Whether you get anything out of Dimension Jump depends entirely on how funny you find Chris Barrie's latest shtick.
PLOT
Rimmer's alternate reality self "Ace" Rimmer travels into our dimension and accidentally crashes into Starbug, causing it to crash on a nearby moon. Ace decides to go rescue the crew, but ends up in a rivalry with our version of Rimmer.
ANALYSIS
Given Ace's massive popularity within the fandom, it feels almost heretical to say anything negative about his debut episode. And to be fair, it's not like I've got anything that bad in mind anyway. The only thing to say it's that it's not the huge masterpiece that some make it out to be. What it is is what it was always meant to be - an excuse for Barrie to stretch his comedic legs a bit and do something different. The entire script is built solely around the joke that he's playing the opposite of his regular character. There's a token attempt to say something meaningful about Rimmer by revealing that Ace was the version who got less oppurtunities in life than our Rimmer did. And I do appreciate that.
But let's be fair, it's mostly just about Barrie poncing up and down the corridors in a pulp action hero costume, looking like a cross between Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. It's a bit flimsy, is what I'm saying. Maybe I've just been spoiled by episodes like The Last Day and DNA (and almost all of series 2) where the show is really firing on all cylinders, being action-packed, extremely funny and meaningful all at once. I'm constantly wanting Red Dwarf to be the epoch of comedy as opposed to just a laidback fun 25 minutes with friends. That's on me, I'll admit it. But I did feel my attention wavering a little bit whenever Ace was not onscreen, because there just wasn't much of anything else going on worth noticing. I really liked the early skit where the crew go fishing without Rimmer, but they spend the rest of the episode on Starbug waiting to find Ace, complaining about/cheering on Ace, and then sitting around while the Cat has surgery. I think this is something the book actually did a lot better, where Ace arrived in the midst of a massive space battle and there was just way more in general happening to keep the tension going. Not to mention Stoke Me A Clipper with its iconic Nazi segment. Ah well, it's still good for what it is... Barrie poncing up and down the corridors in a pulp action hero costume etc etc.
CHARACTERS
The dual lesson of learning from your defeats and also that criticism can be very healthy for you (more of that when we get to Timewave) are excellent, especially for the child portion of the audience. Dimension Jump is a pretty definitive statement on Rimmer being largely responsible for his own messed up life. Ace had the same awful childhood as our Arnold, but built himself into a complete success. So if you're a crappy person, there's really no excuse. He has never been more pitiable. From being ditched by his friends to failing to drop kippers on Ace, he's a sad, pathetic figure who can't bring himself to escape the cycle of pride and self-loathing.
It goes without saying, but Barrie really is effortlessly charismatic here. Ace is a total cartoon, a perfect hero in every way, but we're never invited to laugh at him. He really is likable enough to where you can believe that most people would be happy to have him around in spite of how inadequate he may make them feel. The closest Ace gets to openly showing any negativity is with his disappointment at our Rimmer's lack of survival skills, but he never puts Arnold down over it. Only in a private conversation to Lister does he call Arnold a maggot, and it's only due to Arnold being "bitter and warped". The thing is that Ace would probably be absolutely fine with his other self if only Arnold was willing to evolve. It shows a level of emotional depth to Ace that - despite being a caricature of a hero - makes him someone to root for.
NOTES
- Simon Gaffney and Kalli Greenwood reprise their roles as Young Rimmer and Rimmer's mom, respectively, from Polymorph (Gaffney also appeared in Timeslides).
- I like how Young Rimmer's outfit is similar in design to his adult self. That's a nice bit of visual continuity.
- Interesting that Young Rimmer uses the phrase "they was going to make one out of me!". I don't know much about British accents, but he's obviously less posh than his adult self (although that's probably down to the actor).
- Lister's parallel universe self wears glasses. I wonder if our Lister actually needs them to, but is ignoring the issue. I wouldn't be surprised.
- The character of Admiral Tranter (played here by Robert Llewelyn) is expanded considerably in the Backwards novel, where he is depicted as a much more antagonistic figure.
- Tranter states that he's had a happy marriage for 35 years. Llewelyn was 35 years old at the time. Therefore, Tranter must be at least 53 (which would actually tally with his novel counterpart).
- Barrie strangely pronounces the word 'rabid' with an American accent. 'Ray-bid'.
- As an Estonian, I must insist that our wines are not to be tasted.
- Originally, the episode was to end with Rimmer dropping the kippers on Ace's head. However, for some reason they decided this wasn't funny, so in the final cut, the kippers inexplicably fail to drop.
- I love the jazzy incidental music that accompanies Ace's first appearance.
- Rimmer's childhood nickname "Bonehead" (scribbled on his back in the flashback) was previously mentioned in Kryten and Polymorph, and also scribbled onto his nameplate in Timeslides.
- Rimmer asked Lister call him Ace in front of women, in Kryten.
- Kryten reminds Rimmer that he passed the Starbug driving test, as seen in Backwards.
- Rimmer's love of Reggie Wilson and 20th century telephone poles (mentioned in Camille) rears its head again.
- The alternate Lister is married to Kochanski, and has twin sons named Jim and Bexley. Our Lister also had twin sons named Jim and Bexley, as seen in Parallel Universe.
RIMMER: "Come on, you bores! Let's do something. How about we all sing campfire songs? Kumbaya, my Lord, Kumbayaaaaa -- Everyone! Kryten! -- Kumbaya, Kumbayaaaaa.
SMEG OFF!
Lister and Ace's victory dance is so cringy.
CONCLUSION
It's good fun, with a strong moral lesson at its core. I don't idolize Ace like some of the fandom, though.
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