Robert Llewelyn, best known to Red Dwarf fans as the android Kryten, has confessed on KTSC-TV in Seattle that the BBC has commissioned a one-hour special of Red Dwarf to film in October. For those keeping track, Red Dwarf hasn't been on television since 1999.This may be a mistake. On one hand, eight seasons of the show was beating a dead horse. It stopped being good after season three. On the other hand, nine years is certainly enough time for creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor (or whomever they designate) to write an hour's worth of new quality material.
It's also possible that enough of a nostalgia vibe would exist to make the one-hour special successful. I call it the Star Wars effect. It is where bad entertainment is accepted as good and sells like mad because a certain name is attached to it (see Star Wars Episode IV: The Phantom Menace for a good example. Or better yet, don't).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-26-2008 @ 12:45PM
Dan said...
Red Dwarf stopped being good after series 5 (arguably series 6). Its creative peak was definitely between series 3 and 5, though. Series 7 and 8 were atrocious, thanks to a co-creator leaving, the temporary loss of Rimmer, the unwanted arrival of Kochanski, and the premise-destroying decision to resurrect the dead crew. If they DO bring it back (and Llewellyn has been saying similar things every few months just for something to say since '99), I hope they take it back to the very beginning, end the story once and for all (go back to Earth and have Lister go to Fiji) and then never look back.
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8-26-2008 @ 1:03PM
sean tubbs said...
I would disagree the show stopped being good after three seasons. It kept evolving and continued to be interesting to me at least. The final season, which deserves points for taking the huge risk of putting all the characters in prison on board a resurrected Red Dwarf, ended on a terrible cliff-hanger. In general, the show took a lot of creative risks with format over its eight seasons, and for that the creators should be commended.
Also, it's fairly common for shows to come back from the dead in the UK, unlike in the US.
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8-26-2008 @ 4:14PM
Lenny said...
I'm with you, Sean. I liked the series throughout its entire run, even though it changed a good bit as it went along.
There was supposed to be this big movie, which I would've gleefully paid well to see, and now this rumor of a 1-hour episode/special. I'm not holding my breath, but I am hoping that maybe this time we'll see something come to fruition. I could even handle a weekly series again.
8-26-2008 @ 4:10PM
Dan said...
I'm excited, while I will admit that I agree that the show was better in the first seasons (when it was more philosophical and less slap-stick sci-fi), but it was still better than most of anything and I would LOVE to see another season. SMEGGING TIME!
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8-26-2008 @ 1:33PM
King Zilch said...
BTW and ITIOA (In The Interest Of Accuracy), it's KCTS, not KTSC.
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8-26-2008 @ 2:48PM
erica said...
I don't see the point of this.
They were supposed to make a movie, and that went nowhere.
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8-26-2008 @ 4:22PM
Jason said...
I assume you meant Star Wars Episode I, not IV.
Don't you know anything‽
/sarcasm
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8-27-2008 @ 12:15PM
Edd said...
I can't wait! As it's worst it was very poor, but it it's best it was great! Here's hoping for a proper special that does justice to the best of the show. I could certainly handle another series!
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