DNA completes Red Dwarf's transmogrification into an outlandish pop culture-oriented Star Trek parody.
PLOT
The crew stumbles on a device that can alter anything on a genetic level. Through a freak accident, Kryten is turned into a human and has to decide whether his ultimate wish has been worth it all these years.
ANALYSIS
For the first half of DNA, I was really struck by how closely it's come to resemble typical sci-fi action adventure dramas. The crew at their posts, rattling off sequences of data. The exploration of an alien environment. Some weird technology that wreaks havoc. A question about the value of discovering humanity artificially. We've come a long way from the "Steptoe and Son in Space" sitcom roots of the show. In the past, I've criticised this development as robbing the show of its originality and character drama. But on this particular rewatch, I think I've come to terms with the fact that while the new adventure formula may not be as immediately interesting as watching Lister and company coping with their isolation, the show is still extremely inventive and exciting in how it's done. And as this superb episode proves, they're still exploring new avenues with the characters.
Data from Star Trek specifically requested not to be turned into a human when he had the oppurtunity, because he felt it would cheapen the journey. Here, we see that potential scenario play out. Kryten seemingly achieves everything he's ever wanted. But on a psychological level, he is still a mechanoid. And of all people, it's Lister who finds the change most revolting and who advocates for being what you're born as, which I thought was very interesting. Rimmer even calls him out for having a "knee-jerk techno-fear reaction". A modern parallel could be made for the trans movement. Lister was the one who discovered and forcefully brought out the humanity in Kryten, leading him to accept a different side to his nature. Yet when Kryten embraces a physical change to match that nature, Lister suddenly pulls back. The lesson seemingly being that a symbiosis can be found between your soul and the body you've been given in life. Kryten certainly has a human soul, but his mechanoid case (so to speak) is also a vital part of who he is. Both making up the uniqueness that is Kryten. That's something to think about.
The comedy is of a high caliber throughout, with the final act parodying 1980s action movies being a particular highlight. Kryten going through various problems trying to understand his new human body is also very funny, and I loved seeing Robert Llewelyn without his makeup. I think he's a very expressive actor, and so having his facial features 'unleashed' greatly added to the comedy.
CHARACTERS
Everyone here is on tip-top form, with Rimmer being maybe the only one who gets slightly left out (though he does have one great gag where he and Kryten shuffle around the corridors awkwardly to make sure he's protected at all times). The Cat is at his most lovably selfish, repeatedly disabling the control room so he can get his hairdo ready for potential alien women. The sequence of him pridefully trying to rescue Lister and just making the situation worse and worse was classic too. Hattie Hayridge has a wonderful blush when talking about Kryten definitely being human now... in all ways!
I think the events we see here are a good explanation for why Kryten's attempts to be more human are a little tempered in later episodes. Perhaps this story should have been aired even earlier, because it does a good job justifying Kryten's willingness to both evolve and continue serving the crew at the same time. He finds a kind of inner balance.
Has Lister ever been more classist than he is here? We find out that he disdains the upper class on principle, and is full of embarrassment for having being tempted to enter a wine shop. It's not necessarily new information (fits right in with his younger self's obsession with crypto-fascists), but it does paint him as being perhaps not as dissimilar to Rimmer as we once thought. He wasn't just rebelling against Rimmer because Rimmer is a smeghead, but because he's as stuck in his ways and proud of it as Rimmer is. They're both conservatives who just happen to be on opposing sides.
NOTES
- I like how ambiguous the origins of the ship are. The only real clue we discover is that its previous occupants were human (in-keeping with the show's theme of no aliens). However, Kryten states that it's much more advanced than anything they know. This makes total sense - we are three million years in the future after all - but usually we encounter ships and facilities that are either contemporary with Lister/Rimmer or only slightly in the future. It's neat to find something that feels so alien.
- I still hate the idea of Lister and Rimmer knowing how to run the ship properly. I don't think it's in-character. I'll begrudgingly accept Starbug, but not the sight of them rattling off numbers in front of monitors. It's so crypto-fascist.
- There's something really cool about Holly speaking in the alien computer's voice. Felt so dramatic.
- I want to know who the heck is broadcasting Jazz FM for Kryten to pick up three million years in the future. Or is it ancient radio signals and they're just moving really slowly?
- Rimmer trying to clone a new body out of dandruff is a plot point reused from the unfinished script Bodysnatcher.
- I hope furries have accepted "Nutkin" into their community and celebrate him as an icon.
- There should be a whole episode where Kryten goes around with Spare Head 3 (although I think his spare heads get blown up at some point. Alas).
- Lister comments that it has been exactly a year since the events of Polymorph, where they also fought a monster made from his food.
- Rimmer puts an end to the "Aliens!" gag by denouncing them out of fear of Glen Miller being returned.
LISTER: "You shouldn't be getting erotic thoughts about electrical appliances."
KRYTEN: "It was a triple-bag easy-glide vac with turbo-suction and a self-emptying dustbag..."
LISTER: "Kryten, I don't care what model it was! No vacuum cleaner should give a human being a double Polaroid!"
A really fun adventure with a lot of heart and goofy moments. Especially if you're an 80s action nerd and have seen Die Hard 2 and Robocop.
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