Three Million (TV) Years
Red Dwarf featured in upcoming TV magazine!
2 August, 2019
A brand new in-depth feature on Red Dwarf is about to hit UK newsstands, with the latest edition of TV Years, the magazine that celebrates classic British television. TV Years: Sci-Fi is a 100-page issue dedicated to the very best in British science fiction, and the Red Dwarf feature is a particularly special one, as it features new and exclusive in-depth interviews with co-creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor.
Conducted by comics writer and Red Dwarf superfan James Roberts, the feature covers the creation and development of the show, with Doug explaining how "the BBC arranged for us to have lunch with Ray Galton and Alan Simpson to find out what we should be doing."
"Red Dwarf was about asking a simple question," says Rob. "What is life about when everything - money, sex, possessions - is stripped away and it's just you?"
In addition to the interview feature, James wrote a sidebar piece looking at his five favourite sci-fi concepts explored by Red Dwarf. Unfortunately, there ended up not being room for it in the magazine - but TV Years have let us have it to exclusively publish at the end of this story!
Aside from Red Dwarf, the issue - which is on sale UK-wide from Tuesday 6th August - also features Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee talking about Doctor Who in lost interviews from the 1970s; a 40th anniversary Sapphire and Steel feature with Joanna Lumley and David McCallum; and the final interview with Blake's 7 star Paul Darrow, recorded just weeks before his sad death in June.
And for a little bit more of a Dwarf connection, don't miss Anthony Horowitz talking about a certain 1990s BBC1 drama named Crime Traveller...
Get hold of TV Years in stores and online, and follow @tvyears on Twitter!
"TOMORROW'S WHIRLED": JAMES ROBERTS' FAVOURITE RED DWARF SCI-FI CONCEPTS
A HOLOGRAPHIC AFTERLIFE
'Describe, using diagrams where appropriate, the exact circumstances leading to your death.' In the 23rd century the dead routinely come back as holograms, complete with the memories and personality of their former selves. The invention of Hard Light eventually renders holograms tangible, impervious to injury and functionally immortal. Rimmer still, somehow, finds a lot to complain about.
FUTURE ECHOES
When the ship breaks light speed, the crew witness future events before they've actually happened. This leads to one of the cleverest scenes in TV history, as Lister, by recounting a one-sided conversation with an oblivious future Rimmer, makes the other side of the conversation come to pass. Somewhere, a young Steven Moffat is taking notes.
POSITIVE VIRUSES
Forget the common coldā??what if you could catch good luck? Felicitus Populi makes its debut in Red Dwarf V's Quarantine, along with other positive viruses - inspiration, charisma and reverse flu. Although, the less said about the effects of the sexual magnetism virus, the better...
ENFORCED MORALITY
The Dwarfers find themselves in the Justice Zone, an artificial prison environment where the effects of any criminal act are felt by the perpetrator - stab someone, and you inflict the wound on yourself. Years later they encounter a ship equipped with a Karma Drive, which punishes or rewards its crew depending on their compliance with a customisable moral code. There's enough in these two episodes to power an entire philosophy syllabus.
DISASTER CAPITALISM
Red Dwarf does Black Mirror. When Red Dwarf's owners are bought out by the rapacious M Corp, a compulsory software upgrade renders any products made by rival companies invisible. Doug Naylor explores the consequences of rampant corporatism and the commodification of everyday life - while still finding time to introduce concepts such as a 'thought tax' and the ability to monetise unspent lifespan. And you thought it was all smegheads and curry monsters.
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