DWARF STARS
Celebrating the long-running cult sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf
NEW
TRIBUTE
Red Dwarf: The First Three Million Years Thursday, Dave HD, 9pm
WHEN SCI-FI SITCOM Red Dwarf blasted on to BBC2 back in 1988, few people imagined that a series about a slob, a humanoid feline, a hologram and a robot drifting through space would still be going strong more than 30 years later.
But after 12 series and this year’s feature-length adventure The Promised Land, the cult comedy remains as popular as ever. And the cast of the show are just as surprised as anyone.
‘I started doing Red Dwarf when I was 23,’ says Craig Charles, who plays layabout Dave Lister, the last human left alive, alongside Chris Barrie as irritating hologram Rimmer, Danny John-jules as the vain Cat and Robert Llewellyn as service mechanoid Kryten.
‘I didn’t think that, 30-odd years later, I’d still be sticking on the dreadlocks and the leather jacket. Lister is still on board looking for a way home and a really hot curry. Who’d have thought it?’
The cast, co-creator Doug Naylor and celebrity fans all give their take on the intergalactic sitcom’s success in the three-part documentary series Red Dwarf: The First Three Million Years, which starts on Dave this week.
Despite the show’s unlikely premise and setting – aboard a mining ship, three million years in the future – Charles reckons Red Dwarf’s enduring appeal lies in its classic sitcom credentials.
CABIN FEVER
‘If you just look behind the science fiction, it is Porridge in space,’ he explains. ‘It’s about how people get on when they are forced into a confined situation. That’s where the comedy comes from.’
He adds that, for better or worse, it’s been a life-changing experience.
‘Fun, amazing friendships, and fans worldwide who are really appreciative of it – that’s something to be proud of,’ he smiles. ‘And I’ve been called “smeg-head” [Lister’s favourite insult] every day of my life since 1988!’