Just The Opinions

Critics respond to The Bodysnatcher Collection and Just the Smegs.

14 December, 2007

Look, you know what we think - we think The Bodysnatcher Collection (available here) is an incredibly special DVD project, packed with hilarious and fascinating content, and almost completely unique in its make-up.

You know we think the Smeg Ups and Smeg Outs are hilarious compilations of some of the best outtakes imaginable, thus making the Just the Smegs compilation (available here) a gut-busting way to spend a couple of hours.

You know what Rob and Doug think because you've seen them talking on the Bodysnatcher microsite and the Just the Smegs microsite.

You know all that. But what does everyone else think?

"An attractive package," says Starburst magazine of The Bodysnatcher Collection, bigging up the "impressive added value" that gives a score of 4 out of 5. Meanwhile SFX magazine describes it as "A beefy package", picking out the documentaries, The End assembly and eponymous lost episode as highlights.

But it's online where things really hot up.

Sci-Fi Online doesn't hold back with a score of 10 out of 10. "This collection offers a hell of a lot of bang for your buck... It is, without a doubt, the most complete retrospect that I think I have seen for any show and deserves a high mark for that if nothing else."

(They're also among the many reviewers to take time to re-evaluate the remastered episodes: "For the average watcher the changes go a long way to making the show less dated and more amusing.")

My Entertainment News describes the set as "a great package which should appeal to existing fans and newcomers alike", praising the "painfully honest documentaries" where "cast and crew pull no punches discussing the conception and realisation of the show as well as some of the behind-the-cameras politics."

Den of Geek chuck in another 4 out of 5 for "a superb product", concluding that "the care and integrity that's gone into putting it together has paid real dividends, and the result is a masterpiece for the collector."

Sci-Fi London praise the package, too, along with another interesting perspective on the remastered episodes: "As worthy an addition to a fan's DVD collection as any Special Edition or Director's Cut movie you could care to name."

Fan site Ganymede & Titan went more in-depth than anybody else in its five-star review and concluded that "the sheer effort that has gone into this release, and the results that's produced, deserve to be rewarded... It's the kind of release that makes you fall in love with Red Dwarf all over again. And - incredibly, given the weight of expectation foisted on it - it's everything and more that I hoped it would be."

A couple for Just the Smegs then - "Good-natured fun throughout." Sci-Fi London get exactly where this set is coming from, naming it as "a little bit of extra comedy" for anyone who's been sticking with the Just the Shows box sets (available here and here). "To err is human, which must make the Red Dwarf cast the most human people around... "

Den of Geek has a similar take, and also reminds us that "It's easy to forget that the original videos were so successful because, well, the outtakes are largely very funny. The cast spark off each other particularly well, so that the reactions to the fluffs are often more memorable than the scripted joke, while Llewellyn's face-pulling and Chris Barrie's Kenneth Williams impression never become tiresome."

Wow. That'll do for now!

If you've not already found it, you can see an exclusive documentary extract from The Beginning: Series I over at the SFX website. It's a chance to see everybody in Fact Mode, and reveals some of the surprises even our documentaries have in store.

And if you have an opinion - and we know you do - come along to our Webboard and let us know.

The Red Dwarf DVDs are available from our Merchandise section.