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DVD: Red Dwarf - Series 2
BBC America Home Video (2 discs)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Between season one and season two, the management and the cast of Red Dwarf had a little discussion... Well, it was more like "Here's what we want!" The actors didn't like the drab look of the show in series one, so they lobbied hard for more color. Vivid color. Have you ever wondered why there's an inflatable banana hanging from Lister's bunk? Because it's vivid yellow and that was going to be one of the prime color standard testers. Among the special features on Red Dwarf - Series 2 is the ability to listen to all four actors from that series commenting as they watch the shows, and they frequently comment on the colors and, oh yes, look at that banana! Sound dumb? It might be, but I enjoyed it. The commentary by Chris Barrie (Rimmer), Craig Charles (Lister), Danny John-Jules (Cat) and Norman Lovett (Holly the ship's computer) is completely unscripted and without any direction. In fact, it's a party, from the sounds of it, and though it can be confusing at times it's a lot of fun. By the second episode you start to get the feeling you know these guys a bit. It's like partying with them... only you're the mousy bloke who sits in the corner and never says anything. You learn a lot about them from their conversations. Danny John-Jules is the only one with a voice you don't recognize from the show, his natural voice being much deeper and more husky. Takes a while to get used to that. What strikes you most during the commentary is how much these guys truly like the show. They'll be talking away, remembering an event or a person, but as a funny bit is being set up in the episode they're viewing, all voices trail away for a moment. The punchline is delivered and four guys burst out in laughter. That's fun to listen to.
And that's just one of many special features that go along with the six episodes that made up season two. You also get the full, uncut video of "Tongue-Tied," which needs no explanation for Dwarf fans so I'll leave it at that, though I will give out one funny bit of info; Craig Charles groans on the commentary track during that scene. Turns out John-Jules, an accomplished singer and dancer, loved doing it, but Charles thought the entire thing was terribly "gay," and hated dressing in pink and dancing for hours and hours on a soundstage. Funny, that's just what Lister would have said. There's also an interview with Doug Naylor, one of the show's creators, a reel of bloopers, or as they're called in the Red Dwarf universe, "Smeg-Ups," a photo gallery of the models they used for the exterior shots, deleted scenes, an audio-only section that has highlights from a Red Dwarf audio book, read by Chris Barrie (I gained a huge amount of respect for his acting abilities, as he did all the voices perfectly and carried the comedic timing of the actors he was imitating without a hitch), an alternate personalities rundown, which shows who each of the main actors has played on the show besides their set roles, and a fun featurette called Red Dwarf A to Z. It's a documentary with a slightly different format than most, and it has a nice combination of fun moments to relive and interesting nuggets of information you probably didn't know.
The episodes of season two were as follows: Kryton, in which the crew answers a distress call and finds an android taking care of three lovely skeletons; Better Than Life, a total immersion video game where Cat and Lister were having a perfectly good time until Rimmer and his screwed up self esteem came along and ruined everything; Thanks For The Memory, an odd moment in which Lister takes pity on Rimmer and gives him a piece of his mind. The one with the memory of a wonderful love affair in it; A Stasis Leak provides a doorway to the past, giving the boys from the Dwarf a chance to go back to three weeks before the disaster that wiped out the crew. There's one open stasis pod. Who should they save?; Queeg is the big electronic bully who takes over control of the ship when Holly slips up too many times and loses the confidence of the crew. They wish for efficiency and learn the truth of the old saying that begins "Be careful what you wish for..."; And finally, Parallel Universe is the episode in which the Holly Hop Drive is invented, tested, and frowned upon as it introduces Rimmer to She-Rimmer, Lister to She-Lister and Cat to Dog. And all of them to fleas. And after a night of hard drinking and God knows what all... is Lister up the spout? Will it be Uncle Arnie? With the commentary on or off, whether watching episodes or special features, these two discs are great fun for fans of Red Dwarf. We know we never got sick of watching the video tapes of the same episodes over and over again. Now we have enhancements!
© 2003 - DJ Johnson