Red Dwarf

You might be seeing a lot of science fiction television shows in the first few weeks. Today's review is of one of my favourite comedies on British television. Starting in 1988 and continuing up to 2012, the show gained it's cult following based on it's character driven story lines, practical effects and the characters themselves. I discovered it recently, but I had seen snippets of it many times over the years. I had decided to catch up to see what all the fuss is about.

So whats the story; in the 25th century(in episode one) the crew of the earth mining ship red dwarf are all killed after a radiation leak, only one crew member, Lister, survives due to being in stasis and thus outlives the radiation. The only downside, its the year 3,000,000. All alone he only has for company the ships computer Holly, Cat, an evolved descendant of the cat that he was caught with and was placed in stasis for and Rimmer, his ex-roommate and former superior officer, revived as a hologram. They are later joined by an android named Kryton, an all work robot, who later begins developing his own opinions. Together they fly the red dwarf through the galaxy, hoping to find the earth. Along the way they run into various characters and creatures that attempt to destroy them. 

While the story itself may not appeal to the general viewing audience, the characters however do. The characters are so diverse and play hilariously off each other. Lister is the well meaning, often brave, often more clever than he lets on, slob. Cat is narcissistic, self-centered and extravagant, usually seen wearing the most over the top clothing that looks like it should be from the seventies. Rimmer is my favourite, who claims to be more intelligent, brave and capable than he actually is. Nothing goes right for him, in fact when it does go right, he is the first to say "Time for it to go wrong".  He too is egocentric, proud and dim like most of the characters. The highest rank he has is senior officer of fixing food preparation machines. He can be brave, but that is a rarity, much like his ability to think straight. Kryton develops from a tidy, yes man into a swearing, insulting and incapable people person. He can't even say Smeg Head, a fun swear that i try to use more of in my life. 

The coolest part of this show is the story. They go to parallel universes, a place where time is in reverse, historical celebrities fight each other and fight giant puppet monsters.(OK the effects aren't great, but it is way better than CGI). Is it as good as say star trek or doctor who, I say yes. The effects are a tad dated, but the characters are timeless, the jokes stellar. I tell you these jokes will keep you laughing for ages. Each one is different and each one mounts on the previous joke to get better and better each minute.

So that's Red Dwarf, watch out for it soon on Dave if you get the chance. What TV show should I review next that has a cult following. Please comment to let me know.