Way back in 1993, the final episode of RED DWARF VI left the series on a smart cliffhanger ending – despite the ‘To Be Continued…’ it was patently clear what fate had befallen the crew (they survived, if you’re asking). In the four years it took for the show to return, co-creator Rob Grant left the production team (leaving Doug Naylor solely in charge of the show’s direction), and star Chris Barrie decided to depart (or go part-time at least). When RED DWARF VII finally arrived in 1997, it was clear nothing was the same – with only half the original writing team on board, it was only half as funny and smart. Some fans were left wondering if RED DWARF had been better left alone – better dead than smeg as the Dwarfers might say – with the ambiguity of the previous season’s finale a fitting end to, what had been until then, a quite brilliant show.
Whilst RED DWARF VIII was an improvement – Chris Barrie was back as Rimmer full time, and the action returned to the titular mining ship and put a interesting twist on the formula – 2009’s three-parter ‘Back to Earth’ was tragic, shamelessly reusing material 17-years old and even placing some of the action in Craig Charles’ other place of work, CORONATION STREET (how this stuff gets through the development process in a mystery).
Needless to say, this writer was not impressed to learn that yet another series of RED DWARF was due in 2012, afraid that the legacy of his beloved sitcom would be further tarnished by more sub-par programming and an inability to JUST LEAVE IT ALONE. However, the new trailer doesn’t look half as bad as THN feared, and has reawakened a curiosity – can it be that RED DWARF will erase the bitter memory of the last three seasons and return to the heights of its glory days? Probably not, but an old-school smeg-head can always dream…
Tom Fordy is a writer and journalist. Originally from Bristol, he now lives in London. He is a former editor of The Hollywood News and Loaded magazine. He also contributes regularly to The Telegraph, Esquire Weekly and numerous others. Follow him @thetomfordy.
Yeah, after the Back to Earth thing, I wasn’t sure how they’d be but it does seem, they keep on going! Back to Earth was like watching something die, slowly and painfully.
I’ll keep an eye out for this and hope it has – at least – a little bit of glory!
Dan Bullock
Jul 24, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Yeah, after the Back to Earth thing, I wasn’t sure how they’d be but it does seem, they keep on going! Back to Earth was like watching something die, slowly and painfully.
I’ll keep an eye out for this and hope it has – at least – a little bit of glory!