Red Dwarf - Series 3 & 4 (1989)

The third series of Red Dwarf introduced some radical changes--all of them for the better--but the scripts remained as sharp and character-focused as ever, making this a fine candidate for the show's best year. Gone were the dull metallic grey sets and costumes, gone too was Norman Lovett's lugubrious Holly, replaced now by comedienne Hattie Hayridge, who had previously played Hilly in the Series 2 episode "Parallel Universe". New this year were custom-made costumes, more elaborate sets, the zippy pea-green Starbug, bigger special effects and the wholly admirable Robert Llewellyn as Kryten. The benefits of the show's changes are apparent from the outset, with the mind-bending hilarity of "Backwards," in which Kryten and Rimmer establish themselves as a forward-talking double-act on a reverse Earth. After a modest two-person episode that sees Rimmer and Lister "Marooned", comes one of the Dwarf's most beloved episodes, "Polymorph." Here is the ensemble working at its best, as each character unwittingly has their strongest emotion sucked out of them. Lister loses his fear, Cat his vanity, Kryten his reserve, and Rimmer his anger ("Chameleonic Life-Forms. No Thanks"). "Body Swap" sees Lister and Rimmer involved in a bizarre attempt to prevent the ship from self-destructing. "Timeslides" delves deep into Rimmer's psyche as the boys journey haphazardly through history. Finally, "The Last Day" shows how completely Kryten has been adopted as a crewmember, when his replacement Hudzen unexpectedly shows up.

By the end of its fourth year, Red Dwarf had completed its metamorphosis from a modest studio-bound sitcom with a futuristic premise to a full-blown science-fiction series, complete with a relatively lavish (by BBC standards) special-effects budget, more impressive sets, and more location shooting. Despite the heavier emphasis on sci-fi, the character-based comedy remained as sharp as ever. Witness the Cat's reaction to Lister's pus-filled exploding head; Kryten's devastatingly sarcastic defense of Rimmer; or the classic scene that opens the series, Lister teaching Kryten to lie. In "Camille," Robert Llewellyn's real-life wife plays a female mechanoid who transforms into something else entirely, as does the episode, which by the end becomes a delightful skit on Casablanca. "DNA" is heavily sci-fi, with lots of techno-speak about a matter transmogrifier and a RoboCop homage--but in typical Dwarf fashion, turns out to be all about curry. "Justice" sees Rimmer on trial for the murder of the entire crew, while Lister attempts to evade a psychotic cyborg. Holly gets her IQ back in "White Hole," but wastes time debating bread products with the toaster. "Dimension Jump" introduces dashing doppelganger Ace Rimmer--he was to return in later series, with diminishingly funny results. Here his appearance is all the better for its apparent improbability. Finally, "Meltdown" goes on location (to a park in North London) where waxdroids of historical characters (played by a miscellaneous selection of cheesy look-alikes) are at war. Only intermittently successful, this episode is really memorable for Chris Barrie's tour-de-force performance as Rimmer becomes a crazed, Patton-esque general. --Mark Walker Amazon.com

Oh smeg! Bloody funny sci-fi Britcom!

Season 3 brought a few changes to the show, which was a good idea. The show had cruised along well for the first 2 seasons, but was reaching the point where it needed something to shake it up and keep it fresh. Enter the android Kryten...first introduced for one episode in season 2, and now becoming a regular in the new season. As a regular, he is wonderfully portrayed by actor Robert Llewellyn, who unlike the Kryten in the original episode, adopts an American accent to, in Llewellyn's words, "keep him from sounding like a stereotypical butler." Another change in the third season was to replace Norman Lovett who played Holly, the ship's computer with actress Hattie Hatridge. Having Holly going from male to female is not hard to explain, but Hatridge does not possess Lovett's personality and magnetic screen persona. Plus, they just didn't write Holly's part to be as funny after Norman left. The female Holly brought the show down a bit, to be sure. Plus it took a while for Robert to get the hang of his American accent. He goofed up a few times, but got better in later seasons. These 2 major personnel changes shook the show up well, but the third season got off to an awkward start. There were great episodes like The Last Day, and the season's best, Polymorph. Even Marooned, featuring Craig Charles as Lister and Chris Barrie as Rimmer was good for a number of great laughs. But there were episodes that fell short of the usual quality from before. Backwards is the best example. They were still finding their new stride in Season 3, but the addition of Kryten was an overall big benefit to the show. In Season 4, the show was back in full groove. Actually, I still feel that Seasons 4 & 5 are the best seasons this wonderful show ever did. I won't go into individual show plots, but this season 4 is smegging stupendous! Even though I first saw the episode where they execute Winnie-the-Pooh by firing squad 15 years ago, it ruined Pooh for me! I still can't see that cartoon bear without laughing about that episode! So to sum up, Season 3 had its awkward moments but overall was a worthwhile, funny season. Season 4 was one of the best seasons of the entire series. If you watch these 2 wonderful seasons, you'll have a smegging great time! August 4, 2008

Awesome!

As any Dwarfer can tell you, having Red Dwarf on DVD is a pleasure in itself. After all, it was originally only offered on VHS. The graphics on the menus are wonderful and the plethora of optional bonus material is a real pleasure to explore. As the show has been off the air for ten years now, it was nice to see some new little tidbits left out of the original VHS tapes. For the money, the Series 3 and 4 set was more than worth it to me! June 17, 2008

Only a lager can murder a vindaloo

Series 3 and 4 have some of the all time greats, including Backwards, Marooned, Camille, and of course White Hole - one of my favorite episodes ever. The special effects have improved a bit from the early series, but the writing and acting is still great, and the parody is as sharp as ever. Wonderful! June 4, 2008

i love red dwarf!

this applies to all red dwarf seasons, i know that some say that 1 season is better than another, but i just look at it as one big hilarous movie! January 5, 2007

This smeggin' rocks!

I was so excited to find Red Dwarf on DVD!! The bonus material is awesome and some worth viewing several times. Season three sees the entrance of Kryten as a permenant character and makes for an interesting change. Opening with the ultimate question is one of the best scenes of Red Dwarf. And let's not forget how catchy the "Ohm" song is. Season four takes up another level with our first introduction to Ace Rimmer. Kryten falls in love, we discover the white holes and Talkie the Toast just wants to make toast. I can't wait until I get season 5 & 6! August 12, 2005

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