Would You Rather

[Offline]

Have all the original videotape rushes, 35mm model shot reels, sound effects, dialogue, music, hardware FX shots and so on for the original ’88 to ’93 run so you can reconstruct the episodes perfectly but with modern technology. Frame for frame but in true stereo with beautiful image upscaling, deinterlacing, colour grading, all the bells and whistles, BUT Series VII to XII are consigned to the memory hole forever and essentially didn’t happen.

Or…

Have Series VII to XII still exist but the original ’88 to ’93 run exists only as shitey VHS versions that have clearly been played a hundred times?

Topic

[Flap Jack]

I would rather have more good Red Dwarf episodes than perfect versions of Series 1-6.

Shitey VHS versions would be bad, but they’d still have the jokes, the characters, the ideas. It would still be worth it.

[International Debris]

Yeah, visual quality is nice when you have it, but it comes below plots, characters and jokes for me.

[bloodteller]

I’d rather 69 a grizzly bear while shoving King Kong up my ass than pick either of these options

[Hamish]

So that would still be a yes from you then?

[Offline]

A non-field removed Series VII would be a lovely bonus, remove the film effect and it’d sit very nicely between VI and VIII

[Dave]

I actually think it would be really weird to see I-VI in decent HD quality. It would take away something significant of the feel of the show.

[Offline]

Series III was the last of the series shot on the old tube cameras, some likely going back to the first days of colour at the BBC, with IV to VI shot on fancy CCD cameras. The look and atmosphere from the tube cameras gives Series III a very grungy and beautiful feel because they’re populating the sets with more props, the lighting is changing and it feels more lived in. It’s also why the Remastered Series III episodes realllllllllly burst off the screen in terms of colour and contrast because you’re pushing the absolute limits of what the cameras can capture. Compare to Series IV where the image is very clean and precise with no bleeding and trails from overly bright lights in motion.

[Ben Saunders]

After reading that post, the total number of people I’ve read calling the visual quality of Red Dwarf III “beautiful” is a staggering 1.

[Offline]

It’s a bit of a mess on the DVD because it’s compressed to hell and it could use a little polishing in terms of grading and bringing up brightness and tempering down colour saturation in some shots but overall, it’s a rich and very interesting picture. I’d say it’s my favourite looking series with VI coming in second because the refitted Starbug is such an interesting set, almost submarine like and full of dials and old keyboards and embossed walls.

[Author]

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