NOTE: This review is a continuation of my reviews of this series. If you have not seen any of the volumes or my previous reviews, you risk spoilers by continuing.

Intro

Containing two of the best episodes ever written for this series, Series V is arguably the best season of Red Dwarf ever aired.

The Story

Stranded three million years into deep space and pointed in the wrong direction home, the crew of Red Dwarf go forth and explore vast uncharted areas of space in hopes of encountering not only new life forms and a way to get back to Earth… but also the most elusive item ever, an edible pot noodle.

Series V is made up of six more episodes, two of them being the best ever aired (in my not entirely humble opinion). Starting with the episode ‘Holoship’, the crew of Red Dwarf encounter a new vessel which is not only an entire hologram itself, but the crew are also made up of nothing but super genius holograms and Rimmer has decided that this is exactly where he belongs.

Over the rest of the volume, the crew will encounter many dangerous situations including being stuck on a psy-moon which has formed itself based on Rimmer’s subconscious mind, an insane Simulant robot that has survived until the end of time only to decide to visit every living being in time and judge if they have lived a worthwhile life… and erases from history those who haven’t.

The two best episodes of this season (and series really) would have to be ‘Quarantine’ and ‘Back To Reality’. In ‘Quarantine’, the crew come across an abandoned scientific research base but inside they find a hologram of an insane doctor who has contracted a holo-virus (a virus that effects holograms, duh). Unfortunately, Rimmer also contracts this disease, making the crew fight back against him and Mr. Flibble (I’d love to explain Mr. Flibble to you but honestly, this is one that you have to see to believe!).

‘Back To Reality’ has been repeatedly voted by fans to be the all time favorite episode of Red Dwarf and for very good reason. In this episode, the crew find an underwater research ship which has tried to create their own evolution on a planet. Unfortunately one of the creatures that they created in their experiment is more than they can handle and has released a venom causing the feeling of utter despair in everything living, causing them to commit suicide. After the crew come in contact with this, they are faced with a very harsh reality: None of this is real. They have actually been spending this entire time in a video game back on Earth and no one is quite prepared to face who they really are.

The Good And The Bad

I’d really like to say that I can come up with bad things to say about this season of Red Dwarf. It’s only natural that each release of this series have at least one flaw with the volume and I really am trying to sit down here and come up with something but nothing is coming to mind. Every episode in this season is a strong one filled with great jokes, hilarious stories, twists in the plot and the characters that we know and love from Red Dwarf.


Music

Once again, the music in this series is wonderful. Every track composed for this series is done incredibly by Howard Goodall and really captures the feel for each scene that is played. Very well done.

Extras

As usual, this DVD is just packed with extras. Going down the list, we start with two commentary tracks. The first is for every episode featuring the cast of this season. These commentary tracks are notorious for having both good and bad moments and in this case they are balanced pretty equally. It’s always good to hear the cast back together again so fans won’t be disappointed with this commentary.

The second commentary track is one created by fans of the series. A few months ago, the official Red Dwarf website ran a contest for UK residents and the winners were to come into the studio record a fan commentary for the episode ‘Back to Reality’. This was certainly interesting and I thought it was definitely something that is worth checking out once. I personally love this level of fan interaction and I wish that more shows would do this.

The next extra is an original documentary featuring the cast and crew talking about the science used in these episodes. Red Dwarf is a sci fi comedy but it has never really relied by science for gags before and in this case there are lots of scientific ideas behind the plots and so this was interesting. Not the best extra but if you are interested in science, you might find this extra worth watching.

Next up are the favorites of all fans which would be the out takes and deleted scenes. While the out takes are definitely just as hilarious as always, it’s the deleted scenes that shine here as we are treated to 47 minutes worth of deleted footage.

Next is another documentary about the American pilot for Red Dwarf that was made a few years ago that was absolutely dreadful. Most fans have seen this and they can tell you that this show was never meant to be Americanized. Very cool feature and I enjoyed watching.

Another great extra would be an original radio play that was broadcasted back in 1983 and was written by Doug Naylor and Rob Grant. This was great to listen to because Red Dwarf was based off of these short radio plays that were written.

Finally we have the usual final extras such as the Raw FX footage, isolated music cues, original trailers and photo gallery.

Oh but you didn’t think that I was going to end this review without talking about the hidden Easter eggs did ya? Well, there are three this time. The first one can be found on disc one by going into the scene selection menu and highlighting the Inquisitors Glove. Enter 145 on the keypad that is shown and you’ll be treated to an animated commentary talking about ‘Back To Reality’.

The second Easter egg can also be found on the scene selection menu by going to the selection screen for ‘Quarantine’ and highlighting Mr. Flibble. Hit enter and you’ll get some backstage footage of the crew recording the commentary and getting a visit from a special guest.

The final egg is on the second disc. Go into subtitles and hit up and then enter and you’ll be treated to a very short interview with Doug Naylor and Robert as they talk about Jane Leeves (who was cast as ‘Holly’) in the American pilot and the accent that she used.

Overall

Easily one of the best seasons of this series, I can’t think of a single reason why fans of this series would be disappointed with this series. It’s funny, it’s tightly written and the characters get some of their most hilarious moments ever filmed. If you haven’t seen it, you’re definitely missing out!


Final Grade: 93% - A


Related Reviews

Red Dwarf Series I
Red Dwarf Series II
Red Dwarf Series III
Red Dwarf Series IV
Red Dwarf Series VI






©L.B. Bryant 2005

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older