Red dwarf

They're not NBC. If the BBC make something as expensive as Red Dwarf they won't just lock it in a cupboard and not show it for no reason. It's well known the BBC really wanted to make more Red Dwarf but Doug Naylor wants to make the film, which sucks. I really wish he'd give up with that idea.

They went back to the old method for series 8.

And it was so much better in Series 8 don't you agree? I reckon a 9th series with the same writing team will be gold. The 7th Series was too science-fictiony, and not funny enough, the 8th series had almost no sci-fi in it at all. A 9th series with the same writing team (Naylor & Alexander) i reckon would be comedy gold

True, but series 7 and the film look was probably the moment when the show "jumped the shark", i.e. gone past its peak.

oh for goodness sake - it doesn't bode well when the starter of the thread can't even spell the thread title correctly

For a cult classic to remain a cult classic it should finish on a high. Did Fawlty Towers have a natural conclusion? Did , dare I say, Dallas, have a natural conclusion (i.e. did JR actually kill himself etc... - so many unanswered questions), did Dad's Amy have a natural conclusion etc..
I could go on, but I won't as it would be tedious and boring .

People remember Red Dwarf was a great comedy because of the humour of the era of the time (i.e. a comedy for the 90's! - the joke about NORWEB being the only sole company left in the universe because Lister left a light on before boarding Red Dwarf wouldn't work today because NORWEB doesn't exist and 99% of all companies now have shares in each other - i.e. effectively creating one big conglomerate - fiction turning fact!!!!). Would it actually work today - I somehow doubt it - how many of these type of series actually work after such a long break, with the same actors, script-writers etc...????

Lets just keep it as a good programme as we remember it and not potentially spoil its folklore.

SMOKE ME A KIPPER - I'LL BE BACK FOR BREAKFAST

Nope.

And you could just replace NORWEB with PowerGen, British Gas, etc...



The Captain dancing to the samba rhythms of Cat's heartbeat and his colour coordinated organs, Lister and Rimmer running around bald and naked, and the basketball game with the aphrodisiac spiked drinks? I was cringing.

David

Thanks for the answer - try not to watch spin-off/catch-up shows as they do spoil the image of the history of the original shows.

The only bit of RD8 I enjoyed was Cat and the dancing starbugs - otherwise a very lackluster (or is it lacklustre?) series - decline started when Rimmer left the show.

It's weird how some people say Series 2 was the last decent series, some people say Series 7 and 8 were poor. Am i the only person who liked every season equally?

No, I liked every season equally as well.

Hope you had a good Liberation Day!

Yes some are better than others but I actully think Series 8 is 'one of' the best ones because it perfectly combined the sour 'sitcom-ness' of series 1&2 with the silly sci-fi -ness of series 5&6, but I never felt it ever went bad was always good and still would be if carried on.

I also think it should have been rested after 6, or if not, definitely 7.

I guess there are only so many stories that Grant & Naylor could come up with in the setting as it was - i.e. with the 4 of them isolated in space - but it was that setting that made the show what it was. When they messed with that, ok there were some good one liners, but the "situation" aspect of the sitcom ceased to be amusing. If they ran out of ideas, fair enough - but leave it be.

Despite the change of cast & filming technique, 7 contains some good episodes (Tikka To Ride is a superb episode in my opinion) - maybe 7 would be regarded just as good as the others if they hadn't changed how it was made. And personally I think Chloe Annet was a much better Kochanski!

Also, referring to a comment made previously, I doubt the laughter on series 7 was canned - I suspect they showed the finished product to a real audience and recorded their laughter.