Red Dwarf Review: "Officer Rimmer" (Series XI, Episode 4)

Merry Christmas, everybody! The reviews of Series XI, I guess, will serve as my Christmas Spectacular Thing. It's gonna go into January (I think), but given that it feels like stores have begun selling Christmas goods in August, what's the problem with going a few extra days?

A first lieutenant must keep his priorities in order, prepare for any sort of danger. Truly, Rimmer is the MacArthur of his fleet.

"Things are about to get a whole lot more Rimmery!" - Rimmer.

Airdate: October 9th, 2016
Written By: Doug Naylor
Plot: As the title suggests, Rimmer becomes an officer. He does so by saving a JMC officer that was printed out by a 3D printer. After getting this promotion, he uses the printer to make several clones. Unfortunately, like real-life printers, this one encounters some errors... a few of which are deadly.

Review:

The idea of cloning somebody isn't necessarily a complex idea. How this episode deals with it, though, is by analyzing the style of DNA reproduction by making temporary copies in a printer. It's rather horrifying, especially given that the printer is connected to a network of individuals whose genomes are available for anyone to use, regardless of their intent.

Red Dwarf, like most sci-fi tropes it takes on, puts a comedic spin on it by tying it to one of the main plot threads present in the show - Rimmer's utter failure to reach what he feels is the next class level.

On that note, anybody remember Series VIII's "Only the Good"?

Movie Review: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

"The battle for galactic peace has begun..." (Screencap from Wikipedia, poster by John Alvin.)

Premiere: December 6th, 1991

Synopsis: The moon that provides the Klingon Empire's energy suffers a major disaster, releasing ozone onto the planet. This potentially condemns the empire to a maximum of fifty years, should the planet not reign in it's military expenditures. The Federation is ready to broker a treaty between them and the empire, and sends Captain James T Kirk and the Enterprise out to make a truce. Thing is, Kirk doesn't trust the Klingons - something about them stabbing his son and wrecking his old ship doesn't endear them to him.

Just after a series of awkward talks between the Klingon Ambassadors and the Enterprise (appointed ambassadors), the latter ship fires on the former's ship, killing the Klingon Chancellor. With no knowledge on who did it, Kirk and Dr McCoy stand trial and face life in prison, and the two forces appear on the brink of war.

Review: Well, it took far longer than I expected (again, my apologies), but here we are. The last movie solely based off of Star Trek: The Original Series, and the last film produced during Gene Roddenberry's lifetime (he died a month and a half before the premiere, but got an advance screening two days before he died).

After the utter disaster that was Star Trek V, nobody was sure what to do with Star Trek VI. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that it was the franchise's 25th anniversary, and that TNG had done alright in the ratings so far, Paramount probably would've sunk Star Trek into history. After waffling around as to what the plot would be, the end result is actually a genuinely moving film - an arguably overlooked classic in the Trek canon.

(Warning: spoilers. Proceed at your own peril. Or disappointment. Hey, it's a movie.)

Not Another Top (X) List: Top 11 Best Episodes of Red Dwarf (So Far)

Merry Christmas, and welcome back (again) to...

NOT ANOTHER TOP (X) LIST!

At the beginning of our Christmas Spectacular Thing, we took a look at the top 8-ish worst episodes of Red Dwarf. By the end, the questions you were asking were probably... 

1. "Why the hell did you not go completely mad?"
2. "Why look at the bad of this show?"
3. "Why was Red Dwarf still your favourite show, even after you reviewed this tripe?"

To all three of those questions, I present this list. You see, when Red Dwarf was at it's lowest, during the doldrums of Series VII and VIII, I thought back and actually asked myself these questions.

The thing is that, even with those 16 maligned episodes in Series VII and VIII, and with the more lukewarm material that came afterward, 35 of the first 36 episodes of Red Dwarf were some fantastic television. At worst, those episodes were a bit off, but not too bad. On average, those episode were some funny, somewhat deep television. At it's best? Simply put, at it's best, Red Dwarf is some of the best television I've ever seen.

Where else could you see an odious failure of a man revealed to be a man with neuroses, a man held back by the worst that life had to offer? Where else did a seemingly one-dimensional fashionista have some of the best dexterity in the history of TV? Where else could one see a loopy computer pull the occasional trick up his sleeve? Where else could a subservient robot use his order to manipulate the system, and almost crack his programming due to the surroundings he faced every day. And where else could a man who seem to be satisfied with the simpler things in life, an utterly unmotivated slob, actually hold deep-seated values, and coincide the negative side of his id with actions that make him one of the kindest people in fiction?

And what other show would pack it all in with comedy that hits both ends of the scale? Jokes about modern pop culture and sex flow into jokes about historical figures that few may have even known about.

That's why Red Dwarf is so brilliant. Through the doldrums, I never forgot about the brilliance of the best episodes.

I picked out 11 episodes that I feel are required viewing for any fan of Red Dwarf. OK, these are mainly my favourites, but you get the idea. I was originally going to do 10, but I realised that would exclude an episode that I feel needs to be on the list. These episodes are the best that Grant/Naylor have to offer. The highest parts of the list are some of the best TV I've ever seen.

Now, as with my "Worst Episodes" list, my opinions may have changed since I reviewed them, albeit not by too much.

So, here we are...

THE TOP 11 BEST EPISODES OF RED DWARF (SO FAR)

Not Another Top (X) List: Ranking the Series of Red Dwarf (So Far)

Hello, and welcome to...

NOT ANOTHER TOP (X) LIST!

Last time, we took a look at the 8 worst episodes in the history of Red Dwarf, plus one that surpassed the 8 so far in badness that it ranked under the eight (know what I'm saying?) Since I expect the last list to debut on Christmas, I have decided to bridge the "bad" with the "good" by ranking every series of Red Dwarf so far, from worst to best. I think the start of the list is pretty predictable- it's the rest of the series that might throw a curveball or two.

In addition, I have decided to add the "worst episode" and "best episode" from the season. Here's the deal- the best episode from the best season might not (not necessarily "won't") make it to #1 on the "top episodes" list. Likewise, a "best episode" from a lower-ranked series might make it to #1 on the "top episodes list".

Oh, and none of the DVD covers featured here belong to me.

Enough stalling... let's begin!

Not Another Top (X) List: Top 8-ish Worst Episodes of Red Dwarf (So Far)

Note to self: invest in Photoshop!

Hello, and welcome to another edition of....

NOT ANOTHER TOP (X) LIST!

Oh, and it's December! Time for our...

CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR THING!

Over the past two years, I took a look at Red Dwarf. I've seen the highs, I've seen the lows. I've seen the best, I've seen the worst. I've seen Duane Dibbley and the Polymorph. I saw Krytie TV and the Dinosaur. I've watched the characters evolve, devolve, and everything in between.

Now, until Series XI premieres (or until I get around to re-reviewing episodes), it's the end of the road for our look at Red Dwarf.

When Red Dwarf was good, it was awesome. It's characters, plots, and humor were unparalleled in British Comedy, in science-fiction, in TV. The construction of a solid majority of the episodes is awesome, and quite a few episodes are perfection.

Yet, to say it's not perfect would be an understatement. The bad episodes of Red Dwarf ranged from duff episodes to some of the worst TV I've ever watched. Now, debate can range on if and when Red Dwarf went down the tubes, if and when it recovered, and if and when the show's legacy was tarnished by the weaker seasons.

Still, I feel fit to put in my top examples on when Red Dwarf failed to meet the high standards set by the cream of the crop... of if it just failed, period.

Now, a disclosure: this is not in the order that I graded them, nor could the episode that I may have noted was the worst episode ever at the time of review make it to #1 on this list. This is purely on reflection. My opinions may have changed since I originally reviewed these episodes, albeit only slightly.

Oh, and stories=episodes.

Ladies and gentlemen, X=8. After the jump...

THE TOP 8 WORST EPISODES OF RED DWARF (SO FAR)

Christmas Spectacular Thing: The Simpsons: Season 23, Episode 22: "Lisa Goes Gaga"

Christmas Spectacular Thing: The Simpsons: Season 23, Episode 10: Politically Inept, With Homer Simpson

My Christmas Gift to You!