Customer Reviews

RED DWARF, Series VIII, Byte One ~ 1999 Programs (Back in the Red, Parts 1, 2, 3) [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The boys from the Dwarf are back! Season eight is great and guess what RIMMER is back! The gang finally gets back to Red Dwarf but things are not quite the same. If you are a follower of this series then this is a must have for you!

Well, I like it! I think that it was a great idea for the entire ship to be reconstructed, and i think it'll add something that i think has been lost from the last couple of seasons. It's a new millenium, why not try something new? All I can say is that I laughed so hard that i nearly fell out of my chair, so I think if you don't like this one, then you must be a git.

Red Dwarf VII was, without doubt, the most criticised of any series. Many changes had taken place which made series VII very different from it's predecessors. But series VIII has shown that, earth-shattering though the break in premise may be, Red Dwarf can still retain that old magic we so loved. I enjoyed series VII, but series VIII was much, much funnier. If some of the plots seemed too well-trodden or lacking in science fiction, there was always a wonderful gag round the corner to remind you what this show is all about - having fun. The cameradie between the cast - especially Chris and Craig, is a joy to behold. Chloe Annett had a far better role in the previous series, but she was given some of her best lines here - the seduction scene with Rimmer in Cassandra was wonderful, and I hope we see more interaction between these two in the upcoming film. It still may pale in comparison to the glory days of the four boyz alone together, with those BBC model shots, but Red Dwarf VIII was a triumph.

This season was as good as the earlier Red Dwarf! There is alot of imagination and alot of good gimicks left for the crew! I hope there is a season 9!

It lost everything the series had built up. You have the stupid humour of Rimmer and Lister reporting to the ship's captain which gets old in the first episode. It is too bad to think such a funny series took such a dramatic plunge (head first) from where it was before. Granted expectation were high, but you can truly feel the commercialised writing and pointless humour. Where's Ace Rimmer? Well, you won't see him here, or any other interesting character that past episodes have developed. You are left with the captain that is a true bore. Series 8 did not do Red Dwarf justice!

Red Dwarf 8 was recieved eagerly in both the UK and overseas. Hovever, despite vastly improved special effects, it seems that the writers of Red Dwarf, for the first time for over a decade, have run out of ideas. The series was brilliant in its early stages, and maybe it is just overshadowed by the hiarious series 7, but Red Dwarf 8 just seems very substandard compared with earlier episodes. The acting is very good from all cast members, but it is unfortunately very poorly written. If you really want to see Red dwarf in its full splendour, I would suggest the newly digitally remastered Series 1,2, & 3 videos available in most video shops, and give this one a miss, unless all you want is to be dazzled by high-budget computer graphics.

See, the thing about a comedy partnership is that there has to be the two of you. Rob Grant left the Grant Naylor partnership after RD6. Rob was the more comedy-oriented of Grant Naylor, and, sadly, it shows from that point on.
Everyone has different opinions as to which series are good/bad.
Myself:
5 is great RD stuff.
6 is brilliant. Anyone who can watch "Gunmen of the Apocalypse" and not laugh needs a very serious psychiatrist.
7 is weak. Bits are OK, but it's not the same Red Dwarf any more.

Series Eight is absolutely appalling. To use Rimmer's insult from Series Five, "I consider it an insult to my backside that it was forced to sit here growing carbuncles" through this unfunny stuff. The jokes in the series are usually:
1) Forced rehashes of when the show was actually funny
2) Completely, mystifyingly unnecessary to the show
3) Imitation Farelly Bros. , (and I consider the Farelly Bros. pretty bad to begin with.)

In particular, The Captain is a magnet for unfunniness. So is most of the prisoners and prison guards. Anyone in the vicinity of these characters seems to lose the ability to do comedy.

One of the "jokes" in the series is as follows:
Lister and Rimmer have found a Time Wand, which controls time. After causing much havoc with it, they are summoned to the Captain. At the end of this extremely repetetive and unfunny scene, he tells them to leave (or words to that extent). Lister proceeds to use the Time Wand to make the Captain repeat the line over... and over... and over.

Apparently, Doug Naylor now thinks that getting someone to repeat the same unfunny line five times after it was already not funny the first time constitutes Red Dwarf-worthy comedy.

You have been warned. If Naylor is allowed to direct the Red Dwarf movie on his own, I may well picket it.

Hell, I'd say it's marginally better than VII, which, while not mind-blowing, was certainly a massive improvement over series V and VI, both of which were really pretty wretched. Mind you, neither VII or VIII are nearly as good as the first four. Has its moments nonetheless, and is of course worth owning, even if I'll always be asking myself why there can never be another Waiting for God or Thanks for the Memory. Oh well.

The end of series 7 just left us with one question, "just what the hell is going on!" the best thing about series 8 in my oppinion is the return of Rimmer. As soon as he departed in series 7 a void needed to be filled and kotchanski didn't relly give the series credit. with Rimmer back the insults towards him are once again flying thick and fast. For all of those Rimmer fans out there, you will be happy to know that Rimmer is already back to his back stabbing ways by episode 2. I own all of the Red Dwarf videos and I definatly recommend series 8. Long live the Smeg Head.

Red Dwarf has really gone downhill in series 8. It has lost the depth that made it stand apart as a must see show in past seasons. The jokes are stupid and everyone acts even more idiotically than usual (and that's saying a lot!). There are some truly funny moments here, but they are few and far in between. I recommend drinking a few pints of your favourite lager before watching this season, maybe then it'll seem comparable to the last seven.