Product Details

• Directors: Red Dwarf 1989
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English, Esperanto
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: BBC Video by CBS Fox
• VHS Release Date: February 2, 1999
• Run Time: 83 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305196192
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,992 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Backwards, August 6, 2010

By 

mao_soup (Gallifrey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: RED DWARF, Series III, Byte One ~ 1989 Remastered Programs (Backwards / Marooned / Polymorph) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I got this tape but the film got spliced wrong or something. The entire first episode is completely backwards. I am really pissed off. I don't know if this is just a manufacturing error or what. I want my money back. I guess it doesn't surprise me that the quality control guy fell asleep at the wheel and we are the sad acts who pay for it.

5.0 out of 5 stars And now, the saga continuums...Red Dwarf III, August 2, 2003

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: RED DWARF, Series III, Byte One ~ 1989 Remastered Programs (Backwards / Marooned / Polymorph) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A summary of the opening Star Wars-type message that quickly scrolls at light speed. Basically, Lister has had his two children, Jim and Bexley, as foretold in "Future Echoes", and has sent them back to live with their Dad (a woman) in a parallel universe. They are reunited with Kryten, who has had a mishap and is repaired, but with a different personality. And Holly the computer performs a head sex-change operation based on Hilly, a female computer he met in the "Parallel Universe" story, which closed out the second season. So far so good? Whew!

"Backwards"--shouldn't that be "sdrawkcaB"-- is one of my all-time favourite episodes, as the crew travel through "an orange whirly thing" in space and land on Earth, the year 3991, 871 selim from Nodnol, .sdrawkcab si gnihtyreve erehw (where everything is backwards). Holly explains, "Everything starts with the Big Bang, right, and the universe starts expanding. Eventually, when it's expanded as far as it can, you get the Big Crunch, where everything starts contracting." And how's this for an ad on this planet? "Roll off deodorant. Keeps you wet and smelly for up to 24 hours." This episode features the barroom tidy, the climax of this classic episode. And the time-hole is well realized with the digital effects used.

The crew of the Red Dwarf are forced to evacuate in "Marooned", when Holly sees five black holes. "Well, the thing about a black hole, its main distinguishing feature, is it's black. And the thing about space, the colour of space, your basic space colour, is it's black. So how are you supposed to see them?" she asks in defence. Lister and Rimmer take Starbug but are forced down on a desolate planet beset by winds so strong, it's hard for Lister to stand up. Food and fire get low, and Lister is desperate for survival, burning Rimmer's books and even eating dogfood. The scene where Lister and Rimmer learn personal things about each other, such as how they lost their virginities, predicts the drama-comedy of Season 7, and fleshes out both their characters. Lister may seem like a cheery goofball who takes life as it comes, but he says his guitar, "an authentic Les Paul copy", was "the only thing in me whole smegging miserable life that hasn't walked out on me."

"Polymorph" is another classic, about a genetic experiment gone wrong that is an emotional vampire, feeding off negative emotions of the crew. While the alien is well-realized, there are other scenes that make this a laugh a minute. The scene where the kebab attacks Lister and when Kryten tries to remove Lister's shrinking boxer shorts while Lister is on the floor writhing in agony, only to have Rimmer walk in the room, is one of the most popular scenes ever due to the double entendre it engenders.

Full of hilarious snappy dialogue, insults (on someone's posterior--"they look like two badly parked Volkswagens"), and visual gags galore from one of the best seasons of Red Dwarf. Two new regulars to the Red Dwarf cast are Hattie Hayridge (Holly), who debuted as Hilly in "Parallel Universe" and Robert Llewellyn as Kryten, who has a new look compared to his debut with Dave Ross--the signs of further greatness in the series.

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Viewing, April 3, 2001

By 

James C. Dascoli (Millburn, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: RED DWARF, Series III, Byte One ~ 1989 Remastered Programs (Backwards / Marooned / Polymorph) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Obviously, if you're a Red Dwarf fan you'll probably own all the series anyway, but there is no doubt that RD3, Byte 1, is one of the essential videos to own. It is a fantastic intro to use when convincing friends why Red Dwarf is so good. But for this loyal fan of Red Dwarf the fun of all three episodes is to see how they were later used in the books. Having actually read all the books first I think they did a phenomenal job of stretching the story lines out onto paper. However, nothing is as funny as seeing Lister twirl the bat around and whack himself 'in the happy sacks'. Well that is if you like physical humor. Now I have to go watch it ONE MORE TIME.