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Red Dwarf To Return, Find Earth
Lawrence Person writes "Everyone's favorite live-action science fiction comedy series will finally return to TV, with Lister, Rimmer, Kryten and the Cat all making it to Earth. The new two-part series Red Dwarf: Back to Earth will appear on digital channel Dave, will be written and directed by Red Dwarf co-creator Doug Naylor, and will reunite the line-up. 'It will sit alongside two further new episodes — the improvised Red Dwarf: Unplugged, which will feature the cast dealing with no sets, effects or autocue, and Red Dwarf: the Making of Back to Earth, a behind the scenes look at the new production.' Personally, I think this is pretty smegging fantastic."
Usually these sort of "and then they came to earth..." plotlines are cost-cutting measures (so they can shoot in "regular" locations instead of on elaborate sets). They also often represent "jump the shark" moments for a series. When they did this on Lexx, the show (which had already begun to go way downhill in the previous season) went from bad to ABYSMAL.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
He would have stopped, but the king of the potato people wouldn't let him...
Personally, I think this is pretty smegging fantastic.
Why is resurrecting Red Dwarf fantastic but resurrecting Blade Runner an abomination?
Puncture repair kit on standby.
Look, I don't want any toast. In fact, no one around here wants any toast. Not now, not ever. NO TOAST.
I find the biggest difference is that Britcoms are normally about losers. Compare with the US, say 'Friends'. The main characters are very successful; they have lovely flats near Central Park. I find it hard to have empathy with them. Whenever they have a 'problem' I wish they'd just shut up and catch themselves on. They seem like whiney, spoilt, brats.
Lister, on the other hand, is a slob who lives in an interstellar slum. Yet he always seems pretty chirpy about it. You should check out the US version of Red Dwarf, where some moron at the networks replaced Lister with a super-jock. None of the jokes made sense afterwards.
Of course, there are good US comedies (normally the cartoons) and there are *loads* of really, really bad Britcoms.
All intents and purposes. Not intensive purposes.
Comparing Red Dwarf to Monty Python, HHGG or The Office is an insult to Red Dwarf. The Office is best watched on a weekday evening after a hard day of work. Monty Python is great entertainment with friends on a Saturday afternoon. Red Dwarf is something entirely different.
Like many Americans I first encountered Red Dwarf on PBS late Saturday evenings. After seeing one episode (Demons & Angels) I was hooked. I was thrilled when Season 1 released on DVD and I watched it through that Saturday afternoon. However, it didn't seem to hold up over the years. I was watching a mediocre British comedy, and quite confused.
Eventually I realized that Red Dwarf needs to be enjoyed late at night. Like ATHF, it's bizarrely hysterical but only when in a certain mood. Red Dwarf is not meant to be analyzed for plot holes or comedic merit. It's meant to be watched in a dark room, late at night, and alone. Only then does it become a spectacle of incomprehensible British slang, something far greater than it was meant to be.
Red Dwarf is the only TV series I've purchased on DVD. I've seen the episodes so many times that I remember the audience's laughter. It's no exaggeration to say that it's the best show I've ever seen. But, I can understand that many consider it a mediocre sci-fi comedy. It needs to come with a warning label, "Only watch after 10:00 PM".