reddwarfslash | Apr. 10th, 2014

A recent discussion on Tumblr about Lister and how he's a more complex character than he seems led Kahvi to post a character meta there which I'm reposting here with her permission. Copy and pasted for easier reading; covers his relationship with Rimmer, obviously, but is a fascinating read in its own right.

On Dave Lister Part 1: Last Human

It was brought to my attention recently that while fandom spends a lot of time discussing Rimmer and his various personality flaws and neurosies, very little is written about Lister. Well, why would there be? Compared to Rimmer, Lister is the rational to offset the irrational, the mellow to offset the hysterical, the tolerant to offset the biased. He is kind where Rimmer is cruel, calm where Rimmer is frantic, optimistic where Rimmer is fatalistic, mentally balanced where Rimmer is imbalanced. In short: boring. Right?

Well, no. Not really.

The problem with having a character like Rimmer, is that he is so exaggeratedly flawed and riddled with issues that other characters can’t help but seem paragons of virtue in comparison. While the most common mischaracterization of Rimmer in fan fiction is to reduce or excuse his flaws, the most common mischaracterization of Lister is to ignore his flaws and myriad issues. And they are myriad. In many ways, Lister is a fantastic character, both as a concept and as a person. The last human being alive in the universe is a lower class, non-traditionally masculine POC; in touch with his emotions, kind, well-intentioned and artistic, if not artistically talented. He’s well-rounded, complex, and interesting. He’s also utterly alone, cast off from everything and everyone he’s ever known and destined to spend the rest of his life inside a metal box.

( Lots More Under Cut )