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All posts for the month July, 2012

  • Series X

Last week saw the release of the first Series X trailer, and while this week’s release of a short message from Robert in character as Kryten is a little more subdued, it is nice all the same and gives a glimpse of the corridor set that ran in between and behind the bunk room and drive room sets. You can view the video below and you can read what Ganymede & Titan had to say about it here.

It also appears that various online retailers are starting to list the new series on DVD. Simon Bromley pointed out to us that Red Dwarf X is available to pre-order on Play and HMV with an availability date of the 19th of November. So, it would seem that the new series will be airing sometime within the first two weeks of November. That’s the closest we’ve come to a date so far, but when we hear more we’ll let you know.

  • Dimension Jump XVII

After the announcement last week of when Dimension Jump would be held and that Robert Llewellyn would attend, the Official Red Dwarf Fan Club has announced that the next confirmed guest is Chris Barrie. Registration is currently at a special rate for early bookers of £55 for fan club members and £65 for non-members, but don’t delay in booking as the rate will only remain until the beginning of September. You can find more information, links to register for the event and details of how to book a hotel room over on the Dimension Jump website.

  • The Red Dwarf Introcast

A new episode of The Red Dwarf Introcast covering Waiting For God has been released. If you are unfamiliar with the podcast of the concept, it follows in the format of other introcasts by having 4 people watching Red Dwarf and then talking about it; two of whom haven’t seen any of it previously. The episode is available to download and you can find them on the podcast’s website and is also available on iTunes.

Fridays have now become the days that we see brand new Red Dwarf X material released online, with a promise from Dave that more will be released each week in the run up to the show. Last week saw the release of the first Series X trailer, and while this week’s release of a short message from Robert in character as Kryten is a little more subdued, it is nice all the same and gives a glimpse of the corridor set that ran in between and behind the bunk room and drive room sets.

  • Series X

We had joked after the news roundup last week that if the much hoped for trailer for the new series failed to materialise this week, we would be reduced to picking apart Richard Naylor’s holiday pictures instead. So when the release of the trailer was beset by technical problems throughout Friday afternoon it started to look increasingly likely that this roundup would look like this (click to enlarge):

Fortunately, with those issues sorted the trailer was released later that afternoon to much praise. Many websites that had previously expressed concern about the series seem to have revised their opinion on it having now seen some footage, with many stating that it does indeed have the look and feel of pre-VI Dwarf. It’s been great to see such a positive reaction, especially as the trailer holds back on so much from the funniest lines to any dialogue at all from Rimmer. Now the reason for this is obvious and I commended the restraint, but it does mean that if this trailer is going down well the series should go down ten times better.

If you didn’t see it already, you can find our breakdown of the trailer here and you can also find Ganymede & Titan’s take on it here. If for some reason you haven’t yet seen it (and if not why are you reading this?), then you can view it below:

  • Dimension Jump XVII Date Announced

The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club have this week announced the dates and venue for Dimension Jump XVII; now set to take place between held over the weekend of the 3rd, 4th and 5th of May 2013 at the Birmingham City Centre Holiday Inn. Here is the press release from the club:

The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club is delighted to announce that the greatest weekend on Earth will be back in 2013 with Dimension Jump XVII. Once again it will held in the very nice surroundings of the Birmingham City Centre Holiday Inn. The guest booking is currently in the early stages, but we’re very pleased to announce that the wonderful Robert Llewellyn has confirmed he will attend (this time in person rather than being beamed through the Internet and projected on a big screen) and more guests will be announced in the immediate future as the event starts to take shape.

DJ XVII will of course be an extra special event, as it will be the first convention after the Autumn 2012 airing of the brand new series X, so look out for series specific plans and guest bookings once everyone has seen the amazing new episodes.

For the all the up-to-date details be sure to check out the DJXVII introduction page before making your merry way to the registration and hotel booking pages to secure your place for the greatest Red Dwarf weekend around. We very much look forward to seeing you in May!

Registering in advance for the event will prove slightly cheaper depending on how early you book, and whether you’re an existing TORDFC member. Here’s the breakdown of registration costs:

From Friday 20th July – 23:59 Monday 3rd September:
£55 – Members
£65 – Non-Members

From Tuesday 4th September until the event:
£65 – Members
£80 – Non-Members

There is also a special room rate that the Fan Club has agreed with the hotel for DJ attendees on the Friday and Saturday nights. Per night, a room can be booked at £70 per night for a single, or £77.50 for a double/twin and breakfast is included in this price.

There are limited spaces for the event, so it’s recommended that you book early for a weekend of Q&A sessions, quizzes, video showings, a Saturday night disco and the chance to tell me to my stupid, fat, ferrety face what a load of blathering crap I have been coming out with in our articles. You can find links to register, details of how to book with the hotel and general information about the event on The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club’s dedicated website.

  • Watch Tony Hawk’s ‘Playing The Moldovans At Tennis’ For Free Online

Tony Hawk’s new film ‘Playing the Moldovans at Tennis’ is now avalible to watch for free online. The film, dramatised from the best-selling book, is an independent British feature film that tells the true story of Tony Hawks and the unlikely bet which turned into a life-changing adventure. All profits go to the care centre for children with cerebral palsy in Chisinau, Moldova, which was in turn started with the royalties from the book.

The film can be watched in it’s entirety here, with an option to also watch versions with English, Russian or Romanian subtitles. Whilst the film is free to view, I would encourage everyone to donate to the very worthy cause via the donate buttons on the page. The film is also available to buy on DVD here.

  • The Red Dwarf Introcast: Balance Of Power

A new episode of The Red Dwarf Introcast covering Balance of Power has been released. If you are unfamiliar with the podcast of the concept, it follows in the format of other introcasts by having 4 people watching Red Dwarf and then talking about it; two of whom haven’t seen any of it previously. The episode is available to download and you can find them on the podcast’s website and is also available on iTunes.

You’ve all seen the trailer now. But did you all catch everything? Well let’s see as I take a look at each shot of the new trailer. Possible spoilers ahead, unless I’m wrong with my speculation, in which case possible ramblings of a mad man ahead.

Click each image to enlarge.

 

The first image of what is presumably the new logo. Nice.

Kryten and Lister talking about how he is the last human being alive. Perhaps the bleak loneliness of his existence is beginning to get to him, as with Rimmer in ‘Out of Time’ or as previously happened to Lister in ‘Timeslides’.

This is the first look we have of Kryten’s mask in full action. I can see why the mask has some complaints. It is perhaps something to get used to.

The first proper look at the Red Dwarf model. It is the iconic passing shot of the logo. Beautiful.

Lister eating a rather large and overfilled kebab in the drive room. The drive room proceeds to explode. I can’t see any clues as to which episode this is from.

Both of these pictures would seem to be from the episode ‘Lemons’ (Episode 3). Rimmer seen bashing a yellow thing followed by a later shot of Rimmer and Kryten carefully placing a yellow device. From pictures released during filming, the set in the second picture seems to match that episode. The yellow thing that Rimmer is bashing would seem to be a lemon.

First is an image of Blue Midget leaving the ship, followed by what I would guess to be the Blue Midget cockpit of the new series. Does this mean that we won’t be seeing Starbug in the new series? Or perhaps they use both. This would seem to be the first appearance of the Blue Midget model which was built for the Remastered series but only used to render the CGI version.

Cat being Cat! With milk! A blurry picture of this clip was released a couple of months back. Nice to see it in full action.

Kryten: Mister Lister gambles you in a poker game, sir. I’m afraid to report he lost you.

Cat: We’re all deeply sorry, bud. Apart from me and him and him.

So it seems the plot of one episode, perhaps episode 4 or 5, involves Rimmer being lost in a poker game. Wouldn’t be the first time Lister has lost at cards. In the unmade/animated Series VII episode, ‘Identity Within’, Lister lost Starbug in a poker game after he got drunk.

Now what on Io could be causing this hurricane in the sleeping quarters. And who on earth is the man in the middle? On closer inspection it is definitely not Lister in his divers outfit from this video (as I originally thought). It looks to me like it could be a simulant of the style from Series IV and VII (rather than the style from Series VI).

Lister receives a Father’s Day card with dreadlocks attached to it and a piece of poppadom inside. This would seem to tie in with an idea that Doug proposed to fans back in April 2011 as reported in the Ganymede and Titan podcast which covered the Sunday of the event.

Some extra notes from Alex:

What with having been at the recordings I can’t speculate on the footage as James can, but there are a few things that I thought I’d just add. First of all, the footage that none of us had seen before of course is the model footage, and it has to be said that the new Dwarf looks lovely with all of its detail. I’m still not sure about the overall shape at the moment though, as where it has been shortened at the back it has retained its long nose which has given it a slightly front heavy look. That said, were we not familiar with a certain look of the ship I’m sure this wouldn’t be a he issue, so there’s every chance I’ll get used to it.

Secondly, some footage is reshoot from the original recordings. The scene with the cast being blown around the bunk room is the most prominent example of this, with the audience previously having been shown a rough take to get an idea of what was supposed to happen in the scene. It’s fantastic to see it realised here and I hold high hopes for the episode it is from. It’s also nice to see that the set from the footage with Kryten in a cockpit has come out nicely as it is in actual fact a redressed set. While it appeared quite different at the recording it seems even further removed here and is a real testament to the set design on the series.

As to the issue of concerns, much has been said about Kryten’s nose in this series and this footage makes it quite apparent why. I would state however that by episode 6 most of us had stopped dwelling on it so it may well just be one of those things that you get used to. Also, the shot of Blue Midget isn’t the greatest composite the show has ever used, though nowhere near as bad as the likes of the CSO work in Kryten. Whether this is the result of different footage from the two different model shoots not *quite* matching still remains to be seen, but it’s not something that plays on my mind too much, especially when the Dwarf model looks so nice.

Overall though, it’s really just a taster of the series with minimal footage of guest sets and stars. There’s certainly a lot of exciting stuff to come, and being just a teaser this trailer thankfully barely touches on most of it. We await the forthcoming weekly material on the Dave website with great interest.

After some technical issues that delayed its release by a few hours, the first trailer for Red Dwarf X is finally here. You can view the trailer below and later we’ll be publishing a full breakdown of what it includes. It also looks as if we can expect a steady flow of things from now on too, with the site saying:

We’ll be releasing something new every Friday, so watch this space!

It’s not so much of a news roundup as a news catch-up this week with a few bits that we forgot to bring you before, so apologies if some of this is a few weeks behind.

  • Series X

Firstly, an update on the 48 second trailer we mentioned previously. Last Sunday we knew the trailer to be due sometime in the next two weeks roughly, but following this tweet from Richard Naylor it appears that we will actually be due the trailer sometime next week, most likely on Friday to tie in with the official site’s weekly update:

I’m off to Crete for a week! Woop! By the time I’m back you’ll all have seen the new RDX trailer!!

We’ll be updating quickly when we have more details (on the trailer that is, not Richard’s Greek holiday), and depending on the type of Trailer we get we’ll probably have a series of screen grabs and a breakdown for you too.

  • DwarfCast: The End – Original Assembly Commentary

Ganymede & Titan updated a couple of weeks back with a new DwarfCast. The new episode covers the original assembly of The End that was reconstructed for the Bodysnatcher collection, plus a bonus of the Series I deleted scenes. Here’s the blurb:

As we approach Series X, almost all of G&T gathered to warm up our vocal chords and surprising opinions. Join John, Ian, Cappsy, Danny and, very occasionally, the fan club’s Jo as we talk over The End: Original Assembly (we’re just too cool for the broadcast version) from the Bodysnatcher DVD and then later, in what can only be described as a ‘special treat’, the Series 1 deleted scenes.

You can download it here, or via iTunes.

  • The Red Dwarf Introcast

A new Red Dwarf podcast has appeared online in the shape of The Red Dwarf Introcast. Following in the format of other introcasts, the podcast involves 4 people watching Red Dwarf and then talking about it; two of whom haven’t seen any of it previously. The first two epsiodes covering The End and Future Echoes are now up to download and you can find them on the podcast’s website and is also avalible on iTunes.

 

  • News From Gardenia On Amazon

Robert’s latest book, News from Gardenia, is now available on Amazon after previously only being purchasable from the Unbound website. The book, which is available in hardcover and Kindle form, can also be previewed on the Amazon website with the first two chapters available to read online. A general release to high-street book shops is due sometime this year.

  • Series X

You may have wondered after our roundup last week whether we would actually find anything to write about this week. To be honest, the same thought was plaguing us somewhat as well, so imagine our relief when Doug tweeted the following message:

48 sec RDX Trailer being launched online Mid-July.

First of all it’s worth saying that the length is something of a surprise (ooo-er). We certainly expected that the promotional campaign would likely follow a similar route to the Back to Earth one, with the first trailers to appear being much like the blipverts. We know from a tweet from Richard Naylor some time ago that a variety of different lengths trailers have been produced after all, but I don’t imagine that many people will be complaining about getting a preview that’s close to a minute long.

So we can assume that, all going to plan, we should see the trailer sometime within the next two weeks and we can breathe a sigh of relief that we will have something to bring you on a Sunday. With the air date still over 2 (or more likely 3) months away however, it should still be some time until we start to see the trailers appear on TV. As such this will no doubt be a trailer that will have every detail picked over, and when we hear more you can be sure we’ll let you know straight away.

  • Two Pieces Of Two Red Dwarf Models

This is a story that we meant to include last week, but somehow managed to get overlooked. As users on the official forum and G&T will have seen, it turns out that a rather significant piece of the original Red Dwarf model survived. Here’s what ‘The Magpie’ had to say about how he came by the piece and some pictures of it are featured below:

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I’ve finally decided to part with an item that I’ve had for the last 23 years. It’s the right-hand side name plate section from the original Red Dwarf model, and has sat in my old bedroom at my parent’s house all that time.

I worked at the Visual Effects unit as a temp over Easter 1989, and was part of the team tasked with chucking out the remaining bits (after the shelf fall – as I remember it fell from around 15 feet up in the props store – top shelf might not have been the best place to put it! ). It was rather heart-breaking to have to chuck it into a skip, but I managed to ‘salvage’ this bit in a bin bag.

It’s fascinating to see that this still exists, and we’ll certainly let you know more when we know what means the piece is being sold by. In the meantime, another piece of another Red Dwarf has also appeared on the ebay in a chariety acution. This time it is from the Remastered model that has been modified for use in Series X. You can find the item here on eBay, and here is the description and some photos of the piece:

THIS IS A CHARITY SALE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE FIBRO MIYALGIA AND CYSTIC FIBROSIS CHARITIES.

A UNIQUE PIECE OF THE JUPITER MINING CORPORATION SHIP – RED DWARF MAQUETTE
SIGNED BY CRAIG CHARLES, DANNY JOHN-JULES,CHRIS BARRIE AND ROBERT LLEWELLYN

The lovely team at Grant Naylor Productions (Shepperton Studios) has kindly given us this amazing piece of Red Dwarf memorabilia to sell for charity.

Grant Naylor are currently filming a new series of Red Dwarf and the prop team decided to resize the model/maquette of the ship. This means this section of the maquette was actually used in the filming of the original series. This is definitely not a replica.
The 4 cast members listed in the order above have signed it in black marker pen.

The production team also gave us a certificate of authencity dated 12th May 2012 which reads:

“I hereby certify this is a genuine section of the Jupiter Mining Corporation Ship – Red Dwarf from the TV Show Red Dwarf”

Signed, on behalf of Grant Naylor Productions Ltd.

Measurements: Length 19.5″ (49.5cm) and width just under 2.5″ (6cm)

Condition: of course this is in used condition as it is nearly a quarter of a century! Slightly dusty and scratched, some small sections have come off (see pictures) but the colour of the paint is still excellent and there is no specific damage to the plexiglass support (glue marks visible underneath).

We encourage you to ask as many questions as needed.

THIS IS A ONE-OFF ITEM, A PERFECT CENTERPIECE FOR A COLLECTION.

As this item is fragile the P&P costs have been adjusted accordingly (remember this is for charity).
There is also an option to collect in person, however you will be required to provide sufficient evidence that you are the purchaser, including ID and proof of address.

           

  • Scuttercast – Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

Finally, one more piece of news that somehow passed us by until now. The latest episode of the Red Dwarf podcast, The ScutterCast, is now available for download. This latest episode marks a break with the usual format with a discussion of Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers rather than a televised episode. You can download it here, or via iTunes.

  • Series X

Last week saw the signing off of all 6 episodes of the new series, and as of 11.45 pm on Friday, Red Dwarf X and its DVD content are now complete. It’s been a hectic week with the work going on right up to the deadline and a battle with computers that refused to export the footage, but with everything now completed the shows have been sent out to UK TV and BBC Worldwide. As such, we now have something of a quiet period until the promotion for the shows begins in earnest. This may lead us to switch to bi-weekly updates for a while, but we will update you at a later date if we do. In the meantime, here are a collection of photos from the last few days:

                      

  • Robert At Unbound Live In Birmingham

Robert is once again set to appear at a live event live with a lineup of other writters for crowd funded publishers Unbound, including  Adrian Teal, Stevyn Colgan and George Chopping. Here’s the blurb:

Join us on Tuesday 10 July at Birmingham LibraryTheatre for a live literary event unlike anything else you’ve seen.

Four Unbound authors – Robert Llewllyn, Adrian Teal, Stevyn Colgan and George Chopping – will go head-to-head pitching to raise funding for their book ideas, in a cross between an election hustings and a literary Dragons’ Den. Listen to the pitches, the extracts, the carefully framed arguments, the wit, the passion, the pleading and then you – the potential reader – can decide which books you’d like to see published and pledge for them on the night.

Unbound is a simple idea – by putting readers and writers in direct contact, we believe we’ll end up with books that writers want to write and that readers really want to read. And there’s no better way of testing the concept than by doing it live, and no better place to do it in than in libraries, the engine rooms of reading across the UK.” – John Mitchenson, Publisher and Co-founder, Unbound.

The event takes place on Tuesday 10th July at 7pm in the Birmingham Library Theatre. Tickets are free, but booking is essential. Contact Nikki Bi by email or telephone 0121 303 2895 to be put on the guest list.

  • Peter Wragg Obitury

The Independent featured an obituary this week for Peter Wragg who passed away a few months ago. It has a few mistakes laced throughout it (such as the suggestion that he created Carbug), but it’s nice to see it featured in a major newspaper all the same. You can find the obituary here, and if you missed them before, you can also find obituaries for Peter on the official site, on Ganymede & Titan and here on Gazpacho Soup.