7 is kinda bad. It has a weird vibe to it - the cgi is weird and it's very hit or miss. They kill off Rimmer but it turns out it doesn't work without him. Then they bring him back straight away in 8. 8 is good. X is not bad.
I think Barrie wanted to leave so not much they could do there and the original version of Kochanski actually seemed to like Dave so that wouldn't have worked. I don't envy the actress, she never stood a chance.
I think Barrie wanted to leave so not much they could do there and the original version of Kochanski actually seemed to like Dave so that wouldn't have worked. I don't envy the actress, she never stood a chance.
I always thought Chloe Annett did a very respectable job considering the circumstances and what she had to work with. But yeah, it was never going to be an easy gig for her.
I remember genuinely tearing up during the final moments of Stoke me a Clipper when it aired. Rimmer was my favourite character as a young lad, I even went to a school Christmas fancy dress party as him, so to see him go was quite a sad moment in the show. The scene where they follow Ace's lightbee to the Golden planetary ring still gets me.
7 is kinda bad. It has a weird vibe to it - the cgi is weird and it's very hit or miss. They kill off Rimmer but it turns out it doesn't work without him. Then they bring him back straight away in 8. 8 is good. X is not bad.
When I think of Red Dwarf though, I think of 1-6.
I think the other big vibe you can pick up with 7 is that it's no longer filmed before a studio audience. ...At least I think it's 7, and if not it's definitely 8. I just know at some point they make the switch, and... you can tell. At the very least they're not using a canned laugh track, I think they actually screened the episode to a group so they could at least get an "authentic" laugh track.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
7 was filmed on a closed set, as a practice run for the movie, then screened for an audience in order to get a laugh track. Hence the Xtended versions of Tikka to Ride, Ouroboros and Duct Soup that don't have a laugh track. 8 was back in front of an audience.
Both use the same canned laughter that every BBC sitcom around that time used as a sweetener to the studio audience laughter. Once you hear that same distinctive woman's laugh you can't unhear it.
The most distinctive laugh I remeber from the audience in Red Dwarf is when Rimmer's looking at his crib notes in the astronavigation exam in The End
0
Options
Golden YakBurnished BovineThe sunny beaches of CanadaRegistered Userregular
My favorite line from my favorite episode shows that the show is well aware of what it's all about - sci-fi parody-comedy.
KRYTEN: Red Dwarf was stolen. By persons... or life forms unknown.
CAT: Who would steal a gigantic red trash can with no brakes and three million years on the clock?
KRYTEN: Rogue droids... Genetically engineered life forms... Figments of Mr Lister's imagination made solid by some weird space ray. Who knows?
I thought Chloe Annett did a good job, especially once she bedded into the rhythm of the show. I also loved Crime Traveller (and might be the only person who saw it as no-one ever remembers it).
I just think the loss of Grant or Naylor (like Gork & Mork I can never remember which) was pretty pronounced in 7.
-Loki-Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining.Registered Userregular
I liked Chloe Annett a lot, so did everyone I know that watched the show. It was only when I started venturing online that I found out people didn't like her as Kochanski.
Kochanski generally played the stick in the mud so it's not surprising. She resisted crazy adventures because they were stupid, Rimmer because he was a proud coward, one was definitely funnier than the other
I have to thank this thread for making me aware that the Red Dwarf audiobook exists and is narrated by Chris Barrie. Absolute perfection, 10/10, no notes.
The scripts are pretty good but what makes Red Dwarf work for me is the delivery. Those actors killed it with their performances. That's why it's still going today.
7 had a lot of changes. First and foremost, losing half of the main creative team (and given that Rob Grant and Doug Naylor each wrote their own book 3, I assume it wasn't a totally cool breakup), the availability of cheap cgi (which was great because it was now in their budget range, but also looked like cheap cgi), the non studio audience killing the comedic timing, and the years-long delay while Charles dealt with a sexual assault accusation that I think got thrown out the instant it finally reached a courtroom.
Barrie I think had a choice of missing half the series or not doing another series of Brittas Empire, so he had to go.
I remember Crime Traveller too, that show was good fun.
Yeah I loved that show! Chloë Annett was great in that (and in Red Dwarf). I am so tempted to make a Crime Traveller thread now, but it would so niche (only 8 episodes of 1 season).
It was around the same era as BUGS, so the two shows are kind of mixed together in my mind, I have so many great memories of 90's era BBC sci-fi.
Looking her up on IMDB she seems to have retired from acting. No roles since 2014. A shame. I kind of wonder why.
I remember Crime Traveller too, that show was good fun.
Yeah I loved that show! Chloë Annett was great in that (and in Red Dwarf). I am so tempted to make a Crime Traveller thread now, but it would so niche (only 8 episodes of 1 season).
It was around the same era as BUGS, so the two shows are kind of mixed together in my mind, I have so many great memories of 90's era BBC sci-fi.
Looking her up on IMDB she seems to have retired from acting. No roles since 2014. A shame. I kind of wonder why.
BUGS, especially early seasons was top quality nonsense. Loved it. Hmm...it's on Britbox, do I dare go back and look....
I started this series recently, up to season 7 so far. It's weird watching how hard of a tonal shift it went from campy sitcom to some kind of serious tones to some weird mixing of comedic and serious while also including that fucking laugh track this whole time. I'm liking it as a whole so far though , I don't think I can recall too many examples in media that thumb their noses so hard at existentialism as this show does.
"Well, Sartre! We don't like existentialists around here. And we certainly don't like French philosophers poncing around in their black polo-necks filling everyone's heads with their theories about the bleakness of existence and the absurdity of the cosmos! Clear?"
Another opportunity to hear Chris Barrie's voice acting skills: There's a deleted scene in Bodyswap, after they've done the episode title, and it was never overdubbed. While Craig Charles just speaks normal, or at least I couldn't pick anything different up, Chris Barrie still tries to speak like Lister would speak and it feels authentic.
There's a point in the audio book where Barrie switches from voicing Lister to voicing Rimmer doing an impression of Lister and it is on point. I'm going to see if he's done any more audiobooks because the man has a real talent for it.
It makes me want to see an animated red dwarf series where Barrie voices every character. Maybe even an Eddy Murphy scenario where he played every role in a live action thing. I'd legit pay money to see that.
Posts
When I think of Red Dwarf though, I think of 1-6.
I always thought Chloe Annett did a very respectable job considering the circumstances and what she had to work with. But yeah, it was never going to be an easy gig for her.
Steam | XBL
I think the other big vibe you can pick up with 7 is that it's no longer filmed before a studio audience. ...At least I think it's 7, and if not it's definitely 8. I just know at some point they make the switch, and... you can tell. At the very least they're not using a canned laugh track, I think they actually screened the episode to a group so they could at least get an "authentic" laugh track.
Both use the same canned laughter that every BBC sitcom around that time used as a sweetener to the studio audience laughter. Once you hear that same distinctive woman's laugh you can't unhear it.
I remember something about them speaking to God in that season.
KRYTEN: Red Dwarf was stolen. By persons... or life forms unknown.
CAT: Who would steal a gigantic red trash can with no brakes and three million years on the clock?
KRYTEN: Rogue droids... Genetically engineered life forms... Figments of Mr Lister's imagination made solid by some weird space ray. Who knows?
I just think the loss of Grant or Naylor (like Gork & Mork I can never remember which) was pretty pronounced in 7.
Steam | XBL
There are so many good lines in Red Dwarf it's insane.
It's the pea on toast scene in the ep with qeeg.
"I've lost me pea! Oh that's it I've cracked."
Gets me every time.
Barrie I think had a choice of missing half the series or not doing another series of Brittas Empire, so he had to go.
I do wonder what happened between Grant and Naylor. They've never spoken about it have they?
It was around the same era as BUGS, so the two shows are kind of mixed together in my mind, I have so many great memories of 90's era BBC sci-fi.
Looking her up on IMDB she seems to have retired from acting. No roles since 2014. A shame. I kind of wonder why.
BUGS, especially early seasons was top quality nonsense. Loved it. Hmm...it's on Britbox, do I dare go back and look....
That JFK episode was wild.
"Well, Sartre! We don't like existentialists around here. And we certainly don't like French philosophers poncing around in their black polo-necks filling everyone's heads with their theories about the bleakness of existence and the absurdity of the cosmos! Clear?"
Steam | XBL
‘Chickens good!’
‘That’s not chicken, sir’
‘Oh, what is it?’
‘It’s that man we found’
Fucken kills me every time.
(11:10)
It makes me want to see an animated red dwarf series where Barrie voices every character. Maybe even an Eddy Murphy scenario where he played every role in a live action thing. I'd legit pay money to see that.
Yeah, he frigging bullseye's Lister's accent.
I am watching the fifth season right now. Just watched Holoship.
I have also ordered Crime Traveler on Amazon.
Yonderland is also another show I collected a while back.