Cutting It Fine 2

The Edit Ends - by Andrew Ellard

25 July, 2003

Just watch us slump over the console with relief. Yes, editing is finally complete on the bonus material for the Series III and IV DVDs. Can we have a holiday now?

Following our previous report, the final touches have been put to the documentaries, featurettes and others in readiness for delivery to the BBC. Those touches include final captions, sound fixes and the ubiquitous bluescreen backgrounds. Each interviewee has been composited with a different model still from the show - and each documentary uses different backgrounds. It's a time-consuming job, but it will ensure that the two docs feel like separate entities.

Elsewhere, deleted scenes have been compiled with introductory captions, in exactly the same style as Series I and II. The Law Of Improved Cut Scenes continues to be true as the removals from III and IV are, in many cases, as good as what was left in the show. Indeed, Doug asked if I was sure that two clips were removed, amazed that he'd let two particularly funny moments (one from Bodyswap, one from Polymorph) be taken out. But don't worry, there's the odd stinker, too - these things get deleted for a reason!

Also compiled are the Smeg Ups, which are again taken from the existing archive. (Sad though it is, there really aren't any more particularly funny outtakes beyond those selected from the Smegs videos.) And we can now reveal the songs used for the new featurettes - Food will play to James Brown's I Got You (I Feel Good) and Lurve will be accompanied by Vic Reeves and the Wonderstuff's version of Dizzy.

Hattie's DJ Diary - which is slated to be part of the Series III release - has provided a bizarre glimpse at Hattie Hayridge's interaction with the cast and fans... and her inability to work a camera! But this ten minute featurette isn't Hattie's only contribution to the DVDs. Series IV's Ace Rimmer - A Life In Lamé features the comedienne back in her Holly guise for some brief introductions to a collection of Ace clips charting the hero's journey.

Series IV will also contain another element of 1997's Red Dwarf Night - Can't Smeg Won't Smeg, with Ainsley Harriott beaming aboard Starbug to referee a curry cooking contest between Kryten & Lister and Rimmer & Duane Dibbley.

Finally - at least for now (we'll have a full content list soon) - both DVDs will feature three Easter Eggs. And while it will come as no surprise to learn that one on each will be an animated discussion between Rob Grant, Doug Naylor and Ed Bye on a key episode from the series, the other four are being kept under wraps. It's up to you to find 'em!

More DVD Details will follow soon...

You can pre-order the Series III DVD - along with signed cast photos - from the Red Dwarf Shop.