Thoughts

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Time again for pondery ponderings from my brain. This is the "I'm kind of bored and killing time not to work" edition (normally I like my job, but this one project is SO BORING).

Maybe I'm retreading an old conversation that I just can't find, but - what if Rimmer had gone into stasis and Lister had died? Is Lister who Holly would've made a hologram to keep Rimmer ... as sane as Rimmer gets? How would the dynamics work? The way it is, Lister is a guy of action and able to physically back up his desire to act, while we know Rimmer is a coward who often avoids conflict - can you imagine Rimmer trying to avoid other ships, planets, etc., and Lister trying to talk him out of a runner without being able to force anything (at least in the first 5 seasons)? Or would Holly side with Lister more often than not and refuse to move the ship, give him holo-ciggies, or whatever?

And other relationships. Let's assume Lister was never caught but Frankie had her kittens anyway, so there's a Cat. How would that work with him and Rimmer as the only two alive? Especially, what about Kryten? He's shown he can take orders from both humans, but the living one usually wins out - what if his primary corporeal influence was Rimmer and not Lister? (We'll assume Rimmer did bring him on from the Nova 5, for housework if nothing else.) What about Ace? Would Rimmer be goaded into taking over for him if he's alive (or, more fascinating, would he be more "heroic" or confident on his own somehow and not feel he has to prove anything to Lister or himself)?

As for development, would either Lister or Rimmer have evolved differently, reversed? Rimmer, knowing he's the last man alive - has "beat out" everybody else for a change? Lister, not ambitious but suddenly in a position of being able to do little; might it actually rankle him into any ambition? What episodes would be different or moot? Would Bodyswap have happened if it were up to Lister to request or force the exchange? (Pobably not?)

And yes, assume this is after the bad drive plate repair and Lister was of no help - or more likely, Rimmer was trying to prove something and didn't ask for his help. That would be in character, IMO.

Comments

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, so much to ponder. I suppose Holly might have brought back Yvonne McGruder instead, but actually that would probably drive Rimmer insane not being able to touch her. ;)

The Captain, or Todhunter? Only because Rimmer could do the physical things they couldn't, which would give him a sense of purpose. Of course RD without the L/R dynamic just wouldn't be RD IMO. It would be a very different show.

Assuming Holly did bring back Lister, it would be extremely frustrating for him watching Rimmer charge around messing things up e.g. in one of the books when he crushes half the skutters, which could just as easily have happened if he was corporeal. I do think Holly would try to help as much as possible.

Actually I think the initial elation of being the last human would wear off pretty quickly and Rimmer would worry himself into a nervous breakdown about the awesome responsibility on his shoulders. Having Lister around with his laid back outlook could only help.

As for Cat, I have problems imagining a different relationship with Rimmer - he'd probably pal up with Holo-Lister anyway. I'm not sure how Kryten would behave, but Lister would certainly have a stronger incentive to help him break his programming.

A "Listerworld" episode a la Kahvi and Roadstergal's fic would be great though. The only problem being they'd have no reason to leave. :)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Off topic, I'll reply later on this, but - did you see Richard's new photo he tweeted? :-)

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did. Lovely pic - I think I'll post it to my journal for those who haven't seen it yet. :D

[bayliss.livejournal.com]

The concept of Rimmer being Alive scares me slightly. Especially, if he doesn't have some one else corporeal with him. I don't think the show would have been the same. For one thing He would not have had the character development that we see. He needs Lister to annoy him. If Lister was a hologram he couldn't annoy him the way he does.

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

I've just watched "Bodyswap" (great ep; it's Andrew E's favourite), which only reinforced my opinion that Rimmer couldn't cope with being the last (corporeal) human. It's not as though he had a tendency to overeat while alive and it lasts too long (over a week) to be an understandable reaction to suddenly having a body. He just doesn't have the right mentality to handle such an overwhelming situation IMO (not a criticism; I probably wouldn't have either).

(I love the fic (by Kahvi, I believe) which offers a slashy explanation for the binging, though.) ;)

[bayliss.livejournal.com]

I agree about him probably going bat shit crazy. He wouldn't be able to cope with it. I'm just getting tense thinking about it myself. Rimmer's mental health isn't the greatest anyway. Bad things, man, bad things.

Edit: I curse you auto-correct.

[fantasysci5.livejournal.com]

That is a very interesting question, one I had never thought of! But now I can't stop thinking of it, and I want fan fictions written of it! :P

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Possibly not exactly what you meant, but this fic by Kahvi plays with the idea that Rimmer and Lister could have turned out differently. It's a follow-up to a Roadstergal fic which you should read first (the link's in this one):

http://reddwarfslash.livejournal.com/245384.html