10 4th Wall Breaking TV Show Moments Everyone Hated
6. Dave Gets Namedropped - Red Dwarf: Back To Earth
Red Dwarf's mini-series Back to Earth was entirely about breaking the fourth wall, given that the plot revolves around Lister (Craig Charles) and company returning to Earth in 2009 and discovering that they're TV characters in a show called Red Dwarf.
Most of the many meta gags that follow aren't exactly among the sci-fi sitcom's cleverest jokes, but the episode reaches a nadir of embarrassment when the heroes take the bus and Lister is approached by two kids who recognise him from his TV series.
More to the point, one of the kids mentions that they've watched Red Dwarf on Dave, the very same UK TV channel that produced this mini-series, before he asks Lister, "What's it like having a whole TV channel named after you?"
In a three-parter packed to the gills with self-referential storytelling, this was a step too far.
Considering how forced the one-liner feels, it's tough not to suspect that one of Dave's conditions for co-funding the mini-series was that the script had to include a reference to them.