Maybe One Step Closer To A New Red Dwarf Series

[ori-STUDFARM]

They announced the commissioning of new Red Dwarf scripts back in October of 2009. Then it all went quiet....for a long time.

We've had various Tweets just before christmas from show writer and co-creator Doug Naylor about seeing the show commisioners etc...but, with promises of news in the new year, nothing that lead upto anything.

But all of a sudden, Twitter has gone mental as Tweets come in from Bobby Llew (Kryten in the show) Danny John Jules (Cat in the show) and Doug himself. These tweets are..


From Doug-

Quote:
Phoned Chris, Craig, Bobby and Dan today


Quote:
When I spoke to Chris, Craig, Bobby and Dan we all agreed we preferred shooting Red Dwarf in front of a live audience.


Quote:
RD with aud - what about cam phones? Plot Leaks? Some1 suggested make aud wear speedos + nothing else so can't smuggle in cam phones!



From Danny John Jules

Quote:
I've just got off the phone to Doug Naylor and the wait could soon be over.



From Bobby Llew

Quote:
About to go to bed, but for Red Dwarf fans, indeed, Doug Naylor and I talked for ages today, I am not at liberty to say anything.... yet.


Quote:
I also want to say Doug started it, tweeting that he'd rung all of us today, Craig, Chris, Danny and myself. I was good, I said nothing



I'm starting to feel that old excitement again!! :D

[Feathers]

It sounds promising but actually says nothing-ish. Don't hold your breath. Just in case!

(I can't wait! ;))

[Meds]

Fingers so crossed for a new series. especially filmed in front of a audience LD

[Geoff G.o.B]

I'm going to say please god no! The last 3 episodes they released were barely funny, some things are best remembered and re-watched, not rebooted.

[Meds]

Oh it had some good points, it was better than a lot of stuff on BBC, i mean Hyperdrive grrrr. I think what would really make my day with Red Dwarf is if the whole thing was wroye by Grant Naylor, i really miss those days.

[ori-STUDFARM]

BtE comes in for a lot of stick. Some of it I agree with. The pacing between the three seperate episodes was definately off. I don't quite understand why it parodied Bladerunner so much....and I wasn't a fan of the Coronation Street section....although it did provide a couple of laughs. But, I'm going to defend it.

The pacing does not seem off when you watch the DVD Directors version. As a three parter, it doesn't work well. As a single entity, it works great. It has a steady beginning reintroducing much loved characters, a frantic mid section and a touching and emotional ending. For a show which was written as a two parter and then changed to a three parter only weeks before broadcast, they did okay. Especially when viewing it as a feature length single episode without ad breaks.

I can forgive the Bladerunner references and the Coronation Street plots. The budget for Dave Tv was miniscule compared to the BBC budgets of old....and the BBC budgets were never great!! They had to return to 20th Century Earth to cut costs. It's as simple as that. And it isn't the first time Red Dwarf has taken influences from or parodied another movie or show.....Polymorph is a much loved fans favourite and that is direct parody of Alien! There are parodies and tips of the hat to many sci-fi shows scattered throughout Dwarfs history.

But the main reason I love BtE is for the way they ended it. Most fans are aware that series VII and VIII weren't a patch on any of the previous series. They had their moments- Stoke Me A Clipper being a prime example. But the show had lost any kind of direction for Dave Lister and the crew. The whole premise of Dave Lister being the last human alive. Lister wanting to find his way back to earth which is 3 million years away....and still holding onto his dream of marrying Kochanski and setting up a farm on Fiji together. This is what made Red Dwarf for me....and it lost this for the final 2 series.

Back To Earth acted as a great big reset button. It didn't try and fill in the missing years. It simply said, this is where the crew are now. And by the end, we have Lister with his unlikely dreams to chase again. He is looking for the love of his life who is somewhere out there in deep space.

That is why I loved Back To Earth. I'm going to have faith in Doug Naylor. These scripts were commisioned in October 2009 and it looks like filming will begin in November 2011. Thats a long time for him to work it all out and (hopefully) get it right. Provided dave doesn't mess the scheduling up a few weeks before airing again!!

.....you watch it all be really s**t now!! :)

[Geoff G.o.B]

As a fan I'll have to watch it but I won't hype myself up like I did last time.

I agree with you analysis of the last few seasons and I suppose its like all good things, sometimes they should fade away and be great, other times if its done right "rebooting" can make it great all over again!

[ori-STUDFARM]

....oh I'm hyped up already. I can never help it when it comes to Red Dwarf! Like I say, BtE has it's merits. I'm not going to pretend it's great Dwarf, I just don't think it deserves the flak it gets. I would place it at worse than series 1-6 but better than series 7 and 8....but fantastic as a starting point.....it's all now in Doug's hands.

(and yes, I'm equally worried as I am excited!!)

[Meds]

You know as soon as i see that H i'm going to bust a blood vessel :D