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studleylee
http://www.amctv.com/b-movies/videos/dark-star
studleylee
I could see that. It's been so long, I need to see it again.
A blast from the past -- Red Dwarf
Clive Maxfield
6/22/2012 2:49 PM EDT
I am currently a very happy Max, because I just discovered that Red Dwarf is available from the iTunes Store…
What do you mean "What's Red Dwarf?" Have you been living under a rock? This is a British science fiction sitcom that aired on the BBC Two television channel between 1988 and 1999. (As an aside, I just discovered that they are having a comeback – a new Series X will start to be broadcast in September 2012 – I am aquiver with excitement!)
Each episode starts off with a close-up shot of someone in a spacesuit touching up an area of red paint on a wall with a roller. As the camera starts to pull back, we see he's painting a horizontal bar. The camera pulls back further, and we discover this is the middle bar in a giant letter "F". Still further, and we recognize the legend "RED DWARF" … and the camera keeps on pulling back and pulling back until we realize that this is just a small (by comparison) name-tag on the side of a city-sized spaceship.
In the first episode, we are introduced to a couple of characters, the main ones being a likable rogue called Dave Lister and his pain-in-the-rear supervisor called Arnold Rimmer. These two guys are the lowest of the low on the ships' pecking order – their job is to do things like keeping the nozzles clean and clear on the soup dispensers, and stuff like that.
Dave has brought an illegal pet cat on board. When the captain discovers this, he orders Dave to hand it over. Dave refuses, so he's put into Time Stasis where he will spend the remaining 18 months of the voyage.
However, when the door to the stasis chamber opens, Dave is amazed to discover that we are three million years in the future. It seems that a drive plate was not properly secured (we later learn that Rimmer was the culprit) and the entire crew was wiped out by a radiation leak.
So, now we are left with Dave Lister, who is the last known human alive, and a hologram of Arnold Rimmer. Also, we have a character called Cat – is a lifeform that evolved from the descendants of Lister's pregnant pet cat Frankenstein (who was in the ship's hold and thereby protected from the radiation leak). Another character is Holly, Red Dwarf's computer. In the second series we are joined by a service mechanoid called Kryten.
As the Wikipedia says:
(Yes, I had to look up "pastiche" as well :-) The bottom line is that this was a really, REALLY funny show. So, as I say, I was delighted to discover that Red Dwarf is available from the iTunes Store. I downloaded the first season to my iPad yesterday (only around $10 for the season) and watched them all last night. This coming weekend I'm planning on downloading a few more seasons and treating myself to a "Red Dwarf Fest". Now I cannot wait to get home…
If you found this article to be of interest, visit Programmable Logic Designline where – in addition to my Max's Cool Beans blogs – you will find the latest and greatest design, technology, product, and news articles with regard to programmable logic devices of every flavor and size (FPGAs, CPLDs, CSSPs, PSoCs...).
Also, you can obtain a highlights update delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for my weekly newsletter – just Click Here to request this newsletter using the Manage Newsletters tab (if you aren't already a member you'll be asked to register, but it's free and painless so don't let that stop you [grin]).
What do you mean "What's Red Dwarf?" Have you been living under a rock? This is a British science fiction sitcom that aired on the BBC Two television channel between 1988 and 1999. (As an aside, I just discovered that they are having a comeback – a new Series X will start to be broadcast in September 2012 – I am aquiver with excitement!)
Each episode starts off with a close-up shot of someone in a spacesuit touching up an area of red paint on a wall with a roller. As the camera starts to pull back, we see he's painting a horizontal bar. The camera pulls back further, and we discover this is the middle bar in a giant letter "F". Still further, and we recognize the legend "RED DWARF" … and the camera keeps on pulling back and pulling back until we realize that this is just a small (by comparison) name-tag on the side of a city-sized spaceship.
In the first episode, we are introduced to a couple of characters, the main ones being a likable rogue called Dave Lister and his pain-in-the-rear supervisor called Arnold Rimmer. These two guys are the lowest of the low on the ships' pecking order – their job is to do things like keeping the nozzles clean and clear on the soup dispensers, and stuff like that.
Dave has brought an illegal pet cat on board. When the captain discovers this, he orders Dave to hand it over. Dave refuses, so he's put into Time Stasis where he will spend the remaining 18 months of the voyage.
However, when the door to the stasis chamber opens, Dave is amazed to discover that we are three million years in the future. It seems that a drive plate was not properly secured (we later learn that Rimmer was the culprit) and the entire crew was wiped out by a radiation leak.
So, now we are left with Dave Lister, who is the last known human alive, and a hologram of Arnold Rimmer. Also, we have a character called Cat – is a lifeform that evolved from the descendants of Lister's pregnant pet cat Frankenstein (who was in the ship's hold and thereby protected from the radiation leak). Another character is Holly, Red Dwarf's computer. In the second series we are joined by a service mechanoid called Kryten.
As the Wikipedia says:
Despite the pastiche of science fiction used as a backdrop, Red Dwarf is primarily a character-driven comedy, with off-the-wall, often scatological science fiction elements used as complementary plot devices. In the early episodes, a recurring source of comedy was the "Odd Couple"-style relationship between the two central characters of the show, who have an intense dislike for each other and are trapped together deep in space.
(Yes, I had to look up "pastiche" as well :-) The bottom line is that this was a really, REALLY funny show. So, as I say, I was delighted to discover that Red Dwarf is available from the iTunes Store. I downloaded the first season to my iPad yesterday (only around $10 for the season) and watched them all last night. This coming weekend I'm planning on downloading a few more seasons and treating myself to a "Red Dwarf Fest". Now I cannot wait to get home…
If you found this article to be of interest, visit Programmable Logic Designline where – in addition to my Max's Cool Beans blogs – you will find the latest and greatest design, technology, product, and news articles with regard to programmable logic devices of every flavor and size (FPGAs, CPLDs, CSSPs, PSoCs...).
Also, you can obtain a highlights update delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for my weekly newsletter – just Click Here to request this newsletter using the Manage Newsletters tab (if you aren't already a member you'll be asked to register, but it's free and painless so don't let that stop you [grin]).
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Alan42
6/26/2012 7:58 AM EDT
I have been a fan of the show for years. This was one of the reasons I got a Netfix account. I noticed you did not mention the Red Dwarf movie. After finally getting to see it a few months ago, I wouldn't mention it either.
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Max the Magnificent
6/26/2012 10:41 AM EDT
Movie? There was a Movie?
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OmegaMan
6/26/2012 10:53 AM EDT
There were plans for a movie, and even a script, but they couldn't get the funding to produce it.
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Max the Magnificent
6/26/2012 10:58 AM EDT
That might be for the best -- look what they did to "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" ... and how about the "Do Who" movie in the late 1990s (sad face)
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David Brown
6/27/2012 5:01 AM EDT
Douglas Adams always saw the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy as a multiple medium creation. First came the radio play, then the first couple of books, then BBC series, then the rest of the 5-book trilogy.
He made changes for each medium - some things work better on radio, books or TV series.
He always intended to make a film of it as well, and had a contract agreement with an American film company. But the film company and Douglas Adams could never agree on how the film would be - basically, the film company didn't understand the books or the humour, and wanted to make a merkin sci-fi film for merkins.
Douglas Adams' body hardly got the chance to go cold before the film company produced their merkin movie - and the result was worse than feared.
But if you can get hold of the original BBC TV series, it is definitely worth watching. But be careful of showing it to kids - my teenage son idolises Marvin!
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David Brown
6/27/2012 5:04 AM EDT
Here's a little-known fact about Douglas Adams - the book he is most proud of having written, and wanted people to remember him for, was "Last Chance to See".
And another little-know fact - he preferred to do his writing naked.
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Alan42
6/27/2012 11:00 AM EDT
Sorry I was referring to “Back to Earth” a special released at Easter 2009. It was a made for (British) TV movie.
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DGacke
6/29/2012 2:17 PM EDT
Also, there's a new season of the series this fall. Can't wait for that! Here's the link: http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/news/2011/12/23/new-beginnings/
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Max the Magnificent
6/29/2012 2:27 PM EDT
I cannot wait!!!
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IDontUseTheForumSoWhyAmIForcedToMakeANickname
6/26/2012 8:16 AM EDT
Series X? I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait. September can't come fast enough. Does this mean that Craig Charles (aka Dave Lister) has left his residence on Coronation Street and returned to space mining?
Here's one little gem (I use that term loosely)that I found on a previous search. It's the US television station NBCs attempt to do a version of Red Dwarf. It's a new cast except for Kryten (Llewellyn) who reprises his role in this pilot. Mind you, Kryten didn't appear until later seasons in the original BBC series.
I provide the link to the US pilot with the following disclaimer: Watch only with an empty stomach (you'll thank me for this once you see it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1uTqA9jWWE
I'll follow the last video with an interview of the US Lister (Craig Bierko) and his thoughts on the series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnWxdbW9tXY&feature=related
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Max the Magnificent
6/26/2012 10:43 AM EDT
Hi "I Dont Use The Forum So Why Am I Forced To Make A Nickname? ...
Can I call you "Why Am I Forced" for short? :-)
I can't wait for series X ... I will check the links you provide to the the US Pilot just because I want to see how bad it is ... maybe a few beers first? :-)
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IDontUseTheForumSoWhyAmIForcedToMakeANickname
6/26/2012 11:32 AM EDT
when you say a few beers, I hope you mean a few dozen :) You'll understand quickly why it never made it past the pilot
Just call me "Nick of the Nameless" .... hmmm, I think it's time to change my moniker
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Max the Magnificent
6/26/2012 11:43 AM EDT
Well, "Max The Magnificent" is already taken :-)
How about "Nick the Noble"?
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IDontUseTheForumSoWhyAmIForcedToMakeANickname
6/26/2012 11:51 AM EDT
How about "Nick, the Almost as Magnificient as Max".
Oh Smeg, now we've really gotton off topic.
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Max the Magnificent
6/27/2012 9:46 AM EDT
@David Brown: "Here's a little-known fact about Douglas Adams - the book he is most proud of having written, and wanted people to remember him for, was 'Last Chance to See'."
## I hadn't heard of this -- I will add it to my Wish List on Amazon
"And another little-know fact - he preferred to do his writing naked."
## Who doesn't? :-)
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David Brown
6/27/2012 10:08 AM EDT
"Last Chance to See" is a documentary - he traveled along with a zoologist to photograph and document a number of highly endangered species before they went extinct. It is both thought-provoking and entertaining.
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Max the Magnificent
6/27/2012 11:07 AM EDT
I saw that there was a DVD, but it's also a book http://www.amazon.com/Last-Chance-See-Douglas-Adams/dp/0345371984
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mikesh311
6/28/2012 4:38 PM EDT
If you have 1.5 hours, here is Douglas Adams talking at UCSB about his Last Chance to See adventures.
http://www.ted.com/talks/douglas_adams_parrots_the_universe_and_everything.html
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Max the Magnificent
6/27/2012 9:49 AM EDT
@David Brown: I actually started by listening to the radio show way back in the mists of time -- plus I saw the TV series in the UK -- and read all of the books of course.
I even had the adventure game version of Hitchhikers on my little home computer -- it was all text based "Pick this up" type thing -- no graphics in those days...
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David Brown
6/27/2012 10:05 AM EDT
I never had the computer game, but I know that Douglas Adams was also interested in them as another type of media. I believe that he made "Titanica" first as a computer game, then as a book.
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Max the Magnificent
6/27/2012 11:03 AM EDT
@Alan42: Oh -- yes -- I saw that was available, but I haven't actually seen it yet -- I plan on watching it as soon as I've gone through all of the earlier episodes so that I'm right up to date when Series X comes out (I hope they make that available in the iTunes Store real soon...
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studleylee
6/27/2012 1:38 PM EDT
I often confuse the series Red Dwarf and the movie "Dark Star" If you like Red Dwarf, you also love "Dark Star", let there be light... -Lee Studley
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Max the Magnificent
6/27/2012 1:43 PM EDT
Although "Dark Star" was billed as a comedy ... I personally found it to be rather sad :-(
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studleylee
6/29/2012 3:23 PM EDT
I could see that. It's been so long, I need to see it again.
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studleylee
6/29/2012 3:29 PM EDT
http://www.amctv.com/b-movies/videos/dark-star
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