Back in the Red is a convoluted, fanwanky mega mess. Still, you've got to laugh, haven't you?
PLOT
Lister and co discover that Kryten's nanobots (or Holly) have cloned the original crew of Red Dwarf for some reason, and they promptly put our heroes on trial. For some reason. Now, the mission is to escape for some reason, before Captain Hollister finds everyone guilty and sentences them into the ship's feared brig. Which it has. For some reason.
ANALYSIS
I'll say this: it feels like Red Dwarf again. Even if a lot of the jokes are lame and nothing about the story makes any sense, just being back onboard the little rouge one with Mac McDonald, Chris Barrie and Norman Lovett does a lot to course correct the tepid tone of series 7. Things like Rimmer talking about wanting to become an officer, the skutters, the luck virus, they all bring a warm feeling to my heart. Is it totally shameless? Yes. There's more references crammed in here than a Marvel movie fanfiction. But I've always been fond of the very early style of Dwarf - not just series 1 and 2 but the books - and Back in the Red does make me feel like I'm back in that world.
The jokes that land, land a lot harder than the ones in series 7. There's some narrative cleverness in having the latter half of the story take place in a simulation (with the luck virus as a red herring for how implausible it gets). Bringing back a version of Rimmer without his development results in some interesting moments, and returns to us the weaselly bastard that we all fell in love with. Smaller details like bringing back the bunk scenes, and having the design of the Red Dwarf's interior reflect both the series 1-2 and 3-5 versions (keeping intact the idea that they moved from one part of the ship to another) are greatly appreciated.
I just really really wish that the plot wasn't so railroaded. By that I mean the need to have the characters end up in some particular situation overrides any sort of internal logic. Why is Hollister such a git to them? Wouldn't Lister's experiences be invaluable to a crew that finds themselves lost in deep space? And why does Rimmer betray Lister? I know he's scum, but he has literally nothing to gain from it. The conversation goes "I'm betraying you because I need you to give me more info." "I'm not giving you more info." "Haha but I don't need the info." ... What??
If Rimmer had mentioned that helping Lister might hurt his career, then maybe I'd believe it, but it's never brought up as a reason and he winds up joining them anyway. So why'd he screw them over in the first place??
Why do the Cat, Kryten and Holly end up in the Tank? The Cat's not even related to the JMC, and Kryten and Holly are artificial. Surely it would be more prudent to examine them instead. What is prison supposed to do for them?
How come no one knows about the Tank?? Why is there a Tank??
These are only the biggest offenders. The smallest is a man who works for the post office.
CHARACTERS
You know, having a mature Lister meet an immature Rimmer might have been more interesting if Craig Charles wasn't committed to reviving his 1980s performance style. That first bunk scene was so bad. All the gurning and childish attempts at ticking Rimmer off... it's accurate, sure, but it's also Lister at his least likable. So I wasn't a fan of that. I'd rather they did the opposite. Have Rimmer be the one who's irritating, while Lister is flippant, having seen it all before. Which drives Rimmer spare.
Chloe Annette has pretty much been reduced to 'neurotic girl', but ironically, she's a lot funnier for it. She's really wonderful at bewildered reactions and outlandish behaviour. More so than anyone in the main cast outside of Barrie. I loved how committed she was to "the Dibbley family" (the only worthwhile thing about that bit, except for maybe the Dibbley skutters).
Mac McDonald has grown on me. I don't think I find him funny, per se, but there's just something comfortably familiar about Hollister's presence and how he very clearly just wants Lister and Rimmer out of his life.
I can't believe restoring Kryten to factory settings only lasted a scene. They should've scrapped all the nonsense about him being a woman and given us more of that. Maybe even go all the way and have him develop a new personality from scratch (with maybe some of his memories returning over time so we don't lose the old Kryten entirely):
NOTES
- I hate that they start with a non sequitur flashforward. It completely spoils Rimmer's wonderful return in the bunkroom later.
- Kochanski has a brand new hair color and cute jumpsuit. The least smeggy continuity error.
- Holly's charades were very funny up until he started doing charades.
- Doug really needs to stop interrupting the tension with overlong comedic lines that nobody would ever say.
- The 'sickbags on standby' gag is one of my favourites. I burst out laughing.
- Aside from the Canaries stuff in the next few episodes, what do Lister and Rimmer actually do in prison? We see them walking back into a cell after a long, hard day, but it's never explained.
- I like Hollister's funky watch.
- The naked Kryten gag was originally intended for series 3, but scrapped.
- The JMC uniform redesign is okay, but lacks the 'snooty prefect' quality of the originals.
- The contents of Rimmer's virus vials are very inconsistent from scene to scene.
- Kryten's British accent is a reference to David Ross (who was actually invited to cameo as the reformatted Kryten, which would have been brilliant).
- I'm irrationally annoyed that the one woman at the captain's dinner that Rimmer does not bonk is the cutest one.
- How on Io can Rimmer operate the AR machine, and figure out how to delete parts of it?
- What the actual hell is that stopmotion scene?
- Another bit of nonsense: Kryten suggests they recruit Rimmer, because he's seen the confidential files and can help them escape. The confidential files that he got from Lister... who claimed to have seen them all. Also, Holly???
- For some reason, Kochanski is under the impression that the crew picked her up after Red Dwarf was rediscovered... which occurred in the previous episode!
- Rimmer mentions that his father's sperm had an alibi for the night he was conceived. Unintentionally foreshadowing The Beginning.
(deep breath)
- Back in the Red is a direct continuation of the storyline that began in Epideme.
- Rimmer's stinginess with money was previously mentioned in Marooned.
- Lister mentions Yvonne McGruder, the only woman Rimmer ever had sex with.
- Bob the Skutter previously appeared in The Last Day.
- Lister and Kryten reference Lister's pregnancy in Parallel Universe.
- The first appearances of Chen, Selby and Captain Hollister since series 1 and 2, respectively.
- Lister recaps the events of The End to Rimmer.
- Kryten tells Kochanski his theory that the nanobots have always looked after them, using the events of Legion as a justification.
- The ship's counsellor has the same personality that Rimmer portrayed in Queeg.
- The luck and sexual magnetism viruses were established in Quarantine, and Holly mentions those events to Rimmer.
- Rimmer mentions wanting to exorcise his father's approval, which was established in Better than Life.
- Using info from Holly, Rimmer tries to impress Hollister's guests with theories about Future Echoes and Backwards universes.
- The Cat tells Yasmin Bannerman that he's "smooth, with a capital smoo", the same thing he said in Waiting for God.
- Lister and the others tell Rimmer about his holographic self.
- The Dibbley family disguise is a callback to Back to Reality.
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