| . |
. |
| Starring: Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert
Llewellyn, Norman Lovett, Chloe Annett Directed by: Andy DeEmmony |
Original Broadcast Date: 1999
DVD Release: 2006
Released by: BBC VideoDolby Digital
2.0
Fullscreen |
| Another Cult Favorite  Red Dwarf isn't the only
cult favorite Brit sci-fi series by any means -- the other giant in that field is Doctor
Who, the longest-running science-fiction show on television. Doctor Who debuted
in 1963 as a weekly educational program and ran until 1989. There was a TV movie in the
mid-‘90s, but the show officially re-launched in 2005 on the BBC and was brought to
the United States a year later on the SciFi Channel.
The Doctor is a member of an alien race known as the Time
Lords. The last member, in fact. He travels through time and space in his ship, the TARDIS,
generally trying to keep things on the straight and narrow by making sure history is
moving in its proper direction. When near death, the Doctor can regenerate, which allows
the character to keep kicking even when the actor in the role wants to move on. The 2005
series introduces the ninth Doctor, David Tennant.
In America, Doctor Who is considered to be geekier
than Star Trek, but the new series garnered rave reviews from critics, old fans and
even those of us who had never seen any Who before. The first 13 episodes are
available in one handy collection with tons of extras including, among others, a nearly
three-hour documentary about the new series.
The most important thing, I think, is that you don't have
to be a long-time Doctor Who fan to enjoy this new show. If Red Dwarf
is a sitcom with spaceships, then this Doctor Who -- The Complete First Series is,
simply put, good drama with Daleks.
...Josh Barber
joshb@hometheatersound.com |
|
|
Can a show set on a ship in outer space be anything other
than science fiction? If Red Dwarf is any indication, then yes, it can. Rather than
focusing on how the ship works or what moral dilemmas are raised by any given situation --
you know, the boring stuff -- Red Dwarf is presented as a sitcom that just happens
to take place on a five-mile-long ship rather than in an office building. This is a comedy
first, and a sci-fi show second.
The show began in 1988 and has been on sporadically since
then, with its eighth (and so far final) series broadcast in 1999. Now, eight series is a
long time, even when they average only six episodes apiece. After all that time, things
are bound to get stale. Where do you find new characters and new situations when your hero
is the last man alive? You cheat.
At the end of Series 7, a swarm of nanobots was released to
make some repairs. The little buggers went overboard, completely resurrecting the original
crew of the Red Dwarf, who has no idea they've actually been dead for three million
years. Now Lister and the various friends he's picked up over the past few years have to
adapt to a suddenly crowded world. Things don't go well, and within days they've all been
thrown in jail and assigned to the worst work-gang. Comedy gold!
The late '90s was when the DVD format was just starting to
find its feet, and the notion that even a popular TV show should start making plans for
its eventual preservation on disc was a crazy one. Despite that, Red Dwarf: Series 8
looks and sounds surprisingly good. The ship interiors are hazy and murky, but only
because that's the way the sets actually look. Dark corridors and flashing lights share
space on your screen, but without intruding on one another. The dialogue is clear, as long
as you can pierce the accents, and it's never overwhelmed by the ambient noise or the
audience's laughter. Yes, further proving its sitcom credentials, Red Dwarf is
filmed before a live studio audience.
The show's eight episodes are split between two discs, with
a third for special features. A 16-page booklet details the features, which are truly
daunting in their scope, as well as offering production notes for all the episodes and
pointing out some goofs, Easter eggs and inside jokes. Without our even looking at the
disc itself, the book alone has better special features than most TV shows. The features
range from the very good to the merely entertaining, and we even get a radio sketch from
the show that eventually led to Red Dwarf. |
