Red Dwarf is a science-fiction-comedy that has gained cult status across the Britain and the United States. It first appeared on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1988 and went off the air with a total of 52 episodes.
The series is set aboard a mining spaceship called the Red Dwarf as it travels through the galaxy. Craig Charles starred as the sloppy, yet loveable Lister and Chris Barrie portrayed the arrogant and adamant Rimmer.
Red Dwarf is based on a series of radio comedy show called Dave Hollins – Space Cadet, written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. It is a hilarious example of the classic situation comedy or sit-com that has been a staple of television for many years.
Most of the comedy centers on the relationship between Lister and Rimmer who constantly argue and challenge each other. The style of comedy is conversational rather than slapstick or like other types of physical comedy. Not unlike other British comedies, the laughs come from snide comments and precise comedic timing.
The Voyage of the Red Dwarf
The storyline of Red Dwarf basically boils down to The Odd Couple in outer space. Aboard the ship are roommates Lister, the lowest ranking person on the ship, and Rimmer, the second lowest ranking person on the ship.
Lister is content with his day-to-day tedious jobs on the Red Dwarf while Rimmer is obsessed with passing the ship’s engineering test and becoming a higher-ranking officer. Half of their room is dirty and decorated with rock ‘n’ roll posters while the other half is spotless and organized.
In the first episode Lister finds a cat named Frankenstein that he chooses to keep even though it is against the ship’s policy, but the captain eventually finds out and sentences Lister to suspended animation until the Red Dwarf returns home.
Three million years later Lister is awaken from suspended animation and finds out the entire ship’s staff was killed in some horrendous accident. His only companions are the ship’s computer Holly (Norman Lovett) and a hologram version of his old roommate Rimmer.
He also learns that the descendants of his cat Frankenstein grew into human-like form and that the ship is now inhabited by Cat (Danny John-Jules), a suave cat-man obsessed with high 1950’s fashion and fish.
Episodes from Series 1
- The End: The only episode with the entire staff intact, The End follows Lister as he finds Frankenstein, is put in suspended animation and learns the truth about what happened to the crew.
- Future Echoes: The ship attempts to return to Earth by entering light speed, and soon Lister and Rimmer start seeing visions of their future.
- Balance of Power: Lister wants to go on a date with an old crewmember named Kristine Kochanski, but in order to do so he needs to convince Rimmer to replace his holographic image with Kristine’s.
- Waiting for God: The Red Dwarf finds one of its old garbage pods and Rimmer is convinced that it's an alien capsule.
- Confidence and Paranoia: When Lister contracts a strange form of pneumonia, he begins to hallucinate and his mind creates two alter-egos, one confidence and the other paranoia.
- Me: When Rimmer has finally had enough of Lister, he creates an identical holographic version of himself and moves out of their room, although he learns the difficult nature of his own personality.
The Red Dwarf Official Website
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