W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U KFOR YEARS THERE HAS BEEN TALK OF
A RED DWARF FILM AND THIS... ISN’T
IT. Yes, it’s a feature-length special, so it is
a Red Dwarf film. But it isn’t the film that
was talked of years ago – this is a whole new
story, and one that makes the most of its
boosted running time to tell a bigger story
than usual. And it’s one fans have been
waiting for a long time...
Doug Naylor, co-creator of the hit space-set
sitcom, and the writer and director of this
instalment, tells us that the special, Red
Dwarf: The Promised Land, is “a story about
the Red Dwarf crew meeting the cats who left
Red Dwarf back while Lister (Craig Charles)
was originally in suspended animation. And
it’s about how they have evolved and how
their society has evolved. It’s taken over now
by feral cats (led by Ray Fearon’s Rodon),
and it’s about the consequences of that and
their belief system.”
For those who can’t remember all the way
back to 1988, Lister’s pregnant cat survived
the accident that wiped out the Red Dwarf
crew, and over thousands of years they
evolved into bipedal feline creatures – whichRed Dwarf, like
last human Dave
Lister, has survived
a lot. Entering its
fifth decade, and
second TV network,
the show remains
a high watermark
in UK TV comedy.
This year, Red Dwarf
is evolving again,
with a 90-minute
special. We talked
to co-creator Doug
Naylor and Red
Dwarf’s own hard
light hologram, Chris
Barrie, about the
show, the future and
what’s next for the
boys from the Dwarf
WORDS ALASDAIR STUARTW W W. S C I FI N OW.CO.U K^024 |
FOR YEARS THERE HAS BEEN TALK OF
A RED DWARF FILM AND THIS... ISN’T
IT. Yes, it’s a feature-length special, so it is
a Red Dwarf film. But it isn’t the film that
was talked of years ago – this is a whole new
story, and one that makes the most of its
boosted running time to tell a bigger story
than usual. And it’s one fans have been
waiting for a long time...
Doug Naylor, co-creator of the hit space-set
sitcom, and the writer and director of this
instalment, tells us that the special, Red
Dwarf: The Promised Land, is “a story about
the Red Dwarf crew meeting the cats who left
Red Dwarf back while Lister (Craig Charles)
was originally in suspended animation. And
it’s about how they have evolved and how
their society has evolved. It’s taken over now
by feral cats (led by Ray Fearon’s Rodon),
and it’s about the consequences of that and
their belief system.”
For those who can’t remember all the way
back to 1988, Lister’s pregnant cat survived
the accident that wiped out the Red Dwarf
crew, and over thousands of years they
evolved into bipedal feline creatures – whichRed Dwarf, like
last human Dave
Lister, has survived
a lot. Entering its
fifth decade, and
second TV network,
the show remains
a high watermark
in UK TV comedy.
This year, Red Dwarf
is evolving again,
with a 90-minute
special. We talked
to co-creator Doug
Naylor and Red
Dwarf’s own hard
light hologram, Chris
Barrie, about the
show, the future and
what’s next for the
boys from the Dwarf
WORDS ALASDAIR STUART