Boys from the Dwarf

As the culmination of my Red Dwarf rewatch, I finally got to see "Back to Earth." And I have to say... not impressed.

I'm completely amused at the "Nine Years Later" opening. I've learned not to expect this show to EVER resolve its big cliffhangers, so it mostly just gives me a giggle to see them blatantly ignore things like Red Dwarf being blown up and everyone but Rimmer being in the mirror universe when it happened. Series 8 is easily my least favorite, so I don't really mind pretending it doesn't exist. I appreciated the return of Red Dwarf (I love Starbug, but it was getting claustrophobic), but the return of the whole crew with it totally threw things off. Plus, it basically reset Rimmer to series 1 levels of smegheadery. I love Rimmer so hard in the later series, and as much as it breaks my heart when he leaves to become Ace, I love seeing how much he's evolved, so it's frustrating to have him return to form.

But this is supposed to be about "Back to Earth." The two things that annoyed me most were the "Hey, we're characters in a TV show" premise and the return of the despair squid. Seriously? Has Doug Naylor been reading bad fanfic? Because the "characters discover their fictitious nature" thing is pretty much a staple of bad fanfic (of course, it usually comes with a Mary Sue who can tell them everything they're doing wrong). And then to resolve the whole thing by using the same plot as a previous "warped reality" episode? Bah. Especially since "Back To Reality" did it MUCH better.

I have to admit, the Starbug Smartcar totally cracked me up (I want one! It would fit in my living room). Other than that, though, I didn't find it particularly funny. Certainly nowhere near their best episodes. Sadly, it really doesn't add anything to the series, except that it hammered home just how long ago this show started, because damn, the boys are starting to look old.

AND WHERE THE FUCK IS HOLLY? (Actually, I remember reading that Norman Lovett was really cheesed that he wasn't invited back, and I have to say, I am pissed on his behalf. This needed some Holly.)