Review: Red Dwarf: Psirens and Legion

Series Six, Episode One - Psirens

"Ah; Smug Mode"

And so begins Series Six of Dwarf, in which we've had... wait! Reboot Number Two! Differences with this reboot? Well, Red Dwarf, the ship, has apprently been stolen; the show now takes place entirely on Starbug, which has a got a roomier set design.
          Lister wakes up, amnesiac, to discover Kryten. He explains that the crew have been on in deep sleep for two centuries. Lister is repelled by Kryten's description of his personality and traits, and knows very little about where he is. Then Kryten resets Rimmer, and his memories come back immediately.
          There's some exposition and we learn about Red Dwarf's predicament. In their 200 years, they've managed to catch up to Red Dwarf, which is on the other side of an asteroid field. They get a video message from the asteroid field which shows evidence of Psirens, gelfs that are designed to look like whatever the person they see desires. Unfortunately, they also then eat the brain matter of whoever they find.
          They get a series of messages which are obviously Psirens, including Kristine Kochanski. Then, they send two illusions; the first is a fireball heading towards the ship (Kryten sees that the radar has no reading and therefore convinces the crew of its nature) and then the illusion of the radar pattern as the real fireball hits the ship and makes them land on the asteroid.
          Lister has to leave the ship and use a bazookoid to free the ship, where he is confronted by a Psiren in the form of one of his old friend's sister. Eventually another Psiren dressed as Kryten comes along and they kill each other. As he returns, it seems that two identical copies of Lister have come on board. They get both Listers to do some assorted tasks, and when one Lister plays the guitar well, he is shot immediately.
          Unfortunately, the Psiren isn't that injured, and manages to stumble away into the cargo decks. (They weren't there before...) The Psiren makes itself into Kryten's creator and crushes him in the trash compactor, and then goes off to eat The Cat and Lister. Kryten survives, and jumps onto the Psiren, killing it.
          All around, a good episode. It's got good exposition, comedy and it's got a harder sci-fi streak while still being lighthearted. Holly's gone, and now The Cat gets a look-in as Starbug's chief pilot. The smaller space also allows for a greater amount of character-based dialogue than before, and it's refreshing to see Lister get some development.


Series Six, Episode Two - Legion

"Just a bit of Bangalor Belly."

Generally regarded as the second-best episode of the series, Legion is inventive and risky. The humour is sparse in some areas, while it has some odd slapstick, mixed in with wit.
          The ship gets trapped by a ship, which appears to have no life. When they enter the ship, an odd man appears and introduces himself as Legion. His ship is covered in works of great science and art, as well as rooms which cater to each ship member's heart's desire. When the crew try to leave, it is revealed that Legion was composed entirely of the personalities of the crew, melded together. Kryten eventually diables him by knocking all of the other members unconscious.
          Aside from switching Rimmer to the new Hard Light function, this episode isn't as complex as the previous, but gives focus to every member of the group in a way that previous episodes didn't.

Thanks.