Happy 29th, Red Dwarf!

Twenty-nine years ago today, Red Dwarf made its debut on BBC Two.

It's actually rather incredible that it even debut - according to the Red Dwarf website, production was almost killed off due to several strikes. Who, from the head honchos at the BBC, to Grant/Naylor, to Craig, Chris, Danny, and Norman, all the way to even the casual viewer, would've thought it would still be in production today?

Red Dwarf Review: Series XI Wrap-Up

"Our nomination for JMC Crew Of The Year is starting to look unlikely." - Lister, summing up the whole of Red Dwarf in a nutshell.

Well, almost four months after it's debut in Britain, and two months after it was released stateside, I have completed my look at Red Dwarf XI. Six episodes isn't a lot when stacked against seasons of the other shows I've reviewed, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

So, final thoughts on this season?

Simply put, it was rather good.

Red Dwarf Review: "Can of Worms" (Series XI, Episode 6)

 

"How do I break this to you... you're a moron!" - Rimmer, to the Cat after his date.

"Oh, Rimmer. Go easy on him. Let me handle this. Cat, man, you're a moron!" - Lister, for once, agreeing with Rimmer. Bring on the giant meteor. 

Airdate: 27 October, 2016
Written By: Doug Naylor
Plot: While cutting across an asteroid belt to get back on course, Starbug winds up coming across a largely deserted ship. It's crew - a mercenoid and a prisoner. After some confusion, the crew take out the mercenoid, and the prisoner is rescued. Said prisoner, Ankita, happens to be of the Cat's species. Cat becomes smitten with the very similar prisoner - assuaging his own anxieties regarding his love life (or lack thereof) - and goes on a date with her.

Unfortunately for him, Ankita happens to be a Polymorph who intends to deposit her eggs into the Cat. Ergo, the end of the Cat's first date results in him becoming pregnant - thus becoming the third person on board Red Dwarf to become pregnant, and the second male.

Review:

Well, here we are. The last episode of Series XI. Hard to believe that it's been almost 4 years since I began looking at this silly little sci-fi show - one that is more than the sum of its parts. And, so far Series XI has been rather solid. There've been no truly spectacular episodes, but I would argue that a couple of episodes have been great, and the rest, so far, have been good.

So, will Series XI continue the trend of stable quality? Will it break my expectations and be one of the most spectacular episodes of the series? Or will XI putter to the end?

Well, let's start my analysis with the fact that this episode focuses on the Cat.

Red Dwarf Review: "Krysis" (Series XI, Episode 5)

"Have you ever felt 'I've wasted my life?" 

"You? Sure! Every single day!" 

- Lister and the Cat, summing up a midlfie crisis.

Airdate: 20 October, 2016
Written By: Doug Naylor
Plot: Kryten's hit a rough patch in his duties aboard ship. The trio diagnose him with a midlife crisis - something that becomes readily apparent once Krytie dons a bright red shell (pictured above). To try and remind him of how far he's come, the Boys from the Dwarf go to the Nova III, to analyze a similar mechanoid and see how he's held up all alone... only to come across a mechanoid that has become a connoisseur of and participant in all the finest arts.

Review:

This episode should not work.

I mean, let's face it - it's plot is pretty much the child of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and "Barely Beyond A Joke". I disliked The Final Frontier, and "Beyond A Joke" is my second least favorite episode of the show (third if you count "Krytie TV" as an episode and not as an instrument of torture banned by the Geneva Convention). Point is - is the third time the charm for these plot threads on this blog?

Well, if you count the second half of Gravity Falls season 2, then for the most part, yes.

But what about the fourth time? Does it work then?

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"?

Red Dwarf Review: "Give and Take" (Series XI, Episode 3)

"I am now fluent in all the deceptive arts. I could work for FIFA!" - Kryten. Hey, that's base level, Krytie. Manage a presidential campaign.

Airdate: October 2nd, 2016
Written By: Doug Naylor.
Plot: While scouting for a medical droid aboard an abandoned spaceship, Rimmer and Kryten come across what they suspect is the target droid. Lister and the Cat actually do come across said droid, who proceeds to perform malpractice in a fit of insanity. Rimmer and Kryten come to their defense, and rescue them - although they destroy a pair of kidneys that were to go into Lister. With Lister's kidneys removed, he needs to get the Cat to donate and for the rescued droid to rewrite the DNA. Unfortunately, that proves a tall order.

Review:

Hey, the Cat gets an episode! Sort of. Last time Lister and the Cat interacted, Lister learned about how Archimedes invented gravy after a bath fell on his head. What we saw there is their dynamic starting to take shape after largely being held off over the prior several series. This episode continues that trend - with Lister's life in Cat's hands. (Here's hoping he had a will.) In fact, it's probably my favorite of the season so far.

Red Dwarf Review: "Samsara" (Series XI, Episode 2)

Lister's hair is not food. Repeat - Lister's hair is not food.

"They're dead!" "Hey, the medical reports aren't in yet. We shouldn't jump to conclusions." - Rimmer and the Cat, discussing the bodies of Col. Green and Prof. Barker. Second time Rimmer's introduced himself as a captain to dead people, by the way.

Airdate: 29 September, 2016

Written By: Doug Naylor.

Plot: The crew investigate a ship that crashed on an oceanic planet, as well as a pod that contains two deceased (read, dissolved) crew members. On that ship, they discover that the Samsara contains a karma drive - one which praises virtues and punishes callousness. The four split up - Lister has to deal with the Cat, while Rimmer and Kryten team up.

While this is happening, we learn more about the dynamic duo, who were locked in an affair with each other... and who's reaction to getting caught may have damned the ship.

Review: 

My thoughts about "Twentica" was that it was a rather solid opener to the series. While not ranking among my top 10 episodes of the show, it still managed to please me for 30 minutes. It was rather unique, but more of a way to establish something of a tonal shift. "Samsara" takes the tonal shift a bit further - rotating between two stories, past and present. Does it work? Well, let's take another analysis at this.

Red Dwarf Review: "Twentica" (Series XI, Episode 1)

This is first-degree toastercide!

"If that's the penalty for toast, what the hell do you get for pizza?" - The Cat.

Airdate: 22 September 2016
Written By: Doug Naylor
Plot: In the depths of uncharted space, Starbug gets intercepted by a ship of Expanoids - a subset of Simulants. They pull a trick on the Dwarfers to obtain an artifact - the Casket of Cronos - that allows them to travel back in time to 20th-century America. There, technology beyond the Gilded Ages are prohibited, and scientists are driven underground to speakeasies. In order to free themselves, they must find a use of a machine part that was given to them by a doomed scientist.

Review:

Before I begin, I just want to say that there's this incredible feeling I have in reviewing Red Dwarf as it comes out (in America, at least) for the first time. This, again, was the very first show I decided to blog about. As the years have gone by, I have come to admire the show more. And even though I wouldn't place it at the top of my all time favorites (The Simpsons, Steven Universe, and Gravity Falls are a holy trinity of awesome animation), I still think it is one of the most overlooked sci-fi shows out there.

To get (virtually) brand new episodes for the first time in my fandom (Red Dwarf X came out just before I became a full-blown fan of the show) was something quite indescribable. I watched them all in a day.

With that said...  I begin my (silly) analysis of Series XI.

That's About Average for Second Class Post! (Red Dwarf Reviews: Series XI Preview)

"Well, gentlemen, congratulations. Scrambling in a red alert situation, a new record time - one hour, seventeen minutes, thirty-nine seconds!"

After a wait of a month and a half since it's premiere in Britain, Red Dwarf XI has made it's debut on America's iTunes.

I'm assuming they saved the iTunes release until today in order to keep the DVD sales at least somewhat respectable. Then again, given that the show debut a week before it's TV release on UKTVPlay, one has to wonder what Dave was thinking.

Nonetheless, I'm glad the show is out stateside, and that I can review it without dealing with viruses from a Torrent. (Yes, I'm a dork.) It's the first Red Dwarf since 2012. In that time frame, there have been an entire series of Olympics, four Super Bowls, a change in the British Premiership and it's relationship with Europe, and America is torn between the two least liked presidential candidates since the 19th century.

Yeah, this show will provide a bit of an escape.

My plan is this - I have a review of "Future Vision" in the offing. Meanwhile, I will be writing my review of "Twentica". I intend to have both out by Thanksgiving, the very latest. After whatever comes out last, it's all Red Dwarf until Christmas, maybe even the new year.

And, as is customary with my reviews of Red Dwarf, here is a preview of the episodes I have to review, based off of the iTunes descriptions.

• Twentica: The crew wind up in an alternate version of America, where electronic machines are banned.
• Samsara: The Dwarfers have to confront their nightmares as they encounter a crashed ship at the bottom of a planet's ocean.
• Give and Take: Lister's kidneys are hijacked after a conflict with a droid. The only person that has similar kidneys is the Cat. (Personally speaking, I'm getting a bad "Kidney Trouble" vibe from this.)
• Officer Rimmer: Well, the title is pretty self-explanatory. Rimmer becomes promoted after saving a "bio-officer", and his ego soars to new heights.
• Krysis: Kryten goes through a mid-life krysis (damn it, crisis), and the Dwarfers have to get him to realize that he's wanted aboard the small rouge one.
• Can of Worms: The Cat actually falls in love. It's not with a clone of himself, though - he falls in love with a lady cat.

Well, Red Dwarf is back. Step up to blue alert.

"Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does require changing the bulb."

So, About My Red Dwarf XI Reviews...

...something's been flamingoed up.

It's been about three days since "Twentica" premiered in the UK - ten if you count it's debut on UKTV Play. And as of this moment, Series XI is not available on iTunes. Nor is it on Google Play, Amazon Prime, etc. Basically, the US is locked out of the Boys from the Dwarf as of now.

And before anybody asks, I refuse to torrent the show. I don't need a virus on my Macbook.

I did, however, manage to get a good look at this bit of info from Amazon.

Review Nebula Announcements: September 2016

Hello, everybody. With September 2016 right here, I just want to make a couple of announcements regarding what this month - and, to a lesser extent, this year - holds for The Review Nebula.

First off, let's back to the boys in the Small Rouge One.

The trailer for Red Dwarf XI came out less than a week ago - premiering on Dave and rapidly getting posted to YouTube through official and unofficial channels.

Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

Red Dwarf XI: First Preview

Image taken from the Red Dwarf website.

"Kryten, set a course for Red Dwarf. The slime's coming home!" - Rimmer, at the end of "The Beginning".

Finally!

This September, Red Dwarf returns for a new batch of episodes. Red Dwarf XI will mark the first series in four years, after Red Dwarf X's run on Dave led to rather high ratings and overall good reviews. General consensus of Series X was that, while not as sublime as the earlier series, it was a return to form compared to the controversial previous three series.

"Remember, Only The Good Die Young..." - The Gravity Falls Pre-Finale Post

Well, this is it.

Today marks the Series Finale of Gravity Falls. It airs at 7PM ET on DisneyXD. I anticipate that it will be an incredible end. Speculation is already running rampant that one of the characters will die, and chances are... that will happen. Not going to go further, but I could see Gravity Falls going out with a bit of a tragic aura.

Fun thing is, Hirsch has not ruled out the possibility of future specials or comics to continue the canon. However, I doubt we'll see anything for quite a while - Hirsch has already signed a deal with FOX to create a new animated show. I suspect it will be taking up his time for the next couple of years, at least.

And, hey, if this is the end, consider this quote, said by Rimmer at the end of the Red Dwarf episode "Only The Good".

"Remember, only the good die young."

Oh, speaking of which...

Movie Review: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

This movie's name was almost prophetic.

Premiere: June 9th, 1989

Synopsis: A Vulcan by the name of Sybok promises the desperate eternal knowledge, with just one requirement - they need a spaceship to get to the source. Thus, they decide to storm the capital city of "The Planet for Galactic Peace" and hijack the ship that responds. Hilariously enough, the ship is the still broken-down Enterprise A. Sybok lures the crew of the Enterprise in, and through the power of reading "hidden pain", directs it to Sha Ka Ree.

Review (SPOILERS): 

Wow. Two hundred posts. Not a major milestone, but still a bit cool. If I celebrated my 100th with the best Star Trek movie, I may as well "celebrate" by looking at what many fans consider to... not be the best movie.

But first, being that this is something of a minor landmark for this blog, I figured I'd start with a mention of the show that really started it all.

I've mentioned time and again that Red Dwarf is, if not my all-time favorite show, one of my top five favorites. If I might give a brief elaboration on my favorite episodes, some of them, in hindsight, are quite theological. "The Last Day" questions whether people should constrain themselves strictly to their religion's set of values, if they subscribe to said values. "Lemons" gave something of an analysis of Jesus - to many the great prophet, to many others the greatest teacher ever. Most importantly, "The Inquisitor" wonders whether or not we should actively strive to live life to the fullest, and whether we get another shot.

What made these all stand out is that they all did so while being downright hysterical. Whether the comedy connected to the theology, or divulged from it, I was rolling.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier also tried to mix theology with comedy. The results? Let's just say, it almost killed the franchise stone dead.

The Boys are Back in Town!!!!

They're back!!!!

It's official- Red Dwarf is coming back for TWO MORE SERIES, baby! Count 'em- TWO. 2. II.

They will be broadcast in 2016 and 2017, respectively, on the Dave Network in the UK. (This should be enough incentive for WNET to pick up Red Dwarf X here on Long Island/New York. I'm not upset, however - thank you, iTunes.)

There's little word on what could be in the plot, although based on what I've read on Ganymede.TV, this is what I know:

• Doug has already written most of the new scripts and will return as director. While his work on VII and VIII would make some fans weary, his work on BtE and X probably assuaged the worst fears.
• Richard Naylor and Kerry Waddell will produce. Naylor was a co-producer for Red Dwarf X, which, again, turned out to be not awful, so this is a good sign.
• Chris, Craig, Danny, and Robert will all return. To accommodate this change to the schedule, Craig Charles has resigned from Coronation Street, the soap opera he's been acting in (as taxi driver Lloyd) since 2002.
• Based on some tweets found in the comments section- verification to be confirmed, however - one episode will have everybody become Kryten... hey, one episode tried to do a plot involving dinosaurs, and it almost killed the franchise stone dead. I doubt this could be as low.

That's pretty much all. Obviously, I'm excited, and I can't wait for 2016. 

Oh, if you live in the UK, and if you are of legal age to do so, VOTE!

Happy 27th, Red Dwarf!

Twenty-seven years ago today, BBC Two debut a sitcom in space. It was called Red Dwarf, and it was created by two writers from a puppet show on ITV.

Ten series, sixty-one episodes, and many cast and setting changes later, the show has firmly set it's place in the science fiction and British pop culture spheres.

Through the ups and downs, from the TIVs to the dinosaurs, I will never regret a single moment of watching Red Dwarf. In retrospect, the doldrums made the great episodes that much better.

What else can I say? If you haven't watched Red Dwarf before... please, watch it.

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)

Red Dwarf X: Wrap Up

Well, that, my friends, is a series!

Red Dwarf X, the first "real" Red Dwarf series since 1999, is finally finished. So, after all this speculation, after all the waiting, how did this series turn out?

Admittedly, not too bad.

I think some of what worked for Red Dwarf X was the expectations... in that the fans really didn't have too many expectations. Given the shaky quality of VII, VIII, and (to a lesser extent) BTE, it would appear that the only way this series could fail is if every single person onboard was incompetent.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case, given the limitations.

I think that, if this season was any indication, this was largely a case of "playing it safe" actually working.

• Some revelations about Rimmer's family aside, the series really used the current traits of the characters, rather than build on them. Sure, Lister took up a robotics course, but that was more for brief gags.
• This season was very much like a hodgepodge of various series, with emphasis on I-III's "ship-based" comedy. Few scenes were shot outside of Red Dwarf, and there were fewer scenes with location shooting.
• The show tread on familiar concepts- the computer gone rogue, meeting a famous figure, Rimmer battling his inner demons involving his family, etc. While there was some mismanagement involving these ("Dear Dave"), sometimes, they worked out quite well ("The Beginning")

I think Doug Naylor saw the complaints levied to Series VII and VIII, and decided to go "back to basics". Which is fine, but...

...I wasn't so livid at the changes during VII and VIII as much as I was the fact that they were implemented horridly. Kochanski could've been a fantastic character. Instead, she was reduced to a bland character, her one trait being that she was a female on a male's ship. Putting the crew in prison, while a questionable idea, might have worked. Instead, the comedy was reduced to the lowest of levels, and the characters were obnoxious.

Here, the characters weren't annoying, and the comedy worked. Safe to say that the execution was decent.

In hindsight, the main thing about this series is that it feels like the last hurrah. It ended on a satisfactory note. There's really no need for an 11th series.

That, and it seems like they've told all the stories that can be told. I mean, the return was good, but it seems like any more would, again, be unnecessary.

Hopefully, Series XI lives up to the standards of Red Dwarf X.

Which leads me to the TL;DR: Red Dwarf X held it's own against the classics. It wasn't perfect - "Dear Dave" was weak - but it was still a nice return to form.

But we're not really done.

This December, our Christmas Spectacular Thing will be lists related to Red Dwarf. The first list? The top 8 worst episodes of Red Dwarf.

So far.