Dear Dave might be the most disposably sitcom-esque that Red Dwarf has ever been. That is both its greatest strength and weakness.
PLOT
Lister suffers from a bout of depression and finds himself caught in a love triangle with two vending machines. Meanwhile, Rimmer is forced to barter with the computer to avoid being demoted.
ANALYSIS
I'm very fond of 'day in the life of the crew' style episodes like Balance of Power and The Last Day, where it's mostly just about them fooling around and the story is driven entirely by their interactions. It's when we really get to see how unique and wonderful they are, and how talented the writers can be in composing paragraph after paragraph of great banter and internal friction for them. A big chunk of what makes Red Dwarf unique is this idea that there's no escape, they're stuck on the ship forever and have to make do, build their own little routines, ways of passing time. Episodes like this allow that side of the show to shine.
That being said... I'm not sure if any episode of Red Dwarf has ever been quite so uneventful. Even Balance had a big rivalry between Rimmer and Lister. Waiting for God had the Cat Priest, Lister pondering over a religious war. Duct Soup had Lister's claustrophobia and Kryten forcing the crew to crawl through the ship. Et cetera et cetera. The best Dear Dave can muster is a minor fuss about Lister possibly being a parent. It's not a bad storyline. Indeed, it even relies on the show's trademark melancholy and black humour about Lister being the last person alive. His desire to find out whether he's contributed to the human race on a genetic level is the kind of strange, obsessive plot point that only Red Dwarf can do. But it's not exactly the highest stakes in the world, is it?
Whether or not Dear Dave works depends entirely on your ability to enjoy Lister and the rest being themselves in the absence of all else.You're not going to finish this episode feeling like anything's been accomplished. Or even that much has happened.
One subplot - if you can even call it that, it's more of a recurring joke - involves Rimmer trying to avoid being demoted by the JMC onboard computer (it can do that?) and having to bribe the medical computer (with what money?) to give him an excuse. For which Kryten has to re-arrange the ship's budget (the ship's what???). It's all very flimsy and nonsensical, but as a series of disconnected sketches, it's fine, I guess.
But my personal favourite part of the episode is the other subplot, the one involving Lister's love triangle with two talking vending machines. It's another example of pure Red Dwarf absurdity, something only this show could really pull off. And it's just really sweet. In only a few minutes, through good acting and writing, the show got me to care about Lister's friendship with this quirky AI, its slightly creepy crush on him, its desire to see more of the world. Really a masterclass in economic character development. And very funny.
Honestly, I cared more about these daft vending machines than whether or not Lister had a baby three million years ago. At least the vending machines were in the here and now! Kryten was right. He should have moved on from the human race. I jest, of course, but that just shows how well Doug handled introducing these new characters. We won't ever see them again, which is honestly a shame, but they add a bit of freshness and life to the old ship, something I'd longed for since series 2.
But yeah, if you're not into the cozy Saturday afternoon type of television, then Dear Dave will most likely be entirely meaningless to you. Even its most dramatic parts are a nothingburger. They could have called it Much Ado About Nothing and it'd be entirely appropriate.
CHARACTERS
I'm glad that Lister's depression has been such a constant theme this season (and in Back to Earth). It's really brought the show back to its roots. Even though it's mostly played for laughs, it does add a somewhat uncomfortable element to his scenes that makes him more real, more tangible as a person. And I think the way Doug wove Kochanski's story into his sadness was very cleverly done. It gives her short-lived era on the show a kind of significance. Series 7 and 8 are not popular season. They depicted Lister at his most flippant, carefree, dumbed down self. But while fans may hate that, for Lister himself they must have been the highlight of his life. He was practically his own version of Ace Rimmer during those years if you really think about it. But now he's shrunken back to a mundane existence, trapped again with Rimmer's anal retentiveness at its worst. That mindset makes the Dave era almost eerie.
Isla Ure portrays the vending machines, and does a brilliant job at giving them distinct personalities. Obviously the accent helps, but still, I couldn't tell it was the same person. Dispenser 34 in particular (Lister's "yandere") had a very charismatic and fun presence. Just the idea of this AI vending machine becoming romantically obsessed with Lister over the years, watching him come and go, observing him fanatically (because what else does she spend her time on?) is such a laugh. I would have loved it if they somehow found a way to keep her around, maybe have her possess all the vending machines to keep track of Lister. It's a joke that could have gone a lot further.
NOTES
- Rimmer doesn't want to become demoted, because only Kryten will obey his orders then... lol wut? When has anyone other than Kryten followed his orders?
- Lister wearing his longjohns underneath the leather jacket is a nice touch.
- I'm seriously confused by the idea of Red Dwarf having some kind of internal economy. How does it have a budget? Where does this money come from? I thought the ship scooped up whatever powers it, produces whatever's needed and the rest is in the cargo decks. What's going on here??
- During the Cat's charades again, Kryten asks if he's being "replaced again". I'm not sure what that is referencing.
- I can't tell if the bunkroom is keyed in or if the background being out of focus makes it look like greenscreen by accident.
LISTER: (after surviving Rimmer's attempt at cheering him up) "I'll continue being suicidal if it's all the same to you."
SMEG OFF!
The Cat's charades game was irritating filler.
CONCLUSION
Some might find it relaxing. Others might find it too relaxing, and go to sleep.
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