I recently finished a Doctor Who Marathon when I ran through every episode of that show (881 and counting).  I found after a few weeks I missed the daily of that, so I decided to take a stab at some other things.  First up, Red Dwarf.

I first got on board Red Dwarf back in late 88/89 (not sure which).  WHYY in Philadelphia (their PBS) one night ran all of Series I & II back to back in a marathon.  At that time I was heavily involved in Doctor Who fan clubs and we frequently would do work the pledge drives. This night was another of those.  The group of us ended up back at one guy’s house afterwards to just hang out.  That night, WHYY did their marathon of all of Red Dwarf.  At the time, there were only two seasons (12 episodes total), and they ran them all with pledge breaks in-between – all in one go.

It was the first time any of us had seen Red Dwarf as it was the first ever showing anywhere in the USA. We all bloody loved it. It was super funny, and when the first episode was done, I left the party, ran home and fired up the VCR to record the other 11 episodes, as I knew I was going to want them.  I’ve been a fan ever since. I was already a fan, but when they ran the first episode of Series III – something happened in that which cemented it as a show I’d love till they never made it anymore – I get into the why of that on the page for that episode.

Since then when I try to describe Red Dwarf to people, the best way I’ve come up with it is this.  “Red Dwarf is what you get if the guys from Monty Python tried to make Star Trek”.

The show doesn’t have nearly as many episodes as Doctor Who.  There’s 74 total, spread out over 12 series, and one TV movie.  I’m going to run through all of them.  One per day.  It won’t take nearly as long – just over two months. Series aren’t that long, just six episodes total (except for two that ran for eight).  I’ll still break them all down here like I did with Doctor Who.

The Promised Land

After we got Series 12 in 2017, things turned to when we’d get more Red Dwarf.  The next time we got anything was in the spring of 2020, but it wasn’t a new series.  This time it was a single TV movie.  It was the length of three episodes, but unlike the previous “Back to Earth”, this was a single event in one go.

It finally deals with the rest of Cat’s race who were referenced way back in Series 1 in 1988, but never seen again.

To date, this is the most recent Red Dwarf iteration.  I do not think this is the end of Red Dwarf, there will probably be more somewhere along the line.  However, when it will happen is anyone’s guess.  When we get it, I’ll amend the marathon here with additional episodes.

• The Promised Land (5/5/2024) - (9 Apr 2020) – 2020 Special (Serial 13.1)

Series 12

As mentioned in the last segment, Series 12 was filmed back to back with Series 11, so for the first time in a VERY long time, we got two series of Red Dwarf in consecutive years.  The last time that happened was between Series 5 & 6 which aired on consecutive years.

Given 11 & 12 were made together, they thematically feel identical, but that’s no surprise.

As I write this in 2024, Series 12 is still the most recent full series, so when they get around to making Series 13/14/etc, they do more than one at a time again.  Hopefully.

• Skipper (5/4/2024) - (16 Nov 2017) – Series 12 Episode 6 (Serial 12.6)
• M-Corp (5/3/2024) - (9 Nov 2017) – Series 12 Episode 5 (Serial 12.5)
• Mechocracy (5/2/2024) - (2 Nov 2017) – Series 12 Episode 4 (Serial 12.4)
• Timewave (5/1/2024) - (26 Oct 2017) – Series 12 Episode 3 (Serial 12.2)
• Siliconia (4/30/2024) - (19 Oct 2017) – Series 12 Episode 2 (Serial 12.1)
• Cured (4/29/2024) - (12 Oct 2017) – Series 12 Episode 1 (Serial 12.3)

Series 11

Four years pass in real life, and it’s now 2016.  We get another proper series of Red Dwarf – Series XI.  It uses the same template that Red Dwarf X did, so it mostly looks and feels the same as that.  Which is good, because for several years there the base concept of a Red Dwarf series kept changing.

It is unique however in that for the first time, they filmed two series back to back.  When they made Series XI, they also made Series XII.  This was due to the fact that it’s increasingly difficult to find enough time for all the cast members at once to make a series, so they decided to make two at once.

• Can of Worms (4/28/2024) - (27 Oct 2016) – Series 11 Episode 6 (Serial 11.2)
• Krysis (4/27/2024) - (20 Oct 2016) – Series 11 Episode 5 (Serial 11.3)
• Officer Rimmer (4/26/2024) - (13 Oct 2016) – Series 11 Episode 4 (Serial 11.4)
• Give & Take (4/25/2024) - (6 Oct 2016) – Series 11 Episode 3 (Serial 11.1)
• Samsara (4/24/2024) - (29 Sep 2016) – Series 11 Episode 2 (Serial 11.5)
• Twentica (4/23/2024) - (22 Sep 2016) – Series 11 Episode 1 (Serial 11.6)

Series 10

Red Dwarf returns with a proper “series” for the first time since Series 8 in 1999 (13 years later), and 3.5 years from the special “Back to Earth”.  This very much felt like a return to form, and has some excellent material here.

Kochanski & Holly are still gone, the crew is just the basic four – Lister, Rimmer, Cat, & Kryten.   Things are vastly improved in terms of special effects now that we’re nearly 25 years on from the original series at this point.

• The Beginning (4/22/2024) - (8 Nov 2012) – Series 10 Episode 6 (Serial 10.5)
• Dear Dave (4/21/2024) - (1 Nov 2012) – Series 10 Episode 5 (Serial 10.4)
• Entangled (4/20/2024) - (25 Oct 2012) – Series 10 Episode 4 (Serial 10.6)
• Lemons (4/19/2024) - (18 Oct 2012) – Series 10 Episode 3 (Serial 10.3)
• Fathers & Suns (4/18/2024) - (11 Oct 2012) – Series 10 Episode 2 (Serial 10.2)
• Trojan (4/17/2024) - (4 Oct 2012) – Series 10 Episode 1 (Serial 10.1)

Series 9 (Back to Earth)

It took nearly a decade to the day to get another episode after the end of Series 8.  Series 9 isn’t technically called “Series 9”, as it’s not a proper series as such.  It was a three episode special that ran on three nights in a row.  It also is no longer a BBC production, it aired on “Dave TV” and was produced by them.

The three episodes are called “Back to Earth”, and they were written by now solo show runner Doug Naylor, who also directed the episodes for the first time.

The show is made in HD for the first time, as well as in 16×9 widescreen (as opposed to the 4×3 SD it had been to this point.

Major show changes.  Norman Lovett & Chloe Annett are gone from the cast, as the characters were dropped.

• Back to Earth (4/16/2024) - (10 - 12 Apr 1999) – Series 9 Episodes 1-3 (Serial 9.1-3)

Series 8

Another year we get a massive show format change.  Due to the resolution of Series 7, the Red Dwarf was recreated, only this time with the original crew alive.  Which includes Rimmer – Chris Barrie returns to the show full time, only now he’s a living human, and not the hologram we knew from the past.

The base premise of the series is that our Red Dwarf crew was put on trial by the resurrected crew, and thrown in jail.  This had the major side benefit of bringing back the bunk scenes we got in the first two series a lot, something that I thought was a wonderful addition.

We also get two Holly’s in this.  First the dumb one which was left over from the OG Red Dwarf, and then a smart one that was recreated with everything else.

I welcomed this change in show format, I was just bummed it only lasted the one series, because when the show comes back for Series 9 (Back to Earth), all of this is gone.

• Only The Good… (4/13/2024) - (5 Apr 1999) – Series 8 Episode 8 (Serial 8.5)
• Pete (4/12/2024) - (25 Mar - Apr 1 1999) – Series 8 Episodes 6 & 7 (Serial 8.4 & 8.7)
• Krytie TV (4/10/2024) - (18 Mar 1999) – Series 8 Episode 5 (Serial 8.6)
• Cassandra (4/9/2024) - (11 Mar 1999) – Series 8 Episode 4 (Serial 8.3)
• Back in the Red (4/8/2024) - (18 Feb - 4 Mar 1999) – Series 8 Episodes 1-3 (Serial 8.1, 8.2, 8.8)

Series 7

If Series 6 was a big format change, it holds nothing to the major format changes in Series 7.  Lots of things changed here.

The biggest one was that from here forward the original team of Rob Grant & Doug Naylor were no more.  The two of them created Dwarf, and wrote everything to this point, but from Series 7 onward, it’s just Doug Naylor.  He and Rob had a falling out, and Rob left Red Dwarf production.  Going forward, nearly all of the episodes were written by Rob alone, although there are a few exceptions here and there.

Also, the show was no longer filmed in front of a life studio audience which gave it a much different tone.   There was still a laugh track, but not recorded at the same time as the episodes.

After the second episode, Chris Barrie left the series, so that changed the basic tone greatly.  He did have two cameos in the rest of the series.  His replacement was female, they brought on Kochanski as a series regular.  However, it was not Claire Grogan, it was someone new.  Chloe Annett.  No problem with her, just pointing out a change in actress for the character.

Finally, the number of episodes was increased from 6 to 8 – something I approved of – always want more, not less.  There was a long delay between Series 6 and 7 as well.  The last ep of Series 6 went out on 11 Nov 1993, and the first of Series 7 was on 17 Jan 1997.  This had to do with some real world legal/jail issues around Craig Charles, although not ALL related to that.  Also from a production standpoint, the original director Ed Bye returned, not having directed one since the last episode of Series 4.

NOTE: Series 7 is the only series where I can’t find the order of episodes as produced, so they’re listed as 1-8 here as I have to put something. That is not the true production order as far as I know.  Also, starting with Series 7, the “series number” is shown on screen using roman numerals.

• Nanarchy (4/5/2024) - (7 Mar 1997) – Series 7 Episode 8 (Serial 7.8)
• Epideme (4/4/2024) - (28 Feb 1997) – Series 7 Episode 7 (Serial 7.7)
• Beyond a Joke (4/3/2024) - (21 Feb 1997) – Series 7 Episode 6 (Serial 7.6)
• Blue (4/2/2024) - (14 Feb 1997) – Series 7 Episode 5 (Serial 7.5)
• Duct Soup (4/1/2024) - (7 Feb 1997) – Series 7 Episode 4 (Serial 7.4)
• Ouroboros (3/31/2024) - (31 Jan 1997) – Series 7 Episode 3 (Serial 7.3)
• Stoke Me a Clipper (3/30/2024) - (24 Jan 1997) – Series 7 Episode 2 (Serial 7.2)
• Tikka To Ride (3/29/2024) - (17 Jan 1997) – Series 7 Episode 1 (Serial 7.1)

Series 6

Series 6 had a big shift format.  Holly was written out of the show, as was the Red Dwarf ship itself.  They were going for a different feel this series, and it does have a bit of a “soft reboot” feel.  I’ve read that they decided that Holly became superfluous as all of Holly’s dialogue was easier suited by Kryten.

This series also changes the form of Rimmer’s hologram, and we get other coolness like the best episode of the series overall I think (Gunmen), and the series ends with a cliffhanger with the crew all seemingly destroyed.   They’re not of course, but at the time there was some thought this might be the end of the series, so it was an effective cliffhanger at the time.

• Out of Time (3/28/2024) - (11 Nov 1993) – Series 6 Episode 6 (Serial 6.6)
• Rimmerworld (3/27/2024) - (4 Nov 1993) – Series 6 Episode 5 (Serial 6.3)
• Emohawk: Polymorph II (3/26/2024) - (28 Oct 1993) – Series 6 Episode 4 (Serial 6.5)
• Gunmen of the Apocalypse (3/20/2024) - (21 Oct 1993) – Series 6 Episode 3 (Serial 6.4)
• Legion (3/19/2024) - (14 Oct 1993) – Series 6 Episode 2 (Serial 6.2)
• Psirens (3/18/2024) - (7 Oct 1993) – Series 6 Episode 1 (Serial 6.1)

Red Dwarf USA

In-between Series 5 & 6, two attempts were made at a US version of Red Dwarf.   In the first pilot, Robert Llewellyn played Kryten, a change in overall series continuity.   Neither worked enough to launch the series, which is probably good as we wouldn’t have gotten more UK Dwarf if it took off.

Some actors famous for other things were in these versions.  The late Hinton Battle played cat in the first pilot.  Terry Farrell, famous for Jadzia Dax on Deep Space Nine was Cat in the second pilot.  Likewise Jane Reeves, most known for her 11 year role in Frasier, was Holly in both pilots.

• USA Pilot #2 (3/17/2024) - (? 1992) – USA Pilot #2 (Serial x.2)
• USA Pilot #1 (3/17/2024) - (? 1992) – USA Pilot #1 (Serial x.1)

Series 5

Series 5 is kind of all over the place for me.  It’s got some of my favorite episodes and moments, yet has one of my least favorite episodes as well.   Some minor changes in costumes, but otherwise it’s more of the same here.

It’s also the last series that Holly was a regular character, and the last with the actual Red Dwarf ship for a couple of seasons after this.

This was also the first series where an episode was directed by someone other than Ed Bye, although that’s down to scheduling as far as I can tell.

• Back to Reality (3/16/2024) - (26 Mar 1992) – Series 5 Episode 6 (Serial 5.6)
• Demons and Angels (3/15/2024) - (19 Mar 1992) – Series 5 Episode 5 (Serial 5.1)
• Quarantine (3/14/2024) - (12 Mar 1992) – Series 5 Episode 4 (Serial 5.5)
• Terrorform (3/13/2024) - (5 Mar 1992) – Series 5 Episode 3 (Serial 5.4)
• The Inquisitor (3/12/2024) - (27 Feb 1992) – Series 5 Episode 2 (Serial 5.2)
• Holoship (3/11/2024) - (20 Feb 1992) – Series 5 Episode 1 (Serial 5.3)

Series 4

After the volcano of change that Series 3 brought over 2, the fourth series of Red Dwarf was pretty stable.  No cast changes, just “more episodes”.  In some ways it feels like S4 is to S3 as S2 was to S1.  “More of the same”, except more refined – if that makes any sense.

The fan favorite character of Ace Rimmer was born here, the second of two Holly centric episodes happened here, and one of the few episodes I don’t care for is in this series.

• Meltdown (3/10/2024) - (21 Mar 1991) – Series 4 Episode 6 (Serial 4.3)
• Dimension Jump (3/9/2024) - (14 Mar 1991) – Series 4 Episode 5 (Serial 4.2)
• White Hole (3/8/2024) - (7 Mar 1991) – Series 4 Episode 4 (Serial 4.5)
• Justice (3/7/2024) - (28 Feb 1991) – Series 4 Episode 3 (Serial 4.1)
• D.N.A. (3/6/2024) - (21 Feb 1991) – Series 4 Episode 2 (Serial 4.6)
• Camille (3/5/2024) - (14 Feb 1991) – Series 4 Episode 1 (Serial 4.4)

Series 3

Series 3 is kind of a soft reboot of the series.  There was a proper theme song now, they dispensed of all the existing sets, and everything looked new.  They brought Kryten back as a series regular, but recast him (due to original actor not being available).  They also dispensed with the plot lines (and annoyingly the cliffhanger from Season 2’s finale) via a text scroll in the first few seconds.  Said text scroll went by WAY too fast to read in normal speed.  I remember on first viewing going “Hey, I can’t read that!” – ha.

Series 3 took some getting used to – when it was brand new I didn’t care for as it was so different.  It was still funny, but didn’t have the same vibe as the first two series.

• The Last Day (3/4/2024) - (19 Dec 1989) – Series 3 Episode 6 (Serial 3.2)
• Timeslides (3/3/2024) - (12 Dec 1989) – Series 3 Episode 5 (Serial 3.2)
• Bodyswap (3/2/2024) - (5 Dec 1989) – Series 3 Episode 4 (Serial 3.4)
• Polymorph (3/1/2024) - (28 Nov 1989) – Series 3 Episode 3 (Serial 3.5)
• Marooned (2/29/2024) - (21 Nov 1989) – Series 3 Episode 2 (Serial 3.1)
• Backwards (2/28/2024) - (14 Nov 1989) – Series 3 Episode 1 (Serial 3.3)

Series 2

Series 2 is where the writing comes together.  It feels a lot like Series 1, but with tighter writing, more inventive plots, and overall more of the same from Series 1, just better – if that makes sense.

Series 2 might be my overall favorite series of Red Dwarf.

• Parallel Universe (2/27/2024) - (11 Oct 1988) – Series 2 Episode 6 (Serial 2.5)
• Queeg (2/26/2024) - (4 Oct 1988) – Series 2 Episode 5 (Serial 2.6)
• Stasis Leak (2/25/2024) - (27 Sep 1988) – Series 2 Episode 4 (Serial 2.3)
• Thanks For the Memory (2/24/2024) - (20 Sep 1988) – Series 2 Episode 3 (Serial 2.2)
• Better Than Life (2/23/2024) - (13 Sep 1988) – Series 2 Episode 2 (Serial 2.1)
• Kryten (2/22/2024) - (6 Sep 1988) – Series 2 Episode 1 (Serial 2.4)

Series 1

Series 1 is where it all starts.  Given it was brand new, and they had no money, things are pretty basic.  Minimal characters, most things are painted grey.  But it’s GOLD I tells’ya… GOLD!

• Me² (2/21/2024) - (21 Mar 1988) – Series 1 Episode 6 (Serial 1.6)
• Confidence and Paranoia (2/20/2024) - (14 Mar 1988) – Series 1 Episode 5 (Serial 1.5)
• Waiting for God (2/19/2024) - (7 Mar 1988) – Series 1 Episode 4 (Serial 1.4)
• Balance of Power (2/18/2024) - (29 Feb 1988) – Series 1 Episode 3 (Serial 1.2)
• Future Echoes (2/17/2024) - (22 Feb 1988) – Series 1 Episode 2 (Serial 1.3)
• The End (2/16/2024) - (15 Feb 1988) – Series 1 Episode 1 (Serial 1.1)