A few teething errors aside, Bodysnatcher would've made a strong episode, and even in script form is better than a lot of series 1.
PLOT
After being rejected by Lister, Rimmer suffers a mental breakdown and starts stealing pieces of Lister's hair to produce a clone body for himself, convinced that he is destined to become the next evolution of mankind.
ANALYSIS
I went into this assuming it'd be the discarded dregs of series 1, and it was really anything but. The pacing is very odd. There's several time jumps, and the episode seems unclear on what it wants its main storyline to actually be about. Still, the overall concept of showing how Lister and Rimmer are settling in to their new lives is very potent and is explored in much greater depth here than it actually was onscreen. I found Rimmer's existential wondering about why they're the last humans and what their purpose could be extremely interesting, as well as their different attempts at coping. Rimmer's gradual breakdown over the course of the episode and how it affects Lister was done believably enough and would have helped to flesh Rimmer's personality out if we saw it in the show.
At the same time, why Lister still needs Rimmer and how Lister feels about himself is also explored. The fact that Lister treats his own holographic duplicate in the same abusive way Rimmer usually treats him is astonishingly brilliant writing. They're not so different. I also appreciated that we do get a scene where Lister genuinely argues for permanently switching Rimmer off. In the show, Rimmer's committed so many insane shenanigans that his continued survival is almost a running gag. His actions here are not so different from his lunacy in Bodyswap. But if this episode actually existed and we had a solid reason for why Lister endures his bouts of madness, I might have been more forgiving of that one.
CHARACTERS
There's not much to say about Holly and the Cat. I get the impression this script was written prior to Norman Lovett's casting, or at least before he had a chance to provide some creative input, because there are no jokes for Holly whatsoever. He is a non-presence. Meanwhile, the Cat has a few brief scenes, but no interaction with the others (although I do like how he hisses at Rimmer in Lister's defence, like a pet). It's completely the Rimmer and Lister show, which apparently was the original concept for Red Dwarf anyway (Steptoe and Son in space).
Chris Barrie voices everyone, and while his impressions aren't always spot-on, they're at least entertaining and lively. The Cat amused me the most. He sounds so American and sleazy. Obviously all of Rimmer's lines are spot-on. Ironically, it's probably a better performance than Barrie would have given in 1988, given how much more inexperienced he was back then.
It really is quite impressive how much depth the script gives to Rimmer and Lister. Rimmer's hypocrisy in claiming that Lister is unable to cope with the situation is so deliciously fantastic, given how apart he comes from trying to avoid his own death. The fact that he's not even real is addressed. Why the two of them have made such a strong team despite their own inadequacies is proven decisively. On their own, they're completely lost. Together, they make one semi-functional human.
NOTES
- This script was unfinished until Rob Grant and Doug Naylor reunited in 2007 to complete it for a reconstruction, marking their only Red Dwarf collaboration since 1992.
- Bodysnatcher was written to take place shortly after the events of The End.
- The skutters are much more heavily featured in this script than in any episode, due to the props malfunctioning on set.
- Rimmer mentions the sonic screwdriver from Doctor Who.
- There doesn't seem to be any setup to Rimmer stealing Lister's hair. I wonder if a scene is missing. Rimmer goes from teaching the skutters the alphabet to suddenly having them pluck Lister bald.
- Did Rimmer really write a whole novel for his last words?? How on earth did he find the time? Did he do it when he was still alive?? Probably...
- Holly claims that Rimmer "booked" the other personality discs out of the databanks. Not sure what that means. Did he erase the rest of the crew? What a smeghead.
- Why the two versions of Lister can't sleep in separate quarters to avoid the snoring is never explained.
- On the audio commentary, Grant Naylor compliment the finished script as being stronger than Balance of Power and Waiting for God.
- Chris Barrie's voice for the alarm clock and the Medibot is an impersonation of Tony Hawks.
THANKS FOR THE MEMORY
Certain jokes and ideas are reused in other episodes.
- The Cat's "all of this is mine" monologue appears in Confidence and Paranoia.
- The awooga siren mentioned by Rimmer appears in Marooned.
- The concept of a dopplegänger hologram, Lister's favourite cartoon character Mugs Murphy and Rimmer arriving for his deactivation in a white uniform are used in Me2.
- The voice-activated toilet gag is used in Balance of Power.
- The cheap medibot makes an appearance in Fathers and Suns.
- The talking alarm clock is repurposed into Talkie Toaster.
- The joke about Rimmer having time to eat a pizza in-between his short amounts of sex is used in Thanks for the Memory.
- The concept of Rimmerworld being populated by Rimmer clones is used in Rimmerworld.
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