Nanarchy

Series VII, Episode 8
Recorded: May-Aug 1996, Shepperton Studios
First Broadcast: 07.03.1997 (BBC 2)
VHS Release: 01.10.1999 (BBCV 6791)
DVD Release: 07.11.2005 (BBCDVD 1692)
Blu-ray Release: 14.01.2019 (BBCBD 0441)

Written by Paul Alexander, James Hendrie & Doug Naylor
Directed by Ed Bye

Synopsis

The crew searches for nanobots in a laundry hamper to restore Lister to his pre-viral state. What they find is the answer to who stole their spaceship, Red Dwarf, and why.

Cast

Craig Charles (Lister), Danny John-Jules (Cat), Robert Llewellyn (Kryten), Chloe Annett (Kochanski), Norman Lovett (Holly)

Did You Know?

This is the first episode to feature a fourth-wall-breaking piece of narration by one of the characters, as Kryten tells the audience about "Last week on Red Dwarf" over a recap of the events of Epideme.

It's also the first episode ever to show two Starbugs in shot at the same time, although the idea of there being more than one model onboard of course dates all the way back to the ship's debut in Backwards.

The original opening theme is heard in the show for the first time since Series II's Queeg (having also been absent from that series' closer, Parallel Universe).

Norman Lovett returns as Holly, a detail that was easy to keep secret from the viewing audience by virtue of not shooting the series in front of them, but instead showing it to them afterwards. The effect of his appearing on a still shot of a watch, meanwhile, is another hearkening back to Series II.

The episode was originally written as a standalone story featuring the nanobots, before its positioning as the series finale meant that they could be finally revealed as the beings who had stolen Red Dwarf back at the end of Series V.

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