The cast of Red Dwarf will reportedly reunite for a series of new shows

to be broadcast on digital channel Dave in 2009.

 

The Sun states that Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Danny John-Jules,

Robert Llewellyn and Chloe Annett will appear in four 30-minute

specials that will combine new material with classic footage of the

cult BBC Two sitcom

Sounds like a bunch of clip shows to me - shame, this topic had me quite excited for a moment.

Considering that the last two series of Red Dwarf were pretty damned limp sh!t, this really holds no excitement for me at all, especially given what Richie has posted... Grant and Naylor just looking to milk the franchise again.... <_<

 

I really LOVED the first five or six series of Red Dwarf, but as soon as fake "Katchansky" became a regular character, it just kind of lost its appeal for me....

Considering that the last two series of Red Dwarf were pretty damned limp sh!t, this really holds no excitement for me at all, especially given what Richie has posted... Grant and Naylor just looking to milk the franchise again.... <_>

 

I really LOVED the first five or six series of Red Dwarf, but as soon as fake "Katchansky" became a regular character, it just kind of lost its appeal for me....

I totally agree - Series I to VI were brilliant but the other 2 were just plain awful!

Source unknown.

 

Sci-fi fans and Coronation Street devotees will be over the moon to

learn Craig Charles has been speaking about his much-anticipated

reunion with his Red Dwarf colleagues.

 

In a chat with Digital Spy, he said: "It's all been signed off now

and has been given the go-ahead. I'm really looking forward to doing

it.

 

"I can't really give the storyline away but it's a fantastic one.

 

"It's really quite weird and sees me playing quite a few characters,

some of them I've already played on television. That's all I can

say..."

 

When asked when work starts on the project, he said: "It starts

filming in January and the rest of them all look ancient. I'm the

only one that doesn't look like they've aged. I'm actually playing

their child now."

 

It does mean Charles, who plays cabbie Lloyd in Coronation Street,

will be off screen, as he explained: "They've given me a bit of time

off.

 

"Not a lot, but they've worked it around holidays, too. It's very

kind of them to have done it for me.

 

"It's one of those things that I'd have hated to have gone ahead

without me."

 

 

Red Dwarf specials begin filming at Corrie.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a145404/r...-at-corrie.html

Robert Llewellyn talks about the forthcoming Red Dwarf specials on Dave - April 10th.

Series 7 was bad, series 8 picked up, but it wasn't wonderful

 

:o I was 5 when series 8 aired :P...

Who watched the first one tonight then?

 

Well first episode, it was a bit strange without the laughter track on it, but i thought the cast seemed to have got back into the roles well, okay for a set-up episode. I suspect the next ones will be better. Good to see it back.

New 'Red Dwarf' pulls in over 2 million

Saturday, April 11 2009, 10:05 BST

 

By Neil Wilkes, Editor

Source: digitalspy

 

The return of Red Dwarf for its first new episode in ten years was a huge hit for multichannel Dave last night, according to early ratings figures.

 

The first episode of a three-part reunion special, Red Dwarf: Back To Earth, pulled in 2.06m (10%) for Dave between 9pm and 9.30pm. A further 341k (1.9%) watched at 10pm on timeshift channel Dave ja vu.

 

A subsequent screening of a classic episode took 1.01m (5.1%) at 9.30pm.

 

The success of Red Dwarf helped Dave to a primetime share of 3.2%, making it the most popular multichannel station of the night by a margin of almost one share point.

 

On ITV1, a two-hour repeat of Martin Clunes's Doc Martin brought in 3.62m (17.6%) between 9pm and 11pm. BBC One's documentary The Real Swiss Family Robinson had 2.74m (12.2%) in the 9pm hour, and on Channel 4, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA interested 2.52m (11.2%).

 

Five's NCIS put in 2.01m (9%), while BBC Two's coverage of the second day's play at The Masters was seen by 1.85m (8.5%) between 9pm and 10.15pm.

 

At 8pm, Gardeners' World took 2.15m (9.3%) for BBC Two and Channel 4's A Place In The Sun: Home Or Away appealed to 1.41m (6.1%). Five had 877k (3.8%) for Police Interceptors: Special Edition.

 

An Airline repeat picked up 2.8m (12.2%) for ITV1 at 8pm, then at 8.30pm, BBC One's repeat of the Wallace & Gromit Christmas special, A Matter Of Loaf And Death, managed 3.42m (14.5%).

 

ITV1 led in primetime overall with an average share of 23.6% to BBC One's 17.7%. Channel 4 was third with 7.2% (+1: 1.1%), followed by BBC Two with 7.7% and Five with 4.9%.

 

 

Robert Llewellyn ('Red Dwarf')

Friday, April 10 2009, 16:09 BST

By Dan French

Source: digitalspy

 

It's been a staggering 10 years since Red Dwarf last graced our scenes, but Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Danny John Jules and Robert Llewellyn are finally back. Red Dwarf: Back To Earth lands on Dave this Easter weekend, so we got Robert 'Kryten' Llewellyn on the two-way to find out what we could about the iconic show's return.

 

How did the special come about?

"Basically, Doug Naylor has been trying to make a Red Dwarf movie for the past 10 years and then decided that we might as well try for a series. It was a lovely convergence of events - the Red Dwarf repeats had been doing well, and then people talked to Doug and that's how it came about. It was all set up before we knew about it."

 

There were rumours about a comeback for many years - why didn't it happen sooner?

"I think Doug has been very involved, but it's been a 10 year gap and we'd all moved on and done other things. From our point of view, it came around as a surprise. It wasn't like two years ago we heard rumours - the first phone call I got was when we were doing it! It was a big surprise for us."

 

What can you tell us about the plot? Things have been kept quite quiet...

"We don't want to give it away, but the title gives you something. We do come back to Earth and try to find out why people have heard of us and know who we are - and there's twist that I don't want to give away. Obviously it leaked to the press that we'd filmed on the Coronation Street set."

 

Does the story follow on from the end of the last series back in 1999?

"Well, it is referred to that it has been nine or 10 years since the last moments. We've had a huge amount of adventures and we've learnt nothing - we're still the same bunch of useless, half-baked space bums that we always were!"

 

So what has changed?

"The visual effects are brilliant now. It's all breath-taking and we can't believe it's us on it - it looks extraordinary! It's all state of the art CGI stuff. Five years ago it was rubbish, but now it's remarkable. It looks like we're in a nine-mile-long spaceship! There have been big changes in terms of production."

 

How hard was it to slip back into character after so many years?

"It was absurdly easy! We all said we feel like we've had a 10 week holiday, not a 10 year break. When we did the read-through I felt a bit wobbly, but as soon as we got into the studio and into costume, it was automatic. We had a brilliant time and I hope it comes across on screen."

 

Were there any downsides to returning to the show?

"It's a hard show to make. I've done ones that involve danger and hardship, but nothing remotely as tough as Red Dwarf. It's the toughest gig I've ever had, and the crew and production said the same. It's a very ambitious show to make on a relatively small budget. The money definitely goes on the screen - there's no luxury behind the scenes!"

 

Do you think this wraps up the series nicely or is there scope for more?

"I think the simple truth is that it's a self-contained trilogy, but it doesn't end abruptly. If it's well received, there's a possibility we could do more. The difficulty is that we're all busy doing other things, so we have to plan quite carefully. We've all really enjoyed doing it - there were moments where it was a nightmare, but we had a great time working together."

 

Have you heard anything about a film or a full series?

"No - it's all up for discussion. There are no plans that we're aware of, but I'd be interested. I had genuinely forgotten what a great time we all had. I've seen the guys regularly over the years but I don't think we'd been together like that for 10 years. It was brilliant fun - more than we'd ever had. We get on really well and it's like hanging out with your best mates."

 

 

Who watched the first one tonight then?

 

Well first episode, it was a bit strange without the laughter track on it, but i thought the cast seemed to have got back into the roles well, okay for a set-up episode. I suspect the next ones will be better. Good to see it back.

 

I thought it was great as a (re)start up episode. It was amazing how the chemistry/dynamics between the four central actors/characters returned so quickly after 9 years apart.

 

Whilst the graphics/SFX were far better than I expected them to be.

Whilst the graphics/SFX were far better than I expected them to be.

 

That put me off a bit, I was very aware of green screening throughout :(

 

Not a patch on the original stuff for me :(

Episode 2 was a bit better, looking forward to the final part.

 

Considering it was done on the cheap. It cost an 8th the cost to make an average Dr Who episode (according to the Making Of the "Back To Earth" special), I thought it was rather good.

 

In stark contrast to the dreadful Easter Dr Who Special; it just goes to show that without good acting; a tight script and onscreen chemistry you are screwed.

 

I liked the twist seeing how the excellent (from Peep Show) Sophie Winkleman's Katerina hologram character was killed off mid way through the second part; and how they kept Chloë Annett return a closely guarded secret.

 

Of course it still suffers from the absence of Rob Grant's (he split from Doug Naylor after Series 6) input in terms of the comedic aspect of the show; that hindered the last two series of Red Dwarf in the late 1990s as the show moved from more laugh out loud Sci-Fi sitcom to more of a comedy drama format.

 

But Doug Naylor's plot development skills puts Dr Who's Russell T Davies' to shame.

Overall i thought the 3-part series was excellent, part 1 was the build-up which was great, then the other two were

very good. I enjoyed the final part especially where Lister was on the typewriter and writing in what happens next making the others keep hitting themselves, that was funny.

Wonderful to see Chloe Annett too, haven't seen here in anything for years.

 

All in all a great return, and left open for a new series, the cast seem to enjoy themselves and would come back

so it is possible for more episodes in the future.

 

I thought that was a good 3 shows, not as good as the originals, but I did laugh all the way through