Dude, where's my space ship gone..??? (Red Dwarf - Series 6 (DVD))

Member Name: blissman70

Product:	Red Dwarf - Series 6 (DVD)
Date:	30/06/09 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great acting, brilliant stories and fantastic comedy

Disadvantages: none at all

Writers: Roy Grant and Doug Naylor
Directors: Andy de Emmony
Stars: Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llwellyn

This sixth series in what has become a science fiction cult show was first aired on the BBC in 1993, with Grant and Nayler initially wanting to write and direct this entire series themselves, but due to the deadline closing in fast they could not fulfil there ambition and had to bring in Andy- 'at home with the Braithwaites/Father Ted'- De Emmony to finish directing.

This series was a little different from the previous ones, firstly, the six episodes seem to follow on from each other, leading to an actual finale. Plus, the Mining ship Red Dwarf is actually missing during this series, and so is holly, the ships computer, so the series revolves around the remaining crew in search of Red Dwarf using the smaller craft known as Starbug.


**BUT WHAT IS RED DWARF..?

Red Dwarf is a BBC sci-fi comedy which was initially created in 1983 by spitting image writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor.
The Jupiter Mining ship Red Dwarf is about the size of a town, once holding hundreds of crew members. Unfortunately, due to a radiation leak, caused by the bungling
technician Rimmer, all the crew were killed, apart from the very scruffy and a little smelly Lister, who was being held in suspended animation, (stasis), at the time due to his refusal to give up the whereabouts of his illegally held pet cat.
With the radiation leak wiping out the crew it was up to Holly, the ships computer , or more a head inside a monitor, to keep Lister safe until the ship cleared of radiation, thi staking over 3 million years.
When finally released from stasis Lister soon realises that the only crew left aboard are a descendent of his once pet cat, now a half human half cat, (or feline sapian), a hologram of Rimmer, his then direct superior officer, who Holly believed would be able to keep Lister mind sane, and Holly, who has lost the plot slightly due to being alone for 3 million years.

As they pass through space, in search of Earth, they come across a rather confused mechanoid, named Kryten, who is programmed to serve humans, and they rescue him from his solitary strange life, getting him to join their band of merry men.

Unfortunately, in this series, the Red Dwarf mining ship has been 'lost' and Holly has inadvertently gone missing, leaving the four remaining crew members to try and find the mining ship in the little space hopper known as Starbug, soon coming across their usual dangers and chaotic mayhem, which they seem so fond of.


**LIST OF CHARACTERS...

Dave Lister, (Craig Charles), started as the lowest ranking officer on the mining ship but is now the only survivor after the radiation leak killed the rest of the crew, but is now a sort of leader in the small team.
He has a strong Liverpool accent and an even stronger love of hot curries, usually spilling most of his food and drink on his clothes due to his slobbish attitude. His scruffy appearance is made worse by his lengthy 'dread-lock' looking hair, which seems to have a mind of its own, and his inability to be able to work the washing machine.
He seems to enjoy life flying through space, searching for Earth, but he is constantly harassed by his once superior officer, Rimmer.

Arnold Judas. Rimmer,(Chris Barrie), was initially Lister's superior before the 'accidnet' which killed the crew, but was reinstated as a Hologram to try and keep Lister sane during his journey through space.
He is a selfish self, self centred, arrogant and very annoying regulation follower, enjoying nothing more than to state the ships rule, although always the wrong ones.
And although he sees himself as a born leader, comparing himself to the likes of Napoleon, he is actually the biggest coward on board the ship and would gladly sacrifice anyone's life in order to save his own.
In this series, however, we see a more solid Rimmer, albeit having the same style of mannerism.

The Cat, (Danny John-Jules) is a descended of Listers illegally held cat 3 million years earlier who has turned into a walking, talking human/man, (feline-sapien).
He is a cat and like cats he likes nothing more than to sit around preening himself, admiring his 'looks' and 'style' where ever he goes, regardless of how others feel about him.
His ego is the size of Red Dwarf and his wardrobe is even bigger
His fruitless search of a mate sometimes annoys him but once he realises that he has already found his perfect mate, (himself) he soon calms down, until the next time.
He is self centred and sometimes a little arrogant, but he does come in useful with his nasal danger alert system, although this can go a little wrong at times.

Kryten, (Robert Llewellyn) is a rather strange looking mechaniod uses logic to solve problems, even if his sarcastic mannerism comes across more human than robotic.
He is only desire is to serve humans, mainly due to his 'behavioural protocols' but becomes more confused during his time with Lister, Cat and Rimmer, sometimes confused as to which crew member to obey.

** SERIES 6...

Episodes...

1) Psirens
The crew awaken after a long while to find themselves aboard Starbug and are informed that Red Dwarf has been stolen, taking Holly with it, but Kryten has been keeping track on it ever since. They are soon in hot pursuit of the stolen ship, following the faint trace it has left behind.
Unfortunately, just as they think they are closing in on Red Dwarf they soon find themselves in severe danger as they pass through an asteroid belt, unravelling the terrible truth behind all the derelict space ships it holds.
With the crew up against a rather bizarre shape changing, brain sucking creature, who manages to create illusions and mass hypnotic states, causing much confusion aboard Starbug, they again have to come up with a plan to save their lives.


2) Legion
Continuing in pursuit of Red Dwarf the crew of Starbug are captured by a strange looking creature called 'Legion', but as Legion seems friendly they feel there is no real danger to themselves, and as Legion is a good host, pampering their every needs, they begin to feel at home. Especially for Rimmer, who soon realises that he is more than a hologram.
Unfortunately, Legion is not all that it first seemed, soon uncovering its true self, much to the horror of the crew as they discover that Legion is more like themselves than they really cared for.

3) Gunmen of the Apocolypse
Still on the trail of the Red Dwarf mining ship, having come so close to finding it, the crew aboard Starbug are soon running into more troubles when they stumble into a hunting ground, coming into contact with a species who detest humans.
So with the crew becoming prey for the vicious hunters they devise a cunning plan regarding their now heavily armed Starbug, courtesy of the hunters who felt the unarmed little green vessel would not be 'sport'.
Unfortunately, Starbug is left with a deadly computer virus which damages the navigation system and, if not stopped, will send to ship into the pits of a fiery hell.
But with Kryten realising that he has to go into the computer to 'fight' the virus, implanting an anti-virus at the same time, the crew soon realise that this is not quite as easy as it sounds, especially when they become involved in the 'computer' fight simulator, which becomes a little more real than any of them wanted.


4) Emohawk: Polymorph II
When the 'Dwarfers' come across the 'space-police', they are accused of looting from empty ship, but as they flee they end up crash landing on a planet inhabited by some strange hairy looking creature named GELF.
So with the ship in need of repair, needing parts to get the ship airborne again, their only chance is to barter with the chief of a tribe, but unfortunately, Lister is not at all happy with what they plan to trade with, and is soon facing the wrath of the tribe chief and his family, leading to much emotional upheaval on Starbug as the crew flee from the pursuing tribe.
So with Cat and Rimmer defiantly not themselves it is up to 'Dwarfers' to try to bring normality back to their lives.

5) Rimmerworld
A salvage mission on board the recently attacked ship is soon another fight with death, but when Rimmer shows his true colours the others are left to pick up the pieces, fortunately, Kryten always has a plan.
Rimmer is soon stranded alone on what started out as a deserted planet, waiting for the rest of the crew to find him, but as he waits he begins to create what he truly believes is paradise.
Unfortunately, it takes a little longer for Starbug to find Rimmer and when it does the crew soon discover that the once uninhabited planet is now a planet filled with what can only be described as some frightening people, much to Listers horror.

6) Out of Time
Still in pursuit of the Red Dwarf mining ship, the crew of Starbug find themselves stumbling into some strange fog, which, as they soon find out, create illusions which will seriously confuse the mind. But they soon discover that the fog is hiding something rather precious indeed.
As they unlock the secrets in the fog they come across some rather intriguing images, including their future selves, leading to a battle beyond all battle for the meeting of minds, especially for Lister when he discover his future may not be quite to his liking. But when Rimmer certainly surprises everyone when he makes a rather unusual decision, particularly for him.


** IN CONCLUSION...

This is another fantastically well written series with six more hilarious episodes combining to make one great story.
The characters are just as funny as ever, although I do miss Holly's dry wit and sarcastic comments, but as the others are as sarcastically humorous her disappearance doesn't spoil the show at all.
For me, this series contains some of the funniest episodes throughout the entire saga to date, some of these episodes cracking me up more than ever, although Rimmer world did scare me slightly, I mean, imagine a world like that..? God help us all.
I still can't get over Grant and Naylers ability to create such funny work, their minds must either so fabulously warped or they're on some seriously strong marijuana.
The spaced out hilarious stories just seem to be endless, with each one being as good as, if not better than the previous.
In this series, as I said earlier, Grant and Naylor tried something new, they tried to have six episodes which followed each other, a long story with a good ending. And they certainly did a great job in achieving such a splendid result.

The acting still rolls out as good as ever, continuing to show why this show has become so popular and how it has created such a massive fan base which is growing daily.
The actors are so different yet so alike, with each one having the same sort of sarcastically dry sense of humour whilst having a totally different mannerism.
Charles, as the scruffy laid back scouser, keeping his character as the one who stays calm under pressure, so far apart from the cowardly character of Rimmer, who Barrie manages to make so convincing throughout the enter series and beyond.
John-Jules continues playing Cat to perfection, with a cat like trait he has stuck to from day one and finally there's Llewelyn as the well made up Kryten, with a straight face, literally, and such a witty attitude.
The entire cast were well chosen from the start and have gelled together so well, taking shape like a Michelangelo's David.


I have loved red dwarf from the very first episode and, unlike many continuing sagas, it has continued to create many hilarious stories, with some brilliantly thought out endings.
It is not many series which can continue to add fans as it goes into its fourth series, yet Red Dwarf's 'cult' following is rapidly growing well into this sixth series, and for those that enjoy dry witted one liners with a dash of sarcastic comments, mixed well with some excellent acting then Red Dwarf is just your cup of tea.

In all, yet another brilliant series and well worth watching over and over again.
So if you want to add this to your collection then get it from www.amazon.co.uk for less than a fiver, which for three hours of side splitting fun is well worth the 'bluey' indeed.


Extras include...
'Smeg-ups
Deleted scenes.
Commentary

Summary: Red Dwarf..? It should be renamed Starbug shouldn't it..???