Red Dwarf was a British science fiction sitcom series, aka Britcom, which parodies most (if not all) of the sub-genres of the medium. The first series aired on BBC 2 in 1988 and seven further series were produced. The idea was developed from sketches introduced on a 1984 BBC Radio 4show "Son of Cliché".
The Red Dwarf is a gigantic spaceship, belonging to the fictional Jupiter Mining Corporation, which, following a nuclear disaster on board, was left to drift into space. Millions of years later, after radiation levels have dropped, the only surviving crew member is reanimated from stasis.
The slob anti-hero is David Lister He is joined by the android Kryten, a hologramatic representation of deceased crew member Arnold J. Rimmer (Chris Barrie), and the Cat, Felix Sapiens, a descendant of a domestic cat which Lister smuggled onto the ship which became humanoid whilst retaining a cat-like interest in fish and heightened fashion sense, as well as Holly, the ship's computer.
A pilot episode for an American version was produced for NBC in 1992, though never broadcast. The show was essentially the same, substituting American actors for the British. A notable exception was Robert Llewellyn, who reprised his role as Kryten. Another notable difference was that it considered by many to be not funny. Additionally the franchise has expanded to include four novels, written by the show's producers, Doug Naylor and Robert Grant. Grant and Naylor wrote the first six series together, before Grant left in 1996 leaving Naylor to write the next two alone.
All 8+ seasons are available on DVD below:
