Full Recovery

A Shedload of Scenes - by Andrew Ellard

4 February, 2005

In the final DVD Details update until we kick off production on Series VII and VIII, here are the full set of deleted scenes as they will appear on your Series VI DVD on February 21st.

Psirens

1,2,3	A couple of trimmed gags - including an improvised celebration by the cast. They were not asked to repeat it for take two...
4	The extended 'Crazy Astro' scene.
5,6	Two cuts regarding the deviousness of the Psirens. As with most edits, these were made to keep the episode's running time to the designated half-hour.
7,8	Pete Tranter's sister gets a little more screen time - and the writers attempt an alternative 'sheep' gag. (Welsh viewers may wish to leave the room.)
9,10	Two cuts from scenes with two Listers.

Legion

1,2,3,4	Four short removals, including another alternate line - removed because the audience clearly didn't know what 'Seersucker' was. Does anyone?
5,6	The boys get used to Legion and his surroundings.
7,8	Two trimmed moments from the scene in Lister's room.
9,10,11	The boys realise the danger they are in and attempt escape.
12	Rimmer's original battering was later re-shot, replacing the obviously lightweight sculpture with a more convincing metal bar.
13	The sideways camera and 'dangling' crew - including Rimmer in the wrong costume - failed to convince, and so these final location scenes were eventually filmed again in the studio.

Gunmen of the Apocalypse

1	This original pre-record version of the Vindaloovian aftermath was re-staged more successfully in front of the studio audience.
2,3,4,5,6	Very little else was cut from Gunmen - these five trims represent the only other tweaks of note.

Emhohawk - Polymorph II

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9	A great deal of good dialogue had to be cut from Emhohawk, which overtook last season's Holoship as the longest filmed episode. The bulk of this material came from the early Starbug scene - all of which is presented here.
10,11	Two trims from inside the GELF hut.
12,13	A neat Cat gag is followed by more feline business that, ultimately, only gave the audience information they already had.
14,15,16	More business with Ace, the much-missed 'Bambi' dialogue, and a slightly longer Police Squad-style finale.

Rimmerworld

1,2	Two trims from Rimmer's medical examination - including news on what became of his apparently-successful brothers.
3,4	Two small trims from Rimmer's escape.
5,6	An extended version of Rimmer's log is followed by a more 'dramatic' introduction to the ruler's throne room.
7	This original ending was removed when the team realised it could work as a clever teaser for Lister's apparent fate in Out of Time.

Out Of Time

1,2,3	Three extended moments as the crew cope with even more unreality than usual.
4	Lister debates the merits of knowing one's future.
5,6,7,8	Superfluous time with the future Dwarfers, plus a camera point-of-view shot that didn't look good enough for the final cut.
9	This original episode ending - which had been leaked to the fans before broadcast - was replaced with a last-minute Starbug explosion and a teasing cliffhanger.

Once again it's been an occasionally infuriating journey. You wouldn't believe the sheer naked cost of pulling so many tapes out of storage!

However, every key lost moment is here, running over 45 minutes and, in some cases, providing some significant laughs. Particularly excellent are the 9 sections removed from Emohawk's opening scenes - a protracted Grant/Naylor comedy riff that fully deserves to be seen. As does the crew's superb debate on the merits of knowing your own future.

And on the 'alternative versions' front, we have the diabolical 'dangling' version of Legion's final scene - turning the camera on its side in a way that would have made the old Batman TV series proud - plus Kryten hitting Rimmer with a clearly polystyrene sculpture. Wise replacements both.

Finally there are the usual additions to what might have become Red Dwarf lore. You may know how Series VI could have ended, or just what all those Polaroids of 'nurses' are doing inside Lister's copy of Aristotle's Metaphysica, but how about the true fates of Rimmer's brothers, John, Howard and Frank? Or just what Lister had tattooed on his backside when Petersen spiked his beer with petrol? It's all right here.

reddwarf.co.uk will be keeping you up to date with the news and reviews as Series VI is released around the world. DVD Details will be back soon with the first of many, many updates taking you behind the scenes on production on the final two series releases.

Until then...