Yes, at last, Red Dwarf XI will be making it's debut on Channel Dave in September! It's been a long time coming, as Red Dwarf X aired in 2012, so this is something I've been looking forward to for quite a few years now.
There were concerns at the end of the last season that it wouldn't be coming back due to the episode title. Season 1, Episode 1 is called "The End", while Season 10, Episode 6 is called "The Beginning". In it's own weird Red Dwarf way, these episode titles seemed to indicate it was all over, but it isn't!
Here is an excerpt from the Official press pack about the upcoming eleventh season (Beware of possible spoilers!):
Red Dwarf XI, the eleventh series of the legendary sci-fi comedy, reunites the original cast of Chris Barrie (Rimmer), Craig Charles (Lister), Danny John-Jules (Cat) and Robert Llewellyn (Kryten) along with a host of guest stars for a brand new series recorded in front of a live studio audience at Pinewood Studios. The series is written and directed by Red Dwarf co-creator, Doug Naylor, and produced by Richard Naylor and Kerry Waddell for Baby Cow Productions & Grant Naylor Productions.
The show's six episode run sees two of the Dwarfers' dreams come true: Rimmer accidentally saves the life of a Space Corps Captain and is promoted to Officer, while Cat takes time off from being in love with himself to fall in love with a female Cat with a secret. Meantime, Lister wakes up to discover a deranged droid has stolen some of his body parts and Kryten has a mid-life crisis and considers leaving the Dwarfers for a younger crew. The posse also find themselves in an alternative America where modern technology is outlawed, making both Kryten and Rimmer illegal.
For anyone not familiar with the series, here's a brief summary.....
Red Dwarf first appeared on UK television in February 1988 on BBC Two.The series starts off in the late 22nd century, when an on-board radiation leak of cadmium II kills everyone on board the spacecraft except for lowest-ranking technician, Dave Lister, who is in suspended animation at the time, and his pregnant cat, Frankenstein, who is safely sealed in the cargo hold.
Holly, the ship's computer, has to keep him in stasis until the radiation dies down to safe levels; a process that takes three million years!
When Lister emerges from stasis after three million years, he discovers he is the last human being in the universe. He is not alone on board though, as his former bunk mate and superior officer, Rimmer, is resurrected by Holly as a hologram to keep Lister sane.
There is also a creature known only as Cat. Cat is the last member on board of Felis sapiens, a race of humanoid felines that evolved over the years in the ship's cargo hold from Lister's cat, Frankenstein.
The series will definitely not appeal to everyone but, for the many people that do like the series, it is an extremely funny show. The fact that it is nearing 30 years of production proves this.
If you like it, loathe it or have never even seen it, please do share your thougths and views on the series, below. I look forward to reading them.
Written by TonyMayhew on Aug 8, 2016
Red Dwarf has to be my all-time favorite series, I've even re-watched the complete series at least three times, and I still go back for watching it again. The comedy throughout the series has always kept me entertained, and even though I have the episodes memorized, its always a pleasure to watch them over. I can even say, that Listers favorite food, has had me looking for it in restaurants :)
Glad to see a new season returning!
I've been looking forward to this. RD is my favourite Sci Fi comedy.
So happy Dave is returning with new episodes! Dave Lister as well as Dave-the-network :). Red Dwarf is easily my favorite Sci Fi comedy, with its clever writing, self-aware acting and unique Britishness. The series as a whole has had its ups and downs, especially after Rob Grant, one half of the writing team Grant Naylor (Doug Naylor being the other) that created it, left over ‘musical differences’. Their “Back to Reality” is my all-time favorite Red Dwarf episode.
When rerun channel Dave announced it would start producing new Red Dwarf content after ten years of hiatus, I was as skeptical about it as anyone. But aside from the very shaky “Back to Earth” season, they really managed to hit the right tone. They have been taking full advantage of improved special effects, but kept the characteristically grungy look and feel.