I have done the same, on and off for decades, fallen to sleep to red dwarf. Over the years of watching, the crew begin to feel like friends. So it becomes a comfort thing i suspect. Got me through some tough times for which i will be forever gratefull. Boys from the dwarf! 🤘

I thought you were gonna get the comeback victory, then she hit you with the Excellent. RIP.

I was 15 when Red Dwarf first aired, BBC2 on a Thursday night Moved to NZ, my kids are fans, why wouldn’t they be?

I love bleak, black humour and the first two series are so, SO good for this. Thank you for making this. You've said what I've struggled to find the words for.

Season 3 ep 2 _"Marooned"_ is pretty much just Lister and Rimmer in one room and heavily dialogue driven. That one really reminded me of an episode of Porridge (S1ep3?) where it's just Fletcher & Godper trying to amuse themselves engaged in dialogue in their cell during a lock-in.

You forgot Peter Kay and Phoenix nights.

Wow. I thought it was just me. I used to fall asleep listening to VHS recordings of the series and even to this day Red Dwarf is one of the few series I listen to on my phone to help me sleep at night. I am so gratified to hear/see I am not the only one who does this. 😃

I don't think I've ever connected to a youtube video as much as this one. Every few months I rewatch all series falling asleep to them. I've watched them so many times I can just listen to it with my eyes closed and still visualise it. I also find the idea of space relaxing and peaceful where as people I've spoken to find it terrifying lol.

I have a theory about Red Dwarf, that Lister's cat caused the Drive Plate to need repairing by sneaking it into the vent and hair getting into the drive room. Rimmer still failed to repair the drive plate, but the reason he repaired the drive plate was because he found photos under Lister's bunk of the cat in the vent, the vent into the drive room. He rushes to the drive room, but he's too late. Holly has removed all evidence of this and wiped memory of this from Arnold when he was converted into a hologram. Possibly Holly did this when he was still a genius. This is why Holly brought Rimmer back, so Lister would blame Arnold and not investigate further.

Subbed, my Christmas 1995 too! Just got the Saturn instead

My all time fav hero of Red Dwarf, is the redoubtable, the irrepressible and comically one minded...........TALKY TOASTER.

Rhipnol is awesome stuff..........you get completely solid deep sleep and wake up almost euphoric. Apparently when Patrick Stewart saw Red Dwarf the first time (back in the day) he thought it was a parody of Star Trek TNG and was outraged, but then calmed down and realized that it was just British Humor.

Excellent retrospective. What I would consider, accurate insights. It only just randomly appeared in my recommended videos, today, but the title resonated with how I believe that Red Dwarf often felt whenever I watched it. Your title made me stop scrolling, and I clicked the video because it was definitely something I've thought about regarding Red Dwarf before. It can be interpreted light-hearted comedy set in space, yes, though with a somewhat serious undertone. The bleakness of deep space. Sure, it's just a model moving slowly past a camera with a bit of special effects to give that impression. It is still thought provoking, all the same. In a similar way, 3 million years could easily sound like a throwaway time span further into the future. In hindsight, when I hear that, part of me is immediately expecting it to be pointless, as though they could have said 30 million years and not cared about the specifics. Then again, we don't necessarily need all the Red Dwarf universe mapped and padded out to explain the 3 million years thing meticulously. I will explain in the next paragraph onward. The long and the short of it, is the enormity of the universe. There is a common trope when handling vast spans of time, and trying to convey what that means to anyone in particular. There is something called science communication and conveying the concepts within it, in a pithy and effective manner, which is understandable to a wider range of people. Subject specific jargon can be overwhelming, and how are random folk meant to relate to what this or that vast span of time means? Sometimes, it's not required to (like with Red Dwarf) You can take it or leave it as a random figure someone dreamt up in the 1980's while making the series, and not read too much into it. You can accept it for the likely throwaway lore it may well be, and move on without a second thought. But for what it's worth, I do think that it made me think of many random concepts for how and why this would happen. To nerd out a bit here, let's face it, 3 million years is a very long time on a human level. That's obvious, anyone can see that. The point here, is why did they pick 3 million and not, say, something more 'reasonable' like, 300,000 years, or 30,000 years, or even 'just' 3,000 years? Framing wise, it does feel to be a bleak future, with so much having been lost. Stranded impossibly far from home. Why 3 million in particular? It made me wonder. It's all about perspective. On the geological timescale, or in astronomical terms, the timespan of 3,000,000 Earth years is not really that long. Earth is ~4,567 million years old, so not even 1,000th that timespan. Befitting a setting where the immensity of space and the wider universe, engulfs all human endeavour, the timescale involved is also overwhelming. Perhaps deliberately so. Or maybe it doesn't even matter. Nevertheless, I want to explore this a bit. Let's imagine that something _did_ happen at some point in those 3 million years from our time in the real-world, when humanity reached out across the stars, settling on countless planets and extending it's knowledge of the universe beyond anything we can currently imagine. Plenty of fictional universes have timescales exceeding 3 million years, as well. It's not the timespan that gets me, with Red Dwarf, it's the sheer remoteness and loneliness of the ship, both temporally _and_ physically. It is so, so far gone. To all intents and purposes, gone without hope of return (I know the show does contradict that a bit at times but it's largely the case) A lot can happen in 3 million years. The Necrons in Warhammer 40,000, were asleep for around 60 million years, waiting to reclaim the Milky Way galaxy. The Forerunners in HALO had begun over 15 million years prior to the events of the HALO games, peaking as a civilization long prior to their 300 year nightmare war with the Flood which brought them down for the most part. Then there are other universes in science fiction or sci-fi fantasy, where you have truly insane timespans. The Time Lords in Dr Who (or at least, the Gallifreyans) were pottering around doing random things for roughly 13 billion years. They are one of the eldest of all species in the 'n-universe' (aka the Whoniverse) 13,000,000,000 years is nearly incomprehensible at a glance. It just sounds like gibberish in a passing sense. Why 13 billion? Wouldn't 10 billion or 2 billion be enough? Why be that ancient and still fail to defeat the entirely upstart Daleks? etc etc... There is a lot of this kind of 'temporal inconsistency' across sci-fi. People come up with timespans they deem fit in their universes, and run with it. Comparing and contrasting Red Dwarf's timeline to other fictional universes, I know it feels slightly silly because it's not meant to be taken too seriously in the medium it is framed within. Even so, I still can't help but think this through. The logical question would be, 'what happened?'. Presumably something appalling. In a way, it's darkly unsettling that a ship could be lost for so long. It definitely has a horror element. There is almost something amusing in a uniquely British way, of characters like Cat and Rimmer being around 3 million years after humanity first went to the Moon. There is something paradoxically ironic about it, as though, at the end of all things, there shall still be some British cat mutant at the end of meaningful time, on a human scale, dressing in 1980's fashion and basically being the ship's cat immortalised. It's insane and bleak in an oddly funny way. Why these three fruitcakes? How long can it continue? Would they really survive like this? (probably not) The grimdark version of Red Dwarf, would be more akin to what happens regarding the Engineers in the Alien franchise and universe, or the souls of the Necrons (or should I say more accurately, in context, the Necrontyr) in W40K. It probably wouldn't be so cheerful with all manner of madness unfolding. That a trio of relative incompetents can keep the ship functional at all is not only impressive, but strangely endearing. Why them? Because it is, and that's all we the audience need to know. Whittled down to three goofs with some additional computer intelligence assistance. They persist, with seemingly no end to their task. In a way, 3 million years on an eternal voyage, is as tragic as it is humbling. When trying to convey what 3 million years _really_ means, how do we relate to that? The Dinosaurs (the non-Avian forms, at least) lasted for roughly 170 million years (167 million years, provably, with fossil evidence) from the Carnian Age of the Late Triassic Period, to the Maastrichtian Age of the Late Cretaceous Period. Just saying that might not mean much though. This is why science communication has to be more helpful. If I were to say, the Dinosaurs evolved in at least the 5th of 30 Ages of the Mesozoic Era, that goes someway to demonstrating just _how long_ that dynasty lasted (and it doesn't even count the Avian Dinosaurs which endured beyond the Mesozoic, into the Cenozoic Era, which we are still in 66 million years after the Mesozoic Era ended. I'd further contextualise this by pointing out that the Dinosaurs were present for no fewer than 26 of the 30 geological ages/stages of the Mesozoic; for 3 out of 7 of the Triassic Period Ages (the last 3 of those; Carnian, Norian and Rhaetian - though some palaeontologists speculate that they went further back, before the Carnian, into the Ladinian, or even the Anisian; it gets increasingly difficult to delineate true Dinosaurs from their gangly, Dinosauromorph kin and close but no cigar lookalikes, in the wider Archosauromorpha, but I digress; long story short: finding 'Dinosaur Zero' is not easy, and may be impossible in a completely proven way); for 11 out of 11 of the Jurassic Period Ages; and for 12 out of 12 of the Cretaceous Period Ages. [part 1/2; part 2 in reply to myself below]

Red Dwarf was my introduction to sci-fi. Not Star Trek, not Star Wars. Red Dwarf.

You've no idea how refreshing it is to hear someone say series instead of season.

No way are we the same age, and from basically the same area. As for that night time thing, I used to (and sometimes still do) put it on during those winter nights where it is bitterly cold outside with the hail and ice, it gives a cozy feeling of being protected from the dark and the cold in the quiet wilderness. As for Backwards, I remember seeing that with my dad and us both being in stitches.

Thatchers Britain? She was better than the shower of Sh*t we have in power now, 4 yrs in prison for a Fb post...Jeesus..What would the Dwarfers make of that?

I would argue something like people just do nothing is a modern comedy that was made by working class people (they worked in a call centre together) and came through the bbc production line

yep me too. but i was watching the videos .which i still have lol. class

First 5 are really good in my opinion series 6 there's some good ideas but feels a bit forced same as the later series

Series one to eight - brilliant, then they screwed it up by not directly continuing from Rimmer's last words in the last episode of season eight. I watched episode one of season nine, waited for this to be referenced, realised they'd buggered it up, and never watched anymore. I converted all my eight seasons into MKV files and I watch them at least once a year, and I use quite a few of the words or lines in my everyday life, including the inflections, "what is is?" being the one I use the most.

#Funfact I was actually born the very week Red Dwarf debuted on the BBC. Probably one of the many reasons why I have such an affinity for the show 😀😄

Its brilliant exposure of how we need other people, even prats like rimmer , Lister was cool but a bum he needed rimmers anal retentiveness to stay sane , resisting him , was fun .. Listers refusal to be conventional , gave Rimmer purpose, even though Lister disgusted him

Hey, what did Mr. Blobby ever do to you? Class act.

With the ratings failure of the final serious attempt at new sci fi for some years by the BBC in 1987, Star Cops, and considering the outright hostility of BBC executives towards Doctor Who*, it’s unsurprising that the only way the Corporation would commit to making sci fi at this time was as a sitcom. The BBC didn’t want to make sci fi anymore and used it’s inability to compete with Hollywood budgets as an excuse not to try. BBC executives saw British TV sci fi as an embarrassment and a joke and then along comes a sendup in the form of Red Dwarf. We were a very long way from the peak of the BBC’s commitment to producing sci-fi, from the legendary live broadcasts of Quatermass and Orwell’s 1984 (starring Peter Cushing) directed by Rudolph Cartier, to the 1965-71 anthology series Out of the Unknown with its adaptation of stories by literary luminaries including Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, John Wyndham, Ray Bradbury, J G Ballard, E M Forster, etc. Being too young to remember Blake’s 7 (1978-81), the TV version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1981) or even really register The Tripods (1984-85), to me as a child, BBC science fiction WAS Doctor Who and it felt like they had switched allegiances away from my favourite show to a sci-fi sendup in the shape of Red Dwarf. So in my contrarian way I was predisposed not to be interested in it. I don’t say any of this to drag Red Dwarf. My older brother got into it after first series or two and ended up buying the DVDs when they came out. Just sharing my own experiences of being an 80s kid living on a quiet Hertfordshire street. A daydreamer with a vivid imagination who was blithely unaware of any of the political stuff provided as context at the start of this video. Plus a bit of context in regards to BBC sci fi production that I only became aware of much later. (*financial under investment, slashed series length, lack of promotion, vindictive scheduling in the ‘graveyard slot’ against ITV’s ratings juggernaut Coronation Street, the first attempt to cancel the show that was back-pedalled into being presented as merely a ‘rest’ for the series and became known as the notorious ‘18 month hiatus’ …)

I also spend a month or two each year drifting off to sleep with Red Dwarf on. I'm amused that I'm not the only one. Edit: Also, I should have commended you on this docu video. I like how you drew parallels between British culture and economy at the time and the world the show has built. Great work all around.

I swear we must’ve had the same childhood. I was born in 1992 but if I crawled into bed with my parents they’d be watching Red Dwarf. I used to go to sleep watching Backwards. The only issue is The Polymorph gave me nightmares. 😂😭

Have you checked pandamoniums sega rally documentary? The legendary announcer is interviewed there!

Danny John Jules also starred in the film Scum and later on Blade 2

You should get a drone and pilot through the city and play the red dwarf themesong..

Holy shit, I thought I was the only one who fell asleep listening to RD. Glad to know there are other weirdos out there

The Shenmue games have aged badly in many ways and were quite divisive at the time. Regardless, I absolutely adore the games. I can't think of another console so synonymous with a single game than the Dreamcast with Shenmue. Shenmue is one of the primary reasons why the Dreamcast is one of my top 3 consoles of all time, and I love the games just as much today, if not more, than I did 20+ years ago.

I was 4 too in 88 and red dwarf is one of my all time fave shows. I have and do the leaving an episode on while going to sleep... I also do it with buffy one of my other fave shows

The vibes of shenmue 1 is the best in shenmue series

Excellent video... insightful and wholesome. 👍

Red Dwarf is another show that just encapulsates how amazing British entertainment was in the 1990s

6:44 "The model 2, made everything else look..... sssssssssshhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit" is the funniest bit ever 😆 Also, TRUE!

I always remembered as Red Dwarf being much, much longer that it is shown here. Is it just me or have I been tainted by the remembrance of the Star Ward ships (and especially Spaceballs1)?

When I was a kid, our local PBS station would play Red Dwarf like 10pm-ish, and sometimes do marathons of it even, for pledge drives. I always looked forward to it.

Watched the first episode when it aired and was hooked! I rate every season, some are better than others based on preference but each has it's moments, I've watched them through more times than I can remember.

Just to put this out there, I love these guys, even when they are not on Red Dwarf. Craig I loved as the narrator on Robot Wars. Robert I loved on Junkyard wars. Chris I loved on Chris Barry's massive Engines, as well as on Tomb Raider, and Danny on the Robin Hood spoof where he was the guy selling questionable good out of his coat. Why? IDK, I just like them okay?

Gazpacho soup anyone ?

To my fellow Dwarf enthusiasts, have you heard the good news? Red Dwarf is also a series of absolutely excellent (and as a real snub nosed Sci Fi purist) books, and if you are lazy or otherwise illiterate I have further good news! There's a stupendously done set of audiobooks natrated (along with all of his early career defining impression abilities) by none other than Chris Barrie. If you are a fan of RD, or speaking plainly, a fan of quality written, reasonably "hard", Science Fiction; then you could do a lot worse than the RD books. Full disclosure, they do get a little bit worse as they progress, but I don't think that's truly noticeable until the last one and much like the show it's to do with the bust up of the writing duo. Do not let that put you off though, there's parts of the books that literally bring me to tears of laughter to the point where I am physically in pain due to a stitch. Stoke me a clipper, I'll be back for Christmas. Edit, and I would also like to fiercely point out that Mr Blobby was an actual hero and he needs to return to ruin celebrities days very quickly.

I DO EXACTLY THIS. It's comfortable. Feels like I'm with old friends. Helps me sleep.

I do the same, put it on to fall asleep too, have been doing it for years.. I do flip between only fools and horses.

Stoke me a clipper, I'll be back for Christmas!

Good review. I love T1 & 2 but the first one will always be better for me. Got that 80's vibe.

The fiest series really stands up

greatest show ever made

I was 12 and just starting high school when Red Dwarf first aired. Fittingly, when the let-down that was series 7 aired it coincided with me leaving school, getting a job and having to pay bills.