Backwards is good... if you're a middle-aged man in the 1980s who got a laugh out of his VHS tape rewinding.
PLOT
Rimmer and Kryten accidentally fly into a time hole which spits them out on Earth in the distant future, where time has begun to move in reverse. Lister and the Cat go on a rescue mission, only to discover that Rimmer and Kryten do not wish to leave.
THOUGHTS
Between Series II and III, Red Dwarf received a massive boost in its budget, giving the creatives (specifically Doug Naylor) the idea to reinvent the series with an eye on making it look and feel much closer to how they originally imagined it, rather than the compromised vision we saw in Series I and II. It's impossible to overstate how much of a difference it makes. The sets are different, the costumes are different, the acting has evolved, even the writing has changed. All this money has given Grant and Naylor much more ambition, transforming the show from an introspective yet flippant space sitcom into a balls-to-the-wall space adventure.
For me, the results are hit and miss. There's some things about the first two seasons that I dearly miss, like the colourful look of the ship, the focus on Lister and Rimmer, Lovett's Holly, the melancholy and the coziness. But on the other hand, the show is visually much more stunning now, the excitement is ramped up, and we have Robert Llewelyn joining in as Kryten. As someone who is very attached to Series II, I really hated these changes on my first watch. But looking at it now and knowing how the show will continue to evolve, I appreciate the variety. I do wish we had at least one more season with the original format, but it is what it is.
But Backwards is absolute bollocks. It was not the first episode to be produced, but much like with Future Echoes, the writers were so proud of their gimmick that they moved it ahead of schedule. But unlike that episode, where the idea was good and just not executed in the most interesting way, here the idea is complete gibberish. And even if you accept the universe starting to reverse at the end of time as a plausible concept, the way it works is completely inconsistent from scene to scene. Take the bar fight for example. How are Rimmer and Kryten still hired by the time Lister and the Cat find them, when the fight has already occurred (Lister has his injuries!) and they've been fired. Why isn't the bar a wreck when they arrive? Why do people ask for drinks and then spit them out instead of the other way around? How does anyone in Rimmer's audience understand what he's saying? These are just a few of the examples.
Now, you might say I should just turn my brain off and enjoy it as a silly bit of nonsense (after masterful episodes like Better Than Life, Thanks for the Memory and Queeg?). Okay, fair enough, I'll play. It's still not that funny. The one and only joke is still me watching the show's editor rewind footage. Oh look, there's a sausage coming out of that woman's mouth! Haha. No, it's stupid. It's a stupid episode.
CHARACTERS
Robert Llewelyn is still figuring out how he's going to play Kryten, but I'm already enjoying his presence. This early version of his Kryten is much more shy and robotic than the sassy mom he becomes later on. Almost childlike, even. It adds something different into the mix and changes up the crew's overall dynamics quite heavily. A lot of the edges between them are sanded off and the overall vibe is more relaxed.
The Cat - after settling into the role of "baby brother" for Rimmer and Lister in Series II - is now reinvented as Lister's partner in crime. Danny John-Jules still gives the role his natural charisma, but all of the Cat's quirks have disappeared, even the high pitch of his voice. So he's just a very vain and fashionable bloke now. I used to say the Cat was very annoying, and I stand by that. But this feels like an overreaction when they already hit the sweet spot for him in Series II.
Lister has somehow gone from a slobby janitor to a self-made punk icon. I'm not sure what to make of that. I can't say it's good or bad, it's just a fascinating change of approach. It does make it feel like there's been a time skip of at least three years or so. Everyone's a bit more spiffy and confident with expressing themselves.
What absolutely does not work is the Rimmer redesign. I refuse to believe that Rimmer would stop wearing his JMC uniform under any circumstances, nor is the bright green tunic a patch on his original outfit. That beige military shirt and tie was so perfectly Rimmer. It captured that snooty prefect quality of him so well.
This is the first episode where Rimmer and Lister don't have any meaningful exchanges (they only share dialogue in one scene), which might actually be the most significant shift in the experience of watching a Red Dwarf episode. Rimmer and Lister were pretty much the main event up to now, yet in this new variation, they're just two of the crew. I suppose it shows how confident the writers were about this approach. Or it was because Barrie and Charles had fallen out with one another. Who knows?
NOTES
- As I mentioned, it was Doug Naylor who pushed for the 'reboot'. It was also his idea to bring back Kryten. Doug's willingness to reinvent the series will become a much bigger trend after Rob Grant (the "continuity Nazi") leaves.
- I can't stand the new interior of Red Dwarf. The murky lighting, the dirty yellowing walls, the lack of symmetry. It's like they're living in the ship's crappy bowels now.
- The first appearance of Starbug!
- How is Rimmer qualified to give an exam? Shouldn't Holly be the one? And speaking of Holly, how come she couldn't immediately tell Lister and the Cat what happened to Starbug? We do see her travel to the past on Starbug, so did she somehow transfer herself away from the hard drive on Red Dwarf while she did it?
- There's a lot of noticeable ADR and greenscreening in this episode.
- The little moment where Lister reflects on being home was very sweet, but unfortunately it's never brought up again.
- Lister comments that if he stayed, he'd have to relive his puberty. This actually happened in the novelisation.
- Lister suggests that he'd eventually be reduced to a sperm. But who would give birth to Lister in 1990s London/Nodnol?
- The opening narration explains that Jim and Bexley's age began to accelerate rapidly after being born, becoming 18 in three days. Lister had to return them to their own universe. Although the text doesn't say how old they were when they returned, and one of them was supposed to die at 25... I wonder how that played out?
- It's also explained that Kryten had crashed his space bike, and Lister repaired him at the cost of his original personality.
- Given that Holly's original face was based on the greatest lover who ever lived, I wonder if he thought Hilly outdid that man, and that's why he changed his face.
CAT: "Hell no! I don't even care about you!"
SMEG OFF!
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