Red Dwarf: Every Series Ranked From Worst To Best

Series 7 is when Dwarf went through its most drastic changes. Co-creator Rob Grant moved on to other projects and Doug Naylor, wanting to continue working towards an eventual movie, made moves to improve the series throughout. Film quality and visual effects were drastically improved, and the episode count increased. However, not all the changes were welcomed by fans.

Chris Barrie, fatigued by the shooting schedule and offered other shows, left this season and his character was written out as the next incarnation of the multiversal hero Ace Rimmer. In his place we got an alternate dimensional version of Lister's long-term love, Kochanski.

Originally played by Claire Grogan, the casting of Chloe Annett in the role seemed another step too far for fans at the time, and Chloe started the role having to prove herself as a very different Kochanski.

But the most jarring change came from the way the series was filmed. The cast were used to playing much of the episodes in front of fans, playing off them in almost an audience-participation effort. The lack of that audience shows in series 7, and it diminishes the episodes throughout the series.