Characters that might've influenced those in RD

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

We were watching M*A*S*H earlier tonight, and not for the first time, it struck me how Rimmer - at least early seasons Rimmer - is so much like Frank Burns. Frank didn't have any friends, save for Margaret sometimes (during an affair), he was always talking about how strict his dad was on him, he's only barely competent at his job yet so beholden to rules and regulations (and he really WANTS to be in charge whenever possible), and he runs unashamedly from danger without worrying about anyone else. I don't know if Grant Naylor were influenced overtly by this character in developing Rimmer, but they're pretty similar.

Can you think of characters that are very like Red Dwarf characters, that might have influenced their creation? By the same token, can you think of characters that seem like they were influenced by the RD writing? I've said before, to some disagreement, that I feel like "Futurama" owes some definite homage to RD in a few ways.

(Of course, considering this place, feel free to throw in slashy relationships you feel are echoed in RD too, or elsewhere like the ones you see in RD ...)