TVRealm: Why You Should Watch...
So...I went a little overboard with this Why You Should Watch... challenge. I think I have at least 50 points, so I'm not worried about that, really.
Anyway, on with the show!
7 Reasons to Watch Red Dwarf
1. The Characters
To me, Red Dwarf isn’t Red Dwarf without the characters-the characters make the show.
Meet Dave Lister. He’s the last human being in space, after having been in stasis for three million years. He starts out as a slob, as a space bum (which is pretty much his only occupation) but there are those parts in the show where he shows that he’s something more than just a space bum.
Arnold J. Rimmer is Lister’s friend, resurrected by Holly (the ship’s computer) to keep Lister sane, hence the ‘H’ on his forehead that stands for hologram. He loves protocol and rules and is the opposite of Lister in every way.
Cat evolved from cats and is a descendant from Lister’s cat Frankenstein. As such, he has cat traits-such as he cares very much about his appearance, he has sharp pointy teeth, he has a yo-yo with which he can play with the string. Over the seasons he sort of loses all his cat traits and becomes sort of normal/regular so much so that you start thinking of him less as a cat and more as a normal person.
He’s one of the hurdles to get over in the first episode-the first time I watched it I was absolutely 0_0 OMG what is this show? But I got used to it. It just adds to the quirkiness of the show.
Kryten-who is introduced in season 2 and is a full time regular starting from season 3-is a robot who is obsessed about cleaning. Really obsessed. Though Lister tries to teach him to break the mold he has about obeying people and tries to teach him to go his own way in life.
Holly is the ship’s computer. He says what’s on his mind; he has an IQ of 6,000 but has become “computer senile”.
2. The friendship between Rimmer and Lister
This friendship practically makes the show what it is. Red Dwarf has been labeled as the ‘Odd Couple set in space’ or something like that. Lister and Rimmer have the best friendship ever-they may loathe each other, they may hate having to be around each other, they hate rooming together, but they’ll always be there for each other, and if that’s not friendship I don’t know what is.
(This also leads to a scene in season 7 that many fans of Lister/Rimmer swoon over.)
It's quite difficult describing the amazing friendship that Lister and Rimmer have so here's some picspams of both of them:
3. The writing
The writing for this show is just so legendary. This is mostly because the entire show-up until series 7-had been written by Doug Naylor and Rob Grant so there’s that consistency in the writing that I love in TV shows. They know the characters so well, and I think that also leads to the golden interactions between Rimmer and Lister.
(Unfortunately, starting in series 7 Grant leaves and Doug Naylor is left to write the series with some other people, and series 7 is sort of awful, series 8 is good, IMO, though there’s some fan disagreement about that. But this isn’t really the time and place to get into what fans discuss about the show.)
Here are some quotes from the show:
Lister: You what? You went in there, wrote "I AM A FISH" four hundred times, did a funny little dance and fainted!
Rimmer: That's a total lie.
Lister: No, it's not. Peterson told me.
Rimmer: "No, it's not. Peterson told me." Lister, if you must know, I submitted a discourse on porous circuitry that was too... radical, too unconventional, too mould-breaking for the examiners to accept.
Lister: Yeah. You said you were a fish!
Cat: I'm so hungry. I just have to eat!
Lister: Shh... Rimmer's dad's died.
Cat: I'd prefer chicken.
Cat [to Rimmer]: What is it?
Rimmer: It's a rent in the space-time continuum.
Cat [to Lister]: What is it?
Lister: The stasis room freezes time, you know, makes time stand still. So whenever you have a leak, it must preserve whatever it's leaked into, and it's leaked into this room.
Cat [to Rimmer]: What is it?
Rimmer: It's singularity, a point in the universe where the normal laws of space and time don't apply.
Cat [to Lister]: What is it?
Lister: It's a hole back into the past.
Cat: Oh, a magic door! Well, why didn't you say?
Holly: I just don't know where we are. There's no two ways about it: I flamingoed up!
Rimmer: What do you mean?
Holly: It's like a cock-up, only much much bigger.
[Cat and Lister are playing Scrabble.]
Cat: Hey hey hey, I've got you now, buddy! J, O, Z, X, Y, Q, K!
Lister: That's not a word.
Cat: It's a Cat word.
Lister: Jozxyqk?
Cat: That's not how you pronounce it!
Lister: What does it mean?
Cat: It's the sound you make when you get your sexual organs trapped in something.
Lister: Is it in the dictionary?
Cat: Well it could be, if you're reading in the nude and close the book too quick. Jozxyqk!!!
Rimmer: I used to be in the Samaritans.
Lister: I know. For one morning.
Rimmer: I couldn't take any more.
Lister: I don't blame you. You spoke to five people and they all committed suicide. I wouldn't mind, but one was a wrong number! He only phoned up for the cricket scores!
Rimmer: Well, it's not my fault everyone chose that day to jump out of buildings! It made the papers, you know. "Lemming Sunday," they called it.
Rimmer: At least he gets 24 hours notice, that's more than most of us get. Most of us get "Mind that bus!" "What bus?" "Splat!"
Kryten: They've taken Mr. Rimmer! Sir, they've taken Mr. Rimmer!
Cat: Quick - let's get out of here before they bring him back!
Lister [about their two-year prison sentence]: It's only two years; what, with good behaviour, it'll probably only be eighteen months. Remember when you were first born, then you were eighteen months? The time just flashed past!
Rimmer: It flashed past because you had two breasts big as your head at your beck and call day and night! Give me that now and I wouldn't be whinging.
4. The sci-fi
As far as storylines go, Red Dwarf doesn’t exactly have kudo points on continuity, especially between seasons. But the sci-fi it has makes up for the lack of continuity.
Future Echoes is probably the best sci-fi episode in series 1. It’s a good example of how the show blends comedy and sci-fi to make this really creative and fantastic sci-fi show and makes you wonder, ‘Hmm, is this a sitcom? Is it sci-fi? Oh, it’s both!’
Series 2 has the episode Parallel Universe, which ends on such a crazy note that reminds me of some fanfiction out there (but in a good way).
Series 3 has the episode Bodyswap. Yes, it’s one of those where the characters switch bodies but it’s done in such a refreshing way that it doesn’t seem unoriginal. Or in case that’s not a good sci-fi episode then there’s always Backwards (and after Backwards make sure you watch Backwards-Forwards).
Series 4 has Justice, which is a really interesting sci-fi episode, IMO.
Series 5 is my favorite (only because the series has episodes that focus entirely on Rimmer, it seems. Maybe that’s why it’s my favorite). It also has a lot of good sci-fi episodes but my favorite is Terrorform, which is probably the best Lister/Rimmer friendship episode ever.
Series 6 has The Gunmen of the Apocalypse, which is the western Red Dwarf, and it’s really an entertaining episode. You would think a western Red Dwarf wouldn’t work just hearing about it but seeing it is really awesome.
Series 7-which is the series that fans often hate-has the episode Blue in it, which, IMO, is a fantastic episode (and is the one that most fans of the pairing Rimmer/Lister swoon over). But a good sci-fi episode is Tikka to Ride, where the crew end up in 1963 in America and they must deal with the assassination of President Kennedy.
Series 8 has the episode Cassandra, where the crew face a computer that can predict the future.
Back to Earth is a completely different sci-fi story altogether and I don’t want to reveal spoilers, but I thought it was really good.
5. The craziness--anything can happen
You want a musical? Okay, there’s one in this show:
Click to viewOr an entire episode where everything runs backwards. Seriously.
There's so much more craziness that I can't describe and that you just have to watch for yourselves.
6. Red Dwarf series X
There’s going to be a new series! I know that probably doesn’t really make anyone want to watch the show, but basically it just means the show’s not dead yet (lame attempt at Monty Python humor).
But yes, the boys from the Dwarf will be back this year, and if that’s not awesome I don’t know what is.
7. The epic theme song
And here's one epic music video I found: