Things You Love About Red Dwarf

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Slashy or otherwise?  Most of us would probably cite the humour, slash-friendliness and the attractive and (usually) lovable characters.  Including myself, but being more specific, here's a random list off the top of my head.

"Would you describe the accused as a friend?"  "No, I'd describe the accused as a git."

The colourful fruit setting off Cat's pink jacket in the "Learning To Lie" scene in "Camille".  And of course the scene itself.

Lister's eyes.

Rimmer's face, in general.

"Everybody's dead, Dave."

Holly giggling and fainting when she meets Ace in "Dimension Jump".

Every syllable of Mark Dexter's performance in "Trojan".

The flashback scene in "The Beginning".

Rimmer's blatant jealousy of the friendliness between Lister and Ace.

Lister's white longjohns in "Duct Soup".

The Kiss.  And The Hug.

Rimmer getting oiled in "Terrorform".

The off-screen camaraderie between the cast.

Canon m-preg and female AU.

Rimmer's exam terror (especially in the book.  Most of us have been there to some extent).

Dave Lister's optimistic grin.

The Kryten / Lister friendship, especially in Series IV.

Rimmer's gradual journey to being more sympathetic.

Cat's outfits and self-confidence.

"Or we could use the teleporter."

"I hardly said anything.  Apart from "Geronimo" ".

The drunk scene in "Thanks For The Memory".

Etc, etc.

Thinking about it, another thing I enjoy is the fact that we can discuss and enjoy these characters without having to justify horrendous things.  For example: "I know Character A murdered Character B, but B deserved it!  He raped A's wife / kidnapped A's kids / committed mass murder".
To which a B fan replies: "But he had a terrible childhood!".

This isn't a dig at any particular fandom or show - I myself have enjoyed some shows with characters like that.  But then when I start to think about it, it starts to spoil the show for me.

I'm glad the Boyz from the Dwarf remain largely likable even under analysis.  Which isn't to say they haven't done some questionable things (I'm glossing over Series VIII here), but the comedy aspect keeps things lighthearted more often than not.

So, enough from me.  What do you love about the show?

Comments

[beedekka]

"Hey, it's my girlfriend, Miranda!"

Legion's "Um, no... I need it to turn the lights on," to Rimmer's enquiry about parting with his amazing modern art ;o)

In fact, the whole dinner scene in Legion, and Rimmer repeatedly banging the front of his head against a wall while Lister smacks the back of it with a pole - who says physical comedy is passé?

Big Boys in Boots magazine.

"Mr Flibble says, 'game over, boys'."

Danny dancing in Tongue Tied.

Tony Hawks.

"Oh no! I'm Dwayne Dibbley!"

Blaize Falconburger.

"My brook is babbled."

Any time people are alternate versions of themselves, especially when Robert is a human.

Eeeeeeeeexxxxxxxtttttttraordinary!


So much more I'm not thinking of right now...

Red Dwarf <3

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Yes, the light switch gag gets overlooked due to the more famous light bulb one.

Big Boys In Boots! :D

"The King of the Potato People won't let me!" *ROFL*

Tony Hawks, of course. The Caligula scene is awesome. "Silence, scum!" :)

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, you're right - I think shows are becoming increasingly 'dark' and 'edgy', which hey, I love, but the Dwarfers have a sweetness and innocence to them which is perhaps a product of the series starting in the late 80s? We were more earnest back then *g*. Although I see the same intrinsic sweetness in things such as Cabin Pressure.

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Of course, the show is a sitcom, but even those can be dark sometimes. Which isn't to say RD isn't on occasion. Thinking about it, it's amazing that such a bleak set-up yields so many laughs.

I suppose that's down to Lister's natural optimism as well as the quality of the writing and the funny cast. :)

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

True - I was going to say that it's tragedy played as comedy. And yet hilarious.

[laurenthemself]

Basically all the parts that don't make me froth with rage, I love. So if there's no weird misogyny etc. going on, I am hearteyesing at the screen.

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Yes, I suppose no show can be perfect in that regard, but the Boyz are usually so lovable that it jars more when something like that pops up. We're attached to them and have strong opinions about what's in character for them.

[kronette.livejournal.com]

The entirety of Thanks for the Memory. I tried to have it on as background noise and I couldn't not watch every nuanced performance. It's a damn near perfect episode, on par with Gunmen, I believe.

The original opening theme

Rimmer oiled up in Terrorform

The first m/m kiss I ever saw - Blue

Rimmer's series X uniform

Lister's series 7 white long johns and his series X red ones *mrowr*

Cat's beige outfit from Future Echoes. Such a lovely ass, Mr. John-Jules!

Tongue Tied 'reproduction system baby' to be exact

Rimmer's shoulder shimmy to change from hard light to soft light in Entangled

Kryten falling in love with Camille

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Totally agree about having to watch "Memory" properly. Maybe it's just me, but there are very few Dwarf eps I can just have on in the background. Only a few Series VIII ones, actually. :)

I do agree that Danny has a great arse. I feel slightly sorry for Cat that more people don't include him in fics in a sexual way, but I just don't feel it. There's no point if your heart's not in it.

[bayliss.livejournal.com]

I can't pick. I think that's because it's so perfectly composed. It's just fabulous.

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. That's a thing actually - you love the way it's all put together. ;)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

When I first watched RD in the 90s, I loved the Cat foremost. I've had cats since I was four years old, and Danny did an amazing job of capturing a feline's attitude and movements translated over to bipedal form and speech and behavior. He's become more "human" in 25 years, but he still has cat moments like batting at the stick and string in "The Beginning" - while giving sage advice.

I also liked Rimmer - who doesn't like Rimmer? He's the most complex of the characters, IMO. It would have been so easy to cast the wrong actor and not gained any sympathy for him, but luckily this was one of those great decisions. Which, I think translates through the rest of the cast as well. They're all perfectly chosen for their characters.

"Marooned" is one of the best episodes to see how Rimmer and Lister have learned to get on because of their differences, not despite them. And it's one of the few times we see Lister's less noble side.

Howard Burden's costuming, 97 percent of the time, is flawless. Now that he's doing Who as well, you can see little touches not necessarily from RD, but that serve the story well that some other designer might not have thought of (I'm thinking of "Day of the Doctor" but can't say anything for spoilers. If I could, I'd point out a costuming choice that was subtle and great.)

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Cat is great when you want someone to be spectacularly tactless and / or self-absorbed, but in a funny way. If he wasn't a cat it might be annoying, but as you say it just fits feline behaviour.

Someone on one of the docs describes Rimmer as a "likably dislikable character", which is a good way of putting it.

Howard's costumes really are great. Not that I didn't like the Series 1 and 2 ones, but they wouldn't suit the Boyz as they are now. :)

[luxblue.livejournal.com]

Lots of the ones already mentioned, also;

The clapping dance in Gunmen
Rimmer's trousers in the 1st uniform
Any version of the Rimmer salute (serious or parody)
'Fried space weevil'

Also the deleted scenes and commentaries from the DVDs, always good for a giggle.

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

The smeg-ups may well be the funniest bloopers ever. And the commentaries just add to the entertainment and the feeling of camaraderie. Feel-good entertainment which isn't trying too hard. :)

[zeddemore99.livejournal.com]

When Kryten makes that speech about Rimmer in "Justice" and when Rimmer gets Lister to set his jacket on fire in the same ep. Actually that whole ep, Cat's face when he hits that sim with the shovel makes me laugh.

Rimmer's family believing Judas and Jesus switched places in "Lemons"

In "Trojan" when Rimmer asks Cat if he can answer a lateral thinking question and Cat says "A lottery question?" That kills me every time!

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Yes, "Justice" is one of my faves. Laugh out loud funny with an interesting question at its core about the nature of guilt. Plus slapstick. :D

Oh, of course, the moose scene. Flawless, especially the pay-off with Cat. :)

I'm going to add the particular strength of the Lister / Rimmer married vibe in "Lemons", including the face Rimmer makes when Lister finds out he gave Kryten permission to operate on Lister.