Tonight sees Dave airing Lemons, the third episode of the all new Series X. Yes, we’ve already reached the mid point of the series. Jesus…. Anyway, weak jokes aside, we’re once again putting up a post here for you to post any comments that you have on the show. Don’t forget, we are also on the lookout for comments on the show for the next episode of The Garbage Podcast, so if you’d like something included this is the perfect place to post it. You can contact us by email at GazpachoSoupRD@gmail.com or message us on Twitter and Facebook. We are also open to MP3 submissions should you be so inclined. We’ll be recording very soon, so if you’d like to be included it’s better to email sooner rather than later. We look forward to hearing from you!
So, you know what to do, start commenting!
Good: Rimmer being proud to hold Jesus’ cock, Lister calling Jesus’ a bit of a nob, Kryten doing ops on Lister and Cat realising he might have ate some of his organs. Also some of the new model shots were exceptional on this episode but not onscreen long enough!
Bad: Mentions of eBay and Wallace & Grommit feel strange in Dwarf, old material being used such as call me Ace or Big Man, time machine being used again that no amazingly isn’t thought to be used to go back to earth to a period the want to get to, dodgy outside sets, the crew walking to India, and Jesus being in Dwarf just doesn’t sit right to me… sorry!
Overall an okay episode to me, but would have preferred an on ship episode. Wasn’t as clever as Fathers And Suns or as funny as Trojan. Still good enough but trying TOO hard if anything. Keep it simple and Dwarf at a low budget can be genius!
Think too many spoilers, my own piecing together of the jigsaw, the this-is-the-one-to-watch hyperbole and someone’s theory on the night that He’d be the ‘wrong’ Jesus (he’s Mackem instead of Geordie ho ho ho) removed me from truly enjoying the episode to be honest. Largely my brain’s fault to be fair.
Lemons had its moments (Shakey’s skullet) and I’m enjoying the background continuity that seems to be running through the series but I wasn’t laughing as much as the other two.
Although I wasn’t as perturbed as when the Chinese Whispers thread started either.
(And Cat needed facial hair. Amazing facial hair.)
Well, um, that was…episode of Red Dwarf, I feel I can say that without fear of contradiction. It was *also* incredibly uneven. Odd that a few previews stated that the first half was better than the second because I found it very much the other way round (ah, opinions!). I found the first half largely terrible while the second was much funnier and a big improvement, tho’ all in all it was a mixed bag (kind of like what Cat ate).
The rejuvenation shower just happening to become a time/space machine was pretty bad but the set-up with its mouldy old jokes about the difficulty of putting together furniture was *worse*. Stasis Leak got away with it’s time-travelling conceit because it was far less laboured, much funnier, and it flowed neatly into the rest of the story. In comparison Lemons’ set-up *really* drags and, moreover, is reminiscent of a truly bad version of Up Pompeii (that is there was no Frankie Howerd, classic Talbot Rothwell groaners, or gratuitous “boobiness”!). The introduction of Jesus goosed the episode as it became *about* something at last, Doug Naylor’s dialogue improved here too as did the performances (watching the early part of the ep was painful in places as the acting seemed a little underrehearsed, though perhaps the direction and editing was to blame, this seemed to lessen later) even if the actor playing Jesus was variable in his acting. Once they got back on the Dwarf the improvements continued, I particularly liked the revelation that Kryten had been operating on Lister with Rimmer’s say-so while Cat’s discovery of what he’d been eating was hilariously disgusting (sure it was a bit like Tikka to Ride but still funny) even if Danny’s reaction was a bit too broad. Cont’d
Cont’d (correction: the above should read “that was… AN episode of Red Dwarf”)
Elsewhere, however, Danny J-J was the most spot-on of the cast in recapturing his character. Robert Llewellyn was pretty good as Kryters, Chris Barrie seemed a bit “off” as Rimmer, while Craig Charles seemed perhaps his most Listerish yet – in Red Dwarf X terms – in the latter half of the episode. Acting variability aside the major problem with the characters stems from Doug’s writing, there *is* good stuff but there’s also material that seems ill-fitting and *then* there are the aspects that should be thrown in a plague pit. As with all post-Red Dwarf VI work it misses Rob Grant but even if Rob were still writing with Doug, I’m aware that it might very well be too much to ask that they maintain their earlier verve. I felt that VI left the characters more cartoonish than before but the performances were pretty much on form, post-VI both the scripts and the performances have deteriorated – from my perspective – but this series has been highly peculiar in its blend of things that seem *right* and those that seem series VII/VIIIish in their *wrongness*, tho’ I may of course be talking gibberish!
Lemons saw Naylor walking a fine line in his writing of the Jesus character but although I saw the twist coming it was really quite satisfactory, the danger of smugness was, for the most part, avoided and it was all quite funny. Among all the predictable jokes (some of which were funny nonetheless), both the operation and Kryten’s highly silly “he has risen” gag amused, as did Rimmer’s attempts to cosy up to Jesus.
Was Lemons great? Of course not. Was it bad? Sometimes, yes, I think it was; the early parts of the episode were easily as bad as the worst of VII &VIII. Was it all bad? No way. Even with the litany of duff jokes, poor plotting, questionable pacing et al, the episode became likeable; it didn’t have the “classic” Dwarf spark but the better bits provided relief from the awful. I wish it *was* better but I’m taking what I can get. 😉
SKULLET! Really loved that episode 🙂
I was so pleased and relieved with the reveal that Jesus wasn’t supposed to be the *real* Jesus, I think a lot of people would have had a problem with the show if this hadn’t been the case.
Lots of memorable gags which were set up brilliantly throughout the show. Kryten and Cat unknowingly hitting Rimmer with the Shakespeare expressions is the kind of subtle humour Red Dwarf should be doing. For the first time this series there was one single plot which made the episode work better, where subplots in the previous two proved detrimental. I also loved them using the series 2 music from ‘Kryten’ 🙂
This episode was obviously a big gamble. For me it worked.
i thought it was really poor. 5/10. no flow, alot of gags tied together but not done very well. trojan was way better
Yes, you’re right, it was. 🙂