Worst episodes of series 3-5?

[tombow]

I thought I’d start this thread because as a kid I only had series 3-5 on video (later had them all, but only had 3-5 for a couple of years). And I thought they were pretty much perfect and the high point of RD. However I always skipped over Backwards and Meltdown or at least found them lesser when I did watch them. Backwards I just didn’t like the idea that much and felt like it was one joke that didn’t stand up to repeated viewings (and I didn’t like the eating scenes). Meltdown I just found too silly and over the top with the historical characters. Looking back now I feel like it’s not I thought they were bad so much, they just didn’t feel very like the show and I felt like they could have been sketches in any comedy show. Any other less popular moments?

Topic

[Warbodog]

Also, since I’m being topical

I would challenge any other British Sitcom who had such a consistent run for 3 series/seasons.

Blackadder for a start, even if the final year got a bit formulaic with the gags like a Red Dwarf VI.

[International Debris]

I’d say series 2-5 of One Foot in the Grave probably match it. Being objective, they possibly beat it in terms of successful plotting and gag-for-gag rate.

[Warbodog]

I can’t remember every individual episode, and whether there were any duds in there, but maybe Peep Show series 1 to at least 4.

[International Debris]

4 is my least favourite Peep Show series. It moves away from the original format into The Wacky Adventures of Mark and Jez where one always tags along with the other for some really tenuous reason and they do daft stuff like eating a dog. Kind of the antithesis of what I like about the show.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

As a whole, series 5 is one I sort of shy away from the most when thinking about it. It’s a series that my impressions of it is that it doesn’t appeal as much as others.

Holoship and Back to Reality are very good episodes (though I don’t place Back to Reality top of all time) but Inquisitor, Terrorform, Demons and Angels are all episodes that a very dark (literally and figuratively) and heavy and feel a lot more story driven than gag driven, especially in the case of Inquisitor. Demons and Angels I find amusing but sort of out of place, I think possibly for the reasons you stated Warbo, that the different character versions are completely unrelatable [side note – my computer thinks that word is spelt wrong].

That leaves Quarantine which I know I enjoy, but also feels like one long scene in the quarantine bay which drags a little, even though I know it isn’t. The set up is funny enough although it does feel it is just a way of getting us to the main part of the episode (almost how Asclepious or the female cat are just thrown away). Perhaps because it sits in amongst 3 episodes that I don’t rates so well I have a worse impression of it than I should.

[Jenuall]

I think Peep Show is the most “recent” candidate for a UK comedy show with a very consistent period, I’d definitely give it my backing.

4 is my least favourite Peep Show series. It moves away from the original format into The Wacky Adventures of Mark and Jez where one always tags along with the other for some really tenuous reason and they do daft stuff like eating a dog. Kind of the antithesis of what I like about the show.

I know a lot of people cite the dog eating moment as something of a jumping the shark step for Peep Show but I’m a big fan of it myself. Webb’s performance sells the situation perfectly.

As for the actual question concerning RD, it’s a tough one. There are some episodes which seem to consistently rank lower than others in polls etc. Meltdown for example has had a “weak” reputation for a while and it is one of those that I sometimes find myself tempted to skip when doing a re-watch, but then I watch it and remember that it is actually fantastic and has some of the shows best bits – who could possibly skip an episode where Winnie the Pooh faces a firing squad!?

Camille and Body Swap are probably the two weakest entries from this period for me. Camille never quite lands for me as I don’t really have any kind of Casablanca nostalgia and it doesn’t have that many “top tier” gags. Body Swap has one of the best opening acts of any episode, the milkshake and a crunchy bar order leading to the near destruction of the ship is just perfection, but the actual body swap stuff falls flatter for me – partly because the VO performances are slightly off which is jarring.

Ultimately it really is a case of nit-picking though, it’s a fabulous period for the show overall.

[Dave]

Camille never quite lands for me as I don’t really have any kind of Casablanca nostalgia and it doesn’t have that many “top tier” gags.

I think Camille is really funny! Loads of great gags, especially early on. The opening scene is one of the best ever. And all the stuff when Kryten/Rimmer/Lister meet Camille is very funny too.

[Jenuall]

I think this is the problem, most episodes from that stage of the run where I think “Oh, I don’t really like that one” the reality is they are great and I just can’t remember exactly how great at that point in time. There is a lot to love about it, I always forget its the episode with the lying lessons – female ardvarks and all. The initial meeting with Camille is great also – the WD-40 line, 4000 series GTI etc. (although as a computer scientist I can’t help but cringe when Kryten refers to ‘A S C 2 code’, it’s ASCII with i’s you moron!) and the interactions with their individual pleasure GELF companions, the confusion that causes and so on is all good, something about it just doesn’t kick it into absolute top gear for me I guess.

Like I say it’s a case of something being “slightly less fantastic” rather than “ugh, this is a real Pete Part 2”

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Camille never quite lands for me as I don’t really have any kind of Casablanca nostalgia and it doesn’t have that many “top tier” gags.

I think Camille is really funny! Loads of great gags, especially early on. The opening scene is one of the best ever. And all the stuff when Kryten/Rimmer/Lister meet Camille is very funny too.

Also, I really don’t think Camille relies on prior knowledge of Casablanca in the way BTE does Blade Runner for it to be funny.

I’ve always really really enjoyed Camille and yet I saw Casablanca for the first and only time in 2010. It’s a great story in it’s own right because it’s a universally understood love story. You can parody it and get away with not needing the understanding of the source material to get it.

This era Red Dwarf does a few movie inspired ideas and non of them require an prior understanding to appreciate the jokes at all.

[RunawayTrain]

This era Red Dwarf does a few movie inspired ideas and non of them require an prior understanding to appreciate the jokes at all.

I can thoroughly testify – my film knowledge is almost non-existent (I only know Camille references Casablanca because it’s explicitly mentioned in the ep, plus later having read/listened to background info) and this era Red Dwarf still makes me laugh out loud :) I guess appreciating the filmic inspiration must help give an extra layer of enjoyment, but it’s not required to still enjoy what’s on the screen.

[Warbodog]

Bodyswap and Camille might have my favourite opening minutes of any episodes, so those are other reasons I rate those. Those would be great clips to introduce someone to the series… though with the self-destruct gag taking seven minutes to pay off, I can see why the red alert bulb and Wilma Flintstone tend to make the clip shows.

I always feel Camille is underrated in polls, coming bottom of all this lot, but it’s fair enough, especially since Holoship is a better take on the love story according to most (although Smegazine readers hated it in 1992).

[Author]

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