Legion (Red Dwarf)

Last updated

"Legion"
Red Dwarf episode
Episode no.Series 6
Episode 2
Directed by Andy De Emmony
Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Original air date14 October 1993 (1993-10-14)
Guest appearance
  • Nigel Williams as Legion
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Psirens"		Next →
"Gunmen of the Apocalypse"
List of episodes

"Legion" is the second episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series VI [1] and the 32nd in the series run. [2] It was first broadcast on British television on 14 October 1993, [3] was written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor and was directed by Andy de Emmony.

Contents

Plot

To maintain constant pursuit of Red Dwarf, Dave Lister and Cat handle the piloting of Starbug through shifts. However, Kryten informs Arnold Rimmer that the ship is running low on food and water. As the ship passes by a deserted space station, it is pulled in by a tractor beam, and the crew opt to explore the station for supplies. When aboard, Kryten notes that his scanner registers a life-form, despite not showing one earlier, which soon appears before them as a mysterious entity called Legion. After explaining that he was a creation of the greatest minds that inhabited the station, Legion offers a token of good faith by demonstrating his incredible technological intelligence. Legion gives Lister an instantaneous emergency appendectomy. This detail creates a continuity error, as Rimmer says in the episode "Thanks for the Memory", "That's why I had my appendix out twice". Legion also modifies Rimmer's light bee, allowing him to alternate between a "soft light" and "hard light" hologram – the latter form allows him to be able to touch and feel. Impressed, the crew try to recruit him to join them on their quest to find Red Dwarf, but Legion insists that they stay with him.

The following morning, the group admit that they have become Legion's prisoners, despite each enjoying accommodations tailored to their unique personal tastes and requirements. When they attempt to escape by overpowering him, they find Legion is a gestalt entity – a combination of all active minds present on the station, melded together to form one, who became a mindless, formless entity when the station's original occupants perished from old age.

Kryten notices that Legion loses a persona when one of them is unconscious, and so convinces the others to be knocked out, forcing Legion to manifest his persona only. Legion admits relief when this happens, wishing not to share their assorted neuroses, and helps Kryten to return the crew to Starbug, providing them with a stardrive that the scientists had created to help them catch up to Red Dwarf. However, when the crew attempt to use it, the drive shoots out of the ship, leaving them to struggle with the sudden decompression it creates.

Production

The working title for the episode was "Call Me Legion", and later shortened to "Legion". [4] This episode introduces the hologram Hardlight – an indestructible physical form which Rimmer could form into. It was becoming tiresome for the writers that Rimmer couldn't touch anything, so it was retained for the remainder of the series. [5]

Nigel Williams played the character of Legion. The costume was so tight he had to be sewn into it, and stay in it until the shoot was finished. [6]

Lister's room music in this episode was "Hot and Wild Number 1" by the musician Chris Tsangarides. [7]

Cultural references

The episode title and certain dialogue reference Mark 5:9, wherein Jesus confronts a possessed man: "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." [8]

Audience laughter can be heard when Kryten mentions "Quayle" in a list of "the most brilliant minds of the 23rd century". In 1993 the name conjured up the image of Dan Quayle, the former U.S. Vice President who was popularly perceived as being incompetent. [9] He also mentions "Davro", most likely a reference to singer and comedian Bobby Davro, as well as "Holder", a reference to Slade singer Noddy Holder.

The "Ionian Nerve Grip" which Kryten pretends to use on Rimmer is patterned after the famous Vulcan nerve pinch from Star Trek .

Reception

The episode was well received by fans, and Rob Grant has described this episode as one of his favourites, and has said that "I think that's the funniest start to a show we've ever done, [also] it's got some great set pieces in it, the chopsticks scene..." [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Rimmer</span> Fictional character in Red Dwarf

Arnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character in the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, played by Chris Barrie. Rimmer is characterised as a second-class technician and de facto leader of the mining ship Red Dwarf. Portrayed as snobbish, pedantic, and self-centred, Rimmer is unpopular with his crewmates and is often the target of insults and general ridicule.

"Kryten" is the seventh episode from science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, the first from series two, and was first broadcast on BBC2 on 6 September 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, this episode introduced the mechanoid character Kryten. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.

"Marooned" is the second episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series III, and the fourteenth in the series run. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2 on 21 November 1989. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, the story is about Lister and Rimmer being marooned together on a bleak ice planet. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.

"Bodyswap" is the fourth episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series III, and the sixteenth overall. 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.

"Camille" is the first episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series IV, and the nineteenth episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 February 1991. The episode was planned to be shown third, but was moved forward in the schedule to be shown on Valentine's Day. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye. The episode, a parody of the film Casablanca, sees Kryten rescue and fall in love with an android who appears to be the same model as himself.

"Dimension Jump" is the fifth episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series IV and the twenty-third episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 March 1991, written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye. The episode, featuring the first appearance of Ace Rimmer, was intended to end the series; but Meltdown was rescheduled and broadcast last due to the Gulf War.

"Holoship" is the first episode of Series V of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf and the twenty-fifth in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 20 February 1992 in the 9:00 PM evening time slot. It was written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Juliet May.

"Terrorform" is the third episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series V and the twenty seventh in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 5 March 1992. It was written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and was directed by Juliet May. The episode's plot has the Red Dwarf crew rescuing Rimmer from a terraformed moon based on his own psyche.

Quarantine (<i>Red Dwarf</i>) 4th episode of the 5th series of Red Dwarf

"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.

"Psirens" is the first episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series VI and the 31st in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 October 1993. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor and directed by Andy de Emmony. The episode – which involves Psirens who try to lure the crew to them to feast on their brains – had its script published before the episode was broadcast.

"Gunmen of the Apocalypse" is the third episode of the sixth series 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.

"Emohawk: Polymorph II" is the fourth episode of the British science fiction sitcom TV show Red Dwarf VI and the 34th in the series run. It was first broadcast on BBC2 on 28 October 1993. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor and directed by Andy de Emmony, the episode features the crew again being hunted by a polymorph. The first appearance of these creatures was in the series III episode "Polymorph". Also returning in this episode are Duane Dibbley from "Back to Reality" and Ace Rimmer from "Dimension Jump".

"Rimmerworld" is the fifth episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series VI and the 35th in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 4 November 1993, was written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor and was directed by Andy de Emmony.

"Out of Time" is the sixth episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series VI and the 36th in the programmes run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 11 November 1993. Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor and directed by Andy de Emmony, it was the first Red Dwarf series finale to end on a cliffhanger. It is the final episode with contributions from Rob Grant.

"Blue" is the fifth episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series VII and the 41st in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 February 1997, was written by Kim Fuller and Doug Naylor, and was directed by Ed Bye. Until Red Dwarf: Back to Earth, it was the last episode to feature the hologram Rimmer.

"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.

"Can of Worms" is the sixth episode of Red Dwarf XI and the 67th in the series run. Originally broadcast on the British television channel Dave on 27 October 2016, it was made available early on 21 October 2016 on UKTV Play.

"Siliconia" is the second episode of Red Dwarf XII and the 69th in the series run. Originally broadcast on the British television channel Dave on 19 October 2017, it was made available early on 12 October 2017 on UKTV Play.

References

  1. ↑ "British Sitcom Guide – Red Dwarf – Series 6". sitcom.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  2. ↑ "TV.com – Legion summary". tv.com. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  3. ↑ "BBC – Programme Catalogue – RED DWARF VI – LEGION". BBC. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
  4. ↑ News From The Dwarf, Red Dwarf Smegazine, volume 2 issue 1, May 1993, Fleetway Editions Ltd, ISSN 0965-5603
  5. ↑ "Red Dwarf Series VI Aftermath". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  6. ↑ "Red Dwarf Series VI Costumes". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  7. ↑ Cast and Crew | Series VI | Guide | Red Dwarf, www.reddwarf.co.uk, retrieved 11 May 2013
  8. ↑ "Series V review by Gavrielle". reviewsbygavrielle.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ↑ Robert E. Gilbert, (1998), The Mortal Presidency: Illness and Anguish in the White House, page 290. Fordham Univ Press. ISBN   0823218376
  10. ↑ "Rob Grant Interview". The Inquisitors Red Dwarf Site. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.