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Episodes: “Backwards”, “Marooned”, “Polymorph”, “Bodyswap”, “Timeslides”, “The Last Day”
Stars: Chris
Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn, and Hattie Hayridge
Writers: Rob Grant
and Doug Naylor
Director: Ed Bye
Producers: Rob
Grant, Doug Naylor, and Ed Bye
Executive
Producer: Paul Jackson
Feature length:
165 minutes
Extras: Cast
Commentary, “All Change” Original Documentary, Deleted Scenes, Smeg Ups,
Hattie’s D.J Diary, Tribute To Mel Bibby, “Food” Featurette,
“Backwards” – Forwards, Trailers, Raw FX Footage, Isolated Music Cues,
Audio Book Chapters, Photo Gallery, Web Link
Languages: English
Stereo Sound
Subtitles: English
Captions
Packaging:
Two-Disc Single-Size Keep Case
Chapter Stops: 9
Per Episode/54 Total
Sound: Stereo
Sound
Year of Television
Broadcast: 1989/DVD Release: 2004
Home Video
Distributor: BBC Video
MPAA Rating: Not
Rated
Reviewer: Mark A.
Rivera
“Red Dwarf
III” saw many changes take place beginning with a change from Howard
Goodall’s rather somber opening music to a fast pace rock guitar version over
a montage of scenes from series three episodes. There were cast additions too,
which is all addressed in the first episode’s “Star Wars” like opening
text crawl that details the events of the story in the first two series through
the opening of series 3. The text moves very fast, but fortunately one can read
the words at their own speed by slowing down or pausing the text crawl on their
DVD players. Robert Llewellyn was cast as Kryten, a character introduced in
series two that was originally played by David Ross, who was unavailable to
reprise his role as a regular for series three. Hattie Hayridge, who had
appeared as the ship’s A.I. “Holly’s”
female personality equivalent, took on the role of “Holly” for the next
eight years that followed until Norman Lovett returned to the show at the close
of Series VII as the masculine side of “Holly” once again. Production
Designer Mel Bibby bought a production design to the interior of the Red
Dwarf mining ship that was influenced by Ridley Scott’s “Alien,” but
on a shoestring budget. The costumes for the series were also overhauled and
collectively “Red Dwarf III” fulfilled the way the Producers of the show had
wanted the series to appear from the beginning and would continue to follow for
all the series that followed.
To recap the
series for the uninitiated, read my DVD reviews of “Red
Dwarf I” and “Red Dwarf II” and
don’t be smeg head about it either! Series three has our crew traveling
through time and space to an Earth where everything occurs literally backwards
and in another episode, through some strange phenomenon, they are able to enter
the past within the limitations of the picture frame they step into in an
attempt to alter the future. Rimmer (Chris Barrie) gets the opportunity to swap
bodies with “Lister” (Craig Charles) in “Bodyswap” while members of the
crew face mortal dangers in the hilarious episodes “Polymorph”,
“Marooned”, and “The Last Day.”
All six series
three episodes are presented in their original (1.33:1) broadcast aspect ratios
as seen in the U.S. on PBS. The picture quality is excellent considering the
episodes were shot 15 years ago using analogue video cameras mostly. A clear
English Stereo Soundtrack is also provided along with optional English Captions
for both the hearing impaired and Americans who have trouble understanding a
British accent for all six episodes and nearly all of the extra value features
on disc two.
Cast members Chris
Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John Jules, and Hattie Hayridge provide optional
group audio commentary for all six episodes. The cast members participating in
the commentary have such a good time laughing at each other as they reminisce
about the episodes that there really isn’t much to be learned about the show
aside that they thought series three would be the last for their characters. Boy
were they ever wrong. “Red Dwarf” is cult hit on both sides of the Atlantic
and for years there has been talk about a feature film though as of yet I
believe it is still only in development.
The extra features
on disc two include “All Change” (80:33) a new documentary that can be
viewed in seven installments or as a whole that charts the making of “Red
Dwarf III” on an episode by episode basis complete with new cast and crew
interview clips. Next is a reel of approximately 15 deleted scenes (26:41) from
series three presented with video and audio quality that is nearly equal to if
not the same as the series three episodes on disc one. “Smeg Ups” are
essentially a reel of outtakes and bloopers from the show’s production (5:36).
“Hattie’s D.J. Diary” (9:05) gives viewers a video journey through the
2003 Red Dwarf Fan Club Weekend from Ms. Hayridge’s point of view.
There is a short
video tribute to Red Dwarf’s departed Production Designer Mel Bibby (8:02)
with cast and crewmember recollections and a montage of food effects from series
three (3:37) for those brave enough to open Lister’s personal refrigerator.
The coolest extra feature is having the series three premiere episode
“Backwards” (27:26) presented in reverse complete with chapter stops for
viewers to enjoy the hilarious backward moments. Unfortunately there were no
trailers for series three in the BBC archives so two that were actually recorded
on VHS 15 years ago are provided, but the tape quality had degraded
significantly. The first spot is 18 seconds while the second spot is 37 seconds
in length. There is also a reel of raw effects footage featuring the
“Starbug” and “Blue Midget” shuttles used by the characters in the
series. Chris Barrie provides the narration as he reads two selections from the
Red Dwarf audio book “Better Than Life” based on the series three episodes
“Marooned” and “Polymorph.” There are also five still galleries
containing production photos, behind the scenes shots, model shots, video cover
art, and instant snapshots. Eight music cues from the series three soundtrack
can also be enjoyed individually and in whatever order the listener chooses. A
web link to www.reddwarf.com is present
for DVD-ROM users though it is obviously not necessary to have a computer with a
DVD-ROM drive in order to visit the website.
Within the keep
case is a 12-page booklet detailing the bonus features, the changes that
occurred in series three, the challenges in producing each episode, anecdotes,
and quotes from characters in series three episodes. There are also four
collector’s cards for series three within the single size double disc keep
case. There are also supposed to be a bunch of Easter eggs hidden throughout
both discs, but I only found one with animated images of the show’s Producers
discussing “Red Dwarf III” (11:19) and mentioning “Polymorph” as one of
their favorites from that series. You can access it by hitting the left arrow
button on your remote once when you highlight the back icon in the animated
version of the extra features menu on disc two. After hitting the left arrow
button once on your DVD player’s remote control, press the up arrow button
once and you will see a question mark appear on the lower right corner of the
menu. Press the “Enter” button to proceed. The interactive menus on both
discs are fully animated with full motion scene selections and all are easy to
navigate. There is also a text version of the extra features menu on disc two
for those who do not wish to navigate through the animated version of the extra
features menu.
“Red Dwarf III:
The Original Series Three 2-Disc Set” will debut day and date with “Red
Dwarf IV: The Original Series Four 2-disc Set” on DVD-Video at retailers on
and offline on Tuesday, February 3, 2004 from BBC Video. Now quit being such a
smeg and check it out for yourself!
© Copyright 2004
By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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