Red Dwarf X(Box)
Ten episodes you can buy on your console.
26 September, 2014
We talk a lot about iTunes here on reddwarf.co.uk - what can we say, Red Dwarf has got a whole room on there, we like having a room - to the extent that you could be forgiven for not realising that the show is available to buy on other digital platforms, too. But don't think we haven't noticed the growing trend for games consoles to become multimedia platforms - and with that comes the ability to download every episode of Red Dwarf for keeps.
What's more, you can browse and buy Dwarf episodes whether you're a PlayStation or Xbox fan, as all the episodes are available on both Xbox Video and the Sony Entertainment Network. So get your machine powered on (if you're not already doing something modern, fancy and confusing by browsing this website on it in the first place), and to help you test the waters we've picked a "grab bag" assortment drawn from across all ten series...
Series I: The End
Where it all began. Relive the happy days onboard the bustling and crowded mining ship Red Dwarf... before a radiation leak twenty minutes in wipes out all but one of them. We suppose it works out for the best eventually, though.
Classic Dwarf: Lister is informed exactly how long he's been in stasis. "Three million years? ... I've still got that library book!"
Buy on Sony Entertainment NetworkBuy on Xbox Video
Series II: Thanks for the Memory
One of the cleverest Red Dwarf scripts ever, a backwards sci-fi mystery about heartbreak and, surprisingly, friendship.
Classic Dwarf: Rimmer theorises that breaking legs and doing jigsaws is how the so-called "aliens" say hello. Cat's retort: "I wouldn't like to be around when one of these suckers is making a speech!"
Buy on Sony Entertainment NetworkBuy on Xbox Video
Series III: Backwards
Settle down with a pint of erskib and relive the episode that completely changed the face of Red Dwarf, introducing a new style, new theme music, and two new crew members. Oh, and a brilliantly clever time-twisting premise that you still see being nicked by others all these decades later.
Classic Dwarf: The crew get involved in a brilliantly choreographed backwards "bar-room tidy", after... sorry, before... (or is it after?) Lister unwittingly scoffs someone else's pie.
Buy on Sony Entertainment NetworkBuy on Xbox Video
Series IV: Meltdown
Featuring one of the most extensive guest casts in Red Dwarf history, this tale of all-out war between (wax versions of) famous historical figures also shows Rimmer at his most deranged and power-hungry.
Classic Dwarf: Lister looks out of the window of his cell to see a condemned fellow prisoner being brought out for execution. "They're tying him to a stake... it's Winnie the Pooh!"
Buy on Sony Entertainment NetworkBuy on Xbox Video
Series V: Quarantine
The episode that launched a thousand cosplays, providing a significant boost to the "red gingham dress and bonnet" industry in the process. Plus, of course, a certain penguin glove puppet...
Classic Dwarf: The rest of the crew discover the full, horrifying extent of Rimmer's madness. "Mr Flibble's very cross..."
Buy on Sony Entertainment NetworkBuy on Xbox Video
Series VI: Legion
Perhaps the most brilliantly-sustained bout of pure comedy in the more action-orientated latter half of the original run, this is perhaps most notable as the episode that gave us what is very probably Red Dwarf's most famous one-liner gag.
Classic Dwarf: Rimmer suggests that Starbug "Step up to Red Alert". Kryten: "Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb..."
Buy on Sony Entertainment NetworkBuy on Xbox Video
Series VII: Stoke Me A Clipper
Ace Rimmer returns... but as a result, Arnold Rimmer departs (for the first time). An episode that managed the unusual feat of being funny and moving in equal measure - of course, we didn't know at the time that he'd eventually be back one day...
Classic Dwarf: Ace Rimmer, an evil Nazi general, an exploding plane, a crocodile, and some unfortunate guards. Little surprise it's Chris Barrie's favourite memory of filming the show.
Buy on Sony Entertainment NetworkBuy on Xbox Video
Series VIII: Back in the Red - Part One
The Series VII cliffhanger is resolved as the gang return to a newly rebuilt Red Dwarf - and a newly resurrected crew - before finding themselves promptly thrown in the slammer.
Classic Dwarf: The Cat's medical scan reveals a cooler than usual - and surprisingly funky - heartbeat and pulse combo...
Buy on Sony Entertainment NetworkBuy on Xbox Video
Back to Earth: Part One
After ten years away, Red Dwarf makes a comeback with the first chapter of the celebratory, metatextual three-part special. Hard to believe it's already been five years since it happened...
Classic Dwarf: While Lister, Kryten and the Cat do battle with the tentacle beast, an oblivious Rimmer jives along to "Getting to Know You"
Buy on Xbox Video 
Series X: Lemons
A "celebrity historical" in the style of Doctor Who, but with a distinctly Red Dwarf twist, as the gang accidentally travel back to AD 23 and encounter a strangely familiar bearded gentleman.
Classic Dwarf: Lister worries about how the crew's actions may have affected history in a world without Christianity. "What about Christmas? We've killed Wallace and Gromit!"
Buy on Sony Entertainment NetworkBuy on Xbox Video
Episodes bought on Xbox Video can be watched on the Web, Windows 8 and Windows Phone platforms, and the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. On the Sony Entertainment Network, meanwhile, you can watch on your PlayStation 3, 4, Portable or Vita, Sony Bravia and Internet TVs, selected Xperia and Walkman devices, Windows and iOS. Phew. Oh, and don't forget that if you have an Amazon Kindle Fire device, you can alternatively get the episodes on Amazon Instant Video.
Honestly, all these options for watching Red Dwarf, it's a wonder any of us ever manage to get out of the house...
Find a full guide to downloading and streaming Red Dwarf in your country in the Watch section!
Share this page:
