Red Dwarf BBC TV I first heard mentioned by Big Bang Theory nerd Sheldon, whose flatmate Leonard is sweet on blonde neighbor Penny - single with pals Howie and Raj in Season 1, get girls by Season 7. Like original Odd Couple, slob squabbles with snob. Leonard/ Lister is shy, short, chunky, yearns for girl; counterpoint foil Sheldon/ Rimmer is smart(er), tall, thin; in both, aspirations over-reach abilities, crude rude interaction is adult, silly. Crash course spans Season 1 to revival X 2012.
My favorite RD effect is real, not computerized, when Lister's mouth widens sliding down behind quarantine glass to freak out Rimmer, but couldn't find on Youtube; found April Fool. Library loan Season 1 2002 dvd of 1988 season has fun extras; episodes are online, among other TV shows. The pilot "The End" written in 1983, was inspired by Dark Star scifi spoof.
Dave Lister (standup comic, non-actor Clapham-accented Craig Charles) is lowest maintenance-man Class 3 slob - breakfasts on beer milkshake and vindaloo, smokes ciggy in ear. While in stasis three million years, his smuggled black feline evolves into a humanoid descendant - swanky selfish tom Cat (dancer Danny John-Jules) "Ow. Ah. Eeah. How'm I lookin?". Only these two/189 crew survived radiation leak on grotty mining spaceship Red Dwarf (8' model). Control with 6K IQ, AI face Holly (Norman Lovett complained past mere voice-over) can sustain a single hologram for company, chooses room-mate Arnold J Rimmer (Chris Barrie), unfortunately obnoxious stiff-neck Class 2 Technician.
Visitors are memories, video recordings (no discs yet), holograms (Clare Grogan as love interest Kassie Kochanski), germs Paranoia (Lee Cornes) and Confidence (first TV appearance of Craig Ferguson, now double US citizen, TV talk host), dying Cat priest, toaster, meal machine. Against dull grubby grey (shade conflict was true), incongruous analog cinema-tape reel containers and Cat's lavish suits stand out dramatically. Despite the odd ruffle, jewel glint, contrasting chest hankies, his sinuous slim carriage lends cheery elegance, where paunchy over-hill Elvis-Elton-Liberace are gaudy and sad. Olaf Peterson, swarthy tattooed Swede (tartan cap in dim disco) is skinny teenage Arthur Weasley from Harry Potter.
X-rated for dialog topics. Futuristic-sounding expletives are smeg, gointz, gimboid, tot. Hol echoes the repeat phrasing that's always puzzled me in shows and life "Emergency. There's an Emergency going on. It's still going on. It's still an emergency. This is an emergency announcement ... "
Pictures (until I figure out how to place more than one on post)
Episodes 1-6
1. The End - Hol revives Lister, three million years in stasis after radiation leak.
2. Future Echoes - Deja vu travel time blips show twin boys in Lister's future.
3. Balance of Power - Lister takes chef exam to outrank Rimmer.
4. Waiting for God - Hol translates cat smell Holy book proving Lister is cat deity.
5. Confidence & Paranoia Sick - Lister hallucinations come alive.
6. Me (squared Two) - Rimmer holograms disagree.
Bonus Disc:
Takes thought to find Smeg-ups (sink-toilet gizmo) and Japanese-dubbed pilot episode (goldfish aquarium) from knick-knacks in messy bunk-bed room menu choices, innit. Worth the work, not just bleeps and pratfalls. Real cat Frankenstein escapes cage (explains why actual footage reveals Lister's white-enclosed privates bobble from his shorts, and milk flee saucer), aged actor stumbles "the righteous path of stubble-ess (slobbiness is a word?)", Rimmer: "I've been thinking ... no, I haven't", Cat can't find mirror to admire self, Rimmer can't find pencil to report Lister. Not sure if Japanese have accents that convey class, or how jokes fare that depend on local slang (also here correct scientific term), such as verruca (plantar wart remover) cream for footless man. "Syonara, unbelievable, dangereuse, my shadow, catto, oolala, crispy" need no translation.
Collector's booklet is more lively, says embarrassment over gazpacho cold soup incident from life. Many Boring extras. Models and Launch. Babies cry, then their polaroid develops).
Deleted (as usual, with good reasons besides time) and extended scenes (beer can)
Music (guitar) great from sweetly or starkly simple to sweepingly symphonic. The theme "Fun fun fun in the sun sun sun" makes sense at the start "no kind of atmosphere, all alone here". Audio (speaker-sided talking toaster) I skipped, good for those who like audio books. Clips, Trailer (Hol screen-portrait), Photo Gallery (pinup).
Launch = talking heads with trivia: Allan Rickman and Hugh Laurie liked the Lister part. Pure luck that a budget space in Manchester for "dangerous, edgy" spot took on London 3x (confirmed, several sources) 3-year (unconfirmed, single source) reject.
Commentary:
Mostly boring, though reassuring Lister ate milk powder instead of crew ashes. The three actors dwell on their youth (23), changing: thickness of the one-off silvery forehead-glued one-off cutouts, depth of Prince-Charles-like side part approaching Rimmer's ear, height of Rimmer's curls escaping gel as day wore on. May explain why images of later shows have inked stencil template H. If babies keep crying, adlib relevant remark. I found "bonan matenon" IS Esperanto for good morning.
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