Red Dwarf is a British science fiction comedy programme created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor that originally aired on BBC Two from 1988 to 1999, and was revived by Dave airing from 2009 to 2020. The programme follows low-ranking technician Dave Lister, who awakens after being in suspended animation for three million years to find that he is the last living human, and that he is alone on the mining spacecraft Red Dwarf—except for a hologram of his deceased bunkmate Arnold Rimmer and "Cat", a life form which evolved from Lister's pregnant cat.
The cast included Chris Barrie as Rimmer, Craig Charles as Lister, Danny John-Jules as Cat, Robert Llewellyn as the sanitation droid Kryten, and Norman Lovett and Hattie Hayridge as the ship's computer, Holly. Twelve series of the show have aired (including one miniseries), in addition to a feature-length special The Promised Land. Four novels were published from 1989 to 1996. Two pilot episodes of an American version of the show were produced but never aired. The magazine The Red Dwarf Smegazine was published from 1992 to 1994.
In 1994 an episode from the sixth series, "Gunmen of the Apocalypse", won an International Emmy Award in the Popular Arts category. In the same year, the series was also awarded Best BBC Comedy Series at the British Comedy Awards. The series attracted its highest ratings, of more than eight million viewers, during the eighth series, in 1999.
The revived series on Dave had some of the highest ratings for non–Public Service Broadcasting commissions in the UK. Series XI was voted Best Returning TV Sitcom and Comedy of the Year for 2016 by readers for the British Comedy Guide. In a 2019 ranking by Empire, Red Dwarf came 80th on a list of the 100 best TV shows of all time.
Setting
The main setting of the series is the eponymous mining spaceship Red Dwarf. In the first episode an on-board radiation leak kills everyone except lowest-ranking technician Dave Lister, who is in suspended animation at the time, as punishment for smuggling a cat aboard the ship. The cat, Frankenstein, who is revealed to be pregnant, is safe in the cargo hold.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 45. Following the accident, the ship's computer Holly keeps Lister in stasis until the radiation levels return to normal—a process that takes three million years. Lister therefore emerges as the last human being in the universe—but not alone on board the ship.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 46. His former bunkmate and immediate superior Arnold Judas Rimmer (a character plagued by failure) is resurrected by Holly as a hologram to keep Lister sane. They are joined by a creature known only as Cat, apparently the last member of a race of humanoid felines that evolved in the ship's hold from Lister's pregnant cat during the three million years that Lister was in stasis.
The series revolves around Lister being the last human alive, after three million years of travel from Earth, with his companions. The crew encounter phenomena such as time distortions, faster-than-light travel, mutant diseases and strange lifeforms (all evolved from Earth, because the series has no aliens) that had developed in the intervening millions of years.
Despite the pastiche of science fiction used as a backdrop, Red Dwarf is primarily a character-driven comedy, with science fiction elements used as complementary plot devices. Especially in the early episodes, a recurring source of comedy was the Odd Couple-style relationship between the two central characters of the show, who have an intense dislike for each other yet are trapped together deep in space.
Later series
In Series III, Holly is recast with Hattie Hayridge replacing Norman Lovett, and the mechanoid Kryten (who had appeared in one episode in Series II)Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 52. joins the crew and becomes a regular character, played by Robert Llewellyn.
Holly is not present in Series VI or the majority of Series VII as the show is set in the smaller Starbug craft, with Red Dwarf itself having been lost. Early in series VII, Rimmer departs, and is replaced by Kristine Kochanski, Lister's long-term love interest, from an alternate universe. Kochanski becomes a regular character for Series VII and VIII.
At the end of Series VII and start of Series VIII, the crew are reunited with a reconstructed version of the original Red Dwarf, complete with the original crew, who have been resurrected, and Norman Lovett's Holly. The series ends with a metal-eating virus loose on Red Dwarf. The entire crew evacuate save the main cast (Lister, Rimmer, Cat, Kryten, and Kochanski), whose fates are unresolved in a cliffhanger ending.
Series IX onwards revert to the same four main characters of Series 3–6 (Lister, Rimmer, Cat and Kryten), on Red Dwarf and without Kochanski or Holly; Rimmer reappears as a hologram once again. The exact identity of Rimmer is left vague; but series-creator Doug Naylor confirmed in 2020 that the Rimmer from Back To Earth onwards is the original Rimmer.
Characters and actors
Craig Charles as David "Dave" Lister:A technician on the Red Dwarf, who was the lowest-ranking of the original crew. A Scouser and self-described "bum" who has a good heart but is also very lazy. He is the only surviving member of the crew and the last known surviving human being.Howarth & Lyons (1993) pp. 19–24. Chris Barrie as Arnold Judas Rimmer (regular series I-VI, VIII-The Promised Land, recurring VII):Lister's bunkmate and direct superior. Holly, considering him to be the person most likely to keep Lister sane, selects him to be the ship's one available hologram, recreating Rimmer's appearance and personality as he was before his death.Howarth & Lyons (1993) pp. 24–30. Now the de facto leader of the Red Dwarf, he is despised by the rest of the crew due to his fussy, bureaucratic, neurotic, insecure, and cowardly personality, and has a particularly abrasive relationship with Lister. Danny John-Jules as the Cat:A humanoid creature with cat-like teeth who evolved from the offspring of Lister's smuggled pet cat Frankenstein. The Cat or simply "Cat" (who is never given an actual name) is self-centred and concerned with little other than sleeping, eating, and fawning over his appearance, and tends not to socialise with other members of the crew in early episodes. Over time, he grows closer to his crewmates and becomes a useful part of the crew.Howarth & Lyons (1993) pp. 30–34. Norman Lovett (regular series I–II, VIII, The Promised Land; guest series VII, XII) and Hattie Hayridge (guest series II; regular series III–V) as Holly:The ship's computer, who has developed, in the future, "computer senility".Howarth & Lyons (1993) pp. 35–38. Following an absence in Series VI, male Holly returns in the Series VII finale. David Ross (guest series II) and Robert Llewellyn (regular series III–The Promised Land) as Kryten 2X4B-523P:A sanitation android rescued from the crashed spaceship Nova 5 in the first episode of series 2; bound by his "behavioural protocols", he is taught independent thinking by Lister and leaves the Red Dwarf to enjoy his newfound freedom. He is reintroduced in series III, as part of the Red Dwarf crew.Howarth & Lyons (1993) pp. 38–42. Categorised as a "series 4000 service mechanoid", He demonstrates proficiency with technology and encyclopedic knowledge of the universe; he maintains a strong friendship with Lister throughout the series. Clare Grogan (recurring series I; guest series II, VI) and Chloë Annett (regular series VII–VIII; guest series IX) as Kristine Kochanski:A navigation officer in the original Red Dwarf crew whom Lister had a crush on (later retconned to be his ex-girlfriend). An alternate version of Kochanski from a universe in which she, not Lister, is the last living human, joins the cast in the series VII episode "Ouroboros". She has a conflictual relationship with Kryten, who is jealous of the interest Lister has for her. She does not appear after Back to Earth, where her departure was a plot point.
Casting Alan Rickman and Alfred Molina auditioned for roles in the series, with Molina being cast as Rimmer. However, after Molina had difficulties with the concept of the series, and of his role in particular, the role was recast and filled by Chris Barrie, a professional voice actor and impressionist who had previously worked with both the writers on Spitting Image and with the producers on Happy Families and Jasper Carrott productions. Craig Charles, a Liverpudlian "punk poet", was given the role of Dave Lister. He was approached by the production team for his opinion about the "Cat" character, as they were concerned it may be considered by people as racist.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 5. Charles described "Cat" as "pretty cool" and after reading the script he decided he wanted to audition for the part of Dave Lister.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 6. Laconic stand-up comedian Norman Lovett, who had originally tried out for the role of Rimmer, was kept in the show as Holly, the senile computer of the titular ship. A professional dancer and singer, Danny John-Jules, arriving half an hour late for his appointment, stood out as the Cat immediately. This was partly due to his "cool" exterior, dedicated research (reading Desmond Morris's book Catwatching), and his showing up in character, wearing his father's 1950s-style zoot suit.
Production The first series aired on BBC2 in 1988, followed by an additional eleven series, one miniseries, and a feature-length special being produced since then.
Concept and commission The concept for the show was originally developed from the sketch series Dave Hollins: Space Cadet on the BBC Radio 4 show Son of Cliché in the mid-1980s, written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. Their influences came from films and television programmes including Star Trek (1966), Silent Running (1972), Dark Star (1974), Alien (1979) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981), but also had a large element of British-style comedy and satire thrown into the mix, ultimately moulded into the form of a sitcom. Having written the pilot script in 1984,Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 4 the writers pitched their unique concept to the BBC, but it was rejected on fears that a science fiction sitcom would not be popular.
It was finally accepted by BBC North West in 1986, a result of a spare budget being assigned for a second series of Happy Families that would never arise, and producer Paul Jackson's insistence that Red Dwarf should be filmed instead. The show was fortunate to be remounted after an electricians' strike partway through rehearsals in early 1987 shut the entire production down (the title sequence was filmed in January 1987). The filming was rescheduled for September, and the pilot episode finally made it onto television screens on 15 February 1988.
Despite the commission of further series, the cast felt like "outsiders" at the BBC. Co-creator Doug Naylor attributed this to the show being commissioned by BBC Manchester, but its being filmed at Shepperton Studios near where the cast lived in London. When the show won an International Emmy Award in 1994, Naylor's attempts to have the cast invited to a party thrown by the BBC proved futile when they objected to Craig Charles' and Danny John-Jules' inclusion, claiming they were "fire risks".
Writing, producing and directing Grant and Naylor wrote the first six series together.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 205. Grant left in 1995, to pursue other projects, leaving Naylor to write series VII and VIII with a group of new writers, including Paul Alexander and actor Robert Llewellyn (who portrayed the character Kryten).