Red Dwarf - Back to Earth

It’s taken me ages to finally get around to writing this, even though I’ve known what I’m going to say since I watched the three new Red Dwarf episodes.

First off I’m going to say that I thought the story was was Red Dwarf-like, by which I mean it was very similar to the sorts of stories they used to do, and something that only Red Dwarf can really get away with. Very few other science fictions would get away with breaking the fourth wall without breaking the immersion, heck, I don’t think many other shows of any genre would. On the subject of the story and immersion, the implicit mention of the Dave channel by the children on the bus was a big shame in my opinion, not just because cameo’s like that ruin the immersion, but also because it was completely unnecessary given the amount of press the show was getting. It’s not like Dave needed anymore publicity, they already had every Red Dwarf fan tuned in anyway.

On another story related note, I will just say that I saw it coming. The whole ‘reverse despair ink’ thing. Well, not exactly, but I did guess by the second episode that it would have something to do with the despair squid. Especially given what we saw in the first episode, heh.

Anyway, the only other thing I really want to mention is how brilliantly the actors got back into the role. Given that they have had 10 years out of the role, I found it amazing how well Craig Charles and Chris Barrie in particular playing Lister and Rimmer respectively played their characters. I think it speaks well to how much they enjoy acting in Red Dwarf.

I probably will end up buying it on Blu-Ray when it comes out, assuming it isn’t ridiculously expensive.

Here’s to a few more specials in the future!

And now for a completely different subject: Red Dwarf. I’ve been a fan since I watched my first episode several years ago, and I can’t bloody wait until tomorrow to see the first of the new episodes on Dave. Fingers crossed it’s as good as it’s being hyped up to be. Nothing could be finer than a new episode of Red Dwarf for my birthday!