Someone once said that absolute power corrupts absolutely (maybe their fuse box was faulty?) but they had a point that getting to the top brings many people crashing back down again. Still, at least you get to have some mad crazy dictator like fun along the way. Well, that’s certainly the case in this week’s Red Dwarf as the new officer aboard makes some big changes.
Officer Rimmer – A chance encounter with a stranded spacecraft sees Rimmer finally fulfilling his lifetime dream of becoming an officer, much to the misery of the remaining crew.
So not only is this finally a single character orientated episode but it revolves around Rimmer in a position of power, running in 100% smug mode. It’s the kind of material Chris Barrie has always been marvellous with (in Red Dwarf and beyond), and this is no expectation. What’s more, the way it comes about in such an accidental and undeserving fashion just makes it all the better. His class system rebranding of the ship is completely hilarious as he lavishes himself in well-deserved luxury while the other “grunts” react to the new parts of the ship (Titanic approves). This also taps into classic material from the rest of the gang when they find themselves angry and resentful towards Rimmer (such as the flibblicious Quarantine). Lister and Cat immediately become the rebels while Kryten gets comedy out of being forced into obedience. There’s the Officer’s Club set piece which deserves a wrist-spinning salute.
Red Dwarf has a long time love affair with mocking more familiar old school technology but the deskjet bio printer is the best thing they’ve done in years. From the first jam, anyone with a computer back in the 90's (“Member the 90s?”) will be cracking up with the memories of getting those things to work. The way the product has been applied to the idea of printing people is easily the most fun part of the episode, being a fun mockery of the current 3D printing boom. From the initial Captain facial smudge right to sci-fi horror-esque, the final 5 minutes almost become a parody of Resident Evil’s Ouroboros monster. It must also be said this is a heavy episode for both visual and practical effects, and the fact the show can still look good producing that (on what must be a minimal budget these days) is impressive.
Yet again this season, the ending is a disappointment in the way it feels not only premature but ineffective. All it would have needed is another 30-60 seconds showing the dust-settling in the aftermath; Rimmer pretending that he never wanted to be an officer anyway because of all the weight and responsibility on his shoulders, to hammer home the idea that he’d learned nothing from the events. Similarly, there a couple of wasted opportunities here like revealing that has Lister sold his genome code, making himself available for mass cloning. It might be something best left to another episode (Listerworld anyone?) but it feels like more of throw-away here.
This is definitely the funniest episode of the season even if it has the odd story problem and an almost lack of ending. It delivers a standout performance from Chris Barrie, who is clearly loving every minute of it, ”We always have a pen”. Hopefully, next week’s Krysis will give us similar android orientated delights.