My random claim to fame; I was the support act (juggler) for Norman Lovett (the red dwarf ships computer), for one night only in the Welsh town of Bangor.<p>What a life I’ve lived.
As an American, Red Dwarf along with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy created a deep appreciation both for British humor and funny sci-fi in my adolescent self. I now own the box set on DVD and even have a random Red Dwarf novel I got at a yard sale (I forget which one of them wrote it though).<p>RIP Rob! Will be having a vindaloo, lager, and maybe some fish (Fish! Fish! Fish!) later in your honor<p>(EDIT: 100% talking about the UK version here, had no idea or forgot there _was_ an American version)
Maybe it was written by:<p>> Grant Naylor is a gestalt entity occupying two bodies, one of which lives in north London, the other in south London. The product of a horribly botched genetic-engineering experiment, which took place in Manchester in the late fifties, they try to eke out two existences with only one mind. They attended the same school and the same university, but, for tax reasons, have completely different wives.<p>> The first body is called Rob Grant, the second Doug Naylor. Among other things, they spent three years in the mid-eighties as head writers of Spitting Image; wrote Radio Four's award-winning series Son of Cliche; penned the lyrics to a number one single; and created and wrote Red Dwarf for BBC television.<p>> They have made a living variously by being ice-cream salesmen, shoe-shop assistants and by attempting to sell dodgy life-assurance policies to close friends. They also spent almost two years on the night shift loading paper into computer printers at a mail-order factory in Ardwick. They can still taste the cheese 'n' onion toasties.<p>> Their favourite colour is orange.
Red Dwarf is an absolute classic, but I think people of all nations can agree that the American version was better off cancelled.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mlnntKi2no" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mlnntKi2no</a><p>Even the second attempt at it, with Star Trek DS9's Terry Farrell (as Cat), was a bad idea.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfJsViD9SjM" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfJsViD9SjM</a><p>The original was lightning in a bottle.
I have watched the American pilot, and one thing I found curious was that the two female characters were the most interesting (Cat and the Computer played by Terry Farrel and Jane Leeves who were both in major series - Deep Space Nine and Frasier). Holly/Computer has been female for much of the British series and Cat did work as a female character. Contrast with the British show which was very male except for computer (sometimes) and Kochanski when she became a regular character (Chloe Annette didn't really work. I wish Clare Grogan had been a regular instead.)
There was nothing like Red Dwarf on TF (British or American) back then - a laugh-tracked show that could be simultaneously the most hilarious dry wit, not-so-dry bawdy humor, and a compelling and thought-provoking sci-fi action-adventure all at the same time.<p>I fell off it after they had that comeback season roughly in 2000 where the whole ship got revived. Then I saw a few clips from a later season where everyone was pretty schlubby. I'll need to track down some way to re-watch the whole thing.
Very on topic: Rob Grant left the show after the sixth series. I think the lack of his influence was immediately apparent, a lot of the depth was lost. Like how the transition from series 2 to series 3 got a lot more action-y, 6 to 7 started to lean more on established tropes etc (IMO).<p>Also of note: Grant and Naylor wrote a series of Red Dwarf novels that were surprisingly good. They really fleshed out a lot of the character behind Lister and Rimmer. One novel goes deep on the concept of Better than Life, a one episode throwaway in the show but expanded to true horror in the novel.<p>They split (same time as they split on the show) and wrote separate novels in different continuity in the end. IMO Grant’s was notably better.
I watched the whole lot thanks to lockdown. I used to like up until series six or so, but had a look at the later ones. Yes, the actors certainly all look more "lived in" nowadays.<p>The later series/seasons are very uneven, which surprised me. I stopped watching originally around when Chloe Annette's Kochanski was introduced but I was surprised that instead of a steady decline that the quality was very up and down.
I rewatch it a lot and the only season I skip is 9. There are a couple bad later episodes I'll skip but there are more than a few bangers in the later seasons.
Ditto here, season 9 ("Back to Earth") is the only one I have no desire to rewatch.<p>Season 12 is particularly good though. In my opinion, the first and last episodes of that season are among the funniest they've ever done!
Yes. Kryten had definitely been at the pies
Robert has a whole set of youtube channels on electric vehicles and other renewable technology. It’s quite impressive what he does now but I always see Kryten in him, strange.<p><a href="https://youtu.be/TUi03zA4DAM?si=F55U2fbHjGcksHaK" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/TUi03zA4DAM?si=F55U2fbHjGcksHaK</a>
RIP, thanks for the memories.<p>No sci fi effect has ever given me the same sense of wonder that I got from the shot of the camera slowly travelling over the gigantic ship in the Season 1/2 intro.<p>Btw: @dang : Grant was the co-creator, alongside Doug Naylor, who is still kicking
The practical effects in the early seasons were truly fantastic. It was never quite the same after they switched to cgi.
Oh yes. I remember them talking about the script and how low budget everything was. Like even the script was written to try to convince BBC it wouldn't cost much money. I think (paraphrasing) things like:<p>"We open on the corridor of a space ship. Space Odyssey this is not, no high tech serenity here. No, the is very much an ordinary, boring corridor. It could even have been a corridor in a TV studio..."
I've said elsewhere on the "Babylon 5" discussion that Kubrick's "2001" has aged better in many ways than Hyams' "2010" which came out many years later. In the same vein, CGI has a nasty habit of aging more quickly than practical effects. There is stuff from the nineties which looks worse than the seventies as a result.<p>In the case of "Red Dwarf", the genius was in having the ship be an ugly industrial environment in the vein of "Dark Star", "Alien", "Outland" etc. That allowed for sets to be built easily and cheaply. I think some of it was even filmed in a BBC canteen/cafeteria.
The intro was actually strangely eerie/bleak. I felt sorry for Lister (I think it is) out there painting the ship. There was kind of a sadness because he had lost pretty much all his friends and you could feel the vastness of space.
It's cold outside<p>There's no kind of atmosphere<p>I'm all alone<p>More or less<p>Let me fly
Far away from here<p>Fun fun fun<p>In the sun sun sun<p>I want to lie<p>Shipwrecked and comatose<p>Drinking fresh<p>Mango juice<p>Goldfish shoals<p>Nibbling at my toes<p>Fun fun fun<p>In the sun sun sun<p>Fun fun fun
In the sun sun sun
As fresh immigrant to USA, watching it on local PBS on the gigantic back projection jumbotron TV someone offloaded on us back in mid-90es, it made a huge impact with its absurdity and silliness.
I sing "Drinking Fresh Mango Juice" every time I get it out of the fridge, and when my wife and I visited Egypt and got room service with fresh mango juices, it was in heavy rotation. And every time I leave and it's cold outside, I tend to sing "It's cold outside!".
RIP
I loved the piano chord progression..<p>and then there's tongue tied <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3t3IKlXqFU" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3t3IKlXqFU</a> (great bassline too)
One of my favourite happy happy songs.<p>> Shipwrecked and comatose<p>is how I have often felt.
For a brief period there it was fashionable to have fish nibbling at your feet (in the 2010s?). Not goldfish shoals although that is probably what Lister wanted to farm in Fiji.
Mr Flibble sends his regrets.
He's dead Dave. At least he went peacefully in his Jeep.
They’re all dead, Dave! What a great franchise.
Anyone else read Rob Grant's book Colony[0]?<p>It's a pretty funny sci-fi book, similar dry wit.. I picked it up at a yard sale only because it said "from the creator of Red Dwarf" even though I mostly only knew of the show through others..<p>0: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_(Grant_novel)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_(Grant_novel)</a>
My wife and I look at each other and laugh really hard every time we order Gazpacho. If you know, you know...
I used to stay up late to watch Red Dwarf. [dark reference to the show incoming] Maybe he's moved on to somewhere Better Than Life.
Stoke me a Clipper... I'll be back for Christmas!
Kryton is one of the greatest characters to ever grace a tv screen.
Robert Llewellyn is just a lovely person in general. He now produces a YouTube/TV show about electric cars, but his outtakes from Red Dwarf are delightful. He stays mostly in character during the outtakes (perhaps that's easy in the suit) and he's very funny.<p>Some random Red Dwarf outtakes: <a href="https://youtu.be/l6VTzq5N0Mo" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/l6VTzq5N0Mo</a>
<i>“It’s a banana. It always has been a banana and always will be a banana. It’s a yellow fruit you unzip and eat the white bits. It’s a banana!“</i>
It terrifies me sometimes that I can see aspects of both Lister and Rimmer in myself despite them being polar opposites.<p>I don't relate to Cat as much, although his character is great too.
Smeeeeeeeeg head
Oh, piss.
Wow 2 in one day with Dan Simmons :(<p>Rest in peace.
I'll pour out a lager and grab some chicken vindaloo in his memory.
Loved the show back in its heyday. From what I remember, the novels are pretty good too
Fab show, great memories! Thanks for the laughs Rob, RIP.
Smeg
RIP with the calculators.
Damn. Guess I’ll be smoking some kippers in his memory.<p>Can we get a black bar?<p>On second thoughts, that would mean changing the CSS.
> On second thoughts, that would mean changing the CSS.<p>Bravo.
Ah, there are so many jokes like that which still make me smile. I'm grateful Red Dwarf and his books were part of my childhood.