Thursday 26 January 2012

Red Dwarf

Home
Smell the Movies
Smell the TV

Transmitted:February 1988 - April 2009
Country of origin:UK
Genre:Sci-fi comedy, Comedy of conflict, Cult classic
Starring:Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John Jules, Robert Llewellyn, Norman Lovett, Hattie Hayridge
Rating:4/5
No. of seasons:9

Sci-fi based sitcom that follows the trials and misadventures of the unfortunates mentioned above, as well as Kryten the android in later series, and Kristine Kochanski in the last couple - not reviewed or rated here yet as I have only seen the once, when first aired Essentially, the Red Dwarf I am familiar with is a beast of two halves.
The first couple of series are low budget, minimal affairs, with most of the action taking place on one or two sets, much of the comedy coming from the interaction between Lister and Rimmer. Series three onwards gained a higher budget, and clearly became more sci-fi driven, with the writers injecting some 'proper' storylines, as well as a new character in the shape of Kryten. Many gripe that it was not as good as the original format, but heh, life goes on.
Sharp, witty, with a good line in catchphrase scripting, and with the enviable record of inventing a new insult in the form of 'smeg', this is a show that is as divisive as it was cutting edge at its time.
I know people who don't like it because they think it is belittling the sci-fi genre, but I feel they are missing the point. The writers clearly love sci-fi, but are all too aware that at times it is a little bit silly, so lampoon it to great effect.
The show peaked with series 5 and 6, though 2 and 4 are great as well.

Find an episode guide here:

No comments:

Post a Comment