Timewave isn't a particularly well constructed story, but it's still very refreshing to see lampooning of extreme left-wing ideals in a mainstream television show. The jabs are on point. The jokes? So-so.
PLOT
The crew encounter the SS Enconium, which is on a collision course with an explosive planet. They make contact with the ship and discover that an anti-criticism law exists onboard, forbidding anyone from commenting on the increasingly lunatic behaviour of the Enconium crew.
ANALYSIS
Timewave was met by a somewhat polarized reception on the internet, which is hardly surprising. Unlike Doctor Who, which has increasingly leaned towards the left in the 21st century, Doug Naylor has kept Red Dwarf strictly centrist in its political stance (or lack thereof). And in these times when everyone's politics are often their entire identity, this can be frustrating for people. Heck, it's been frustrating for me! I pretty much dismissed all of Lemons, because I felt uncomfortable with how much the show chewed on Christian beliefs. But poking fun at Christians and their quirks is certainly more socially acceptable in the 2010s than poking fun at the LGBT culture. The thing is, Red Dwarf doesn't really care.
Part of this is because Doug Naylor is simply more set in his ways than many of his contemporaries. He's not tasteless - I'm sure there are many things that he would not make fun of. But I also think it's fair to say that he has not evolved to be protective of things that were not protected from satire back in the 1980s. And I must admit that I like that. Even if he blindly roasts things that he really doesn't know that much about, it's refreshing to see such an old-school mentality in a newer drama. It's not as if he's angrily shouting about 'wokeness' like John Cleese and so many other bitter old comedians. The idea is to simply giggle and make fun of the silliness surrounding the lovey-dovey safe space-obsessed Twitter echo chambers with the same gentle snark that Red Dwarf and other British comedies have always used.
Now the actual question is, does Timewave do it well? And my answer would be... not really, no.
For me, the episode is kept afloat by the fact that I find the premise itself amusing and audacious in today's cultural atmosphere. The performances are okay as well. But the actual jokes and internal logic of the story are pretty weak. We never learn what is the actual underlying issue with the Enconium crew that led to the creation of the anti-criticism law. This means the satire lacks foundation. None of them have any depth. Our heroes are not personally invested in the situation at all (apart from Lister wanting to do the right thing by saving them, and Rimmer's silly obsession with his planet). Zippy threatens to "drain" the Red Dwarf crew's critical faculties with by a machine, which is underexplained (are the Enconium crew being brainwashed?).
It's all very hazy and there isn't a whole lot to connect with. So if you don't get a kick out of the general premise, I can see why Timewave would be a total flop. But if you like seeing the crew's bafflement at 2010s style Twitter culture, it's fairly amusing throughout. Never funny, not particularly well written, but amusing nonetheless.
CHARACTERS
We have two notable guest stars with Johnny Vegas as the Crit Cop, and Jamie Chapman as Ziggy. Vegas is apparently a big Red Dwarf fan in real life, and cherished the oppurtunity to be part of the show. I'm happy for him. He does a fine job with the limited material he gets. However, he does get overshadowed by Chapman, who plays Ziggy like the love child of Ryan Gage's Hitler and Chris Barrie's Low Rimmer. Watch for the way he strokes his duster when he threatens to 'draaaaain' the crew. It's a thing of beauty.
Of the main cast, Rimmer stands out for the Inner Critic scene, which is cut painfully short. I've criticised (ha) Chris Barrie's exaggerated over-the-top performance style for some time now, but the Inner Critic is a sharp reminder that he does have excellent talent and comic timing. His recent failings as Rimmer must either be the result of boredom, or some kind of acting choice that just doesn't gel with me.
The crew are mostly indifferent to the Enconium, but it's Lister who insists repeatedly that criticism has a positive value and who tries to protect the innocent. It's a decent episode when it comes to showing his kindness and pragmatism.
NOTES
- I quite like the random Bride of Frankenstein reference with the critic jars, as well as the James Bond trappings of the Inner Critic.
- Chris Barrie seems to use the same voice for the Inner Critic as he did for Rimmer's crazed self in Quarantine.
- It's weird that the episode is named after something that gets mentioned like once, and exists purely as a plot device to introduce the Enconium.
- Rimmer being placed in a school where he could never be criticised doesn't gel with the rest of his backstory very well.
- Why do the Crit Cop's lackeys not react to his sudden betrayal? Do they just not care? Or maybe they're afraid to criticise him.
- Rimmer's horrified "they're gonna turn us into hippies" is the most genuine Rimmery thing he's said in all the Dave era.
- The subversion of the Space Corps directives joke is quite funny.
- Rimmer decries a cheap "Minervan" machine. The question is, what exactly is Minerva in this context? And why would Rimmer mention that instead of something more immediately recognisable like Ganymede, Io, Mimas etc? It’s likely that Doug simply got confused and thought that Minerva was a moon because, y’know, Roman goddess. But that still doesn’t answer why he’d pick that over a more famous name. According to Wikipedia, Pluto would’ve been named Minerva if someone hadn’t pointed out that the name had been used for an asteroid. So maybe Doug’s going for some sneaky worldbuilding here, and suggesting that Pluto finally got its rightful name all these years later? Either that, or Rimmer is holding a centuries-old grudge against a shop he once visited on a passing asteroid.
- The Cat jokes that Lister's Om song could go platinum on the Enconium.
- The drive plate accident from the first episode is mentioned twice.
- Kryten irritatedly brings up Rimmer's collection of Napoleonic soldiers, which we saw in Marooned.
- Rimmer mentions his brother Howard, whom we saw in Trojan.
- Yvonne McGruder is mentioned.
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