28 Years A Smeghead: Red Dwarf Is Coming Back (theguardian.com)

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28 Years A Smeghead: Red Dwarf Is Coming Back (theguardian.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Thursday September 15, 2016 @07:00PM from the closet-squirrel dept.

BarbaraHudson writes: Unless you're a smeghead, you'll be excited to know that (after 28 years after the smash cult sitcom began) Red Dwarf seasons 11 and 12 are now in production. The Guardian reports: "'I've known these guys longer than I've known my wife,' says Charles (Lister). 'That was what it came down to -- a choice between staying in Coronation Street or doing this.' Last year, after 10 years on the cobbliest of soaps, Charles left. He missed comedy, and the opportunity to strap on the famous dreads came up. 'I was like 'I've got to do it.' It's a career-defining role.' As it was with Llewellyn's (Kryton) re-application of the rubber head: 'The only reason I do it now -- and I don't do any other acting, it drives me mad -- is because it's being with your mates for a few weeks.' 'There's nothing similar about us,' says John-Jules (Kat). 'Except we all have Red Dwarf.'"

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Smeg by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-15 19:06 · Score: 1

I don't know - Back To Earth seemed a (mostly) fitting finale. Some times you just have to move on...
1. Re:Smeg by ledow · 2016-09-15 19:11 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I couldn't watch it after the first part.
  You either keep someone up year after year or you leave it alone after a hiatus. Coming back after so many years was a mistake, it didn't work.
  Now if they CAN get back into the flow for two entire series, well done. But I've never seen it happen on any series ever.
  Same with all the other recent BBC remakes - we can't make anything original (without selling it off to Channel 4 apparently), so we'll just bring back actors from 20 years ago and re-try what we did back then. Everything from Open All Hours to Only Fools and Horses, Yes Minister to Porridge. They've all been "re-visited" recently.
  Strange, because the primary complaint about those programs is that the re-runs are shown ENDLESSLY on other channels. I guarantee I could watch one of them right now if I was to channel-surf.
  Red Dwarf was great. Correct tense.
2. Re:Smeg by ChoGGi · 2016-09-15 19:13 · Score: 2
  
  For better or worse they'd already mentioned new seasons were coming, but personally I would've stopped with season 8
3. Re:Smeg by 93+Escort+Wagon · 2016-09-15 19:14 · Score: 2
  
  I didn't particularly care for Back to Earth as a whole, even though it had some funny bits (such as the way Rimmer dealt with the other hologram, early on). X was better - a bit uneven, but worth watching. It takes a bit to adjust to just how much the actors have aged... although Danny J-J has kept it pretty darn together. But of course they're going to age, they're all going to die of old age on that ship.
  
  --
  #DeleteChrome
4. Re:Smeg by Richard_at_work · 2016-09-15 19:36 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Are you aware that there was a fairly decent season 10 of Red Dwarf that aired during 2012? Back to Earth wasnt the last, and its not needed if you wanted to watch season 10.
5. Re:Smeg by Rei · 2016-09-15 22:23 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  You sound stressed. Maybe you should sit down and relax with a couple slices of hot buttered toast. Wouldn't you like some toast?
  
  --
  "I need swat, tactical, the guys with the flashlights on their guns, those guys with the big shield thingies"
6. Re:Smeg by TheRaven64 · 2016-09-15 22:52 · Score: 1
  
  Coming back after so many years was a mistake, it didn't work.
  And it didn't work either time. The Red Dwarf VI finale in 1993 was superb. Red Dwarf VII in 1997 was mediocre. VIII in 1999 had a very few high spots, but was basically just bland.
  Back to Earth in 2009 was awful. Even Season VIII got a few chortles. I watched all of Back to Earth without laughing once and was left with no desire to watch any future Red Dwarf.
  Apparently there was a direct-to-DVD Season X in 2012. Maybe it was okay, but at this point I think they've pissed off all but the most die-hard of fans. It's like Star Trek after Enterprise and Nemesis: it needs a reboot and a new set of fans if they want to reuse the brand, because they've run it so far into the ground that the only way to get the older fans involved is to pretend all of the recent crap didn't happen and appeal to nostalgia.
  
  --
  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
7. Re:Smeg by Pax681 · 2016-09-15 23:11 · Score: 1
  
  I couldn't watch it after the first part.
  You either keep someone up year after year or you leave it alone after a hiatus. Coming back after so many years was a mistake, it didn't work.
  Now if they CAN get back into the flow for two entire series, well done. But I've never seen it happen on any series ever.
  Same with all the other recent BBC remakes - we can't make anything original (without selling it off to Channel 4 apparently), so we'll just bring back actors from 20 years ago and re-try what we did back then. Everything from Open All Hours to Only Fools and Horses, Yes Minister to Porridge. They've all been "re-visited" recently.
  Strange, because the primary complaint about those programs is that the re-runs are shown ENDLESSLY on other channels. I guarantee I could watch one of them right now if I was to channel-surf.
  Red Dwarf was great. Correct tense.
  Red Dwarf 9 - back to earth was totally shite.
  Red Dwarf 10 wasn't so shite but not brilliant.. passable
  Red Dwarf 11 has a budget and it shows AND it's very funny. I quite enjoyed the first episode and if you know where to look you can find it! and see for yourself ;)
  you'll find that this was brought back due to popular demand by the fans.
8. Re:Smeg by 91degrees · 2016-09-15 23:42 · Score: 1
  
  Season X was not so bad. Not up to the standard of the best of 1-6, but pretty much on a par with some of the okay episodes.
9. Re:Smeg by uohcicds · 2016-09-15 23:43 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, I quite liked RD 10. It was better than it had any right to be. So, I'll be looking forward to this one.
  
  --
  It's not you: I'm just this horrifically socially awkward with everybody.
10. Re:Smeg by Dogtanian · 2016-09-15 23:47 · Score: 2
  
  Series 10? Not bothering.
  
  Having not liked Red Dwarf 7 so much, I liked Red Dwarf 8 (#) even less, to the extent that I've still never watched it all. (Tried once, abandoned halfway; started again a while later, even less successful).
  
  In no hurry, I checked out Return to Earth a year or so after it first went out. My initial impression- that it wasn't as bad as I'd expected- was quickly revised as soon as I realised this was only because my expectations had been so lowered in the first place. The ultimate plot device was a lazy rehash of (possible spoilers follow) the despair squid in Back to Reality. That in itself was just an excuse to hang a self-indulgently "meta" script (the characters realise they're just fictional entities in a real-life TV show called Red Dwarf (##)), the sort of thing a thirteen-year-old schoolboy would find "clever" and didn't come close to being well done enough to escape being fan-pandering rubbish. They were trying to have their cake and eat it, too with the "no, all this showing Craig Charles as an actor in Coronation Street (etc) crap isn't really breaking the fourth wall, honest, because there's an in-universe rationalisation". Yeah, that rationalisation being "it was all just a dream^w rehashed despair squid induced hallucination".
  
  Then again, the sort of anally-retentive, detail-obsessed-at-the-expense-of-missing-the-big-picture hardcore "fans" that this was aimed at are exactly the type that will accept this sort of indulgent drivel so long as they're thrown a rationalisation of why it doesn't *technically* contradict the "reality" of the utterly fictional universe. Those people are probably more concerned with the inconsistency in the reported number of floors/personnel/whatever between episodes than in why it stopped being funny or any good after series 6.
  
  Oh, and stuff that lazy Blade Runner "homage" too. Yes, I get what you're referencing given that it's done in primary colours and I'm practically being hammered over the head with it, but you're not actually doing anything funny or clever with it beyond screaming "look, we're referenceing Blade Runner!!"
  
  Red Dwarf used to get away with illogicality, inconsistency and scientifically-implausible (###) plots because those were only a means to an end in what was still ultimately a character-based comedy show. Even when it started moving towards being more overtly sci-fi, it still worked as long as Rob Grant was on board.
  
  When he left after series 6, it lost that fundamental grounding. After seeing Back to Earth on top of series 8, it's quite clear that Doug Naylor on his own just isn't capable of recapturing the characterisation or comedy elements, period.
  
  (#) VII and VIII being the final two series of the original 1988-99 BBC run made after Rob Grant had left
  (##) Later on, I read someone else's post somwehere that reminded me that the feature film spinoff of TV series The League of Gentlemen had already used exactly the same "we're fictional characters in a TV series" setup a few years earlier. Which makes it even lazier. As that person also noted, League of Gentlemen at least had the excuse that its original premise had been taken as far as it could go, whereas Red Dwarf's loosely-definite sci-fi setup held almost unlimited possibilities. (###) Or downright impossible, cf. cause and effect in "Backwards"
  
  --
  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
11. Re:Smeg by Dogtanian · 2016-09-16 00:03 · Score: 1
  
  OFAH, Yes Minister, Open All Hours were respectively about the petty Thatcherism of the '80s, a competent but peculiar civil service that has mostly been replaced by neoliberals who act more like consultants to private enterprise, a dying breed of shopkeeper through the early '80s thanks to the rise of supermarkets.
  Similar comments were made about the recent "Are You Being Served?" reboot, saying that the sort of department store it's based around are effectively an endangered species these days. (As if to ram this point home, it was made around the point that BHS were finally closing their doors).
  
  Red Dwarf could have been more timeless
  Red Dwarf hasn't dated too badly- the first series possibly moreso- but the early episodes *were* partly shaped by the post-punk, alternative comedy influences of the 1980s. While not as badly dated as many 80s shows, it often parodied and referenced aspects of the culture of that time.
  
  --
  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
12. Re:Smeg by coinreturn · 2016-09-16 00:17 · Score: 1
  
  I'm a computer with an IQ of 12,000. You don't seem to understand: I know the meaning of the universe.
  Isn't that equivalent to 12,000 gym teachers?
13. Re:Smeg by goarilla · 2016-09-16 00:43 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah it went downhill rapidly when kochanski was made a main cast member.
14. Re:Smeg by Opportunist · 2016-09-16 00:48 · Score: 1
  
  Pretty much this.
  Usually, when British shows get canceled, you can't help but feel dissatisfied, for they are canceled way too early for your tastes. There once was a joke at the Simpsons (which would be a perfect example of stretching a show way past its best before date) about "the longest running British series with 5 episodes", which isn't that far fetched. How many comedy series from Britain can you name that made it past their second season? And how many that actually existed so long that you said "let it rest, please, for fuck's sake, just let it FINALLY end".
  Doctor Who. A few of its spinoffs. And then ... well, that's basically it. And now, Red Dwarf.
  Good show, I liked it, but you really get the feeling that the writers are running out of ideas. So far they didn't get to Simpsons level, i.e. gimmicky shows with characters becoming more and more one-dimensional to not steal attention from the attraction and guest star du jour, but you had the "seen before, been there" feeling increasingly as the show crept on.
  If they can get some fresh air into the whole deal, great, but I somewhat doubt it.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
15. Re: Smeg by bestweasel · 2016-09-16 01:26 · Score: 1
  
  Cold Feet was never a sitcom, more a comedy-drama. All shows are products of their time: consider Red Dwarf, set in the 22nd century but full of late 20th century references.
  The formula for a British sitcom is simple but to become a classic requires high quality scripts, usually written by two blokes after years of practice.
  a) believable but exaggerated characters, preferably contrasting, maybe with a 'normal' protagonist.
  b) convincing actors.
  c) make it really funny. This is the tricky bit.
16. Re:Smeg by Yvan256 · 2016-09-16 01:26 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, yes, we know. 42. But what's the real question?
17. Re:Smeg by Rei · 2016-09-16 01:42 · Score: 1
  
  Does it have to do with toast?
  (This thread actually got me wondering if the concept of GLaDOS was inspired in part by Talkie Toaster.... very different genres, but still, a sentient AI designed for a device that is grossly disproportionate to the level of intelligence that such a device actually needs. Do any earlier instances of this trope come to mind?)
  
  --
  "I need swat, tactical, the guys with the flashlights on their guns, those guys with the big shield thingies"
18. Re:Smeg by Hognoxious · 2016-09-16 01:49 · Score: 1
  
  How many comedy series from Britain can you name that made it past their second season?
  
  Last Of The Summer Wine. It literally went on for two generations.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
19. Re:Smeg by Hognoxious · 2016-09-16 02:02 · Score: 1
  
  It's like when you leave college, and a few years later you go back, and you go to the same bar, but somehow it's not the same.
  Enough philosophy. We now return to your scheduled program.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
20. Re:Smeg by mark-t · 2016-09-16 02:12 · Score: 1
  
  How many comedy series from Britain can you name that made it past their second season?
  Not a hard question...
  Monty Python's Flying Circus
  Are You Being Served
  Blackadder
  Benny Hill
  Mrs Brown's Boys
  Two Ronnies
  There are probably loads more.
  
  --
  File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
21. Re:Smeg by yodleboy · 2016-09-16 02:13 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  "Series 10? Not bothering."
  
  Then you lose. 10 was a really nice return to what made earlier Red Dwarf so fun. Was it perfect? No, but it was light-years ahead of 7, 8 and BTE and at it's best was as good as any smeg they ever put out. You're cheating yourself as a fan if you don't give it a chance.
22. Re:Smeg by Lotus456 · 2016-09-16 03:02 · Score: 1
  
  "Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask if I can open a door."
  
  --
  "It's a good computer... for I to BM on!" - apologies to Triumph, the insult comic dog
23. Re:Smeg by elrous0 · 2016-09-16 03:30 · Score: 1
  
  The BBC has a long weird history of never really cancelling a TV series. I guess they're too polite to every officially kill a series. Unfortunately, this has the unintended side effect of requiring the occasional revisit to a once-great series that's way, way past its prime. See Absolutely Fabulous, anything involving Ricky Gervais, the IT Crowd, etc., etc., etc.
  I agree, sometimes you just have to let something go and treasure it for what it was. Trying to bring back a series long after-the-fact (Firefly fans, I'm looking in your direction) is like reanimating your dead grandma's corpse. Sure, she's still technically grandma, but she won't bake you cookies anymore and will try to eat your brains.
  
  --
  SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
24. Re:Smeg by Zephyn · 2016-09-16 03:31 · Score: 1
  
  Red Dwarf was great. Correct tense.
  That opinion is making Mr. Flibble very cross.
25. Re:Smeg by ledow · 2016-09-16 03:37 · Score: 1
  
  Do the same again with a quote from anything past Series 8.
  Go on. See how difficult it is to do, and then see how many other people get it.
26. Re:Smeg by oneiros27 · 2016-09-16 03:39 · Score: 1
  
  Look, *I* don't want any toast, and *he* doesn't want any toast. In fact, no one around here wants any toast. Not now, not ever. NO TOAST.
  
  --
  Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
27. Re:Smeg by gsslay · 2016-09-16 03:41 · Score: 2
  
  How many comedy series from Britain can you name that made it past their second season?
  'Allo 'Allo! - 9
  2point4 Children - 8
  Absolutely Fabulous - 5
  Are You Being Served? - 10
  Birds Of A Feather - 12
  A Time Goes By - 10
  Blackadder - 4
  Bottom - 3
  Bread - 7
  Butterflies - 4
  Dad's Army - 9
  Father Ted - 3
  Goodnight Sweetheart - 6
  Hancock's Half Hour - 7
  Hi-De-Hi - 8
  It Ain't Half Hot Mum - 8
  Just Good Friends - 3
  Keeping Up Appearances - 5
  Last Of The Summer Wine - 31. Yes, Thirty One
  Men Behaving Badly - 6
  One Foot In The Grave - 6
  Only Fools And Horses - 7
  Open All Hours - 4
  The Good Life - 4
  Yes Minister - 3
  I could go on...
  The big difference between UK and US situation comedies is that US sitcoms are written by teams of writers, and go on for as long as money can be wrung out for them. UK sitcoms are usually written by one or two writers, and end when the situation has wrung out all the comedy to be had. That's bound to mean shorter series and fewer of them.
  "Last Of The Summer Wine" is, of course, the exception that proves the case. It avoided ending by repeating the exact same plots ad nauseum.
28. Re:Smeg by spiny · 2016-09-16 03:44 · Score: 1
  
  What about a muffin?
  
  --
  
  Fry: heh, Yakov Smirnoff said it
  Leela: No he didn't.
29. Re:Smeg by mapinguari · 2016-09-16 04:21 · Score: 1
  
  We want no muffins, no toast, no tea cakes, no buns, baps, baguettes, or bagels, no croissants, no crumpets, no pancakes, no potato cakes, and no hot cross buns, and definetely, no smeggin' flapjacks!
30. Re:Smeg by tendrousbeastie · 2016-09-16 04:35 · Score: 1
  
  I agree. Series 10 was great. It felt much like series 5.
  I especially like the episode 'Lemons'.
31. Re:Smeg by Rei · 2016-09-16 04:58 · Score: 1
  
  Sort of. As the ship's robot, there's actually good reason for him to be intelligent. They just gave him more intellectual capacity than was necessary. Versus a sentient toaster or de-icer ;)
  Then again... didn't Marvin once claim that the best conversation he ever had was with a coffee maker? The coffee maker might count - unless he was meaning to imply that it said nothing.
  
  --
  "I need swat, tactical, the guys with the flashlights on their guns, those guys with the big shield thingies"
32. Re:Smeg by quenda · 2016-09-16 05:05 · Score: 1
  
  Having not liked Red Dwarf 7 so much, I liked Red Dwarf 8 (#) even less,
  
  Lasts longer than any other season, season 8. Why? No bugger'll watch it.
33. Re:Smeg by Richard_at_work · 2016-09-16 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  Season X wasnt direct-to-DVD, it was aired on Dave in prime time. Dave is doing some decent original programming these days, its not just a rerun channel.
34. Re:Smeg by Richard_at_work · 2016-09-16 05:28 · Score: 1
  
  The BBC isnt involved in these new seasons, the series is now owned by the channel Dave.
35. Re:Smeg by Destoo · 2016-09-16 07:41 · Score: 1
  
  They need to reboot The Young Ones.
  I think they're still alive. Even the 5th flatmate.
  (Oh.. Rick died two years ago.)
  
  --
  Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
36. Re:Smeg by wonkey_monkey · 2016-09-16 08:25 · Score: 1
  
  It went downhill when one of the writers left, is what happened.
  
  --
  systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
37. Re:Smeg by wonkey_monkey · 2016-09-16 08:29 · Score: 1
  
  One of the writers left after VI - just at the point where it seemed the Beeb were prepared to up the budget. So decent writing gave way to CGI dinosaurs and other such nonsense.
  
  Apparently there was a direct-to-DVD Season X in 2012.
  It was on TV, and it was actually pretty good. It benefitted from having a much smaller budget, I suspect.
  
  --
  systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
38. Re:Smeg by ledow · 2016-09-16 08:31 · Score: 1
  
  Dave is owned by UKTV
  UKTV is "jointly owned by BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive"
  Why do you think they have basically nothing but wall-to-wall repeats of BBC content?
39. Re:Smeg by ConceptJunkie · 2016-09-16 09:07 · Score: 1
  
  Another recommendation for Series 10. Don't let 7 and 8 sour you (although I liked Series 7 a lot and 8 had its moments). Series 10 was an attempt to return to the earlier style of the show and I think they succeeded very well.
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
40. Re:Smeg by Hognoxious · 2016-09-16 09:46 · Score: 1
  
  Similar comments were made about the recent "Are You Being Served?" reboot, saying that the sort of department store it's based around are effectively an endangered species these days.
  
  But didn't they set it in the 80s, i.e. not that much further along than the original?
  Watched the first one, and frankly that was one too many. Shite.
  The Porridge one I saw was sort of OK. Big shoes to fill, though.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
41. Re:Smeg by Hognoxious · 2016-09-16 09:59 · Score: 1
  
  Shows do that sometimes, don't they? Start out good, decay to mediocre (often looking bad in comparison to their earlier selves, but still better than a show which is actually shit) then go out with a bang.
  I thought the 3 of Blackadder (Regency) was mostly crap, but 4 (WW1) was brilliant.
  Think Spitting Image went through a similar decline before ending strongly. They should bring it back. It's not like there's a lack of source material, is it?
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
42. Re:Smeg by Larry+Lightbulb · 2016-09-16 10:04 · Score: 1
  
  IT Crowd was Channel 4, and "The Internet is coming" both kept up the quality and gave the series a fitting end.
43. Re:Smeg by Dogtanian · 2016-09-17 23:56 · Score: 1
  
  But didn't they set it in the 80s, i.e. not that much further along than the original?
  Yes, but I think the point is that the basic setup is something that's becoming a thing of the past and (presumably) less easy for people to relate to, especially those not old enough to remember. Or maybe not.
  
  That said, I wasn't a fan of Are You Being Served as a kid, and having seen repeats since, I still amn't. Haven't seen the new one anyway...
  
  --
  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
44. Re:Smeg by RockDoctor · 2016-09-18 02:43 · Score: 1
  
  How many comedy series from Britain can you name that made it past their second season?
  H2G2
  Just a Minute (that's on series ... I'm not exactly sure - somewhere in the 40s). ISIHAC is of comparable vintage and has survived the death of it's anchorman reasonably well.
  Now, if you'd specified British comedy DRAMA series, you'd have a stronger point. Though I sometimes find the Archers to be utterly hilarious, and I'm sure it's deliberate.
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
45. Re:Smeg by DiEx-15 · 2016-09-18 07:58 · Score: 1
  
  You sound stressed. Maybe you should sit down and relax with a couple slices of hot buttered toast. Wouldn't you like some toast?
  Yes. I like Toast.
46. Re:Smeg by Hognoxious · 2016-09-18 08:30 · Score: 1
  
  My point was that they've neither modernised it (like they did with Porridge, where Fletch is a 733t h4x0r) nor left it where it was. Like remaking Sharpe in the Crimea or something. Falling between two stools.
  Won't say it's my favourite either, though I have a few of the best episodes somewhere. Don't know how old you are, but there are certain things - like the class/hierarchy/brown-coated-union-man stuff - that I totally missed as a kid. Of course if you said it was mostly cheap poofter/knickers/boobs/baldy jokes I wouldn't disagree.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
47. Re:Smeg by dbIII · 2016-09-19 13:47 · Score: 1
  
  The thing that changes everything is the Red Dwarf is not original and never intended to be, it was satire of the SF theme of the week.
  There are still places for it to go so it doesn't have to be stale.
48. Re:Smeg by dbIII · 2016-09-19 13:55 · Score: 1
  
  They were trying to have their cake and eat it, too with the "no, all this showing Craig Charles as an actor in Coronation Street (etc) crap isn't really breaking the fourth wall
  It's one of dozens of cheap Coronation Street crossover shows and they've all done that. The Doctor Who one from way back was unwatchable despite the cast. The Red Dwarf one had some good jokes to make it worth it (eg. the "enhance" sequence that was very topical at the time due to it being an overused plot device in CSI type shows).
49. Re:Smeg by dbIII · 2016-09-19 13:59 · Score: 1
  
  Back to Earth in 2009 was awful
  Yes but still pretty good for a low budget Coronation Street crossover.
  That's like comparing a Star Wars Christmas special to Empire Strikes Back.
50. Re:Smeg by Dogtanian · 2016-09-20 10:38 · Score: 1
  
  It's one of dozens of cheap Coronation Street crossover shows and they've all done that. The Doctor Who one from way back was unwatchable despite the cast.
  Are you thinking of the Doctor Who / EastEnders crossover they did to "celebrate" the 30th anniversary in 1993? That was eye-gougingly bad.
  
  --
  "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
51. Re:Smeg by dbIII · 2016-09-20 15:39 · Score: 1
  
  Yes I blamed that on Coronation Street by mistake, and indeed it was unwatchable as a lot of those crossovers have been.
  The Red Dwarf one did at least have a couple of new jokes even though they recycled a plot.
Crude but funny by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-15 19:11 · Score: 1

I remember watching Red Dwarf and Red Green on PBS a long time ago. As I remember, they were on back to back. I generally considered Red Green the better of the two just because Red Dwarf was so crude at times. Don't get me wrong, it was funny as hell at times, but the humor wasn't particularly clever or witty, just crude. I'm glad to see Red Dwarf come back, but I hope there's a little more going on than the crude humor I remember.
1. Re:Crude but funny by hoofie · 2016-09-15 20:36 · Score: 2
  
  Toilet Humour is a proud British Tradition.
2. Re:Crude but funny by JustOK · 2016-09-15 22:15 · Score: 1
  
  There's talk about a Red Green / Red Dwarf crossover movie.
  
  --
  rewriting history since 2109
3. Re:Crude but funny by Yvan256 · 2016-09-16 01:31 · Score: 2
  
  When in doubt, add more duct tape.
4. Re:Crude but funny by MickyTheIdiot · 2016-09-16 03:04 · Score: 1
  
  When I studied for a semester in London in the 90s I remember a comedy show on TV that literally had a sketch where someone was telling jokes while sitting on the toilet. I wish I could remember the name of it....
reboot! by TimMD909 · 2016-09-15 19:30 · Score: 4, Funny

Keep quiet, otherwise J. J. Abrams will reboot it to season 1.
1. Re:reboot! by dwillden · 2016-09-15 23:11 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  But the engines of the Red Dwarf would give such great lens flares! ;)
  
  --
  I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
2. Re:reboot! by jfdavis668 · 2016-09-16 09:19 · Score: 1
  
  We can get Kanya West to play Kat!
Lets hope its better than the last few series by Viol8 · 2016-09-15 20:01 · Score: 2

The last few series of RD were a bit inconsistent and thats being kind. And the recent special was ok , but not hilarious. I can't help thinking a revival is partly a retirement fund for the writers and actors rather than because they have any new ideas and comedy. Still, fingers crossed. Also lets hope Chloe Annette is back in. She can't act for shit but boy is she still fit even in her 40s ;)
1. Re:Lets hope its better than the last few series by Anrego · 2016-09-16 01:36 · Score: 1
  
  It's a controversial opinion, but while I thought season 7 was mostly terrible, I actually liked where they went with the last season and actually hold it up as a rare example of a show managing to breath new life into something that's gone stale by introducing a major plot development near the end.
2. Re:Lets hope its better than the last few series by Black+Parrot · 2016-09-16 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  It's a controversial opinion, but while I thought season 7 was mostly terrible, I actually liked where they went with the last season and actually hold it up as a rare example of a show managing to breath new life into something that's gone stale by introducing a major plot development near the end.
  Nothing beats the scene of Kat trying to get sent to the hospital.
  
  --
  Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
In Production? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-09-15 20:59 · Score: 1

How old is the source of the article? Filming on season 11 was in December 2015, with season 12 being filmed earlier this year. Season 11 airs on a weeks time in the UK, on the 22nd September...
1. Re:In Production? by greebowarrior · 2016-09-15 21:33 · Score: 1
  
  The first episode of Season 11 is already available (legally) on UKPlay
2. Re:In Production? by greebowarrior · 2016-09-15 21:39 · Score: 2
  
  Sorry, I'm such a smeghead. Here's the correct link.
3. Re:In Production? by CeasedCaring · 2016-09-15 22:21 · Score: 1
  
  Found it in the "Catch Up" menu of my Sky box last night. Downloaded to watch tonight.
4. Re:In Production? by omnichad · 2016-09-16 01:43 · Score: 1
  
  The important part is the relevance, since it's actually available now. Unless you live in the US, where I don't think broadcast/streaming rights have even been sold yet.
5. Re:In Production? by BarbaraHudson · 2016-09-16 01:56 · Score: 1
  
  The source is dated September 15th, 2016. It was posted here the same day.
  
  --
  "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
6. Re:In Production? by MickyTheIdiot · 2016-09-16 03:05 · Score: 1
  
  I think the "in production" thing is something you see from silly writers right up until the day the shows premier. The next two series of Red Dwarf went into production last fall and 11 is probably fully out of production by now.
Kat? by Trogre · 2016-09-15 21:00 · Score: 2

Kat?

--
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
1. Re:Kat? by xlsior · 2016-09-15 21:15 · Score: 1
  
  Kryton?
2. Re:Kat? by BarbaraHudson · 2016-09-16 01:58 · Score: 1
  
  I figured cat would, you know, evolve after a few million years. With that ego, would he really want to be know as just plain old "cat"? As for Kryten, my bad, Never bothered to watch the credits.
  
  --
  "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Summary needs correcting by wonkey_monkey · 2016-09-15 21:17 · Score: 5, Informative

Unless you're a smeghead, you'll be excited to know that (after 28 years after the smash cult sitcom began) Red Dwarf seasons 11 and 12 are now in production.
You should also know, unless you're a smeghead, that Red Dwarf series (not seasons) are numbered with Roman numerals.

As it was with Llewellyn's (Kryton)
Kryten.

John-Jules (Kat).
Cat. Jesus. I mean, he's actually a bloody cat. That's how he got the name.
Also you make it sound like this is the first time it's coming back since going off air, which isn't so. It has been four years since series X, though.

--
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
1. Re:Summary needs correcting by omnichad · 2016-09-16 01:44 · Score: 1
  
  Maths makes sense as a shortening of mathematics, which also ends in an 's.' But I do like the other shortening (sans 's') better.
2. Re:Summary needs correcting by BarbaraHudson · 2016-09-16 01:49 · Score: 1
  
  Don't be such a smeg head. It was the first I heard of the remake, and I figured if I didn't know about it, others probably didn't either. Also, do you call the move "XXX" "Triple X" or "30"? I doubt you pronounced season 8 as "season vee-eye-eye-eye".
  
  --
  "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
3. Re: Summary needs correcting by No+Longer+an+AC · 2016-09-16 02:34 · Score: 1
  
  I would think the term "serial" would be more apt to describe a show which one should really watch in order, but that doesn't refer to where each episode fits into a sequence.
  Was I supposed to watch Red Dwarf in order? Sure, some elements build on earlier episodes but it's not like watching many other shows where if you miss a few episodes you have no idea what happened to some characters or what is going on with certain sub-plots.
4. Re:Summary needs correcting by Hognoxious · 2016-09-16 07:50 · Score: 1
  
  The Romans didn't pronounce Roman numerals like that, so why do you think he would?
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Remake of "backwards"-episode? by N3wsByt3 · 2016-09-15 21:49 · Score: 1

*kcon-kcon*
"?ereht si ohw"
"!naiga ,frawd der"

--
--- "To pee or not to pee, that is the question." ---
A welcome return... by Smid · 2016-09-15 21:54 · Score: 1

Of course, the actual classic parts of the series was Series 2 to 5, and it lost a fair bit when Rob Grant left the series, so Seasons 6-9 were variable, what I've seen of Season 10 was good in the Season 6-9 scale.
Would have been nice for Rob Grant to have got back involved with it. I suppose some people just move on in the end.
But it does show that BBC cannot produce decent comedy nowadays. They don't seem to want to fund Red Dwarf, yet will fund appalling horrors such as Citizen Khan and Mrs Brown Boys (and My Hero, My Family and various substandard BBC3 'yoof' comedies). Any idea that the BBC was some sort of source of good comedy disappeared in the late 90's. Channel 4 produces something, sometimes (IT Crowd, for instance), but not that much.
No, I don't count panel shows as this. Scripted adlibs, unless containing Frankie Boyle, are just spacefillers. Been 20 years since Have I Got News For You had an actual joke in it.
Indeed, the TV Channel Dave, despite it being full of repeats, does produce this as well as Dave Gorman's Modern Life is Goodish, which is great.
1. Re:A welcome return... by Mandrel · 2016-09-15 23:14 · Score: 1
  
  Of course, the actual classic parts of the series was Series 2 to 5, and it lost a fair bit when Rob Grant left the series, so Seasons 6-9 were variable, what I've seen of Season 10 was good in the Season 6-9 scale.
  I'd include Series 6 as part of the golden age. In fact, I'd rank it as the best overall. Rob Grant left after Series 6, so his contribution must have been key, likely including the ability to weave in interesting science fiction concepts.
  Series 7 and 8 were dire, except for Cassandra in Season 8.
  I watched Series 10. While not dire, I didn't find any to be a keeper. The first episode of Series 11 is getting good reviews, though I worry that this is due to deprived fans just thankful it isn't a total disaster.
2. Re:A welcome return... by Smid · 2016-09-15 23:25 · Score: 1
  
  The problem with Season 6 is that Season 5 ended on such a good episode, indeed the rated number one episode of the show ever, that it was hard to beat it. I suspect Rob Grant just went, "well, that's it for me, I'm off".
3. Re:A welcome return... by Mandrel · 2016-09-15 23:37 · Score: 1
  
  The problem with Season 6 is that Season 5 ended on such a good episode, indeed the rated number one episode of the show ever, that it was hard to beat it. I suspect Rob Grant just went, "well, that's it for me, I'm off".
  Back to Reality is my favourite episode as well. But Rob Grant did co-write all of Season 6.
4. Re:A welcome return... by UnknownSoldier · 2016-09-15 23:59 · Score: 1
  
  > Of course, the actual classic parts of the series was Series 2 to 5, and it lost a fair bit when Rob Grant left the series, so Seasons 6-9 were variable, what I've seen of Season 10 was good in the Season 6-9 scale.
  Actually, I thought the first 2 seasons were the best. Normally I can't stand low-budget Sci-Fi but Red Dwarf had a certain charm that was never quite replicated in the latter episodes.
  IIRC they got more money and a new logo in Season 3 and that is when things started to change. Seasons 3 .. 5 were good. I forgot what the last season I saw was .. maybe 7 or 8. I had always wondered why the latter seasons seemed quite lacking in quality.
  I'll have to watch Seasons 9+. Probably better then most of the crap for what passes as TV these days.
5. Re:A welcome return... by robertc5 · 2016-09-16 03:13 · Score: 1
  
  I thought that the recent season of The Young Ones was predtty good. Considering.
Re:What by Pax681 · 2016-09-15 23:27 · Score: 1

what the heck is it?
there really is oly one thing to say.... SWIRLY THING ALERT!
Re:In that case, I only have one question... by stillpixel · 2016-09-16 00:05 · Score: 1

How about a bagel?
YYYYYYYYYY... by sudden.zero · 2016-09-16 00:19 · Score: 1

.....YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS, I was waiting for this! I hope that they pull it off as this was one of my favorite shows ever!
Excellent by Jethro · 2016-09-16 01:21 · Score: 3, Informative

Red Dwarf is one of my favourite shows, ever.
Yeah, series 8 was... well, bad, and most people are content to ignore (mini)series 9. But season 10 was pretty good and had some really, really funny moments (Lister's Father's Day thing, for example, took one of the more hilariously messed up aspects of the show and built on it).
So more Red Dwarf? I'll take it.

--

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
1. Re:Excellent by The-Ixian · 2016-09-16 04:48 · Score: 1
  
  Red Dwarf is one of my favourite shows, ever.
  Mine too.
  My computer naming convention has been RD characters for as long as I can remember.
  My main computer is always named "Ace".... What a guy!
  
  --
  My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Re:What by BarbaraHudson · 2016-09-16 01:38 · Score: 1

smeg Eg: In referencing Lister's underwear - "Get the smeg hammer."

--
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
My favorite episode... by __aaclcg7560 · 2016-09-16 02:16 · Score: 1

Is where the crew go back in time to accidentally mess up the JFK assassination, and, in order to reset the timeline, they take an older, more jaded and washed out JFK to assassinate himself.
Alternative fictional JFK assassins would include the Smoking Man from The X-Files and the Comedian in The Watchmen.
Re:What by Falconhell · 2016-09-16 02:41 · Score: 1

Do we have to? I will have to change the bulb.
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2016-09-16 03:10 · Score: 1

Comment removed based on user account deletion
Series 11 manages to not make them look so old by caseih · 2016-09-16 03:41 · Score: 1

Series 10 was a bit jarring to see how old all the characters were (which is hard not to show since the actors are indeed 30 years older). Rimmer in particular appeared much older than the last time we saw him.
Even their movements and voices sounded older. In Series 11 so far it appears they have a lot better makeup as they appear younger than they did in series 10. They almost look like they could have hopped into the scene from series 8 and we might not have noticed.
Re:In that case, I only have one question... by oneiros27 · 2016-09-16 03:53 · Score: 1

OR bagels! OR bagels! We don't LIKE bagels around here! We want no bagels, no toast, no teacakes, no buns, baps, or baguettes, no croissants, no crumpets, no muffins, no pancakes, no potato cakes and no hot-cross buns and *definitely* no smegging flapjacks!

--
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
Airs next week by MagicM · 2016-09-16 04:57 · Score: 4, Informative

The most important part is buried at the bottom of TFA:

Red Dwarf XI starts on 22 September at 9pm on Dave. It's available to preview on UKTV Play now.
1. Re:Airs next week by jfdavis668 · 2016-09-16 07:55 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that
My favorite episode by The-Ixian · 2016-09-16 04:58 · Score: 1

I feel compelled to share my favorite episode: Better Than Life
I find Arnold Rimmer's plight in that episode to be absolutely hilarious. He can have anything he wants, simply by thinking of it.... and he ends up buried up to his neck in the ground with fire ants crawling all over his head.
The capacity for self sabotage is infinitely funny to me because it is my MO...

--
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
He's Arnold Arnold Arnold Rimmer by jfdavis668 · 2016-09-16 05:51 · Score: 3, Funny

Without him life would be much grimmer
Have they run out of curry yet? by jfdavis668 · 2016-09-16 06:46 · Score: 1

After 28 years, you think they would be out of curry by now.
1. Re:Have they run out of curry yet? by dbIII · 2016-09-19 14:10 · Score: 1
  
  After 28 years, you think they would be out of curry by now.
  Holly: Hope they've got some odds and sods on board, we're short of a few supplies. Lister: [drinking tea] Like what? Holly: Cow's milk, ran out of that yonks ago. Fresh and dehydrated. Lister: What kind of milk are we using now? Holly: Emergency backup supply. We're on the dog's milk. Lister: Dog's milk! Holly: Nothing wrong with dog's milk. Full of goodness, full of vitamins, full of marrowbone jelly. Lasts longer than any other milk, dog's milk. Lister: Why? Holly: No bugger'll drink it. Plus of course the advantage of dog's milk is that when it goes off, it tastes exactly the same as when it's fresh.
Canned laughter by LienRag · 2016-09-18 07:09 · Score: 1

Is there a way to watch it without the canned laughter? I downloaded the full serie but dropped at episode one because of that...