EPISODE 6 - SKIPPER - DISCUSSION THREAD

Honestly i have never taken the Dennis the Dohnut boy thing literally, i have always seen it as a one off joke that will never be referenced again and so can be ignored.

Now if Doug does bring it up again one day... then i will abit annoyed.

 

Star knot... it’s probably some made up theory or other they were going to go with. Didn’t quantum leap involve a theory that Sam used to demonstrate by tying a knot in some string too?

EDIT: Yes, this sort of twoddle: “The String Theory was the theory invented by Sam Beckett that inspired him to create Project Quantum Leap. He demonstrated his theory with a string. One end of the string represented birth, the other end represented death. Tie the ends together, and what you get is a loop. Ball the loop, and all the days of your life touch each other. Therefore, one could leap from one day to another in his/her own lifetime.”

 

I think you're right, it must have been intended as a play on String Theory - maybe actual String Theory rather than Sam Beckett's version, but you never know (Quantum Leap was brilliant, one of my favourite shows!).

 

it was brought up in a deleted scene from M-Corp, apparently. originally, when they find the lead strongbox to reboot Red Dwarf in hollister's office, kryten apparently complained that it was "hidden behind donuts" or something.

 

Finally saw this last night at the Screening in London.

Really enjoyed it, fun and entertaining episode. I loved the use of the old model shots and the whole sequence where he first skipped and everyone was alive and the radiation leak.

Didn’t totally dig the Mr Rat stuff, felt a bit too cheesy (pardon the pun)

I liked the ending, rather than him having a moment of emotional realisation that he loved his life and the way things were, it was more of an irritated resignation that this was the best he could hope for and he was stuck there.

Interesting how an episode called ‘Skipper’ that features a dimension hopping Rimmer looking for less smeggy versions of himself doesn’t even feature an implied mention of Ace.

 

That might be just a fat joke.

 

In Czech version, Hollister wasn't Dennis the Donut Boy, but just baker. The reason is obvious: We don't have anything as donut boys... I like Hollister being just a baker, rather than Dennis the Donut Boy.

 

I was mightily impressed by Skipper tonight. What a great episode of Red Dwarf it was!

I thought it was very funny throughout, I loved the premise of the episode (as in, all the various universes out there), Holly and Hollister (he hasn't aged at all, as he?) were great to see again, the Rat for whatever reason absolutely freaked me out (I don't blame Rimmer for ditching that universe) and the ending was nicely well-rounded.

I love the fact Rimmer was alive, with a wife, kids, and he was an officer... And yet it still wasn't enough. Typical Rimmer.

Skipper was definately the best episode of XII imo, one of the better episodes of the XI-XII run, and (even though I've only seen it once so far) I reckon this will fall somewhere highly in my all time favourite episodes of Red Dwarf. Skipper was fantastic: an 8 out of 10 from me. I'm very tempted to give it an 8.5 but I'll hold back for now.

So, that's it. Series XII is done. I miss Red Dwarf already...

 

That was a hugely impressive episode and what a way to bring the series to a close! Don't know where to start... Personal highlights were Mr Rat, Holly and just in general the whole performance of the main crew. Isn't it great that we all love a show that is 29, soon to be 30 years old and yet still it is able to pump out classics like this ep! Here's my final series rating.

Cured: 7.5/10
Siliconia: 6/10
Time wave: 6.5/10
Mechocracy: 8/10
M-Corp: 7/10
Skipper: 8/10

 

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Just finished watching Skipper for the first time and am very satisfied. An outstanding episode practically from start to finish. From Cat making breakfast for Dave to Rimmer shooing Kryten from his seat I was smiling and laughing the whole while. If we do end up having to wait multiple years for more this was a very very good swan song. Great writing , acting and the sets were very nice to see. As I thought the first half the episode was Cat-centric I really loved it as I think he as a character is underused. The scenes with him polishing Dave's boots .....making him breakfast etc. were hilarious. Danny John-Jules has great comic timing and a sense of the absurd I think Cat would have in reality.

To me the worst part of the show was Rat. The costume looked cheap and seriously unconvincing. An actor made up as an evolved Rat, (as D.J.J. is as Cat and as Matthew Devitt was as Dog) would have been WAY better imho. A serious embarrassment in an otherwise excellent episode.

The second half of the episode being more Rimmer-centric was a great boost for an already great start. Chris Barrie as Rimmer has to be one of the best casting choices in the history of television. He , again as he does in any major Rimmer episode, steals the show. Can think of no one else even remotely capable of playing Rimmers complex stew of neurosis and pettiness/jealousies so well.

Anyway, as I thought Captain Rimmer was by far the best episode of XI, I think Skipper is by far the best of XII. Now, this is after only one viewing but due to the multiple aspects and focus on my two "main" charactors, I don't see it dropping much after repeated viewings.

I'm giving it a 9/10 and it could have easily been a 10/10 without Rat (or even a changed Rat).

 

Good concepts, I like the not idea, the ri.mer jump was just a re-hash though. And the fact they are putting classic characters back in is a very obvious act of desperation and lack of ideas, plus the audience reaction of whooping Yanks is very tiresome. Plus Hollister was awful originally anyway. A tired end to a tired series

 

Had a quick rewatch this morning and have to say its gone even further up in my estimations now. Sometimes knowing where an episode is going lets you just sit back and enjoy the ride more and all the small niggles have been erased for me. In particular the absolutely ludicrous rat scene has transformed into a stand-out moment that's up there with some of my all time faves. Utterly stupid, utterly over-the-top, but not falling into the trap of being obnoxious. Just genuinely funny and with a playfully dark (and somewhat nightmarish) undercurrent beneath it, especially the more you think about what living in that universe with the rat people must be like. Bravo!

 

When I first saw Rat, I though it a bit too silly as well and would have preferred a humanoid mirroring what happened to Cat and Dog. By the end of the scene it clicked, though. The gag and implied horror of the situation would no longer be be the same with a humanoid.

From an evolutionary perspective, it does make some sense too. Considering how successful current rats are among mammals, it's quite logical to consider they might retain that form and just increase in size and intelligence.

 

What screening in London? what did I miss?? haha

 

Nahhhhhh....... they evolved in a Shipboard environment as opposed to a rats terrestrial environment. How far could they evolve without being able to work the machines that kept them alive? I didn't see no hands on that costume ! Canines and Felines both are fairly successful mammals too I would argue, and their successful evolution both required assuming a more humanlike shape and the only explanation can be it was required to survive. (fixing things..... working Holly etc.)

But to each their own, I still consider the Rat's inclusion in its present form an abomination and you among many others like him just fine. That's O.K. with me!

 

Oh these bad boys have got hands alright! Big, scary, five fingered, groping hands for when they get all snuggly wit' yo' ass at night.

...and lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a dolls eyes...

 

Yeah well...... maybe my dissatisfaction clouded my seeing but still don't see that general "build" being more successfull than a more humanoid. Besides .... think what Graham McTavish could have done with this! Anyway, I'll be watching this on a fairly often basis for awhile so maybe this ........ this ........... thing ....... will grow on me. We'll see. Still a Top Notch episode all around.

 

Dave private messaged a few of us on Twitter, those that RT'd a message at the start of the series to be updated with RD news.

It was a fun night.

 

I immediately wished Rat was a humanoid Rat, just a dodgy looking gangster thug type. The fact that the mouth didn't move while it talked made it very pantomime in a way that was low quality even by Dwarf standards. A humanoid Rat like Cat and Dog would have been far more fun.

The plot was fun but it was just the Holly Hop drive crossed with Dimension Jump.

Good episode though, still enjoyed it. Whole season is rewatchable and fun.