makeup, he wouldn’t be trying to continue the show still. Because as much as people are trying to come up with ways to get around it for him, you gotta do Kryten in the traditional make-up, otherwise whats the point?

I think it’s just a case of knowing Robert is a stand-up guy who would agree to do more and that he has a fair amount of fun making it with the other guys.

[Ben Saunders]

The first shot of Kryten in the new special is him from the back, looking like he’s in full costume and mask. He sneezes (for some hopefully humorous mechanical reason), and the mask falls off. We then continue with the rest of the special, business as usual, and nobody mentions it.

[Professor Flibble]

Yeah honestly that’s the thing I don’t think a lot of people think about if Bobby himself personally wants to keep doing it, and it sounds like he’s still game for it.

[Moonlight]

Kryten dies in childbirth as a full grown, naked old man is expelled from his groinal attachment. Introducing Robert Llewelyn as Kryten Jr.

[Dave]

The first shot of Kryten in the new special is him from the back, looking like he’s in full costume and mask. He sneezes (for some hopefully humorous mechanical reason), and the mask falls off. We then continue with the rest of the special, business as usual, and nobody mentions it.

I laughed out loud at this.

[Podey]

If Doug was really concerned about Robert being in the makeup

I think it’s more people not wanting to put Robert through it again seems how ill it made him during TPL rather than any doubt about them being willing.

[Ben Saunders]

Kryten dies in childbirth as a full grown, naked old man

reading this as one sentence on its own fried my brain

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Kryten dies in childbirth as a full grown, naked old man

reading this as one sentence on its own fried my brain

Waiting in AI to pick up on this and start reporting it as an actual episode of Red Dwarf 

[Dave]

The One Where Everyone’s Robert Llewellyn 

[Moonlight]

The One Where Robert

[Technopeasant]

Honestly motion capture tracking and CG would be the best option if it is definitely an issue and if they had the budget.

But I honestly think we’d largely forgive him donning the ultra realistic Spare Head from the 3000 Series.

[si]

I see none of you have faith that Robert could manage to play Kryten in full make-up again, but I do. He’s 70 years young and doing great. 

I have faith that he could do it. I just don’t have faith that his body would let him.

[Author]

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