Red Dwarf (Series 1-8) Retrospective/Review, Part 1

[@RowanJColeman]

HELP THE CHANNEL GROW: www.patreon.com/rowanjcoleman

[@mutantdog.]

Just a minor correction... Howard Goodall's work on Red Dwarf preceded Mr Bean which started in 1990.

[@aaronstanley6914]

can't wait for your series summary. been wanting to get into red dwarf for years but found it daunting with its long history. hopefully by the end of these reviews, i'll fell more comfortable with the series and able to jump in without worry.

[@Zaron_Gaming]

@@aaronstanley6914 you really are missing out by waiting. Just start it and you really won't regret it

[@aaronstanley6914]

@@Zaron_Gaming Ya actually I'm planning to watch it over December now. I looked into how to watch it and turns out its alot easier to watch compared to the last time I looked. The whole series is available through BritBox on prime video for 1.99$ a month in Canada. last time I checked (many years ago) it was only available through Apple's app store for 1.99$~ an episode.

[@KevinWhite-zb5os]

Well met sir! Now don't be a smeghead and get on with part 2!

[@Majere613]

I love the story Patrick Stewart tells of coming back to the UK during a break in filming TNG and seeing Red Dwarf for the first time. He began the episode being really annoyed, thinking it was taking the mickey out of Trek, and ended it laughing his head off.

[@futureravenable]

I think the episode was probably "Thanks For The Memory", considering Rowan's other videos I'm surprised he highlighted it but didn't mention that the plot is almost identical to "Clues" from TNG with missing time, the crew finding hints and the technological member of the cast keeping it from them. Obviously there are key differences but its the closest to an actual parody episode. And Red Dwarf did it first!

[@ryougahibiki941]

I was bitterly disappointed in Sir Pat when I first saw that documentary. The fact that his first reaction was to talk to his lawyer, shows how much he'd been corrupted by American ideology.

[@cmillerg6306]

@@ryougahibiki941 oh good Lord. P.S. is responsible for his decisions. To say that he was corrupted by US culture is convenient and is blame-shifting. Somewhat reminiscent of how sexual aggressors sometime blame the female victim, as she "was asking for it" by her dress.

[@ryougahibiki941]

@@cmillerg6306 I'm still annoyed that he even thought that aspect was worth repeating the interview as well. I'm not obsolving him off blame at all. I'm just of the opinion that his first reaction wouldn't have been to call his layer of he hadn't spent many years in the USA.

[@lordomacron3719]

@@ryougahibiki941incorrect. I could tell you why you are wrong. But I doubt you would actually listen. Given you responses. What I will tell is that a flawed premise leads to flawed conclusions. Now do have a wonderful day.

[@gnattress]

Queeg is probably the funniest single joke in the history of sitcoms. 25 minutes of setup, and then the punchline.

[@gnattress]

@Druid of Scosglen Well it is the jape of the decade. April, May, June, July, and August Fool.

[@Valehass]

Norman was a major loss to the show, Hattie was fine but Lovett was fantastic.

[@neilholmes8200]

I also like the Norweb federation joke, although it's a shorter setup

[@berniethekiwidragon4382]

Definitely on-brand for Hollie.

[@kitthehacker]

We are talking jape of the decade We are talking April, May, June, July and August Fool Wheeze of the week, mate

[@kentgoldings]

I started dating a woman in 1993 who insisted that we watch a Red Dwarf marathon airing on the local PBS station. It became a favorite show. I married the woman and now we have an 18-year old daughter who also loves Red Dwarf.

[@neilholmes8200]

Did you call your daughter Jim or Bexley? 😉

[@thedilutedspine]

I've been watching Red Dwarf on and off since I was 11. My local PBS affiliate used to broadcast an episode every Saturday night at 10:30PM and I remember begging my mom to let me stay up to watch it. As a kid growing up in rural Texas in the mid 2000s it was a truly bizarre experience compared to other media I had access to. Red Dwarf single handedly kicked off my love for English comedy and was hugely influential in my early tastes in both comedy and Sci-Fi content.

[@charlesfarley28]

My own experience was highly similar, only mine was on 90's Iowa Public Television's Friday night line-up along with the comedy institution that is Blackadder. Also aired during this block was this obscure little sci-fi serial, one defined by perpetually sporting the highest of concepts and the lowest of budgets, one that would sadly only ever be so beloved by myself and my best friend, who introduced me to it, due to it having been cancelled a decade prior. We never lost hope it may again someday... RUN, knowing full well just how very astronomically unlikely were such odds. We didn't give up that hope because after all, who knows? Who... nose...

[@tigrecito48]

have you watched these? (my favourites of the 80s 90s & 2000s game on, one foot in the grave, the IT crowd, bottom, only fools & horses, absolutely fabulous, black books, father ted, men behaving badly, blackadder, allo allo, some mothers do ave em, the young ones, the thin blue line, the league of gentlemen, the brittas empire (chris barrie), rab c nesbitt, the detectives

[@matthewmolina2706]

Same for me ! It came on right after SNL in my area on PBS , normally got 1 episode and then a few episodes of classic dr who . Occasionally got a red dwarf marathon and they play Every episode in a set series .

[@tigrecito48]

@@matthewmolina2706 i havent liked dr who since the 80s...

[@wynfrithnichtwo8423]

Texas here was the same but throughout the 90s. Mom and I would watch this show on PBS every night. I miss mutti.

[@sliksick123]

I am sorry but are you telling we nearly had a master comedy sitcom that could have started Alan Rickman [Severus Snape] and Alfred Molina [Doctor Octopus]? God, I love this channel.

[@willmfrank]

If there's any truth to the Multiverse hypothesis, we NEED to find the portal to the universe where that happened.

[@Neil070]

@@willmfrank That's brilliant. Sadly, we can never see Rickman as Dave Lister. I still can't see AR as Lister, even in my imagination...but what an episode that would have made.....Multiverse of Madness indeed

[@listerofsmeg884]

@Latest Obssesion only because we are so used to the characters as they are now. This idea was back in the mid 1980's, before Rickman found fame as Gruber and various other surly characters.

[@stevemcallister4965]

@Latest Obssesion Rickman would have made a better Rimmer than a Lister, I think

[@JDWDMC]

I read your post in Rimmer's voice.

[@russmorgan315]

Mate, you smashed it. Red Dwarf is legendary British comedy.

[@Faction.Paradox]

I'll never forget how shockingly powerful and resonant "Thanks for the memory" is. It's a real departure in tone & style from the rest of the show. It was the last "classic" Dwarf ep I watched. I'd been though S1-6 a million times during the constant 90's repeats but seemed to miss it every time. It left a real imprint on me and only hits harder as an adult having lived with highs & regrets.

[@listerofsmeg884]

one of my top Ten episodes

[@Banjo-Oz]

It's a great example too of what makes RD so special. It's not just a comedy, it's not just a fun sci-fi romp. The writing is so damn solid and when it goes hard, it goes hard. I consider episodes like Inquisitor, TFTM, Marooned, and many others easily up there with the best Trek has to offer and honestly as just amazingly good television full stop in any genre.

[@listerofsmeg884]

@@Banjo-Oz don't give me the star trek crap, it's too early in the morning! 😆

[@Banjo-Oz]

@@listerofsmeg884 I always think of that line from RD and Farscape's "give me a critter over god like aliens" whenever watching a typical Trek episode with either element now. :)

[@germansnowman]

I only recently discovered the audio books (e. g. “Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers”), read by Chris Barrie. He voices all the characters himself with uncanny accuracy.

[@jelkel25]

Had them on double cassette (if I remember correctly), played them till the tape stretched and got all mangled up. They were great, Lister riding around on a giant cockroach and the Better Than Life game section was a lot longer and darker than on the TV.

[@lifeisagame2023]

They are great, Especially talking about the birth of ace rimmer

[@FreejackVesa]

⁠​⁠@@jelkel25I know what you mean. As a kid I would listen to the Simon & Schuster audio recordings of Night of the Living Dead and Star Trek:Probe until the tapes barely played anymore. By the time I found the Red Dwarf audiobooks they were mp3, but I still kind of miss cassettes

[@just_kos99]

I happened upon Red Dwarf purely by accident. Craig and Danny were in Seattle, at the PBS station, for a RD marathon. I remember seeing the opening scene of an astronaut outside a spaceship, painting it and thought, "Huh. A new science fiction show." LOL, boy am I glad I was channel surfing! It was the pilot episode, too.

[@jeremyclegg3588]

That was excellent. But now I can't stop imaging Lister as portrayed by Alan Rickman.

[@JohnnyWednesday]

Imagining him rolling the Rs in "Rimmer"

[@JamesNoms]

I remember my dad coming to me when I was 9 and telling me about a new sci fi series starting as he knew I loved the genre. He let me stay up later than usual and we sat and watched it together in stitches for half the episode. I was hooked from then onwards.

[@Juniar101]

Marooned is an exceptional episode, feels more like a play. Like the early seasons, all the comedy comes from their dialogue and interaction.

[@alderoth01]

This show was unbelievably good. I wish it had shown in America during it's heyday. I watched the entire series on either Hulu or Netflix back in like 2013. I was going through a lot of personal issues, and that show was so comforting. I don't know if it was the idea of being along in the middle of something, or what, but it just resonated with me. I am glad I got to see this show when I did.

[@timchorle]

There's just something "eerie" about the show that made you feel like you were really there (background noise, sets, etc.) Says a lot about the sci-fi production

[@Christian-ve1wi]

So many classic British TV shows, so many fond memories. There's not many shows that you can pretty much constantly watch over and over again and still enjoy them. Red Dwarf I've watched countless times and have laughed with the memories from the clips brought up in this video. Chris Barrie could of easily been typecast but his acting skills allowed him to go onto do other things like the Brittas Empire. And now to watch part 2 😊

[@inelouw]

Red Dwarf was my first encounter with non-standard English, as a foreigner. It was a huge challenge and yet SO MUCH FUN! I never realised until your retrospective that I've actually watched it from the beginning, I never did a full rewatch of the series. Time to change that! I've been singing the title tune from the moment your video started. 🤣

[@mdaddy775]

I was looking for a long, interesting and amusing video to have on in the background while I did my uni work - this was smegging perfect! Thanks, Rowan.

[@curtiswatson4192]

Meltdown is one of my favourite red dwarf episodes, probably the one that made me fall in love with the show. The bits where Lister describes Winnie the Pooh's execution and Rimmer has Ghandi train bare knuckle boxing had me in bits

[@UAPandFriends]

This instantly reminded how much utter genuis was contained within this show! Many times it spun my head with brilliantly written time warping antics... but also had me legitimately in tears with its tugs on the heart. The JFK episode is one that stands out.

[@ringod123]

Well done on collating all of the information in the dvd commentaries and special features into 1 video.

[@DoctorPretorious616]

I had loved this show as an teenager and it still holds a special place in my heart today, I discovered it on the PBS station WCFE 57 in high school with the Series II opener "Kryten" and was immediately hooked. I collected merchandise related to the show, wore an Ace Rimmer T-shirt, read the novels and was a member of the Official Red Dwarf Club for many years. I still try to catch any and all sporadic reunions of the Boys From The Dwarf, even as the actors are looking older than dirt now; it's always good to hang out with these guys again!

[@kaitlyn__L]

This was fantastic. I’ve got to confess, I’m one of those people who prefers the lonely emptiness of the first two seasons in a strange way. Even though I’ll readily admit most of the high concept episodes that are my favourite come from later. Also I must admit I thought the title meant part 1 went up to season 8, not that both parts would only cover the BBC years. Still, learned some really interesting stuff, like how they always wanted the aesthetic of season 3. I’d picked up on a change between Rimmer and Lister with season 3 too, but hadn’t realised it was a rift between the actors.

[@arthurdaly3497]

I prefer to 1-3 over 4-6. Close call though. Couldn't get into anything after 6, it just went all slapstick and seemed to lost the sci-fi and even semi-realistic characters and situations

[@barry649]

I also love how desolate, empty, and lonely those seasons are, especially season one. They really feel like they're the only people left in the universe

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@barry649 exactly!! The Milky Way is only 100,000 light years across, so after a million light years they are way way beyond the galaxy. They shouldn’t be running into all these artefacts of later human space colonisation, no matter HOW successful it was (and no matter how much I love a lot of the episodes where that was the setup…). As comedy the later seasons are probably more successful, but as VIBES the first season is so strong. I just realised that’s phrased more like an autistic nitpick, so I guess I’ll say, I accept that premises evolve and change, but I really love it aesthetically when a show sticks to its premise. These are the last two people alive with a whole ship to themselves, etc. I always kinda wished we saw more of the Cat civilisation too, like. Lister and Rimmer are going mad with each other, why not go spend a ton of time with them. I know it’s because of the budget and for the jokes they made them insufferable too but,,, come on Edit: oh no, I just realised with enough time dilation (something like 0.999999999c) they actually could get back to the Milky Way after only experiencing a few years. Hmm. It only takes a few months of constant acceleration to start getting to that kind of dilation too, and the differential builds up on itself exponentially once it starts. Hmm. Though if that’s the case, I suppose the radiation dissipation would’ve been slowed too, and they’d just be correspondingly further away in actuality.

[@CardinalBiggles01]

With you regarding seasons 1 and 2. Me and my mates would record them on our trusty VHS machines and have regular Dwarf viewings back in the late 80s.

[@russelledwards001]

Series 3 to 6 are the best.

[@FoxBatius]

Thanks!

[@porkwoofles3909]

I watched this whole thing. It was really enjoyable just to listen to someone who loves the show. I have great memories of growing up and watching Red Dwarf with my family each week.

[@Ravuun]

Thank you for showing Red Dwarf some love!

[@osborn.illustration]

I grew up watching this show. It's so smegging good. Amazing writing and acting. There are so many brilliant episodes. "Quarantine" might be my favorite.

[@Xondar11223344]

A friend and I used to literally binge watch all of Red Dwarf during the annual KCTS 9 Red Dwarf Marathon. KCTS 9 was a Washington State PBS broadcaster, but we got them up in BC for some reason. They would play every episode and then cap it off with an airing of the latest series. We would learn to appreciate the early episodes because we would tape the newest series and make sure to watch every episode that aired on those magical Saturdays and Sundays. I still quote Red Dwarf constantly even though it's been a few years since I last watched it (binged it on streaming with my wife a few years back. It still holds up and we both still adore it). For example, every once in a while I'll utter my last words: "Gazpacho soup!" or I'll threaten to "do to Lister what Alexander the Great once did to me." Sometimes I'll put on a squeaky voice and ask for a "papadam the size of Lake Michigan." Occasionally time will get all screwed up and I'll have to explain that "I've never seen one before, no one has, but I'm guessing it's a white hole. A white hole? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. A black hole sucks time and matter out of the Universe, a white hole returns it. So that thing is spewing time back into the universe?"

[@SchertzerCOTN]

me too - KCTS PBS Seattle - we went to the Seattle event with Craig and Rob - hilarious!

[@americker]

It's Monday morning, I'm off sick with the flu, and there's a 1 hour video from Rowan about my favourite childhood show. Life is good.

[@ShojoBakunyu]

I'm shocked by how few Americans have seen this wonderful show! It was a HUGE part of my Childhood as I watched it on... um... AMC? PBS? I honestly cannot remember WHERE I saw it since I know it was on a broadcast network and not cable... it was pivotal in the development of my sense of humor.

[@TechRyze]

I watched ‘Backwards’ so many times when it was new, as it came at the point when my cousins and I would record Thursday night’s television. Red Dwarf was part of an amazing lineup of TV back then. Such great memories 📺

[@vinceeager8553]

Red Dwarf is the first show I fell in love with as a kid. Had every episode from series 1-6 taped off the TV and watched them repeatedly. Probably the reason I love Futurama and Rick And Morty today It's not a sci-fi show, but I think Black Books is heavily inspired and almost as good as Red Dwarf. Three characters that don't really get on, but who need one another to survive

[@leeroypatel]

Great work Rowan, really enjoyed this one. So much information too. In all my 42 years I had no idea Chris Barrie wasn't his real name!

[@FreedSpiritProd]

Excellent. Part 2 can’t arrive soon enough!!!! ❤

[@Darkness_at_Noon56]

The red dwarf book and follow up better than life are worth a look. Surprisingly good. Blends a lot of the episode plots into one big story.

[@jamesadams1076]

I agree. I always enjoyed the subtext about drug addiction as a response to loneliness

[@wyndgrove9452]

They also foreground the melancholy and tragedy of the events much more. Along with the greater development and detail provided to encounters like the polymorph and the future earth, they have a wonderfully epic quality. They're awesome parallel counterpoints to the TV show.

[@bfragged]

I always thought those first 2 books were better than the show, and I absolutely loved the show. I reread both of them numerous times back in the 90s

[@bottlemanic]

They're both wonderful and the audio books done by Chris Barrie is the cherry on top. I love how they add to the characters backgrounds and give the plots a much more grandiose spin

[@yarmen1268]

Meltdown is probably the most underrated episode in the whole series. I wonder why it doesn’t get more love

[@gm2407]

There is something so classically post war to the millenium British about a 'paradise beach' being an overcast cold windy day on the coast of the Irish sea. Like a lavish meal being fish, chips and mushy peas.

[@platinumnitrocharge4218]

met Normal Lovett several times, had the pleasure of taking care of the green room for a couple of his gigs, nicest guy ever, extremely humble.

[@UKGareth316]

One of my favourite tv shows of all time. This was my gateway into sci-fi.

[@TheBeird]

Been re-watching the series on BBC Iplayer. Been lovin' it. Series 5 and 6 are the pinnacle!

[@grimfic]

Had forgotten how much I loved this show, how much it influenced me and how much I miss it. Thank you for putting this together. A highlight of my week was sitting down with my dad and watching this when this was aired back in the early 90's. The episodes were never long enough, but we would talk about it endlessly at school. Amazing memories.

[@fgdj2000]

Another great Retrospective. Without your earlier video „Why Red Dwarf is Awesome“, I would never have started this series. I‘m currently rewatching it alongside the Alien films and the influence is very obvious. I still haven’t seen the newer series, but I will one of these days.

[@JagoHazzard]

This is a great analysis of one of my all-time favourite series. I enjoyed annoying my friends when Tenet came out by saying, "So basically it's that one episode of Red Dwarf?"

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

As a Rowan J Coleman fan AND a Red Dwarf fan, I’m really looking forward to this. I’d love to hear your takes on the series after season 6 as to me, at least, that’s where I noticed a drop in quality. I still love it, but 3-6 are my favourites.

[@BintyMcFrazzles]

Series 3-6 is probably the funniest thing I've ever seen. Series 7 was okaaaayy at best. Series 8 and 9 were truly awful.

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

@@BintyMcFrazzles yeah the most 2 recent series and The Promised Land were pretty enjoyable and to be honest, as long as they keep making it, I'll keep watching it.

[@Xondar11223344]

Series 1 and 2 are still really good.

[@listerofsmeg884]

Rob and Doug's split at the end of 6 was the main reason for the tonal shift. Having to get other writers in , though they did a decent job, it was never going to be quite the same.

[@Neil070]

@@BintyMcFrazzles Bringing back the crew and imprisoning the guys completely subverted the dynamic, from four free agents travelling without a plan, to being minor cogs or pawns. From being able to make decisions to having every aspect of their lives dictated by the Prison authorities / Captain. It was dire Or from being the most important and unique lifeforms for light years around, at least until they encountered another ship, to just being numbers, anonymous crew members.

[@josephk5654]

I still remember watching the PBS fund raising marathons just to catch the Red Dwarf episodes. They never seemed to play them any other time. Loved that theme song as a kid, still do now.

[@mutantdog.]

Totally agree about Meltdown being one of the under-rated gems. Although White Hole was my favourite S4 ep at the time, Meltdown has really stood up over the years as one of the great Rimmer episodes, i have a similar fondness for S5's Terrorform in this regard too.

[@Xondar11223344]

White Hole is such a great episode, it's a shame it never got a mention.

[@Karajorma]

White Hole is also my favourite from S4. Similarly unmentioned, Quarantine is my favourite from S5.

[@jensonkiin3678]

So what is it?

[@Xondar11223344]

​@@jensonkiin3678 I've never seen one before, no one has, but I'm guessing it's a white hole.

[@jensonkiin3678]

@@Xondar11223344 A white hole?

[@kaicanyonellis]

Have always had this series on my list of sci fi classics I'd like to finally watch and learn more about. Thank goodness you decided to cover it. Your videos always make it easy for me to understand why a work is such a big deal to its fans. Thank you for making this!

[@TheOvadex]

Great timing on this. I just finished rewatching all of the small rouge one last night. lol

[@ryougahibiki941]

I follow both the Red Dwarf and the Star Wars reddit feeds. Regularly people mis-spell Rogue One as Rouge One. I used to flag them as lost redditers, directing them to the Red Dwarf feed. I've stopped being a dick about it, but it still makes me chuckle every time someone gets it wrong.

[@moonbeans7042]

I always found that the early series were great because there's always at least one plotline that builds the lore or moves the plot. Such as with Lister's babies in future echoes that gets paid off in parallel universe. Or Rimmer getting the hardlight drive or the crew losing red dwarf. It always felt like you were rewarded for consistently watching the show and it felt like the series was always moving forward from series to series. But since the series returned after the decade hiatus it's always felt a little off, I enjoy the new episodes but there doesn't seem to be any ongoing plot developments and it just seems rather superfluous like if you didn't watch a series you wouldn't really have missed anything. For instance, as fun as the recent TV movie was I felt like nothing that happened in it really mattered when the concept should have been pretty impactful especially for the cat. Perhaps Doug Naylor just doesn't feel comfortable messing with the status quo but I personally feel that without some change the series gets a bit stagnant. Just look at the seasons covered in this retrospective, part of what made them entertaining was the sense that they were often shifting and constantly innovating and finding themselves.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Couldn’t agree more tbh.

[@mrcritical6751]

My guess is Doug’s in a position where he doesn’t want to push it so far they end up with another series 8 or he’s so focused on keeping the show going no matter what that any development could result in the show getting closer to a proper finale

[@moonbeans7042]

@@mrcritical6751 That could be true. It just seems sad though as the series feels to me like it's just going through the motions. Id just feel kinda gutted if Red Dwarf is doomed to a slow decline with us having seen all the interesting character growth already and with the rest of the series being just mildly amusing fluff adventures. Id rather it was like Blackadder where they did a handful of great series and then just stopped. I wouldn't want to watch endless Blackadder every year if they'd run out of sharp witty comedic ideas.

[@jasondiasauthorpage615]

Ah, good memories. The series ran in a tough time in my life and was one of the high points. The family would sit and watch together. I showed some of these to my wife a few years ago and she was blown away.

[@jasonblalock4429]

As an American, I'm probably one of the few people who *discovered* Red Dwarf through the novels. I was a huge fan of the Hitchhiker's Guide, so I picked up the first Red Dwarf book just based on seeming kinda like HHG... and then fell in love with the show, spending years slowly collecting bits and pieces of it as I came upon them. I didn't even get to watch the whole thing (up to that point) until the 2000s.

[@dagga07]

finally1 i have been waiting for someone to give a Red dwarf retrospective for so long! thank you!

[@GrabaCuppaPodcast]

This show is one of my favourites of all time. Truly masterful.

[@jamesabernethy7896]

Thanks for the hard work you put into these things. You always do justice to whatever you cover.

[@trance_trousers]

I was one of those who watched the first episode as it was first broadcast back in February 1988, and have been a fan ever since. Brilliant comedy that has had me in stitches at times.

[@draupnir23]

More EXCELLENT work!!! Thank you so much for all your effort!! I’m eagerly awaiting part 2!

[@phantomsidious2934]

Red dwarf, amazing show, which took the sci fi elements seriously and had the comedy come from the characters and their conflicts with each other, truly genius writing. Actors/writers/ musicians/ model effects, all right time, right place feel to it.

[@ryougahibiki941]

A friend of mine and I started the first Red Dwarf fan club in Australia, purely so we could educate people in the first two series, as they hadn't been released on VHS at the time, and hadn't been rescreened since their initial airing. Someone in the UK recorded series 6 for us and shipped it to us. It mysteriously was delayed at the Australian Customs office for two weeks longer than it legitimately should have been. When it finally arrived it had clearly been watched several times (on a dirty player) and there was a note stating which episodes they liked.

[@three_seashells]

That is such a cool story. I'm in Perth WA, but only got into Red Dwarf in the mid 2000s because I was born in 93.

[@Kralich]

My dad introduced me to Red Dwarf when I was about twelve and for ten-plus years I've loved it. So thrilled to see a dedicated breakdown from your Rowan! This is gonna be good stuff...

[@jamesfield1674]

Red Dwarf my fav such a great series

[@startrekker6913]

This is AMAZING. I've always loved Red Dwarf and Star Trek over all other Sci Fi and while Star Trek is massive Red Dwarf is often overlooked and I personally think it is the best sitcom ever made. Also you should do a ranking of all the series plus the movie it would be amazing. Love the channel, cant wait for part 2 Smeg Head

[@StevenOyston]

Really good content! Red Dwarf was a big part of my childhood, I genuinely love that show.

[@jesusisherelookbusy]

“FISH!” “Today’s fish is trout à Ia créme. Enjoy your meal.”

[@dallesamllhals9161]

"PUSSY" ?

[@Lallander]

Fantastic work. Can't wait for Part 2 and beyond.

[@wdm_dalek6577]

One, commenting to boost up the algorithm. Two, my first memory of Red Dwarf was the “me2” and the previous episode in the season. When I was young my family went to party (can’t remember what it was about) but l was watching a special episode of The Last Leg hosted by Adam Hills as I knew him from Spicks and Specks which is still being repeated to this day on ABC 2, once the special ended Red Dwarf started. The only thing I remember of the episode before me2 was Holly asking Lister to wipe his memory and found it funny, Me2 I remember was because of the retrospective. Thanks for the memory. 22:33

[@michaelkrull3331]

When I first saw the Rimmer double episode, I had no idea what gazpacho was. I just took it as a tragic story. Then years later I was watching a cooking show that featured gazpacho for a moment. I immediately thought of that episode and said "oh my god, how could anyone think this is supposed to be cooked?" And I suddenly got the joke and laughed my ass off.

[@mbrit]

I have been obsessed with this show since it first aired, and have spent 34 years learning every single piece of trivia about it. When I went into this, I wasn't expected to learn anything new. This is so jam packed FULL of stuff that was new to me. I absolutely loved this video -- thank you so much!!!

[@wyndgrove9452]

It's great to see one of the best comedy, and best sci fi, TV shows ever getting some much deserved attention. This is a nicely produced overview, and I'll deffo check out other vids on the channel.

[@itallia666]

I LOVED Red Dwarf from the very 1st episode! I bought the whole boxed dvd series which i watch at least once a month, to the present day. Bought the Calendars with brilliant photos from the episodes. Plus any other Red Dwarf paraphernalia, Best comedy ever produced, Amazing Characters Hysterically funny & who could dislike Dwayne Dibbley... 😆 Rimmer,Listy, Cat, Creighton/Kryton, Dwayne Dibbley, Kachanski, Holly, et al My ultimate favourite tv series of all time! Thank you Grant & Naylor & the wonderful theme tune Regards to all Smeeg Heeds 🇬🇧👧

[@NZAnimeManga]

Can't wait for part 2, excellent video!

[@jaredohlstein7355]

Love how each section of the video begins with a Smeg Up, just beautiful

[@AndrewD8Red]

The Thunderbirds Cinematic Universe (Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Stingray) is something that's absolutely crying out for the Rowan J Coleman treatment. It was less silly than Dr. Who, but more fun than Star Trek. At the time, it was top-shelf sci-fi.

[@josipbroztito6763]

YES PLEASE RJC GIVE US THUNDERBIRDS

[@jensonkiin3678]

Never has a truer statement been said. Especially now he's addmitted to having watched Thunderbirds. And honestly, who could have watched it and not been enthralled?

[@kempshott]

There is a very good documentary "Filmed in Supermarionation".

[@jrobwhydidyoutubechangemyname]

I second this idea!

[@merylmel]

This is great fun for all the family. Thank you for posting. It's a treat for all ages.

[@Zurpanik]

Rowan you are brilliant as always! I watched just small bits of Red Dwarf with my mom through PBS our public broadcasting company here in the US and they are just amazing memories also filled with TNG! It's great to see this and it really gives me a kick to find where I can see the entire show from start to finish this time around. Thanks! Absolutely love your RETROSPECTIVE series and work!

[@ElectronicazMusic]

Excellent docu! I love Red Dwarf so much I've converted every episode to mp3 to have on my phone to listen to at work. I NEVER tire of this show.

[@jezbrown5446]

Could not agree more on Meltdown. This was the episode that hooked me on the show. Winnie the Pooh refusing the blindfold will live with me forever.

[@Desmo904]

Bravo! That was quite the concise and yet thorough history of RD. That must have taken AGES to put together! Can't wait to watch part two now... 👍

[@brianahern100]

@RowanJColeman - Sunday night Top Gear was my "Monday will suck but here's a treat" show. Now it's your uploads...thank you!

[@TheDJBagpuss]

Looking forward to Part 2. I absolutely love Red Dwarf.

[@ronmahan2636]

Red Dwarf A to Z is criminally hard to find but its the best series recap I have ever seen. At least up until that point

[@-MrFozzy-]

Thanks for this Mr. RJC….one of my favourite shows!

[@MrROTD]

I grew up in Canada having only three channels, didnt have cable TV only off the air, most of it really boring stuff, whenever Red Dwarf came on it was a real treat, Its one of my favorite shows ever.

[@daveelliott1000]

Great video . I had forgotten what a big impact this show had on me and my friends at school . It was must watch TV at the time. Ace Rimmer was a legend !!!

[@cubablue602]

Really enjoyed this, a great trip down memory lane. Hard to pinpoint why i was (and still are) so fond of this series but the heart of it has to be that central combination of 5-6 characters. The introduction of Robert Llewellyn was genius. A new character introduced into an established network of characters is very tricky. Not only did Llewellyn slot in seamlessly but actually ADDED to the dynamics of the group. The other characters improved even more from it. It cannot be stressed enough how difficult this is to pull off.

[@bill5974]

Simply excellent content. I was fortunate enough to watch this from the first episode and it is still today my favourite comedy of all time.

[@gregoryfish1606]

The trial episode is amazing 😂 The crew laying into Rimmer's entire being as his defense is so well written.

[@Nothingness00000-o]

Fun fact: Danny John-Jules (Cat), voiced 2 of the Fire Dancer puppets in the movie Labyrinth 👍.

[@McCloudious]

Thanks for the video! I ADORE Red Dwarf. I recall the DVDs coming out from 2001 every six months. I'd buy them on day of release and the extras were phenomenal. The cast commentaries and smeg-ups being the highlights. Looking forward to part 2!

[@StargazingCeres]

As an American, my first exposure to this show was PBS telethons in the 90s, it's crazy this has been one of my favorite shows for what feels like my entire conscious life. I'm watching your retrospective this time instead of rewatching the series for the millionth time (though I will probably still do that anyway).

[@nerdfatha]

I only ever got to see Red Dwarf on our local PBS station in Nebraska. it was on late at night after along with old repeats of Dr Who (4th doctor) and Star Hustler. The show always cracked me up, but I had no sense of continuity with it. one night I might see a series 5 episode, the next it might be a series 1 episode. This Retrospective is fantastic for for me! thank you!

[@weaselwolf]

As an American, I've been verified Dwarfer for like 30 years. Or local PBS channel used to air it frequently for their marathons and we even had a couple of the actors over as guests (Chris is afraid of flying so we never had him) We had every episode home recorded on VHS as a kid and I watched them literally to death

[@mattdanw]

What a brilliant blast from the past. Thank you. I just hope you have in part 2 the quote from Patrick Stewart saying how he nearly called his lawyer on the show but then became a massive fan.

[@paulhibbert]

Loved every minute of this. Absolutely fantastic work and taught me some new things about my favourite ever show. I didn't think that was possible after all these years! ❤️

[@Cameroo]

Man. Another one out of the park. I cannot wait to see the next installment. My first exposure to Red Dwarf was on a local Public Television station in Walnut Creek Califonia. They'd play it in a block with Dr. Who. Was such an outstanding show!I only say the first 4 seasons though and catching it after was strangely hard for me. I'll have to track it down again here.

[@withershin]

This was excellent. There's stuff in here (being a die-hard Red Dwarf fan) that I've never seen before. Thank you! I liked and subscribed! More please.

[@rorymcclernon4674]

Another fantastic breakdown of one of the best shows of my childhood. Thanks for the reminder. I think i'll have to go back and revisit this one.

[@jjayjones8852]

This is a good documentary on a show that deserves far more episodes.... And like any television show, star trek next generation for example, usually, the first couple of series is all about developing plots and characters, sometimes though, a show can start off really good, Westworld for example, and by the time you get to series 4, the whole show has taken a giant nose dive off a cliff!

[@Silver-rx1mh]

I loved this show! The first season was pretty dire, but after that things improved pretty quickly. I remember in later seasons attending a studio recording. My friend Mike ended up working on the model effects for it for years.

[@Toskin]

"Even pizza delivery guy can reach a speed we can only dream of!" First joke I've heard, when I stumbled upon this on night I couldn't sleep. Worth the insomnia.

[@arthurdaly3497]

Come off it the first 'season' was one of the best. They're all dead Dave. Everybodies' dead Dave, EVERYBODY IS DEAD DAVE

[@nebularain3338]

The first season is nowhere near dire. It has its own charm and style, but that doesn't make it bad.

[@HarkMusicDC]

Ahhh was Soooo looking forward to this. Feckin' love Red Dwarf... A show that stuck with me from childhood, but forgot about it then about 10 years ago I rediscovered it... God knows How many times i've watched each episode. used to watch it every night before bed

[@becausepuppets]

Yessss!!! Been waiting for this for ages!