Back in the Red

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"Back in the Red"
Red Dwarf episodes
Episode nos.Series 8
Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Directed by Ed Bye
Written by Doug Naylor
Original air dates
  • 18 February 1999 (1999-02-18)
  • 25 February 1999 (1999-02-25)
  • 4 March 1999 (1999-03-04)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Cassandra"
List of episodes

"Back in the Red" is the opening three-part episode of series VIII of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf . Part 1 was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 18 February 1999 [1] followed by Part 2 on 25 February [2] and Part 3 on 4 March. [3]

Contents

The plot involves the re-introduction of Red Dwarf, as nanobots have rebuilt the ship and the original crew are resurrected. The three episodes were written by Doug Naylor and directed by Ed Bye.

Plot

Part 1

In a prison cell, Lister and Rimmer are having another furious argument. We are then shown the circumstances that led to their incarceration.

Three days earlier, Kryten's nanobots had rebuilt Red Dwarf , but done so far too large [a] . Lister enters the cockpit, showing off his now non-muscular body, and it emerges that the enlargement is a temporary symptom of the nanobots' restoration process, as it soon turns out that Red Dwarf is shrinking around Starbug. Suddenly, the ship is sucked into an air vent. With Red Dwarf almost completely shrunk, the corridors rip off the rear and middle section of Starbug before the cockpit is sent flying into a cargo bay where it crash-lands, and the crew manage to escape mere seconds before it explodes.

The crew are approached by two figures recognized by two of Lister's old friends, Selby and Chen: the nanobots have not only restored Red Dwarf but also its crew. Captain Hollister then arrives with a Security Officer, who places Lister under arrest for stealing and crashing a Starbug, flying without a pilot's license and bringing two stowaways (The Cat and Kryten) aboard. Everyone is placed in custody and Lister is confined to quarters. Holly (on Lister's watch) explains that, if found guilty, they will get two years in "The Tank", a hidden top-secret prison facility on the ship, holding hundreds of inmates who were being transported to a containment facility. Unfortunately, they have all been resurrected too.

At his quarters, Lister meets a nano-restored Rimmer. Lister tells Rimmer the whole story and asks for help in escaping, so he can recover the nanobots in time before his trial. In exchange, he offers Rimmer a way to get the promotion to officer status like he has always wanted. Rimmer agrees and Lister lends him his Holly watch, and sends him to Starbug to recover confidential files of the crew.

The Cat and Kryten are taken for medical and psychiatric evaluation. Unfortunately, Kryten's erratic personality does not go over well, and he is recommended to be restored to his factory settings.

Aboard the burnt out wreckage of the cockpit of Starbug, Rimmer finds the disc with the crew's files. He also finds the positive viruses recovered from Dr. Lanstrom [b] . Rimmer quickly tries out sexual magnetism, and walks down the corridor where all the women admire him. Rimmer notes to himself that 'the world loves a bastard'.

Part 2

Lister, Kochanski, Kryten and The Cat are brought before a board of enquiry, and Captain Hollister has them consent to use psychotropic testing during their trial. Later, Kryten is taken away for a physical examination and, due to his lack of a penis, is classified as a woman. They also offer Kryten a deal: if he agrees to undergo a system restoration, then the charges against him will be dropped. Kryten does not want to say yes, but cannot say no to superior officers. Despite acting on Kochanski's advice in his efforts to refuse the reset, the crew to decide to proceed anyway. Afterwards, Kryten has been returned to his old ways of servitude and politeness.

Later, Rimmer visits Captain Hollister with a report detailing the dangers of loose drive plates. Hollister is impressed by the in-depth report, and Rimmer (using information from the confidential reports) continues by giving Hollister a blueberry muffin as an anniversary present and some pile cream. Hollister invites Rimmer to dinner at the Captain's Table that evening. Pleased with the success of his scheme, Rimmer goes back on his deal with Lister, having no more need for the files in favor of the positive viruses. However, Lister has managed to expose himself to the viruses when Rimmer shows it to him, and escapes his cell by guessing the right code with the luck virus.

Lister breaks Kochanski out of her quarters and, while in a lift, decides to make the most of the opportunity to try out the sexual magnetism virus on himself. Although it works at first and Kochanski practically throws herself at her former boyfriend, she returns to normal after a few seconds and Lister realizes that the positive viruses cancel each other out. Later, after rescuing The Cat, the three disguise themselves as computer programmers to evade detection while they rescue Kryten and re-break his programming.

Meanwhile, at dinner, Rimmer has taken the sexual magnetism virus in a very large dose and charms everyone, but becomes exhausted when female officers keep following him into the supply closet to have sex with him. Hollister discusses the psychotropic testing he is conducting on the others and reveals that they have been secretly placed in an artificial reality simulation where their actions are being monitored: the aforementioned trial. Rimmer fears that Lister could jeopardize his future by mentioning the deal, and leaves for the AR suite. On his journey, he tries to cancel out the sexual magnetism virus by injecting anesthetic into his groin. However, it spreads to his left leg, and he is forced to hobble to the Artificial Reality suite while the female crew still admire him.

Part 3

In the simulation, Lister, Kryten, Kochanski and The Cat arrive in a hangar and steal a Blue Midget to search for Kryten's nanobots to corroborate their story. Rimmer infiltrates the AR suite in time to overhear Lister mentioning his failed deal with Rimmer. Rimmer prompts the computer to remove all mention of his name and the deal. The crew, however, notice jumps in their actions and conversation, and realize where they really are and what's going on. They find an emergency exit in the simulation, and awake in the AR suite to confront Rimmer, using the luck virus to save Rimmer being hit on by Kochanski.

The crew are now forced to take Rimmer with them as they try again with the escape attempt. While making plans to pick up supplies from the SS Einstein , talk turns to the Theory of relativity. Naturally, Holly is unable to recall what it actually means, but takes offense at being labelled an idiot and reveals that he created the nanobots that resurrected the crew, as part of his ongoing mission to keep Lister sane. Holly also reveals that they (Rimmer included) are still in a simulation, having been outsmarted by a second, nano-restored Holly.

From his office, Captain Hollister observes the simulation and discusses the events with the second Holly. The two agree to Lister's nanobot story being corroborated and declare the group innocent. However, the captain adds their actions also confirm their use of confidential information for their own gain, having grown suspicious of Rimmer's sudden intelligence. Of this, everyone is found guilty and are sentenced to two years in The Tank. Hollister releases the crew from the simulation and confiscates the luck virus. As they are photographed in their prison uniforms, Holly realizes that he has screwed up again.

Below, the crew are welcomed by Warden Ackerman to 'The Tank'. In a final act of revenge, Lister exposes Rimmer to the last of the sexual magnetism virus. Rimmer then realizes that he is becoming very popular with the male inmates.

Production

For series VIII, Doug Naylor returned to the roots of Red Dwarf and would write the majority of the series himself. Paul Alexander – whose episodes "Stoke Me a Clipper" and "Epideme" were well received – returned as script supervisor. [4]

The inspiration for the new series came about during Naylor's work on the remastering of series I to III. The classic bunk set-up and the character of Captain Hollister in those early episodes proved to be a deciding factor in reviving the crew. [4]

The opening episode was originally planned as an hour-long special. This would give the series the opportunity to introduce the new set-up. However, the episode over-ran and the opener turned into a three-part story. [4]

Having the crew revived meant having the original actors back. Mac McDonald reprised his Captain Hollister character; Paul Bradley and David Gillespie returned as Lister's respective drinking buddies, Chen and Selby. Andy Taylor played Counsellor McClaren, the ship's psychiatrist; Karl Glenn Stimpson played MP Thornton; and Kika Mirylees appeared as CMO Karen Newton. [5]

Red Dwarf, the ship itself, also returned, having not been seen since "Demons and Angels", the penultimate feature of series V. A new, much larger model had been created for the Remastered project, though it ended up being too difficult to film because of its size. As a result, the model was used as a template for a CGI version of the ship, which was used not only for the Remastered project, but also series VIII. The large model was later modified, and finally seen on-screen in Red Dwarf X . [6]

With Kryten having been defaulted to his factory settings, posh English accent and all, it was considered that David Ross could make a return. Ross had first played the character in the Series II episode "Kryten" as a guest character, prior to Robert Llewellyn taking over in series III, and he had also played Talkie Toaster in the series IV episode "White Hole". In the end, Llewellyn impersonated the accent. [7] Ross would later return to the series reprising his role of Talkie in the Series XII episode "Mechocracy" aired in 2017.

One of the most difficult scenes to film was the dance between The Cat and Blue Midget. The entire sequence was filmed first with green screen backdrop; it was then edited with no effects, so that Blue Midget would be added to match the movements. The scene marked the return of Blue Midget after last being seen in series III episode "Bodyswap". In terms of true-series continuity, this marks the first appearance of the new CGI re-design of the ship. [8]

Notes

  1. ↑ As depicted in Nanarchy .
  2. ↑ As depicted in Quarantine .

References

  1. ↑ "BBC Two - Red Dwarf, VIII, Back in the Red: Part 1". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "BBC Two - Red Dwarf, VIII, Back in the Red: Part 2". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "BBC Two - Red Dwarf, VIII, Back in the Red: Part 3". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Red Dwarf series VIII Writing". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  5. ↑ "Red Dwarf series VIII Casting". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  6. ↑ "The Red Dwarf model, there. Also, no Model Unit?". Ganymede & Titan. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Red Dwarf series VIII Production". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  8. ↑ "Red Dwarf series VIII Effects". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
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