Mini Newsround – 01/10/24 News Posted by Ian Symes on 1st October 2024, 15:06 Ah, it's October. The month where the new Red Dwarf special(s) go into production. After all, it was reported extensively online back in May, and none of the publications that giddily jumped on the bandwagon have since issued any updates or corrections, so we assume it's all going ahead. We should be getting the official announcement any moment. Here it comes. Any moment. Aaaaaany moment. Any moment... NOW. It hasn't worked. It's almost as if you should take what the cast say about any new projects with a pinch of salt, as even if the details are correct to the best of their knowledge at the time, plans change, and nothing is official until it's announced by the appropriate channels. This is a lesson that desperately needs to be learned by the entire population of comments sections everywhere else that Red Dwarf is discussed online. Nevertheless, the latest unconfirmed whisper is in, and this time it comes from Chris Barrie, via ITV Anglia: We hope next year to, in 2025, to shoot a special. That's the plan I've heard. The others might throw more light on it, I don't know, but yeah, that's the plan. I think all four of us are up for it, yeah. Read more →
The State of Online Journalism in 2024 Features Posted by Ian Symes on 18th May 2024, 15:13 or: Why We Insist On Being Grumpy Bastards Every Time This Happens If, like me, you're known amongst your more neurotypical friends, family and colleagues as "the Red Dwarf fan", you'll have received umpteen messages in the last couple of days, reacting to the "news" that new Red Dwarf has been "confirmed". These normies will then have been confused by your lukewarm response, before you have to tediously explain that nothing is actually official yet, and the articles that they've seen online are just discussing the rumours we've known about for months. "But look", they reply, "it says it right here, the Scrapheap Challenge guy announced it". At this point, you have to choose between launching into a full scale rant about the intricacies of television commissioning, or just saying "yeah, looking forward to it" in order to maintain the illusion that you're a well-adjusted individual like them. It's especially frustrating when you can also see this happening on a much wider scale. Us lot - you, me and anyone else who'll visit a fansite for a sci-fi programme from the 1980s - know the score, but there are vast swathes of Dwarf fans who have a much more casual relationship with the show. They might love it every bit as much as we do, but they're not as obsessive about the details as we are, and are less likely to have been following the series of small scale leaks that we've been tracking. But all of a sudden, they're all over social media in the last two days, sharing their excitement at the confirmation of something that isn't actually confirmed. But here's the thing - it's not their fault. They're being let down by the people they trust to provide information. Read more →
Something’s (maybe) coming (possibly) News Posted by Ian Symes on 17th April 2024, 13:15 It's funny to think that just over a year ago, we were convinced that Red Dwarf was dead and buried, a victim of an ongoing legal battle with no end in sight. That was until it ended. And since then we've been teased with the prospect of a new spin-off series, whilst also regaining a modicum of hope that the OG Dwarf would return at least once more. While there is still no official news - and as usual we'd like to clarify that nothing is confirmed until it's announced by the production company and/or the broadcaster - we've now entered what we've come to recognise as the preliminary phase that usually indicates that such an announcement may be forthcoming. Yes, the cast have been blabbing again. Read more →
