Red Dwarf: 5 Best Episodes
As the second episode of Red Dwarf's tenth series approaches, Comedy Corner ranks the five best episodes of the small rouge one.
Tonight sees the continuation of the first full series of Red Dwarf for thirteen years. Harkening back to the character dynamic of Series Six, senile shipboard computer Holly is absent and the main cast consists of the core four: curry loving slob Dave Lister (Craig Charles), cowardly and officious hologram Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie), the well dressed but self-absorbed Cat (Danny John-Jules), and insecure robot Kryten (Robert Llewellyn). So in celebration of Red Dwarf X, we count down the programme's top five episodes... 5. Stoke Me A Clipper Series Seven Episode Two
Series Seven and Eight are sort of the black sheep of Red Dwarf. The majority of fans regard them with a certain amount of disdain and the general consensus is that Series Seven is where everything went downhill thanks to the departure of co-creator Rob Grant, and Rimmer being replaced with a parallel version of Listers former love interest Kristine Kochanski. But, like my fondness for the Star Wars prequels, I have a soft spot for Series Seven and Eight. Hence my inclusion of Stoke Me A Clipper, which sees Rimmers parallel universe counterpart Ace Rimmer arrive on Starbug just as he is about to die because he wants Rimmer to take his place as the universes new guardian. Naturally, because of his hate for Ace, Rimmer is reluctant but soon realises that being the new Ace Rimmer is his destiny, and sets off to defend the universe. No episode of Red Dwarf has as much character development as this one. As Ace says of himself and every other Rimmer We start off as caterpillars and turn into butterflies. Rimmer begins the episode as a cowardly little smeghead but ends it as a hero. Its also quite heart-warming to see Lister subtly interfere with Rimmers training to give him the confidence to become Ace. Also, its impossible not to admire the sheer scale of this episode. In the space of thirty minutes, it recreates a pulp fiction interpretation of Nazi Germany then, without even pausing for breath, goes on to also recreate medieval England with guest appearances from Brian Cox and Sarah Alexander. It may not be the funniest episode, but theres an astonishing amount of effort in its production. A fitting farewell to our favourite smeghead. Best Scene: Lister and Rimmer discovering the final resting place of every Ace Rimmer that has ever existed. Useless Trivia: This episode was originally titled Natural Born Rimmers. It was subsequently changed when the sexual connotations of this title were realised.