Last RD ep. you watched recently

Me too, funnily enough. But surely it's 'to celebrate Rimmer's death'?

Which reminds, I've always wanted to know what is the 'foam' referring to in the line '... by land or sea or foam... ' ?

 

Spoiler: Season XI episode

Twentica

Well, my season XI DVD arrived yesterday, and it's time for a rewatch before XII comes along. It seems that this is an episode I love much more than the average Dwarfer does, and I have no idea why. Despite a few weak jokes, it's a fantastic start to the new season. It looks terrific, there's some great lines, everyone's acting in character, the plot is very good, the guest cast do a good job, and even Cat gets some funny lines. As I've said before, it really feels like Red Dwarf. As much as I've come to love season VII and certain episodes of X and to admire season IX, none of those seasons had that Dwarfy feel of I to VI. But Twentica does. It really feels like a continuation of season VI.

 

I was in the audience for this Bluebell.

 

Spoiler: Season XI episode

Were all the street scenes filmed live?

 

I agree with this, Twentica ended up being one of my favourite epsisodes of the series and I've watched it more then the other episodes. Now that it's finished airing on TV I need to go sit down and rewatch all the episodes in one go to see if they leave me with the same feeling still and when I watched them week to week.

 

Spoiler: Season XI episode

Samsara

I wasn't looking forward to this episode since it was one of my least favourites from season XI, but in fact I liked it a bit more this time around. Like some of the best seasons, XI is getting better with age. That opening shot of the spaceship plunging into the sea was amazing - one of the most impressive shots in the whole of Red Dwarf. Did anyone else think the scene with the skeletons in sex positions was a bit too much? Red Dwarf has always had its crude moments, but this seemed to be going too far - and the kind of very unsubtle humour that belongs in a lesser show. I liked the unconventional storytelling device of using flashbacks. And in fact the flashbacks were probably my favourite part of the episode despite the fact that they lacked much humour. Overall, this was a bit better than I remembered it. It's still one of the poorer episodes from this season, but for a poorer episode it's a very good one.

 

I agree with you about the skeletons. Felt inappropriate for Red Dwarf. Even though there has been the odd sexual reference here and there, the skeletons were really in your face. Felt like it was trying too hard to be "adult". In general, I think Red Dwarf needs to give the skeleton trope a rest. In XI we had two episodes featuring skeletons with knives in them. And it's funny how decomposition is so inconsistent. In The End, bodies had turned to little piles of dust after three million years. In Samsara, they were still full skeletons. And in Psirens, they were full bodies with organs and blood.

 

Spoiler: Season XI episode

Give and Take

Well this is my least favourite episode of season XI, and yet I still think it's good stuff and one that might very well grow on me over the years. As with seasons V and VI I don't think season XI has any bad episodes - even its weakest episodes are slightly above average. The main thing I like about this episode is that it's so character-driven. Right from the start, Rimmer is being very Rimmerish: arguing with the lift, subsequently firing it and talking about holding interviews for a replacement. The therapy scene with him and Snacky also deserves a mention. Cat is very Catish here too in his (very good) scenes with Lister. Cat is really good this season. He's frequently underused, but episodes like this prove he can be very entertaining if the writing is good. Overall, this is a fun character-driven episode with a nice plot and some memorable moments. But please, Doug: no more football jokes. They really jar in a futuristic sci-fi setting.

 

I find I like XI more with each watch (Although I did really like it on first viewing) Some of the endings are a little jarring and I think Samsara is weak (Apart from the opening bunk scene) but the rest is really good. I recently watched Krysis again which I really enjoy, the dodgy Morgan Freeman impression puts me off a little but a great episode I think.

 

Spoiler: Season XI episode

Officer Rimmer

This is the first episode this season that's gone down in my estimation, but it's still much better than the average episode. Rimmer getting promoted is such a good premise, but it could have been explored better, and the episode sags a few times such as during that discussion about Lister's clones. And I'm guessing the joke about call centre Scousers is really funny if you've actually encountered them?

There's plenty of great Rimmer moments scattered throughout the episode such as when - as nastily petty as ever - he gets Kryten to serve him drinks in the Officers' lift before kicking him out and making him take the other lift down to the same floor. This is a reasonably good episode, and it's a shame that its biggest talking point is always going to be that ludicrously abrupt ending.

 

Every second wasted on the call centre scene is a second we could have used on a proper ending. It's another one of these awkward "topical" jokes where characters from the late 22nd century keep making cultural references from the early 21st.

I think Officer Rimmer's ending is abrupt in two ways. The way the credits jump in before we've seen them shoot it, but also the way Rimmer's promotion is resolved by him resigning because he needs to go through a door. What sort of notice was that. You have to give a good six weeks notice for bog standard civilan jobs, but apparently the Space Corps allows officers to resign without any notice at all. Are they on a zero hours scheme. He just verbally says "I resign" and that's it.

 

It would have been cooler if the bazookoid shots had somehow clearly hit the camera.

 

Also, there was no attempt to justify why Rimmer can walk through a door in Entangled but not in Officer Rimmer.

 

Spoiler: Season XI episode

One thing that I forgot to mention in my review was the Captain Bollocks joke, which I felt was a bit too crude and unsubtle for Red Dwarf. I remember that 'bollocks' was also used in the second part of Back to Earth and it felt out of place there too. I wish it had been 'Captain Smeghead' instead which would have been both funnier and more in keeping with the Red Dwarf universe. It would also have alluded nicely back to previous instances of Kryten applying the word to Rimmer. The first time was in Camille and it then becomes something of a running joke with its reappearance in Gunmen of the Apocalypse. Its usage in Give and Take would have been a nice way of keeping that running gag going.

 

I've shamefully not watched any Red Dwarf for a few months now

 

Then go and watch!

 

Yes, go and give season XI another watch before XII comes out and give us your updated thoughts in this thread.

 

Spoiler: Season XI episode

Krysis

Dominic Coleman is fantastic as Butler, and as a result he's now one of my all time favourite guest characters. But along with Officer Rimmer, this is another episode from the season that's gone down slightly in my estimation. It could have done with a stronger story - the only major highlights are Butler and the 'talking to the universe' scene. Take those two out and you're not left with much of an episode.

 

Season One earlier this week - with the Actor commentary on (I find the banter quite entertaining...probably the best DVD commentary of any DVD's I own).

I go through these probably about once a year, on average. Gotta get my money's worth.

 

Marooned today and even after watching it I don't know how often I actually noticed new things!!