Ian Symes

[Ian Symes]

Yeah, it’s easy to forget that we’re in the vast minority among Red Dwarf fans with our reactions to Duane/Ace/Talkie returns.

[Ian Symes]

If I’m asleep at five minutes to midnight, the last thing I want to do is to wake up.

[Ian Symes]

Remember also that Rimmer was raised in a household run by Seventh-Day Advent Hoppists, so his views on religion are probably pretty skewed to begin with.

Seventh-Day Advent Hoppists who were also in the Church of Judas, no less.

[Ian Symes]

I can totally buy Rimmer regularly attending church despite being an atheist. It’s something people of good breeding do.

[Ian Symes]

I’ve read the book but not seen that or any other Star Wars film except for the Holiday Special.

[Ian Symes]

I think my initial interpretation was that he was talking about the priest who’d just died.

[Ian Symes]

Hollister appears to be the same character from the show more or less so maybe the name change was just to reduce the number of Franks and/or remind us it’s one universe to the side.

I’ve been thinking about this. Hollister was only given a first name in Series VIII, so it’s not necessarily a conscious “change”. If Rob was either unaware of any post-VI lore, or deliberately chose to ignore it, giving him the name Randolph is just filling in a blank.

[Ian Symes]

The Holly Buddy. ISWYDT

It took me an embarrassingly long time to SWTDT.

[Ian Symes]

Ah, I hadn’t made the Carson connection! Downton Xanadu.

[Ian Symes]

Incredible that the Big Cheese was the greatest and most prolific lover who ever lived.

[Ian Symes]

Kryten is one place above a robot based on someone who has now written for Red Dwarf.

[Ian Symes]

There is something I am dying to say, but it’s a day early.

[Ian Symes]

Meat View?

[Ian Symes]

[Ian Symes]

[Ian Symes]

A copy of the script is just about visible on the set in this scene:

[Ian Symes]

any shit ones would be easy to ignore and decanonise

Have you met this fanbase?

[Ian Symes]

Why do the Officers’ Quarters have an embryo refridgerator? 

[Ian Symes]

Then they did a jigsaw.

[Ian Symes]

It’s easy to forget that while Tennant wasn’t a complete unknown when he was first cast, he was not quite a household name. He was up-and-coming at most, his biggest pre-Who role was Casanova, which was only a couple of months before he was announced as the Doctor.

[Ian Symes]

I don’t know if it’s just because Rebecca is one of those Dwarf-related people who I’ve accidentally become friends with, but this is a very weird and slightly uncomfortable conversation.

Having said that, apparently Craig is hung like a horse.

[Ian Symes]

[Ian Symes]

[Ian Symes]

I’ve seen a leaked paragraph on Tumblr.

Anyone else seen it? I will not re-post.

Just looked this up. Someone who’d been given a review copy has taken it upon themselves to post an extract because “technically no NDAs were signed”. What a prick. People have been waiting thirty years for this. There’s a whole marketing campaign going on, people are happily speculating about what to expect, and some bellend comes along and tries to ruin it for everyone, just because there’s one paragraph in a 406-page novel that, completely shorn of context, fits their agenda. This sort of thing can really damage the relationship between the industry and fans, not just for Red Dwarf but for everything, and make it harder for fan writers and content creators to be trusted.

[Ian Symes]

Richard unofficially served that role on The Promised Land with pushing for the contribution of the Moonlight scene I believe, he may have given his scripts a readthrough on XI / XII too. Funnily enough just for that contribution, Richard might’ve actually been Doug’s best script editor.

Richard was a producer on the show. Of course he had some influence over what was included in the script and what wasn’t, but that’s not the same thing as being a script editor.

[Ian Symes]

My mother-in-law despises Jon Pertwee too. And Paul McCartney, but that’s because she picked her side in the Beatles vs Monkees debate as a young girl, and has stuck to her guns.

[Ian Symes]

A big black tom.

I suggested to Rob years ago, when it was being developed as a series, that if we see Lister buying Frankenstein in the story, it should be from a man called Big Black Tom. A potential DJJ cameo.

[Ian Symes]

I remember that being speculated at the time to be the case. But its possible Doug just went for someone else because they were cheaper. Making the most out of the budget.

I doubt Paul Farrer would be much cheaper, given his CV. Even if he is a colossal bellend.

[Ian Symes]

[Ian Symes]

Actually I might be in the minority because everyone loves it, but Lost in Space by Nigel Bates never sounded that Dwarfy to me either. I don’t dislike it, it’s a nice ethereal piece but Goodall did a score with a proper motif for Ouroboros that would’ve been so much better. 

I Googled “Lost in Space Nigel Bates” to double check which one you meant, and the AI summary has chosen to illustrate it with a picture of Chen in EastEnders.

[Ian Symes]

If only there was a more in-depth series of ratings for Red Dwarf episodes.

[Ian Symes]

Anyway, The Inquisitor and Quarantine are back on iPlayer now.

[Ian Symes]

Anyway, on the subject of Doug’s Twitter, I was initially pleased when I saw his post yesterday, with a plug for an upcoming appearance that didn’t appear to be AI generated. 

But then I decided to zoom in on the book cover.


Ah yes, the prestigious FFE Blue Peter Book Book Award.
I assume it’s not Doug personally making these abominations, and he’s being supplied assets to post by the organisers/promoters of the events he’s appearing at. But it’s a sad indication of how low standards have fallen if said organisers and promoters are perfectly happy for this shite to be associated with their brand.

[Ian Symes]

Was he actually asked about a new Dwarf novel? Because if not, him making “no mention” is not terribly relevant.

[Ian Symes]

I always took it as Holly having the ability to generate holograms, rather than being one himself. “Hologramic computer” = “gaming PC”.

[Ian Symes]

That was an unexpected start to the morning.

[Ian Symes]

The first thing that came to mind was the cut to Kryten calling for Cat and Lister over the tannoy in Skipper. So well timed.

[Ian Symes]

That’s brilliant. It’s like a Peter Serafinowicz sketch.

[Ian Symes]

I always get those two dudes mixed up. I can remember that one of them is Terileptils and the Great Fire of London, and the other is Denis Lill and a big face in a wall, but I find it impossible to remember which one of those is called The Visitation and which is called The Awakening. Is it just cos they’re both called “The Something”?

[Ian Symes]

Still technically more likely to return than Geoff Hinsliff or William Russell, tbf.

[Ian Symes]

Bringing back the following Doctor Who characters:

And these Coronation Street characters:

[Ian Symes]

It refers to the delayed release of the fourth extended play from the band Dr Hook.

Dr. IV EP – late.

[Ian Symes]

It’s the registration number on Kris “Drive” Carter’s car.

[Ian Symes]

A shot of the TARDIS in space with the caption “Three Years Later”, and then we find the Seventeenth Doctor in situ.

[Ian Symes]

The drive plate is the thing you stand on when you’re teeing off in golf. 

[Ian Symes]

You’ve got to have a goal in life, though. Lister has always had a plan, whether it’s getting home from Mimas, buying a farm on Fiji, getting back to Earth, finding Red Dwarf, or finding Kochanski. It wouldn’t be in his nature to stay in one place forever; no matter how luxurious it was, he wouldn’t be fulfilled.

[Ian Symes]

Craig is around 7 years older than Chloe.
Danny is around 26 years older than the Cat Lady actresses at the end of Can of Worms.

I seemed to recall I worked out at the time that his age was greater than the two of them combined.

[Ian Symes]

Congrats! Don’t tell your new employers about your obsession with octogenarian women.

[Ian Symes]

Does anyone on this forum like any of Doctor Who at all?

[Ian Symes]

I wish more Doctor Who fans were talented enough to actually make visuals for a lot of them. 

I find it depressing how few Doctor Who fans are actually trying to do long form animation, or anything nearly so elaborate.

I’m sorry that the unpaid efforts of non-professionals creating content in their spare time for you to enjoy for free isn’t to your tastes. In my experience, if you’re not personally being served well by fan efforts, the best solution is to learn how to do it yourself.

[Author]

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