Give & Take is an amusing little time travel plot with some good twists, but it's not particularly memorable or interesting.
PLOT
After an encounter with a deranged medi-bot, Lister is left with no kidneys, so he's forced to plead for one from the Cat. Meanwhile, the crew befriend a portable snacks dispenser.
ANALYSIS
I was reminded of White Hole as I watched this episode. White Hole is a perfectly serviceable story, yet for some reason it just doesn't engage me at all. The crew encounter an obstacle, they solve it, the end. It's the same here. We know no one is going to die, so the fact that the whole episode hangs on whether Lister can get a new kidney or not just isn't enough.
At one point, things did threaten to get interesting when the Cat became genuinely hurt by Lister's inability to accept how selfish he is. I thought that was some terrific insight into the way the Cat thinks. More could have been done with that storyline to really dig into what the Cat values about his friends, because he clearly does care what Lister thinks of him. It's a paradox. He needs Lister alive to appreciate him but he also needs to be appreciated more than he needs Lister to be alive. The Cat is so underdeveloped and there's clearly a wealth of material there, so why not dig deeper?
Instead they go for this dull time loop story. Unlike something like Stasis Leak (which at least had some kind of conflict going on between Rimmer and Lister) or Samsara (where the episode was all about mystery and solving clues), here there's practically nothing to hold your attention. And as many fans have pointed out, some of the red herrings are a little too red herring-y. Whose fresh kidneys did Asclepius have lying around? And why was Asclepius sewing Lister up? The only plausible explanation is that Asclepius was just sewing Lister because he's insane and maybe he brought the kidneys out of storage for... some reason... but that's very weak. Also, wouldn't Kryten have noticed the dialysis chip already being in Lister? Does he have two chips now? Does he get an extra chip with each time loop?
Snacky's little subplot was pretty endearing though. His 1960s sci-fi design is a cute throwback, and the therapy session between him and Rimmer was very funny. Of course, much like Hoguey the Roguey, he is mysteriously never seen again. I wonder what becomes of these one-off guest stars between episodes. Does some mysterious foe assassinate them? Maybe it's an insane version of Kochanski living in the bowels of the ship.
CHARACTERS
It's rare that we get anything substantial at all about the Cat, so I treasure seeing him react to Lister's plight. What's really great about it is that Danny doesn't play it much for comedy. The Cat is comically selfish, yes, but his shocked reaction towards Lister expecting him to do the right thing seems very real. Whether that hides the Cat's guilt about his inability to look past his pride and do the right thing or whether it shows the Cat wants to be loved no matter what is nicely ambiguous.
Asclepius is kinda creepy, I suppose, but he's creepy in such a stereotypical and goofy way that I wasn't really intimidated by him. To be fair, there is a precedent with characters like professor Landstrom, but then I wasn't really intimidated by her either. I suppose what I'm saying is, bring back Hudzen-10 style baddies.
NOTES
- The Asclepius station bears a startling resemblance to Sark's ship from the original Tron movie.
- Lister seems to have forgotten about Kryten's ability to trash memory files, despite it being a major plot point in Tikka to Ride. Then again, Lister probably trashed that memory with alcohol.
- Kryten mistaking Rimmer's pompous description of him as a toilet droid for a massive compliment was adorable.
- Why did Snacky mention that he once served one of Rimmer's Red Dwarf crewmates? It sounds like a line that would lead into something, but they never bring it up again.
- The whole routine of getting the Cat's consent is pretty pointless since they end up forcibly drugging him anyway, but it's amusing enough for me to forgive.
- According to Snacky, Romero could only go back 30 years. So the guy spent 30 years trying to go back in time and not guessing that this was going to end up with him dying? What an idiot.
- If Lister is so groggy from losing his kidneys that he spent two days asleep, how did he find the energy to get up and explore the station?
- 'Captain Bollocks' is a reference to a 1990s Red Dwarf blooper.
- Stasis booths were previously used for time travel in Stasis Leak. I'm surprised they didn't mention that.
- Kryten reminds Lister that he's responsible for the Cat people's existence.
- Rimmer recounts the events of The Beginning to Snacky.
The ending gag was frustrating. It's actually a really great joke, but they cut it off so early you don't have time to take it in and laugh.
CONCLUSION
It's fine. It's a perfectly decent watch. I just can't muster about any feelings about it, is all.
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