Will I ever get tired of this logo?

It's slightly old news at this point - but I thought I'd write a little about what I've read on Red Dwarf's return to the small screen, something which has become official at this point after Craig Charles let it slip on Real Radio last week.

From what I've gathered we're looking at a return of the core cast - sans Kochanski and with Holly played by someone other than Norman Lovett.  Of course, as filming isn't due to occur until the latter part of 2011 this is probably still up in the air - but I would be disappointed with the lack of Chloë Annett - who I really came to appreciate as time passed - and of course Norman's brilliance as Holly.  I guess I could live with a return of Hattie, but a third actor as Holly would be disappointing to say the least.

The run will most likely be six episodes, and that's a fine length, but as Craig himself said it's only worth doing if it is "as funny as it used to be" he went on to say "we've got to recapture the highlights like series 5, series 6, that kind of stuff. If we can hit that mark, then brilliant. There's no point doing it if it's a bit so-so."

That's a spot on observation, because series 7, 8 and the mini-series Back to Earth really missed the mark at times, both on the comedy front and the plotting.  I'd welcome the show returning if it could hit the quality of the series 3-6 run (yes, I'm very fond of series 6 despite the loss of Red Dwarf and Holly, it was an interesting experiment, but it should have only run for one series without the small rouge one).


Six episodes seems the right amount to provide quality, but I can't feel confident until I read that Rob Grant and Doug Naylor are onboard in some aspect, when it was just Doug by himself the rhythm of the show went off.  It still had some excellent moments, but they were not the norm.

I'm excited, but apprehensive.

You can read a bit about Robert Llewellyn's thoughts on this at his blog here
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I'm still stuck in the mire which is convincing BT to remove the Broadband Tag from my phone line so I can have Internet access at home. I've had to speak to OfCom and dig around quite a bit, but all my attempts to contact BT Wholesale via e-mail have been ignored so far, I'm going try phoning them on Monday and I'm basically not going to stop until I get to speak to someone who can get this sorted out, because it's frankly ridiculous.

Anyway, the main reason for writing this is I wanted to take a few moments to look at the two sci-fi Easter specials which aired last weekend. First up is Britain's favourite time traveller.

Beware spoilers ahead!

Doctor Who - Planet of the Dead:

Overall I wasn't that impressed with Planet of the Dead, these specials are the final moments with RTD and David Tennant, they should be something amazing and spectacular. But overall PotD was exceptionally lackluster and rather uninspired. Now, it's not that it was bad, it wasn't, it's just that it should be something more than it was. These specials should be just that, special.

Instead the entire thing was rather humdrum, it could have been just another episode in any of the David Tennant run. There wasn't anything remarkable about it, no classic or iconic villains, no really big moments. Just a lot of average plotting with a few fun references (especially Tennant's Donna Noble impersonation and references).

Now there were a few nice touches, Michelle Ryan was competent and likable in this, as was Lee Evans' performance - even if his accent was atrocious, it sounded like mangled Welsh when he remembered to use it. Likewise the scenes shot in the desert were fantastic and more than made up for the utter horror of the flying bus. Ugh..

Still, it was an enjoyable time spent in front of the TV, it didn't offend or upset or even engage me particularly, which is honestly a bit of a shame. Because I adore David Tennant's Doctor and I'm going to miss him when he's gone, but stories like this are just wasted on his talent. He's capable of so much more than Planet of the Dead gave him.

Red Dwarf:

It's no secret how much I enjoy the cult classic Red Dwarf, it's also no secret just how apprehensive I was when I saw the trailers for the special. Every single one of them made it look like this three part story was going to be a giant pile of suck. I went into this fully expecting to be disappointed and vowing never to watch it again.

And if you'd asked me by the end of the first and second parts I would have said how disappointed I was with it. By that point I was almost miserable with how confusing, weak and terrible the storyline was. It felt like Red Dwarf had completely lost the plot and moved away from what it was. I was left in two minds by that stage, either the Back to Earth title was a reference to Back to Reality and this would turn out to be fictional or Red Dwarf had become a huge steamer on the pavement of Television. I was tending towards the first of the two options due to the overly obvious Cat origami foreshadowing, but I was still very nervous about the last part.

Fortunately the entire thing did turn out to be a big spin on the Despair Squid from series five, and once I'd watched the third part and taken the whole thing together it felt quite different. It wasn't the greatest Red Dwarf ever, but it was a lot better than I feared.

What was good about it? Well first of all it would be a crime to not acknowledge just how much Craig Charles has grown as an actor, the two strongest scenes in the special both came from his performances - the remembrance garden being the first and his goodbye to virtual Kochanski being the other. The sets were gorgeous and some of the scenes were brilliant.

What was bad? The total lack of Holly really hurt the show, there's not much more I can write about that if I'm honest. I missed the senile computer greatly, even a cameo would have done. Also the overall style of the special was a pretty poor construct, I spent the vast majority of this special shaking my head and thinking "No, please don't let this be happening. This is shockingly bad". If your viewer is hating over two thirds of your storyline and wishing they weren't happening because they're totally non-cannon in style, then you've screwed up.

I also missed Chloe Annet, yeah - I know I'm in a minority on this front, so I won't go into it in too much detail. Except to say I like her portrayal of Kochanski a lot.

Taken as a whole the special wasn't awful, but it sailed very close to being so and even on the re watch it isn't funny. Hyperdrive is funnier than the Red Dwarf special was, and that's not saying a lot. So as much as I do miss Red Dwarf, I think it's time to put the entire thing to rest and just look back on the best years (Series 3 to 6) with fondness.
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Final DVD Review of the year and it's the final series of Red Dwarf.

For the previous series reviews look here:
Series I
Series II
Series III
Series IV
Series V
Series VI
Series VII


Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
Robert Llewellyn as Kryten
Chloë Annett as Kristine Kochanski
And Norman Lovett returning as "Holly"


Series Eight of Red Dwarf was an attempt to get back to the basics of the show while also widening the cast to include more supporting characters. At the end of the previous series the crew located Red Dwarf after it had been shrunk down taken on a joyride by Kryten's nanobots and had the excess material formed into a small moon. Back in the Red is a three part episode which returns the crew to Red Dwarf, and I mean the entire crew, including a reconstituted Rimmer who is very much like his first season persona. The hologramatic Rimmer had grown over the years and mellowed somewhat, this rebuilt Rimmer is every bit as unpleasant and self-centered as he was at the start of the show. After the events of Back in the Red get the crew sentenced to imprisonment for various crimes Lister signs them up to be part of 'The Canaries' in Cassandra, Canaries are named after the bird and have a similar role to the ones used in mining. While on their first mission they encounter a computer who can predict the future, a computer who has forseen that Lister will cause her end and so starts to engineer Lister's own fate.

Krytie TV has Kryten being reprogramed by 'Kill Crazy' in order to get him filming the female prisoners in the showers, Kryten was designated female due to a lack of male genitalia. He then moves onto pranking people and sets Lister up to damage Ackerman's quarters, jepordising Lister's chances in the retrial. Pete is a two parter which has Rimmer and Lister annoying Captain Hollister with an exceptional amount of mistakes and goofs while Kryten and the others discover a time wand with the ability to freeze time and even regress a living creature backwards down the evolutionary ladder. They use it on Pete, a small bird owned by a crazy Welshman. Do you remember what extinct animal birds are descended from? Last of all in Only the Good, an escape pod containing a metal eating virus arrives on Red Dwarf and begins to devour the ship, the guys are forced to create a mirror world where everything is opposite in order to find an antidote in time before Red Dwarf is destroyed...

The Packaging:
I believe you know the drill by now, the only thing I really need to say here is the packaging is perfect and matches everything previously released in this set without a single problem.

The Extras:
"This is the BBC, we are the true voice of extras. All other manufacturers are false profits prophets who will leave you completely unsatisfied."
The set is a little more expensive this time at £9.99 from play.com. That's 4.4ppm.


Unfortunately with the advent of this series Red Dwarf is left feeling unfinished. The final episode ends on a genuine cliffhanger moment and we've still not seen the end of the story told there. Also the series is not good, the humour is off and there's a little too much reliance on really off the wall characters plus multiple part stories. Still it has it's moments and the return of Chris Barrie plus plenty of Chloë Annett so I do enjoy watching it.

It's worth mentioning that the UK Channel Dave has commissioned some Red Dwarf specials in 2009. So there's life in the old space dog yet.

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Must finish Red Dwarf before the year ends!

For the previous series reviews look here:
Series I
Series II
Series III
Series IV
Series V
Series VI



Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer/"Ace" Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
Robert Llewellyn as Kryten
And introducing Chloë Annett as Kristine Kochanski


After my slightly controversial opinion that the sixth series was the best we move onto the series that most Red Dwarf fans will agree is the weakest (tied with the eighth one). The crew are still lost in space tailing after Red Dwarf having just recovered from a bout of temporary deadness. The show is still missing the titular Red Dwarf and this second series on the trot without the ship really does wear the concept thin, a single full series without Red Dwarf was OK but this second one is a bridge too far.

This series is also longer than the previous ones with eight episodes, while I welcome the longer run in concept sadly in practice this was not enough, because combined with various problems resulted in a series that was not so hot. In Tikka to Ride after surviving time paradox where they were all dead for a while Lister decided to abuse the laws of time once more in order to get some more curry. Frankly this is a low point for Lister in the series, but it does result in a few amusing moments (unintentional cannibalism) and the scenes involving JFK were well done. In Stoke Me a Clipper Mr Fan-service himself returns for the third time as Ace Rimmer meets up with the crew and attempts to pass on his legacy to Arnold Rimmer, a man who has more yellow than a streak of custard.

Ouroboros has an alternate universe Kristine Kochanski joins the crew after an accidental breach between them occurs and Lister learns the truth about his existence (hint a certain orange haired individual from another sci-fi series learns a similar truth). I know that some people aren't too keen on Chloë Annett's arrival in the series and her role in the crew as Kochanski. But Chloë is exactly the kind of woman who pushes all my buttons so I for one like her appearance in the series, it's one of the two decent points series seven has. Duct Soup is overall a rather unmemorable episode spiced up with some rather fun Kryten moments, I really can't recall too much more about it at this point mind you. Blue is something of a final goodbye to Arnold Rimmer as when Lister begins to miss the man Kryten puts together "The Rimmer Experience" to remind him just what Rimmer is really like.

It remains one of my favourite moments in Red Dwarf and here it is in full:


Beyond a Joke is a Kryten-centric piece in which Kryten's head explodes, he meets Able (another Series 5000 Mechanoid like himself), he is abducted and then learns a disturbing fact about his creator. In Epideme the crew encounter one of Lister's old crushes, Caroline Carmen (Lister has a thing for alliterative women obviously) who turns out to be already dead and infected with a sentient virus. Sure enough the virus infects Lister and the crew are forced to undertake drastic measures to try and save him. Finally in Nanarchy the crew hunt after Kryten's missing nanobots with the hope of solving Lister's situation and make a dramatic discovery.

As I mentioned at the start, series seven is possibly the weakest of all the series, the show suffers greatly from the loss of Chris Barrie but I do like the addition of Chloë Annett greatly (so much so that'd I'd put her up alongside Tara Summers as one of the women I'd most like to marry when I grow up) and there are still quite a few good moments to be found amongst the wreckage.

The Packaging:
There's nothing to be said here that hasn't been said before, it's a purple variant of the previous covers with a shot of something techy (I suspect part of Starbug) as the backdrop. The Red Dwarf logo continues to be completed on the spine and it's just a nice looking product which is about the right size for what it contains.

The Extras:
As always Red Dwarf leads the way for extras, but series seven is packed even when compared to the other series of the show. There's an incredible amount of material here.
The Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Soundtrack: Stereo
Runtime: 230 mins
Region: 2 + 4 PAL UK
Subtitles: English SDH
Rating: 12

The Price:
Play.com currently have it at £7.99, that's 3.5ppm which is excellent for a Red Dwarf product but that can be accounted for by the two additional episodes over the normal amount.

Honestly series seven is one for the dedicated fans only, if you're a completionist who must absolutely have everything then it's worth owning. But for everyone else I'd say try before you buy when dealing with this series, either get it in the 'Just the Shows' combined set or just watch it the once then forget about it.
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With 2008 fading fast I am determined to both hit fifty DVD reviews and also complete reviewing the Red Dwarf DVDs. Fortunately I have three reviews left before the five-o mark so it looks quite possible. Here's the sixth series.

For the previous series reviews look here:
Series I
Series II
Series III
Series IV
Series V


I mentioned in my previous review of series five that there was only one other series in the lifetime of Red Dwarf which I considered to be superior to it. This is that series, this is the series of the show which I enjoy more than any other and the series I feel is Red Dwarf at it's best.

The crew of Red Dwarf have lost the ship in between the events of last series and this one. They're stuck in Starbug chasing after the ship's trail but it's growing cold. They're approaching an exceptionally hostile part of space filled with GELFs (Genetically Engineered Life Forms) and rogue simulants when Kryten awakens the crew in the first episode Psirens. Psirens are a type of GELF which can take the appearance of anything they wish with the intent of getting close enough to a living life form and then sucking their brains out with a proboscis. Barely surviving this encounter the crew discover an exceptionally advanced space station inhabited by an individual who introduces himself as Legion, at first he appears to be exceptionally helpful - saving Lister's life with emergency surgery and even installing a hard-light hologramatic bee for Rimmer (allowing Rimmer to touch things and also get touched). But as always, things take a turn for the worse.

In what is possibly the greatest episode of Red Dwarf ever, Gunmen of the Apocalypse has the crew encountering a group of rogue simulants. After narrowly defeating the simulants in combat Starbug is infected with a virus. In order to deal with the virus and create a 'dove program' Kryten infects himself with it but begins to lose the battle quickly. It's up to the rest of the crew to grab their virtual reality game, plug it into Kryten, assume the persona's of Brett Riverboat, "Dangerous" Dan McGrew and "The Riviera Kid" and mosey on into town. The episode manages to combine everything I love in one as a comedy/sci-fi/western all rolled up years before Firefly arrived on our screens and it's brilliant.

In Emohawk - Polymorph II two characters from previous episodes make a reappearance after a familiar looking monster attacks the crew, in Rimmerworld Arnold Rimmer faces hundreds of years alone after an act of great cowardice and in the superb Out of Time the crew face the consequences of time travel in a shocking and exciting finale.

I cannot recommend series six enough, Gunmen of the Apocalypse alone is so brilliant that I wish it had been an extra long special but you, the viewer, also get another five amazing episodes on top of that one. This is Red Dwarf at it's finest.

The Packaging:
I've said it all before, the BBC know how to make sets that look good together while keeping their individual appearances. I especially love the subtle brown image of the 'Last Chance Saloon' on this front of this set. Everything else about this set is spot on where it needs to be.

The Menus and Start Up:
The Red Dwarf menus are always a joy to navigate around and series six is no exception. The start up is fast, there are no annoying adverts for other shows and the BBC anti-piracy/copying message is short simple and inoffensive.

The menu itself opens with a once off series of exterior Starbug shots that chart a simple story of the ship crashing. We're then led on board and to the airlock controls where the menus are located. There's options to see the individual episodes (which takes you to the cockpit for selection), play all and commentaries. The music in the first menu is a little short and loops badly but the music tunes for the individual episode menus are better. It's a good looking set up with only a few minor flaws.

The Extras:
Just like every single set previously released in this line there is a huge wealth of material for the viewer to enjoy. The cast commentaries are the highlight of it for myself and I feel they're amongst the most interesting cast commentaries ever released (behind The Shield and Futurama).

The full list of extras is as follows:

Cast Commentary
Fan Commentary - Gunmen of the Apocalypse
"The Starbuggers" Original Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Smeg Ups (Out-takes)
Howard Goodall: Settling the Score
"Sick" Featurette
"Return to Laredo" Featurette
Behind The Scenes Footage
Interview with Andy de Emmony
Trailers
Raw FX Footage
Isolated Music Cues
"Dave Hollins" Radio Sketch
Photo Gallery
Weblink

The Details:
Runtime: 170 mins
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Sound: Dolby Stero
Regions: 2 + 4 PAL UK
Number of Discs: 2
Rating: 12

The Price:
The winner for price right now is play.com who have the set at £7.99, but at the time of writing this review they were out of stock. Sendit have it for £8.89 as another option.

The price works out a 4.7 ppm. Good for a UK series.


Series six of Red Dwarf is without a doubt the finest series of the show, it's six episodes of comedy gold dynamite wrapped up in some beautiful SFX with a ribbon of top notch comedy acting. If you were going to watch only one series of this show, this would be the one to watch. It's the pinnacle of the shows comedy prowess, especially 'Gunmen of the Apocalypse' with it's wonderful rendition of the Red Dwarf theme in a western style.
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Today I make a push towards finishing reviewing DVDs for the most excellent BBC Sci-Fi Comedy Hyperdrive... Wait, no. That's not most excellent, it's average at best. I meant Red Dwarf.

For the previous series review see the following:
Series I
Series II
Series III
Series IV



Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer/"Ace" Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
Robert Llewellyn as Kryten
Hattie Hayridge as Holly


Located firmly within the 'sweet comedy spot'; Red Dwarf's Vth Series is one of the best, only the two series' either side of it compete for the spot as 'Best Series'. The Fifth season includes some of the most iconic episodes the show has ever produced and in my opinion is only bettered by the series which follows it.

Holoship is the first episode and one which allows the viewer to explore a new part of Rimmer's psyche, the crew encounter the titular holoship. A spaceship constructed entirely of light and populated by holograms (like Rimmer); Rimmer has a chance to explore the ship, experience what it's like to touch and feel things again, he experiences sex for the second time in his existence and ends up stooping to cheating in order to try and get on board. The Inquisitor includes one of the series more iconic villains, a rogue self repairing simulant (sort of a cyborg-android-humanoid) who survived until the end of time and decided that the only goal of existence was to live a worthwhile and fulfilling life. His sights are set on the crew of the Red Dwarf, and boy are they in trouble. Terrorform is another episode which focuses heavily on Rimmer, this time he's trapped on a psi-moon, a planetoid which reshapes itself to match the psyche of the first person to interact with it. Needless to say Rimmer's own self loathing and wretched persona make this a very unpleasant place to go. Quarantine is quite possibly the funniest episode of the entire series, after contracting a holo-virus Rimmer's sanity is gradually eroded away from him. But unfortunately for the rest of the crew he's in charge of the ship and he's put them in quarantine. Only judicious use of positive viruses could possibly allow Lister, Cat and Kryten to escape the flippers of the terrifying Mr. Flibble. In Demons & Angels a mishap with a matter transporter splits the ship into two versions of itself, one populated with the perfect versions of the crew and the other with the most deviant and perverse versions of themselves they'll ever meet. "First I'm going to whip you to within an inch of your life and then I'm going to have you."
Finally the series ends with an incredible episode called Back to Reality. Suffice to say that this episode had myself and my friends talking about it for weeks after it aired.

Series five is a superb episode that mixed the right amount of comedy and occasional touching moments, followed by more comedy. It built on the brilliance of series four and improved on it; the two series are so well constructed that I still have trouble remembering which episode is from which, they're so similar in style and awesomeness.


The Packaging:
Exactly like the other boxes in this set, there are no switch ups or changes where the BBC packaging is concerned. Only the colour is altered here to distinguish it on the shelf; everything else is kept consistent and as such it just all looks darn great when you have them all together. I have no complaints, the two DVDs and the booklet are held well and it's exactly the right size.

The Start up and Menus:
As always the BBC start up anti-piracy warning scrolls up, it's a far less aggressive version of the FACT one that's located on the Fox DVDS. Then the BBC logo plays and a short introduction video has Starbug landing in the bay of the Red Dwarf and moving to a heavily damaged drive room where Holly spouts a few non sequitur one liners in her wonderful fashion. The loop is short and while amusing it can get a little tiresome, but at least it doesn't jar too badly when it repeats itself. Most of the other menus take place on various screens in the drive room but the individual episodes have their own area for menus. There are two Easter eggs on the first disc and one on the second.

The Extras:
As always with these the BBC have outdone themselves. Not only do we get the usual (and quite brilliant) cast commentary on each episode but there is also a bonus set of 'fan commentary' on Back to Reality. Additionally there is a whole host of extras crammed onto the second disc.

The full list is:
Cast Commentary
Fan Commentary on Back to Reality
"Heavy Science" Original Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Smeg Ups (Out-takes)
"Dwarfing USA"
Documentary on the Making of the US pilot
"Bag Guys" Featurette
The SFX of Red Dwarf V
Trailers, Idents and Episode Intro
Raw FX Footage
Isolated Music Cues
"David Hollins" Radio Sketch
Photo Gallery
Weblink

Plus Easter Eggs and Collector's booklet.

The Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Regions: 2 + 4 (PAL UK)
Runtime: 165 mins (plus 180 mins of extras)
Sound: Stereo
Subtitles: Snglish SDH
Rating: 12

The Price:
Sendit have everyone else spanked right now where the price is concerned. It's an astronomical price of £6.89 right now.


Close to the pinnacle of Red Dwarf, series five is a must have for any fan of the show and a must watch at least once for everyone who enjoys well scripted and exceptionally hilarious comedy. I would almost be tempted to call it the best series of the show, but that title is held for another.
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Having been distracted by the huge torrent of fantastic returning shows I haven't had quite as much time to review DVDs, but one must push on and at least finish reviewing each season of Red Dwarf.

For the previous series review see here:
Series I
Series II
Series III



Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer/"Ace" Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
Robert Llewellyn as Kryten
Hattie Hayridge as Holly


The fourth series of the British cult comedy classic Red Dwarf continues the level of excellence set by the previous seasons and builds on the revamped style of the third season. This season contains some of the best episodes the show has put out, introduces one of the classic Red Dwarf villains - Simulants - and gives us one of the greatest recurring characters the show has ever produced.

In Camille after Lister teaches Kryten to lie in a classic scene...

...The mechanoid deliberately disobeys Rimmer's orders and rescues another female mechanoid called. The two of them hit it off instantly but when Camille meets the other members of the crew strange things begin to happen. DNA gives Robert Llewellyn a welcome chance to appear without his mask on when the crew discover a strange ship with a device that appears to be able to restructure genetic material. As to be expected things take a turn for the worse when Holly attempts to use the device on a vindaloo. Justice is a series classic; when the crew stop at an old prison facility to provide a safe location to defrost an escape pod that may contain either a deranged synthetic killer or a beautiful woman, Rimmer is put on trial for the crime of murdering the entire crew of Red Dwarf. In White Hole, the ship experiences strange distortions of time brought about by close proximity to the titular white hole. Unfortunately any chance to maneuver clear of the space phenomena is removed by a mistaken attempt to repair Holly's intelligence - which results in the ship's computer being forced to shut down after having a life span reduced to minutes. Dimension Jump introduces one of the fan favourite characters when the crew meet an alternative Rimmer from another dimension. "Ace" Rimmer is everything Arnold Rimmer is not; witty, charming, brilliant, successful etc etc. Needless to say Rimmer immediately hates him. Last of all Meltdown has the crew discovering a matter transporter that can take them to the nearest planet with a breathable atmosphere. A planet that turns out to be populated by giant birds, Hitler, Ghandi and Elvis (amongst others).

Series four is a great series, it shows a lot of development in both the scripting, performances and dialog. It's a clear improvement over series three and leads wonderfully towards the best two series of Red Dwarf (Series five and six). It features some truly memorable moments and gags that still remain fresh to this day.


Packaging:
Just like every single other DVD in this set the packaging fits in perfectly with the rest. Matching up with the others in every aspect while also remaining unique in it's own way. There's not much else to say about it except "Bravo".

Extras:
As always with this line the BBC give you more extras than you can shake a stick banana small, off-duty traffic warden at. While the two volumes of Red Dwarf "Just the shows" are a great alternative I really do feel that the full extended extras package is just worth the extra shelf space and price.

Full List:
Cast Commentary
"Built to Last" Original Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Smeg Ups (Outtakes)
Ace Rimmer - A Life In Lame
"Lurve" Featurette
Can't Smeg, Won't Smeg Special
Trailers
Raw FX Footage
Isolated Music Cues
Talking Book Chapters
Photo Gallery
Web Link
Easter Eggs
Collector's Booklet.

Price:
Play.com win this round with the low, low price of £7.99. That's a reasonable but not stunning 4.8 ppm. Again though I don't begrudge this price and if you do then you should consider investing in the "Just the Shows" version instead.

Details:
Run time: 165 mins
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Full Frame
Audio: Stereo
Colour: PAL
Region: 2 + 4
Subtitles: English - SDH

The Final Word:
Series Four is one of the best series of the show, it's riotously funny from the first episode to the last and contains some iconic moments. It's a must have for any fans of the show and a great example of classic British comedy. It's just brilliance.
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I've decided to waste time complete my reviews of the Red Dwarf collection DVDs for the sake of completeness while I'm waiting to watch the final two episodes of Burn Notice.


For the previous series review see here:
Series 1
Series 2

Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
Robert Llewellyn as Kryten
Hattie Hayridge as Holly


The third series of Red Dwarf marks the point where the show evolved into the entity that captured the hearts of the British nation. Sadly it is also the first season where Normal Lovett was not involved in the project, Hattie Hayridge (who played Hilly in the final episode of the previous season) takes over the role for the next three series. A large amount of events are explained in a ludicrously fast moving set of text that parodies Star Wars. The short version is, Holly has changed his appearance, Lister has repaired Kryten but had to give him a new head and Lister's twin sons have left to their mother's dimension.

Series Three is really where Red Dwarf found its feet and struck a balance between dialog and sci-fi action. It's also the first series I actually watched as it was being broadcast on TV, having just become old enough to be allow to stay up. As such I have fond memories of the episodes, but on rewatching they hold up brilliantly.

The first episode Backwards is a clever piece that has the crew discovering a wormhole that leads to a 'modern day' (i.e. 1990s) version of Earth where time travels backwards. Initially Rimmer and Kryten find the place first and enjoy their lives but Lister and the Cat ruin it for them and they end up leaving. Marooned is a fantastic character driven showpiece for Chris Barrie and Craig Charles which has their characters stranded on an ice planet and Lister forced to go to extreme lengths to survive. Polymorph remains my favourite episode of this series as it features massive laughs (especially in the boxers scene) and some of the most memorable lines from the show. Bodyswap is another episode where the actors get a chance to show off, this time it's Craig, Chris and Danny who all get to act like each other as their personalities have been swapped about. Timeslides I'm not so fond of, it has a lot of cause and effect but it also has a very major change to the history of the show being used as a throwaway gag at the end and it doesn't really work. The Last Day is a strong ending to the series, when Kryten's expiration date comes up his replacement arrives, and the long journey in space has affected his sanity.

It's a great series of the show and it sets up the sweet period for Red Dwarf (Series three to six are the best, especially series six) and it often serves as a better introduction to the show over the first two series.


Packaging:
The BBC have kept the same standard for every series throughout, matching the spine up on each series to create a copy of the logo and only changing the colour plus stills used on each. I love this attention to detail as nothing throws me more than a series switching up their design halfway through.

Extras:
As always the BBC put others to shame with the extras on this. Not only do you get excellent and interesting cast commentary on every single episode (even if Danny is a little bit too fond of the word woofer) you also get a whole separate disc filled with stuff:

Cast Commentary
"All Change" Original Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Smeg Ups (Out takes)
Hatties DJ Diary
Tribute to Mel Bibby
"Food" Featurette
Backwards - Forwards
Trailers
Raw FX Footage
Isolated Music Cues
Talking Book Chapters
Photo Gallery
Weblink
And Easter Eggs plus a collectors booklet

Price:
The outright winner for this boxed set is play.com who have it at £7.99. Which is 4.9ppm, of course the problem with UK TV shows is they are always shorter than the American ones which makes it hard for them to ever win the ppm wars.

Details:
Run time: 161 mins
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Full Frame
Audio: Stereo
Colour: PAL
Subtitles: English - SDH

Series three of Red Dwarf is an exceptionally excellent package. It's got it all in there and the amazing thing is that the show continues to get better after this one, it's Red Dwarf just as it finds a stride. I'd recommend anyone who's not watched the show to try this one first as it gives you a better idea of what the show is really like, the first two series feel very different (but are worth watching after this one).



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Next week I'll actually be reviewing a new release. Shock!

For the previous series review see here:
Series 1

Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
and Norman Lovett as Holly



The second series of Red Dwarf is very similar to the first one in style, feel and quality. Both of the first two series are slow paced and character driven in their style. But the second series concentrates less on the interactions between Lister and Rimmer and instead expands a little to include more sci-fi experiences.

Kryten is the first episode and it introduces a character who will return in the third series and stay with the show for all the remaining episodes. But the Kryten who appears in this episode is played by a different actor and is very different from the one who appears next series. The episode is one of the best of these six, probably the second best one and it's a very strong start. It's followed up by the sentimental episodes Better Than Life and Thanks For The Memory; both of which look more deeply into Rimmer's personality and hang ups. BTL shows how deeply twisted he is, while TftM demonstrates what a difference love could make to Rimmer (indeed to all of us) when Lister gives Rimmer the (misguided) gift of 'The memory of one of Lister's ex-girlfriends' (effectively making Rimmer believe he dated the girl). These episodes are both slow ones that have some laughs, but not as many as the first one.
Stasis Leak is a little more complex, playing around with time lines as the "dwarfers" find a way to travel back to before the accident that wiped out the rest of the crew and ending in a truly superb scene with no less than three Rimmers and three Listers on screen at the same time.


Queeg is the fifth episode; after an accident places Lister's life in danger the emergency back up computer 'Queeg' replaces Holly and begins running the ship efficiently. This one is by far the funniest of the entire season and really showcases the awesome comic timing of Norman Lovette. Finally comes Parallel Universe, which is a solid episode to end the series and manages to tie up some events that occured in the first series episode Future Echoes it's also notable because it's the last appearance for Norman (for a while) and marks the appearance of Hattie Hayridge as Hilly. Hattie ended up take over the duties of Holly for the third, fourth and fifth series when Norman left.

The second series is enjoyable but it's a very different show from the one that appears in the later series. It's not until the third series that Red Dwarf really finds it's stride. It's worth watching for sure, but if I'm honest it might be better for people to get into Red Dwarf by watching the third series first then watching the first and second in retrospect.



The second series comes in standard DVD box that matches with the rest of the series. It's almost identical to all the rest except for a change in colour, stills and spine (the full set makes the Red Dwarf logo when you put them together). It also has a small booklet filled with stuff about the episodes.
Much like the first series boxed set the second series is crammed to the gills with extras and this is where it shines. You get a DVD with the series and the commentary on it and a second one filled with extras.

Here's the list:
Cast Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Smeg Ups (Out takes)
Original Trailer
"Red Dwarf A-Z" Documentary
Doug Naylor Interview
"Alternate Personalities" Featurette
The full uncut video for the song 'Tongue Tied'
Raw footage for special effects
Isolated Music Cues (yeah, wth?)
Talking Book Chapters
Photo Gallery
Weblink
Hidden Easter Egg

It's a mighty haul of extras and there's stuff there to keep the most avid Dwarf-aphile glued to his TV screen for hours (and away from the normal populace which is good, because they're weird and scary).

Both Play.com and Zavvi have the series currently priced at £7.99, which is pretty good in my opinion. It works out at a respectable but not amazing 4.6p per minute, but that's not including the extras or re-watching with the commentary on (the commentary is rather good - despite the slightly annoying food references when someone is hamming it up and the use of woofers to represent funny lines).



I adore Red Dwarf, it's British Sitcom at it's best and has managed to hold up well against the test of time. As I said before this series (and the first one) are not the finest examples of the show, while there are some fantastic comedy moments in them it's the next series onwards (3 through to 6) that have the true comedy gold episodes in them. But it is still fun and at a meager 174 minutes it's worth watching them so you get the back story a little more solidly.

The Final Score:

3.5 for Series 2.
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Starring:
Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer
Craig Charles as Dave Lister
Danny John-Jules as "The Cat"
and Norman Lovett as Holly

Red Dwarf is one of those shows that almost never was, at the time of it's conception the concept was pretty much unheard of. The BBC didn't really do much Sci-fi and they certainly didn't consider the concept of a Sci-Fi/Comedy to be worth pursuing. So the show very nearly didn't happen. But, fortunately for us it eventually did and the rest is history.

Red Dwarf is the story of Dave Lister - the last human left alive, Arnold Rimmer - the hologrammatic recreation of his former bunk mate, "The Cat" - a creature that evolved from Dave's pet and Holly - the (now senile) ships computer. The first series starts with the events that lead up to Dave's predicament and deal mostly with his attempts to adjust to his new life. It's a very slow paced, character driven sitcom that is mostly powered by the interactions between Dave and Arnold. Over the course of the series Dave discovers he's the last human alive, that he's been in suspended animation for over three million years, his pet cat's descendants evolved into human-like creatures and he was the creator of an entire religion (plus the cause of religious wars.) He also experiences visions of the future, intense hallucinations that become solid and not just one, but two Rimmers.

The first series's style is very much a traditional British sitcom, you have the dysfunctional 'couple' who's interactions drive most of the story alongside the 'wacky' characters who provide either exposition or just comedy. The characters are all deeply flawed and actually quite an unpleasant bunch. Dave Lister is essentially the laziest slob in existence ever, 'Cat' is little more than vanity on legs, Holly is alternately senile, sarcastic and occasionally cruel and Arnold. Well Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie) is the centerpiece of the show, a deeply flawed individual who's a petty minded, rude, cruel and pathetic little jumped up snot of a man. A distillation of the worst roommate you could ever experience combined with everything unpleasant you could experience in a superior. It's a tribute to the man's skills that he can play such a nasty little toad and still be sympathetic and likable.

The performances from the other actors range greatly, Craig Charles is very inexperienced at this point in his career and as such the bulk of the work tends to lay on Chris's shoulders. But it's not like he's bad, he's just not fully grown into the role at this point. Danny John-Jules is fantastic as the Cat, but this isn't difficult for him because the role is a very physical one and as a dancer he's eminently suited to it. As for Norman Lovett; he's superb as Holly, selling the right balance of senility and comedy into his performance. He's nothing more than a talking head/voice over but his presence is easily the equal of the rest when he's performing.

It's also worth mentioning the model shots at this point, all of the work for exterior shots in the first series of Red Dwarf is done entirely with model shots and it's a tribute in this CGI infested age just how realistic (if you can call a ship in space realistic) they look. On the other hand, the interior sets are decidedly simplistic and ropey but that really adds to the charm of the show. Rather than making space travel look all flash and shiny Red Dwarf manages to highlight how mundane the truth of working in space would become with it's dull grey minimal sets. They look cheap, but it's the kind of cheap that works. Adding to the series rather than taking away from it.

The first series is a slow start and is not the best example of the show, it's in fact a very different beast when compared to the one that starts to evolve in series 3 (and peaks in series 6), but it does contain some absolutely classic comedy moments and it's a superb piece of character driven comedy. There really is (almost) no better place to start experiencing Red Dwarf than here.


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