The New Red Dwarf

[applepierate]

Anyone been watching this on Dave, or online if outside of England?

It took a while for me to get used to the lack of a laughter track but i kind of like it like that now

So many questions eneded answering. Will they die? Was the channl Dave actually named after Lister? Is katerina hotter then Kochanski? SO many questions, so little time

So, yeah, if you have been watching what do you think so far?

[Elomin Sha]

It's going okay, with hints of a season 10 in the dialogue. It was strange to see how much was blue screened in the beginning.
The script doesn't feel as tight as it used to. There's a lot of empty gaps, one being how Rimmer is now a Holagram again and why the are memorials to the crew again. No real explanation to why the second holagram appeared. Even by Red Dwarf's standards fo broken continuity this is pretty broken even for it.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Holographic Rimmer isn't that huge a discontinuity, he was alive at the end of Timeslides and a hologram thereafter. Why? Because he died again! So it's entirely possible that the hard light holo-cube was on Starbug and Rimmer died again some time in season 9 (Which we haven't ever seen).

Similarly, Red Dwarf was ostensibly nuked because of Rimmer's incompetence, if we go back to Justice, so it's also possible they lost the crew again during season 9.

Simply put, I consider it less of a discontinuity if we're missing a whole season of events. That kind of gap is the difference between Goa'uld attacking Earth and humans in the Pegasus galaxy, after all.

The two hard lights is something that's working it's way through my brain, I think it has something in relation to the dimension squid and the Russian variation of Kochanski (Christine Kochanski, Kristina Bosnakovsky? Too close for comfort) makes me think there's another dimension twist involved, especially when she appeared out of nowhere.

[Elomin Sha]

Hopefully part three sorts it all out.

[iamafish]

the bluescreen on red dwarf annoyed me. it was part of the experience when most of the set was really tacky and obviously made of cardboard! it's pretty good, not as good as the original so far, but you never know. I'm pretty happy with how it's gone do far though. bring on tonight!!

[applepierate]

Series 9 is something we will never see. Apparently they want to make a new season but will never make a season 9. 10 would be ok though. haha

There are indeed alot of unanswered questions, like How did Rimmer meet up with them again after Red Dwarf blew up and he kicked Death in the Balls? Suppose we just got to play along with the series that never happened.

Although the last part might answer all these questions.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Personally I'd be honestly happy with just a seasonal special episode of Red Dwarf, a new season (Even just the one) would be awesome beyond words.

[Elomin Sha]

I'd be happy with a RD film.

[Vaughn]

Applepierate, your avatar is both hilarious and enfuriating.

[Lyinginbedmon]

SO.

WORTH.

IT.

[Alterran]

It's nice to see the old cast of RD back together. But as a long time fan of the series (I'm a Brit, go figure) the quality of the series so far seems more in line with 7-8 rather than the better 1-6 series. That said I'm still enjoying the it so far, and to be honest RD is still RD. Moar is bettar!

I suppose given that it's been nine years since 8, you can forgive the story inconsistencies.

[Genghis Ares]

I'm gonna have them all downloaded by tomorrow, and were gonna watch them all together.

[Lord Chrusher]

I enjoyed it even though it did not feel like real Red Dwarf to me. Especially at the start.

The heavy CGI was a bit jarring as was the lack of a laugh track as other have mentioned. Also as people have said the writing is not as good.

To make an analogy to another British television special I watch this weekend: This was an episode written by Russell T Davis while most of real eight seasons were written by Stephen Moffat. Russell T Davis may have been involved with seasons seven and eight.

[James]

I just finished them up. This is coming from a long time HUGE fan of RD. I smegging loved it.

I will agree with a lot of things.

- It didn't feel like a traditional set of RD episodes
- The CG was a bit jarring (only cause they never use to use it)
- It did feel more in line with series 7 and 8

But I was ok with everyone of those issues.

They made it pretty clear this takes place after series 10. And there was an awful lot of hinting at more RD and I am ok with that. For me this show has always been about its characters. And they are alive and well and just as funny as they were 10 years ago, 15 years ago or even 20 years ago.

Good job all around RD team and please don't let this be the end.

[Lord Chrusher]

It was different but it still seemed to fit with what Red Dwarf is. A silly comedy about the last man alive, a hologram of his neurotic bunkmate, a creature descended from the ships cat and a service mechanoid.

It is not like there have not been jumps in plot and production values. Just look at jump between seasons two and three.

One thing I was not sure about in both the Doctor Who special and the Red Dwarf special: References to the current economic downturn. I do not think either show should try and tie its self to the real world too much.

I missed Holly but then he has gone missing before.

[Genghis Ares]

I finally just watched them all tonight.

I am a huge RD fan and I found it to be enjoyable, but still kind of lacking in many regards.

Writing and dialogue was a bit overly self-referential and slightly topic driven with economy talk and coronation st stuff. Of course, the story was entirely self-referential on purpose, but I would have rather seen an actual story. It just seemed like they took Back to Reality, added some Blade Runner, and some random jokes and gags. Overall, parts of it seemed to be nothing better then the kind of stuff you find in fan fiction, and there were some good parts that actually worked well with the scenario. The basic comedy was there, and the red dwarf humor was present, I just don't think it was in full force.

I think the overall ensemble works well with how Red Dwarf had changed and this special sort of fixes some things in a couple of ways. I mean series 8 made it more of a basic sitcom and less of the sci-fi comedy show we know and love. But with this special they have sort of rebooted the story in a wierd and kind of clever way that would feel more open to a 10th series actually working. And I would be all for a 10th series.

Even if they couldn't do a full new series, I think it could be great for them to come out with some sort of seasonal entity. A christmas or easter special each year would be grand.

[Darkobra]

I liked it but it left more questions than answers. Lack of laughter was a little strange at first but it is something you get used to. Didn't enjoy the whole going into Coronation Street part, though. People outside UK probably don't understand it.

Craig Charles (Lister) is in Coronation Street, a soap here.

[Genghis Ares]

I think its easy to understand that a tv show was being made there, and it had Craig in it, and thats all that really matters. Yes I guess it may be funnier if you knew the show in question, which I only really know about it because Craig is in it and have never seen any episodes. But I still got the reference.

[Evil Jim]

I found this at a used bookstore earlier this afternoon. I did a few double-takes before I realized it was the real thing. [ PHOTO LINK ]

"Hey, cool, Red Dwarf in hard cover... Whups, maybe not. Waitaminute! What the hell??!"

It's basically the Red Dwarf Omnibus, comprised of the first two novels, "Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers" and "Better Than Life." Printed in 1990 in the USA. I'm happy to find another copy as I gave away my previous book as a going-away gift to a friend, but I may decide to turn the cover inside-out.

[Smeghead]

Well now I've seen this series and I had mixed feelings. (warning my post will contain spoilers for thouse who haven't seen it)

The down parts is ofc that you can't escape teh fact taht the crew is getting old, seeing as it's over 20 years since the first series. However, I would never suggest a replacement crew, that would be just wrong.

As for the story it does sort of follow the line of series 8 and then goes off the deep end into sillyness, but then the end really saves it, and I have to say that the part where Lister at first decides to remain in his dreamworld was awesome.

I spent almost all the time giggeling and smiling so much that my cheeks hurt, and some of the jokes were very good, while others were...meh..

I didn't see the hologram murder comming.

While this whole thing can be seen as a long version of Back to Reallity, with some ups and downs, it really felt good to see it, and hints of a 10th series also feels good, if only to end the story rather then it ending with yet another cliffhanger (2 times is enough).

Some memorable lines came out of it as well; my personal favorite being "When I'm lord of the starfleet Kryten, you'll pay for that remark".

[Genghis Ares]

I found this at a used bookstore earlier this afternoon. I did a few double-takes before I realized it was the real thing. [ PHOTO LINK ]

"Hey, cool, Red Dwarf in hard cover... Whups, maybe not. Waitaminute! What the hell??!"

It's basically the Red Dwarf Omnibus, comprised of the first two novels, "Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers" and "Better Than Life." Printed in 1990 in the USA. I'm happy to find another copy as I gave away my previous book as a going-away gift to a friend, but I may decide to turn the cover inside-out.

I have a Hard Cover version of InfinityWCD and Better Than Life, but it had a different cover then that one. Andi can't find it any where on the internet and I don't currently have the book with me.