While last weeks news update had the slightly odd air presented by Series XI having started online but not on TV yet, this week we are very much fully into the swing of things with Twentica having aired on Dave on Thursday along with a simultaneous fan screening of that episode and Samsara at the Prince Charles Cinema in London.
But that’s just been the tip of the iceberg. So once again, let’s look through all the big Red Dwarf stories of the last seven days in this week’s roundup.
In case you missed it: Twentica reviews, ratings and more
Before we get any further, with so much happening in the Red Dwarf world, here’s a quick round up of all of our recent coverage of Series XI
Written review: Twentica – Alex’s extended review of the Series XI opener.
Reference is Useless – Twentica is an episode that clearly takes a lot of inspiration from Star Trek: First Contact. Alex looks through every
The Garbage Podcast: Twentica Review – Alex, James and Andrew convene for a new edition of our site’s podcast to discuss everything about Twentica in the first of our Series XI review shows. e
Ratings: Twentica – James takes a look at the overnight ratings for Twentica, how they compare to Series X, and what effect the UKTV Play preview may have had.
Written review: Samsara – Andrew takes an in depth look at the second episode of Series XI.
Watch Samsara online
While we don’t intend on recapping this every week, given there are still some people that aren’t aware of the various means to watch Series XI, here’s a quick reminder of how you can watch Samsara.
- The UKTV app
IOS users can download the app from app store, and it’s also available to Android users via the Google Play store. Once the app is downloaded, you’ll need to register an account free of charge before you can watch the episode.
- The UKTV Play website
The website allows you to watch the episode directly from your internet browser here. As with the app, you’ll need to sign up free of charge to watch via this method.
- Sky+
Sky+ customers can also download on-demand via your Sky box or the Sky Go app. For anyone with a Sky + HD subscription, you’ll also have the option to download in HD instead of SD.
If you don’t have access to any of these, or indeed you are just waiting for the TV broadcast, the episode airs next Thursday on Dave at 9PM on September 29th.
Please note that all of these methods only apply to UK residents.
Series XI: The Game
As well as the new episodes, this week also saw the launch of the Series XI mobile game, as well as this video to advertise the game and the store which immediately puts us in mind of Robert’s merchandise sections on the Smeg Ups tapes.
If you haven’t already been playing this for days, the game is available for download from the app store for iOS users and via the Google Play store for users on Android. There’s a lot to talk about with it, and we don’t want to rush our coverage. Keep an eye on the site however as we’ll be covering the Twentica level presently available along with the upcoming levels over the coming weeks in a couple of different forms.
Series XI: DVD release date?
Deeply sad individuals like we on this site are may may well have been regularly checking the BBFC website to see if any episodes of Series XI have yet been listed.
For Series X, this was a way of first finding out the episode titles, but with Series XI, our reason for checking back is to see if the episodes have been rated ready for DVD release.
While we still have yet to see an official confirmation, we may well have gotten a fairly good clue as to what date to expect it on via Amazon. Series XI is presently listed on the site to go on sale on November 14th 2016, just two weeks after the series finishes airing on Dave.
Format wise, Amazon has listing for three different versions; a standard DVD, a Blu-ray and a Blu-ray steelbook. There is also a provisional cover image, that while not final, we’d expect to be pretty close to what the finished version on shelves will look like.
It’s important that we remember that an Amazon listing is in no way a confirmation that this will definetly be the release date. The recent Blu-ray listings for Series I-V that have now been pushed back to 2017 are of course a perfect example of this, though unlike those releases the date stated for Series XI would seem about right given that Series X was released just under two weeks after the series ended.
Doug Naylor talks Series XII plots & Chris Barrie talks Series XI
On Tuesday, Doug appeared on Radio 5 Live’s First Edition to talk about Series XI. It’s an interesting interview with lots of talk about what it’s like to approach making Red Dwarf these days from a production standpoint. However, it’s Doug’s talk of Series XII that makes the interview particularly noteworthy. You can listen to the full version of the interview here, but this is what Doug had to say about one of the plots in that series:
…There’s a show that we’re doing in Series XII which is about certain products you’re made blind to, so you can’t see them. So you can only see certain products created by a certain manufacturer. And again, you know, that’s sort of of our time now, [it] wouldn’t have been so relevant in 1989.
Given that we haven’t finished with Series XI yet and XII won’t be on tv for another year, we don’t want to speculate to much on what this may involve, but we’d have to concur with Doug that this really doesn’t sound like any other episode we’ve had before. Between this and the everyone-is-Kryten episode we’ve already been told is on the way in XII, we’ve certainly got some stories to look forward to once XI is finished.
Heading back to the present however, Chris Barrie also popped up on BBC radio this week with an interview on Radcliffe and Maconie’s show on 6 Music. Among other topics, Chris talks about the prospect of a live show, his thoughts on Twentica and Series XI and he also has a run through of some of his favourite impressions. You can find the interview in full here.
Twentica & Samsara: The reviews are in
Because of the UKTV Play preview one week prior to the airing on Dave, it means that we are now getting reviews for Samsara at the same time that reviews for Twentica are still rolling in. Consequently, here are the Twentica reviews that have been published since our last round up, and the first of the Samsara ones that have come in.
You’ll find a notable quote from each review and a link in the name of the source it’s from to read it in full:
Twentica
‘Twentica’ sets up Red Dwarf XI as a different beast from the rather low-key previous season. Whether you think this is a good thing or a bad thing will depend on your opinion of previous Dwarf. It’s obvious though that the beloved cast is on top form and creator Doug Naylor still has plenty of ideas up his sleeves almost 30 years after the show began.
It really has been an un-smegging-bearable wait, but finally, we can change the bulb and sound the red alert that Red Dwarf is back with a bang.
It has been a strong start to the series and hopefully the rest of Series XI will continue in the same vein.
The production values have been ramped up, thanks to Baby Cow’s involvement, and the model work is definitely stronger – all of which bode well for the rest of the show. A little more character interaction, and this could be one of Red Dwarf’s best seasons yet.
Samsara
It’s a bold move, and it goes a large way towards justifying Red Dwarf XI’s existence, demonstrating that writer Doug Naylor is still keen to try new things with the show… Samsara is a solid episode of Red Dwarf. It may not quite be the sum of its parts, but some of those parts are outstanding.
Samsara is a brilliant episode of Red Dwarf. If the show stays on this track then Red Dwarf XI is going to be amazing!
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