||SPOILERS|| To celebrate the 21st anniversary of Red Dwarf, digital channel Dave have taken the unusual step of reviving the beloved sitcom 10 years after it last aired on BBC2. Finally admitting defeat after a decade spent trying to get a feature-film off the ground, co-creator Doug Naylor seized this opportunity, reunited the original cast, and created a three-part special entitled "Back To Earth".Of course, time has moved on, and while repeats of Red Dwarf may be very popular on Dave, fans know that Red Dwarf hit its creative peak in the early-'90s and the last few series (thanks to the departure of co-creator Rob Grant and several creative decisions that spoiled the premise1), were significantly weak and flawed...
So, I felt a mix of emotions when preparing to watch this latest adventure; a gut fear that it would continue the downward spiral that began with Series VII, coupled with a nostalgic happiness at seeing these characters once again. And there was a noticeable paucity of laughs in Back To Earth Part 1, it has to be said. You could watch ten minutes of any episode from Series I-VI and find three times the amusement.
Doug Naylor is one half of the "Rob Grant" writing partnership that oversaw the "golden age" of the show, and it remains a minor tragedy of British TV that those guys haven't patched things up. While there were occasional giggles here (like Lister using his allergy to tomatoes to save water by sneezing onto his ironing), a lot of this opener felt flat in terms of actual comedy. More pressingly (likely a result of it being a 90-minute TVM chopped into three pieces), the pacing was slow and it didn't meet its commercial break or climax with a big laugh.
However, while a lack of laughter is definitely a huge problem for a comedy series, I have to commend the visual effects and production design teams. I still believe Doug Naylor's desire to transform Red Dwarf into a movie betrays the homespun feel and attitude its glory years, but this was far superior to anything achieved in Series VII and VIII.
A number of revisions and improvements were also very welcome: the ship itself was a compromise between the squat model of Series I-V and the elongated CGI dildo of the later years; this marked the first time the ship felt like a huge, empty, ageing goliath; the new sleeping quarters for Rimmer and Lister (with a control desk and parked motorbike) were much better; and post-Doctor Who FX gave a size and scope to the visuals that almost made this appear film-like. I'm sure Doug Naylor was blown away by what can be achieved on UK television these days (and this was smegging Dave, not even the BBC!), but it was a shame his script didn't equal the visuals.
As for the cast; well, they slipped into their roles very well. Craig Charles and Danny John-Jules barely seem to have aged since 1999, and Robert Llewellyn is immortal behind prosthetics as Kryten, so only Chris Barrie looked a little crinkled. Still, thankfully events are taking place years after the last adventure, so any ageing can't be nitpicked -– I'll even accept that Rimmer's hologram is perhaps programmed to age alongside his companion Lister. More importantly, the actors all brought the characters back to life again, which was nice to see. It was just a shame this first part was so lacking in humour -- particularly for Kryten, who is arguably the easiest character to write funny lines for.
The plot, for what it's worth, had the foursome tackling a dimension-hopping leviathan that had appeared in the ship's main water tank. After a skirmish inside a diving bell involving lots of purple tentacles, the creature disappeared into another realm. For reasons I'm not very clear on, a sexy hologram called Katerina Bartikovsky (an excellent Sophie Winkleman2) immediately appears and assumes command of the ship, using her scientific prowess to create a means to traverse dimensions using DNA from the beast's lopped off tentacles. Apparently, she also intends to remove Rimmer from existence, and aims to find Lister a human female to revive humanity in their own universe, eventually opening a portal to another dimension in the climax.
Overall, while I sat stony-faced throughout most of this opener, I was impressed by the visual content and grateful Doug Naylor undid the damage he inflicted on Red Dwarf between 1997-99: the resurrected crew have mysteriously vanished (with no explanation), and Kristine Kochanski apparently died at some point. There was unfortunately no reason given for ship's computer Holly's loss3, either. An I'm one of those people that believes a live studio audience really helps shows like Red Dwarf. As a comedy writer, you're pushed to ensure the script is constantly funny (as it's too embarrassing to see a silent audience when filming, as they would have been with this), and the actors hear reactions to inform their performance. It's personal taste, but I really missed the audience laughter -– didn't they learn from the same mistake made in Series VII? Still, at least the intrusive music from those years was scrubbed.
Anyway, we're effectively back-to-basics with the premise and characters now, seeing a remarkable leap forward in terms of design and FX, but with a worrying lack of laughs and only a semi-plausible story. But the truth is: the moment that brilliant theme tune started up, I was grinning like a schoolboy again. The ensuing episode may have been a bit lifeless, but Back To Earth Part 1 was like catching up with old friends. Altogether, a fairly decent start that was better than I expected (admittedly, I was imagining an extended sketch on a shoestring budget), but I hope the remaining two parts find their funnybone. If the story is going to continue in "our world", they certainly can't rely on special effects from hereon in...
10 April 2009
Dave, 9pm
Writer & Director: Doug Naylor
Cast: Craig Charles (Lister), Chris Barrie (Rimmer), Robert Llewellyn (Kryten), Danny John-Jules (Cat) & Sophie Winkleman (Katerina)
1. Namely, abandoning the all-male chemistry by introducing a woman (Lister's ex-girlfriend Kochanski) to replace the absent Chris Barrie (who did later return), and the premise-abandoning idea of resurrecting the extinct crew.
2. Am I the only one who was reminded of Jane Horrocks' character in Series V's "Holoship"? Another hologram with the same accent.
3. I assume that Norman Lovett and Hattie Haydridge both declined to return? If true, that's unfortunate. I doubt they were both "too busy", either! The thing is, I'd have been perfectly happy to see a new actor/actress in the role, so I'm not sure why they didn't recast. Maybe if the next two episodes don't take place aboard Red Dwarf, it wasn't worth the effort for just a one-off appearance? Update: Apparently, it was mentioned that Lister left the bath running and flooded Holly. I must have missed that. Still a shame they couldn't entice Lovett or Haydridge back.
