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Red Dwarf Series XI and XII Announced

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xandaca

Member
Didn't think much of Series X (better than Back To Earth by a long way, but otherwise the weakest and clunkiest to date), but the 'life signs' and 'frivolous and idiotic' jokes both hit, which is encouraging. Still not expecting much, but would be happy with two or three decent laughs per episode - just being back with the characters is good enough to do the rest. As long as it isn't actually bad or embarrassing - which BTE was, and X flirted with - I can live with it. Fingers crossed.
 

Santar

Member
Sadly I didn't really like the first episode much.
The guys felt rusty in their performance and most of the episode felt like a bunch of overused cliched scenes stitched together.
All the science talk bits were not funny at aaaalll, and was so drawn out.
I wish they'd go back to the more dialogue focus of the earlier series. It wasn't so slapstick and cliche focused back then.
It's like the more money they get the more they're focused on using that money on effects and scope instead of the core humor and story.
 
It's not Series VI amazing, but it was pretty good, I'd say a good Series 3/4/5 episode. I was laughing quite a bit through the episode. A joke here and there fell a little flat, but there was nothing that made me go "...uh, okay?". Ending was a little quick, but Red Dwarf's done that before too, so it didn't bother me.

Just watched it, sounds about right. Loved the density joke.
 
A good solid episode, I thought.

That's what's quite nice about it being back for two series - obviously you want to have new highs and best episodes ever, but not episode can be that. It was a good episode of Red Dwarf with some fun jokes that I'd happily rewatch the Xth time when it's repeated again and again on Dave. Good stuff. Will be interesting to see the mix of stuff over the whole series, particularly as say with this one we didn't have anything on RD itself really. Hopefully this bodes well for a bunch of different stories and styles to the episodes.
 

mclem

Member
So, a spoiler, kind of, but it's a more abstract musing:

What's the title mean? Is it just 'Twenties' America', or was there some other interpretation I wasn't quite taking, since that didn't really establish the main theme of the episode.

Did I miss something?
 

RangerX

Banned
I didn't think this episode was good at all. The jokes just completely fell flat. I still can't get over how awful Kryten looks.
 
I thought it was a good but not great episode, my only problem is
previously with timey wimmey wibbly wobbly stuff they have incompetently managed to cause a chain of events that's effectively restored a time line or made its changes moot, Twentica didn't do that even in the hap hazard Red Dwarf way, it just let the timeline changed where for 6 years in the late 40's/50's technology didn't exist and time travelling robots were a thing, which had nooooooo effect on the timeline
I mean come on? surely they could have in there rather idiotic way resolve it? Like Kryten saying now they had the time watch thing that they should go back 10 min earlier than before they left and replace the item they gave the simulants with a bomb and make sure none of that ever happens, along with a joke about waiting till they took Rimmer and then blew the ship
 

xandaca

Member
I enjoyed it. One or two laughs - the hackneyed cliché thing and science lady's crack about density - and it looked good. Like X, the humour was pretty strained and the plot, ending especially, didn't have much weight behind them, but I probably enjoyed it more than last season's opener. The science lady (De Gauthier?) stole the show, even if they overplayed the joke (the 'big bang' thing went far too obvious on what was working as an implicit analogy), and the cast still have good chemistry, even if Craig Charles and Chris Barrie are struggling to find the old naturalism in their performances with the material having largely moved away from character comedy. John-Jules and Llewellyn, with their characters having always been quite broad, fare much better, although I wish they'd given John-Jules more opportunity to show off his dancing given the Prohibition-esque setting.
 
I didn't think this episode was good at all. The jokes just completely fell flat. I still can't get over how awful Kryten looks.
This is how I felt. I didn't laugh once. I didn't really have any expectations for the episode, so I wasn't disappointed but I'm hoping it will be the worst episode of this series.

It had some good ideas and the premise was fun, but it all felt way too crammed in and short to explore the ideas fully and the street set looked cheap and tacky - I would've said Dickensian England before I said 50s America. I also internally groan every time they come up against Simulants and GELFs. I know we're now very far away from the odd couple in space premise, but I still think that's where the comedy of the show shines.


the cast still have good chemistry, even if Craig Charles and Chris Barrie are struggling to find the old naturalism in their performances with the material having largely moved away from character comedy. John-Jules and Llewellyn, with their characters having always been quite broad, fare much better, although I wish they'd given John-Jules more opportunity to show off his dancing given the Prohibition-esque setting.
Good observation, I agree.
 
I quite liked it, a couple of lol moments. Though some parts felt a bit forced and what was with that Pythagoras joke at the end? It's like they forgot the punchline or something.
 

tomtom94

Member
It reminded me of series 7 (not least because the plot is Tikka to Ride 2.0). I don't have a problem with that, but I can see why people would.

I thought it all mostly worked, I didn't expect belly laughs but I got a few good chuckles.
 

Shiloa

Member
Plot was weak, but I thought the jokes were acceptable standard. It was basically Tikka to Ride over again, though Tikka to Ride was better performed.

My main gripe was just how dark the entirety of the sets were. Everything felt cramped.
 
Doesn't the new series start on Dave tonight?

9pm tonight.

I just finished a complete rewatch of the series in prep for the new series. Series X really was a return to form. I've never really warmed to series 7 or 8 though I was surprised by how lifeless VII is (VII wasn't filmed in front of the audience) and how funny VIII is, despite having terrible story arcs (the whole
prison
thing is just 'ugh.' Back to Earth, despite also being a little lifeless, isn't as bad as VII.

But X is just as funny as III-VI. I look forward to XI and, eventually, XII.

smoke me a clipper, and I'll be back for breakfast
 

cyberheater

PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
9pm tonight.

I just finished a complete rewatch of the series in prep for the new series. Series X really was a return to form. I've never really warmed to series 7 or 8 though I was surprised by how lifeless VII is (VII wasn't filmed in front of the audience) and how funny VIII is, despite having terrible story arcs (the whole
prison
thing is just 'ugh.' Back to Earth, despite also being a little lifeless, isn't as bad as VII.

But X is just as funny as III-VI. I look forward to XI and, eventually, XII.

smoke me a clipper, and I'll be back for breakfast

Yes. 10 was great which made me really look forward to 11.
 

CMDBob

Member
Episode 2: Samsara is on UKTV Play (and other on demand services too, I guess? I think Sky Go has it?)

Again, another fun season 3-5ish episode, I got some good laughs out of it.

SPOILERS BELOW, don't read em if you haven't seen it!

They could have called this episode "Samsara - Justice II", and I did like the call back to "Justice" back in series 4, made sense and fit in quite well. I really enjoyed the bits where The Cat is explaining history all wrong. And again, another abrupt ending, weird. Saying that, the boys from the Dwarf had figured out the problem anyway, so the escape would have been pointless filler, so whatchagonna do, I suppose. My only other observation is the flashbacks maybe took up a bit too much of the episode, but ah well, I still laughed.
 

RetroDLC

Foundations of Burden
How did I miss that there's a new mobile game out? I'll give it a try.

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Episode 2: Samsara is on UKTV Play (and other on demand services too, I guess? I think Sky Go has it?)

Again, another fun season 3-5ish episode, I got some good laughs out of it.

SPOILERS BELOW, don't read em if you haven't seen it!

They could have called this episode "Samsara - Justice II", and I did like the call back to "Justice" back in series 4, made sense and fit in quite well. I really enjoyed the bits where The Cat is explaining history all wrong. And again, another abrupt ending, weird. Saying that, the boys from the Dwarf had figured out the problem anyway, so the escape would have been pointless filler, so whatchagonna do, I suppose. My only other observation is the flashbacks maybe took up a bit too much of the episode, but ah well, I still laughed.

Much better than Twentica, I think! Lots more genuine laughs in this one. I think I'll enjoy watching this one again for fun in the future!
 

cyberheater

PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
A very enjoyable first episode. It felt like putting on a pair of old comfy slippers.

Looking forward to the next episode.
 

Tregard

Soothsayer
Samsara was good, although yeah, just sort of seemed to end without warning.

I do wonder what it would be like having Rob Grant back with Doug for a series, it's a shame that seems unattainable.
 

xandaca

Member
Another decent episode, a couple of good laughs in the Lister/Rimmer scenes at the beginning and the karma drive was a cool idea, even if it never went beyond being a plot device. Jokes about Cat getting everything wrong was mildly amusing at first and dragged on, and Lister - even taking into account that he's become more intelligent as the series has progressed - was far too knowledgeable about Archimedes and the like. Regardless, an easy enough watch, even if I wish they'd done more with the Karma drive as a concept and had a more interesting threat than 'locked in a room'.
 

Shiloa

Member
They are still very stiff and stilted, only Kryten really sounds like the same character.

and again the episode felt like it ended suddenly.

But better, a lot of the jokes were reused from old Dwarf but it flowed better than the first episode and the karma engine was a good old-style Dwarf plot device. But yeah, it was basically Justice in reverse.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
I almost wonder if they're just remaking older episodes at this point.

But like the first episode, this was just... fine. It's weird, but my expectations are so low that I'm happy if it's not a complete disaster.
 

pulsemyne

Member
Third episode is now online at UKplay and it's even better than the second. Some great Rimmer bits. It's called Give and Take.
 
Samsara felt like a classic dwarf- they always like to do a more dialogue oriented one and I liked the conceit of them having to be deliberately mean to each other in order to escape.

One thing, can we agree on a spoiler policy for the thread, please? I'm watching when it's broadcast on Dave but peeps watching the online version are putting potential spoilers in their posts. Yeah, I'm that guy.

Doug Naylor wrote 12 episodes in one hit (since they filmed XI and XII back to back), I kinda hope they branch out from too many "it's like episode X but slightly different." Season X seemed to avoid a lot of that.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Samsara felt like a classic dwarf- they always like to do a more dialogue oriented one and I liked the conceit of them having to be deliberately mean to each other in order to escape.

One thing, can we agree on a spoiler policy for the thread, please? I'm watching when it's broadcast on Dave but peeps watching the online version are putting potential spoilers in their posts. Yeah, I'm that guy.

Doug Naylor wrote 12 episodes in one hit (since they filmed XI and XII back to back), I kinda hope they branch out from too many "it's like episode X but slightly different." Season X seemed to avoid a lot of that.

It doesn't seem unreasonable to not want spoilers *before* it's even aired on TV
 
Very much enjoyed Give & Take.

-The villian was surprisingly short lived in the episode itself, reminded me of Dr Lanstrom from Quarantine. Very creepy though, and a great design.
-Cat's hair looked weird, he looked a little off in this episode. Wierdly, the rest of the cast look fantastic. Lister and Rimmer somehow look quite a lot younger in this one.
-Some great gags, I enjoyed the Captain Bollocks stuff. The Cat tucking Lister in was pretty fun too. And the reveal of Snacky was silly :D
-I loved Rimmer using Snacky as a therapist.
-I liked the way the intro tied into the ending quite well, it felt like there was actually a pay off to the early scenes which the last couple of episodes slightly lacked.
-If this episode had been written in the 90s and filmed at the time, it would sit in with series 5 quite comfortably indeed I'd say.
-Best episode of series XI so far, each episode so far has been better than the last.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Wow, this episode had a budget. Crazy.

It was fun, although yet another time loop episode that sort of doesn't make sense unless I'm missing something.
 

Shiloa

Member
For ages I couldn't understand how the story made any sense because of the loop. But I realise that Rimmer and Kryten simply presumed that Lister had his kidneys removed by the robot, but I guess they could have been anyone's. Usually Dwarf explains those gaps, but as with everything this series, the plot itself feels very rushed.

Not bad overall, Lister Rimmer and Kryten seemed more natural this time which was a huge boost. One thing that I do find off is the cuts between scenes. They are too sudden.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Isn't that one of those predestination paradoxes or whatever. The only way it would work out is if he actually lost his kidneys before any of the events of this episode began, but we know that can't be the case because he goes back to steal his own.
 
The way I see it, the mad droid probably realised Lister had no kidneys, and fully intended to take one of Cat's ("the donor") to save Lister. Sure, he was pretty insane but still a medical genius. Perhaps he wasn't really a villain at all.
 

Shiloa

Member
Isn't that one of those predestination paradoxes or whatever. The only way it would work out is if he actually lost his kidneys before any of the events of this episode began, but we know that can't be the case because he goes back to steal his own.
I don't understand what you mean.

It's like the infinite loop of Lister being his own dad but being the own thief of his kidneys.
 

Tregard

Soothsayer
Give & Take is the best episode of the run so far

Snacky felt like a series 5 gag, it was all just wonderful. The cuts are still a bit sudden, and the endings still occurr without warning, but a great episode
 
I can't get over how good this series has been. It's like they found unused scripts. The set design and costumes have many pleasing call backs. Just seeing Lister in a t-shirt and Rimmer in a dressing gown takes me back the series 1&2. Lots of really good character interactions and dialogue. Very classic feeling those two things combined make it seem like they are characters and less like impressions of their previous performances.
 

xandaca

Member
Another decent ep. The laughs aren't huge, but they're there, and everyone involved feels that much more confident and relaxed since X.
Really liked how the end tied into the beginning, even if Asclepius would surely have noticed Lister's missing kidneys - although I suppose the Dwarfers only assumed it was Asclepius who removed them - the 'And you are?' gag continues to work, and Snacky's 'Low On Pretzels' in response to Rimmer's psychological outpouring was a charmingly silly joke.
Three for three so far.
 

spunodi

Member
Episode 4 is up now and it is one of my favourites of this and last series.

In fact I think it's probably a bit of a classic. Laughed heartily at many points.
 

Shiloa

Member
Again a real improvement over the previous episode. It was an old concept but full of newer ideas this time around rather than just being an adaptation. Still nowhere near classic, but certainly good enough.

I wish the sets weren't all so dark though and they really need to improve the cuts.
 

freefornow

Gold Member
Lol, the background music in the Officers Lounge is the Arnold J Rimmer song from S7E05. Nice touch and throwback.

Wish they had done a bit more with the Barbershop Quartet.
 
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