The Inquisitor ranks highly on atmosphere and character work, but gets overcomplicated for my tastes.
PLOT
A time-travelling android called the Inquisitor decides to judge the Red Dwarf crew on their worthiness to exist, judging Lister and Kryten guilty for wasting their lives. Before he can erase their existence, however, a future version of Kryten rescues them and is killed thereafter. It's up to Lister to find a way to survive in the new timeline and defeat the Inquisitor for good.
ANALYSIS
We put Rimmer on trial in Justice - now it's time for the rest of the crew! And Rimmer again, for a laugh. That seems to be the main inspiration for this episode. But credit where credit is due, The Inquisitor makes a much stronger impact with its villain and semi-gothic tone. Given that he targets the crew specifically for being slackers, you'd be forgiven for believing that our "heroes" really are doomed this time. A more appropriate, fitting threat to their existence is hard to think of. I dare say this story could have been used as the show's finale, with only a few changes. The inquisition sums up each character fairly well: Rimmer is stunted in his growth by neurosis, the Cat is vain, Kryten surrenders his individuality to serve and Lister rejects authority.
I felt Kryten's trial was the most interesting. The argument that Kryten hasn't led a worthwhile life because his changes have all been induced by Lister was a sobering one, especially since it's Kryten himself who presented it. Has the breaking of his program been merely another example of servitude all along...? I also liked how Kryten questions why the Inquisitor feels compelled to judge humans. We never do get an answer, which might be for the best.
It's when Lister and Kryten escape that the narrative begins to slip away from me. Kryten's future self saving Kryten establishes a bootstrap paradox, a time loop. But then the time loop is broken (Kryten rescuing them leads to the Inquisitor being stopped) by the events that make up the time loop. It's pretty nonsensical.
Then we learn that Lister and Kryten's removal from history has caused others to take their place, except in Lister's case it's not another person, just another sperm who grew up to be an identical version of him (which would render the Inquisitor's entire modus operandi moot). And in Kryten's case, it's another mechanoid that inexplicably does not have the same appearance as Kryten. I suppose they hadn't established that his looks were given to a whole line of them at this point.
Point is that the alternate timeline is boring, because all it amounts to is a pair of new (bad) actors cosplaying as the original Lister and Kryten, while Rimmer and the Cat act far too confused and never ask why two people are wandering around dressed as their friends.
Also, the Inquisitor goes from being practically omnipotent in the early scenes to running around with the aim of a Stormtrooper. Why can't he just possess Lister again? Why does it take so long to erase Lister and Kryten when he did it to Thomas Allman in seconds?
It's a jumbled mess, and I'm not surprised that new director Juliet May became hopelessly confused (resulting in Grant Naylor replacing her halfway through the season). Fortunately, the episode ends on a high note with a fantastic confrontation scene between Lister and the Inquisitor. This is the best of Lister. Craig normally plays him as being very irreverent and forgiving. So when Lister is angry and cold, it really stands out. he ends up being more intimidating than the Inquisitor himself. And the direction (whether by May or Grant Naylor) is just fantastic in that scene, full of cinematic flair and tension.
CHARACTERS
Although the entire crew is judged, the focus is primarily on Lister. And it's a very strong episode for him. Putting aside all that I've already talked about, I love Lister's steadfast refusal to justify himself. Given that the Inquisitor is his mirror image (in the trial scene), it's clear that he knows he could've accomplished much more with his life. And maybe he is slightly bothered by that, but Lister is fundamentally someone who values people for their nature, not their accomplishments (as we saw with Rimmer in Dimension Jump and Holoship). Lister would be kind to a pile of dirt if it was a sweet pile of dirt. It's one of his most endearing qualities. Despite this tremendously awful situation, the only thing that really gets under Lister's skin is that it's his fault Kryten is afraid to die. If that doesn't make one 'aww', I don't know what will. And in the end, Lister defeats the Inquisitor by using his own darkness against him. If the Inquisitor hadn't insisted on attacking Lister, he would have been fine.
Jack Docherty puts in a decent performance, although his constant dramatic growling got on my nerves. I liked him mostly for his physicality. He could be both intense and threatening, but also slightly funny when the scene demanded it.
It's amusing that Rimmer defends himself on the grounds that his childhood wrecked any chance of having a future, when we already know from Ace that this isn't true. How deluded narcissism can be...
The Cat's trial might be my favourite Cat scene up to this point. It's so stupid yet so lovable at the same time. Been a long time since I've really liked Cat in the show. Hopefully it's a trend that continues! He was very watered down in series 3-4 (and I despised him in series 1). Here, it feels more like series 2. The voice is there, the ego is there, the jokes are there, but it's not overplayed either.
NOTES
- Much like the previous episode, the story opens with the crew flying around on Starbug for no apparent reason. I wonder if Grant Naylor were already planning to transition the show to Starbug at the time? There's no real reason why these scenes couldn't have taken place on Red Dwarf.
- Holly gets no jokes at all anymore. It's sad.
- Llewelyn's delivery of "terr-orrrrr" is amazing. I love him so much.
- This is the first time the ship's brig has been mentioned. It'll become a central location in series 8.
- Kryten's inability to cope with the sight of a detached robotic arm was very funny.
- Lister proves he knows Rimmer by reciting the story about Rimmer's bout on the Samaritan switchboard from The Last Day.
- Lister reveals that Rimmer signs all his letters as "Arnold Rimmer BSC", the BSC standing for 'Bronze Swimming Certificate'. This was established in the novel Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers.
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