Red Dwarf Back to Earth: it's all about Blade Runner

27 October 2009

John Howell

I've just finished watching Red Dwarf's latest, the Back to Earth special on DVD (the Director's Cut) and while it doesn't live up to the glory days before co-creator Rob Grant left and Doug Naylor took over solo, it's a worthy continuation of the series that ended with Season 8 in 1999. If you're a fan of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, you might want to take a look too, you'll already be familiar with a lot of the scenes and dialogue (more on that later).

All the major cast members have returned, including the hologram Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie), the only surviving human from the ship's original crew David Lister (Craig Charles), the android servant Kryten (Robert Llewelyn) and the vain cat human hybrid, Cat (Danny John-Jules). The only reoccurring characters from the original series not to make an appearance are the ship's hologram, Holly (Norman Lovett), and Lister's love interest Kochanski (Chloë Annett).

For a show with such a dedicated fan base and massive cult appeal, it’s great to see them step back into their characters one more time. Production values for this 90 minute special are high, the special effects and sets are a vast improvement over previous episodes, and even the soundtrack appears to be a cut above average.

The humour though is patchy and the plot all over the place. If you've watched any of the TV episodes though, especially the later ones, you're not likely to find anything to complain about.

Considering all the attempts to extend the show’s life after the end of the last season, dedicated fans should consider themselves lucky. Earlier there had been talk of a ninth Red Dwarf season in 2007, but this idea was rejected by the BBC. A Red Dwarf movie had been planned too (to be filmed in Australia) but this also failed to get off the ground after many financing hiccups.

As the name suggests, in this special the crew find themselves back on Earth. I won't describe how they ended up there, as it's complicated and typical of the narrative leaps you'd be familiar with if you watched any of the original TV episodes. On this Earth (surprisingly like our own) Red Dwarf is a TV programme and Craig Charles works on the Coronation Street set. Realising they are fictional characters created for a TV series, Lister, Rimmer, the Cat and Kryten go in search of their creator.

Strangely, there are a lot of blatant references to the film Blade Runner littered throughout. This premise I guess, searching for their “creator” as the replicants do in Blade Runner, was the whole idea. Occasionally these Blade Runner references produce a few knowing laughs if you're very familiar with the film. However, it’s taken way too far, the actors at times seem to be reciting chunks of Blade Runner's screenplay word for word with no real reason or impact. Writer and director Doug Naylor must be a big fan I guess. If you haven't watched Blade Runner, these sections of the special will likely confuse and maybe even annoy you. Remember the guy in the refrigerated building who makes replicants’ eyes? And Tyrell's skyscraper apartment scene? "The light that burns half as bright," etc. Those two scenes in particular feature heavily and don't really add much.

Along with lots of Blade Runner send ups, there are some clever in-jokes for hard core Red Dwarf fans, including a reference to Chris Barrie's real life police troubles. There's also tremendous nostalgia value in watching them all back onboard Red Dwarf one more time.

So should you rush out and buy the DVD? If you're a hard core Red Dwarf fan and already have all eight seasons on DVD, this is definitely one you should add to your collection. If you gave up around the third season of the original series or you're a massive Blade Runner fan and believe you’ll enjoy seeing parts of the film sent up, you might want to consider it. In both cases though, it’s not a “must have". If you've never heard of Red Dwarf and never watched any of the original episodes, don't bother. Although if you've made it to the end of this article, I'm guessing you've watched something along the way.

Shot in high-definition, Red Dwarf: Back to Earth is viewable in either a feature-length "Director’s Cut“ version or the 3-part UK broadcast version. Additionally, there are lots of bonus features including an all-new exclusive documentary, cast and director commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, Smeg Ups and more.

Red Dwarf: Back to Earth arrives on DVD and Blu-ray October 6, 2009.