New Red Dwarf two-parter for Dave

Added : 29th January 2009

UK TV Channel Dave is creating a two-parter special of Red Dwarf to be aired Christmas 2009. It will have the original cast, and is written and directed by Doug Naylor.

Back to Earth

The two-parter promises to finally take the crew back to Earth. This sounds great doesnt it? But which Earth will it be? It is 3 million (and a bit) years into the future, so what will Earth be like? I doubt Dave's budget will include enough to show a glittering futuristic metropolis with futuristic flying cars and technology 3 million years in the making, so I'm more tempted to believe they'll land either in a forest or in 2009 or something.

Also which universe will they be in? We've already seen a parallel universe Earth where JFK wasn't shot. So we might see something similar again. We might even see a completely desolate landscape like the final series of Battlestar Galactica, though I doubt Red Dwarf would be that dark.

Rimmer will obviously be a hologram again, as he died at the end of the last series. Also we still don't really know the fate of the Red Dwarf, the one that was recreated by the nanobots. The last we saw it was being corroded by a metal-eating virus. So the new series will either all be set on Starbug, or the crew might have finally found the original Red Dwarf.

No holds barred

Also according to the BBC website:

"The new two-part series Red Dwarf: Back to Earth will be followed by a "no holds barred" episode without sets, special effects or autocue."  

What does this even mean? No sets? No autocue? Is it an ad libbed episode of the Dwarfies walking around the woods? Is it a standup routine on a stage where the crew pretend to be interacting with a set that isn't there?

Whatever it is, I have faith in something written and directed by Doug Naylor, and these actors can pull anything off brilliantly!

• BBC News website

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