Review: Red Dwarf: Camille and DNA

Series Four, Episode One - Camille

"What vision of loveliness lies behind those doors?" 

Series Four follows on from where it left off, giving us some Kryten development, and certainly helping us empathise.
          Lister is teaching Kryten to lie, which is forbidden by his programming. After a few successes, he fails and commits that despite understanding the concept of a noble lie, he cannot do it. Rimmer then takes him Asteroid spotting on Starbug, and on the way they hit the distress call of a ship distranded on a planet about to explode. Kryten uses Lister's training to bypass Rimmer's cowardly orders and go down to rescue whoever is on the ship.
          On the ship, Kryten encounters what appears to be another 4000 series mechanoid called Camille. They seem to fall in love, but she reacts negatively when she finds that there are other members of the crew. Regardless, Kryten brings her on board. There, we find that each member of the crew see her as their perfect mate: Lister sees a pretty Scouse girl, Rimmer sees his sister-in-law (who shares his love of Lamp posts) and The Cat sees himself. Kryten, feeling betrayed, asks to see her true form, which is a big green blob. It turns out that she is a genetically enhanced life form designed to provide people with love.
          Kryten and the blob go out on dates, but soon her male partner blob comes along and Kryten sacrifices his love for her wellbeing.
          As noted throughout the episode, the plot is a basic sendup of Casablanca, but this doesn't affect the emotion of the story. For a half-hour episode it manages to fully develop Kryten's character and the main themes surrounding him. This episode also created the term GELF, which is used in the space of "alien" for the rest of the series.

Series Four, Episode Two - DNA

"Looking at kettles shouldn't give you a triple-polaroid!"

This is the second time in the series that we get to see Rob Llwellyn in the skin, and this is the only one in which he plays his main character. This episode also has a focus on Kryten, but after Camille it doesn't have the same effect, as well as being played more for comedic effect.
          Red Dwarf locks in with a ship built of unknown construction, and they journey around the ship, finding horrifically mutated skeletons. While Kryten and Rimmer look at the mutants, Lister and Cat come across a control room. Cat presses some buttons and accidentally turns Lister into a chicken. Kryten arrives and helps Lister return, but in asking Cat to experiment with the controls accidentally mutates him into a human.
          Kryten laments his lack of zoom function, radio nipples and better brain functions. He is also bewildered by his sexual organs and his fetish for machines, his mind not fully changed over. While Rimmer plans to create a body for himself using the machine, Lister persuades them that the machine is wrong, and manages to mutate him back. In experimenting with the machine, trying to create a sheep, Rimmer mutates a lamb vindaloo into a hideous beast, which is left to be defeated by a mutated Lister who is super strong, but unfortunately quite small.

Thanks.