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Doug Naylor | |
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| Born | Douglas Rodger Naylor 31 December 1955 Manchester, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation | Director, screenwriter and television producer. |
| Alma mater | University of Liverpool |
| Period | 1982–present |
| Genre | Comedy, drama, adventure, science fiction |
| Spouse | Linda Glover |
| Children | 2 |
Douglas Rodger Naylor [1] (born 31 December 1955) is an English comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer.
Naylor was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, and studied at Chetham's School of Music and the University of Liverpool. In the mid-1980s Naylor created and wrote two comedy sketch shows for BBC Radio 4 entitled Cliché and Son of Cliché , as well as two sitcoms, Wrinkles and Wally Who? for the same station. These shows were scripted by Naylor along with another writer, Rob Grant. This writing partnership was successful, with Grant and Naylor going on to co-write and produce numerous British radio and television series throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including programmes such as The Cannon and Ball Show , A Kick Up The Eighties , Three of A Kind , Comic Relief , Spitting Image and they wrote the singles, Father Christmas is on the Dole which charted in 1986 and The Chicken Song which was No. 1 in the charts for three weeks (1986). They created the sitcom The 10 Percenters which was awarded "Best ITV Sitcom" at the 1996 British Comedy Awards for the second series after Grant had left the partnership.
The collaborations between Grant and Naylor have often used the pseudonym Grant Naylor. Together, they wrote the British science fiction comedy television series Red Dwarf under this name. Their earlier radio sketch shows formed the basis for the show; Chris Barrie starred in both of these, as well as Red Dwarf.
In 1994, an episode of Red Dwarf from the sixth series, Gunmen of the Apocalypse, won an International Emmy Award in the Popular Arts category, and 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 over eight million viewers, during the eighth series in 1999.
Some time between the airing of the sixth series of Red Dwarf in 1993, and the writing of the seventh series in 1996, Grant ended his partnership with Naylor after revealing he was tired of it and that he intended to quit and pursue other projects.[ citation needed ] The pair announced their professional split and cited creative and professional differences, along with Grant's desire to move into new areas.
With this split, it appeared as though Red Dwarf was finished; other obstacles included the fact that Chris Barrie was tied up starring in The Brittas Empire and the other star of Red Dwarf, Craig Charles, was in prison awaiting trial. However, when Charles was acquitted and Barrie became available for a few episodes, a seventh series finally went ahead. Naylor went on to write the seventh and eighth series of Red Dwarf mostly on his own (70% of the series, by his own estimate), although some episodes were co-written with Paul Alexander and Kim Fuller, and one episode co-written with one of the cast members, Robert Llewellyn.
Naylor is the author of a Red Dwarf novel: Last Human (1995). He also wrote Primordial Soup (1993), Son of Soup (1996) and Red Dwarf VII: The Official Book (1999).
In 2007, Naylor and Grant Naylor Productions were primarily focused on the production of the DVD releases of Red Dwarf and the postulated movie. In 2008 it was announced by Grant Naylor Productions that Red Dwarf would return to television in the form of four half-hour specials for the UKTV Network channel Dave. The episodes were broadcast over the Easter weekend of 2009, and comprising a three-part special (20 minutes each), "Back to Earth", and a behind-the-scenes 'Making of' special. Naylor wrote the scripts for the three new episodes and also directed them. "Back to Earth" received record ratings for the Dave channel.
In 2011, Dave commissioned Naylor to write and direct a new six episode series of Red Dwarf, later entitled Red Dwarf XI . [2] The series won the Royal Television Society's award for Best Special Effects, presented in 2013.
Naylor formed Three Feet Productions [3] in October 2017 with his son Richard and wrote and directed a one-off comedy for BBC One, entitled Over To Bill, starring Hugh Dennis, Neil Morrissey, Tracy Ann Oberman and Helen George and produced by Richard Naylor.
In 2015–2016, Naylor wrote and directed 12 more episodes of Red Dwarf for Dave). Red Dwarf XI was broadcast from September 2016 onwards, and Red Dwarf XII from September 2017. Both series were a Baby Cow Productions commission, with Richard Naylor and Kerry Waddell as producers.
In 2020 Red Dwarf: The Promised Land , a 90 minute TV Special was again written and directed by Naylor for Dave and was a Baby Cow Production, with Richard Naylor as Producer. Naylor has now written or co-written all 74 episodes of Red Dwarf and was Executive Producer on 51 episodes. [4]
Naylor is married with two sons, one of whom (Richard) is a television writer and producer, the other a doctor. Naylor has a prosthetic leg due to a road accident when he was seven years old, hence the naming of his and Richard's production company ‘Three Feet Productions’[ citation needed ] [5]
| Production | Notes | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|
| Carrott's Lib |
| BBC1 |
| Pushing Up Daisies |
| Channel 4 |
| Spitting Image |
| ITV |
| Comic Relief |
| BBC1 |
| Spitting Image: Down and Out in the White House |
| ITV |
| Spitting Image: The Ronnie and Nancy Show |
| ITV |
| Spitting Image: The 1987 Movie Awards |
| ITV |
| Red Dwarf |
| BBC2 (1988–99) Dave (2009–20) |
| Red Dwarf USA |
| NBC |
| Carlton Playhouse |
| ITV |
| The 10 Percenters |
| ITV |
| Red Dwarf Night |
| BBC2 |
| Comedy Playhouse |
| BBC1 |
Red Dwarf is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, 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. The series 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—save for a hologram of his deceased bunkmate Arnold Rimmer and "Cat", a life form which evolved from Lister's pregnant cat.
Robert Grant is an English comedy writer, television producer and co-creator of the Red Dwarf comedy franchise. Since Red Dwarf, Grant has written two television series, The Strangerers and Dark Ages, and four solo novels, his most recent being Fat. During his career Grant has been involved in two distinct writing partnerships: the first with Doug Naylor, and the second and most recent with Andrew Marshall.
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 "Cat" in lieu of a real name.
Norman Lovett is a British stand-up comedian and actor best known for his portrayal of Holly, the ship's computer in Red Dwarf.
Grant Naylor refers to the former writing partnership between Rob Grant and Doug Naylor as well as their Grant Naylor Productions company.
"Future Echoes" is the second episode of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf series one, and was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 22 February 1988. It was written by co-creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye.
"The End" is the first episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, which was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 15 February 1988. The episode introduces the main characters and sets up the story backbone of the series. On the mining ship Red Dwarf, Dave Lister is placed in stasis for refusing to give up the whereabouts of his forbidden pet cat. When he emerges from stasis, three million years later, he discovers that everybody has died from a radiation leak.
"Confidence and Paranoia" is the fifth episode from series one of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 March 1988. The plot involves Lister's mutated pneumonia which manifests solid hallucinations.
"Me2" (pronounced "me, squared") is the sixth and final episode from series one of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, which was first broadcast on BBC2 on 21 March 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye. The script was written as a late addition to the series following an electricians' strike at the BBC. The episode follows on from the cliffhanger set by "Confidence and Paranoia"—there are now two Rimmers on board Red Dwarf. The episode was remastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998, to bring it up to a standard suitable for international broadcast.
Son of Cliché is a comedy sketch show that ran for two series on BBC Radio 4 between 23 August 1983 and 29 December 1984.
"Polymorph" is the third episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series III, and the fifteenth in the series run. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2 on 28 November 1989. It is considered by some to be the series' best. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, the episode has the crew fighting a shapeshifting, emotion-stealing creature. It is the only Red Dwarf episode to feature a pre-credits warning about the content. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.
"White Hole" is the fourth episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series IV and the twenty-second episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 March 1991. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye and Paul Jackson, the episode features the crew's attempt to escape the influence of a white hole.
"Quarantine" is the fourth episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series V and the twenty eighth in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 12 March 1992. The episode, fifth to be filmed, was the first one to be solely directed by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. The episode has Rimmer contracting a holo-virus and turning against the rest of the crew.
"Back to Reality" is the sixth and final episode of the fifth series of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, and the 30th in the series' run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 26 March 1992, written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor and directed by Juliet May and Grant Naylor. The plot features the crew waking up after a crash to discover that the last four years of their lives has been spent in a "Total Immersion Video Game" called Red Dwarf. This episode marks the final appearance of Hattie Hayridge as Holly. The episode often tops polls and surveys as the best episode in the entire series.
"Gunmen of the Apocalypse" is the third episode of series VI of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. It was first broadcast on 21 October 1993, on BBC Two, and went on to win an International Emmy Award. The episode was written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Andy de Emmony. In the episode, the regular cast find themselves in a computer simulation of a Wild West town, facing a gunfight against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
"Backwards" is the first episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series III, and the thirteenth in the series run. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 November 1989. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, the episode has the crew travel to an alternate Earth where time runs backwards.
Juliet May is a British television director. She has directed television shows such as Dalziel and Pascoe, Hope and Glory, New Tricks and Miranda.
Red Dwarf: Back to Earth is a three-part miniseries continuation of the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, broadcast on UK television channel Dave between 10 and 12 April 2009 and subsequently released on DVD on 15 June 2009 and on Blu-ray on 31 August 2009. It was the first television outing for Red Dwarf in over ten years, and features the characters Rimmer, Cat, Kryten and Lister. The storyline involves the characters arriving back on Earth, circa 2009, only to find that they are characters in a television series called Red Dwarf.
Red Dwarf X is the tenth series of the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. It was broadcast on UK television channel Dave between 4 October and 8 November 2012. There are six episodes and it was the first full series of Red Dwarf since 1999.
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