10.6 The Beginning The flashback to Rimmer’s education is an unusual start to an unusual episode, and one that immediately lends it extra scope. Philip Labey and Simon Treves are very convincing in their roles as young Rimmer and Rimmer’s father respectively, and it’s a fun teaser which leaves you wondering exactly how it’s going to tie into the rest of the episode. Back aboard Red Dwarf, we open not with Lister but – in a change to the now-established format – with Rimmer, and an unwelcome visitor… Richard O’Callaghan plays Hogey, the Simulant who immediately endears himself with his manic obsession with duels across time and space. Hogey is really just the jumping off point for the main story, which sees the Dwarfers attacked by a Simulant Death Ship, led by the charismatic Dominator. Red Dwarf X’s guest cast has been almost universally strong, with only Kerry Shale’s performances in Fathers and Suns giving any cause for concern, but they’ve saved the best for last with Gary Cady, who comes across as marvelously sinister, petulant and unhinged all at the same time; the scene with the sword is one of many comedic highlights in the episode. Doug Naylor has revealed that this episode was adapted from the script for the currently-abandoned Red Dwarf: The Movie, and it shows; while Red Dwarf X has been pretty firmly in sitcom mode for much of the series, this instalment sees it head for a more dramatic, emotional and action-packed tone which should satisfy some of this series’ critics. This should probably also apply to the issue of which Rimmer we’re seeing, given that he refers to both his death in series one and the events of series eight… Official site webmaster and fellow DoG contributor Seb Patrick has suggested that he’s an amalgam of the two, and it seems like as good an explanation as any; as with the gap between series two and three, several things clearly happened between series eight and ten that aren’t particularly important for understanding the stories they’re now trying to tell. Whichever version of Rimmer it is, it seems like a very odd move placing him in charge of military strategy. I understand that Rimmer has the fascination with military history, but in the past it’s always been the sort of thing they’d sit down and figure out as a group. It’s one of a few slightly out-of-character moments in the episode, such as Kryten’s reaction to the hole in the ship, or Cat’s insightfulness. That said, the latter is a rare and tender moment for the two characters in the show who have perhaps the least in common. As the episode reaches its climax, it very much becomes Rimmer’s story. The revelation about his father is a surprising moment (Not just for the parodying of Star Wars), and although perhaps slightly diminished by the fact that Trojan contained a similar revelation, for long-term fans it’s one with a big impact. Rimmer’s burst of sudden self-confidence is a really satisfying punch-the-air moment, as is his echoing of Lister’s final line from the very first episode. The episode’s title suggests that this is the birth of a whole new Arnold J Rimmer; I suspect this definitely won’t be the case in the event of a Red Dwarf XI, or at least that the change won’t be too drastic. It’s pleasing that the character at least had this one moment of unbridled bravery though, after a last-minute edit took it away from him in series six. There’s no possible way I could review this episode without discussing Bill Pearson’s model work. If this was a cut-down version, or at least a chunk of, a movie script, then Pearson absolutely made it feel like one. From the stunning Death Ship and Annihilators to the incredible asteroid belt sequences, Pearson can’t be praised enough for easily some of the best effects the show has ever boasted. Likewise, composer Howard Goodall pulled out all of the stops to make the last ten minutes feel every bit as tense and action-packed as they would have been on the page. I hope it’s not the end, though; whilst Red Dwarf X has had its critics, and not everything they’ve tried has been successful, the fact remains that they clearly have tried, and have produced six episodes of something which is a lot more deserving of the budget and airtime than much of the UK’s current sitcom output. There are many good reasons why Red Dwarf will probably never be able to quite recapture the magic it once had. But with the framework they’ve now got in place, the lessons they will have learned from this run, and actors and writers who are clearly both passionate and reinvigorated by the series, I’d really like to see just how close they can come. Follow Pete on Twitter here: @thegeekpdt and visit his website here: www.typeforty.co.uk Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
