The Return of The Return of The Return of Red Dwarf

[Andrew Curnow]

I actually enjoyed it - I say that with a bit of surprise because if I'd read a synopsis beforehand I think I'd have declared it sounded rubbish. Claudia half-watched it with me, and even she laughed a couple of times despite not knowing what the smeg Red Dwarf if. She especially liked the 'two kids on the bus' bit.

Rimmer disposing of the other hologram made me laugh a lot, as did Kryten's disguise. Also the "no, no, no" 'gag' (in fact I really enjoyed that whole shop scene) and the sofa bit. Plus the bit where the shop guy moans about the device being simple plot exposition, and the cut to Kryten detailing the guy's entire lifestory sort of thing. It was all nonsense, and yet hugely enjoyable. I just hope the last third doesn't disappoint tomorrow.

And... what is it with Cat doing those origami things?

[Milky Tears]

It's been childhood-destroying stuff so far. I've binned my box sets in disgust.

[Paul Monk]

Just so you know, both the nose maker scenes and the origami things are loving homages (ie. mickey takes) of things from Bladerunner. I enjoyed it but it is an odd choice given a large portion of the audience won't have a clue about. The scanning of the photo and scale with a manufacturers number on were references from bladerunner as well.

[Si Hunt]

Oh! I assumed the origami thing would be a major plot point for Part 3, given it's emphasis.

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

I really enjoyed that! Being a BIG fan of Bladerunner (which is fast becoming one of those films you need to see before you die) I loved all the nods to it, although I think a better joke would have been Rimmer going through all that photo processing only for the Shop owner (or someone else) to produce & business card of the guy.
I liked the sofa bit, who's looked down the back of a sofa & not found something?
I loved the kids on the bus & laughed out loud for ages with Rimmer getting the upper hand on Sophie Winkleman.


I'm even more convinced that this will work better as a complete story without any breaks, on DVD.

[Andrew Curnow]

The scanning of the photo and scale with a manufacturers number on were references from bladerunner as well.

Ah I hadn't realised that Paul, but it worked for me because I just assumed it was a p***take of the similar scenes we get in the likes of CSI. The only thing that puzzled me was that it was Rimmer driving that, because it was a bit clever for hiim wasn't it?

[Rob McCow]

, because it was a bit clever for hiim wasn't it?

Ah, but it was ultimately stupid! Taking the long way round when there's an easier solution...

I'm really enjoying the return of the Dwarf. Reg Worf!

[Rob McCow]

Yay! Three episodes of joy!

I'm slightly disappointed by the final twist, but it was a lot of wonderful fun along the way. For an episode without a laugh track, there were considerably more funny bits and the jokes were very well polished.

Against all the odds, it was awesome.

Anyone fancy disagreeing?

[Milky Tears]

Digital Spy's SPOILERY PREVIEW:

CONTAINS SOME PLOT SPOILERS!
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a15...than-smeg.html
CONTAINS SOME PLOT SPOILERS!

Sounds about as bad as the last series. I'll be shocked if there are more than three big laughs.

I think three was spot on!


Don't you just hate those ***** who reply to their own posts?

[Rob McCow]

Poo, I clicked Milky's link and gave their tawdry site an extra hit.

In retrospect, I think the show probably works better split into three. It kept us guessing all day about what the hell was actually going on!

[cullsoft]

Sadly I missed the last part yesterday... though I'm not sure if that was my typical absentmindedness with remembering when things are on TV, or if subconsciously I couldn't be bothered after the second part.

I'm going to have to go against the majority here, it seems... the self-awareness, self-referencing and self-promotion was cringe-worthy to say the least. I wasn't sure if it was pandering to or or pisstaking the fans, but it seemed to be at either ends of the extremes of fan recognition. Didn't like the smug salesman scene, given it's a joke that's been done to death and can be seen from a mile off. The Space Core Directives joke was passable at best, though instead of "doing as the comic book guy bidded" I'd have thought that a more Rimmer-like reaction would have been to go off on one about how he wouldn't try to do another Space Core Directive cock-up (in a smug git manner). The Bladerunner jokes went over my head... I'll admit that this was mainly because I haven't watched the film in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaages, but it still begs the question of why the smeg it was relevant to the number of supposed homages/references that were included? The children on the bus felt like schmoutzy pandering to get little kids interested in something that I didn't think was suitable for little kids, as well as being BLATANT SELF-PROMOTION FOR THE OH SO WONDERFUL DAVE (LISTER) CHANNEL WHICH SHOULD HAVE ITS FEET KISSED FOR BEING SO KIND ENOUGH TO BRING BACK THIS ONCE GREAT SERIES (and in case anyone was bothered there are some odd discs made by some British TV company of the series when it was at its best). And the "Carbug"... sorry, that just felt embarrassing.

I suppose the biggest gripe I have is that the main cast were doing so well - and I'd say they're still are in great form in this episode; the problem is that they just need a proper Red Dwarf episode to really showcase it, not some ridiculous piece of extended advertising that could as well be a subliminal "NEW RED DWARF IS COMING BACK ON DAVE" message randomly interspersed amongst among some of the classic episodes.

I want to give it a chance to revive the series we knew and loved. It could still do it. But episode 2 cost it a lot of points to the point where it's barely keeping it's head afloat... and I'm wondering if my apathy towards watching the last part suggests that deep down I wanted to let it sink in sympathy.

[Andrew Curnow]

I enjoyed the final part, although it almost felt like it was floundering towards the end with the creator. I think the 'switch' back to the squid driving the whole show was a good move, and certainly a relief to me, and arguably the end has opened it up for a brand new series, if the will is there.

I agree with Rob that, against the odds, it's been a success. Hurrah!

[cullsoft]

Hang on a sec... "crew find themselves in a world that turns out to all be controlled by a giant squid" sounds ridiculously familiar...

[Dino]

Caught the repeat of the final episode last night.
Still feel cheated in the morning.
They looked like it was an enjoyable experience to make. Can any experts here tell me exactly how Blade Runner influenced the original series anyway please?
Hope we get more, but it would need an extra writer or two.
Oh and jokes. A lot more jokes...

[Anthony Williams]

can we have Rob Grant back now, thankyouplease?

Ant x

[Dirk Gently]

Hang on a sec... "crew find themselves in a world that turns out to all be controlled by a giant squid" sounds ridiculously familiar...

That's exactly the point & the premise of the entire thing.

I enjoyed the third part & being a fan of Bladerunner helped enormously. I'll watch the omnibus edition to enjoy it in its full glory.

[Si Hunt]

I agree with Andrew, the thing was saved by it being a dream as frankly up until that reveal, I'd decided that Part 3 had been the biggest waste of space ever. Not to mention not making any sense - if this was "the real world" with actors in, why was Michelle Keegan standing about on the Kabin set not doing anything? Why didn't the director intervene and why wern't there cameramen anywhere? Likewise as much as I was dreading a Doug Naylor cameo, as soon as the "fictional" creator appeared I realised that, of course, Naylor had to be in it for it to make sense, this being "our" world and all. Otherwise, who on Earth was the creator guy supposed to be? In fact, that whole sequence was stupid and a waste of time.

So it all being a dream at least meant it made some sense by not making sense!

I still think it was a gigantic missed opportunity. It was a good Red Dwarf start, followed by a scripted tour of England by the actors in character, followed by a further episode of silly stalling and oddness. The trouble was, almost all of this was devoid of any good jokes. It was great to see them back, and of course better than nothing at all, but in a true "alternate reality" we got a proper Red Dwarf three-parter, packed with funny jokes and excitement - not an overly clever and surreal jaunt with no jokes or plot which at times it was hard to believe had been script-edited at all. Did someone really look at the script after the first draft and think "this is good enough"?

The saving grace of the final episode was the surprise appearance of Chloe Annett, and the surprise acting ability of Craig Charles. In fact the one thing this special brought to the Red Dwarf table was a clutch of lovely moments of pathos. Not exactly all you'd want, but nice all the same. Which sort of sums up the whole misguided endevour.

Si.

[Martin Penny]

I think it would have been good...if it had been funny.

And getting all the good ideas from Blade Runner was exceedingly lazy writing.

[Rob McCow]

almost all of this was devoid of any good jokes

I think it would have been good...if it had been funny.

It was funny though! Better jokes than most of series 4 and 7!

*cough* would it have been better with the laugh track then?

[Philipnet]

I don't care what anyone else thought about it, I liked it!
It was typical Red Dwarf, sending up Sci-Fi, modern life and being a guy.
What else is there in life?!?

[Andrew Curnow]

The only thing I would say is that I'm not sure the claim of a while ago that it was so good they had to extend it from two to three episodes is quite true. Given that most Dave sitcoms get a 40 minute slot they could very easily have split it into two without any actual loss of running time - methinks they saw a chance to get an extra 'NEW' slot. But either way, I enjoyed it!!

[Llordllama]

Just finished watching it - and I'm in shock. I really enjoyed it. Sure it was barking mad and the plot made about as much sense as...well normal for a Dwarf episode - but I still really had a good laugh. Have to admit I cheered when they said they'd killed of Kochanski a season or two back (how I wish!). Enjoyed the Blade Runner references thought the Wife spent the three eps going "Is this from Blade Runner?" having never sat all the way through. Even the Corrie bit that I thought was going to blow goats made me smile.

And I want a CarBug now.

Would happily sit through more of the same quite frankly.

[Alex]

Episode 1 - Fairly okay, it felt nice to see the crew back, but it needed a lot more laughs.

Episode 2 - Pretty godamn shocking, with only about two good jokes. The Blade Runner references just seemed odd, and the portrayal of the comic shop owner was lazy and offensive.

Episode 3 - Much more enjoyable, with quite a few good lines (and I especially liked the mini-Rimmer servants and would like to have seen a bit more from them), plus thank god the twist meant it was all a dream.

Overall it was pretty okay I guess, with Craig Charles especially impressing, but as (some) others have mentioned if it's to return properly it needs a lot more jokes and less of the forced emotional hokum.

[Pip Madeley]

I sat down and watched the whole thing with two of my best pals tonight - both massive Dwarf fans like myself - and we really enjoyed it! Thoughts:

• It was interesting to see an emotional maturity to these episodes, particularly with Lister at Kochanski's grave, the bus scene and saying goodbye to her at the end, excellent acting from Craig Charles. All that soap acting has done his craft the world of good. And Doug handled Lister perfectly - he was going through the motions, missing the love of his life and now he has a goal and purpose in life, to get her back.
• Being one of those people who loved Red Dwarf VII & VIII as much as any other series I was SO pleased to see Chloe Annett back for those brief moments - she's still got it! I liked the twist that she wasn't really dead and was pleased about that because I'd like her to return for any future episodes.
• I didn't miss the audience laughter track at all, having enjoyed episodes of series VII without it (the Xtended episodes) it wasn't a problem for me whatsoever - I don't need to be told when to laugh.
• People have been commenting on the lack of jokes - are you mad? There was lots to laugh at! Cat's diving suit, "Minger Monthly", Lister ironing his sneezess, "testicles", the whole photo enhancing bit (hilarious), the little kid telling Lister to tell Rimmer he's a smeghead , the shop owner talking about series 9 being the best, Carbug, Cat's perfect landing, the Rimmer munchkin guards, Lister's toilet troubles, Kryten's disguise (those glasses! ), Rimmer killing the hologram (totally unexpected, had me laughing out loud), the scene with the salesman & commenting on the psi-scan then Kryten checking it , "bit crap" (genius), Lister writing his own ending with Rimmer repeatedly hitting his genitals against the edge of the desk... fantastic!
• It looked FANTASTIC. The virtual sets were extremely impressive, the CGI Skutter was surprisingly realistic and some of the model work (the corridor perspective shots for instance) was first rate. Red Dwarf has never looked so good.
• I can see why the story was broadcast over three nights (advertising revenue) but I don't think it worked particularly well - I'm so pleased I waited to watch them all in one go, part one had barely got started when the credits rolled...
• Never saw the twist with the despair squid coming - it seemed so obvious afterwards! I knew there wasn't something quite right with the female hologram and Cat's little origami creations but the twist was very rewarding.

Overall, it was a worthy production with an intriguing story and plenty of funny moments and it left me wanting more - let's hope Dave were happy with the viewing figures and have the budget. The best Easter present I've had for many years

[Andrew Curnow]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it Pip!