So cheesy! You're laughing as you watch, but inwardly you're groaning. Typical BBC production -- you can hear all the ambient sounds on the stage, and there are virtually no props. (Think Dr. Who.) Small budget, I guess. That they created a two-man stand-up comedy show that ran for more than 8 seasons is a huge feat. What makes it fun to watch? At odd moments, there's brilliance (double-over and giggle madly type brilliance). Or a touching scene that gets you thinking what it would be like to be stranded on a spaceship millions of light years from Earth. Or to have no companions other than a hologram and a mutated cat. Yup. The hologram is uptight and a stickler for the rules, the cat is a James Brown act-alike. And the only remaining human crew member is a total slob, which is where much of the comedic tension comes from. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who's not a hard-core science-fiction fan, however. It's a bit too spare to be enjoyed by all.
year: 1988-1999
length: seasons 1-6 out on DVD
rating: 2.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094535/combined
My archive of film reviews from 2003 to 2007. I may or may not keep adding to these. Twist my arm.
Categories
- Rating: 4.0 (49)
- Series / Mini-Series (17)
- Title: # (8)
- Title: A (14)
- Title: B (22)
- Title: C (23)
- Title: D (17)
- Title: E (9)
- Title: F (13)
- Title: G (13)
- Title: H (18)
- Title: I (16)
- Title: J (1)
- Title: K (6)
- Title: L (14)
- Title: M (27)
- Title: N (11)
- Title: O (7)
- Title: P (15)
- Title: Q (3)
- Title: R (15)
- Title: S (38)
- Title: T (19)
- Title: U (2)
- Title: V (7)
- Title: W (21)
- Title: X (1)
- Title: Y (2)
- Title: Z (2)
2 comments:
Kat: I was under the impression that you had watched all of seasons 1-6 before posting a review, operating with the assumption that the same standard would be applied to television reviews that are applied to your movie reviews (i.e. I assume that you watch *all* of a movie before writing the review). If, however, you only watched a few episodes of season one, then the 2.0 rating is more understandable (based on the descriptions of your ratings, I'd give season one a 2.5, methinks). Each season could be reviewed separately and probably receive a different rating. Seasons 1 and 2 are completely devoid of Robert Llewelen's hilarious portrayal of the mechanoid Kryten (my favorite character) and Hattie Hayridges's rendition of the computer Holly. Later seasons (such as 7 and 8) are also not as funny, not only because of the unfortunately permanent addition of the character of Kochanski, but, really, such excellence is difficult to sustain over time. Seasons 3-6, with especial attention to seasons 4, 5, and 6, are truly the highlight of the series. The insulting interplay between the characters (Chris Barrie's Rimmer, Craig Charles' Lister, Danny John-Jules' Cat, and Llewellyn's Kryten) is at its peak, the witty British writing (by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor) is at its most devastatingly hilarious, and the misadventurous mishaps that befall the crew are pure brilliance. Red Dwarf's seasons 4-6 are some of my favorite comedic moments ever captured on celluloid. I devote part of every winter to watching all of Red Dwarf through from start to finish. It is time well spent.
Usually I say in the review what I've watched up to the point of the review, but in this case I simply forgot! I've only watched the first disc of season one. <cringe> I look forward to the rest of them, and if warranted, will post another comment.
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