The Return of The Return of The Return of Red Dwarf

[Si Hunt]

I agree. Holly was pretty poor when he returned in Series 7 - Lovett somehow managed to look like he was reading off a cue card and his mere presence was a sickeningly indulgent 'fanwanky' gesture that must have baffled any viewers of less than five years standing. Personally I always liked Hattie Hayridge - she was my first "Holly" - and I've always felt that to give her the boot just to get Norman back after he walked out on them was an appalling way to treat her.

As for that bitter rant on his blog - it's TV, things like that happen. He should be able to handle such things in a professional way if he's been in the industry 20 years. I also don't agree they should have phoned him - e-mail is just as personal and common way of communicating with people these days. It's obvious they have worked on the budget and realised there are more important things to spend the money on that a character they managed perfectly well without for all but the first two years of the show. Perhaps they are actually thinking about the best way they can spend the budget to make a good show, rather than frittering it away to give their mate his cameo. "Red Dwarf" probably only hit the skids in the first place because it became an "old boys network", more concerned with the laughs happening behind the scenes than from the viewers.

Si.

[Pip Madeley]

Personally I always liked Hattie Hayridge - she was my first "Holly" - and I've always felt that to give her the boot just to get Norman back after he walked out on them was an appalling way to treat her.

Agreed - she's great, I'm tempted to see her do stand-up at Manchester Central Library this spring

[SiHart]

Is it just me that would rather have Holly back than Kochanski?

Si xx

[Pip Madeley]

I love Chloe Annett as Kochanski.



Luckily so does Doug Naylor.

[Dirk Gently]

Hattie was a better Holly I must admit. I did prefer her to Norman & was quite put out not to see her in the last series.

[Si Hunt]

Annett isn't the best actress in the world but she probably offers more storyline opportunities (particuarly wrt Lister) than Holly does. Plus she's a draw for the Dads and the heteros.

I often think what screwed them up is bloody Barrie leaving and then changing his mind a year later - that left them with a pretty huge regular cast which must have dug into the budget.

Si.

[Alex]

Is it just me that would rather have Holly back than Kochanski?

Si xx

Yeah, I'd agree with that. I loved Kochanski whilst she was played by Claire Grogan, but the new version never endeared herself to me. I see Holly as being intergral to the series as he's the voice of the ship, personifying it really, and I'll miss his droll additions to the episodes.

As for that bitter rant on his blog - it's TV, things like that happen. He should be able to handle such things in a professional way if he's been in the industry 20 years. I also don't agree they should have phoned him - e-mail is just as personal and common way of communicating with people these days. It's obvious they have worked on the budget and realised there are more important things to spend the money on that a character they managed perfectly well without for all but the first two years of the show. Perhaps they are actually thinking about the best way they can spend the budget to make a good show, rather than frittering it away to give their mate his cameo. "Red Dwarf" probably only hit the skids in the first place because it became an "old boys network", more concerned with the laughs happening behind the scenes than from the viewers.

I'm surprised that there's such a reaction to his blog post (and not just by you Si), I see it more as a disappointed moan than a 'bitter rant'. I'd be the same if I was told I had work and then emailed to say that I was no longer needed. Personally I don't think email is the right way to do such things, common courtesy doesn't cost anything and in such a situation I feel it's the least he deserved.

And for me it was Rob Grant leaving, and other writer's being brought in, that led it to hitting the skids, though that's obviously a personal opinion...

[Si Hunt]

Well "pathetic" is a pretty 'toys out your pram' way to describe someone who decides not to use you in a TV production, and makes him appear... well, pathetic.

And I'm sure whole TV shows are planned and produced via e-mail these days. Indeed, arguably e-mail or "personal e-mail" as it's called when sent to you directly, is a perfectly personal way of contact. They could have called his agent. I think he's just having a tantrum because he thinks he has some kind of right to be in "Red Dwarf", when they can quite clearly do without him.

Si.

[Llordllama]

I used to be a big Dwarf fan (fan club, bootlegged copies of S1 long before the offical video releases etc, went LARPing as the crew) - but this news of "new" series just fills me with dread. Leave me with my memories, don't come along and spoil it with a budget episode.

(though I'll probably still watch - possibly from behind lashed fingers and muttering "No no no no NO!")

[Si Hunt]

What fills me with dread about is the thought of four fat old actors squeezing themselves into their old outfits for a reunion jolly. I really like the 'spirit' of Red Dwarf, the 'beaten up' and ironic nature of the Red Dwarf Universe, and the jokes. The whole idea of sending up Star Trek's bright new vision of the future - that humanity might end up as one curry swilling oaf bombing about the Universe in a spaceship with a duff battery. That kind of thing. So *I* think the best way forward is to create and cast a new set of characters, and to make a new version of "Red Dwarf". There's no future in this show because the actors are all too old for this anyway, let alone for the prospect of future episodes. I think that's what's so depressing. All the best concepts are bigger than the original cast, so have the legs to carry on without them.

Si.

[Llordllama]

It's going to be the Out of Time future crew - only for real this time.

[Andrew Curnow]

The BBC speaks:

Cult comedy Red Dwarf is returning to TV, 21 years after its initial launch.

The show has been resurrected by digital channel Dave for a two-part Easter weekend special, which sees the cast finally return to Earth.

Written and directed by Red Dwarf co-creator Doug Naylor, the new show reunites the line-up, including Coronation Street's Craig Charles.

The hit show, which ran for eight series on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, won an International Emmy award.

Set three million years into the future, the show followed the exploits of Dave Lister, slovenly crew member of the mining ship Red Dwarf - and the last man in the universe.

He was joined in his weekly attempts to make it back to Earth by a cast of oddballs including human hologram Arnold Rimmer, sanitation mechanoid Kryton and Cat - a preening half-man, half-animal who evolved from the ship's cat.

At its peak, Red Dwarf pulled in around eight million viewers and was broadcast in more than 25 countries.

It has sold more than seven million DVDs and videos.

The new two-part series Red Dwarf: Back to Earth will be followed by a "no holds barred" episode without sets, special effects or autocue.

The weekend will climax with Red Dwarf: the Making of Back to Earth, a behind-the-scenes special from the new episodes.

[Pip Madeley]

I seem to recall "Back To Earth" was the original idea for the end of series VIII but it was deemed too expensive...

The new two-part series Red Dwarf: Back to Earth will be followed by a "no holds barred" episode without sets, special effects or autocue.

... or budget.

[Rob McCow]

sanitation mechanoid Kryton

Custer! Derek Custer! Kit! And Titan!

[Paul Monk]

The new two-part series Red Dwarf: Back to Earth will be followed by a "no holds barred" episode without sets, special effects or autocue.

That makes it sound like they're going to have a huge fight. In a cage. With metal chairs.

[Si Hunt]

How can you have an episode without sets? Unless it's on audio?

Si.

[Anthony Williams]

it's going to be shit, isn't it?

Ant x

[Si Hunt]

yes.

[SiHart]

Oh god.

This just sounds worse and worse.

Si xx

[Paul Monk]

Its apparently all going to be done in mime as well.

[Fatso the wombat]

Is it just me that would rather have Holly back than Kochanski?

Si xx

Nope, not just you. If I was the one in charge of all this the first person I'd call would be Norman... I'm really rather sad that he's not in it.

[Pip Madeley]

Now now gang, let's be positive about this, we've not seen anything yet and who knows, Dave might just surprise us. And you'd be surprised how cheap Red Dwarf is to make - Doug Naylor once revealed that the total budget of series VIII was equal to that of the second series of dinnerladies. And that's a sitcom set entirely on one set!

Anyway, it sounds like they're ploughing all the money they've got into this two-parter... question is, will it be present-day Earth?

[Andrew Curnow]

Doug Naylor once revealed that the total budget of series VIII was equal to that of the second series of dinnerladies

I have to ponder how he'd know that? Don't forget, though, that dinnerladies had (a) more episodes in its second series; and (b) a larger regular cast, so I'm not sure it's a fair comparison.

No sets, effects or autocue sounds odd on the face of it, but... why would they have an autocue anyway? And maybe 'no sets' just means it's all green screen - a whole episode done using CSO, it's like Barry Letts' dream (or Graham Williams' nightmare).

I always enjoyed Red Dwarf, but never became a huge, huge fan, which means that I'm actually quite looking forward to this new stuff, but without the huge expectation setting me up for disappointment.

Let's hope it doesn't clash with the DW Easter Special!!!

[Pip Madeley]

I have to ponder how he'd know that?

Series VIII was a Grant Naylor Production for BBC2. 10 episodes of dinnerladies as opposed to 8 of Red Dwarf. And Red Dwarf VIII had quite a sizable regular cast too - Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, Kochanski, Cat, Holly, Hollister, Ackerman, Kill Crazy, Baxter...

FYI Doug's comment was in the series VIII scriptbook.

[Si Hunt]

Would Walters and Wood's fees be included in "the dinnerladies budget"?

Si.