Blogs, Books and Ghouls

The latest news from the cast and crew of Red Dwarf.

23 July, 2021

Do you ever find yourself wondering how to spend your evening? Should you read a book, perhaps? Go to the theatre or watch a film? Maybe you'd just like to close your eyes and listen to a podcast instead? Well, fortunately, we've got options galore in our latest round up of news from the Dwarf.

First up is Robert Llewellyn's latest project, the delightfully named Robert's Polite Apologetic Blog, which, according to Robert, promises "occasional thoughts, scripts that never got recorded and general waffle from my elitist bubble of privilege (apparently)."

Robert never falls short of being interesting, charming, funny and insightful, and with two instalments already in our inbox, we're really looking forward to seeing what he has lined up to talk about over the coming months. You can sign up to hear his latest thoughts here.

In yet more Robert news, we're establishing something of a theme to this week's update: the macabre. Here Comes Hell is a 2019 comedy splatter film that features a very funny cameo from our favourite mechanoid. Directed by Jack McHenry from a script written by McHenry and Alice Sedgwick, the story follows a 1930's dinner party that "descends into carnage, gore and demonic possession."

Drawing on influences such as Evil Dead, as well as Agatha Christie and Lucio Fulci, it's a pretty grisly affair and certainly not for the faint-hearted, but if you're in the mood for some fast paced, beautifully shot blood and guts, it might be just the film for you. Here Comes Hell is showing for a limited time on Channel 4's on demand service, All 4. Watch it if you dare.

And from one horror project we go straight to another. Chances are if you've attended a Red Dwarf studio audience recording since 2011, you'll have been treated to the warm-up skills of comedian Ian Boldsworth. And even if you didn't, you almost certainly saw him as Steve, the bespoke companion suggested to Lister by M-Corp in the Series XII episode of the same name.

What you may not know, however, is that Ian is one half of the laugh-out-loud funny podcast, The Parapod; a comedic investigation into the paranormal in which the sceptical Ian discusses mysterious and 'unexplained' phenomena with the believer and comedian, Barry Dodds. With the podcast so far covering ghosts, mysteries, and conspiracy theories, we're thrilled to see that the pair are now releasing The Parapod: A Very British Ghost Hunt.

Described as 'the first podcast to become a movie,' the project initially launched in January 2020, but was put on hold due to the national closure of cinemas, so we're really excited to see it coming to fruition on both the big screen and on demand later this year.

If you'd like to see the film, it will enjoy a limited theatrical run throughout the UK, starting in September. Full details and tickets are available from The Parapod website and you can watch the trailer below:

Final Trailer ð??? https://t.co/zsTpACsr1r

— The ParaPod (@theparapod) July 15, 2021

And if you've not had your fill of ghosts and ghouls just yet, then we have good news in the form of 2:22, a new play written by Danny Robins, directed by Matthew Dunster and staring Red Dwarf VIII's Jake Wood, alongside Lily Allen, Julia Chan, and Hadley Fraser. Here's the synopsis:

From The Woman in Black to Ghost Stories, British theatre has an impressive track-record when it comes to staging frightening and unnerving live shows, so we have high hopes for this one. 2:22 will be performed at the Noel Coward Theatre from the 3rd of August until the 16th October. Full details and tickets can be found on the theatre's website.

Fans of the 90's sitcom Bottom, rejoice, because a brand-new book tracing the history of the show has reached its crowded-funding goals and is available to pre-order now from Unbound Books.

Written by Mat Brooks, Angela Pearson and Paul Tanter, the book promises previously unpublished script content, exclusive essays on each episode, and brand-new interviews and exclusive content from Paul Jackson and Ed Bye. Full details, including perks and availability, can be found here.

And finally, if books and ghosts aren't for you, and you just want to kick back, relax, and listen to two comedy greats chatting in an unstructured, but highly compelling way, then you'll be pleased to learn that Series XII's Johnny Vegas recently made an appearance on the Richard Herring podcast RHLSTP.

Johnny Vegas is on RHLSTP With Richard Herring: https://t.co/0zirg6t5BMpic.twitter.com/7cweTsfD6t

— British Comedy Guide (@BritishComedy) July 7, 2021

The episode sees the pair chat about "Johnny's unexpected move into glamping, the famous gibbons of Malta, and why you don't ask Vegas to advertise shampoo." As always, it's riotously good fun, and a great way to spend a few hours. Full details, including how to listen, can be found on the RHLSTP website.

Come back next week for all the latest news from the world of Red Dwarf.