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Episodes: “Camille”, “DNA”, “Justice”, “White Hole”, “Dimension Jump”, “Meltdown”
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, “Built To Last” Original Documentary, Deleted Scenes, Smeg Ups,
Ace Rimmer – A Life In Lame, “Lurve” Featurette, “Can’t Smeg Won’t
Smeg Special”, 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: 1991/DVD Release: 2004
Home Video
Distributor: BBC Video
MPAA Rating: Not
Rated
Reviewer: Mark A.
Rivera
“Red Dwarf
Series IV” was shot at Shepperton Studios just outside London because the BBC
studios in Manchester were being refurbished and were therefore closed. A few
tweaks to the back-story were made based on changes Rob Grant and Doug Naylor
had implemented in “Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers” and “Better Than
Life” Red Dwarf novels. From this point on the mining ship Red Dwarf
was a starship from the 23rd Century instead of the 21St
Century and some exact specifications to the ship were added to give the viewer
an idea of the immense scale the Red Dwarf starship had. Built for a crew
of 1,169, the ship is approximately five miles long. Lister’s back-story was
also changed a bit to give his pining for his lost love, Kristine Kochanski, a
bit more meaning so instead of a woman Lister was attracted to, but never got to
have, now it would be established that they did have a brief romantic
relationship before he was placed in stasis and the disaster occurred that would
leave Lister as the last remaining live human being millions of years later.
The six episodes
that make up “Red Dwarf IV” include “Camille” where Kryten
(Robert Llewellyn) rescues what he believes to be a female version of the
same robot as him, played by his real wife Judy Pascoe, only to find out that
she is not quite what she appears to be. We also get to see Robert Llewellyn act
in two series four episodes without the makeup in “DNA” where Kryten gets
his chance to live out his dream as a human being and in “Dimension Jump”
where Llewellyn plays a somewhat sexually ambiguous admirer of Ace Rimmer (Chris
Barrie), in an alternate universe where the characters are the exact opposite of
the crew of the Red Dwarf. “Justice” sees Rimmer facing incarceration
aboard an automated prison space station for his fault in causing the disaster
that killed all but one crewmember on Red Dwarf millions of years earlier
as seen on the series one premiere episode “The End,” while a killer cyborg
that does not look too unlike a “Borg” from “Star Trek” threatens the
crew on the station. “White Hole” has the crew coping with imminent failure
of the ship’s A.I. “Holly (Hattie Hayridge) after restoring her I.Q and
subsequently quickening her program’s eventual decomposition. “Meltdown”
concludes series four with an episode that is both hilarious and at times
melancholy as it comments on the insanity of warfare. While cast and crewmembers
love the episode, ironically it is one of the least liked by some fans of the
series.
As with the three
previous DVD releases, “Red Dwarf IV: The Original Series Four 2-Disc Set”
looks and sounds great with a (1.33:1) broadcast television aspect ratio
presentation, a clear English Stereo Soundtrack, and optional English Captions
for the hearing impaired on both discs for nearly all of the features. Cast
members Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn, and
Hattie Hayridge provide optional audio commentary for six episodes on disc one
and while they tend to joke a bit during the commentary, these tracks are
definitely more screen specific with increased behind-the-scenes anecdotes and
recollections shared than on the commentary track for the episodes on “Red
Dwarf III.”
The rest of the
extra value features are found on disc two and they include the brand new
original documentary “Built To Last” (73:28), which can be viewed in seven
parts or as a whole continuously and features new cast and crew interviews
discussing in depth the making of series four. Next is a reel of approximately
23 deleted scenes (20:51) from series four that are presented with picture and
sound quality equal to the episode presentations on disc one. More bloopers and
outtakes can be viewed in the “Smeg Ups” section (10:40) and there are two
montages of scenes from various series of “Red Dwarf” that featured the
return of “Ace Rimmer” (11:12) and a collection of scenes related to the
subject of “love” or “Lurve” (3:02) in the “Red Dwarf” universe.
“Can’t Smeg, Won’t Smeg” (26:28) is perhaps the strangest of the extra
value features. This is probably a case where being an American unfamiliar with
all the BBC television personalities can be a real disadvantage. It has cast
members in costume in a cooking contest hosted by Chef Ainsley Harriott (Is he a
real chef?) in what appears to be one of the most surreal extra features I have
seen on a “Red Dwarf” DVD set yet. It looks like a satire I’d expect to
see in a Terry Gilliam film or something. Two BBC 2 “Red Dwarf” TV spots, (:
41) and (: 35) respectively, are presented based on badly deteriorated fan VHS
tapes from their original broadcast in 1991. A reel of raw effects footage
(7:06), three production still galleries, an effects and VHS cover art gallery,
and snap shots are included along with two more selections featuring Chris
Barrie reading from the “Red Dwarf” novel “Better Than Life” as well as
12 series four music cues that can listened to individually or as a whole are
also featured on disc two.
DVD-ROM users as
well as those without a DVD-ROM drive can visit the official “Red Dwarf”
website at www.reddwarf.com. There are
supposed to be several Easter Eggs on both discs too, but I could not find one.
Within the single size two-disc keep case is a 12-page collector’s booklet
filled with information about the fourth series of “Red Dwarf” and the
contents of the DVD set too. The menus are full animated with motion scene
selections and all are easy to navigate. There is a choice on disc two to either
view the extra features on an animated menu screen where you navigate to various
items scattered about the Officer’s Quarters or one can simply access the
materials using a text menu.
The saddest thing
for an American fan of “Red Dwarf” is knowing one will probably have to wait
a another year for series five and six to be released on Region One NTSC DVD,
but thus far the quality of these disc sets have been among the best BBC Video
has offered to American consumers and if retaining that quality means waiting
another year, so be it. “Red Dwarf IV: The Original Series Four 2-Disc Set”
will debut on DVD-Video day and date with “Red
Dwarf III: The Original Series Three 2-Disc Set” on Tuesday, February 3,
2004 at retailers on and offline courtesy of BBC Video.
© Copyright 2004
By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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