Kate says okay, it's story time. When I was living in Washington, I had this tiny television (the kind people used to keep in their kitchens and watch while preparing dinner until it become easier, and lighter, to just watch videos on a cellphone). I got very few channels clearly, but I did get PBS, and the PBS in Puyallup, Washington was VERY British-oriented. They would have marathons of British comedies, including, yep, Red Dwarf. Let me tell you, I learned the closing credits' song (though I did get some words wrong until I could watch it with subtitles)!
I've always considered that Red Dwarf doesn't get interesting until everybody dies, but the pilot does a very good job establishing background information plus Lister and Rimmer's personalities. One thing I have always loved about British television is the writers' willingness to not make the "good guy" the same as the "smart guy". In M.A.S.H., for example, the very funny Larry Linville, a Rimmer prototype, is nevertheless kept from being as funny as Rimmer by being made the butt of every joke. Hawkeye is smarter and a better surgeon and . . . and . . .
This "perfect good guy" seems very American to me. (In another British sitcom, the Vicar of Dibley, the vicar may be the "good guy" but the conservative stick-in-the-mud, David Horton, is given unbelievably saracastic and funny dialog; he also occasionally calls the vicar to account.)
In Red Dwarf, although Lister is the moral center and has far more commonsense than Rimmer, he is also lazy, a slob, and not as bright or ambitious as he could be. Consequently, Rimmer can get off some excellent zingers.
And can I just mention how much I love Danny John-Jules as the Cat!
Another thing that really impresses me about Red Dwarf is how effortlessly it presents rather complex science-fiction ideas in a funny, engaging way. In the pilot, we get the concepts of the work-a-day corporation spaceship, stasis, evolution, holographs, a sentient computer, evolving animals, folklore as history: all major science-fiction concepts. But it's done so effortlessly, the viewers never notices they've been Star Trekked, so to speak. It's really impressive.
By the way, Patrick Stewart was a fan of Red Dwarf!
Mike says I also discovered Red Dwarf through (late night) PBS (it was on right after the Red Green show), and I've always enjoyed the casual way the show was able to juggle some very heavy sci-fi concepts.
My sense of humor has been a mystery to me, and my loved ones, for some time. I usually don't like comedies about idiots. Especially those centering on the Jerk-Idiot. But Lister is just enough of a good guy that he doesn't bother me at all. Rimmer, however . . . oy. But, he's constantly reaping the consequences of his actions, and because of this, I'm able to stand him. But, there is no escaping the fact that these guys are idiots. But FUNNY.
The first episode is great about introducing all the main elements and teaching us something about our characters. Would it be strange to describe a British show as being VERY British? 'Cause, wow. It is. How great is that?
I love all of the jokes and one liners, the visual jokes ("Better make myself look big!"), and I LOVE Lister's accent.
All in all, a great first episode that really showcases what the show is like.
Friday, July 30, 2010
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3 comments:
I actually saw the first episode when KUED was trying it out on a Sunday morning of all things. I then watched the second episode. I laughed, but I wondered where there were going to go with it. Oddly, it didn't show up in regular rotation for a few months, by which time Gene had reminded me of it and I started watching where I left off!
I still think the first two episodes are a little weak. The acting and lines seemed "forced"--Craig Charles was playing Lister, not being Lister.
BTW, whatever you do, don't watch "Red Dwarf: Back to Earth", in exchange for maybe two funny bits, you will want to claw your eyeballs out and eat them.
I still think the first two episodes are a little weak. The acting and lines seemed "forced"--Craig Charles was playing Lister, not being Lister.
This would explain my reaction! I was surprised that I didn't find the pilot funnier since I remember the show as so totally hilarious. But while Chris Barrie was right on target, Craig Charles seemed uncomfortable and more oriented on doing, well, idiotic things than making the jokes work.
(Of course, as Mike says, it's quintessential British comedy, so it really can't go too wrong.)
Danny John-Jules was perfect, of course. BTW, Danny JJ is a good example of an introvert who makes a great entertainer. In the bloopers, Charles and Craig will yuck it up, but Danny JJ is always really quiet, just waiting for his next cue.
By the way, Mike, I love the accent too!! I'm so glad north London and north England accents are all the rage now (although Red Dwarf did it before anyone else; yup, Sean Bean and Eccleston, you owe Red Dwarf a big thank-you). Anything pre-1990 is all hoity-toity BBC refined accents (the kind Anthony Head pretends to have on Buffy).
You know, I also have to agree that the parts do feel a little forced. Lister becomes much more natural down the road, and even rimmer is a little smoother. But, I suppose you could also chalk that up to character growth.
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