{{Infobox_Television
| show_name = Red Dwarf
| image = 250px
| caption = ''Red Dwarf'' logo
| format = Sitcom
| runtime = 30 mins
| creator = Grant Naylor<br/>(Rob Grant and Doug Naylor)
| starring = Chris Barrie<br/>Craig Charles<br/>Danny John-Jules<br/>Norman Lovett<br/>Hattie Hayridge<br/>Robert Llewellyn<br/>Chloë Annett<br/>
| country = United Kingdom
| network = BBC2
| first_aired = 15 February 1988
| last_aired = 5 April 1999
| num_series = 8
| num_episodes = 52
| list_episodes = List of Red Dwarf episodes
| website = http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/news/index.cfm
| imdb_id = 0094535
| tv_com_id = 132
}}
'''''Red Dwarf''''' is a British science fiction franchise, primarily comprising eight series of a television BBC2 between 1988 and 1999 and subsequently achieved a global pilot episodes for an American version of the show, and tie-in books, magazines and other merchandise.

Despite the pastiche of science fiction used as a backdrop, ''Red Dwarf'' is primarily a character-driven comedy, with off-the-wall science fiction elements used as complementary plot devices. In the early series episodes, a recurring source of comedy was The "Odd Couple" relationship between Dave Lister and Arnold Rimmer, the two central characters of the show, who have an intense dislike for each other but are trapped together deep in space.

The show's highest accolade came in 1994, when an episode from the sixth series, "International Emmy Award in the Popular Arts category. In the same year the show was also awarded 'Best BBC Comedy series' at the British Comedy Awards, and attracted its highest ratings — of over eight million viewers — by the eighth series in 1999.

The current state of the franchise remains uncertain. The series is unlikely to return to the BBC after it turned down proposals for a ninth series, and a big screen version of the show has often been promised, but has struggled to secure sufficient funding.  

==Setting and plot==
:''See also: List of Red Dwarf episodes and Red Dwarf ships''
thumb|right|250px|The original ''Red Dwarf'' ship model as used for the first five series.The main setting of the series is the mining spaceship ''Red Dwarf''<ref name="Series I at Sci Fi Dimensions"></ref>  which is  long,  tall, and  wide.<ref name="ship dimensions"></ref> In the first episode, an on-board radiation leak of cadmium II kills everyone except for low-ranking technician Holly has to keep Lister in stasis until the background radiation dies down—a process that takes three million years.<ref name="Prog Guide p45"/>  Lister therefore emerges as the last human being in the universe—but not the only life form on-board the ship.<ref name="Prog Guide p46">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 46.</ref>  His former bunkmate and immediate superior hologram to keep Lister sane, while a creature known only as Cat is the last known surviving member of ''Felis sapiens'', a race of humanoids that evolved in the ship's hold from Lister's cat, Frankenstein, and her kittens during the millions of years that Lister was in stasis.<ref name="Prog Guide p46"/>

The main dramatic thrust of the early series is Lister's desire to return home to Earth.<ref name="Series I at SciFi.com"></ref> As their journey begins, the not-so-intrepid crew encounters such phenomena as time distortions, faster than light travel, mutant diseases and strange lifeforms that developed in the intervening millions of years.<ref name="Series I at SciFi.com"/>  During the second series, the group encounter the sanitation one episode of series two, but by the beginning of series three he had become a regular character.<ref name="screenonline: Red Dwarf"/>  At the end of series five, ''Red Dwarf'' itself is stolen from the crew, forcing them to travel in the smaller ''Starbug'' craft for the subsequent two series, with the added side-effect that they lose contact with Holly.<ref name="Series VI review at Sci-Fi Weekly">{{cite web | url =
http://www.scifi.com/sfw/screen/sfw1823.html | title =Series VI review at Sci-Fi Weekly | publisher =www.scifi.com |accessdate =2008-02-20}}</ref>  In series seven, Rimmer departs the crew to take up the role of his alter-ego from a parallel universe, Ace Rimmer, whose name has become a long-standing legend and a legacy passed down from dimension to dimension. Shortly afterwards, the crew find a parallel version of themselves from a universe in which Kristine Kochanski, Lister's former girlfriend, was the person put into stasis and so became the last remaining human.<ref name="Series VII review at DVD Active"></ref>  A complicated series of events leaves Kochanski stranded in "our" universe, and she is forced to join the crew.<ref name="Series VII review at DVD Active"/>

In the eighth series, ''Red Dwarf'' is reconstructed by the Death (and promptly knees him in the groin and flees).<ref name="Episode Guide at Britannia.org - Series 8"></ref>

==Characters and actors==

thumb|left|250px|The original cast, Danny John-Jules, Craig Charles, Chris Barrie and Norman Lovett, in a scene from Series II.Dave Lister, played by Craig Charles,<ref name="Cast credits"></ref> is a genial Liverpudlian and self-described bum. He was the lowest-ranking crew member on the ship before the accident and has a long-standing desire to return to Earth and start a farm on Fiji, but is left impossibly far away by the accident that renders him the last surviving member of the human race.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 19-24.</ref>

His bunk mate Arnold Rimmer, played by Chris Barrie,<ref name="Cast credits"/> is the second-lowest ranking member of the crew: a fussy, bureaucratic, neurotic coward, who is nevertheless judged by Holly to have the highest chance of keeping Lister sane when chosen to be the ship's one available hologram.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 24-30.</ref>

Cat, played by Danny John-Jules,<ref name="Cast credits"/> is a humanoid creature who evolved from the offspring of Lister's smuggled pet cat Frankenstein. Cat is concerned with little other than sleeping, eating and fawning over his appearance, and tends not to socialise with other members of the crew. As time goes by, however, he becomes more influenced by his human companions, and so begins to resemble a stylish, self-centred human.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 30-34.</ref>
    
The ship's computer, Holly (played by Norman Lovett during Series I, II, VII and VIII<ref name="Cast credits"/> and Hattie Hayridge in Series III to V),<ref name="Full cast credits"></ref> has an IQ of 6,000, although this is severely depleted by the three million years he/she is left alone after the accident, having developed "computer senility". The change in appearance for Series III is explained by Holly having changed his face to resemble that of a computer from a parallel universe with whom he'd fallen in love.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 35-38.</ref> 

David Ross),<ref name="Full cast credits"/> was rescued by the crew from a crashed spaceship ''Nova 5'', upon which he had continued to serve the ship's crew despite them having been dead for thousands or even millions of years. Kryten is a sanitation mechanoid and when first encountered by the crew, he was bound by his "behavioural protocols", but Lister gradually encouraged him to break his programming and think for himself. After an accident involving Lister's spacebike, Kryten was rebuilt by Lister, with a slightly different appearance and voice.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 38-42.</ref>

Kristine Kochanski (originally portrayed by Clare Grogan before Chloë Annett took on the role from Series VII)<ref name="Full cast credits"></ref> was initially a long-gone girlfriend of Lister's whose memory he had cherished ever since.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 19-24.</ref> However, a rift between two alternative dimensions revealed that, in the alternative dimension, Kochanski had survived the ''Red Dwarf'' cadmium II accident. She joined Lister and the crew after the link to her own dimension collapsed.<ref name="Series VII review at DVD Active"/>

thumb|250px|right|The cast of Series VIII. From left to right: Chris Barrie, Robert Llewellyn, Chloë Annett, Craig Charles and Danny John-Jules. Norman Lovett, not pictured, returned as part of the cast.In addition to the main characters, other characters have come and gone, and even come back again.  Captain Frank Hollister (played by Olaf Petersen (played by Mark Williams)<ref name="Full cast credits"/> was one of Lister's drinking buddies on the ship. Lister's other drinking buddies were Selby and Chen (played by David Gillespie and Paul Bradley, respectively).<ref name="Full cast credits"/> When Lister and Rimmer were imprisoned, and then enrolled in the conscript/suicide mission unit known as the Canaries, they socialised with the likes of Kill Crazy (played by Warden Ackerman (played by Graham McTavish) would also turn up to torment the imprisoned pair.<ref name="Full cast credits"/>

==Production==
The first series aired on BBC2 in 1988. Seven further series have so far been produced,<ref name="screenonline: Red Dwarf"/> and a film has been in development hell almost continually since before the last series in 1999.<ref name="Red Dwarf: The Movie"></ref>

===Concept and commission===
The concept for the show was originally developed from the sketch-series ''Alien'' (1979), ''Dark Star'' (1974) and ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (1981),<ref name="screenonline: Red Dwarf"/> but also had a large element of British-style comedy and satire thrown into the mix, ultimately moulded into the form of a sitcom. Having first written the pilot script in 1983, the former ''Spitting Image'' writers had hawked their unusual and original script around but it was rejected by everyone at the BBC, as it was believed a sitcom based around science fiction would not be popular.<ref name="The Official Red Dwarf Companion, Red Dwarf Genesis"/>

It was finally accepted by Happy Families'' that would never arise, and producer Paul Jackson's insistence that ''Red Dwarf'' should be filmed instead.<ref name="Red Dwarf Series I Genesis">{{cite web | url 
=http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/guide/index.cfm?seriesID=1&sectionID=behind-the-scenes&subsectionID=genesis | title =Red Dwarf Series I Genesis | publisher =www.reddwarf.co.uk |accessdate =2007-12-17}}</ref> The show was lucky to be remounted after an strike partway through rehearsals shut the entire production down.<ref name="Prog Guide p6">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 6.</ref> The pilot episode finally made it onto television screens on 15 February 1988.<ref name="screenonline: Red Dwarf"></ref>

===Casting===
Holly, the senile computer of the titular ship.<ref name="Prog Guide p5"/> A professional dancer and singer, Cat immediately. This was partly due to his "cool" exterior, dedicated research (reading Desmond Morris's book ''Catwatching''), and he showed up in character, wearing his father's 1950s-style suit.<ref name="Prog Guide p5"/>

===Writing, producing, and directing===
Grant and Naylor wrote the first six series together (using the pseudonym Grant Naylor on the first two novels and later as the name of their production company, although never on the episodes themselves).<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 205.</ref> Grant left in 1995,<ref name="screenonline: Red Dwarf"></ref> to pursue other projects,<ref name="Series VI Aftermath"></ref> leaving Naylor to write the final two series with a group of new writers, including Paul Alexander and actor Robert Llewellyn who portrayed the character Kryten.<ref name="Series VII Writing">{{cite web | url 
=http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/guide/index.cfm?seriesID=7&sectionID=behind-the-scenes&subsectionID=writing | title =Series VII Writing | publisher =www.reddwarf.co.uk |accessdate =2008-02-11}}</ref>  

For the most part, Ed Bye produced and directed the series. He left before Series V due to a scheduling clash (he ending up directing a series starring his wife, Ruby Wax) so Juliet May took over as director.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 16.</ref> May parted ways with the show halfway through the series for personal and professional reasons and Grant and Naylor took over direction of the series, in addition to writing and producing.<ref name="Series V production">{{cite web | url 
=http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/guide/index.cfm?seriesID=5&sectionID=behind-the-scenes&subsectionID=production | title =Red Dwarf Series V production | publisher =www.reddwarf.co.uk |accessdate =2007-12-17}}</ref> Series VI was directed by Andy de Emmony, and Ed Bye returned to direct Series VII and VIII. Series I, II and III were made by Paul Jackson Productions, with subsequent series produced by the writers' own company Grant Naylor Productions for Shepperton.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 13, 14.</ref>

The theme tune and incidental music were written and performed by Howard Goodall, with the distinctive vocals on the closing theme tune courtesy of Jenna Russell. Goodall also wrote music for the show's various songs, including "Tongue Tied", with lyrics written by Grant and Naylor,<ref name="Interview: Howard Goodall">Interview: Howard Goodall, Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 10, December 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, ISSN 0965-5603</ref> which Danny John-Jules re-orchestrated and released as a Top 20 UK single.<ref name="everyHit.com - UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts"></ref>

===Hiatus, changes, and future prospects=== 
A period of three years elapsed between Series VI and VII, partly due to the parting of the Grant and Naylor partnership, but also due to cast and crew working on other projects.<ref name="Series VI Aftermath"/> When the series eventually returned, it was filmised and no longer shot in front of a live audience, allowing for greater use of four-walled sets, single camera techniques.<ref name="Red Dwarf Series VII Production"></ref>  When the show returned for its eighth series two years later, it had dropped use of the filmising process and restored the live audience.<ref name="Red Dwarf Series VIII Production"></ref>

The possibility of a new series received a setback when the BBC had rejected proposals for a Series IX. Doug Naylor confirmed that the BBC decided not to renew the series as they preferred to work on other things.<ref name="BBC rejects new 'Red Dwarf' series"></ref> However, new animated mobisodes have been made available to mobile phone subscribers.<ref name="'Red Dwarf' returns for new 'mobisodes'"></ref>

===Remastered===

In 1998, on the tenth anniversary of the show's first airing (and between the broadcast of Series VII and VIII), the first three series of ''Red Dwarf'' were remastered and released on VHS. The remastering included replacing model shots with computer graphics, cutting certain dialogue and scenes,<ref name="Sci-Fi-London Film Festival - The Bodysnatcher Collection"></ref> re-filming Norman Lovett's Holly footage, creating a consistent set of opening titles, replacing music and creating ambient sound effects with a digital master.<ref name="Red Dwarf series I Remastering"></ref>  The remastered series were released in a 4 disc DVD boxset "The Bodysnatcher Collection" in 2007.<ref name="The Bodysnatcher Collection"></ref>

==Themes==
thumb|right|The episode "Polymorph" parodied the 1979 ''[[Alien (film)|Alien'' film]]''Red Dwarf'' was founded on a standard sitcom trope: namely, a disparate and frequently dysfunctional group of individuals living together in a restricted setting. With the main characters routinely displaying their cowardice, incompetence and laziness, while exchanging insulting and sarcastic dialogue, the series provided a humorous antidote to the fearless and morally-upright space explorers typically found in science fiction shows, such as ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968),<ref name="2001: A Space Oddyssey paraody"></ref> ''Top Gun'' (1986),<ref name="Top Gun influences"></ref> ''RoboCop'' (1987), ''Star Wars'' (1977),<ref name="movie connections at dvd verdict"></ref> ''Citizen Kane'' (1942),<ref name="Me2 movie connections"></ref> ''The Wild One'' (1953), ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), ''Easy Rider'' (1969),<ref name="Kryten movie connections"></ref> ''The Terminator'' (1984)<ref>Nazzaro, Joe. p. 39. Red Dwarf Smegazine, volume 2 issue 3, July 1993</ref> and ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1813).<ref name="Beyond a Joke movie connections"></ref>

The writers even based the whole theme of an episode on a film's plot. The Series III episode "Polymorph" references and parodies key moments from ''Alien'' (1979),<ref name="movie connections at dvd verdict"/> Series IV's "Camille" echoes key scenes from ''Casablanca'' (1942),<ref>Nazzaro, Joe. p. 39. Red Dwarf Smegazine, volume 2 issue 3, July 1993</ref> and "Meltdown" borrows the main plot from ''Waiting for God'' episode. The episode titled ''Ouroboros'' derives its name and theme from the ancient mythological snake by the same name.

The series also explores many sci-fi staples such as time-travel paradoxes (grandfather paradox), the question of determinism and free will (on several episodes), the pursuit of happiness in virtual reality and crucially to the show's premise of Lister being the last human, the near certainty of the human species' extinction some time in the far future.

==Hallmarks==
The series developed its own distinct vocabulary. Words and phrases such as rogue simulants, Smeg', gimp, gimboid, goit, and variants of smeg like smegging, smegger and smeg-head were used.<ref name="Red Dwarf Series I Writing"></ref>

{{Infobox Série télévisée
| titre = Red Dwarf
| image = 
| légende = 
| titre_original = Red Dwarf
| translittération =
| autres_titres_francophones = 
| genre = Série comique,<br/>de science-fiction
| créateur = Rob Grant<br/>Doug Naylor
| producteur =
| pays = 
| chaîne = 
| nb_saisons = 8
| nb_épisodes = 52
| durée = 26 minutes
| début = 15 février 1988
| fin = 5 avril 1999
}}

'''''Red Dwarf''''' est une britannique en 52 épisodes de 26 minutes, créée par Rob Grant et Doug Naylor, et diffusée entre le 15 février 1988 et le 5 avril 1999 sur le réseau BBC Two. En France, la série a été d'abord diffusée sur la chaîne C:, l'ancienne chaîne de téléchargement de CanalSatellite, puis sur Game One. 

== Synopsis ==
Le ''Red Dwarf'' est un vaisseau spatial minier. Après un accident radioactif à bord, l'équipage est décimé. Alors en statique (prison temporelle) suite à une condamnation pour faute, Dave Lister est le seul survivant. Il était resté ainsi en stase pendant trois millions d'années sans que le temps n'ait d'effet sur lui, jusqu'à ce que les radiations reviennent à un niveau acceptable. Lorsqu'il se réveille, il est le seul humain du vaisseau... Enfin, presque le seul !

== Distribution ==
*Craig Charles : Dave Lister
*Chris Barrie : Arnold Judas Rimmer / "Ace" Rimmer
*Danny John-Jules : Cat
*Norman Lovett : Holly
*Robert Llewellyn : Kryten, Able
*Chloë Annett : Kristine Kochanski

== Personnages ==
* '''Dave Lister''' : Dave ne pense qu'a deux choses, le sexe et le curry ! [Seul pendant trois millions d'années ça se comprends] C'est un rustre, assez primaire. Il ne respecte pas beaucoup les lois, n'a pas une propreté à toute épreuve, et n'a pas beaucoup de scrupules. Son langage est très « imagé ». C'est quand même le plus raisonnable de l'équipe, et surtout le seul humain !

* '''Arnold J.Rimmer''' : Rimmer de son petit nom Arnold et de son petit petit nom Judas a été vivant. Mais ce n'est plus le cas... Sa personnalité et ses souvenirs ont été implantés dans un hologramme. En tant que tel, il ne peut rien toucher et rien ne peut le toucher. Ce qui ne l'empêche pas d'être le plus grand froussard que l'univers ait connu, doté d'un ego surdimensionné qui le conduit à des rêves de grandeur perpétuels... C'est aussi le supérieur hiérarchique de Lister.

* '''Cat''' est... un chat ! En fait, durant les 3 millions d'années qu'a duré la statique de Lister, la descendance de son chat a évolué pour arriver à Cat, humanoïde avec des manières et des obsessions félines. Il est extrêmement sensible à la présentation et à la mode, toujours propre et tiré à quatre épingles. Lui aussi est doté d'un ego démesuré, d'un goût prononcé pour le poisson et les femelles chat. Il est apparemment le dernier survivant de sa race (un autre chat apparaît dans l'épisode ''Waiting for God'' mais meurt).

* '''Holly''' est l'interface de communication de l'ordinateur du ''Red Dwarf''. Il est censé avoir un QI de 6000 mais il est loin d'être une lumière. Il adore faire des blagues à l'équipage. On ne voit que sa tête. (à noter qu'au début c'est un homme puis une femme puis de nouveau un homme et ce sans véritable explication)

* '''Kryten''' est un robot de type androïde. Assez fantasque, il respecte malgré tout son rôle de robot, malgré les tentatives de Lister pour l'en détourner. Il lui arrive aussi de discuter avec ses têtes de rechange... (à noter que le rôle de Kryten fut tenu par David Ross lors de la première apparition de l'androïde dans l'épisode ''Kryten'', puis, dès l'épisode suivant, Robert Llewellyn prend le rôle)

* '''Kristine Kochanski''' : C'est l'officer dont Lister voulait sortir avec avant la mort de l'équipage. Elle est vivante car elle vient d'une autre dimension où c'est elle qui a été mise en statique et non Lister... Ce rôle de Kochanski a été tenu par plusieurs interprètes avant que le personnage ne devienne récurrent avec Chloë Annett à partir de l'épisode ''Ouroboros''.

== Épisodes ==
=== Première saison (1988) ===
# La Fin (''The End'')
# Échos du futur (''Future Echoes'')
# La Balance du pouvoir (''Balance of Power'')
# En attendant Dieu (''Waiting For God'')
# Confiance et paranoïa (''Confidence and Paranoia'')
# Moi² (''Me²'')

=== Deuxième saison (1988) ===
# Kryten (''Kryten'')
# Meilleur que la vie (''Better Than Life'')
# Merci pour la mémoire (''Thanks for the Memory'')
# Fuite statique (''Stasis Leak'')
# Queeg (''Queeg'')
# Univers parallèle (''Parallel Universe'')

=== Troisième saison (1989) ===
# À l'envers (''Backwards'')
# Titre français inconnu (''Marooned'')
# Polymorphe (''Polymorph'')
# Échange de corps (''Bodyswap'')
# Titre français inconnu (''Timeslides'')
# Le Dernier Jour (''The Last Day'')

=== Quatrième saison (1991) ===
# Camille (''Camille'')
# A.D.N. (''DNA'')
# Justice (''Justice'')
# Trou Blanc (''White Hole'')
# Saut de dimension (''Dimension Jump'')
# Titre français inconnu (''Melt Down'')

=== Cinquième saison (1992) ===
# Holovaisseau (''Holoship'')
# L'Inquisiteur (''The Inquisitor'')
# Titre français inconnu (''Terrorform'')
# Quarantaine (''Quarantine'')
# Démons et anges (''Demons and Angels'')
# Retour à la réalité (''Back to Reality'')