The Problem With Kochanski

Claire Grogan as our Universe's
Kristine Kochanski.

I did a Red Dwarf Marathon over Easter and got to writing this. Again, humour me. 
Written between 10th and 17th April 2012.

In Red Dwarf, the cast's main dynamic was defined by the strain caused by four heterosexual men having to spend all their time together, and their flailing sex-drives formed a major source of humour. The most consistant example was protagonist Lister's relationship with Console Officer Kristine Kochanski, who appeared throughout the series, from her first appearance in The End to her last in Back To Earth, Kochanski has been Lister's driving force and a near-constant presence behind the scenes. But despite her early success, the character became involved in what can only be described as show politics, and the resulting mess-up led to some of the worst episodes of the show's history.
     Kochanski first appears in the series' pilot episode, "The End," played by Altered Images frontwoman Claire Grogan. The plot ran that Kochanski was the officer that Lister had always had a crush on, despite their vast differences in standing and intelligence. Grogan appeared in three episodes during the Eighties, followed by a single appearance in Series Six. Her appearance in Balance of Power, the third episode of the first series, is a demonstration of Lister's desire; in this case, she is simply Rimmer in a disguise, attempting to use her memory to dissuade Lister from becoming his superior officer. In Psirens, the first episode of Series Six, she is the first image the epoynmous monsters use to entice Lister out onto the asteroid. Notably, this makes her absense more prominent elsewhere. Why was there no Kochanski when Lister was able to get all of his desires in Better Than Life? Why did we see a different woman in Camille, when the GELF's other forms were so suited to the other members of the crew? For one reason, and one alone - avaliability. It's really unfortunate, because the character could have been given a lot more depth if her appearances hadn't totalled around five minutes.
    The character played a bigger part in the novels, and the story there was later retconned into the show around Series Four. In Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, Kochanski actually dates Lister, and they spend three weeks together before she leaves him and he discovers that their relationship was simply on the rebound. Later, she becomes the character's lover in the Better Than Life game, and in the sequel of that title she is there in the Backwards Universe at the end. The difference is that Lister has to acknowledge, in the Better Than Life scenario, that Kochanski is dead and that he has to move on. She isn't so much a character as she is a device that furthers Lister's character.

Annett's Kochanski caused a few issues in
the character department.

     This later causes problems for Series Seven and Eight, which integrated this fully into the series. Kochanski came over from a parallel universe in which she was put into stasis and Lister became a hologram, turning him into the perfect boyfriend. Here she's played by Chloe Annett, who both looks nothing like the original Kochanski and has lost her Scottish brogue. She was brought in as a replacement for Rimmer, who had left the previous episode, and thus she actually had to have a character. The problem, as it stands, is that Kochanski's uptight portrayl in Series Seven just isn't as good as Chris Barrie's comedic genius as Rimmer. She changed the dynamic of the series, because Naylor thought that it would be fun to constantly make gender jokes. They're not, and have never been, as funny as the wit and absurdism that made those earlier series work.
     And what's worse, it seemed to corrupt Kryten's character. They spent so little time actually dealing with decent sci-fi ideas that Kryten's role as Mr. Exposition, which which he was totally suited for, just melted away. They had to give Kryten a character and they decided to make him shrill and irritating as well as completely afraid of women, which not only made no sense, but made the series nigh-unbearable. Without actual guests, the series had to rely entirely on its characters - and they just weren't up to scratch.
     The problem, ultimately, is that Kochanski should be a concept and not a character. She is the epitome of what Lister wants, his motive, and the moment you give a character what they want, you've got to give him something else. No matter what that motive is, it's not gonna be as important as that first one. There were a number of themes and motives that the series upheld over time, but the only one that's really there in all six of the Grant/Naylor seasons is that gender dynamic, and Kochanski was an avatar of that.

Kochanski is gone - for now.

     But is this a problem with the character, or with the series that she inhabited the most? Season Seven didn't really do a lot for the series and hangs as a bit of a deadweight characterwise, which is ironic when so much time is spent on them in lieu of any actual plots or themes. Tikka to Ride randomly gave them the opportunity to return to Earth, and despite that being what Lister had wanted for the entire series, he didn't take it. And they'd given up on finding Red Dwarf, the new ship being big enough to eradicate any issues with claustrophobia. This is evidence enough, really, and a real sign of a greater problem with post-1993 Red Dwarf that the issues with the Annett Kochanski are a mere symptom of.
     Kristine Kochanski was a symbol of the series' overall themes regarding gender dynamics aboard a ship filled entirely with heterosexual males. While the greater appearance of Chloe Annett's version of the character after the creators decided to go their seperate ways is a symptom of a much greater disease that drains all of the series' motives, it still forms a major part of the ruination of the show's core dynamic. As for the future? Well, Kochanski's absense is a very notable thing in both Back To Earth (where she appears in the last third) and in the production of Red Dwarf X. For now, it's clear that Doug Naylor sees that Kochanski has to remain firmly in the realm of the mind... at least until the next time.

Thanks.

P.S. Again, if you disagree then you're totally right and I don't really care. 
P.S.S. I'm not even mentioning the American Kochanski.