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Red Dwarf: Back to Earth

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Template:Infobox Red Dwarf episode

"Back to Earth" is an upcoming episode of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, and will be broadcast on the British television channel Dave in three parts on 10 April through 12 April 2009.[1] It will then be released on DVD on 15 June 2009.[2] It will also be the first new episodes of the series in almost ten years.

Plot

Plot-wise, lead-actor, Chris Barrie was reported as saying, “Yes, Lister’s dream is about to come true. But like everything in Red Dwarf, nothing is straightforward.” On 4 March, 2009 it was revealed that actress Sophie Winkleman would be playing a character called Katerina, a resurrected hologram of a Red Dwarf science officer intent on replacing Rimmer. Further plot details were explained in issue 181 of British Science Fiction magazine, SFX. The episode is set 9 years after the events of "Only the Good...", Kochanski is dead and Holly is offline due to water damage caused by Lister leaving a tap running.[3]

Production

In August 2008, Robert Llewellyn appeared on Seattle public television station, KCTS 9. In an interview, he revealed that BBC Worldwide, in collaboration with another party, had invested in one hour of new Red Dwarf to be filmed in early 2009.[4] Grant Naylor Productions announced that it had been "on the cards" since February 2008.[5] It subsequently transpired that UKTV channel Dave will screen four new 30-minute specials to celebrate the twenty-first anniversary of the show.[6] The new episodes form part of an effort by Dave to screen more original programming, instead of just repeats.[7]

It was subsequently announced in January 2009 that the new special was to be a brand new two-part story titled Red Dwarf: Back to Earth, broadcast over the Easter weekend of that year along with a "making of" documentary and a one-off entitled Red Dwarf: Unplugged.[8] On 20 February 2009, it was announced that Red Dwarf: Back to Earth would now be a three part special and that the unplugged episode had been postponed.[9] Unplugged had been described by Craig Charles as "just the four of us - and some chairs - trying to improvise, or rather trying to remember, classic scenes".[10]

"Back to Earth" itself will not be filmed in front of a studio audience in an effort to help keep the plot a secret. Although this will not be the first time this has happened (for instance, series 7 was filmed entirely without a live audience), it will be the first time a laughter track is not added for broadcast. [11]

On 13 March 2009, SFX magazine announced that they had released a limited edition of issue 181 onto the newsstands. This edition was limited to 50 nationwide and featured the cast of the Back to Earth series instead of the standard Doctor Who cover. The magazine also plays an important part in the episode itself, Dave Bradley, editor of SFX is quoted as saying “Our cover plays a key part in the storyline,". [12][13]

Episodes

On 11 March 2009, the official Dave blog for the specials added brief synopsis of each episode.[14]

# Title Writer Director Original Air Date Prod Code.
53"Back to Earth (Part One)"Doug NaylorDoug NaylorApril 10, 2009TBA
Nine years later (after the events of Only the Good...) the Red Dwarf crew are older but still none the wiser. Lister's busy day of annoying Rimmer is interrupted by the discovery of a dimension-hopping leviathan in the ship's mile-deep water tank.
54"Back to Earth (Part Two)"Doug NaylorDoug NaylorApril 11, 2009TBA
Rimmer's replacement, Katerina (Sophie Winkleman), is determined to guide Lister back to his home planet. But Earth in 2009 is not everything the boys had expected, and Rimmer has no intention of being replaced.
55"Back to Earth (Part Three)"Doug NaylorDoug NaylorApril 12, 2009TBA
Knowing they are destined to die, the Dwarfers – in best "Blade Runner" traditions – track down those responsible for their creation to plead for more life.
N–A"The Making of Back to Earth"N/AN/AApril 12, 2009N/A
A highly entertaining look at what goes on behind the scenes on a "Red Dwarf" production.

References

  1. ^ To Earth: The Trilogy
  2. ^ "Dave Episodes' DVD Date Revealed". Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  3. ^ Red Alert, p. 8, SFX, Issue 181, April 2009
  4. ^ Parker, Robin (2008-08-27). [ttp://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2008/08/red_dwarf_rumoured_to_return.html "Red Dwarf rumoured to return"]. Broadcast Now. EMAP. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  5. ^ Ellard, Andrew (2008-08-01). "KCTS Gets Anniversarial". www.reddwarf.co.uk. Grant Naylor Productions. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  6. ^ Thompson, Jody (2008-08-28). "Exclusive: Amy Winehouse, Big Brother & more in Mirror.co.uk's Thursday gossip round-up". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  7. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (2008-09-17). "Dave to feature John Cleese, Johnny Vaughan and new Red Dwarf". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  8. ^ "Red Dwarf to return in new series". 2008-09-26. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  9. ^ "Back To Earth: The Trilogy". Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  10. ^ Whose Dwarf Is It Anyway? | Ganymede & Titan. Ganymede.tv. Retrieved on 2009-02-13.
  11. ^ "Red-Through: A high-definition start to the new Dwarf production". Retrieved 2009-02-13.
  12. ^ Red Dwarf: The Bodysnatcher Collection. "SFX Magazine's 'Golden Cover' Promotion | News". Red Dwarf. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  13. ^ "the leading science fiction, fantasy and horror magazine". SFX. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  14. ^ kc1820. "Red Dwarf News: Episode synopsis revealed! - Red Dwarf exclusive weekly news Library on Dave". Dave.uktv.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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