Better Dead Than Smeg

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

No one ‘called women slags’. No one called someone else ‘retarded’.
I don’t agree with calling women ‘slags’. No one who you have accused of this does.
Get over yourself.
Maybe she changed her avatar three times in as many days because either:
A, she wasn’t happy with her previous one
or, more likely,
B, she simply felt like it.
Who gives a shit.
Self-centred, self-interested, self-righteous. Fuck you.

I spent three hours talking to this girl (Sarah) over the phone last night, an experience that I never want to have to repeat again. Take a look at her site and her blog posts and what she has to deal with on a day to day basis. You people are shit. I’ve been civil but that stops now. You’re going to have to accept that some people just don’t share the same values and opinions as you. If your response to that is just to go around and attack people (and you’ve done it to three different people now, over exactly the same issue – your own intolerance for any opinion or view that differs from your own), then it is you who can go and fuck yourselves.

Sarah isn’t coming back. I’m not coming back here after this post. Red Dwarf isn’t worth having to deal with absolute cretins who can’t tell the difference between an internet troll and someone who simply has a difference of opinion. Everything you’ve assumed has been wrong, and I had to waste my own fucking time cleaning up the shit that you caused.

For the love of fuck please think before you go around harassing people who are not equipped to deal with it. Seriously, fucking think.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

And of course being a dick to a girl with a medical condition is fine. Nice. Ian Symes objects to the word ‘retard’ when used to describe a situation and not a person, but is fine with users telling people to fuck themselves and yelling fuck off when faced with someone who simply doesn’t share the same point of view.

As for Jonathan Capps … the hypocrisy is hilarious. Maybe he needs to modify his behaviour.

Another girl whose name I don’t recall off the top of my head was made to feel incredibly uncomfortable too in a thread on the main page. She said as much.

I know this is going to provoke a slew of retorts. I’m probably not going to read them because I’m working and, honestly, I don’t have the time or the inclination to argue with people who behave like this.

Whatever happened to just accepting people for who they are, respecting other opinions even if you disagree with them? Heck, I could stand to eat some of my own words too. Sheesh, talk about a hypocrite. You live, you learn.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

In many this place is like dinner time at the special school.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Posted the above in the wrong thread (this thread).

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

It’s okay — I have no idea what they’re talking about either.
You’re a writer? In that case, ‘step into my office’. Are you published?

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

It’s okay — I have no idea what they’re talking about either.
You’re a writer? In that case, ‘step into my office’. Are you published?

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Sure, Sarah, go for it.
Some great photos in your portfolio by the way. Do you still model?

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Now that I think about it, you’re right, it feels very ‘series VIII’. I can’t remember the last time that I watched VIII. I only remember liking Cassandra as the standout of the series.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

The ending to White Hole works because Smeg is established and had a good amount of build up. Rimmer IS a smeghead. We know this. It had been used against to so much (implied or otherwise) that even Rimmer knew it, whether he would’ve admitted it or not.

I would’ve preferred the reveal of Snacky towards the end of the episode, which to me (and, before we get upset, remember these are just my opinions) seems far more in line with the style of writing between series I-VI.

The same goes for Kryten and the deceased female crew of the Nova 5. I remember laughing so hard at that scene when it originally aired. I never laughed at the reveal of Snacky. I liked the idea that he was just the ship’s vending machine, but it would’ve worked far better if it was more of a ‘and he was the vending machine all along’ type of ending.

Again, just my thoughts on a sudden re-watch.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Funnily enough, I’ve been introducing my partner to Red Dwarf recently (before we attended the Twentica screening in Edinburgh), and she really loved watching the show … right up until Back In The Red, whereupon she said, 8 minutes in, ‘wow, I never thought that they could get Red Dwarf wrong…’. She didn’t want to watch the rest of the episode, let alone the rest of the series. Ironically, she loved BTE (in a ‘it’s like the best Children In Need Special anyone ever made’ kind of a way).

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Ah, apologies — crossed wires over that one.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Didn’t they announce that particular detail RE this episode?

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Tried to correct that spelling mistake but the forum just won’t let me do it. Takes me to a blank page with a few lines from my post (unalterable). How odd..

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

When people use the word ‘pantomime-like’ (or parody-esque, however you want to phrase it), half of the time it’s hyperbole and half of the time they mean exactly that. Call it self-parody, call it contrived, call it ‘pantomime’ if you want to make a point. Personally, I’m not hankering for series 1-6 to be brought magically back to life and the actors to de-age into younger versions of themselves. I just want them to act in character, without coming across as a pastiche of that character (there’s another word for you, Katie, and I thought that one up all by myself — just like all of the other words that I used). Caricature would probably be the most accurate if you want to be a self righteous internet lexicon nazi about it (not implying that you would…).

I’m done with the cyclic nature of this argument. It is, quite literally, pointless.

If you can’t tell the difference between an actor ‘in character’ compared to someone just ‘phoning it in’ for want of another expression, again — that’s your problem.

This conversation is so dull and uninspired that I can feel my own brain cells dying at the thought of having to explain this one more time. You’re either incredibly simple minded or you’re just not willing to accept that this is what a lot of people think about some of the latter episodes or Red Dwarf (for the record I think that you’re clearly intelligent! And probably a nice person, too). I’ll remind you one more time that I LIKED series X for the most part, and I also LIKED the new trailer. All of it.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

The Q&A, though short, was fantastic. Craig, Bobby, and Doug were thoroughly entertaining and made the event what it was. Doug confirmed that we will get another two series, at the very least.

And now the bad news:

I can’t talk about the plot, obviously, but here’s my general impression. Although it needs time to sink in, and could benefit from another viewing, I really wasn’t into the episode. It felt incredibly pantomimey in places, and I don’t know what’s going on with Chris Barrie but it was like he wasn’t really there, and what we were left with was this odd facsimile of Rimmer like someone had taken his character and parodied the basic elements for an episode of CBBC’s Horrible Histories or something (no idea how that works). This is a massive shame, as I really wanted to come back and say positive things about this episode.

In retrospect, and apart from the first scene, I really liked Back To Earth. I liked every episode – and yes, ESPECIALLY Dear Dave – of series X. This new one just didn’t work for me in comparison.

For those of whom it may concern — relax, Kryten’s mask is just fine. It looks like Kryten, and nothing like the promo picture suggests. However … be prepared for a shock, as Krytie really does seem to be going through a mid life crisis, and has piled on 5 stone. Utterly bizarre.

Positives:

The new intro credit sequence is easily the best since series VI. Hands down.
The visual fx are superb. Insanely so, in fact.
It’s new Red Dwarf … maybe it’ll grow on me with another watch? I want to love it — but I hey, I didn’t even like Lemons on first viewing, and now for me it’s a classic, so what do I know, right?

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

I won’t be recording sadly (don’t use iphones, don’t use social media … except for this, obviously), but I’m happy to post about it some time afterwards.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

PS – Surprised to read the mass loathing for Dear Dave. I actually liked it a lot. Almost everyone was in character and it could easily have slotted in to series 2 (well, almost).

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Hmm, I just tried to edit out all of the typos and mistakes in that last post (I’m writing this on a laptop with a coffee in one hand, and on a train), but the site wouldn’t let me, so you’ll have to live with the embarrassing punctuation (‘comma’) and (‘comma’) the (‘comma’) odd (‘colon’) misspelled word (‘full stop’).

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Enjoyed reading the Silver Survey – thanks for that (and what an insane amount of work to compile, I imagine). Personally, having re-watched BTE recently, I actually ended up quite liking it – in fact, a lot more so than I would probably want to admit. It definitely benefits from being viewed as a TV movie, rather than three separate episodes (which is never really was, let’s be honest – those breaks were horrendous). Series X is much better on the whole, especially with Fathers and Suns, and Trojan. I’ve just got around to re-watching these on blu ray, and there’s still a few more to go through. I think that on the whole, the writing is there for the most part, though I some scenes (and this it at least one per episode), really could’ve done with ‘just one more draft’. How many times do they set up a gag in a well thought out and intelligent way, just to take the easy way out at the end with lazy dialogue? Answer: Too many. But that’s more than forgivable in the grand scheme of things. Another thing that bothers me is the lapse into ‘heightened’ performance at various points. I don’t know why, I don’t know whether it was a directorial decision? But the cast seem to give particularly wide performances, verging on parody, at certain points of most – if not all – episodes since and including BTE. I can get beyond this, because when they’re on, they’re really ‘back on’, but it’s a shame as if they’d have dialed it down and played it straight, some of the naffer material (the sneeze gag with the tomatoes strings instantly to mind), actually would’ve played out okay (minus the dodgy CGI …). So on the whole, there’s a LOT to like, and a few minor gripes. But I’m really looking forward to XI and XII. Hopefully they’ve now had the time to get it just right.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Thanks for the welcome! I do remember the ‘jailbait ball girl’ repeat at the time, come to think of it. I was at school, scarcely fourteen back then, and everyone was talking about it (by ‘everyone’ I mean ‘three other kids and me’).

Agreed on the Bottom episode, and the dub (and then the blatant DVD chapter title which renders the entire thing pointless).

Since I’m somewhat behind the times with this (unbelievably perhaps, this is the second forum that I’ve ever posted on – I don’t even use social media), what did everyone think of X and BTE? Apologies if this is dredging up long since debated conversations … I guess I missed the talk the first time around. That said, with XI and XII around the corner, could be the perfect time to jump back in?

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Ian – that’s exactly what I thought. It was a really odd experience to go back to something that I’ve seen – literally – dozens of times before and not have that one word in there. Really, really odd. I noticed that the Rik Mayall series 2 ‘Bottom’ DVD has a dubbed over line on one of the episodes (which is visually really obvious). Glad it isn’t the case with Dwarf … I’m not sure that I’m a fan of post transmission censorship.

P.S. Nice to meet you all! Been a fan since the late 80’s.

[Better Dead Than Smeg]

Ah, thanks – that explains it! I used to listen to the audio book religiously as a teen in the mid/late nineties, and used to fall asleep listening to it. I probably ended up hypnotizing myself. Still, there are worse things to be hypnotized to I suppose (and more severe consequences other than chronic misquoting).

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