Shark Bytes

It still amazes me to this day how hard and how fast Red Dwarf fell into the toilet in the span of Series 7 & 8.

And I still wonder to this day whose bright idea it was to take what had firmly been a C-O-M-E-D-Y for six series, and weigh it down with serious sci-fi and serious drama to the point where the comedy felt like an ackward veneer.

That the comedy in question had devolved into excruciatingly lame jokes and sight-gags didn't help matters, either. Lister and Rimmer getting their clothes disintegrated while Benny Hill music plays? Really? If that isn't forced comedy, then I don't know what is.

Speaking of Rimmer, the moment Chris Barrie left was the point where the show went utterly balls-up, but I don't think it was necessarily BECAUSE he left. It was the way he left that was the problem.

Rimmer. Becoming the next Ace Rimmer.

Think about that for a minute. Ace Rimmer's entire gimmick was that he's Arnold Judas Rimmer's complete and total opposite number. He's literally Alternate Dimension Rimmer. So how do they decide to write Rimmer out of the show? Why, he takes up Ace's mantle, of course!

WHAT!?

From that moment on, the floodgates were open. Dwarf was done for. Not only did Ace's death and the revelation that he was part of an ubelievably long lineage of tragic saviors-of-the-universe usher in the horrible serious sci-fi/drama elements that dragged everything down to the dirt, it also set the precedent for the crew acting completely out of character.

Hello, Dave "MUST...BE...MATURE!" Lister. Hello, whiney neurotic Kryten. Hello, one dimensional barely-there Cat. Good lord, by Series 8 even Chloe Annett's incarnation of Kochanksi was acting out of character! And she'd only been introduced in Series 7!

And Series 8... Oh my God. They had to catch up with the Red Dwarf sooner or later, but resurrecting the entire crew!? I'm sorry, but throwing the characters on a ship with hundreds of other people, the same people who all died in the very first episode for the purpose of setting up the show's entire plot, makes me question if the writers were on hard drugs at that point.

Then, of course, you had the newly resurrected Rimmer. Not the same Rimmer we grew to know(and perhaps hesitantly love) over the span of about 35 and a half episodes, we had the original flesh-and-blood Rimmer who bit the dust halfway into the debut of Red Dwarf. All the hilarious perils, and all the character development A.J. Rimmer had from series 1 to 6? Forget it. Here, we painted ourselves into a corner with Stoke Me a Clipper, so have this version of Rimmer from the very beginning. Back to square one as if nothing ever happened. To top it off, let's destroy the Red Dwarf in the cliffhanger finale as if we realized much too late this whole thing was a mistake!

Watching Series 7 & 8 was like watching bad fanfiction come to life. The only good thing I can think of that came from Red Dwarf lasting beyond Series 6 is Can't Smeg Won't Smeg, but that's offset by how terribly 7 & 8 stank. I'd gladly give up CSWS if it meant they never existed, quite frankly. Someone said it's "zealot fan baggage" that makes people dislike the last two series, but I'd say it's overzealous fandom that makes people think the last two series somehow stand out from 95% percent of the usual crap on television. And considering how brilliant and stand-out Red Dwarf was for 6 series, that's a really sad shame.

UP UNTIL JUST A FEW YEARS AGO , I NEVER EVEN HEARD OF RED DWARF. A FRIEND FROM WORK WOULD TELL ME ABOUT IT AND OF COURSE, IT WAS ALL ALIEN TO ME. WHEN THE DVD'S WERE BEING RELEASED, HE WAS ALL EXITED AND TELLING ME ABOUT IT EVEN MORE. HE ASKED ME IF I WANTED TO CHECK IT OUT, SO I SAID OK. I WATCHED SEASON 1, AND AT FIRST I THOUGHT, THIS IS KIND OF BORING, EVEN THOUGH IT HAD SOME GOOD BITS. AFTER HE BOUGHT SEASON 2, HE ASKED IF I WANTED TO BORROW THAT ONE, SO I THOUGHT WHY NOT, I'LL GIVE IT ANOTHER CHANCE. I WATCHED IT AND I LIKED IT BETTER THAN THE FIRST ONE. THEN HE LENT ME SEASON 3, THEN 4 AND SO ON AND SO ON. EACH SEASON JUST GOT BETTER AND BETTER. NOT LONG AFTER THAT, I BOUGHT MY OWN SET, I-VIII. I'VE WATCHED THEM THROUGH MANY TIMES AND THE MORE I WATCH THEM THE BETTER THEY GET! I TIP MY HAT TO GRANT/NAYLOR FOR CREATING A REALLY COOL SHOW AND TO THE WRITERS AND ACTORS/ACTRESSES WHO PERFORMED ON THE SHOW. WELL DONE!! ME AND MY FRIEND TALK ABOUT THE SHOW ALL THE TIME, AND HAVE WONDERED IF THERE WILL BE A SEASON 9 OR IF 'ONLY THE GOOD...' IS REALLY THE END. WHO KNOWS? TO THE NAY-SAYERS OF SEASONS VII AND VIII -- SMEG OFF!

personally i hate cliffhangers so the end of series 8 was a total disappointment

It's hard to determine just what did Red Dwarf in. There are some spectacular gags in seasons 7&8, but the blokey humour had left. I agree that with the perfect storm idea;
Chris Barry was essential to the show, and they shouldn't have gone on without him.
Although Clare Grogan's Scottish Kochanski was more down to earth, she hardly appeared at all. Chloe Annette, however, portrayed her more like she is in the books, only without the gutsiness.
Lister turns into a lovesick puppy? Wrong!
Kryten becomes useless and needy? Likewise.
The Cat had hardly anything to do.
The general shift from 'four blokes in deep space' to 'space rom-com' didn't really work either.
Series 8 concentrated too much on individual character based comedy, and not enough on interaction based comedy. Too many new characters were one dimensional.
So that's what killed Red Dwarf. As for jumping the shark, I would say Tikka to Ride. It's properly epic, irreverent, and hilarious. That episode was everything Red Dwarf should be, and also the highest quality.

The last season of this show did end abruptly and and they have been attempting to procure investors for a movie for almost a decade! A script has been in place for many years and all the actors involved have been ready to participate but funds have been a major issue. I dont think this show jumped the shark at all because it left all its viewers clammering for more! Every season the plot got switched up so you couldnt get bored of the situation, and the final seasons plotline left a lot of possibilities open to it. Hardcore Dwarf fans were so obsesses that the BBC and private publishers went ahead with comics, books, and even a radio show with the entire television cast that aired weekly on the BBC. How many shows in the past 40 years got there own radio show strictly out of demand? Hell, even Trekkers didnt get that lol I agree that its a show u either love or hate, but even the best shows have their nay sayers . Red Dwarf was a great a dnimaginative show where literally almost ANY situation was possible. I have always taken "jumping the shark" to be when a show exhausts its plotlines and turns to ridiculous sub plots to save it, or when it all together runs out of fresh ideas. I don't think this show did. You never knew who they would run into, where, or even when they would be, what strange abilities they might gain and the never ending mystery of what happened to the human race kept the show fresh and funny. Even SFX improved from season to season as the shows popularity grew. This show is sorely missed by myself as well as many others. I keep my fingers crossed that a miracle will bring the movie to the big screen but sadly many of the actors are getting older and soon the script will have to be changed to accomodate that. No one will buy a 45 year old lager swilling curry eating Lister (or at least I think they won't), and at best it wouldn't fly with the shows physical comedy as well as it action themes. I'm not sure who exactly decided this show jumped the shark but I am interested in knowing what they think was the turning point? Rimmer left for a season but then he was back and to be honest Rimmer is a beloved character but it was all part of keeping you watching. You knew Rimmer would be back, you just didnt know when. Next episode? Season Finale? the last episode of the show? You didnt know so you kept watching. A different actress playing Listers love interest from the actress who protrayed her through the first season was not a huge deal but I do see where people disapproved. The original actress had a kind of low class cockney thing happening and the new one was more refined. I can see why the producers wouldnt think the a high pitched voice with a cockney accent and a forgettable face would really add to the cast and plot. Im not sure if the refined, smart if not a little stuck up love interest was the best possbile choice but it added to the soup pot that was Red Dwarf. You never saw repeat character types. Everyone was unique.
Yes, season VII brought some MAJOR changes to the show behind the scenes with various writer and cast changes but none "ruined" the show. I think the entire cast and crew handled it as seamlessly as a production could. No wild ideas were introduced or special guest stars were utilized as many shows on the brink of disaster might resort to. They con't to deliver good plotlines, sound acting, and knee slapping laughter. This show had nothing to "recover" from after this season as some may think, it was ssimply another evolution in the show and despite the loss of one of the main writers the storyline was con't in the vision it had been created in.

The cliffhanger at the end of the last episode in season 8 left a lot to be desired. That ending frustrated the crap outta me! I like endings that make you think... but that was just TOO open. There needed to be a lot more explanation. If they have to leave the end of season 8 like that they at least need to make a movie or another series.

mo money mo problems.

jumped the shark when kochanski came back.. game over. thanks for watching. time to read the books again.

Series 3 and 4 were the beginning of a very slow decline. There were some great episodes in those two series, but the comedy began to wane as the series became more about action and weird monsters. By series 5 and 6 there were too many recycled ideas (e.g. monsters that steal emotions) and too many cheap laughs (e.g. Dwayne Dibley). It was still OK but nowhere near as good as it had been.

But being in decline doesn't equate to having jumped - that happened in series 7. Rimmer was great and the other characters needed him to feed off, so his leaving did a lot of damage to the show. Kochanski wasn't funny and she changed the others too. Rob Grant's absence was significant too.

how can you take away rimmer? he was 2/3 of the acting talent on the show. the show tanked after he left.

I would like to point out that the idea of a TV show "jumping the shark" is not that it became completely unwatchable, just that it peaked and never recovered. Red Dwarf was an awesome show, and compared to most of the garbage made today is immeasurably superior. That being said, however, Red Dwarf definitely jumped the shark in a big way in Season VII as others have noted.
There is no way any show can survive the departure of one of its two writers, one of its four major cast members, and the addition of a new actor in an existing role, without being affected.
Should it have ended after Series VI? No. But should it have ended after Series VIII? Probably not. The resurrection of the Red Dwarf crew seemed to breath new life into the writing and was showing promise. It's just unfortunate they weren't able to go any further.

The talent behind Red Dwarf is so strong - from the amazing cast to the fact it has one of English TV's best living comedy writers behind it - means that while season 7 and 8 veered away from the format we were used to, and some of the gags might not be as funny as they were in previous seasons, it STILL blows away every other comedy on TV other than the Red Dwarf that came before it. Fans go FAR too far when they says things like "this isn't real Dwarf", or they don't count it as "Dwarf canon". This is fan arrogance the likes of which is normally reserved for Trekkies. OF COURSE it is Red Dwarf....and there were many golden moments in the last two series, even if they were thinner spread than before. I watch them just as often as I do 1-6. And while Chloë Annett might not have been my first choice, I have still found myself splitting my sides at some of her scenes. The pipes in Duct Soup, for instance. The games night scene, too. I say RD never jumped the shark at all. OK, the creative well started to run a little dry, but it's still GOLDEN TV. Drop the zealot fan baggage and this becomes clear. I play all the series to newbies that come and visit, I see them laugh no less for 7 & 8. They are a good marker from which to judge, as they don't carry the baggage we long term fans do.

I agree with most of the people that it jumped at season 7. Making kryton a whiny attention needing robot was a big mistake. And trying to have kochnaski replace rimmer was extremely a dumb move. Rimmer would insult lister and lister would insult rimmer. But Lister would never insult kochnaski. To me season 7 and 8 never existed. Also, does anyone else agree with me about the bad decision to change krypton in 7 and 8.

It started getting contrived in VI when the writers felt the need to change the location from RD to StarBug. Up to that point all minor additions they'd made to the format - adding Kryten, meeting more external characters, etc - had made it stronger, but this one was a step too far.

The further you go in VI the weaker the plots get and the more strained the humor, relying increasingly on recycled gags and characters.

By the time it got to VII the jump was complete and I'd stopped watching.

Red Dwarf lost the magic in series VII & VIII, and I don't consider them real dwarf material.

To me, the true Red Dwarf ended at series VI... and what an ending it was! Just 'obscure' enough so that YOU could imagine what happened next. Did they die? Did they survive? The choice was up to you...