Red Dwarf characters

Character descriptions and casting details for the Red Dwarf BBC sitcom and series of novels by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor.

Alter egos

Ace Rimmer

Ace Rimmer is played by Chris Barrie in the television series. He is an alter ego of Arnold Rimmer.

Related Topics:
Chris Barrie - Alter ego - Arnold Rimmer

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Ace's full name is Commander Arnold Judas Rimmer - he is an alternate version of the Rimmer character who features more regularly in the series, from a parallel dimension. Ace first appears in the episode "Dimension Jump", the 5th episode in series 4 of Red Dwarf.

Related Topics:
Judas - Rimmer - Parallel dimension

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Rimmer has a number of nicknames for himself, none of which have been used by any other character (save for his clone in the episode "Me Squared"): these include Ironballs, I.B. (a derivative of the former) and Ace. Ace Rimmer became known as Ace at school, when he was kept back a year at the age of 7. He says that being a clear foot taller than the rest of his class inspired him to buckle down and work hard, and it is this which makes him so different from the regular Rimmer.

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While Rimmer is a snivelling coward, Ace is a hero who travels from planet to planet wearing a gold, fur-lined flight suit and saving the lives of beautiful women. He was originally a test pilot for the Space Corps in his own universe, when he was offered the chance to pilot a brand-new kind of spacecraft, one that can cross dimensions. The first dimension he encountered happened to be the one in which Red Dwarf is set. There are alternative versions of the other characters as well, Dave Lister is Spanners, the Cat is Padre and Kryten is Bongo, who has a gay crush on Ace although married.

Related Topics:
Dave Lister - The Cat - Kryten

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Since then, he went on an adventure through the universe, adventuring, being a hero, and meeting all the many alternate versions of himself. When he finally became unable to carry on, he passed his wig and his legacy on to another version of himself, who became the new Ace. Previous Ace Rimmers are sent, when they finally die, to orbit a planet in an unknown location, and by the time Red Dwarf's Rimmer takes on the mantle, the billions of Ace Rimmers who have come before him have formed a ring around the planet.

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His catchphrase is, "Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!" and it is a running joke in the series that everyone who comes into contact with Ace Rimmer exclaims "What a guy!" Unlike Rimmer, who complains that his short, curly hair is "unmanageable", Ace wears a blonde blow-dried wig.

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Rimmer himself is the only one who refuses to see Ace as a hero, and he makes frequent references to Ace being gay or Ace and Lister being in love. However, in the episode "Stoke Me a Clipper" in series 7, Rimmer has to overcome both this jealousy of Ace's success and his own fear when Ace confides in him that he is a hard-light hologram, and that he is dying. Ace recruits Rimmer to be the next Ace, and with a little encouragement from Lister, Rimmer leaves. However, he still manages to mess up the catchphrase - before taking off (or trying to - he hits the ejector seat instead) the new Ace Rimmer's last words are "Stoke me a clipper, I'll be back for Christmas!" ...followed by, as he realises his mistake, "Whatever." It is unknown how this edition of Ace Rimmer fared. The new Ace Rimmer makes a cameo appearance in the seventh season episode "Blue" in which he appears in a disturbingly romantic dream of Lister's.

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Duane Dibbley

Duane Dibbley is the dorky alter-ego of The Cat, played by Danny John-Jules with pudding basin haircut and big overbite. He first appeared in the series 5 episode Back To Reality, as part of a hallucinogenic experience, designed to cause despair in the Dwarfers. His second appearance was in the series 6 episode Emohawk - Polymorph II, and was caused by a polymorph absorbing the Cat's cool. In Can't Smeg Won't Smeg he inexplicably appears after The Cat refuses to take part in the show.

Related Topics:
The Cat - Danny John-Jules - Pudding basin - Overbite - Hallucinogen - Despair - Polymorph - Can't Smeg Won't Smeg

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In series 8 episode Back In The Red, The Cat, Lister, Kochanski, and Kryten disguised themselves as "The Dibbley Family" by wearing mop head on their heads and large false teeth.

Related Topics:
Lister - Kochanski - Kryten

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The character's brief appearances have proved very popular. John-Jules explanation for this was "No-one's ever written a black nerd before."

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The Dog

The Dog is a minor character played by Matthew Devitt. He is an alternate version of the Cat from a parallel universe. His origins are presumably similar to the Cat, except that Deb Lister (Dave Lister's duplicate) brought a dog on board the ship, rather than a cat.

Related Topics:
Matthew Devitt - The Cat - Parallel universe - Dave Lister - Dog

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The Dog speaks in a Texan drawl. He is dirty and smelly. He likes to offer his bottom for strangers to smell. He is thrown into a panic by the word "bath" and insists it be spelt so that he cannot understand it. He seems to be the last remaining member of his species (probably canis sapiens). He is also hopeless at dancing. The Dog suffers from separation anxiety when the others leave him alone.

Related Topics:
Texan drawl - Separation anxiety

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The Cat was thrilled when he thought he would meet a female cat only to be horrified to find a creature that might eat him. They did not get on very well.

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