Re-watching series 1 - 8 again after many years has underlined much of what I felt upon initial viewing. First, Cat has never been remotely amusing apart from fortuitously decent lines such as, "I'd prefer chicken" when Lister reveals that Rimmer has received notification of Rimmer senior's death. Otherwise, it is staggering to me that such an utterly appalling character was deemed integral to the success of the show. Second, it is a pity that Norman Lovett left the show after requesting and subsequently being denied parity of pay with the show's main characters because his replacement, Hattie Harridge, was absolutely dire in series 3 to 5 before she was rightly dropped. Third, irrespective whether she had been played by Chloe Annett or Clare Grogan, Kochanski (featuring from series 7 onward) was a colossal mistake. She contributed less to the show than Kryten's excellent Spare Head 3 who was accorded but a few lines over eight series! Last, Kryten's consequent fawning interaction with Lister following Kochanski's arrival is embarrassingly overplayed.
Red Dwarf is a fine series but could have been so much better.
Red Dwarf is a fine series but could have been so much better.