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The End (Red Dwarf episode)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Red Dwarf episode | |
| "The End" | |
 |
|
| Episode № | 1 |
|---|---|
| Airdate | February 15, 1988 |
| Writer(s) | Rob Grant & Doug Naylor |
| Director | Ed Bye |
| Guest star(s) | Mac McDonald Clare Grogan Robert Bathurst Mark Williams |
| Series I February 15 – March 21, 1988 |
|
| List of all Red Dwarf episodes... | |
The End is the pilot episode of the Red Dwarf series and was premiered on 15 February 1988 in the 9:00pm time slot on BBC2. The script was initially rejected by the BBC three times before it was given the go ahead three years later.[1]
Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, the episode introduced the main characters and set up the story backbone of the series.
Contents |
Dave Lister and Arnold Rimmer have been assigned to fix the chicken soup machine as it has been on the fritz again. After a successful mission, they meet up with Todhunter, a superior officer, who checks up on Rimmer's constant reports on Lister, then leaves.
Soon, Todhunter arrives at a funeral commemorating the death of MacIntire, whose remains are fired off into space. Everyone is brought to the hall for the "Welcome Back, George MacIntire" service.
Everyone is sitting at tables, Lister with his group of friends, Petersen, Selby and Chen, while Rimmer sits alone. George, Todhunter and Captain Frank Hollister are seated at the desk at the front of the hall, celebrating the return of George as a hologram. The cake is cut and everyone cheers.
Rimmer starts to worry about his upcoming astro-navigation exam and schemes to cheat on it by writing all over his body. He leaves, and it is then that Lister climbs out of his bunk bed and his caring side is shown. He has a cat which is given milk and cared for, and is seemingly pregnant.
At the examination hall, Rimmer prepares to cheat, but the ink on his arm has stained and been smudged. He ends up with ink on his hand, which he then proceeds to put onto the exam paper, sign it, salute, and then faint.
Lister is about to be seen by the Captain, but beforehand he talks to Kristine Kochanski, a navigation officer and love-interest of Dave. Unfortunately the conversation is cut short as the Captain has an urgent discussion. It turns out that Lister's cat, named Frankenstein, has been discovered by accident when he sent the photographs of himself with the cat to be processed in the ship's laboratory. Therefore, he is given an ultimatum: go to stasis for eighteen months and lose his wages, or give up Frankenstein to be cut up and have tests done on it. He chooses the former.
Going to stasis and being guided by Todhunter, he meets with Rimmer, who is on a stretcher after failing his examination. Rimmer is taken away as Todhunter explains the rules of stasis. Then, Lister enters the chamber, and is left, seemingly for the time set.
However, when he comes out, he discovers that no one is around, and is constantly told by Holly, the ship's computer, that everyone is dead. He reaches the navigation area where Rimmer, as a hologram, enters the room. The former crewmember blames Lister for his death, although it was his own fault for failing to fix the drive plate. As the two explore Red Dwarf, a being known as the Cat appears, making himself "look big" to frighten the perceived intruders.
In the quarters, Lister mentions Frankenstein, which sparks a religious statement from Cat, who labels Frankenstein as the "holy mother" with the "virgin birth", who was saved by "Cloister the Stupid" (who himself will return and lead them to "Fuchal"). Lister instinctively figures out that Cloister is himself, and promises to bring the Cat race to Fiji.
The script was written in 1983 during a stay at a cottage in Wales belonging to Doug Naylor's father. Almost a mile up a mountain the writing duo team of Grant and Naylor spent day and night working on the script. With the script almost finished the pair had a near fatal accident during nightfall with their car perilously near the edge of a cliff. The script wasn't finished as expected and they spent the day rescuing the car.[2]
The script was eventually finished and given to their agent Paul Jackson, who they had worked for on Three of a Kind and Carrot's Lib, and John Lloyd, who they working with on Spitting Image. Paul and John both came back saying that they loved the script, with even talk of them doing a co-production of the series.[2]
However, the task of dealing with the production rested with Paul who had trouble convincing the BBC who rejected the script three times. Grant and Naylor were keen to have the series done on the BBC as they felt the extra 3 minutes of non-commercial time would be invaluable. It would take another three years before the script was accepted by BBC North West.[2]
When casting auditions started Norman Lovett was the first member of the cast selected, but had originally auditioned for Rimmer. Grant and Naylor thought otherwise and offered him the role of Holly, who at this stage was just a voice-over part. Danny John-Jules came in and impressed everyone with his audition for The Cat. Craig Charles was sent the script by Paul Jackson because of the concern that the character of The Cat might be seen as racist, and that he was also considered for the role.[2] However it was later decided that Craig would be better suited auditioning for the role of Lister, who was initially described in the script as in his early forties.[1]
Chris Barrie later auditioned for both the Lister and Rimmer roles. A previous collaborator with Grant and Naylor, Chris had worked on their radio show Son of Cliche.[2] Bigger named actors like Alan Rickman and Alfred Molina had also auditioned but were not considered as they would unlikely stay for a series run.[3][4] Paul Jackson's initial plan was for the show to run like The Young Ones, two series and that was it.[2]
The episode almost never happened due to an electricians strike at the BBC in 1987 which prevented filming and the project was shelved. Filming eventually went ahead in early 1988 after the industrial action was resolved.[1]
Filming a scene with the Frankenstein cat caused some problems when it came to trying to get the shot. The cat wouldn't stay still long enough, wouldn't look at the photo of Fiji, kept scratching Craig Charles' leg and even ran away. But what caused the biggest headache was that Lister's underwear was not quite covering all his parts. Grant and Naylor later considered covering the offending part electronically, but went for an inferior take instead.[3]
The character of the first hologram seen on screen, George McIntyre, was intended to be Australian to fit into the idea that the ship was international, but the actor, Robin McCulley had problems with the accent and decided to make the character Welsh instead.[3]
The opening theme tune was written by musician Howard Goodall, who also wrote the lyrics for the end credits theme tune, which was sung by Jenna Russell. The intention was to match the lyrics to Lister desire to go to Fiji, especially regarding the "goldfish shoals nibbling at my toes" line.[5]
For the opening credits and exterior shots a Red Dwarf model ship had to be built from scratch. Peter Wragg was the Visual Effects Designer of Red Dwarf; Wragg also had a large part in set building and was the chief model maker. Wragg had previously filled a similar role in a number of British television series; such as Thunderbirds Are GO, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Doctor Who. The opening effects shot features a dissolve from Lister painting the ship to a full model shot of the city-sized vessel travelling through space. Originally it was supposed to be one long take but it proved too difficult to mesh together with the special effects of the day, and under a minuscule effects budget. The model of Red Dwarf it measured about eight foot long from scoop to engine.[6]
The Pilot episode featured a lot of guest stars and extras, most were uncredited. Mac McDonald played Captain Hollister, C. P. Grogan appeared as Kristine Kochanski, Robert Bathurst was Todhunter, Mark Williams as Petersen, Paul Bradley as Chen, David Gillespie as Selby and Robert McCulley as the hologram McIntyre.
The episode gained an impressive 5.1 million viewers from its first showing, which was respectable for a 9:00 post watershed BBC2 programme. The BBC had also received letters from viewers regarding the quality of the series as a whole. An Audience Appreciation Index score of 80 (out of 100) was also seen as a sign that the series had done well.[1]
All series I episodes performed poorly in the Red Dwarf magazine poll. This was perceived to be because not many fans had seen, or had forgotten, the episodes. The End was voted the best of series I with a 2.4% rating.[7]
- Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers - the first Red Dwarf novel which features an expanded version of events from this episode and builds on the backstory.
- The End at the Internet Movie Database
- Scifilm -- TV Files, Red Dwarf: "The End"
- reddwarf.co.uk Episode Guide - Series 1
- ^ a b c d (1993) Red Dwarf Programme Guide. Section 1: The History: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-86369-682-1.
- ^ a b c d e f Interview: Grant Naylor, Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 6, August 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, issn 0965-5603
- ^ a b c Episode Guide - series 1 episode 1, Red Dwarf Semagazine, volume 2 issue 1, May 1993, Fleetway Editions Ltd, issn 0965-5603
- ^ Interview: Norman Lovett, Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 9, November 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, issn 0965-5603
- ^ Interview: Howard Goodall, Red Dwarf smegazine, issue 10, December 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, issn 0965-5603
- ^ Intrerview: Peter Wragg, Red Dwarf smegazine, issue 8, October 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, issn 0965-5603
- ^ Series Survey Results, Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 10, December 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, issn 0965-5603