Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Psirens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Red Dwarf episode | |
| "Psirens" | |
 |
|
| Episode № | 1 |
|---|---|
| Airdate | October 7, 1993 |
| Writer(s) | Rob Grant & Doug Naylor |
| Director | Andy de Emmony |
| Guest star(s) | Jenny Agutter as Professor Mamet, Samantha Robson as Pete Tranter's sister, Anita Dobson as Captain Tau |
| Series VI October 7 – November 11, 1993 |
|
| List of all Red Dwarf episodes... | |
Psirens was the first epsiode to air in the sixth series of Red Dwarf.
Lister comes out of Deep Sleep (a less-efficient version of stasis) aboard Starbug. Kryten brings him up to speed on the situation: Red Dwarf was lost 200 years ago and he has been chasing the ship alone and upgrading Starbug for long-term habitation. There is a chance of recovering Red Dwarf at last by heading through an asteroid belt that Red Dwarf is forced to circumnavigate. However, the belt turns out to be a spaceship graveyard inhabited by Psirens, shape-changing GELFs who lure unwary travellers to them and suck out their brains through a straw. Cat is almost lured away by two attractive women and Lister sees Kristine Kochanski (who tells him that she has two children, Jim and Bexley, that are his). Starbug crashes and Lister has to blast the front landing gear out, but is tricked twice while on the surface: once by an attractive woman, then by a Psiren masquerading as Kryten. Two Listers manage to get on board, however. It is determined who the wrong Lister is by asking them to play guitar, which Lister does poorly but the Psiren does extremely well. Lister is suitably upset by their accusations that he is a poor guitar player, though.
- Captain Tau was named after the commanding officer in the American pilot of the show.
- Anita Dobson was cast in the role of Captain Tau, after Rob Grant had approached her husband (Queen guitarist Brian May) to be Lister's hands in the guitar scene (he was unavailable however)
- The actress Samantha Robson (Pete Tranter's sister) later went on to a successful career in The Bill as Vicky Hagen.
- The snogging scene between Lister and the Psiren was a result of Craig Charles being frustrated that Chris Barrie got more kissing than he did on screen. Naturally the Red Dwarf crew decided it should come at a price, in this instance a mouthful of KY Jelly. This became a running gag, with Lister being forced to kiss a number of disgusting creatures over the course of this and the next series.