Query

[felineranger.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone

I have an idea for a fic but before I run with it I just wanted to double check something with the hive mind!  As far as I can remember, there is no canon explanation for what happened to Listers adoptive mother - we know his dad died at 6 and between 11-13 he was living with his gran and after that ended up in an orphanage school but  I don't think we're ever told exactly why?  Have I missed something or is there a generally accepted fanon explanation?  Answers on a postcard please...

Comments

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, interesting. I've never thought of Lister as having low self-esteem, I must say. Except possibly about his weight in "Bodyswap".

The "Kryten" quote, which is all we have to go on, does suggest a woman with a martyr complex. You might also want to think about the references in "Duct Soup" to Lister being overweight for a couple of years in his teens.

[felineranger.livejournal.com]

I think Lister's issues are often overshadowed by Rimmer's more obvious neuroses but they are there. I think BTE kind of highlighted it for me, but it's there in older episodes too like Bodyswap and Inquisitor (remember Lister essentially judges himself as worthless). Certainly Doug talks in the commentary for BTE about it being fundamentally about Lister confronting those feelings of inadequacy and that he was never good enough for Kochanski.

[fantasysci5.livejournal.com]

Wow. I never thought of Lister's issues, since Rimmer's were always more "in your face". But now that you mention it, I can see it! Thanks for the eye opener! :P