Nine Smeg-tastic Red Dwarf Episodes

I have a love-not-love relationship with Red Dwarf. It can get pretty bawdy at times and the humor is generally of the masculine variety, but I still have a soft spot for some of it because it can be a ton of fun.

And we can’t forget the theme song:

For those who might not be familiar with the premise, the show is about a mining ship, Red Dwarf, on an eighteen-month deployment through deep space. Dave Lister (Craig Charles) and Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie) are the ship’s resident chicken soup machine repairmen, and they drive each other crazy because they couldn’t be more different. Lister is a slob and not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he loves curry and wants to open a sheep ranch on Fiji with his crush, Kristy Kochanski (Clare Grogan and Chloë Annett)  Rimmer is a slightly bitter and acerbic neurotic who aspires to be an officer but who keeps failing because of crippling test anxiety.

As punishment for sneaking a cat on board the ship, Lister is put into stasis, but doesn’t come out until three million years later. Meanwhile, the crew are all dead, his cat has fathered a race of cat-like creatures, but the only one we see is a rather sharp fellow always called “Cat” (Danny John-Jules). Rimmer has been brought back to life as a hologram. Holly (Norman Lovett and Holly Hayridge), the ship’s computer, helpfully fills Lister in what he’s missed. Lister’s next task is to get back to Earth before his supplies run out.

Why do I say that only some of Red Dwarf is good? Well, the quality of the show went downhill after Series Six. Really, really downhill. I’ve tried watching later seasons and always end up turning them off because things get repulsively stupid. There are a few other reasons, too, which I’ve detailed before (See them here).

Still, there are quite a few episodes which never fail to land, and what follows are nine of my favorites. So kick back, relax, grab some fresh mango juice, and enjoy…

The End (Series One, Episode One)

“Everybody’s dead, Dave.” It seems like cheating to put a pilot episode on a “Best Of” list. They’re experimental, the final casting may or may not have happened yet, but on the other hand, a really good pilot will set the tone for a show. “The End” shows us what kind of dynamic Lister and Rimmer had before Lister went into stasis and the whole crew died. It’s not only a fun way to begin Red Dwarf, but Harry Potter fans will enjoy seeing Mark Williams, the future Arthur Weasley as Lister’s friend, Petersen.

Queeg (Series Two, Episode Five)

Red Dwarf is taken over by Queeg, the ship’s backup computer, after Lister, Rimmer, and Cat complain about Holly getting senile. Queeg is Holly’s polar opposite, making Rimmer do laps aroud the ship and forcing Lister to subsist on toast and peas. Meanwhile Holly is installed as night watchman and patrols the hallways in a scarf and Ben Hogan hat, or at least he does until he decides to challenge Queeg to a chess game.

Backwards (Series Three, Episode One)

I’ve said it before (the link is included above), and I’ll say it again: If anyone is coming into the series cold, this episode is a great springboard. Very clever and very fun. It’s probably my Number One episode of the entire series.

Timeslides (Series Three, Episode Five)

When Kryten uses some three-million year old solution to develop his birthday photos he’s shocked to find the images coming to life. It works on old negatives too, and to top it all off, when the images are projected on the wall the guys are able to step into them. After crashing Rimmer’s brother’s wedding and stealing Hitler’s briefcase, Lister gets the idea of tweaking the past to brighten up his future. It involves bubble wrap, a kid from Rimmer’s boarding school, and an encounter with Lister’s seventeen-year old self.

Camille (Series Four, Episode One)

After some fruitless efforts by Lister to teach Kryten to lie, the crew of Red Dwarf rescues what appears to be a female version of Kryten from a crippled, deserted ship. Kryten is immediately smitten with Camille, but when he tries introducing her around the ship, everyone sees female versions of themselves as well. It’s all very strange and it gets even stranger when Camille comes clean about who and what she really is. This episode is not only weirdly sweet, but classic movie fans will notice some familiar bits toward the end.

Back To Reality (Series Five, Episode Six)

The guys are shocked to find out that they’re part of a VR game. Not only has everything they’ve done and everything they’ve lived have been done before and better by other people, but they don’t recognize themselves when they wake up. And even then, what they see has more to it than what appears on the surface. This episode is a lot of fun because it’s one of the many times these characters got to play alter egos, the most famous one being Cat’s Dwayne Dibley. Timothy Spall, best known as the snivelling Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter franchise, also makes an appearance.

Gunmen of the Apocalypse (Series Six, Episode Three)

When Kryten somehow ends up in the Old West while trying to fight a virus that’s invaded Starbug, Lister, Rimmer, and Cat throw on some VR headsets and ride to his rescue. Naturally, they have to look the part, so Cat becomes the Riviera Kid, Rimmer becomes Dangerous Dan McGrew, and Lister becomes Brett Riverboat. This episode is still a huge favorite among fans and won an International Emmy Award in 1994.

Tikka To Ride (Series Seven, Episode One)

Lister’s love of curry knows no bounds, and due to a rather explosive encounter with their future selves, all the Indian food is gone. Desperate times call for desperate measures, of course, and Lister hits on the idea of using time travel to procure a giant order of curry. Long story short, the guys find themselves in Dallas in the year 1963, where they accidentally thwart the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Dire consequences follow which means more time travel. Yes, there is a second gunman on the grassy knoll, but his identity may be surprising. Some brief cannibalism schtick notwithstanding, “Tikka” is an interesting episode.

Back To Earth (Miniseries)

This miniseries got pretty goofy, but I like it mostly for its pronounced committment to navel gazing and product placement–it’s like Red Dwarf‘s answer to the Muppet movies and their fourth wall-breaking. The guys are transported to Earth, where they find out they’re characters in a TV series, and in an effort to find their creator, they venture, first of all, to (what else?) a comic book shop, where they see a lot of Red Dwarf merch. They even pay a visit to Craig Charles on the set of Coronation Street.

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Now, I do have to give an Honorable Mention to the third episode of Series Eight, “Back In the Red, Part III.” Series Eight was mostly unbearably dumb, but it did have its moments, and Cat’s dance with the Blue Midgets is one of them:

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Who else has seen Red Dwarf? What are your thoughts? Favorite episodes? Leave a comment below! Thanks for reading, all, and I hope to see you Monday for a certain Shameful announcement…

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Red Dwarf is available from Amazon as a complete series (DVD only) or as individual seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12. Back To Earth is available on Blu-ray or DVD.

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