Red Dwarf blasts off 2night

Red Dwarf blasts off with new series Back to Earth


After 21 years of drifting in space, Lister, Rimmer, Cat and Kryton return to earth in a new three-part special. Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn discuss their comeback.


They were doomed to be lost in space for eternity but 10 years after the crew of Red Dwarf were last seen on our television screens they're returning for a three-part special.
Written and directed by co-creator Doug Naylor, the new mini-series reunites the original cast of Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn in time to celebrate the cult sci-fi sitcom's 21st anniversary.

"It's 10 years since [Red Dwarf]'s been on telly, but not 10 years since it's been at the forefront of my mind because of the attention it gets," explains Danny John-Jules, who stars as the jive-talking half-man, half-feline Cat.



"So it's never really been away for us. It'll probably always be a part of my life."
But after such a long hiatus, other members of the cast had doubts about returning to the show.
"I did worry about coming back to Red Dwarf a bit," says Craig Charles, who plays slob Dave Lister.
"I think we all had to think about it very carefully because it has achieved iconic status."
Robert Llewellyn, who stars as the mechanoid servant Kryton, agrees with Charles, especially after years of false starts on a movie version of the show.
"We all talked about it beforehand, but that was before we read the scripts," he says. "I did have a fear that we'd spoil what we'd done."
The new script played a big part in the decision-making process.
"When they sent me the script I decided it was so good I had to have a bit of it," says Charles. "And it's a great feeling."
"You put on the boots and the leather trousers - and you start to get the Lister walk. Then the leather jacket and the dreadlocks go on and suddenly you're Dave Lister again."
Chris Barrie, who plays the show's hologram Rimmer, is just happy to be back. "There was always a promise of more and I'm glad that we got there."
Many things have changed in the decade that Red Dwarf has been off the air. Technology has moved on - the show is no longer filmed using a blue screen and now has some impressive special effects.
"It was all blue screen when we started but it didn't really work because you could see those fuzzy bits around the edges," Charles laughs. "You know for the first few series we bought our sets from Prisoner Cell Block H."
"They can make things look much more expensive now with half the money because of the progress of technology. And things do look good.
"Did you know our visual effects guy worked on Lord of The Rings," he adds.
But one thing that's hasn't changed is the actor's waistlines.
"This is the costume from 1992," says Charles, pointing to his leather outfit. "It still fits, I'm really chuffed."
Danny John-Jules too is in the same shape as he was at the end of the last series a decade ago.
"I'm wearing the same costume too," says John-Jules. "Well, one of them is the exact costume I was wearing 10 years ago, so I just slipped straight back into it."
"I actually had two new ones made. The Cat always has to be a bit shiny, you know?" he adds.
The last time that we saw the mining ship's hapless crew they were trying to escape into a parallel reality after Rimmer had just kneed the Grim Reaper in the groin.
Rimmer, Lister, Kryten and Cat are now older but appear none the wiser. They are
still up to their old tricks, plodding around the universe, that is until the discovery of a dimension-hopping creature in the ship's water tank threatens to change everything.
Soon afterward, as the title Back to Earth suggests, they finally achieve their goal, but nothing is quite as it seems.
Rimmer, Lister, Kryten and the Cat discover that Red Dwarf is in fact a hit television show.
"We discover that Red Dwarf is a big hit on earth," explains John-Jules. "So we go looking for the writer so that he can give us a favourable ending."
The search takes the Red Dwarf crew to Coronation Street, where they meet an actor who plays Dave Lister. This means that Craig Charles appears as himself and as Dave Lister at the same time.
"It had nothing to do with me," says Charles. "It was all done behind my back.
"When they told me, I was like 'what, really?'
"It was very strange seeing my new friends and my old friends together in the same location. I walk up those cobbles five days a week and all of a sudden I'm walking up dressed in leather with a robot!" laughs Charles.
"I refer to the scenes with Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) in the cab office as bunk scenes, because they're just like the ones between Lister and Rimmer."
The hardcore fans - around eight million of them watch every weak in Britain as well as those in the other 25 countries where the International Emmy award-winning show was broadcast at the show's peak - will be disappointed to learn that there is not favourable ending for Holly the ship's computer. She fails to return, I guess because the crew of the ship are on a mission on earth and not in space.
But they'll be delighted to see Peep Show's Sophie Winkleman join the cast as Katerina, a short-skirted rival for Rimmer.
"She's a sort of nemesis figure for Rimmer," explains Barrie. "I don't think I've ever had to perform in a not-get-on kind of way with someone so gorgeous in my life."
To get to this stage has been an arduous journey for the cast of the show both personally and professionally. There was a film version of the show planned, which sadly fell through, Charles is now resident in Weatherfield, John-Jules helps teenage spies in BBC children's series MI High and both Barrie and Llewellyn both present successful television programmes.
So was this just the chance for everyone to have one last hurrah after eight series and 52 episodes?
"Not necessarily," says Barrie, without wanting to give away the series' ending. "I'm a little bit biased but I think this could be some of the best Red Dwarf we've ever done."
If this is true, this Red Dwarf mini-series could spark a full comeback for the show.
"I think that there's very much a feeling that this could be a new beginning," says Barrie excitedly. "Obviously there are a lot of ifs ad buts hanging around, but we all think it's going to be absolutely fantastic when it goes out.
"We all think this could be the start of something big - perhaps another mini-series, a film or just a series.
"None of us has ever closed the door on Red Dwarf.

• Red Dwarf: Back to Earth begins on Good Friday on digital channel Dave at 9.00pm
  

Just SKY +'d nice one

Have to catch up with that one!!

was alright but SOOOOO weird seeing Rimmer with a wrinkly forehed and a H.

def lacks the imagination of the old ones. watched some old ones after and they ahd me in giggles while I only laughed a few times with new ones...

episode 2 so far very funny..

I think they made a mistake following Episode one, with perhaps the best Episode ever (Gunmen of the Apolcalypse), still it weren't bad. I think it would have been better as one long episode, because I find myself trying to catch up part way into the episode.

Still, its not too bad considering they've been away for a while - but could be better, methinks.

didnt get into episode 1 at all...rimmer didnt seem right and whole cast felt bit weird.
episode 2 though seemed a lot better, rimmer, cryton and all had some very funny moments and the whole parody thing worked well.

Hope it ends well. Have to say they do seem really really short. Maybe its Red Dwarf with tonnes of commercials and on BBC their was none. But now it feels 10 minutes shorter which it probably is I guess.

Haven't watched episode 2 yet (it's on the sky+ though), but I was very suprised that they didn't have a studio audience.
I thought they'd learnt that lesson already. The main cast (aside from Danny John Jules) have backgrounds performing comedy live on stage, and giving them a live audience would have added to the performances, and possibly made up for the shortage of laughs in the script. Without an audience they had to guess where the laugh is, and how big the laugh is.

very disappointing - needs a live audience or canned laughter at least and no holly - not enjoyed it at all

ah dont cry I also found myself disappointed especially when they played the epic episodes after to condemn it even more.

I did enjoy parts of episode 2 though. Saw potential their with some good gags. And good point about live audience. Also the episodes are far too short with comercial breaks..

I will admit, I got more laughs out of the Smeg Ups last night than the new Episodes.

NO HOLLY - SACRILEGE

bah! my fav character - the fella not the bird

EmUK wrote:Ive only watched the first one,it was ok and just as i was getting into it it ended

Dave no mention of Holly because being the main computer it was damaged because Lister left the bath running for 9 years and it flooded the place

2nd episode much better (imo)...

And agree the episodes seemed very very short. Like 20 mins max, too many commercials as well...

Episode 3 tonight and I am likely gonna miss it...bummer

They are repeating it at about 11:20 tonight, mate. I thought I'd miss it too, as there's other stuff on the other channels, but thankfully there's a late night repeat I can catch!

frag you up for clan match on cod4...tonight

Just signed up. I seem to be making a habit of the last minute sign up!

bit worried baout this clan.
on their forums they have in TOTAL 12 posts.

They have not played any clan matches even if it does look quite leet.

Oh well will find out in a bit I guess...

I'm quite enjoying this new mini series . I like there's no canned laughter

actually turned out pretty good, could have been better but not bad at all

missed last one...

booooo!!!

any repeats as missed the late night one...hope so soon!
Dave do seem to repeat Top gears episodes 6 times a week.

will be on again mate for sure

I reckon with the amount of money they must have spent on it, they'll repeat the tits off it!

For me it was only average. It did have it's moments, with the odd lol moment, but think it's lost it's edge a bit.