Review of Series One:
RED DWARF was a show I REALLY loved as a kid. I started watching it during series five/six which many consider to be the highlight of the entire series, so of course I was hooked straight away. I do remember going back and enjoyable all of the episodes from the beginning when the BBC showed them some twenty or so years ago.
Recently I've had access to the show again and I decided to see how the episodes have held up over the years. The first series of RED DWARF is a good example of how a format and characters could become great over the years, as the seeds of greatness are more than apparent here. However, what is also apparent is the lack of budget and the constrained feel of the sets and situations, although the character jokes are still funny. The repartee between Lister and Rimmer is what makes this first series work, as the Cat is quite annoying at this stage and the lack of Kryten really hurts it for viewers familiar with his later presence. Still, onwards and upwards...
Review of Series Two:
Series 2 is a definite improvement over the first. The jokes feel slicker and faster here, and the writers feel more assured in the way they handle various sci-fi tropes on what is still a low budget. Thus we get episodes centred around time travel, parallel universes, virtual reality, and the like. It's still a little wobbly in places - the last episode, in which the roles of the sexes are reversed, is crude, while the first Kryten is a disappointment - but this was a real step in the right direction, and 'Better Than Life' is the funniest episode thus far.
Review of Series Three:
Series 3 is where RED DWARF started becoming the recognisable show known and loved by the fans. Kryten is a fine addition to the series, even if he doesn't get a chance to really shine yet - and Llewellyn's costume still looks a bit dodgy. However, I found this to be a mixed bag of a series, with some of the episodes being way too obvious; the opening one in which everything runs backwards is too forced, and the body swap episode is predictable. On the other hand, 'Polymorph' is a fine episode that makes the best of the show's premise.
Review of Series Four:
Series 4 of the show continues to build on the previous successes, with less missteps than before. The mutual hatred between Rimmer and the rest of the crew provides endless material for humour, and the cheesy special effects are better than ever. Highlights include the courtroom-based 'Justice' and the final story, 'Meltdown', which has some hilarious fun with various historical figures.
Review of Series Five:
Many fans of this show regard series five as being one of the true highlights of its run and it's hard to disagree. The production values are the best it's going to get for this show; the acting and comic timing is spot on, and the story lines are varied and consistently engaging. Although the opening romance episode is a bit cheesy, the follow ups, involving the Inquisitor and later Mr Flibble, are absolutely hilarious. Chris Barrie really shines this series in which the spotlight seems to be on Rimmer alone, and the final episode, 'Back to Reality' is the best yet, a quite wondrous half an hour of comedy sci fi TV.
Review of Series Six:
Like series five before it, everything about series six of the show screams fantastic. Every episode is a highlight, with a fast-paced script full of very funny character jokes (the long-running one about Rimmer getting the wrong directive number never gets old). The opening episode, Psirens, features Kryten on top form and bears more than a nod to The Thing, while Legion features a great set-piece involving Rimmer getting beaten up. It's no surprise that Gunmen of the Apocalypse, a mini-classic in itself, won an Emmy, while the final cliffhanger episode had me on the edge of my seat as a kid. Sadly, due to an extended hiatus and the departure of show co-creator Rob Grant, RED DWARF was never to be the same after this.
Review of Series Seven:
This is where it all started to go downhill. There are a few highlights like RIMMERWORLD but for a lot of the time, series seven is a mess. As much as I like Chloe Annett (in stuff like CRIME TRAVELLER) she's not a good fit here and I was cringing a bit during her scenes. Plus, all of the material with the weeping and emotional Kryten is really unfunny and an embarrassment for the fans. The new film look is off, the green screen effects are very dated, and aside from tying up a few mysteries, this doesn't have much going for it really.
Review of Series Eight:
Oh dear. Series 7 was below par, but Series 8 really takes the biscuit. Red Dwarf's old crew is back, but for what reason? The old camaraderie has gone, jettisoned in favour of one stupid joke after another: random stop motion models, dinosaurs, ridiculous heavy metal sex scenes. There's a scatological approach throughout, with the emphasis on excrement and penis jokes, and smutty schoolboy humour elsewhere. Without a doubt, this is the worst series yet. It's like they weren't even trying anymore.
RED DWARF was a show I REALLY loved as a kid. I started watching it during series five/six which many consider to be the highlight of the entire series, so of course I was hooked straight away. I do remember going back and enjoyable all of the episodes from the beginning when the BBC showed them some twenty or so years ago.
Recently I've had access to the show again and I decided to see how the episodes have held up over the years. The first series of RED DWARF is a good example of how a format and characters could become great over the years, as the seeds of greatness are more than apparent here. However, what is also apparent is the lack of budget and the constrained feel of the sets and situations, although the character jokes are still funny. The repartee between Lister and Rimmer is what makes this first series work, as the Cat is quite annoying at this stage and the lack of Kryten really hurts it for viewers familiar with his later presence. Still, onwards and upwards...
Review of Series Two:
Series 2 is a definite improvement over the first. The jokes feel slicker and faster here, and the writers feel more assured in the way they handle various sci-fi tropes on what is still a low budget. Thus we get episodes centred around time travel, parallel universes, virtual reality, and the like. It's still a little wobbly in places - the last episode, in which the roles of the sexes are reversed, is crude, while the first Kryten is a disappointment - but this was a real step in the right direction, and 'Better Than Life' is the funniest episode thus far.
Review of Series Three:
Series 3 is where RED DWARF started becoming the recognisable show known and loved by the fans. Kryten is a fine addition to the series, even if he doesn't get a chance to really shine yet - and Llewellyn's costume still looks a bit dodgy. However, I found this to be a mixed bag of a series, with some of the episodes being way too obvious; the opening one in which everything runs backwards is too forced, and the body swap episode is predictable. On the other hand, 'Polymorph' is a fine episode that makes the best of the show's premise.
Review of Series Four:
Series 4 of the show continues to build on the previous successes, with less missteps than before. The mutual hatred between Rimmer and the rest of the crew provides endless material for humour, and the cheesy special effects are better than ever. Highlights include the courtroom-based 'Justice' and the final story, 'Meltdown', which has some hilarious fun with various historical figures.
Review of Series Five:
Many fans of this show regard series five as being one of the true highlights of its run and it's hard to disagree. The production values are the best it's going to get for this show; the acting and comic timing is spot on, and the story lines are varied and consistently engaging. Although the opening romance episode is a bit cheesy, the follow ups, involving the Inquisitor and later Mr Flibble, are absolutely hilarious. Chris Barrie really shines this series in which the spotlight seems to be on Rimmer alone, and the final episode, 'Back to Reality' is the best yet, a quite wondrous half an hour of comedy sci fi TV.
Review of Series Six:
Like series five before it, everything about series six of the show screams fantastic. Every episode is a highlight, with a fast-paced script full of very funny character jokes (the long-running one about Rimmer getting the wrong directive number never gets old). The opening episode, Psirens, features Kryten on top form and bears more than a nod to The Thing, while Legion features a great set-piece involving Rimmer getting beaten up. It's no surprise that Gunmen of the Apocalypse, a mini-classic in itself, won an Emmy, while the final cliffhanger episode had me on the edge of my seat as a kid. Sadly, due to an extended hiatus and the departure of show co-creator Rob Grant, RED DWARF was never to be the same after this.
Review of Series Seven:
This is where it all started to go downhill. There are a few highlights like RIMMERWORLD but for a lot of the time, series seven is a mess. As much as I like Chloe Annett (in stuff like CRIME TRAVELLER) she's not a good fit here and I was cringing a bit during her scenes. Plus, all of the material with the weeping and emotional Kryten is really unfunny and an embarrassment for the fans. The new film look is off, the green screen effects are very dated, and aside from tying up a few mysteries, this doesn't have much going for it really.
Review of Series Eight:
Oh dear. Series 7 was below par, but Series 8 really takes the biscuit. Red Dwarf's old crew is back, but for what reason? The old camaraderie has gone, jettisoned in favour of one stupid joke after another: random stop motion models, dinosaurs, ridiculous heavy metal sex scenes. There's a scatological approach throughout, with the emphasis on excrement and penis jokes, and smutty schoolboy humour elsewhere. Without a doubt, this is the worst series yet. It's like they weren't even trying anymore.