Red Dwarf

:This article describes the British science fiction comedy television series. For the type of star, see red dwarf.

Scenario

In the show, the Red Dwarf is a spaceship the size of a city belonging to the Jupiter Mining Corporation. An on-board radiation leak kills everyone except for Dave Lister, who was in suspended animation at the time. Three million years later, Lister emerges from stasis as the last human being alive.

Related Topics:
Red Dwarf - Dave Lister - Stasis

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Lister is the lowest ranking employee on the ship. He is the slob anti-hero with a marked Scouse accent and an obsession with Indian food, such as vindaloo, curries, and shami kebabs, all of which are in plentiful supply on board the ship. He also enjoys a type of music called "Rastabilly Skank," playing the guitar, and singing -- much to the detriment of those around him. His primary desire is to return to Earth.

Related Topics:
Anti-hero - Scouse - Vindaloo - Curries - Kebab

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Lister endures a hologramatic simulation of a deceased crew member Arnold J. Rimmer. Rimmer, Lister's room-mate before the disaster, is a smug, self-serving, mean-spirited, status-obsessed, neurotic, guilt-ridden loser, loathed by everybody on board. Despite fourteen years aboard the ship and an overriding ambition to become an officer, Rimmer remains a chickensoup-machine repairman, the second lowest ranking job aboard the ship. It was he who actually (unintentionally) caused the radiation leak by poorly repairing a drive plate on the power core, though he claims he would have been able to do a better job if Lister had not been imprisoned in stasis.

Related Topics:
Hologramatic - Arnold J. Rimmer - Radiation

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The facility for simulating dead crew members is so resource-intensive that only one such simulation can be maintained at a time. It is therefore reserved for high-ranking and/or essential personnel, but the ship's computer explains in an early episode that it believes Rimmer's company to be essential to Lister's mental health. Lister expresses incredulity, but later implicitly admits that the computer was right, telling another character, Kryten the mechanoid, that "driving Rimmer nuts is what keeps me going".

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As the show progresses, Rimmer acquires a tangible physical form for brief periods of time due to various astronomical phenomena, and eventually acquires a "hard-light drive", giving him an effectively real -- albeit almost indestructible -- physical presence. In other episodes, Rimmer is also manifested as the superheroic character, Ace Rimmer, who hails from a parallel universe where a pivotal humiliation led Rimmer to develop into a James Bond-like persona.

Related Topics:
Ace Rimmer - James Bond

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Also accompanying Lister on his voyage back to Earth is The Cat. Cat is of the species Felis sapiens, evolved from a domestic cat which Lister had smuggled aboard the ship three million years prior, the crime which Lister was imprisoned in stasis for committing. The Cat appears as a typical biped humanoid with slightly elongated feline teeth; he retains a cat-like features including a craving for fish and females, a heightened sense of smell, unbridled vanity, the requirement to nap multiple times a day, and an obsession towards grooming and appearance. He also has six nipples. Multiple jokes in the show involve his "cool" nature, including an incident in which it is revealed that his heartbeat is actually a catchy bassline, and the recurring anti-Cat role of Dwayne Dibley.

Related Topics:
The Cat - Felis sapiens

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The other principal character is Holly, the ship's computer with a supposed IQ of 6000 (visible as a disembodied head on the screens dotted around the ship). Holly runs most of the ship's systems despite now suffering from computer senility. Among Holly's systems are the semi-autonomous service droids known as the skutters that clean, perform engineering tasks, and function as Rimmer's hands since he initially cannot touch anything non-holographic; the skutters are also slightly computer senile and have developed personality quirks such as an affinity for John Wayne movies.

Related Topics:
Holly - Computer senility - Skutter - John Wayne

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The crew are also joined by the service mechanoid Kryten after rescuing him from a crashed vessel, the Nova 5. Kryten immediately takes over custodial duties on Red Dwarf. While Rimmer basks in subjugating Kryten, Lister befriends Kryten and encourages him to break his altruistic programming to lie, cheat, and steal in an effort to become more human. Kryten at one time did in fact break his programming, "borrowed" Lister's space-bike and left the ship. He was found smashed against an asteroid some light-years away, and was rebuilt with a new personality and altered appearance. Kryten offers encyclopedic knowledge in all areas and is generally Red Dwarf's voice of reason; however, he can become hilariously unpredictable when Lister swaps Kryten's head for one of the eager, jealous "spare heads" or removes Kryten's morality chip.

Related Topics:
Mechanoid - Kryten - Asteroid

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Lister's longlasting crush is Kristine Kochanski, played by C. P. (Clare) Grogan (formerly of 1980s band Altered Images). She was killed along with the rest of the crew in the first episode, and several subsequent episodes revolve around Lister attempting to bring her back, either through time travel or as a computer-generated simulation like Rimmer. In various TV series and book incarnations, Lister has either admired Kochanski from afar or dated her for over a month. The discontinuity is never touched upon. In the seventh season, an alternative Kochanski from a parallel universe (played by Chloë Annett) joined the series as a regular character.

Related Topics:
Kristine Kochanski - C. P. (Clare) Grogan - Time travel - Chloë Annett

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One interesting aspect of the Red Dwarf universe that differentiates it from standard science fiction is that there are no sentient aliens; instead, every part of the large and bizarre mix of intelligent life within the Red Dwarf universe is in one way or another derived from Earth, a result of developments in robotics and/or genetic engineering during the millions of years the ship has been isolated.

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