Red Dwarf REACTION | Backwards Series 3 Ep 1 | Gallifrey Gals Get Dwarfed | Americans React
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- Now wait just a minute... Hang on. Wait. What? Who? HUH?! WHAT'S GOING ON EVERYTHING REALLY DOES FEEL BACKWARDS
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If you paused and read the scroll, it is clear this is much later than S2. Lister has had his boys and had to give them to their mother. Kryten was found wrecked (space bike accident), and they tried to repair him but they didn't do so perfectly. Cat is just more accustomed to them, but his traits are still there. The Starbug is one of their pods, and it is their main one for now. The heart of the show remains the same, and I think the next episode makes that clear. As for Rimmer and Kryten, Rimmer is wanting to make sure Kryten is capable as a pilot, especially after his accident. Lister and Cat knew what they were doing, and it became obvious where they likely went...
thx i was confused as well, and im an old fan from back in the day
It's little things like this that shows you Rimmer cares
about getting a chance to order people around.
That and Holly transistioned between seasons after encountering his female counterpart in the S2 finale - IRL they changed the actor as Norman Lovett fell out with the producers and Hattie Hayridge already had some experience playing the character.
From IMDB:
When the pub manager gives Kryten and Rimmer a telling off in backwards speak, what he is really saying is "You are a stupid, square-headed bald git, aren't you, eh?" I'm pointing at you, I'm pointing at you, but I'm not actually addressing you, I'm addressing the one prat in the entire country who's bothered to get hold of this recording, turn it round and actually work out the rubbish that I'm saying. What a poor, sad life he's got!"
Arthur Smith. Comedy legend, and still gigging.
I was wondering if anyone had mentioned this yet.
Must admit, I was a sad git that did exactly that. Got hold of a recording, flipped it…and laughed my arse off!
I think the original footage is on the Smeg-ups VHS/DVD, I'm sure I remember seeing it years ago (pre-youtube)
hehehe Classic !!
To answers your questions
The scroll did answer it, it said that they found kyrten again crashd somewhere and picked him up to make him part of the crew. It said why listers son's aren't there that they began rapid aging so they sent them to the female reality.
Kryten was indeed having his flight test in the starbug- a explore shuttle- in order to pass so he can fly it himself.
The others noticed as they hadn't returned for hours/days, and wouldn't you go looking if your crew goes missing?
@@liamloxley1222 I think they have watched a couple weeks in advance of where we are at, so of course, they have not seen the comments when they watched it
@@liamloxley1222 Not all of them, but they do read comments. They'd already recorded this before the warnings showed up.
@liamloxley1222 we read comments all the time, especially myself. I'm constantly monitoring them, but there's only so much we can do when we've had to sit and watch a few in a row to make sure we can get the content out to y'all on a regular schedule. Especially doing two episodes a week currently!
@@rocketdave719 tbf you could shrug the scrolling text off as just a star wars joke/reference and you couldnt pause tv when it aired - so more of something to find out later than something that had to be known - yeah it explains the changes/reboot but its something you find out later - when I first watched it I assumed it was just a dig at star wars and didnt bother reading it
@@robg1151 so we are like future echoes that they can’t see 😮 or something lol
As the seasons go on you will like Kryten, trust me, he gets funnier as it goes along.
Especially when we get to the space core directive jokes.
@@Roman_Eagle Those did become formulaic though, didn't they?
@@JackRascal Yep, That's what sitcoms are, formulaic
@@JackRascalthat's a very British joke, in and of itself - the joke might not be funny once, and it might not be funny twice. It might get even less funny the third time. But by the time you tell the same joke the thirteenth time? Hilarious.
Sm eeeg Heeee d!
".... she'll never leave fred and we know it" - *chef's kiss*
There was certainly a charm to the first two seasons where it was more of "The Odd Couple" in space set mostly on the ship and filmed in front of an audience. It was a bit limited, though, and had they not changed things up, it may have been creatively restrictive.
Going forward, they have more creative freedom now with more location shooting, more space exploration, and bigger sci-fi concepts to explore.
While the energy is really cranked up in this one, partly because of all the changes, it will settle down a bit as they find their way.
I wouldn't have said, "This is where it finally gets good," more that this is where the show more closely resembles what it will be for the rest of its run.
Just ignore the cosmetic changes, like sets and costumes, as that is simply a symptom of having a bigger budget.
This is not my favorite season, but there are some banger episodes ahead.
Also, there are explanations for the different sets. The white bunk room is 'officers quarters' rather than their original quarters for example.
The end of the "Where is Kryten?" saga.
Thank god
"Just accept" - exactly. One could argue that Starbug was always there, they just never used it before. Or not. Who knows. Roll with the flow, Kryten completes the crew in a way you didn't know you needed.
Remember that the entire ship was covered in radiation and they only let Lister out once the radiation died down in his area.
So that leaves the perfect plot device for new sections of the ship getting decontaminated each episode and allowing him into new areas.
The thing with this show is that the moment you start asking questions on how things work, or 'where Kryten was', all that, these were details the writers didn't obsess over because they just wanted to get on with focusing on the show, the comedy, the writing, etc. Everything looked different because the people working on it desperately wanted more colour because the initial ship was so grey. Getting them on Starbug to explore space also opened up the adventure to a lot more range rather than just being in this vast, empty ship.
Ahh yes the "Captain Emerald" season. 😁
New Kryten. Was meant to be a one off character but when they made him part of the crew they cast the immutable Robert Llewelyn.
No problem with the original actor, but Robert did a great job of continuing the role of Kryten. The girls just need to get used to him. Also, considering they don't have to wait for new episodes or seasons to drop, I guess any changes might be more noticeable in retrospect.
I can confirm the change was initially a bit odd at the time but honestly, by the end of this series you will hopefully love the changes. It just gets better and better.
Next episode feels a lot closer to the first two series.
Series 3 is very much a transition between the "Odd Couple in Space" style of series 1 & 2 & the " Space Advenurers" style that you get in Series 4, 5 & 6.
Then you get series 7 - the more "Comi-drama" style.
Series 8 - pure sit-com.
Special - no laugh track, too wierd for words.
Series 10, 11, 12 & Special - have an "Old men in space" feel to them.
Weird.
I before e except after c has many deficiencies to it.
Guys, don't be put off by the sudden massive change. As a life long Red Dwarf fan I implore you to keep going
They certainly are keeping on going 🙂
This was my very first Red Dwarf episode.
The answers to most of your questions are in that Star Wars style opening text. Lister did give birth to twins, but they aged at such a rapid rate, so they had to send them back to the parallel universe. Kryten left Red Dwarf on a space bike but crashed into an astroid. Lister was able to repair him but now he’s back to his factory setting. And Holly had a sex change to Hilly.
Do give the new Kryten a chance. I think you’ll like him, and Starbug (the green ship).
The older small ship they used before still shows up occasionally, and it's called the Blue Midget :D
It was my first episode as well which I watched when it aired (I videoed them when I watched them as someone in my class at school told me how good the show was based on series 1 and 2). I think I saw the next 2 seasons before I ever managed to catch up on the first 2. They are totally different but brilliant in their own way. Seasons 3-5 are the ones I come back to and re-watch the most.
I'd say Holly didn't have a sex change, but he got left in the alternate universe of the last episode and Hilly changed places with him. Not that these AIs have a gender, hahaha!!
Series 3 is where the format becomes established but series 4 is where it really hits its stride.
Arguably so, although I might also argue that Series 3 is more consistently entertaining - Series 4 had a fantastic first half but the latter half wasn't as strong ultimately; still pretty good but not as good as the masterpieces that immediately precede them.
I will concede, however, that Series 4 is more....intellectually grounded? Series 3 is hilarious and genuinely smart but it's bonkers in a way that the franchise never really was before or since.
If you look closely in some shots with Starbug leaving Red Dwarf, you might be able to spot a mini-Tardis the FX set builders hid in the launch bay as a gag.
Next ep you see that ;)
I still love the anecdote that Patrick Stewart was originally enraged when he encountered the show, but rapidly appreciated what it was really about. Although a lawsuit between the BBC and Star Trek's channel would have been unintentionally hilarious.
Now that’d be a crossover for the ages! For some reason I’m thinking Seven and Ace….
I like to pretend it's not a gag, and the Doctor was silently observing them.
I also like the comment that made by Peter Wragg (Starbug designer) about the front of Starbug being ripped of an old Klingon Bird of Prey.
They were going to write an episode bridging the gap called" "Dad" but both the writers felt the script was very sexist and decided to scrap it and use the explanation even though it was too fast to read without pausing. Backwards is one of my all time favourite episodes! The bar room brawl is incredibly funny!
Apologies for being pedantic, but it was a bar room tidy 🤣
@Andy_Cortez no need to apologise. You are quite right! It is indeed a bar room tidy! 😂
I’m so glad you love the first two seasons. They’re fantastic and they don’t get enough love. The show has a few big changes over the years where it reinvents itself and that feeling of a bunch of guys rattling around together in a big old tin can does remain, especially in the much later seasons. I hope you enjoy the ride because there’s a lot of amazing stuff ahead.
Please don't worry Paula ! Rimmer wears different outfits each series. The green spacecraft are called Starbug 1 and Starbug 2 (they are shuttle craft that live inside Red Dwarf). Rimmer and Kryten got separated as they went on a driving lesson and entered the space vortex first. The series do get better and more sci fi as they go along. For weeks you have asked where is Kryten. Now you are getting worried. He is back. Keep the faith, you will love it more and more. I think you laughed more in this episode despite your confusion. As the series goes on, the laughs get more and more. You will look back at your beloved series 1 and 2 and realise those were just to set the characters and the plot. Now they get into the series more and more. Love watching your journey. All of us have been there before you. Nothing to be scared of. Bless you girls !
12:47 the context of the episode. And the rest of your questions.
- Kryton was performing the driving test for his starship license, being administered by Rimmer.
- The set was different because their budget went up, and they were in the hanger, which hasn’t been shown much before now. This was a rare episode which also took place on Earth Don’t get used to it.
- The green ship was Starbug 1 (I believe it’s 1)
- Rimmer was in official testers uniform
- Kryton is there because they found him again after some kind of factory reset. It was explained in the opening text of the episode. Likely because people people didn’t like the original Kryton and they retooled the character and brought it back next series with better makeup and a new actor. I have to assume he went through focus group after focus group of testing to become this version. Get used to him. He’s great.
- Cat didn’t have much of a role in this episode. He’s going to be more Cat again after this.
- Rimmer and Kryton were separate from Cat and Lister because Rimmer was qualified to administer the test, and Kryton was testing for his license. They were doing different tasks than each other as people do. You didn’t bring everyone you know in the car with you for your driver’s license exam.
- Lister and Cat knew to look for him because they had been missing for weeks at that point… they waited Weeks before the went looking for them.
Don’t worry this episode is an outlier and the show will make sense again soon, as you already know by now.
I hope that’s a good enough bridge.
Kat: “Why?” Best not to think too much about it. The show gets pretty normal again immediately after this.
I think this is a much anticipated reaction . This episode led to the demise of so many vhs tapes back in the day . Nowadays everything is easy and I'm sure you will find all the explainations you need quite easily . They did pretty well with the backwards footage and the extra features are well worth watching . I'm sure you will come to love Robert Llewellyn as Kryton and Hattie Heyridge as Hollie and the extra vehicle Starbug . Without the first two series establishing the characters I don't think it would have worked so well but this series with the effects and budget moved the whole thing up a notch . Strap on for the ride and I Hope you come to enjoy it as much as I did .
Red Dwarf is really a show that will shift from time to time. Regardless of the hat it wears, I love it every time.
This is the first of several show 'resets' where something happens between series to change the basic situation, there is only so much you can do with the men on a big ship. In this case there was a considerable budget increase and changes in the production team, so that the sets could have some colour (instead of uniform grey!). At the time it happened I was also dubious about the series, but it soon became clear the writing and characters were still the same ones I'd watched for two years.
Kryten was brought back because Grant and Naylor were feeling trapped by just having the 3 leads (plus Holly), introducing a forth full member meant they had much more flexibility to pair them off in different ways for different stories. Having established an audience and critical acclaim with the first two series meant that getting the bigger budget simply meant they could push forward with wilder sci-fi concepts to throw the Dwarf crew into.
"how do you get nourishment?" you'll find that out at the end of this episode! lol
This was our introduction to Red Dwarf. In 1989 my wife's employer transferred her from New Jersey to a small town in Southwest England. So there we were, in a strange country, in a rented home with a small cheap TV that got four channels. And one evening we saw this. Very confusing, especially because we couldn't stop the text crawl to read it.
It's weird, Kryten is played by a different actor.... In a few episodes it will be .... I can't imagine anyone but Robert Llewellyn playing Kryten.
Apple! 😢
@@wyrmshadow4374 small off duty czeckslovakian traffic warden😏
These days kryten's actor does the "fully charged" podcast about renewable energy, which I didn't realize was him until he mentioned an upcoming Red Dwarf event in Australia and did the voice for a bit.
Pause and read the words at the beginning. Btw there is a book called Backwards written by Rob Grant.
And it's both very similar and very different to the episode. But that applies to all the novels tbh!
You have to remember, back in the day, we watched series 2 as it was broadcast on the day and that was it, no instant replay or catch up. And Kryten was in one episode, he was just a character that came and went, that was it. We didn't have fore knowledge of Kryten coming back in the following series.
Then, it's over a year before we get to series 3, we knew the Red Dwarf crew and ,more or less, what to expect from the show. If their uniform changed or the sets were slightly different or Blue Midget turned into Starbug or Kryten was played by a different actor it wasn't such a jarring change.
Give it a couple of episodes and you start to feel at home again.
I'm enjoying watching you enjoying a comedy that I grew up with and still love to watch it 35 years on.
I know I say this first episode of every series/season but... The best way to view Red Dwarf is to think of every series as it's own parallel universe with a different, similar but diferent continuity. It makes it much easier to do enjoy the new stuff and not worry about the obvious changes that never get explained.
Yeah, RD is not that big on cannon.
Worrying about continuity in Red Dwarf is like worrying about sketch endings in Monty Python's Flying Circus: Usually they didn't bother.
Honestly Kryten becomes legendary as the show progresses
Watched since day 1 and S3 wasn't where it "got good" it's where it evolved, it was always good
Robert Llewelyn's Kryten is a mishmash of a subservient butler and Herman Munster; from now until 2022 every series his costume changes subtly in minor designs and colour. Although, so much continuity and designs change, that the fan theory is each series is set in a parallel universe.
Ah thank god we don’t have to avoid spoiling Kryten coming back anymore. 😂
He’s a major part of the show from here on out. Not only does he get so many good lines he’s a perfect fourth wheel (fifth if you include Holly).
There's a lot of commenters that DIDN'T avoid spoiling Kryten coming back. :D
"Are you sure sir? It does mean changing the bulb?"
@@firefly24601 People do like to spoil things.
@@Terrahawk_ 💯
I think its going to be like when a new Doctor Who takes over. At first the difference is jarring but after a couple of episodes you love the new Doctor just as much as you did the previous one. Once the girls get used to the changes theyll end up loving the "new" Red Dwarf.
Good points there
@@MalcolmWolf Getting used to a new Doctor was probably easier when the show did multi-part serials. One of the smartest things John-Nathan Turner did was have Peter Davison's first few serials shot out of order, so Davison had time to get a feel for his character and the cast had time to gel.
@@christopherwall2121 Its quite common for most series, or at least it used to be, that they would show the 3rd of 4th episodes filmed as the first episode so that your first impression was the characters bedded in.
The set looks different because a new set designer was brought in. The budget was always low, but he made the best of it with lighting and innovative use of everyday objects (If you look at the background, a lot of the texture comes from plastic bread carrying trays!). It looked a whole lot better than the relentlessly grey set of the first couple of series. They covered the change to the new-looking sleeping quarters by saying they'd moved up to the officer quarters deck.
As for Rimmer's look, he's a hologram, so, canonically, he can look however he wants, I guess. It's not the last time he changes.
Kryten is, as you noticed, a different actor (Robert Llewellyn) but the original actor does return a few episodes later as the voice of Talkie Toaster.
Anyway, always fun to see you two react to something I know FAR too much about! lol
Yeah, I thought it was interesting when I read years ago that there actually wasn't a bigger budget for sets in S3, they just spent the money they had a lot better. Grant & Naylor said that they never liked the design of S1-2, and for S3 they asked for a new designer and BBC acquiesced.
The feeling of disorientation worked the other way round for me, as I started watching Red Dwarf properly in series 3, so it was a surprise when I later caught up with 1 and 2 and found them so different to what I was used to. I’m sure you will adjust quickly, not least as there are so many great episodes to come- the next one feels much more like what had gone before, so hopefully helped you settle in to the new look.
That's exactly how it went for me too. I think I had seen S3-4 before I finally saw S1-2. Generally I preferred the (mostly) faster-paced episodes of S3 onwards, and I liked how everyone was used to each other and their situation.
The green ship is Starbug, which is one of the Red Dwarf shuttle craft and will play a much bigger role from now on. Kryten and Rimmer are separated from the others as Rimmer is basically giving him a driving test when they accidentally fall into a time hole...simples😂
The change of the set is subtly explained later. On the wall of their new bunks it says 'Officers Quarters'
Not sure if this is cannon. But I read Rimmer changed his outfit to an older uniform he preferred.
They changed the uniform because they thought the material would make Rimmer look more like a hologram.
It's just more sci-fi
To add to this it was confirmed by (Rob) Grant (Doug) Naylor at the time of the show that the change to the Officers Quarters ties in with the episode Confidence and Paranoia where it was mentioned that Rimmer hadn't finished decontaminating the Officers decks at that time. By now the decon had been complete which allowed them to move quarters.
The change of uniform was also due to the move to the Officers Quarters as Rimmer felt he should be wearing more "officer" attire. I recall this was mentioned in one of the many tie-in books, but I can't remember which one though.
The opening crawl does explain the loose threads from the end of 2 to beginning of 3, if you look it up online. Backwards was Grant and Naylor taking advantage of increased budget to do one of their high concept ideas they couldn't do before this point.
But there is very soon an episode much more like the first 2 series (and it's regarded as one of the best episodes ever).
The ship Red Dwarf is huge (6 miles (10km) long, 5 miles (8km) tall, and 4 miles (6km) wide). The introduction of Starbug makes sense as such a huge ship would require landing craft. The upside for the show is that not only is it another filming location it also provides a logical means of allowing the characters to visit other filming locations (planets/ships etc).
Love your reactions to Red Dwarf, Gallifrey Gals!
Speaking as a old fan from the very start in 1988, your reaction is EXACTLY how I felt when I first saw the start of S3 in 1989. It took me some time to warm to the changes, and for me (and a lot of people who watched from the start) the first 2 series will always be the best.
The beginning scroll going so fast is a way of saying “it doesn’t matter, just relax and go with it”
Woah 96 comments in half hour. Found your channel and been watching since you dropped episode 1. Love it. If you haven’t already, I’d suggest finding a transcript of the scrolling text from this episode. Robert Llewelyn you will come to love as Kryten. Trust me on that one. As for the green ship, that is starbug, a much better replacement for blue midget. And don’t worry, they will spend plenty of time yet on Red Dwarf. Looking forward to the next ep, and Kat rocks for getting two smegging episodes out per week. 👍🏼👍🏼
Series 3 is so different that when you first see it, it does come as a bit of a culture shock, but trust me, you get used to it and it’s brilliant.
You will love the next episode, a real character-driven piece.
So many questions GallifreyGals. Here's an answer to one. Rimmers costume is from ( Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons) his green costume is from Captain Emerald.
Rob Grant and Doug Naylor became producers for this series, and took the opportunity to change a few things they didn't like about the first two series (with a new set designer and costume designer joining at this point). I don't think the budget increase was that big, but they spent it more carefully and the original sets hadn't been built to last anyway. The Wiki entry on the episode gives a spoiler-free overview of some of the BTS changes: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backwards_(Red_Dwarf)
The great thing about Red Dwarf is that nothing stays the same. Every season is so different than the previous season and the successive season...change upon change.
The tag line for this series was "Red Dwarf III - The same Generation (Nearly)"; a rip on TNG, but it also acts as an indicator that the show changed significantly, whilst essentially maintaining the same cast.
Norman Lovett (Holy) left because he moved to Scotland and thought he'd be able to skip rehearsals (given he essentially filmed his bit separate from everyone else) and just do the recordings, essentially he wanted to pop down from Scotland and then pop back in a weekend. The writers didn't agree as they felt that the rehearsals enabled them to rewrite lines that weren't working. Lovett returns sporadically to the show in the future.
David Ross (original Kryten) is a stage actor by day and was able to do the S2 episode as it was all onset and filmed in the evening of a day he didn't work. But the regular role required off set recordings which he couldn't fulfil. Additionally the filming day was changed to a day of the week he couldn't do. Kryten was not originally supposed to be a permanent character, having a robot actually went against the show bible, but was considered ok for a one off episode. However the character was liked and then bought back for s3 with a new actor (Robert Llewellyn) after Ross turned it down.
In show the actor changes are explained by the big sprawl at the start (to a certain extent). Backwards was not originally the first episode of S3; an unproduced episode was intended to explain the changes; including the resolving of Listers pregnancy and the finding of Kryten. However the writers felt that the script just didn't work (too much unconnected plot lines and not enough humor) so ditched it in favor of the opening sprawl.
The set changes are partially explained by the Officiers quarters now being decontaminated and Lister is now sleeping there (the room states Officers quarters). You don't see any of the other sets in this episode, but instead of using the Drive room they now use the Science Room. In latter series the sets change several times between series with no explanation (beyond the fact that its now been going for 35 years and TV sets are intended to last that long)
Another change for this series is the dropping of the 'Bunk Scenes' between Lister and Rimmer. This was as a result of the relationship between Charles and Barrie. The scenes worked because of the fraught chemistry between the two characters, unfortunately the chemistry was very real and the two did not get on at the time. The Bunk scenes returned in S8 when the actors friendship improved.
The introduction of Star Bug doesn't really require an explanation (at this stage). Its just one of many transport ships on Red Dwarf. In fact its a class of transporter and there are several different Star Bugs; the same as the Blue Midget class. In practical terms the Blue Midget set was too small, so an alternative was sought. What is never explained later is the significant changes within Star Bug, which massively expands in size as more SB sets are added.
In essence though S3 is about the only time the writers bothered to try to explain fundamental set changes, they don't really bother in later series. Best not to worry about it.
Paula I have some answers for you.
The green ship is called Starbug and is the smaller transport vestle within red dwarf.
Rimmer was in a new outfit cause he was being the examiner for krytens bug driving test which rimmer was keen to do as it would give him some independence (personal choffer) from lister and cat
Kryton was r
Found in a space bike wreckage and lister reassembled him.
Holly told lister and cat about the time hole cause she is also present on the red dwarf
We did try to warn you about thinking there was an overall narrative. But basically money. With more budget, they introduced "star bug" a smaller ship for going to planets on, so everything wasn't set on the ship
There are a lot of scenes and episodes where we're just on red dwarf but the "in universe" explanation of their new sleeping quarters is that they moved into the officers quarters hence they design
Basically, the 1st 2 series were based upon the books "Red Dwarf - Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers" and "Red Dwarf - Better Than Life". What comes after that are the same writers, Rob Grant & Doug Naylor, but they are writing "episodes" and not "Stories". Listers under laying Arc of getting back to Earth still remains and is used, but don't really expect major story arcs......But there are some amazing charaters that pop up here and there, Mr Dibbly and & Ace are just 2 that do repeat across series.
Other way around, actually. The books adapted stories from the first two series into a cohesive narrative. The second book, Better Than Life, adapts some stuff from series 3, as well. The third and fourth books are both alternate sequels to BTL, with each creator writing their own idea of what happened after. Both adapt stories from later series, from what I recall, but going in wildly different directions.
The original Starbug model is about to go up for auction.
You probably know this if you've watched the special features for this series but my favourite thing about this episode is that most of the backwards speech is the actors insulting anyone who was nerdy enough to reverse the recording to hear what was being said.
I can't remember the last time I saw a video in my feed and blurted "Oh, f*** yes!"
The effects team and props team (and even studio space used) connect to and worked on classic Doctor Who
The Red Dwarf was always supposed to be the size of a city with hundreds of people on it and a whole bunch of mining machinery and such. Lister was the lowest ranking member of the crew, and his immediate supervisor Rimmer wasn't much higher, so they weren't used to interacting with most of the rest of the ship, and technically not authorized to do so either although Holly overrode a lot of those protocols for him in a way Queeg briefly enforced. Kryten needs to pass his test to fly a Starbug because that's an independent system that won't let an unlicensed driver work the controls when it's far enough away from Red Dwarf.
An entire cat civilization evolved in one of the holds, where they assembled their own ships and left. (It's never directly addressed how much help Holly and the scutters gave them, but the timing strongly implies that Holly unfroze Lister when the cats left because he was bored with no crew to take care of.) Lister's group never really interacts with that part of the ship because they don't need to.
Series 3 is where it transitions into the proper format. Give it a chance , it gets better and better.
Best way to explain away the inconsistencies and changes between the Red Dwarf seasons is that the series takes jumps to the next parallel universe to the right.
The green ship is Starbug.. ship to surface vessel
The thing you have to accept about Red Dwarf is that the creators of the show don't care all that much about continuity, so sometimes things don't track and you have to just kind of accept the changes like Rimmer changing uniforms for no reason or rivets being painted a different color because the higher ups complained the sets were too grey.
In terms of bridging the gap between s2&3, there's a animatic narrated by Chris Barrie (Rimmer) which was based on an episode which was cancelled for budget reasons.
I always come back to series 1 and 2 but can't deny that the next few are really good. (and prob better)
You MUST watch "Red Dwarf Backwards - Played Forwards" the manager scene is the best!
The reaction to that is up on Patreon 🙂
Best reaction ever! Seeing you freak out to the food bit is priceless 🤣
The Green Ship is called Star Bug, it's one of Red Dwarf's Auxiliary Vehicles, there are 2 Star Bugs, Star Bug 1 and Star Bug 2, the other Auxiliary Vehicle is called Blue Midget
"When in Rome, do as the Snamor do!" (---Lister)
is perhaps the greatest line from television.
Okay, RL explanation for Kryten, they changed actors. In-universe, he has spare heads, and his original head died. So, it's the android version of a Timelord regeneration. He's literally rebooted.
You should see what the manager is actually yelling at them. Its funny and didn't get discoverer for ages
Maybe it was just me, but I loved all of the unexplained stuff. I quite like the idea of people coming up with their own reasons - it takes a new character and lets you get comfortable with some light head canon. Plus, it’s from a TV age where clear continuity wasn’t always required haha
Now the full cast is assembled, the real fun begins.
This is the point where Red Dwarf officially transforms from "The Odd Couple...in Space!" into "What if Terry Gilliam made a Star Trek series?"
The green ship is a shuttlecraft called Starbug. Pause the beginning and read the forward it tells you everything.
Don't forget, you're watching shows and series back-to-back, without the usual breaks between series that most people had during the original run. So any changes are going to seem much more 'sudden' than they were to most of the original audience, when these shows were first broadcast.
When this season was first broadcast, it was a year after the second, which was broadcast six months after the first. Three seasons within 18 months, the last being such a departure from what came before. Your reaction was pretty much accurate to what happened at the time. But stick with it, it does get better!
Grant and Naylor have referred to these between season changes as them exploring different subgenres of sitcom. It happens again a few times later in the show, but not really to such a degree. I think a few of these changes can also be down to budget increases and the move to London in this case though.
If you watched this episode on tape and went through the trouble of playing it backwards during the dressing room scene. You would discover that the club owner is actually insulting the viewer, as the one person sad and obsessed enough to go to the bother of doing so.
Also I forgot how good this show was at the practical effects and model work.
Okay, so early on, you said "it can't be just them on the ship, other characters have to show up". Yep. Their loophole for bringing guests in is a lot happened in the 3 million years. ...and time anomalies.
Backwards is a very different episode to most of the rest of the season. The opening scroll is pretty quick and it kind of explains things really quickly. The next episode is actually one of my favourite episodes of Red Dwarf.
Go back and read through the scrawl from the begining, it'll explain a lot.
The scene where the club owner is yelling at them was unscripted and goes like this...
MANAGER: You are a stupid, square-headed, bald git, aren't you, eh? I'm pointing at you, but I'm not actually addressing you. I'm addressing the one prat in the country who's bothered to get this recording, turn it around, and actually work out the rubbish I'm saying. What a poor sad life he's got!
KRYTEN: We're fired. Something about a fight.
MANAGER: Exactly. Your act's crap anyway. Anybody could have done it. I hate the lot of you. Bollocks to you!
Also, I'd just like to point out that during the bar scene where they drink the pint backwards, you can clearly see Craig Charles pouring beer all over himself while DJJ downs the whole thing without spilling a drop.
Got a couple of good DJJ drinking stories from conventions if anyone would like to hear them ;)
This season is absolute gold and has just some of the best RD moments. Great reaction ladies, can't wait for more.
Yeah, I really loved S1&S2 too and they have some of my favourite episodes. The vibe is so good. But I still adjusted to the new style.
Watching the seasons back to back might contribute to the mixed feelings, it indeed is a big shift from the previous ones, but don't worry, you will get used to it soon!
I was soo waiting for series 3 to 5.
The explanation for their quarters being different is they have moved from the bottom rung crew rooms up to the Officers rooms. Starbug was added to give them more room as they wanted to do more off of the Dwarf as the Blue Midget set was so small and cramped.
Philip K Dick's novel 'Counter-Clock World' and more probably this episode also inspired a recent film that (title as well) works forwards and backwards at the same time as well.
The status quo has changed. Once the foursome of Lister, Rimmer, Cat, Kryten is cemented firmly, you’ll see what this show can become. I promise the quality goes up from here - until the end of Series 6
It picks up again after the special.
Seasons 7 and 8 are still a lot of fun though.
You are both true dwarfers and i am so excited for season 3. This was such a fun reaction to a fun episode. I am so here to share this journey with you. You have been thrown in to the deep end i know, it's like a whole new world to get used to but once you adjust to the change of pace you are going to both love these episodes even more than the first 2 series
Red Dwarf is not something you worry about continuity with. Just go with the flow.
This is when Red Dwarf *really* hits its stride!
There's a little Tardis somewhere in the model of the doors that Starbug flies out of.
As far as the new sets go, remember it’s a big ship! So they move to new parts of it occasionally.
Episode 2: There is a Doctor who reference, but it's a brief second so you have to be quick.
It’s possibly important to remember that this is a British show that got around 6 episodes per season, 30 minutes each at most. Time is far too precious to spend it going into details of costume changes (for example) that ultimately don’t matter when they could go with ‘because’ and get another 60 seconds of plot / character / comedy in. Though even then they did anticipate some would want to know, hence the crawl which explains most of the obvious changes, including both main cast changes. Honestly - and this is for anyone coming to this fresh - it’s probably best to repeat the mst3k mantra & just go with it. Everything that needs to make sense, will.
31 years before Christopher Nolan's Tenet. This crew was always ahead of the curve.
The backwards episode is genius and Arthur Smith's speech is brilliant!
And if you want to know where Kryten came from, it's all described in the scrolling text at the beginning of the episode ... you have to pause it to read it....
I hate to tell you, the 'who's the hot cartoon character' is a real thing men do!! Wilma vs. Betty, Wilma vs. Jane Jetson, Daphne vs. Velma, etc. This might be the first time it was talked about on a tv show! LOL!! The Space Bug lets them explore space, meet aliens, and the usual multiverse things. Oh, it's gonna get Wild!!
The expression on Cat's face at the end with that 'bathroom reverse' is iconic!!
Aww Paula you will love it just like the first 2 series. Kryten is very useful he can give explaintions about things that the other character have no clue about, he is a bit like Data from TNG but alot funnier.
All you questions are answered in the text crawl at the begining but it too fast to read unless you pause it.