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Gunmen of the Apocalypse

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Template:Infobox Red Dwarf episode

"Gunmen of the Apocalypse" is the third episode of series VI of the science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf. It was first broadcast on 21 October 1993, on BBC2,[1] and went on to win an International Emmy Award.[2] The episode was written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor, and directed by Andy de Emmony.[3] In the episode, the regular cast find themselves in a computer simulation of a Wild West town, facing a gunfight against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Plot

Starbug strays into a Rogue Simulant hunting zone and is detected by a battle-cruiser whose xenophobic mechanoid occupants despise humanity. The Starbug crew are captured, but instead of killing them the Simulants upgrade the systems, weapons and armor of Starbug, intending to battle them for sport.

By a fluke the Starbug crew cripple the Simulant ship, but before their destruction the Simulants transmit an "Armageddon Virus" into Starbug's navigation computer, locking the ship on a suicide course toward a large volcanic moon. Kryten deliberately infects himself with the virus in order to try to formulate a software antidote.

Kryten's battle with the virus manifests itself as a Wild West–flavoured dream; he is the cowardly, drunken and burnt-out Sheriff of a town called Existence, who is standing against four outlaws known as the Apocalypse Boys: Famine, Pestilence, War, and Death. The crew use an artificial reality machine to enter Kryten's dream, taking the roles of characters from a wild west video game with various skills: Lister with knife throwing, Cat with expert shooting skills, and Rimmer with hand-to-hand combat.

All three show off their skills as Lister pins a bully to the wall with his knives, Cat shoots the bullets of two gunmen out of the air simultaneously, and Rimmer fights off several cowboys with his bare hands. As Kryten tries to flee town, Cat stops him by shooting a bullet which ricochets off numerous objects until it hits a sign, which falls and knocks Kryten down. The others try to sober him up by force-feeding him raw coffee. He finally begins to recognise them when Cat returns from repossessing Kryten's guns and finds there are doves inscribed on the handles (a references to the "dove program" Kryten needs to assemble to counteract the virus).

The trio then confront the Apocalypse Boys while the still-confused and unsteady Kryten struggles for a solution. Unfortunately, Lister, Cat, and Rimmer are rendered powerless by the virus before the final showdown, but manage to delay the Apocalypse Boys long enough for Kryten to finish his antidote, which appears in the dream as his guns turn into doves which destroy the Boys. Kryten leaves the dream and hastily loads his antidote into the navigation computer, seemingly too late as Starbug crashes into the molten surface of the moon. Several seconds later, it bursts free with the crew giving an apropos "Yee haw!" before flying off into the sunset.

Production

Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor,[3] the script was originally titled "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse",[4] and then had the working title of "High Midnight";[5] it was later changed to "Gunmen of the Apocalypse". The Western themes of the episode were written first, with the plot framing with the Simulants coming later, and described by Grant and Naylor as a 'roast beef western' (parodying the phrase 'spaghetti western').

During filming of the episode Janet Street Porter was Head of Art & Culture and when she received the ambitious script for "Gunmen..." she sent out a memo that all production for this episode must be stopped immediately because she believed it too difficult to film, too costly and too time-consuming. By the time the Red Dwarf crew received her memo, filming had already wrapped and even post-production already started.[6]

Denis Lill appears as the Simulant Captain and Death. The other 'Apocalypse Boys' were played by Dinny Powell, Robert Inch and Jeremy Peters playing Famine, War and Pestilence respectively. Jennifer Calvert plays the 'Artificial Reality' character in Lister's detective scenario. Steve Devereaux plays Jimmy. Liz Hickling appears as Simulant Lieutenant, Imogen Bain plays Lola and Stephen Marcus plays Bear Strangler McGee.[3]

Cultural references

The plot of a drunken sheriff defending his town against an incoming gang of cowboys parodies Rio Bravo. The artificial reality plot also shows similarities to Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode "A Fistful of Datas". In fact, as mentioned in The A to Z of Red Dwarf, Patrick Stewart saw this episode before he had ever heard of Red Dwarf. Viewing it as a serious science fiction, he considered the plot so similar he was going to call his lawyers until he watched it further and started laughing.[7]

The episode also has references to the 1971 film Gumshoe which the AR game is based on and "Butch Accountant and the Yuppie Kid" references the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.[8]

The name of Rimmer's video game character likely references the 1907 poem The Shooting of Dan McGrew, in which the title character is repeatedly referred to as "Dangerous Dan McGrew".

Howard Goodall's soundtrack for this episode is inspired by Ennio Morricone's distinctive style of music in the Man With No Name trilogy.

The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Reception

The episode was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 21 October 1993 in the 9:00pm time slot.[1] With over 6 million viewers[9] and an International Emmy award in 1994,[5] the episode is considered to be one of the better efforts from the sixth series.[10]

Censored repeats

In one scene Rimmer points out that Lister uses the artificial reality machine in order to have sex with the female characters such as "that jail bait ball girl!" This scene, along with other sexual innuendoes, was cut during some repeat showings when Charles (who played Lister) was facing rape charges.

See also

  • Backwards the fourth Red Dwarf novel by Rob Grant, which features plot elements from the episode[9] (Although the novel's events culminate in Kryten and Rimmer dying).

References

  1. ^ a b "BBC - Programme Catalogue - RED DWARF VI - GUNMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE". BBC. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
  2. ^ "Red Dwarf VI released on DVD". 2005-01-12.
  3. ^ a b c "Gunmen of the Apocalypse cast and crew". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  4. ^ News From The Dwarf, Red Dwarf Smegazine, volume 2 issue 1, May 1993, Fleetway Editions Ltd, issn=0965-5603
  5. ^ a b "Red Dwarf Series VI Writing". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  6. ^ "Red Dwarf Series VI Production". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-01-07. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  7. ^ Crerar, Simon (30 March 2009). "The A to Z of Red Dwarf: G is for Gunmen of the Apocalypse". TimesOnline. London. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-04-04. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "Gunmen of the Apocalypse movie connections". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  9. ^ a b "Red Dwarf Series VI Aftermath". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  10. ^ "Red Dwarf VI review by Gavrielle". www.reviewsbygavrielle.com. Retrieved 2008-02-01.

External links

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