Red Dwarf (1988– )

The adventures of the last human being alive and his friends, stranded three million years into deep space on the mining ship Red Dwarf.

Creators:

Rob Grant, Doug Naylor

Stars:

Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Chris Barrie

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Craig Charles	...	Dave Lister (61 episodes, 1988-2012)
Danny John-Jules	...	The Cat (61 episodes, 1988-2012)
Chris Barrie	...	Arnold Rimmer (57 episodes, 1988-2012)
Robert Llewellyn	...	Kryten (49 episodes, 1989-2012)

Storyline

Three million years ago, a radiation leak killed the crew of the mining ship, Red Dwarf. The only survivor was Dave Lister, the chicken soup machine repairman. He spends his time on the ship with a holographic projection of Arnold Rimmer (his dead bunkmate), Cat (a life-form that evolved from Dave's cat), Holly (the ship's senile computer), and Kryten (a service mechanoid).

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Plot Keywords:

cat | red dwarf | space | mining ship | computer | 

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Taglines:

The Brand New Smegging Series (series X)

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC Red Dwarf Site [uk] Grant Naylor Productions

Country:

UK

Language:

English Esperanto

Release Date:

29 March 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crveni patuljak

Filming Locations:

BBC Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Grant Naylor Productions, Paul Jackson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (52 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Norman Lovett (Holly) originally auditioned for the part of Rimmer.

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Connections

Referenced in 'Red Dwarf' A-Z (1998)

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Soundtracks

"theme"
Written by Howard Goodall
Performed by Jenna Russell

User Reviews

The most original comedy of the last twenty years.

Where to start? The writing, the cast, the effects . . . superb.

Firstly, the writing. The situation is so unbelievable it works. Three million years out into deep space, with the unlikeliest crew you could find. And bizarre and funny things just keep happening. The secret? You might ask the same question of previous comedy greats. It just is.

The effects - especially since remastering - are breathtaking. I don't know how "true to life" it is, but it doesn't need to be. Seeing Starbug come crashing through the cargo bay doors is a joy to behold.

And the cast. Sensational. Chris Barrie (Rimmer) is the outstanding comedy actor of his generation. With the possible exception of Rowan Atkinson, I don't think there's a single man alive who could play the smeghead so well.

Equally, Craig Charles as Lister - a complete slob who is in fact the most decent person among the crew. A beautiful irony, and Charles focuses on the slob part so well that we tend to forget the character's decent side. This is not a bad thing - quite the reverse. When the decent side does appear, it is all the more prominent for it.

Norman Lovett (1-2, 8) and Hattie Hayridge (3-5) as Holly, the computer. I prefer Lovett's take, and don't fully understand why he was replaced. Hayridge did a fine job (indeed there's some moments that Lovett couldn't have done), but Lovett is the definitive Holly. He has the comic face for it.

Not forgetting Robert Llewellyn as the guilt-happy mechanoid Kryten, who overacts beautifully, as does Danny John-Jules as the vainest life form ever to have existed. Brilliant.

These ingredients made Red Dwarf amazing. Rob Grant and Doug Naylor's writing collaboration was a thing of beauty. As a team, they function superbly.

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. Something's missing when they're not together. Series 7 had its moments, but was distinctly lacking - not least because Chris Barrie was in less than half the episodes. Series 8, it dropped even further. Barrie was back, but that was the only plus. Bringing the entire crew back was a very big mistake.

Overall? I'd say 8/10 for originality and sheer zaniness!