Red Dwarf X - Episode Six: The Beginning

Well, after what seems like no time at all, the new series of Red Dwarf is over. This does leave me with a vacant timeslot on Thursday evenings, but I am encouraged as the fact that the series went by so quickly is a clear indication that I enjoyed it. This final episode – like every other from this latest series – had its share of mis-fires, but by and large it proved to be a satisfying conclusion to this series. It did not, however, seem to be the end.

The episode began with a flashback to Rimmer’s past, where his uncaring father was also his teacher. The actor who played young Rimmer was impeccably cast, as he looked just like a young Chris Barrie. The only problem with this scene was that its punch-line seemed a bit anti-climactic, as I almost expected the scene to continue when it ended.

One of the weaknesses of the episode for me was the amount of screen time given to a new character, who was introduced in a manner that seemed to suggest we should already know who he is, and buy into his idiosyncratic habit of challenging people to a ‘dual across time and space’. There were some funny lines in this exchange, but the scene didn’t exactly endear this new character to me, instead I was left feeling a little irritated that so much time had been given to him.

The ship was then attacked by killer simulants who also did their best to chew the scenery during their overly generous amount of screen time. Don’t get me wrong, the characters displayed some good comedic timing at points, especially the delivery of the line “kill him” from the head simulant after requesting that his crew challenge him, and having that challenge met, was very well done. The pull-back-and-reveal nature of the hari-kari scene walked on the fine line between amusing and gross, and was drawn out a bit too long.

After taking a back seat for most of the series, Kryten and Cat both had a couple of stand-out moments in this episode. Cat’s scene where he played with the string and stick, in the manner of a real cat, was very enjoyable, whilst Kryten’s ship-wide search for all the weapons available yielded a very strong visual gag. Also Kryten had what was probably my favourite joke from the entire series when he talked about how he would definitely win a ‘towel folding competition’ to the death, and proceeded to punctuate this statement with physical gusto.

The episode was undoubtedly Rimmer’s though, and after ten series we received a big reveal which may affect his character for series to come, and he was finally able to be the hero, after years of being a coward. I also enjoyed Lister’s blunt delivery of the line “It’s crap” when he learned about Rimmer’s plan, and of course the gloriously unashamed manner in which the gaping plot-hole left behind by the series 8 finale was answered!

Rimmer closed the episode with the line “The slime’s coming home” which was a cyclical nod to the final line from the very first episode, except back then it was Lister who said it. It served as a satisfying end to the series, although I had hopeful expectations when I realised there was a post-credits scene, but unfortunately it only served to end the episode on a rather weak joke.

Overall I enjoyed the series, and despite my theories about this being the final episode, there were still things left unaddressed which makes me believe that the show is not done yet. Well, if that’s the case I look forward to finding out more. Congratulations to the cast and the writers for bringing back an old classic, and making it enjoyable.

Red Dwarf X - Episode Five: Dear Dave

The penultimate episode of the new series (it has gone by really quickly!) was an interesting one, which didn’t really have a major plot-line. There were separate stories in motion, but none of them seemed particularly significant. Not that this mattered though, as there were some enjoyable scenarios and the usual throw-backs to the show at its peak. It also allowed for fewer distractions from the general antics of the crew, and to be honest it was nice to have the focus be on the main cast, without any guest appearances for a change.

I suppose that the central storyline was focussed on Lister being the last human being alive, and coming to terms with that fact. There was some funny dialogue between Lister and Kryten where they reflected on the human race, as though it were an ex-girlfriend. Lister then spent several scenes flirting with a couple of vending machines, which was a bit odd, but I suppose that being the last of your species as part of an all-male crew, anything with a female voice would seem like preferable company whenever you felt depressed. Additionally, Lister’s crewmates prove their ineptitude at making Lister feel better, all in their own obliviously tactless way.

Somewhat frustratingly, Rimmer was caught up in a largely uneventful plot-line, where he was being threatened with demotion to 3^rd technician for not reporting for duty in over three million years. There were a couple of funny moments – including a call-back to the scene in series 3 when Rimmer walks in on Lister in an uncompromising position – but this was probably one of the least interesting storylines this new series has offered up. Also, Kryten’s plotline of removing all of the unused toilet roll resulted in the mildly amusing image of a trolley stacked with hundreds of toilet rolls, but very little else. And for almost half the episode Cat didn’t appear at all, until he suddenly showed up for a nonsensical game of charades.

The best scenes for me revolved around the arrival of the mail-pod, which recalled the scene in Better Than Life. The delivery from Chris Barrie when he found a letter addressed to him was excellent, and indeed a scene I saw in a trailer before this new series began, which made me confident that the new series would be worth a watch. Then Lister finding a letter from an ex-girlfriend, who could have been the mother of his children was quite an interesting story development. Ultimately this storyline lead to something that Red Dwarf has often done very well: a good one-liner to wrap up an episode. These one-liners are at their best when they are understated, and this was the case here (and with last week’s episode as well) as they demonstrate that this is a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously – an entire storyline can be dismantled in just one line.

It wasn’t the best episode of the new series, but it wasn’t a bad one either. I’m eager to see how this new series will conclude, and whether it will mark the end of the series overall, or once again leave things open-ended, as it has tended to do in the past. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the fact that the series finale is entitled ‘The Beginning’ a counterpart to the first ever episode ‘The End’ I have an inkling that we could be on the verge of Red Dwarf’s definitive conclusion. Will that be the case though? We’ll have to see!