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Post by The Curmudgeon on Apr 8, 2007 20:55:14 GMT 2
 Red Dwarf somersaults the shark.In case any of you are scratching your head at the above comment, let me explain. "Jump The Shark" is a phrase that describes the moment when a TV show loses its spark, when it becomes stale, unfunny or just plain boring. There are numerous well-known reasons for this happening (members of the cast leaving, new members being introduced in an attempt to bring new life to the show, writers leaving..) and amazingly, Red Dwarf managed all of these in the space between Season Six and Season Seven. We've all seen TV shows go down the pan, but I don't think I've ever seen a show take such a drastic, no-holds barred drop in quality as Red Dwarf did here (and continued to in Season Eight). Make no bones about it - Red Dwarf was a GREAT TV show. Endlessly quotable, it gave us superb characters like the anal, self-important Rimmer, the slobby yet humane Lister, they evolved the Cat from a one dimeonsional James Brown spoof into a real character (and even gave him one of the best running "Dwayne Dibley" character gags), and, of course, added Kryten in Series Three who became the heart of the entire show. And then, in the blink of an eye - Rimmer leaves, Kryten becomes whiney, irritating and almost the most loathsome character in the history of the show. Ah yes - I said almost. Enter Christine Kochanski, supposed to be Rimmer's replacement, but where Chris Barrie is funny, Chloe Annett just isn't. Quickly scrubbing out the entire show's history (where we saw a different Kochanski - Clare Grogan, as sweet, sexy and someone who you could imagine someone like Lister falling in love with), she became spoilt, irritable and downright unlikeable. Plus, for six whole seasons we were told Lister had only ever spoken to Kochanski a handful of times, always being too shy to actually ask her out. But no, come this series they HAD dated. So basically forget everything else that had happened before that, then. Just another reason to shake your head at the downward spiral of this series. The writing suffered too. Rob Grant left, leaving Doug Naylor and other hacks to ruin the fun. The live audience was binned too, giving us a hollow, totally obvious laughter track. And, believe it or not, it just got worse and worse. Like I've said in other reviews, sometimes this is just no fun. To witness a once brilliant program turn into this sub-standard garbage was painful. And yet I re-visited old demons to review it just for YOU. You lot really lot don't deserve The Curmudgeon. |
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Post by hackersanonymous on Apr 11, 2007 12:24:58 GMT 2
From what I recall, the reason Kryten was so damn irritating was that it was part of some longer story-arc which was resolved round about part 4.
Someone SERIOUSLY miscalculated that viewers would stick with such a drastic character shift in amongst some of the crappiest story lines this side of "My Hero".
Apparently things improved significantly in series 8. I say apparently because I'd given up by episode 2.
Oddly enough, series 7 & 8 are the only two I haven't got round to buying on DVD. I'm waiting till I see them going for about £2.99. For the two of 'em together. With Skutter toy included (we get the point. Ed)
Toodles!
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Apr 11, 2007 12:25:27 GMT 2
Ed? Ah yes - Ed. As in "editor." How very old skool.. formidable.
Yeah, I totally gave up on Red Dwarf after this, which is a shame. I had been there right from Series One, but it was actually DEPRESSING to watch.
I've got the up till Series Six as well, and it's going to be a right bitch having to shell out for this to complete the set, as it were. That's being a completist, for you.
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Patriarch Archevangelion
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Post by Patriarch Archevangelion on Aug 14, 2007 21:15:50 GMT 2
ORIGINAL COMMENT FROM AMAZON.COM
Sorry but the show is still hilarious, and who care if Chloe is funny or not. She is hot and is always wearing this skin tight red outfit.
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Aug 19, 2007 17:51:51 GMT 2
ORIGINAL COMMENT FROM AMAZON.COM
The show is clearly not still hilarious, and no matter who it is or what its wearing - in comedy, "hot" is NEVER a replacement for "funny".
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Patriarch Archevangelion
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Post by Patriarch Archevangelion on Sept 14, 2007 1:11:39 GMT 2
Hot most certainly is a damn fine replacement for funny. I'm a little worried about you Curmudgeon. You do like girls don't you? I love the whole Red Dwarf series. Kryton's character change is annoying I agree with you there, but Chole is too hot for me to mind, no matter how grating her personality is. Anyway, I'm just glad to know that the Curmudgeon hates me.
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Sept 18, 2007 15:00:01 GMT 2
Hello Patrick. Yes, I DO like girls, but that does't mean I'm going to shrug my shoulders at everything they do because they're hot.
Example? Gwen Stefani is pretty hot, and I' happily bang her, but would I ever buy her records?
Of course, going by YOUR standards, that it doesn't matter what they do as long as they look good doing it, then the answer would be yes.
So I don't think the question should be "do I like girls" more "have you ever actually slept with one"?
And I think we all know the answer to that.
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Post by The Wild One on Mar 26, 2008 0:55:01 GMT 2
ORIGINAL COMMENT FROM AMAZON.COM
['Red Dwarf' was] endlessley quotable..." Want a few choice quotes from Series 7 of, 'Red Dwarf'? How about some of these?
1. "Your brain moves faster than a nun's first curry."
2. "... they'd be in the isles with a quip like that!"
-"They'd probably be trying to get out of the building before you quipped again".
3. "Most ice-cream fans travel at speeds we can only dream of!"
4. "Careful sir- the linkway's about as stable as an Italian taxi driver stuck behind two old priests in a scoda!"
5. "It's a pity we can't all moon out the starboard bow- that always works for me!"
6. "I haven't been so embarrassed since... my groinal box fell into Mr. Rimmer's soup".
7. "You mean this ship is carooming [sic?] out of control through space with absolutely 0 expertise at the helm?"
-"No change there, then!"
Need proof of Chloe Annett's thespian capabilities? Watch the opening sequence of "Duct Soup". Following Lister's opening, "to Pee, or not to Pee..." speech, Kochanksi enters the spotlight, as do the plumbing pipes running through her newfound sleeping quarters. To wit: "...squealookel? Where did squealookel come from? He's new!... if you're going to keep me up all night just do it properly, OK?" Then later on, (perhaps her best moment in the series), [of the pipes] "it's enough to drive a perfectly sane person crazy!!!"
'Beyond a Joke', was the program that introduced me to Red Dwarf. Alright, I admit I only saw somewhere in the area of 15-20 minutes of it the first time around, but it was still obviously enough to turn me into a fan and keep me watching to the point that I eventually recorded the majority of the series from television (PBS), AND collected every single episode on DVD. So I ask this: if series 7 can expand the show's fanbase, is it really that bad? Is it bad at all?
Perhaps the following pieces of information will aid the Curmudgeon, esq., in finding a clear answer. According to Doug Naylor on the DVD documentary, "Back from the Dead", 'Duct Soup', was voted by PBS viewers during a pledge drive, to be one of the best episodes they'd ever seen; the read-through for this episode also marked the one-and-only occassion on which the cast literally applauded for Naylor's script. Also, through the whole series, the laugh-track was NOT faked; the completed episodes were shown to viewers in small venus to record their laughter for the soundtrack. You ARE hearing real people react--for real--to the dialogue and actions in these television episodes. "Red Dwarf 7" also managed to regain the series its previous high viewing figures, and indeed propell it back to the uppermost peaks of television rating it had penetrated years previously. That really leaves a mystery as to why there has been so much backlash from angry fans since then. How does a series run so successfuly with a group of people in a fairly small room, get more than respectable ratings and yet elect negative feedback afterwards?
The answer is reactionary thinking; but to what? Change, of course! Doug Naylor (by the way a co-creator of the series, and therefore as far away from "hack" as it gets) signfigantly changed the direction of the series by bringing in a new character when Chris Barrie chose to leave, and by focusing more at times on the dramatic and/or sci-fi elements of the show than on constant, dense humor. That's not to say it wasn't funny; it was just different. It was still a comedy, but with a more serious sci-fi streak. That, combined with refreshed and twisted character interaction, make the show all the more enjoyable and interesting to view for yours truly. This only one of the many times I have to feel sorry for the closed-minded goits that don't agree.
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast,
The Wild One.
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Mar 26, 2008 1:03:58 GMT 2
ORIGINAL COMMENT FROM AMAZON.COM
Ugh - word of advice, "Wild One", don't ever quote the show you're talking about - that is the epitome of lame writing.
Anyway, you know what? If you liked this show, then fine. It's my review, my opinion - and I thought it sucked. Those quotes you listed aren't anywhere near as funny as lines from previous scenes, and I'm not even talking just "zing" one-liners. And the relationship between Rimmer and Lister is head and shoulders, night and day, whatever else you want to describe it, better than the ho-hum tedium between Lister and Kochanski.
As for her, if that little quote you gave (the one about the pipes) was the "best" thing she's ever came out with, then thank God someone pulled the plug on any future seasons of this show. I remember watching that episode, and did I laugh at her listing the noises of the pipes? Did I think "man, she is SO much better than Rimmer. What a great choice of direction for this show to go in." No I did not. I actually wanted to hit her over the head with a sledgehammer.
Ah, you know, we could go on all day about this, and I don't want to resort to name-calling and insults, especially to someone who likes a (once) great show.
Bottom line - you liked it, I didn't. And all the essays, quotes and PSB viewing figures in the world aren't going to change that.
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Post by The Wild One on Mar 28, 2008 20:21:57 GMT 2
ORIGINAL COMMENT FROM AMAZON.COM
Congratulations (and I do mean that honestly)! You've really covered all bases on this one. It IS a matter of opinion, Her and all. (I never suggested that Kochanski was a BETTER character than Rimmer, or even the other way around, but I don't think there's any need to get into another argument.)
Oh, and I WILL (again, honestly) be taking your advice about quoting shows: even though I prefer a more intellectual and, in my opinion, civilized style of writing, it has to be said that my first comment here seriously lacked the punch I'd hoped might be delivered.
See you, 'sqealookel',
The Wild One
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