"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast" (Red Dwarf - Series 4 (DVD))

Member Name: BlueMidget

Product:	Red Dwarf - Series 4 (DVD)
Date:	17/10/06 (563 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Expanding and adding to an all time classic British comedy

Disadvantages: Minor issue with the second disc sub-menu

Still three million years into deep space, Dave Lister (Craig Charles) is still the last human alive, together with his shipmates, an onboard computer Holly, (Hattie Hayridge) a hologram of his dead bunkmate, Rimmer (Chris Barrie), a life form that evolved from his pet cat, known simply as The Cat (Danny John-Jules) and a service-droid called Kryten (Robert Llewellyn). Having started afresh in Series Three, writers Doug Naylor and Rob Grant (or Grant Naylor) continued to improve their unique and brilliant comedic exploits in Series Four.

Having reached its forth series, Red Dwarf had secured its place as a success. The BBC was therefore willing to spend a little more money on the show. This shows I think in terms of the sets, which now look even more stylish and realistic, (thanks to Mel Bibby's continuing expertise) and this really helps to carry the show to a new level. Visually, there are occasional problems with lighting given Robert's prosthetic-mask and Danny's dark skin colour, (known as the 'Blue Peter Syndrome', where lighting Cat would cause a white-out of Kryten and not lighting the Cat would sometimes cause Danny to not be particularly visible). A few minor adjustments to your contrast and brightness settings would resolve this and it happens so infrequently that I didn't feel it detracted from what was otherwise a great improvement in the onscreen visuals.

Where Series Four really stands out compared to the three previous series' is the combination of onscreen visuals (both in terms of the sets and the model shots) and the fact that all the characters had now been firmly established, allowing the character-jokes to flow effortlessly as the audience already had an idea how the character would respond to certain situation. Particularly, Kryten begins to stand out in this series and, despite only becoming a full time character in Series Three, he quickly became very popular with both the writers and the fans. I get the impression that, now the actors know their characters so well, they were able to suggest ideas, which Grant Naylor would incorporate into the show, (for example, Kryten's Spare Head Three's Northern accent was suggest by Robert Llewellyn). I think this really helps to prevent the show from becoming stale and having to reuse the same jokes.

Series Four is packed full of classic Red Dwarf moments - far too many to go into all of them, but to name a handful: There's Kryten being transmodified (or "changed" if you prefer) into a human; the first appearance of Ace Rimmer; Holly regaining her IQ and talking with the Talkie Toaster, (voiced, incidentally, by David Ross - the actor who played the original Kryten in Series Two) and, not forgetting, the Vindaloo Monster, ("Half-man, half extra-hot Indian curry"). With so many hilarious moments I've found myself laughing each and every time I watch the shows, (which I must admit is probably more than most people would).
Once again, the writing from Doug Naylor and Rob Grant is superb, not just in terms of comedy, but also in terms of the science involved, aspects of morality as well as the way in which they further develop the characters, (for example Lister trying to teach Kryten to lie in order to break his core programming).
As well as David Ross, a mention should be given to Judy Pascoe, (Robert Llewellyn's real-life partner) as Kryten's 'love-interest' in Camille. Also, various look-a-likes appear in 'Meltdown', from Gandhi and Queen Victoria, to Hitler and Noel Coward.

Once again the DVD comes as two discs and also includes a booklet. Like the other series', the rating of 12 I think is reasonable, though you could argue a PG may be more appropriate. I think they've aired on the side of caution, due to the mild references to sex and the infrequent violence, (I suppose some of the Curry-monster scenes might be considered 'violent', as well as moments in 'Dimension Jump' and 'Justice').

Like previous series', the onscreen menu's are interactive, with Holly appearing with quotes from the episodes. The sub-menus as well are well laid out as easily navigated. A minor gripe I have with the second disc sub-menu is that as you go to change your selection, the background music pauses and there is a slight pause before the selection changes. I didn't find this overly irritating, but some people my get a little frustrated at the delay when switching between options. It's an unfortunate oversight in an otherwise fine presentation, but not really a reason to be put of buying the DVD.

The first disc contains the six episodes and cast commentaries. With the exception of Robert Llewellyn and Hattie Hayridge, the cast now have three other commentaries under their belts and I think this helps the flow of discussion and make for an entertaining listen. As with all commentaries, this probably won't appeal to everyone, but if you're like me and enjoy listening them, I think you'll find these interesting and worthwhile.

On the second disc, the Bonus Features are:
"Built To Last" Original Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Smeg Ups (i.e. Outtakes)
Ace Rimmer - A Life In Lame
"Lurve" Featurette
Can't Smeg, Won't Smeg Special
Trailers
Raw FX Footage
Isolated Music Cues
Talking Book Chapters
Photo Gallery
Weblink

As always, the documentary is once again entertaining and worth watching, providing both insight into the show, as well as some amusing anecdotes. The fact it's been created especially for the DVD and focuses on Series Four demonstrated that time and effort has gone into making the DVD, rather than just bunging a load of random things on for the sake it. It's also been well edited and I found it just as enjoyable to watch as the episodes themselves.
'Ace Rimmer - A Life In Lame' I was quite surprised by. Although only about ten minutes long, I found it amusing as it is 'hosted' by Hattie Hayridge as Holly and features various clips from 'Ace Episodes'. Whilst you don't gain any great insights into the Red Dwarf universe or Ace Rimmer, I still thought it was entertaining and certainly worth watching at least once.
'Can't Smeg, Won't Smeg' is a charity special of 'Can't Cook, Won't Cook' and has Ainsley Harriot, (who played a Gelf in Series Six) with the Dwarfers. I found this hilarious - especially with Danny John-Jules appearing as The Cat's alter ego Dwayne Dibley. Given that this was filmed much later than Series Four, (Kochanski is part of the crew) some many find it a little odd that it was included on this DVD. Despite the fact it's a little out of place, I think the hilarity of the whole thing excuses it. Like the documentary, this is something I thoroughly enjoyed and have watched several times.

Once again I found the booklet very interesting. Following the same layout as the previous booklets, it gives you behind the scenes information about making the episodes and the "Watch Out For…" and "Classic Dwarf" sections at the back. Like commentaries, this may or not appeal to everyone. I personally would recommend reading it at least once but, as ever, it's all very much down to your own personal preference.

Series Four is easily in my top three favourite Red Dwarf series, so perhaps I'm a little biased in recommending it. If you already own series' of Red Dwarf, but not this one, I would definitely recommend it. If you've never come across Red Dwarf at all, whilst I personally would say start from the beginning, equally, Series Four has everything you'd expect from Red Dwarf, so you won't go wrong if you purchase this before you buy any of the others. Series Four, I think, is yet another worthy addition to any comedy's fan collection.

Playlist
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Camille
DNA
Justice
White Hole
Dimension Jump
Meltdown

Summary: A continuisation of a classic British comedy, packed full of hilarious moments for any fan.