Review: Red Dwarf 10.1: Trojan

Howie and Arnie face certain doom... or do they? Digital Spy

"It's a Moose!"

I've been waiting for new Dwarf for a good two or three years. Of course, that can't compare with those actually conscious enough to have seen the last broadcast series, who've been waiting a whole damn decade and a half for some new action. But it's still been a pretty exciting time. When I first made this blog back in the halycon days of 2009, I couldn't have even dreamed that we'd be seeing new Dwarf, and when it was announced I doubted that I'd actually be here to review it. For me, this isn't just the return of one of my favourite TV shows. This is an acheivement, an honour, and something that I find very rewarding.
     Trojans is quite simply a statement of what Red Dwarf X has set out to acheive in this short series, and that is, admirably, to make us laugh in a way which we haven't done since Series VI. It was short, sweet and had within it a series of developments that managed to balance respectful references to the show's past and well-worn characterisations with brand new material reflecting a much more modern style of comedy. At first I was a bit wary, but soon the performances and the script actually won me over to it in a way that I really haven't felt since Rob Grant left the series. Spoilers will always follow.
     Rimmer has just failed his astronavigation exam again, and no technique will help him get over his anger. They find a ship called Trojan, a high-class Star-ship with a drive capable of vast travel across the Universe. Unfortunately the drive is dead in the water, but the ship is still powerful enough to receive a message from a hologram on a crashing ship, which turns out to be from Rimmer's brother, Howard, who is also a Hologram. Recovering from an attack of Resentment that nearly wiped his memory core, Rimmer decides to pretend to be the captain aboard the Trojan. When Howard arrives with his Simulant colleague Sim Crawford, he appears to be respectable and quite shocked at Rimmer's acheivements - until a resentment attack reveals that Howard is very similar to Rimmer after all. Crawford decides to rebel and use the ship to unite the sector's simulants, but Cat is able to download the Rimmers' resentment into her and she is disabled. Howard collapses and wishes his brother farewell.

Kryten and Lister weren't the focus, but they still
got stuff to do.

     This episode dealt with a lot of the problems innate in Red Dwarf's premise and converted it to a more modern setting. Aside from the aesthetic - plasma screens, hand-held devices and other such things - it also managed to perfectly balance all of the character beats. While Rimmer was the main focus, the other three characters got their own smaller personal stories that kept them busy and provided them with motivation in the central plot. Even if you pick out a few spots that weren't quite as well done as they could have been, this was a strongly written script. It dealt out the funnies in a way that both eased us back into even having Dwarf in the first place and managed to squeeze some character work in for good measure.
     No matter what you think, it's good to have Red Dwarf back on the air, especially when it's of this high quality. It feels like a privelage to still be here for Dwarf's return, and Trojan made sure that I wasn't disappointed. For every niggling doubt, every hang-up, every worry, Trojan had an answer and at points, I was laughing like a loon. I've missed ya, Dwarfie, and I'm glad you're back.

Thanks.    

Review: Red Dwarf: Back To Earth (Revisited)

Coronation Street does not, in fact, play part in my
metaphysical theory. It does help it, though.

See here for my previous look at this story.

Red Dwarf - Series Nine - Back To Earth
Written 29/9/12

Metaphysics, eh? I spoke about this in a really boring way a month or so ago, but re-watching Back To Earth in preparation for Red Dwarf X has allowed me to realise that for once, Doug Naylor has written something that is both incredibly clever and incredibly frightening in a million different ways. At a glance, the scenario created by Back To Earth is just played for laughs, and ends up being a throw-back to universally loved episode Back To Reality from back in Series V. But at its heart, what Naylor has created is something rather profound and, within the confines of the story itself, astonishing in its scale.
     So the Dwarfers believe, due to a run in with a female Despair Squid (who thus uses hallucinogenic happiness ink because girls are soft and such and suchlike yawn yawn), that they have entered our reality, in which they are fictional characters in a Red Dwarf TV Show. Their "real" world is of course subtley different to ours in a number of telling ways; London appears as it does in Blade Runner, the Creator is played by Richard O'Callaghan instead of the erstwhile Doug Naylor, and for some reason both Kochanski and Chloe Arnett exist at the same time. The end of the episode sees them kill their Creator, and find out that this was something that he had scripted; the typewriter of their Creator can be used to control the world, but ultimately there is another typewriter somewhere else controlling that. Here lies the key to their brilliance.
    We may say that the Dwarfers don't exist, and so there's no point in arguing about metaphysics. But with the Quantum Multiverse, they do exist, somewhere, and it's a world that does have a Creator. Essentially, we live in a Godless Universe in which our imaginations allow us to inadvertantly control the paths of other, similar universes. In other words, anyone who has ever written fiction, or imagined a hypothetical scenario, is a deity to another Universe. The Dwarfers weren't being controlled by "The Creator," but they are, ironically, controlled by another creator, Doug Naylor, who has set this whole thing up.

It's almost as confusing as that poster...

     This explains so much, and it seems obvious when you think about it. Back To Earth pushes against both the Fourth Wall and against the differences between the Watsonian (the in-story) and the Doylian (the out-of-story). Those subtle differences between our reality and their "reality" reveal not the shoddyness of the script but instead the fact that Naylor is specifying that while this resembles our reality, it is in fact yet another layer of metaphysical existence. The back of the DVD cover being similar but not the same, the existence of Series IX and X in 2009, the head of the Red Dwarf fan club being called Redge Wharf - these aren't just jokes, my friend, they're genius. When the despair squid arrives, it makes Rimmer fear for his life - which is obviously an indication that the squid focused their shared hallucination on Lister, which begs the question, why? Well, we now know the answer. Because Lister is the Main Character.
     Or at least that's how I rationalised it. Metaphysical buggery aside, Back To Earth does feel like a poor imitation of all those things that came before, but I admire it for trying to do something incredibly interesting and for, in the end, inspiring Dave to commission a brand new series of Dwarf which, at the time of publishing, is due to start tomorrow. My best hopes for Red Dwarf X and my thanks to Red Dwarf, Back To Earth.

Thanks.

<< Model Dependant Realism and You ----------Metaphysics---------- Metaphysics and Gene Hunt >>

Review: GHTTB: Ashes To Ashes 3.4

Gene breaks into the Blue Peter Garden.

Ashes To Ashes - Series Three, Episode Four 
Written 28/6/12

Halfway through the final series, and I'm finding it ever more disconnected than before. There's some concentrated effort to focus on the characters, but that doesn't correlate with the overall tone; it's almost as if a character gains traits in one episode and then defaults to character stereotype in the next. That's the big problem with any mix of crime drama with another genre, in that the case-a-week format doesn't allow much character development. This week's episode certainly wasn't at all bad, but it was treading on themes and cliches that the series has driven into the ground, and its plot twists are signposted from a mile away.
     Following a drugs tipoff, the gang accidentally step on the territory of a neighbouring division. Their officer, DI Louise Gardiner, is undercover in the rising criminal organisation of disgraced criminal Terry Stafford and his son Daniel, with whom Gene has a vengeance. When Gardiner appears to have been attacked, they investigate in full force, but soon discover that the head of Gardiner's department has been bribed by the Staffords for years, and that Gardiner faked Daniel's attacks in order to keep the Police away from Terry's criminal activities. Gardiner is caught in stray gunfire and a creepy Keats ushers her into sleep.
     Gardiner was an interesting character for the most part, introducing a female presence into CID that due to the main cast's platonic relationships hasn't ever really shown up. For a while it seemed as if Gardiner would be joining the main crew; well, for a few seconds, anyway - that is, before the realisation that they're not going to introduce a new cast member only four episodes away from the finale and that the character was being obviously sneaky. It's an unfortunate sign that after the incredible creativity of the second series, the Bonanza is losing steam and writer efforts to present us with an epic finale are overshadowing the other episodes of the series.

Keats ushers Gardiner into death.

     There were a few character moments here of there that stood out, but they were sporadic at best. Chris's decision, after hearing Gardiner's claim of rape, to go down to the cells and beat up Daniel Stafford, showed his character's attempts to show heroism, but otherwise are completely at odds with what the character has always stood for - trying to follow the modern ways presented by Sam and be a good copper. That's the key to an overall problem with this series, that despite the sporadic historical references (including one to the vandalisation of the Blue Peter Garden this week), it could still be set in the modern era without changing a lot. The best of these character moments was no doubt Jim's final rites upon Gardiner, which is foreshadowing of the most blatant towards his role in Alex and Sam's world.
      Like most of the episodes in this series so far, there have been a few good elements to what are fundamentally flawed stories. 3.4 didn't fail to captivate; it just didn't do anything particularly interesting until the final few minutes, and that's a worrying trend in a series that beforehand has shown such creativity and skill. Onward towards the finale, I say, and try to ignore the next few weeks of dullness.

Thanks.
 

Highlight: Red Dwarf VIII

Cassandra. Predestination fun amidst horrific caricatures.

I... I don't like Series VIII. It disagrees with me in so many variously horrible ways that it's often hard for me to contemplate without collapsing into floods of metaphorical tears. Notably, the 1999 series took a series that I loved and destroyed it before my eyes. Albeit I was watching the series for the first time in 2009, but it still felt so heart-breaking when instead of great comedy, Series VIII just both literally and metaphorically took a shit on Red Dwarf's memory. I've watched some bad things in my time - seen some awful movies, managed to enjoy some of the worst Doctor Who and found joy in such blind banality as Survivors and Outcasts. Nothing comes close to the pain I felt when I reviewed Pete, all those years ago. Unfortunately we have to keep this positive, and so I will make a nod towards Cassandra, and episode that manages to be funnier than both the Naylor series combined. A stark combination of Future Echoes' predestination and Legion's sense of entrapment, Cassandra is great fun and is the only redeeming thing about this whole damn excercise.

Thanks.
Written 9/6/12

NEXT TIME: Business as usual. Oh, and Red Dwarf X starts on Thursday, Just mentioning.

Highlight: Red Dwarf VII

Ouroboros had some fun ideas. Shame about the rest.

Some people find Series VIII funny. For these, rare and incredibly strange people, Series VII is the one to avoid, for the simple reason that this 1997 reboot tried to go down the dramedy route and failed at the -edy bit quite considerably. The series became more character driven, but those characterisations were inconsistant and irritating, and potentially good ideas were thrown out in favour of stupid drama moments. Also, whiney Kryten, NO. Despite this, I do have a highlight for Series VII, and that's the complex Ouroboros whose attempts to make up for Rimmer's departure are, while considerably lacking, a decent piece of Sci-Fi in their own right. Series VII? There's an obscene phone call, and I believe it's for you.

Thanks.
Written 9/6/12

Review: Doctor Who Classic: Battlefield

The Brigadier and Bessie make their last
appearance.

Doctor Who - Season 26, Story One - Battlefield
Written 25/6/12

Merlin! That great yet troubled series staring Colin Morgan... sorry? Oh, no, this is Season 26 of Doctor Who! Sorry about that. Yes, for the first time (and the last) Doctor Who decided to deal with the concept of Arthurian Legend, another of Britain's myths that the show has entrenched itself into.The writer of last season's excellent Remembrance of the Daleks brings us this pseudo-Arthurian tale, and while it tries to be like that former story, it ends up stuffing itself in the process with too many characters and too many conflicts. (The opposite, I can say, of the TV Show.)
     Having discovered a nuclear bomb at an archeological dig, UNIT are called to the scene, led by Brigadier Winifred Bambera (Angela Bruce, who previously played the Female Lister in Red Dwarf). Thunderstorms abound at a castle near Carbury and the mysterious Lake Vortigern. The Doctor arrives just in time to watch UNIT battle a group of warriors enter from another Dimension, one in which Arthurian Myth is all true and where a version of The Doctor is known as Merlin. Using his influence amongst their culture, he joins old friend Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart and a large cast of characters to defeat Mordred and his mother, Morgaine, before they bring their war to our world.
     It's certainly nice to see UNIT again, but they're nowhere near as strong as they were previously, especially with the leadership of Angela Bruce's lacklustre Brigadier, whose incompetance turns her character into humourous slapstick. Indeed, the entire story has an air of the comic, with knights running around the countryside fighting horrendously choreographed battles in an almost Pythonesque way. And after such issues with ye-olde language being thrown about in Silver Nemesis, by far the worst story of the previous season, this continues to be laughable and silly. "Ere" was used no less than three times, for goodness sake. And there are so many characters, many of which have very little reason to be there AND very little to do, to the point where this is still true after four of them are randomly carted out of the story. Luckily the Brig gets some badass lines here or there, especially in the end, where he kills the Destroyer.

Morgaine is a great villain.

     Despite having a very weak link towards actual Arthurian mythology, I thought it was a great adaptation of the concept. The Doctor's character ultimately derives from the Merlin archetype; less, perhaps, than characters like Gandalf and Dumbledore, but he shares a similar role as the mystical mentor. The best part of their role in the story was very much the character of Morgaine, who was a very complex villain in a really good way. To cross continuities, she shares a lot of features with the early version of her counterpart Morgana in Merlin, with a dark villainous streak tempered by a genuine level of respect for those around her. She wants to turn our world upside down in her battle with Arthur, but she still pauses to respect the dead at a WWII memorial and cures a blind woman. The day is only saved when The Doctor tells her that Arthur is long dead, and she mourns for her worthy adversary.
      Battlefield on its own is a great romp, and I certainly wouldn't warn you away from it. But it falls prey to the same things that Silver Nemesis did, albeit in a less dramatic way. It's overstuffed, overlong and instead of the epic Arthurian Yarn we were promised, we got a bit of a runabout. I was expecting Camelot, not Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It wasn't a complete disaster, and it certainly is enjoyable, but not in a memorable way.

Thanks.

October!

October's here, ladies and gentlemen. And you all know what that means.

You don't? Oh. That's weird. Ok, I'll start off by announcing the very temporary return of my old funfair, Super Sundays, which will see me take on a few Halloween related treats. I know I'll be looking at Batman (1989), A Nightmare Before Christmas and the dreaded Fantastic Four, but I might also be looking at a certain film chronicling a series of very unfortunate events. Hmmm... how cryptic?

October also sees the triumphant return of Merlin. The show's fifth and final season is something I've been looking forward to for a while, mainly because I enjoy loving Merlin when it's good and I love hating it when it's bad. Merlin is perhaps the show which I find the most fun to review, if only because it often collapses in such spectacular ways. I can only hope that it sorts itself out for this final year and that Merlin's troublesome facade gets blown early.

As you've hopefully seen from my daily highlights, Thursdays will see the epic return of a Nostalgia Filter favourite, Red Dwarf. The set reports have been good, as have the previews, but I just hope that this series lives up to the hype and returns to the spirit of Dwarf that was lost back in 1997.

Oh, and I've changed the banner to be more spooky. However successful that is, have a happy October and have a happier Halloween!

Thanks.

Highlight: Red Dwarf VI

Psirens. Not you, Pete Tranter's sister!

Series VI is my favourite series of Red Dwarf, because it hit upon a winning sitcom formula and kept up a major story arc. This is the series where our characters were honed to perfection, and while there are a few misses you can't help but love the madness of Out of Time's cliffhanger or the sheer gold that composes award-favourite Gunmen of the Apocalypse. Simple enough, then. My highlight from Series VI is Psirens, the episode that ushered our characters back into development and managed to be the most successful reboot that the show has managed so far (of the three or four.) Also - chameleonic space weevils? Cheeky references to the failed Red Dwarf USA? Count me in.

Thanks.
Written 9/6/12

Review: Doctor Who 7.5: The Angels Take Manhatten

The Book provides an interesting plot device.

"She must die!" - my friend Josh on Amy Pond.

Season 33a, or what I will now call "The September Season", has been a bit bumpy for me. The Moff's first episode was fun but had some deeper issues with character. Both of Chibnall's episodes were forgettable messes of the sort that he dabbles in whenever he sees fit to vomit over our screens. A Town Called Mercy provided some fun as well as a comprehensive and wonderful moral dilemma the likes of which Moffatt's seasons have never seen. I had no idea what to expect when it came to the swansong of Amy Pond and Rory Williams, but I certainly didn't expect something this restrained. It tread the line between being admirabley respectful and being disappointingly underwhelming, but at the end of the day there was a subtlety to the whole affair that helped the pathos actually work.
     Reading a book about a mysterious figure in New York (while actually in New York), The Doctor and Amy discover that Rory has been zapped back in time by a Weeping Angel to meet River Song, who's been investigating them. After River helps them to land in 1938, they're forced to run from the Angels into their own hiding spot; an apartment complex constructed for the sole reason of trapping people and feeding off of their time energy for decades on end. After an Old!Rory is seen to die before their eyes, Rory and Amy throw themselves from the roof of the building in order to create a paradox that'll destroy the Angels and set everything right again. They do so, but one Angel survives and Rory is sent back to his death - which, despite the Doctor's pleas, causes Amy to follow him. River calms The Doctor and points him to the afterword of the book, in which an older Amy tells The Doctor that they're ok, and that he should never travel alone.
     The episode doesn't do as much as it could have with the Angels, but they're still as scary as they've ever been and it was great to see Moffat going back to using their timey-wimey nature to create a fun plot. There was very little mentioning of blinking, for the sole reason that the plot hinged on both Amy and Rory's relationship and on the Doctor's fear that the events described in the book will come true. It never felt, in that typically RTD-esque way, that this was most definitely the end, and the sudden nature of both Amy and Rory's departure did rob some of that scene's impact for me, but I thought that their end was incredibly appropriate and fit perfectly with their characterisations. Their time on the show has been characterised by the themes of deep love, marriage and of waiting - embodied by their continued, happy life together. It was all so subdued, it made such a wonderful change. There was no rolling silent credits, no big sweeping music. Just two people, preparing to live out the rest of their lives together. And it was beautiful. 

Amy and Rory prepare to make their sacrifice.

     It wasn't perfect by any means - there were a few problems with pacing and there were several aspects of the plot that didn't keep up to their potential. But it did keep up a wonderful tension and the time-focused plot really pushed my buttons. From a dramatic perspective, it wasn't the biggest exit the show's ever had, but instead it was the adult conclusion for these characters that they've been waiting for all these years. Long live Amy and Rory and bring on Clara!

Thanks.

Highlight: Red Dwarf V

Holoship. Smaller portions, but so many courses.

And the so-called Golden Age ends with a bang, on an entire series focussing almost exclusively on Rimmer, with a few nods to other characters here or there. Lister takes the spotlight again in the ambitious The Inquisitor, while the crew meet their potential evil sides in Demons and Angels. And while everyone in the fandom would expect me to say Back to Reality (if they actually read this blog), my highlight from Season V is the much more interesting Holoship, which takes Rimmer and puts him into a tragic tale of love and loss. The simple fact is that you can see the character development up close; it doesn't seem strange that the uptight and insecure Rimmer from all those series ago can stand here now and sacrifice his dreams for the woman he loves. It's bloody beautiful.

Thanks.
Written 9/6/12