Bodyswap

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"Bodyswap"
Red Dwarf episode
Red dwarf bodyswap rimmer feast.jpg
Using Lister's body Rimmer has a feast for the first time in 3 million years
Episode no.Series 3
Episode 4
Directed by Ed Bye
Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Original air date5 December 1989
Guest appearance(s)
Episode chronology
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"Timeslides"
List of Red Dwarf episodes

"Bodyswap" is the fourth episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series III, [1] and the sixteenth overall. [2] It premiered on the British television channel BBC2 on 5 December 1989. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye. This was the first episode to be recorded without a live studio audience. The plot has Rimmer suggesting that the perfect way to help Lister get "healthy" is swapping bodies. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.

Science fiction genre of fiction

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas".

A sitcom, clipping for situation comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience. Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. This form can also include mockumentaries.

<i>Red Dwarf</i> BBC science-fiction comedy drama television programme

Red Dwarf is a British science fiction comedy franchise which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. To date, eleven full series of the show plus one "special" miniseries have aired. The most recent series, Red Dwarf XII, started airing in October 2017.

Plot

A malfunctioning skutter runs amok and rewires Red Dwarf 's circuitry, producing two thousand wiring faults and making the whole ship a booby trap. When Dave Lister orders a milk shake and a Toffee Crisp from one of the snack machines, he inadvertently triggers the ship's self-destruct countdown. As the auto-destruct can only be over-ridden by a senior officer, all of whom are dead, Kryten performs a mind-swap: the mind of Executive Officer Carol Brown is temporarily placed into Lister's body so she can voice-activate the shut-down procedure. The plan fails and the auto-destruct sequence continues. Everyone braces for death as the countdown reaches zero – whereupon the food machine dispenses Lister's milk shake and candy bar. It turns out the countdown was wired only to the vending machine, not to the ship's bomb — besides which Holly got rid of the bomb ages ago and never bothered to tell anyone. [3]

Dave Lister fictional character in Red Dwarf

David "Dave" Lister, commonly referred to simply as Lister, is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, portrayed by Craig Charles.

A self-destruct is a mechanism that can cause an object to destroy itself after a predefined set of circumstances has occurred.

Kryten fictional character in Red Dwarf

Kryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf. The name Kryten is a reference to the head butler in the J.M. Barrie play The Admirable Crichton. Originally referred to as a Series III mechanoid, he is later described as a 4000 Series, or Series 4000.

Although the excitement is over, Kryten's solution gives Arnold Rimmer an idea. He convinces Lister to swap bodies with him. He will be able to enjoy the benefits of a tangible body again for two weeks, while he exercises and gets Lister back into shape. However, unable to resist the pleasures he has been denied for so long, he eats, drinks and smokes far more than Lister ever would have, putting on quite a bit of weight in the process. Lister is naturally appalled and demands his heavily abused body back after just one week. [3]

Arnold Rimmer fictional character in Red Dwarf

Arnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character in the science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, played by Chris Barrie. Portrayed as a snobbish and self-centered character, Rimmer is unpopular with his crewmates, and is often the target of insults and general ridicule.

A body swap is a storytelling device seen in a variety of science and supernatural fiction, in which two people exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. In media such as television and film, the device is an opportunity for two actors to temporarily play each other's characters, although in some cases, dialogue is dubbed by the original actors.

Rimmer, enlisting Kryten's reluctant help, chloroforms Lister and reacquires his body. In Lister's body, Rimmer then absconds in Starbug with a full freight of junk food, promising to be back in a month – maybe. [3] Lister, with Cat and Kryten, give chase with Blue Midget , causing Rimmer to lose concentration and crash into a rocky planet. Rimmer is forced again to give Lister's body back, but later Rimmer walks into Lister's sleeping quarters looking strange. He's actually Cat and says that Rimmer has stolen his body. Just then Rimmer, in Cat's body, turns up carrying a heaping dinner plate and assures his crewmates that it will be for just one night, or maybe until Thursday. [4]

Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is a colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid that is produced on a large scale as a precursor to PTFE. It is also a precursor to various refrigerants. It is one of the four chloromethanes and a trihalomethane. It is a powerful anesthetic, euphoriant, anxiolytic and sedative when inhaled or ingested.

Cat (<i>Red Dwarf</i>) fictional character in Red Dwarf

The Cat is a fictional character in the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. He is played by Danny John-Jules. He is a descendant of Dave Lister's pregnant pet house cat Frankenstein, whose descendants evolved into a humanoid form over three million years while Lister was in stasis. As a character he is vain and aloof, and loves to dress in extravagant clothing. He is simply referred to as "the Cat" in lieu of a real name.

Production

This was the first episode to be recorded without the live studio audience. Technical difficulties of the actors playing other characters meant that the scenes would have to have been done twice. Instead the voices were dubbed over the scenes in post-production and trying to match up with lip movements caused much mirth while recording. Chris Barrie, being an impressionist, had no problems playing Lister, whereas Craig's portrayal as Rimmer was not as smooth. The final edit, with dubbed voices, was then played to a small audience to provide the laughter track. [5]

Post-production part of filmmaking, video production and photography process

Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after shooting or recording individual program segments.

An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating sounds, the voice and mannerisms of people or animals. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to keep pace with current events. Impressionist performances are a classic casino entertainment genre.

The long chase sequence with Blue Midget and Starbug was overseen by effects supervisor Peter Wragg. Using his experience of working on shows such as Thunderbirds , he had the model ships of Starbug and Blue Midget flying on hidden wires over a scaled landscape, Starbug eventually crashing into it. [6]

<i>Thunderbirds</i> (TV series) British science fiction Supermarionation TV series

Thunderbirds is a British science-fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It was produced between 1964 and 1966 using a form of electronic marionette puppetry combined with scale model special effects sequences. Two series were filmed, comprising a total of thirty-two 50-minute episodes; production ceased following the completion of the second series' sixth episode when Lew Grade, the Andersons' financial backer, failed in his efforts to sell the programme to American network television.

This episode has the only mention of the ship White Midget. This was a mistake on the part of the writers. In the Remastered version, Lister's voice is dubbed over so he says "The Midget" instead of "White Midget". Originally the new smaller ship that would be used was White Midget, a similar version of the Blue Midget, but then Starbug was created, which would be bigger and allow for more room to film inside. [7]

The large interior areas of Red Dwarf were filmed inside Padiham Power Station.

Cultural references

Alfred Hitchcock is referenced by Rimmer when describing Lister's silhouette. While using the toilet with Lister's body, Rimmer hums The Grand Old Duke of York tune to himself. It is from this experience that Rimmer references Star Trek's Spock when describing Lister's urine. [8] Rimmer also recites Clint Eastwood's line from Sudden Impact . [8]

Reception

The episode was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 5 December 1989 in the 9:00pm evening time slot. [9]

Remastering

The remastering of Series I to III was carried out during the late 1990s. [10] General changes throughout the series included replacement of the opening credits, [11] giving the picture a colour grade and filmising, [12] computer generated special effects of Red Dwarf [13] and many more visual and audio enhancements. [13]

Changes made specific to "Bodyswap" include the Starbug and Blue Midget chase scenes have been replaced with a CGI sequence. The scene with Rimmer, as Cat, playing around with food has been added to the ending. [14]

Notes

  1. ↑ "British Sitcom Guide - Red Dwarf - Series 3". www.sitcom.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
  2. ↑ "TV.com - Body Swap summary". www.tv.com. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
  3. 1 2 3 ( Howarth & Lyons 1993 , p. 63)
  4. ↑ ( Howarth & Lyons 1993 , p. 64)
  5. ↑ "Red Dwarf Series III Production". www.reddwarf.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  6. ↑ "Red Dwarf Series III Effects". www.reddwarf.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  7. ↑ Interview: Peter Wragg, Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 8, October 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, ISSN   0965-5603
  8. 1 2 "Red Dwarf movie connections". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  9. ↑ "BBC - Programme Catalogue - RED DWARF III THE SAGA CONTINUUMS - 4, BODYSWAP". BBC. Retrieved 2007-12-11.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ "Remasters of the Universe". www.reddwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  11. ↑ "Red Dwarf Series I Remastering". www.reddwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
  12. ↑ Remastering Crew (2007). The End Re-Mastered DVD Commentary (DVD). Bodysnatcher DVD Boxset Red disc: BBC.
  13. 1 2 Remastering Crew (2007). 'Re-Dwarf' Documentary (DVD). Bodysnatcher DVD Boxset Red disc: BBC.
  14. ↑ Remastering Crew (2007). Bodyswap text commentary (DVD). Bodysnatcher DVD Boxset, Green disc: BBC.

See also

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References

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