Today marks the anniversary of Red Dwarf's original air date, all the way back on the 15th February 1988!
Red Dwarf has become one of the most beloved British sitcoms of all time, ranking highly in numerous "best of" listings in the UK and beyond, due to its at the time highly unique setting and its top tier writing, however despite the love and praise it regularly receives you may be surprised to know things were not so peachy for the boys from the Dwarf in the beginning.
The show's evolution can be traced back to a radio sketch by former Spitting Image writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor named "Dave Hollins : Space Cadet", which just like Red Dwarf was a combination of sci-fi tropes and homage combined with British comedy. From this Grant and Naylor begun to grow very fond of the idea for a sitcom set in space, and so they drafted a script and took it to the BBC in hopes of having it developed into a TV series. Frustratingly for the pair however, BBC senior executives at the time were growing increasingly weary of sci-fi, as the genre was quickly becoming perceived as an over-saturated market that was proving more and more expensive to produce, and infamously the head of BBC Comedy, Gareth Gwenlan, gave the criticism of "You can't have a sitcom in space. There's no settee."
Still, after over four years of pleading with the beeb with every possible bargaining chip they could muster up, such as claiming the interiors could easily be shot in the BBC canteen, or the intention to have Alan Rickman play Rimmer, the duo finally got their big break when in 1986 BBC North found themselves with some extra funding left over from a last minute cancellation of one of their shows, and so they agreed to give Red Dwarf a shot. Things were still touch and go however, as a 1987 electrician's strike halted production for several months and very nearly led to its cancellation before rehearsals had been completed, however things were soon back on track for that 1988 air date.
As if lack of faith in the show from higher ups wasn't enough of a stress for Naylor and Grant to be dealing with behind the scenes however, there was then the issue of their casting choices and eventual cast. Alan Rickman would eventually be dropped in the running for Rimmer due to concerns his movie star status would become problematic for possible future seasons of the show, and the mantle was eventually given to Chris Barrie, who up until Red Dwarf had only really done voice-over and impressionist work, most notably working alongside Naylor and Grant on Spitting Image, and he incidentally had a role on the cancelled series that allowed Red Dwarf to be produced in the first place. There was no issues when recruiting Craig Charles and Danny John-Jules to play Lister and the Cat, however Danny did show up half an hour late to his audition, but given this was perceived to be a very Cat thing to do, he was a shoe in. The only other headache from the cast was Norman Lovett, who insisted during production that he have an on-screen appearance rather than just being a disembodied voice, so after some arguments Lovett's character Holly was given some last minute head shots late into production.
The show was a great hit with audiences and critics alike upon release, with signs of its potential coming very early to the cast and crew when shooting with a live audience. During the original episodes' filming the audience was mostly composed of punters from a pub nearby to the studio who were asked to come along for the shoot, and it is said that the laughter from the audience was so loud it often interfered too much with the filming. By later series in which the show really began to take off, especially around the series five and six period, hundreds of fans would find themselves being turned away from recordings due to the sheer number of those wishing to attend. The series that followed this peak would be less well received, with studio audiences being completely removed for the seventh season to allow for more dynamic camera work and complex sets. Despite the ups and numerous downs of the later series however, the show has still managed to hold a pretty admirable place in many of its fans' hearts.
Even during the golden era of the show however there was still the occasional hiccup that caused some issues when producing the show, with everything from failed US remakes to loss of entire sets. A US remake of the show was always going to be a dud, especially given that the original show was already being broadcast on PBS at the time, however we should consider ourselves even luckier that it failed as spectacularly as it did, because upon its cancellation Terry Farrell who played Cat would be cast as Jadzia Dax in Star Trek : Deep Space Nine, and Jane Leeves who played Holly instead landed the role of Daphne Moon on Frasier. On a side note, the dude who wrote the script for the American version was also the dude who would go on to create Malcolm in the Middle. Neat.
Other notable issues during production include a further falling out with Lovett when he refused to travel to London for rehearsals and was given a pay-cut in response, leading to him leaving the show for some time and being replaced by Hattie Hayridge, who had already appeared as a female version of Holly alongside Lovett in a season 3 episode. Season six featured no Red Dwarf due to the fact that the studio's only model of the ship had been destroyed for a scene in a season five episode, and since most of the interior sets had been destroyed too, most of the episodes took place on board Star Bug until season eight when a CGI ship was introduced. There was also a hiatus of three years between the sixth and seventh seasons which saw numerous setbacks, including Chris Barrie stepping away from the show due to his frustration with the filming schedules, an end to Grant and Naylor's partnership on the show, and members of the cast now working on other projects, and to top it all off, Craig Charles was arrested on rape allegations and was eventually acquitted before work on the show started once more.
Despite all the bad times the show has endured however, Red Dwarf has still proven to be immensely popular, with an array of spin off media including novels, specials, games, and a feature-length film that is being produced this year after almost two decades of promises it would come to be. There is then the vast amount of merchandise available to the public, a magazine, and the show's very own convention named Dimension Jump, which has taken place almost every year since 1992.
So well done to you, Red Dwarf, for being real fuckin' good.
Oh yeah, if you have XCOM 2 on PC, some righteous folk have created a voice pack mod that turns your team into the Red Dwarf crew. Rad!
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