Boys from the Dwarf

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As the culmination of my Red Dwarf rewatch, I finally got to see "Back to Earth." And I have to say... not impressed.

I'm completely amused at the "Nine Years Later" opening. I've learned not to expect this show to EVER resolve its big cliffhangers, so it mostly just gives me a giggle to see them blatantly ignore things like Red Dwarf being blown up and everyone but Rimmer being in the mirror universe when it happened. Series 8 is easily my least favorite, so I don't really mind pretending it doesn't exist. I appreciated the return of Red Dwarf (I love Starbug, but it was getting claustrophobic), but the return of the whole crew with it totally threw things off. Plus, it basically reset Rimmer to series 1 levels of smegheadery. I love Rimmer so hard in the later series, and as much as it breaks my heart when he leaves to become Ace, I love seeing how much he's evolved, so it's frustrating to have him return to form. 

But this is supposed to be about "Back to Earth." The two things that annoyed me most were the "Hey, we're characters in a TV show" premise and the return of the despair squid. Seriously? Has Doug Naylor been reading bad fanfic? Because the "characters discover their fictitious nature" thing is pretty much a staple of bad fanfic (of course, it usually comes with a Mary Sue who can tell them everything they're doing wrong). And then to resolve the whole thing by using the same plot as a previous "warped reality" episode? Bah. Especially since "Back To Reality" did it MUCH better.

I have to admit, the Starbug Smartcar totally cracked me up (I want one! It would fit in my living room). Other than that, though, I didn't find it particularly funny. Certainly nowhere near their best episodes. Sadly, it really doesn't add anything to the series, except that it hammered home just how long ago this show started, because damn, the boys are starting to look old.

AND WHERE THE FUCK IS HOLLY? (Actually, I remember reading that Norman Lovett was really cheesed that he wasn't invited back, and I have to say, I am pissed on his behalf. This needed some Holly.) 

Comments

[deird1]

I'm still refusing to watch that, in case it ruins my good Dwarfy vibes. (Sequels have a habit of doing that to me.)

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Hmmm, I'd say it's no worse than series 7 or 8. Which is not a shining endorsement, lol, but it's probably not going to do any further damage.

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

After season 8....egh. I'll just stick to the older seasons. Less painful.

I think it's just a problem with comedy shows and series (I Love Lucy and the spinoffs had this problem, so did Are You Being Served and its spinoffs). For awhile it's original and fresh, but then it seems the writers run out of ideas and resort to bad cliches and the like. Smart comedy writers/producers know to quit when they're ahead, IMHO. Good Neighbors for instance.

Of course, other genres have the same problem, but I notice it gets really bad with comedy shows for whatever reason. The only one I can think of that was very long running that avoided it was M*A*S*H, and that's because the series grew more serious as it went.

[deird1]

Frasier did a reasonably good job of it...


Smart comedy writers/producers know to quit when they're ahead, IMHO.

Like Rob Grant. :) Doug Naylor should have let the show end there.

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

Not seen Frasier...

Did Rob Grant leave after season 6? Smart move on his part!

[deird1]

Yep. Hence the dramatic change in show dynamics.

Doug Naylor was the science-fiction guy; Rob Grant was the one who wrote jokey conversations.

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

Hmm...that explains so much...

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Like Rob Grant. :)

Snerk. :)

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Very true. They admitted that the show was getting hard to write all the way back in series 2 (hence bringing back Kryten for 3), and you can kind of see when each iteration of the show gives out and they need to try something new, like when Rimmer became a hard light hologram or when they lost Red Dwarf. But 7 and 8 is where it really starts to get painful, and they repeat the same three jokes over and over. Gah.

The best comedies do seem to be the ones that introduce more dramatic elements, because there are only so many jokes you can get out of a particular premise. After that, you have to expand your horizons or it gets stale.

[jongibbs.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed the firs few seasons of Red Dwarf, but it seemed to lose its way once they got a bigger budget. Still, very funny early on though :)

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Yeah. Although my two favorite episodes are from series 5, so it wasn't all bad, but the earlier series definitely had that low-budget charm. :)