Complete Guide
Stoke Me A Clipper
Series VII, Episode 2
Recorded: May-Aug 1996, Shepperton Studios
First Broadcast: 24.01.1997 (BBC 2)
VHS Release: 01.10.1999 (BBCV 6789)
DVD Release: 07.11.2005 (BBCDVD 1692)
Blu-ray Release: 14.01.2019 (BBCBD 0441)
Written by Paul Alexander & Doug Naylor
Directed by Ed Bye
Synopsis
Rimmer's much more dashing alter ego, Ace Rimmer, arrives on Starbug terminally wounded. He asks Rimmer to take his place as the swashbuckling guardian of the Universe. Reluctantly Rimmer has to turn him down as he's too busy cataloguing his shoe collection.
Cast
Chris Barrie (Rimmer), Craig Charles (Lister), Danny John-Jules (Cat), Robert Llewellyn (Kryten), Brian Cox (The King), Ken Morley (Captain Voorhese), Sarah Alexander (Queen), John Thompson (Good Knight), Alison Senior (Princess Bonjella), Mark Carlisle (Lieutenant), Mark Lingwood (Gestapo Officer), Kai Maurer (Soldier), Stephan Grothgar (Soldier), Andy Gell (Soldier)
Did You Know?
This episode, the first to be co-written by someone other than Grant or Naylor, was originally titled Natural Born Rimmers. The dual meaning of the last word was subsequently pointed out, however.
The scenes featuring Hollywood legend Brian Cox as the King had to be filmed twice - as the first attempt, in the pouring rain, was deemed unusable.
Although he would appear in flashbacks in two further episodes of Series VII, this is the last chronological appearance of the "original recipe" hologram Rimmer, as he leaves to become Ace Rimmer. Or is it? That rather depends on which version of the character you think appears in Back to Earth onwards...
The scene in which Ace rescues Princess Bonjela on his motorcycle was the subject of an infamous fan question at a convention, when Chris Barrie was asked how he could accelerate away while his throttle hand was busy shooting a gun. Quick as a flash, Chris replied that the bike had been pre-programmed before leaving the shed...
