- Series XI News
This week has seen a few comments on the current state of Series XI, so we thought it best to collate what has actually been said and where this leaves us in comparison to some of the more wild speculation on some news sites.
Firstly, Digital Spy ran some comments from Danny John Jules on the state of the series:
“I spoke to Doug the other day, and I know he’s already writing outlines.”
“Even though the contracts aren’t signed, he knows because of the last series [that he needs a head start], because he was under real pressure.
“Directing, writing, producing, and then locations get moved out, actors drop out, and suddenly it’s like, ‘Well, we’ve got ten pages that can be filmed and I’ve got to rewrite four scripts’.
“He doesn’t want to be caught like that again, so he’s already writing outlines. Well, or scripts – Doug doesn’t really do outlines, he just writes a whole script, and then diddles with it.”
Meanwhile, in response to questions about whether he would be interested in playing The Doctor in Doctor Who, Craig Charles also commented on the prospect of Series XI, saying ‘we’ve got a new series lined up next year’. These two interviews have led to some sites making some bizarre statements off the back of assumptions made from what is, frankly, not a great deal. For some degree of context, it’s therefore worth considering Richard Naylor’s comments on Series XI made on his recent appearance on the Geek Apocalypse podcast:
“I would say very much that we are going to do Series XI. I’d be very surprised if we didn’t. We’re doing a lot of work now in terms of getting it together, but it’s just complicated these things. They always are. You want to make it better than the last series and you know, you’ve got budget restrictions and things like that. But like I said I’d be very, very, very surprised if there wasn’t a Series XI and I’ve got dates penciled and we’ve got things in place so we’re just at the stage of pushing it over the line.”
“…I’ll be involved (unless something terrible happens) and hopefully we can improve on Series X, which I’m sure we will because Series X was the difficult one because it’s like starting all over again. With Series XI now we can bring people back that loved working on it and we can leave people out that didn’t like working on it while making it better and hopefully entertaining the fans.”
So, where does this leave us? Well, firstly it’s important to remember that script outlines are not the same as scripts. Doug stated on Ken Plumes podcast earlier in the year that he has ideas for several series worth of episodes, so logically we would imagine that he is currently in the process of fleshing those out and working out rough structure and resolutions. The full scripts simply would not be written at this stage as they are too many factors that can affect their content as we saw with Series X.
As for the dates penciled into the cast and crew’s diary, this is more promising news, but ultimately not a great deal more than what Doug told us at Dimension Jump in May. There has certainly been no official confirmation of the series as Digital Spy and Cult Box keep repeatedly and misleadingly claiming. What we can take away from this news is that plans for the new series continue to progress along nicely with the cast lined up and preparation being put in place for when the series can be signed off. It can be frustrating to wait on the official confirmation, but it has to be said that it’s much nicer to be in this position than the one we were in before Back to Earth.
- Smeg Enters the Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary has announced it’s new word list for June 2013 and one of them will be most familiar to Red Dwarf fans. Yes, Smeg has entered into the OED as a new noun, alongside the compound word, Smeghead.
The word is listed as a slang expletive that was ‘popularised by the British television programme Red Dwarf (1988–99)’. The dictionary goes on to discuss that while the word was chosen with only a coincidental similarity to the word smegma, it is now largely regarded as a shortening of the word.
Here are the quotations the dictionary lists as examples of the word’s usage:
1988 R. Grant & D. Naylor Kryten in Son of Soup (1996) 130 What the smeg is going on?
1989 R. Grant & D. Naylor Red Dwarf 142 ‘Smeg!’ Lister got up and kicked the navicomp.
1993 J. Green It 443 Who’s going to pull back their cockhead and wash off all that smeg in freezing cold water?
1997 A. Warner These Demented Lands 25, I could gulp down gallons and taste the salady smeg of raw blossoming life.
2003 K. Waterfield Duisberg Good Patient v. 55 Careful ’bout all the shmeg on the floor. Wouldn’t want to mess up them nice shoes.
2008 A. Markut Chron. Knights of Code I. vi. 61 ‘Oh smeg!’ Con muttered..admitting defeat.
The dictionary also goes on to list the words compound form, Smeghead, which it amusingly defines as ‘a fool or contemptible person’. Here are it’s cited quotations:
1988 R. Grant & D. Naylor Kryten in Son of Soup (1996) 131 Mr Arnold is not his name. His name is Rimmer. Or smeghead.
1997 C. Butts Is Harry on Boat? (2001) vii. 164 Oh, you jammy, Italian, smarmy, fucking smeg-head
.2004 J. Colgan Do you remember First Time? v. 96 As well as being trapped in this hellhole with no way out in sight, I had to be a complete smeghead at the same time.
You can find the new words announcement on the OED site here and the full definition can be accessed on the OED site by anyone with a current library card.
- Series X on Demand
Series X has been repeated quite a few times since it’s initial airing, but now Sky customers can view the whole series on demand. Until July 31st, the most recent series is available to download and watch on Sky Anytime. All you need is a Sky subscription and a compatible Sky+ box.
You can find more details on The Official Site’s friday update.
- Richard Naylor on Geek Apocalypse
In a piece of news we forgot to mention last week, Geek Apocalypse have released a new episode of their podcast featuring an interview with Richard Naylor. Here’s the blurb:
Steven talks to writer/director and red dwarf producer Richard Naylor! We talk about him growing up as the son of Red Dwarf creator Doug Naylor, working on Red Dwarf 10 and back to earth and his current project Music land World! we also talk about pitching ideas, writing and what producers do, really interesting behind the curtain stuff! Steven and Richard also share some amusing production stories working on low budget projects and obviously being a huge geek, I ask him about possible series 11 of red dwarf and also favourite episode of red dwarf?! wow tough one! great podcast!
If you previously missed it, you can also find the Geek Apocalypse Dimension Jump Podcast featuring interviews with Robert Lewellyn, Chris Barrie, Hattie Hayridge, John Lenahan, Tony Hawks, Bill Pearson and Steve Howarth. You can find the podcasts on their website here.
- The Red Dwarf Introcast: Tikka to Ride & Quiz
Two new episodes of The Red Dwarf Introcast has been uploaded since our last roundup. The first of these is a special quiz edition of the show, pitting Heath and Angela again Paul and Shane with Ganymede & Titan’s Ian Symes acting as quizmaster.
In the other edition of the podcast, the episode reviews continue after a break with the first episode of Series VII. Angela, Shane and Paul are joined by Ganymede and Titan’s Cappsy to discuss a show that sees quite a few changes to the show in a season that will see many more before it’s close. So just what will Heath and Angela make of it? Will they love it? Or will they go against the general consensus? You’ll have to listen to find out.
The episodes are available to download and you can find them on the podcast’s website and is also available on iTunes.